Why The Lord of the Rings Extended Cuts Aren't That Great

The holiday season means a few things in the King household. Christmas decorations are out, the cat will be forced to wear a Santa hat at some point, and we will watch through the Lord of the Rings trilogy. As far as I'm concerned, these are Christmas movies, through and through. But as much as I love these films, there's one nagging thought that has not ceased to annoy me year after year...

I wish we were watching the theatrical cuts.

The Extended Edition Blu-Ray set that we own not only includes an encyclopedic wealth of special features, but also offers the highest quality video transfer currently available on the market, so naturally it's the best option for an LOTR fan who wants a well-rounded experience. But, unfortunately, I'm now forced to live with these extended cuts. Now, I'm well aware that many fans consider these the definitive versions of these films and will swear by them to their dying breath, but let's take a closer look at what these cuts actually offer - both the good and the bad.

Some scenes do indeed enrich the story and characters

The best extended scene in the entire trilogy appears in The Two Towers, where we witness a flashback to Boromir, Faramir and Denethor right after a battle to retake Osgiliath from the armies of Mordor. The audience is given a hugely meaningful look at who Boromir is when he's not being driven mad by the ring and buckling under the weight of his father's demands; a strong, kind man who loves his people and his little brother. It's easily the best the extended cuts have to offer in terms of valuable content that enriches the narrative.

Actually a cool guy ^^^

But most additions completely disrupt the flow of the film

What makes the previously mentioned Boromir flashback work so well is the fact that it's a self-contained scene that stands on its own. However, more often than not, the extended content is woven into pre-existing scenes, which usually creates a very awkward sense of pace and tone. What was once a tightly edited, efficient scene now feels a bit meandering. A huge contributor to this sense of imbalance is the music, which is awkwardly stretched out to cover the extra shots that are added, turning Howard Shore's originally masterful work into a distraction. As an editor, I find myself frequently annoyed by the odd rhythm these scenes tend to take on once they're burdened by the extra content.

Many of the extended scenes exist purely to indulge Jackson's juvenile sense of humor

Don't get me wrong, I'm no comedy elitist.

Funny ^^^

With that said, too many of the extended scenes feature moments of comedy that are a bit... embarrassing... Gimli is overly featured in gag after gag, drawing much unneeded attention to the fact that his character exists for the sole purpose of comedic relief (though I suppose I don't have as much of a problem with Legolas existing for the sole purpose of doing cool stuff). Scenes like this bit in Return of the King are particularly irksome and feel far too indulgent for what is already a three and a half hour movie.

Look no further than The Hobbit films to see a filmmaker who is a slave to his own giddiness and enthusiasm and seems to have a troublingly low standard for what should actually make its way into his films. Jackson has often been described as a guy who will "always go for the gag." While this quality can occasionally bring out some genuinely impactful moments, it's pretty damaging to the overall integrity of his films when he's given more room to roam and add in whatever he wants.

In the end, these scenes were edited out for a reason
One of the main grievances I have with extended or "director's" cuts is that the film the audience sees in the theater is the director's cut. This is the film in its tightest, most essential form, and when you add in all of these extended scenes, however interesting they may be, you're adding unnecessary content to what was already a finished film. Are we really so excited to have these scenes that were originally deemed to be expendable fused back into the fabric of what was already a fine film? Would it really be so bad if these scenes existed where they belong on the deleted scenes menu, since that's precisely what they are?

Extended Editions can limit choices
The worst part of all of this is that unless I shell out another $40 for the theatrical edition blu-rays I'm stuck with these extended cuts, despite there being more than enough room on a blu-ray disk to fit both. What's worse is that the video transfers of the theatrical cuts are inferior. These are the movies I saw and fell in love with over ten years ago. These are the movies that won the Oscars and garnered such critical acclaim, and I don't like being corralled into a position where it's less favorable to own those films and more advantageous to own these flabbier, bulkier cuts. It's important to preserve art as it was initially presented to its audience and the LOTR deserve to be handled with more care.