That opening is so perfect. After the prologue, we see the map of middle earth which establishes the audience on where things are and it explains hobbits SO much better. It’s perfect. Everytime I see it, I’m left wondering “how?” How could PJ have cut this scene? It’s 2 minutes of essential exposition about where we are who and what Hobbits are.

I saw this movie 6 times in theatres, but I was a book reader. I went once with my sister who is not a book reader and she didn’t care for it. She couldn’t stand the hobbits. They got on her nerves. A few years later I managed to show her the extended cut and now she’s a bigger Tolkien fanatic than I am. Everytime she says it’s the concerning hobbits narration/sequence that immediately changed her mind. So I figure, ok, that’s 1 anecdotal example.

But I swear to you it happened again! My girlfriend had only seen the theatrical cut and she also didn’t really like the hobbits. It took some convincing but we finally watched Fellowship 2 weeks ago and again she said the opening narration made her fall in love with the shire/hobbits in a way she never did before. We’ve now made our way through the entire saga.

Now obviously, these movies were huge and Oscar winners so I really can’t say adding this moment would’ve made a difference. But out of all the extended scenes in the extended cut it’s the only sequence where I think PJ made a huge mistake not leaving it in. Obviously I would’ve preferred all the scenes he cut be left in, but I understand why he cut them(more or less. Why he cut Boromir/Aargorn’s introduction to make Boromir seem like an idiot is something I’ll never understand. But it doesn’t hurt the film per se). Leaving “concerning Hobbits” out hurts the film. It does a lot of exposition heavy lifting and establishes the shire is a much more interesting way. It explains Hobbits for those who have not read the book. It’s essential. Without it I’m guessing more than a few people(beyond the 2 I know personally) were left thinking Hobbits were a bit childish and perhaps a little annoying, or obtuse, for no reason.

After only watching the extended cuts for years I went back and tried to watch the theatrical and my god. It feels so choppy that it’s hard to watch. In some places it’s like they artificially sped the footage and dialogue up. Especially in the Frodo/Gandalf carriage ride to Bag End.

There are scenes and sequences in the extended cuts of Two Towers(Old Man Willow) and Return of the King that I could do without. But the Fellowship Extended Cut? It’s perfect. Perfect.