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I've just seen the LotR Extended Edition, and one thing that's really struck me is that, just as with the book, it's almost pointless viewing these films as three separate entities. Actually, one other thing's struck me: it's almost pointless discussing the theatrical releases as finished works.
There are a couple of bits in TT that make no sense without a knowledge of the book or the LotR DVD. First is Pippin dropping the brooch as a trail for Aragorn and his response. We don't know that this came from the Elves, yet Aragorn still makes reference to that fact. The second is Frodo and Sam hiding under the Elven cloak. Again, we don't know that it's an Elven cloak, we don't know that it's endowed with power, so the disguise comes across as a cheesy, contrived means out of a script trap.
The theatrical relesae of TT is an odd cut in a number of ways, but mostly because it presumes the viewer has seen the DVD already. Certainly, the Aragorn/Arwen relationship is played up a lot more on the DVD and I get the feeling that all of Arwen's scenes are hangovers from this. Jackson's allowed himself to get written into a corner in the first film, maiking that relationship one of the main focal points and it needs resolving. It just didn't need resolving in this cut.
ITEM 2: Love how the fact that Elves die is sooo much more tragic than all the shitloads of Men that also bite the big one. Because they're eternal, athletic and very, very pretty, right? A little echo of Black Hawk Down et al, IMAnachronisticallyAllegoricO. Some animals are more equal than others...
Weeelllll, no, not really. We see plenty of Elves go down during the battle and it's the one death that we focus in on, the death of the guy who's leading the Elven archers and is matey with Aragorn. Aragorn seems to be this film's main character, so it's natural that something that affects him is going to have a bit more time spent on it.
As for the question of why the Elves were there at all, that goes back to the point about having to take all three films as a whole. Jackson may well have had a good reason for this, but it'll take until the third part to find out.
ITEM 3: More Dwarf tossing. Because the line got a big laugh in the first film, right?
A lot of people have complained about this, and I'll admit it was something that I thought was a little cheap at first. You've got to look at it in context. It was always going to happen at some point, the line in the first film begs for a response later on. It also forms about 120 seconds of six and a half hours (so far) worth of film. If there's a problem with it, it's that Gimli is given little else to do in TT, making the comedy stand out that much more.
It's very annoying that we don't get the proper film until the DVD release. The logic that states that an audience will sit on its arse in front of a screen for three hours, but not twenty minutes more, is deeply flawed. It's also plain dumb making the cut down version the only option if you want to watch it on the big screen, all the time totally aware that you're watching an abridged version. 'Extended Edition' is a complete misnomer; it'd be a more true reflection of the state of events if the theatrical release was subtitled 'Chopped Edition'.
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