Why They Cut The Real Ending Of The Lord Of The Rings

Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings were over the moon watching Peter Jackson's movie trilogy that told the story. But in 2003, when the series wrapped up with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, they were surprised that a chapter near the end of the story, known as "The Scouring of the Shire," was not in the movie at all. Why was that? The simple answer is that the trilogy was already almost nine hours long, and it could have been ten if they had included everything. But there were other reasons, having to do with the difference between a book and a movie. Nerdstalgic explains what the Scouring of the Shire was all about, and goes through the reasoning behind deleting it in the movie version, from the simple, practical matters to the more nuanced artistic thinking behind the decision, which is the most satisfying of all. (via Digg)