Yeah, that diminished the scene a little bit for me.
For me the most ripping scene had little dialogue and almost no movement.
It’s that bit after Bilbo leaves Bag End and we cut to Gandalf staring at the fire, smoking. He says, “Riddles in the dark.”
And the look on his face makes it clear that his mind is focused on the ring on the floor in the entryway. Just like when a girl you want but can’t have is at the same party as you. Your body is there but your mind is continually tracking where she is in relation to you.
Just one tiny cool thing, of the millions of cool things: in FOTR, in Moria, when the orcs are massing for the first time, and about to break down the door in the Chamber of Marzabul (right?)…and the fellowship draws their weapons…and Boromir twirls his sword as he draws it from its scabbard. It just defines the character so nicely – this is a man who is comfortable with using his sword.
My favorite scene in the books is when Grond breaks the gates of Minas Tirith, and the WK rides into the courtyard (on a horse, not a fell beast) and only Gandalf is there, on Shadowfax, to confront him. And the great dialog (back to the nothingness that awaits you and your master…this is my hour…) interrupted by the horns of Rohan.
I looked forward to that scene for 4 years; and was bitterly disappointed that it was cut (and apparently will be back, but different, in the EE). And I still love the movie.
Well, yes, there is. But not 4 times, so post some more and you’ll be OK. 
OK, here’s one no one mentioned:
Merry and Pippin getting “high” in Isengard:
Pippin : We are sitting on the field of victory, enjoying a few well-earned comforts.
Merry: blows out a cloud of smoke.
Hahaha, that cracked me up.
Many of the other ones listed here are my favorites as well:
The lighting of the beacon fires. This has been mentioned in many fantasy books and I always visualized it like that.
The Grey Havens were almost exactly like I saw them in my mind, although the ships were a little wimpier than I imagined.
Minas Morgul was killer, as was the secret stair.
One of my absolute favorite bits is when the ents attack. I love the image of nature fighting back against the unnatural activities there: the uprooting of trees, the birthing of monsters from the poisoned mud, stripping metals from the earth to make weapons. Trees, water, rocks, all coming back and reclaiming the place for good. I love the burning ent dunking itself in the water. Nature survives. It’s a fantastic, beautiful scene.
Every single freaking thing.
*Everything. *
Just a couple that haven’t been mentioned yet:
“Po-ta-toes!” 
The flashback with Boromir and Faramir. I love Boromir, and he comes across throughout the trilogy as very human–not a villain at all–which is something that could have been botched so easily.
The gift-giving with Galadriel was good (FOTR, EE), but for me the most wonderful line is from Gimli: “She gave me three.”
<nitpick> but where, oh where, is Sam’s box of dirt? <nitpick>
Too many moments to mention. I must watch them again–and can’t wait for ROTK EE!
So, what degree of dorkitude do I qualify for, seeing as how I keep reading this thread and getting myself choked up just reading about my favorite scenes? 
There are two movie moments in all of cinema-dom that make me cry every time I see them. One is Iron Giant’s “Superman”. The other is, of course…
“I can’t carry it for you. But I can carry you!”
Man. Chokes me up just thinking about it.
Jadis, me too.
And Kythereia, I think I love you.
When we say FOTR for the first time, Mr. Lissar started crying when Gandalf rides to Minas Tirith- because it’s Gondor! It’s real! It’s perfect! After that moment we relaxed about the whole trilogy. It was the moment when we both went from, “Oh, hell, if this movies sucks they’ve ruined the trilogy and I’m gonna have to find Peter Jackson and kill him”, to “This is perfect.”
The weeping women in the Glittering Caves. Yeah, the whole battle, really. Especially the aformentioned bit with arming the very old men and the boys.
Seeing Rivendell for the first time.
The Eagles picking up Sam and Frodo.
Umm… watching all the hours of commentary over and over with nit-picking geeky love.
Damn. Now I want to watch them. And I don’t have a tv or a dvd player.
The one thing that still really bothers me, because it seems like an enormous gaping plot hole, is (and I’ve asked this before) where the hell do their horses go, you know, at the battle of the Black Gate? They ride up, and Aragorn shouts “Let the Lord of the Black Lands come forth, and let justice be done upon him!”, and they ride back, and then at the charge they don’t have their horses any more!
Someone come up with a good explanation, please. Please.
“Dont follow the lights” was in the Dead Marshes; the Path of the Dead was the cavern Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli marched through so the King could hold the ghosts to their debt.
Someone farted?
OK, OK, how about this: Perhaps the huge army of orcs scared’em off, and this is a scene that will make sense once we all see the EE.
And where do Pippin’s bonds go after he crawls away from the orcs and when the rearing horse is just above his face?
From ROTK, Legolas and Gimli before the Black Gate:
Gimli: I never thought I’d die fighting next to an elf.
Legolas: How about, next to a friend?
Some of the best dialog was original to Jackson, Boyens & Walsh. Woven together with the best of the Professor’s…nice job, guys.
Um, yeah. I knew that. I guess my fingers didn’t, though.
Paths of the Dead Marcias. Got it. 
Sean Bean’s work as Boromir - such a tricky role to play without mugging for the camera or resorting to cartoon villainy, but he nailed it. One of the great movie death scenes of all time.
A favourite is the sequence, not in the book, where he teaches Merry and Pippin how to fight, while Aragorn lies back and smiles approvingly. A note to George Lucas; this is a load-bearing scene - it shows Boromir in a human light, establishes his affection for the young hobbits so his later redemption by dying to save them is even more plausible, shows that, at least in the early stages, this is a real Fellowship, and finally gives a reasonable explanation of how the hobbits learnt to fight. All done in under a minute, with a minimum of dialogue and no visual effects. Respect.
Favourite visual moment is in the Prancing Pony, as the hobbbits see Strider for the first time, a hooded and shadowy figure smoking quietly in the corner: as he inhales on his pipe, his eyes briefly reflect the glow. That was exactly as I had visualised it from reading the books, and the first time I thought, “This isn’t just a movie of Lord Of The Rings. This IS Lord Of The Rings.”
Except that the scene was loaded with visual tricks to shrink the hobbits. However, they never called attention to themselves, in fact there’s only 3 shots in the whole trilogy where seams appeared in the hobbit shrinkery and that I think is a greater accomplishment than all the Jar-Jar Binks in the world!
Pippin pulling Faramir from the flames in Minas Tirith.
“The beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!” “And Rohan will answer.”
Eowyn on the Pelennor fields as Theoden is encouraging his men and hitting their spears with his sword - she tries to look away so he can’t see her. And the tears behind the helm as she cries “DEATH!” along with the others… wow.
The scene where Denethor is sending Faramir back to Osgiliath. Everything about it is perfect. Denethor eating noisily while Pippin sings through his sadness, and his son rides out, wanting to die.
The moment when it starts to rain at Helm’s Deep.
The arrival of Aragorn and company at Edoras. The music in the scene, where the banner rips off next to Eowyn and floats down to Aragorn’s feet, is wonderful. The entire score of the trilogy is great, actually. The music fits everything perfectly, from marching orcs to hobbit parties to the glory of Minas Tirith in the sunrise.
And pretty much everything about Gandalf and Bilbo. Those actors are amazing, and made those characters real.