When it comes to extended versions of the other two films, I appreciate virtually every extra scene and shot that was added, but I tend to feel the exact opposite about many of the added The Return of the King.
Perhaps the best example of this is the confrontation between the Witch-king of Angmar and Gandalf during the siege of Minas Tirith.
In the extended edition of The Return of the KingJust before the epic ride of the Rohirrim, Gandalf and Pippin are trying to reach the mad Denethor when the Witch-king lands before them. The Nazgul draws a fiery sword from its scabbard, releasing a force that single-handedly shatters Gandalf’s staff into pieces.
Not only does this not happen in the original, but in the book, after learning that Éowyn is dying after her battle with the Witch-king, Gandalf regrets that he was not the one to face the Nazgul, believing that this may have been his destiny.
And before you cite the rule “No man can kill him”: That’s true. But in Tolkien’s mythos, wizards are not like in Harry Potter – humans who learn magic. Wizards are angelic beings and therefore not “humans” in the sense that they are not human. In that sense, Gandalf is just as much a “nobody” as Eowyn and probably could have defeated the Witch-king.
It would be one thing if Gandalf and the Witch-king were featured in the expanded edition of The Return of the King that Gandalf could lose in the end (and survive). But having his staff destroyed just because the other guy draws his sword? Nope – let them have a real fight or just leave it alone.
