Tolkien vs. Jackson: Differences Between Story and Screenplay

Peter Jackson's version of The Return of the King differed from Tolkien's in several important ways.

Omissions
Following the destruction of the One Ring, most of the second book of The Return of the King involves tying up loose ends (although Tolkien considered the "Scouring of the Shire" to be one of the most important chapters of the trilogy, it is completely omitted from the film). These dénouements are only briefly summarized in the films, where we get a hint of Frodo's periodic bouts of illness following his return to the Shire, we see Sam getting married to Rosie, and we follow Gandalf's and the Ring-bearers' departure from the Grey Havens.

Additions
Movie: Included with alteration. Takes place following the Last Debate; Sauron retaliates by showing Aragorn a vision of Arwen apparently dying, which is not in the book.
 * In the film, the burning Denethor runs along the "prow" of Minas Tirith and falls like a meteor. In the book, Denethor lights his pyre and lies down upon it to burn, clasping the palantír. (In fact the "prow" of Minas Tirith, located on the Seventh Level, is on the opposite side of the city from the burial chambers where the pyre is, located on the fifth level. While on fire, Denethor would have had to run across the entire city to fall like that. In his commentary on the extended DVD Peter Jackson admits that he was aware of the distance issue but included the scene for dramatic effect.)
 * Book: Aragorn reveals himself and his reforged sword to Sauron using the palantír recovered at Isengard.
 * In the film, Gollum tricks Frodo into mistrusting Sam and sending him away, so that Frodo enters Shelob's Lair alone. In the book, Frodo and Sam have no break in their trust, except for a brief instant upon Frodo's rescue from the orc tower where he demands that Sam return the Ring.

Other Alterations
Movie: When the gate is breached trolls and orcs enter the city. Shortly afterwards, the Witch-king, riding his Fell Beast, intercepts Gandalf and Pippin, on Shadowfax, who are racing from the gate to the Citadel (at the summit of the city) to save Faramir from being burned alive by Denethor. The witch-king holds up his sword, which erupts into flame; Gandalf is then thrown off his horse as his staff breaks, presumably because of the witch-king's power. The arrival of the Rohirrim is announced by their horns, but there is no sound of a cock crowing first (despite the fact that Tolkien described this as one of his favourite images). Movie: Not included, but there is a scene after the Battle of Pelennor Fields, where Aragorn finds a Palantir in Denethor's cloak in the throne room and reveals himself to Sauron (see below). The implication that this is the cause of Denethor's madness is left to viewers with knowledge of the book. Denethor, in the theatrical cut, does cryptically say that "the eyes of the White Tower are not blind", and he implies that he has a Seeing-stone, which someone who read the book might understand but would be lost on a movie-only audience. It is also possible, however, that the Palantír Aragorn used was the stone of Orthanc, and Denethor's seeing-stone was completely cut out of the films. Movie: Referred to in a brief scene in which they begin to bond. Movie: Included. The scene ends with Frodo and Sam pretending to fight, causing the other orcs to join in, and slipping away while they are distracted - a simplification of the original scene. Movie: Included with alterations. The Mouth torments the Fellowship by claiming that Frodo has been horribly tortured and killed. He then taunts Aragorn over his broken sword and Aragorn decapitates him with the reforged Andúril. In the book he is allowed to live until the battle. Movie:Included with alteration. Eowyn does stow away with the Rohirrim, and does take Merry with her. However, at no point does she use the guise of Dernhelm. Her face is never completely concealed, thus the audience is always aware of who she is. While some have argued this takes away the surprise later, when Dernhelm reveals herself to be a woman when told that no man can kill the Witch-King, it has been counter-argued that having the audience know who she is maintains their emotional investment in her character.
 * Book: The Witch-king enters Minas Tirith when its gate is breached and challenges Gandalf to fight, but as a cock crows the horns of the Rohirrim announce their arrival and the Witch-king is forced to return to meet their assault. In the book this takes place at the gate of Minas Tirith.
 * Book: In the Pyre of Denthor scene it is revealed that Denethor has a palantír, usually kept in a secret room at the top of the White Tower of Ecthelion, which he has been using to obtain strategic information for the defence of Gondor. But Sauron has infiltrated the palantír and used it to show Denethor a vision of the Black Ships. The vision is true as far as it goes, but Denethor does not realise the ships have been taken over by Aragorn's army.
 * Book: Faramir and Éowyn meet and fall in love in the Houses of Healing.
 * Book: Incognito in Orc armour, Sam and Frodo are forced to march with a band of Orcs who are heading for the Black Gate.
 * Book: The Mouth of Sauron taunts Gandalf at the Black Gate and presents evidence that Frodo had been captured (which was true, although Frodo was rescued by Sam before he could be interrogated).
 * Book: Eowyn disguises herself as "Dernhelm," and smuggles Merry along with her, allowing them both to take place in the Battle of Pelennor Fields.
 * In the film, shards of Narsil are re-forged by Elrond at Arwen's urging, and Elrond travels to Rohan where he presents the reforged sword to Aragorn and orders him to take the Paths of the Dead. In the book, Narsil was reforged when Aragorn first brought the hobbits to Rivendell (following a prophecy that the reforging could only take place after "Isildur's Bane", the Ring, was found).
 * In the book, the rangers, Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn ride through the mountain path to summon the dead, then ride through the Morthond valley to the stone of Erech, where the dead agree to serve. Aragorn then leads the dead and members of his group to Pelargir to attack the corsairs.  After the Dead defeat the corsairs, they disappear, and the ships carry Aragorn, the rangers, Legolas, Gimli, and some forces from southern Gondor to the battle of Pelennor fields.  In the movie, Aragorn gets the dead to serve in an underground cave, exits the underground path at Pelagir to see the corsairs.  The dead then sail on the ships to Pelennor fields.  No rangers or southern Gondorians are in the movie.  The book version makes more sense when considering the maps, as Pelargir is a long way from Edoras or Minas Tirith, and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli run for a short time considering the distance.
 * In the book, the beacons of Gondor are lit before Gandalf and Pippin arrive, as a part of Denethor's careful mustering of Minas Tirith's defences. In the film, Denethor refuses to light the beacon of Minas Tirith, or indeed to organize any defence of the city, so Gandalf persuades Pippin to sneak past the guards and light it, causing the rest of the beacons to be lit in response.
 * Unlike the book, Merry is not taken to the Houses of Healing to recuperate from his encounter with the Witch-king (with the aid of Aragorn's knowledge of the healing herb athelas, which he also uses to heal Faramir and Éowyn), but instead rides out to the Last Battle alongside Aragorn and Gandalf.
 * In the book, Gollum slips accidentally into the Crack of Doom while dancing in triumph after biting the Ring off Frodo's right hand third finger. In the film, Gollum bites the ring off Frodo's index finger, and Frodo jumps on him one last time, causing them both to fall; it is subsequently revealed that Frodo was able to catch himself on the rock below the precipice, from which Sam pulls him back (after a brief hesitation by an apparently suicidal Frodo).
 * In the film, it is not revealed that Frodo is to sail to the west with Bilbo, Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, and Celeborn until after most of them have boarded the ship. In the book, Frodo and Sam join with Bilbo and the elves in the woods while travelling to the harbour.  In the books Celeborn also takes a later ship.
 * The film's closing scene shows Sam returning from saying farewell at the Grey Havens and coming back to the Shire and his home and family (returning at night in the book, during the day in the film). In addition, Sam's home is a modest hobbit hole, presumably on Bagshot Row, rather than having moved into Bag End as in the book.

Notable unaltered scenes
Movie: Included without alteration. Movie: We see Éomer's shock at his sister's apparent death, and his attempts to nurse her back to health with the aid of Aragorn.
 * Book: On the way to the Morgul Vale, Frodo, Sam and Gollum pass through the Crossroads, where there is a giant statue of a seated king with his head laying on the ground nearby, "crowned" anew with flowers that have grown there, an image of hope amidst destruction.
 * Book: Éomer grieves over the deaths of Éowyn and Théoden after the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
 * The film remains faithful to the book in quoting the last lines spoken by Gandalf ("I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil", although Gandalf has some minor dialogue following this in the movie) and by Sam ("Well, I'm back.").