Did I just see 'Gandalf' throw 'Denethor' into the pyre?

[hobbit punk]

I remember the first time I saw RotK the staff whack kept me in complete shock for at least five minutes. My friend who hadn't read the books leaned over and asked if that was in the books. I just shook my head and was like nooooooooooooo and my friend was like well, I like it! All the non-book people loved the staff whack so I think it was used as a device to get the audience to chuckle. I thought it was below Gandalf to beat the crap out of the Steward of Gondor but maybe he was just defending Pippin. When Denethor ran off the cliff in flames I was very disappointed. I loved the part in the book where he breaks his staff and we see the palantir. With him running off the cliff, it robbed him of an honorable death. Sure, what he was doing wasn't exactly honorable but it seemed very disrespectful to change his death scene like that. The closed doors and the scream are much more effective. People in my theatre laughed as well when he jumped to his doom. I enjoyed the film more the second time I saw it, which was yesterday, but the one part I can never see myself enjoying is the Denethor death scene.