We know that notable differences exist between the trilogy The Lord of the Rings by Peter Jackson and its source material, the books of JRR Tolkien. Between the cut or forgotten scenes, the filmmaker’s feature films have in just over 3 hours of film, peeled the original work to extract the purest juice, even if it means adding a few scenes to amplify a dramatic and spectacular effect. . Here today is a scene in question that marked the fans of the third installment.
The need for reinterpretation of the original work for the cinematographic medium
The adaptation of the work of JRR Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, by Peter Jackson in the cinema was produced with technical (for the time) and narrative prowess. With his 3 films, the New Zealand director fairly faithfully transcribes the events narrated by the novelist.
Obviously, cinematographic media obliges, not all the passages of the books could be integrated into the feature films, despite the consequent duration of the trilogy in long version, which lasts a little more than 10 hours.
Certain scenes have thus been forgotten in the films. Let’s mention the passage through the old forest and the arc around Tom Bombadill who comes to the aid of the Hobbits, which lasts no less than 3 chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring. Jackson and his teams justified this omission by the fact that the character did not add much to the general plot and that the film would therefore have been unnecessarily long.
Having a much shorter format, it was then essential for the filmmaker to King Kong or the trilogy The Hobbit omit certain scenes, speed up others, or even modify some.
A remarkable scene…
A scene from the last film in the trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kinghas been modified to make the film more impactful and breathtaking. This is the scene of the switching on of the alarm lights. As Gandalf takes Pippin to Minas Tirith in the heart of the kingdom of Gondor, the magician attempts to alert Steward Denethor to the threat coming from Mordor.
Nevertheless, frightened and corrupted by Sauron, Denethor ignores the words of the white magician. That’s when Gandalf sends Pippin to climb the pyre and light it in order to alert the other kingdoms. As a reminder, several warning lights are scattered all over the high places of the kingdom, and serve as a relay point when a major danger occurs. This is how Theoden will be warned and come to the aid of Gondor.
This scene marked many fans of the trilogy heroic fantasy for its strong emotional potential, her heroism and for the hope she has aroused. This was helped by the staging of the magnificent New Zealand sets, accompanied by the music of Howard Shore and his orchestra.
…absent in Tolkien
However, in Tolkien’s work, this warning scene simply does not exist. When Gandalf and Pippin arrive in Minas Tirith, the beacons are already lit. Denethor not being as desperate as in the last film of the trilogy, he took care to alert his allies.
So, Pippin first notices a glow on the hill, then asks the white magician what it means. He replies that “ Gondor’s headlights are on, calling for help“, and names the location of each fire, as the light spreads from Gondor to Rohan.
This modification made by Jackson is welcome, many fans appreciated this change, since in addition to adding a dramatic effect, it creates depth to the character of Pippin. A character who has annoyed more than one in the past. The scene of the Palantir, the throwing of stones at the gates of La Moria, or the corpse falling into the well alerting the goblins are credible arguments. Thus, the lighting of the fires and the rescue of Faramir represent saving scenes for the young hobbit.
Conversely, one can quote a scene present in the work of Tolkien absent from The Fellowship of the Ring. One night, while Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas are going down the Anduin river, they are attacked by the orcs, as well as a huge dark form which arises, giving a shrill cry, Legolas intervenes and scares the beast away, which seems soar in the sky. Later, when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli find Gandalf, the latter confirms that it was a Nazgûl, mounted on a winged steed.
Note in parallel that this trilogy could have been completely different. It was in 1995 that Jackson first offered a trilogy of Lord of the Rings. At the time, he wanted the first film to be an adaptation of Hobbitand that the two following films resume the entire Lord of the Rings. But due to the difficulty in acquiring the film rights to The Hobbit, which Jackson would later obtain and which would result in another trilogy, the trilogy of Lord of the Rings as we know it will finally be approved by New Line Cinema.
