[The Saucepan Man]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> But if Jackson DID follow the books and finish TT as Tolkien did, then we would have been given the best cliffhanger in Cinema History.<P>"Frodo was alive but taken by the Enemy" <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I can see your point, Essex, but I nevertheless think that it was the right decision to move Shelob to RotK. I gave my reasons for this in a rather lengthy post on the <A HREF="http://forum.barrowdowns.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=4&t=002331" TARGET=_blank>What would you as a director have done better? </A> thread. But since my post unfortunately seems to have killed that thread off ( ), I will repeat them here:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Of course, many would say that Shelob should have been in the film for this very purpose. But it seems to me that there was never going to be enough time have the Hobbits and Gollum ascend to the pass of Cirith Ungol, for them to see the Black Army marching from Minas Morgul, and to have their encounter with Shelob. Even if there had been no journey to Osgiliath, the scenes at Henneth Annun would have needed extending, to build up Faramir’s character. To have Shelob tacked onto the end of the film would mean that she would, in my view, have insufficient screen time to do her justice. Also, it makes more sense for the audience to see Sauron’s forces, led by the Witch King, march down from Minas Morgul at the beginning of RotK, since it is the precursor to the Seige of Minas Tirith and the Battle of Pelennor Fields. And I still think that Shelob is going to provide a fantastic curtain raiser for the third film. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Sorry, I realise that I am wandering rather off-topic here. But moving Shelob to RotK is relevant to the running-time for that film and does therefore have <I>some</I> bearing on the question of whether or not the Scouring should have been in TTT.