10 Essential Movie Scenes Only Available In Extended Cuts

Any fans of Middle Earth should have seen this one coming, and to this day it's still a huge sore point for both fans and those who made the film.

It's genuinely an insult to fans that Saruman's death was excised from the theatrical cut of The Return of the King. Aside from the looming terror of Sauron, Saruman is the chief antagonist of both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, so to leave his fate ambiguous and not offer closure to his story beggars belief.

At the end of The Two Towers, we see one of Sauron's towers being set-upon by TreeBeard and his legion of companions, much to the horror of Saruman, who stands atop the tower looking down suitably concerned.

In the theatrical cut of The Return of the King, it's simply implied that Saruman was killed off-screen during the assault and little-to-no mention of him is made throughout, but should you choose the objectively better Extended Edition, you'll be treated to his swift comeuppance.

The decision to cut this scene greatly angered Christopher Lee, who supposedly didn't attend the film's premier out of contempt for such an important part of the story being needlessly cut.