Five Best Extended Edition Lord of the Rings Scenes

To be a true, diehard fan of the Lord of the Rings means to watch the extended versions of the films. And while each film has quality extended scenes, you’ll see from this list that the final film in the trilogy, ‘The Return of the King’, has the best extended edition Lord of the Rings scenes.

Of course, the following contains spoilers for the films, so don’t read if you haven’t watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy yet!

Aragorn Sings of Beren and Luthien/Visits his Mother’s Grave

For the most part, the greatest scenes in this list come from the Return of the King. That movie could easily have been split into two movies and been left complete with all the extended goodies. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t good extended scenes from the other movies, too.

Although these are technically two different scenes, they happen relatively close together in the Fellowship of the Rings and both serve to help paint a fuller picture of who Aragorn is than we ever get in the theatrical cut of the movie.

Of the two secenes, Aragorn singing about Beren and Luthien is the greater, as it touches on deep lore from Middle earth. Not only are Beren and Luthien a mortal man who falls in love with an elf (like Aragorn and Arwen), they are also Aragorn’s own direct ancestors (from long, long ago).

Saruman’s Death

Now getting into the really good extended scenes from the Return of the King, it’s a shame that this scene was cut from the theatrical release. Although it differs from Saruman’s fate in the book, Saruman was a significant character throughout the first two movies, and it’s fitting that we see his fate in this movie. It also shows just how powerful Gandalf has become, as he is able to break the staff of Saruman at will.

Faramir and Boromir in Osgiliath

In the theatrical release of the film, we only ever get mentions of Faramir and Boromir’s relationship. In this extended scene, however, we get to see them together in the days just before Boromir sets out for Rivendell. Not only do we get a very visual depiction of Denethor’s preference for Boromir and the root of Faramir’s daddy issues, we also get added insight into Boromir’s noble character. He does not play along with Denethor’s delusions entirely. Instead, he sees the value in his brother’s nobility, although it be different from his own.

Aragorn and the Palantir

Although this scene isn’t as entertaining as some of the other scenes on the list, it makes it because of its importance to the story. Without it, actually, certain aspects of the final chapters of the movie don’t really make sense.

In the book, Aragorn uses the Palantir to purposefully show himself to Sauron. And Sauron is afraid. He thinks that Aragorn has taken the ring for himself, and means to challenge him. This is what is enough for Sauron to stop worrying about Frodo or anyone else who might be trying to backdoor him into the pit of Mount Doom.

Because Aragorn is of pure Numenorean blood, he is able to use the Palantir without it corrupting him, and he is the master of the conversation between himself and Sauron, not Sauron as it is depicted in the movie.

The Mouth of Sauron

Another scene directly from the books, the Mouth of Sauron is a man of a similar background as Aragorn actually, but one who was corrupted for many years. In the film, the Mouth of Sauron simply taunts the leaders of the free world, although he doesn’t himself know just how dire the Halfling was to their quest, thinking Frodo to be only a spy.

The movie does this scene better than the book, however. Aragorn’s disgust with the Mouth of Sauron is evident in the film, and the part where he chops his head off is priceless.