I very much enjoyed the extended edition of Peter Jackson's _The
Fellowship of the Ring_: the new footage corrected most of the things
that bothered me about the theatrical release.  However, I felt that a
small number of scenes were actually hurt slightly by the changes, and
a few disappointments from the original remained.  At some point, I
decided it would be entertaining to outline my own ideal cut of the
movie, based mostly on Jackson's material.  Just in case it's not
clear, I am only doing this because I enjoyed the movie very much:
while it's not perfect, it did successfully capture much of the
essence of Middle-earth, at least for me.

Now, I'm not outlining what I would try to do if given a few hundred
million dollars to make my own film.  Among other things, I'm
confident that even if I know Tolkien somewhat better than Peter
Jackson does, he knows filmmaking a _lot_ better than I do.
Therefore, my philosophy here is to start from the extended edition of
his _Fellowship_ and suggest a few relatively minor changes that would
bring it closer to matching my own vision of Middle-earth without
departing too far from Jackson's realization.  It goes without saying
that this will only reflect my own tastes and opinions, but it sounds
like fun, and once it's written I might as well share it with others.

To begin at the beginning, I think the extended prologue should remain
exactly as it is.  The extra scene from Isildur's use of the Ring to
his death fits in well, isn't long, and helps to quickly establish the
treachery of the Ring.  At the end of the prologue, I also really like
the pan over the map to the Shire that opens up to Bag End and Bilbo
writing his book.  To be honest, however, I liked the theatrical
version's introduction to the Shire better than Bilbo's "Concerning
Hobbits" narrative: the main prologue was just long enough, and by its
end I'm ready for the main story to begin.  (And that way, Gandalf's
line about being greatful for the Shire's isolation would be there.)
It might work best to jump to Frodo's introduction immediately after
Bilbo first calls for him to answer the door.

I think the extended edition gives viewers a firmer grounding in the
Shire than the theatrical release, so I wouldn't change a thing until
Frodo and Sam are on their way (I was a bit dubious about the Green
Dragon scene, but the cast talked me into it on the DVD).  I like the
additional scenes of travel (particularly travel in the Shire), but I
find that the glimpse of Elves passing West feels out of place
somehow.  I really love the hobbits' encounter with Gildor in the
book, but this scene seems so short that non-experts would be confused
by it.  It also gives its Elves a more otherworldly and almost scary
feel than seems right at this point (I see why Jackson altered
Lothlorien that way, but this is a very different case); the feeling I
get from Gildor in the books is much more familiar and friendly, even
if the high and distant Elvishness of his company is always there in
the background.  On another note, the glowing light around them
strikes me as extreme (I think they could have looked really cool with
just the barest hint of luminescence around them as they walked).

There are things about Saruman's interaction with Gandalf that bother
me, but not so much that I'd reject Jackson's changes: I would keep
that scene unchanged.  The film then jumps back to the hobbits'
journey to Bree, and the only change I'd make there would be to add
two travel scenes of just a few seconds each immediately after the
Buckleberry Ferry: one with the hobbits hurrying along a faint path
through the Old Forest, and one with them traveling through growing
fog on the Barrow Downs (I think the standing stone where they ate
lunch in the book would make a good location, with some hills and
barrows visible farther off).  I can't see that those brief scenes
would hurt the timing much at all (I'll admit I could be wrong),
they'd add a couple more glimpses of travel (and of beloved locations
in Middle-earth), and they would put Bree's location a bit more in
perspective.  (If the first scene included a brief conversation about
leaving the road to put the wraiths off their trail, that might not
hurt either, though it certainly wouldn't be necessary.)

I'm fine with the way Bree is handled, but I continue to be frustrated
by the appearance of the Unseen world while Frodo wears the Ring.
Everything should look dim and hazy, sure, but any fright involved
should come from a sense of isolation from the real world, not from a
crazy kaleidescope effect that would make it virtually impossible to
function.  Also, I can't help but think that it will damage the plot
to have Sauron immediately be aware of the Ringbearer every time he
puts it on: won't that mean the quest will be doomed the moment Sam
puts the Ring on in Cirith Ungol, when Sauron realizes that a hobbit
still has the Ring?  For that matter, why didn't Sauron see Bilbo when
he used it?  (Remember, in the movie that wasn't long at all before
Frodo left.)  Sure, keep the Nazgul being drawn to its use nearby, but
leave out Sauron's ability to see the Ringwearer instantly (at most,
include a distant glimpse of the Eye _searching_ for the Ring, perhaps
saying "Where are you?" instead of "I see you!"  That searching Eye
could come closer and closer every time the Ring is used, which I
think could become quite terrifying as the movies go on).

I liked the extra scenes of travel through the Midgewater Marshes, but
I thought that Aragorn's song and its explanation weren't given enough
time to be worthwhile.  The movie jumps to "the spoiling of Isengard",
which is also perfectly fine by me, and then it jumps back to the
attack on Weathertop.  That is one of the only changes in the movie
that still bothers me: Tolkien's rejection of a very similar
adaptation in Letter #210 has always struck me as very reasonable.
His comments there state clearly what I would have loved to see: in
addition to pointing out that this was "a contest that was explicitly
not fought with weapons", he says

   "I can see that there are certain difficulties in representing a
   dark scene; but they are not insuperable.  A scene of gloom lit by
   a small red fire, with the Wraiths slowly approaching as darker
   shadows - until the moment when Frodo puts on the Ring, and the
   King steps forward revealed - would seem to me far more impressive
   than yet one more scene of screams and rather meaningless
   slashings."

Aragorn can leap forward with torches, sure, but he really shouldn't
be presented as able to fight off five Ringwraiths singlehandedly (and
he shouldn't actually light them on fire!).

The next tweak that I'd make is when Arwen first meets Frodo.  I'd
prefer to see a quick shot of her approaching in the normal world
before switching to Frodo's "Unseen world" view, just to make it clear
that only he was seeing her that way.  Even though I prefer the book's
"flight to the ford" to the movie's, I can live with it, though I'd
happily make it a bit shorter (and if I could, I'd have four of the
wraiths try to cut off Arwen and Frodo just as they raced toward the
river, as in the book: _that_ would be a good time for Arwen to get
that cut on her cheek).  I'd also cut Arwen's 'what grace is mind, let
it pass to you' line after the flood: it seems very inappropriate at
this point.

Overall, Rivendell is great, but I wish Elrond didn't come across as
such a nasty, uncaring, racist guy.  He's supposed to be one of the
wisest Elves in Middle-earth, not a cynical pessimist harboring deep
grudges against the other peoples of Middle-earth.  I think if he came
across as sad and pessimistic rather than angry and pessimistic it
would be more satisfying to me, and most of his lines could stay the
same.  That feels more true to Tolkien, somehow.

I might take back out the scene of Aragorn's mother's tomb.  It does
add to his background, but I don't think it adds all that much, and
for one reason or another it just doesn't quite work for me.  Maybe
with Elrond sounding more sorrowful and sympathetic it would work
better and could stay.  After that, I'm happy with everything up
through the Fellowship's departure from Rivendell.

On the journey south before Moria, I would be tempted to cut most of
the scenes showing Saruman and his interference with the Fellowship,
apart from the _crebain_ which explain why they can't go south.  (The
scene where the _crebain_ report back in the caves beneath Isengard
looks impressive enough to keep, too. :) )  However, I've got to admit
that those scenes are an _efficient_ way of indicating that the
blizzard in the path was not entirely natural, and I can see that in a
movie it's helpful to put a face on the enemy (particularly if there
really isn't time to build up an unseen adversary in dialogue).  Even
so, I'd rather drop the scene where Saruman foreshadows the Balrog: I
honestly can't see that it's necessary.

The journey to and through Moria is great, and I wouldn't change a
thing until the battle at Balin's tomb.  I know that the cast and crew
really seem to have a soft spot in their hearts for the cave troll,
but I honestly don't feel that he adds much to the movie except for
some flashy special effects and an extra few minutes of intense
fighting and bloodshed.  I'd much rather replace his long battle
sequence with a single orc captain dashing in and spearing Frodo as in
the book.  The Fellowship could then duck out of a back door in the
chamber and reach the stairs to the bridge from there (perhaps taking
that small back way because they saw the Balrog approaching in the
great hall, if such a scene is necessary).  Among its advantages, that
would remove the inexplicable scene where an army of Orcs hesitates to
attack nine people.  Whenever they do first see the Balrog, I think
including Legolas's recognition of the creature and his reaction from
the book would be great, and if including Gimli's wouldn't require too
much backstory, I think that would add to his character.

Especially after cutting the cave troll, I'd be willing to respect
Jackson's judgement on the need for the crumbling staircase scene to
preserve tension (even though I'm not that fond of it or its
similarity to the bridge scene).  Gandalf's fall, the Fellowship's
reaction, and the flight to Lothlorien are all fine (I'd de-emphasize
the Balrog wings even more, though).  I think the extended edition's
initial scene in Lorien could be cut a little, but the daytime journey
through the woods and view of Caras Galadhon are certainly worth
keeping.  I understand Jackson's reasons for presenting Lothlorien as
he did, so I'd leave the extended edition as is, right up until
Galadriel's temptation scene.

Her temptation is the only scene in the movie that I'd absolutely
insist on replacing.  The book says it all: "She stood before Frodo
seeming now tall beyond measurement, and beautiful beyond enduring,
terrible and worshipful."  Rather than the horrifying transformation
she goes through in Jackson's version, I'd show a slow shift from
noble lady to stern queen to absolute tyrant, but as much in
Galadriel's demeanor as through effects.  It could be very effective
to have her appear to grow taller during the transformation (actually,
if there were a way to use tricky camera work to make her feel larger
and larger without literally growing, that might be even better:
something along the lines of the effect early in the film right before
Frodo says "Get off the road!").  To come close to my vision of that
scene, though, she would have to remain beautiful from start to finish
rather than turning into a nightmarish caricature by the end.  I think
the transformation of her voice would be better without the distorting
special effects, too.  And I'd rather see her master her temptation
without shaking as if she were having a massive seizure, too.

I'd also remove or at least make far less direct Galadriel's warning
that "he will try to take the Ring": it really, really doesn't seem
necessary, and it seems to condemn Boromir to failure from the start.
However, that is essentially the last change I would make to the
extended DVD.  The gifts and departure from Lothlorien, the journey on
the river, and the whole breaking of the Fellowship are very good as
shown.  Some of the fight sequences at the end could probably be
trimmed a little, but I wouldn't touch Boromir's death scene at all.
Oh, and I'd make sure to include a trailer for _The Two Towers_ at the
end. :)

That's about it.  Long, and probably not all that interesting to
others, but it's nice to at least be able to imagine my own idealized
cut of Peter Jackson's wonderful movie.  Now I just need to hold out
three more days until the next one.
						Steuard Jensen