Movie vs. Book: The Return of the King

The differences between J.R.R. Tolkien's book, The Return of the King, and the Peter Jackson movie screenplay of the same name are very difficult to document because of the substantial difference in plot sequence between them. There are two major plot threads in this story that are presented very differently between the book and the screenplay. They are the exploits of Frodo and Sam on the road to Mordor and the adventures of the other characters in the lands of the West&mdash;mainly in Gondor. Instead of separating the two major threads into two internal books as Tolkien did, the storylines are interweaved in the screenplay to keep up the pace and progress of each. In this article, these storylines are "unshuffled" into two subsections to make it more intelligible, but because the movie starts with Frodo and Sam, that is where we start here instead of the other way around as in the book. The differences between the movie and book are described here in considerable detail. The order is intended to be that of the movie, and it is also the intent that this article should eventually include all significant differences between them.

Frodo and Sam

 * At the opening of this movie, the story is told of the finding of the Ruling Ring by Deagol and of his murder by Smeagol, who became Gollum. In the movie, the story was a dream that Gollum had while he, Frodo, and Sam were resting on their journey toward Cirith Ungol.  In the book, Gandalf told the story to Frodo while they were sitting in the comfort of Frodo's parlor at Bag End.  (This is in The Fellowship of the Ring chapter 2, 'The Shadow of the Past'.)
 * In one of the most unaccountable changes in the story made by the screenplay is Sam's abandoning of Frodo after they had reached the top of the Stairs of Cirith Ungol. This did not happen in the book.  Frodo and Sam remained together and did not part until Frodo was taken into the Tower of Cirith Ungol.

In the West

 * In the confrontation with Saruman in the movie, Grima kills Saruman, whose body then falls to be spitted on a spiked wheel of one of his machines. Grima is killed by an arrow sent flying by Legolas.  In the book, Saruman survives to nearly the end of the story.  He eventually takes up residence in Frodo's own home at Bag End, which had until then been occupied by Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, but after his ruffians are overcome by the hobbits, Saruman is turned out.  Upon leaving he kicked Grima, which pushed Grima's hatred over the top, and he slew Saruman on the threshold of Bag End.  Grima was then slain by the hobbits.  Because the Battle of Bywater and the other events of the Shire were not filmed, a means of killing off Saruman and Grima had to be devised, and it was done at Saruman's home at Orthanc instead of Frodo's home at Bag End.
 * Arwen forsakes, briefly, her promise to Aragorn and departs Rivendell on the westward journey. In the book, she remains true to him even to the point of making for him a token of hope of his coming victory&mdash;a jeweled banner that was to become the standard of his royal house.
 * On returning from the confrontation with Saruman, the sons of Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir, along with thirty of the Dúnedain led by Halbarad, met Aragorn in the book and fought beside him as a special elite force for the remainder of the story. This included their being with him, Legolas, and Gimli when they took the Paths of the Dead.  On their journey from Rivendell, they had brought with them a banner that had been made for Aragorn by Arwen in hope of his victory.  In the movie, there was no such group of men.  No sons of Elrond were ever mentioned, and no Dúnedain.  The object that was brought from Rivendell was not a flag but the reforged sword of Isildur, and it was brought by Elrond himself.
 * On their journey from their muster at Dunharrow to Minas Tirith, the Rohirrim, in the book, encountered Ghân-buri-Ghân, the leader of the Drúedain. It was from him that Théoden learned that the main road to the White City was held against them by the army of Mordor.  The king was also told about a hidden road through the forest that would not only give them a covered approach to the city but would also place them near the walls of the city well inside the rearguard of the Orc army.  In the movie, the Rohirrim just go to Minas Tirith and show up there on the grasslands of the Pelennor.  There is no Orc army on the road to avoid, and there is no forest people from which to receive aid.