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Why Peter Jackson REMOVED Saruman's Most Mysterious Scene

Fact or Fantasy

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Welcome to Ep. 23 of Movies vs. Manuscripts: Lord of the Rings edition! Today, we dive into two incredible chapters in JRR Tolkien's "The Two Towers". Peter Jackson took quite a few creative liberties with these scenes that correspond to those chapters, and one of the most mysterious moments in the books got removed from the film... Let me know in the comments if you think they should have included this strange visit from Saruman at the edge of Fangorn Forest!

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Timestamps:
0:00 Saruman SPIED On Them...
2:06 Movie Recap...
3:10 Characters, Timeline, and Location Differences
4:05 Plot Changes
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Sources:
"The Fellowship of the Ring," directed by Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema, 2001.
"The Two Towers," directed by Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema, 2002.
"The Return of the King," directed by Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema, 2003.
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#tolkien #tolkienlore #lordoftherings #lotr #peterjackson #newlinecinema #warnerbros #jrrtolkien

20 Comments

@factorfantasyweekly Creator 1 year ago Pinned

Hey you! 👀 Read along with me! 📖 Claim “The Two Towers” on Audible for FREE: https://www.audibletrial.com/twotowers 👈 Every free trial supports the channel!

@falloutfan2502 1 year ago

I love how minutes after Aragorn can hear the orcs running miles away, they get snuck up on by a hundred charging horses.
Then Legolas can see the orcs running miles away, but they all missed the giant smoking pile of burning corpses right over there.
Odd how senses work in that movie!

@MorphoSapien 1 year ago

I also love how in the book a nearby tree bends over their fire as if to enjoy the warmth.

@reeceemms1643 1 year ago

I like how you were going to go in on how Viggo Mortensen broke his toe but then just skipped it because everyone knows that he broke his toe and that is what made the scene so effective because he stayed in character as it happened.

@richlaw666 1 year ago

The "did you know " is a perfect edit .

@cparle87 1 year ago

Legolas being stumped at the hobbits plopping down in the middle of a battlefield to eat sells this entire scene.

@jarodmasci3445 1 year ago

Andy Serkis' audiobook reading of Tolkiens LOTR and the Hobbit is incredible. Besides nailing Gollum (obviously) he creates unique versions of ALL characters, recognizable as based on the actors in the movies. He's amazingly talented.

@SuStel 1 year ago

The "Did you know?" was perfect. After seeing commenters bring it up ten thousand times, it is no longer a fun fact.

@SuStel 1 year ago

"Thankfully, Pippin's hands are only bound for show, as he had previously cut them off and put on a fake binding earlier in the chapter."

Poor Pippin No-Hands!

@kristianh.pedersen2 1 year ago

Treebeard also comments later that he has frequently encountered Saruman on the outskirts of Fangorn, so it probably was Saruman they met.

@TheWanderingFire 1 year ago

‘Well, here is the strangest riddle that we have yet found!’ exclaimed Legolas. ‘A bound prisoner escapes both from the Orcs and from the surrounding horsemen. He then stops, while still in the open, and cuts his bonds with an orc-knife. But how and why? For if his legs were tied, how did he walk? And if his arms were tied, how did he use the knife? And if neither were tied, why did he cut the cords at all? Being pleased with his skill, he then sat down and quietly ate some waybread! That at least is enough to show that he was a hobbit, without the mallorn-leaf. After that, I suppose, he turned his arms into wings and flew away singing into the trees. It should be easy to find him: we only need wings ourselves!’

@maisaparviainen3357 1 year ago (edited)

Two towers, chapter 5, The riders of Rohan:
‘I will come,’ said Aragorn.
‘And I will come, too,’ said Gimli. ‘The matter of the Lady Galadriel lies still between us. I have yet to teach you gentle speech.’
‘We shall see,’ said Éomer. ‘So many strange things have chanced that to learn the praise of a fair lady under the loving strokes of a Dwarf’s axe will seem no great wonder.
Farewell!’

@detinith 1 year ago

I really enjoyed the Saruman encounter. It's the only time you witness anyone of the Fellowship welcoming a stranger to share the fire, and Aragorn even calls out, "Well, father, what can we do for you? Come and be warm, if you are cold!" Very polite.

One point I think was important in the conversation with Eomer was that he gave his word that orcs and only orcs were slain and burned. Even with a description of hobbits, he stated "no dwarves or children" were harmed, and even though Gimli corrects him, I always took this as the riders of Rohan being sure of who they were killing. Eomer's only doubt was that anyone escaped their watch; he swore no orc evaded them once they reached the forest, but considering the strange raiment of the three hunters, he couldn't be sure of hobbits. I think this is why Aragorn was so sure that there must be some clue as to where Merry and Pippin vanished.

@ericsommers8947 1 year ago

I wish they included Eomer’s apology, “if they will pardon my rash words concerning the Lady of the Wood. I spoke only as do all men in my land, and I would gladly learn better.”

@Soaring_Penguin 3 months ago

2:57 The "Did you know... BLEEP" was golden! 😭😭😭

@keithtorgersen9664 1 year ago

Aragorn’s question about who Eomer serves actually connects way back to the Council of Elrond when Aragorn muses on a rumor that Rohan offers its horses to Sauron. Boromir vehemently denies this, insisting that the riders of Rohan love their horses almost as much as their family members. Aragorn questions this, but in an odd contradiction in the early part of the hunters’ pursuit, Aragorn says that he does not believe the rumors when Gimli muses on this same thing. Finally, Eomer himself explains that the rumor is of course a lie, and Sauron’s servants steal the black horses from Rohan, greatly angering Rohan’s people.

@Numenor7 1 year ago (edited)

I agree it was probably Saruman "as an old man hooded and cloaked". The horses wouldn't be spooked because he's a wizard.

I think it would have been cool to see the mysterious old man while they were camping, it would introduce a scary magical element to the scene. But I think it would confuse viewers because they are introduced to Gandalf in the next scene. Also it would add length to the movie as they would also have to show them camping another night.

@znk0r 1 year ago

6:40 its hilly terrain,neither of them saw each other until one of the two groups crested the hill.

@Raz.C 1 year ago

For those who don't already know, 1 league = 3 miles. So 40 leagues of travel = 120 miles = 200 Km!!
* some rounding involved, but not much.

@AshwinderHG 1 month ago

Late to this party, but something that always annoyed me in the movie was Eomer's line, "We ride north" as they leave Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. They were coming from the north. Now granted, if Eomer has been banished, there's not a lot of ways for him to go, to get away from Edoras. But the movie is asking me to believe that they'd ridden north, killed the orcs, and then randomly turned back around so they could cross Aragorn's path, before riding back north. It's never made any sense to me, so thank you for the chance to get this off my chest.