Over The Lord of the Rings' three movies, there were several evil villains. From Saruman and his Orc-making machinations to the Witch-king's constant pursuit of Frodo, there was no shortage of big-name baddies. However, Sauron was always the overarching villain. He spent most of the movies as a disembodied figure, but the threat of his power was unmatchable. And being seen by his flame-wreathed eye was like being stabbed with daggers.
The only time that Sauron was seen in the flesh was during The Fellowship of the Ring's opening sequence. It showed the Battle of Dagorlad, as Gil-galad's Elves and Elendil's Men laid siege to Barad-dûr. At the last, Sauron himself came forth and did battle. The Dark Lord overpowered his enemies until Isildur cut the One Ring from Sauron's extended hand. That relieved him of his power and sent his evil spirit flying away. The thing is, that's not exactly how that fight went down.
How Gil-galad and Elendil Defeated Sauron
In the books, Sauron was already defeated when Isildur cut the One Ring from his hand. So, what actually happened? The Silmarillion says this: "[Sauron] wrestled with Gil-galad and Elendil, and they both were slain, and the sword of Elendil broke under him as he fell. But Sauron also was thrown down." So, it's clear that the combined might of Gil-galad (who was on The Rings of Power) and Elendil was enough to defeat Sauron, though they were killed in so doing.
FOTR's opening sequence didn't show Sauron's fight with Gil-galad and Elendil, but the original version of the scene did. While there isn't any footage available, there are photographs that prove parts of the climactic duel were filmed. And they prove that it would have easily been Sauron's most brutal scene in the whole trilogy.
Why Gil-galad's Death Was Cut From LOTR
The photo in question showed Sauron lifting Gil-galad by the throat, but it wasn't just the Dark Lord's strength on display. It was the moment that Gil-galad died. A section from FOTR's "The Council of Elrond" chapter says this: "The Ring misseth, maybe, the heat of Sauron's hand, which was black and yet burned like fire, and so Gil-galad was destroyed." So, while Sauron was lifting Gil-galad, he was using his bare hand to burn the Elven king to death. Including that scene would have been brutal, but it would have spoken volumes about Sauron's natural power.
Unfortunately, Gil-galad's death scene was cut, but the creative choice does make sense. As Gil-galad actor Mark Ferguson explains in this YouTube video, it made little sense to focus on the Elven king when he was simply going to die. Instead, the final cut made it seem like Elrond was in charge of the Elvish army. While that wasn't book-accurate, it gave Elrond (who had a prominent role in LOTR) a combat ethos that validated his character's wisdom later in the film. So, while seeing Sauron in his most brutal form would have been awe-inspiring, it made better sense to streamline the scene.