The Return of the King (Extended Edition): In the theatrical cut, when Aragorn beseeches the Army of the Dead to fight for him and break their curse, the scene cuts away and we don't find out what happens until the Corsair ships show up at Minas Tirith. In the extended edition, the scene continues with the King of the Dead laughing, and the Dead Men vanishing, and then Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli flee the Paths of the Dead before they're buried beneath a million skulls. The trio emerges outside, and Aragorn laments that he failed, and then suddenly the King of the Dead shows up and says: "We fight." And then we actually see them intercepting the Corsairs and taking their ships, which robs that whole storyline of any dramatic tension.
WTF? What was the point of all that? While I generally prefer the EEs over the TEs, in this instance the theatrical cut was superior.