I can easily recall two slightly misquotes:
Movie: In Lothlórien, Lego explans about the Lament for Gandalf "I have not the heart to tell you, for me the grief is still too near."
Book: It's paraphrazed and say that Legolas' reason for not translating the Lament was "he had not the skill nor the heart to tell them, for him the grief was still too near; a matter still for tears, not yet for song."
(1,2,3...) Awwwwwwwww, that would've been so great in the movie. I can understand leaving out the skill part, but why the matter still for tears part?
Movie: When Éomer meets with Aragorn and Co., "I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood a little higher from the ground."
Book: "I would cut off your head, Master Dwarf, beard and all, if it stood a little higher from the ground."
Leaving out Master...okay...to make modern movie-goers not feel out of place, but why leave out the 'beard and all'? They already have the "Not the beard!" that everyone would remember.
And then of course, Celeborn steals Legolas' line (that should be used in the next movie) about the Uruks traveling in the sunlight. That I understand, it works. And Arwen says the "Isildur's heir, not Isildur himself" line that is actually Aragorn's from the Counsil, but that too is understandable.
One thing of switching lines around that really gets me is in RotK:
Movie: Aragorn and Gandalf are talking in Edoras about Frodo's quest. Aragorn: "What does your heart tell you?"
Book: Gandalf is talking to Pippin and asks him the same question. Let me say that again: he's talking with Pippin!! They change around the lines so that Gandalf's words of comfort and wisdom are said to him, when they were supposed to be said to Pippin, the Tom-fool of a Took!
Oh yeah, and another reassigning of lines that I hate: "So fair, fair and cold, like a morning of pale spring still clinging to winter's chill." (I know even that is slightly changed from the book, but I actually like the change.) In the book, this is thought by Aragorn, and who gets this line, the line gorgeous beyond reason, in the movie? Gríma! So you're like "Oh that's so gorgeous, but you can't like it because Mr. Slime-ball is saying it." I say change Aragorn's "daughter of Kings" to "fair and cold...." and make up something cool, but when you think about it: perverted, for Gríma to say.
Oh, and slightly on topic: "The very warmth of my blood seems stolen away." I think they just thought this line was really cool and from the books, and so stuck it rather crudely as Aragorn and Co. are approaching the Door of the Dead. Listen to it the next time you watch it: Nothing is said leading up to that, and nothing is said afterwards. And actually, the line is Beregond's when the Nazgûl's shadow falls on Minas Tirith. Gimli, at the Door of the Dead, says "My blood runs chill." Close, but not in the gold. Yes, "the very warmth of my blood seems stolen away" is as Tolkien-quese a line as you could ask for, but when it's so haphazardly stuck into the movie, it's distracting.
But all of that's just ranting. As to why they did this? I have no idea...
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