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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Countdown to November Begins, Aug 30 2003
Yes, the title says "Countdown to November", not December, when the "Return of the King" finally hits the big screens, but November, when fans of the Lord of the Rings trilogy can get their hands on "The Two Towers: Special Extended Edition", the entire movie that includes over forty minutes of extra film footage included in the theatrical release version. Many may think this review is not helpful (mostly because its being written before the Special Edition is for sale), but its here because many people are buying the standard theatrical version, seemingly without realising that a better and bigger edition is on its way. The 'sneak preview' for the Extended Edition - or the advertisment for it, if you prefer - can be seen on the theatrical release DVD, just as the the Extended 'Fellowship' preview was on last year's DVD, and if you fell into the trap of having to buy two DVDs in 2002, then don't let it happen again with "The Two Towers"!My suggestion is to rent the theatrical release, in order to enjoy the movie and the special features, including trailors, interviews, music videos, and previews of both the Return of the King and the Extended Edition. This should whet your appetite and anticipation long enough for November, when you can purchase the four-disc set with all its extra goodies. The only reason I'm writing this warning is that my father almost brought the theatrical release DVD, but was very relieved afterwards when I warned him and we ended up renting it, wherein he saw the preview for the Extended Edition. His exact words were: "I would have been so annoyed if I had brought this version!" For those who don't already know, the Extended Edition is set to be excellent. The "Fellowship" Extended cut had only thirty minutes of extra footage - here we get forty! Included in the cut (and this information is taken from the DVD preview and many internet sources) are:
* Merry and Pippen growing taller due to Treebeard's Ent-draughts.
* the stunning and elabourate funeral of Theoden's son Theodred.
* a pivotal 'flashback' scene between Boromir, Faramir and their father Denethor in Osgiliath, which clearly shows the somewhat strained family dynamic, and may help to make Faramir's motives in forcefully taking Frodo and the Ring to his city more sympathetic.
* Saruman looking over a book that identifies Aragorn as the "Lost King of Gondor"
* Frodo, Sam and Gollum escaping from Osgiliath via the sewers
* Merry, Pippen and Treebeard exploring the ruins of Isengard (and finding its larder!)
* The Ents (or was in the Huorns? - sorry, I can't recall) rounding up the last of the orcs on the borders of Helm's Deep.
* Eomer finding his cousin wounded in the orc ambush
* Gandalf and Aragorn discussing his fate
* Sam and Frodo using Galadriel's elvish rope to scale a cliff-face
* Aragorn taming the deceased Theodred's horse Brego and releasing him into the wild (yes, that's the horse that rescues him after he falls off the cliff)
* Legolas and Gimli sitting amoungst the dead orcs outside Helm's Deep after the battle.
* Aragorn reluctantly swallowing a stew that Eowyn has dished up.
* Faramir finding the boat containing Boromir's body and the Horn of Gondor cloven in two.
* More Aragorn and Arwen love scenes (*rolls eyes*) These are the main ones, to the best of my memory, but certainly not the only ones - there should be more dialouge inserted into already existing conversation, more battle scenes, and of course added music composed by Howard Shore. The Countdown begins to November...
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Towering, Mar 4 2007
When the first film in the epic "Lord of the Rings" trilogy thrilled fans and topped the box office for weeks, expectations rose even higher for the sequel, "The Two Towers." Would the follow-up be as beautifully crafted as the first?
Fortunately moviegoers only had to wait a year for the answer, when "The Two Towers" debuted in December 2002. The second part of Peter Jackson's astounding adaptation lacks the surprise of the first movie, but it continues the strong storytelling, amazing acting, and one of the greatest battles of the silver screen.
The fellowship has been split, and two members are dead. Now Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) are pursuing a band of orcs who kidnapped Merry and Pippin (Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd). But soon Merry and Pippin are rescued by an ancient treelike creature, and the others encounter an old friend -- Gandalf (Ian McKellen), reborn as the White Wizard.
Meanwhile, Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) are making their way towards Mordor, and soon Frodo realizes that they are being followed by Gollum (Andy Serkis), who once possessed the One Ring and still lusts after it. But Frodo begins to pity the degenerate creature, and agrees to let Gollum lead them to Mount Doom -- but Sam suspects that Gollum cannot be trusted.
"The Two Towers" is not really a sequel. Instead, it's just a continuation of the story that left off at the end of "Fellowship of the Ring," and the focus spreads past our little band of heroes to include all of Middle-Earth. It's not all about Frodo and the hobbits anymore, but about whole kingdoms being crushed by the bad guys.
This film is much darker than the first movie, although we still get some funny moments from Gollum and the hobbits, but some creepy ones as well. Gollum/Smeagol's argument with himself is absolutely chilling. To top his previous work, Jackson creates three simultaneous climaxes, including the grimy, rain-soaked battle of Helm's Deep.
But as he tells the epic stories, Jackson doesn't neglect the smaller stories, like the hobbits befriending treelike ents and battling a wizard. The scripting is impeccable, mixing the funny moments ("Don't talk to it! Don't encourage it!" Pippin wails when a "tree" speaks to them) with the dramatic speeches, and ending with a simple, powerful speech by Sam.
And WETA Workshop's CGI effects don't disappoint. Not only do they manage whole armies and battles, but they brought the gruesome Gollum to life. He's probably the first convincing CGI character, to the point where you can actually forget that this Ring junkie is just a bunch of pixels.
Elijah Wood continues his magnificent performance as Frodo Baggins, with the deep friendship, compassion and weariness that he started to show before. But his performance deepens to include some serious Ring-lust. Sean Astin's performance grows as well, as he does whatever it takes to protect Frodo -- from soldiers, Gollum, ringwraiths, whatever.
But the supporting cast gets plenty of attention too, including a love triangle involving Aragorn and the warrior-maid Eowyn, and Legolas and Gimli becoming best buddies (even competing to see who kills the most orcs). McKellen gets to play "Gandalf 2.0," a less grumpy and wiser Gandalf, and movie veteran Christopher Lee gets more juicy scenes as the warped wizard Saruman. The scene where he sees the ents attacking is outstanding.
The journey continues in "The Two Towers," crammed with so much action and pathos that it never has time to suffer from "middle chapter syndrome." An amazing continuation.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
The story continues, Feb 23 2007
When the first film in the epic "Lord of the Rings" trilogy thrilled fans and topped the box office for weeks, expectations rose even higher for the sequel, "The Two Towers." Would the follow-up be as beautifully crafted as the first?
Fortunately moviegoers only had to wait a year for the answer, when "The Two Towers" debuted in December 2002. The second part of Peter Jackson's astounding adaptation lacks the surprise of the first movie, but it continues the strong storytelling, amazing acting, and one of the greatest battles of the silver screen.
The fellowship has been split, and two members are dead. Now Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) are pursuing a band of orcs who kidnapped Merry and Pippin (Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd). But soon Merry and Pippin are rescued by an ancient treelike creature, and the others encounter an old friend -- Gandalf (Ian McKellen), reborn as the White Wizard.
Meanwhile, Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) are making their way towards Mordor, and soon Frodo realizes that they are being followed by Gollum (Andy Serkis), who once possessed the One Ring and still lusts after it. But Frodo begins to pity the degenerate creature, and agrees to let Gollum lead them to Mount Doom -- but Sam suspects that Gollum cannot be trusted.
"The Two Towers" is not really a sequel. Instead, it's just a continuation of the story that left off at the end of "Fellowship of the Ring," and the focus spreads past our little band of heroes to include all of Middle-Earth. It's not all about Frodo and the hobbits anymore, but about whole kingdoms being crushed by the bad guys.
This film is much darker than the first movie, although we still get some funny moments from Gollum and the hobbits, but some creepy ones as well. Gollum/Smeagol's argument with himself is absolutely chilling. To top his previous work, Jackson creates three simultaneous climaxes, including the grimy, rain-soaked battle of Helm's Deep.
But as he tells the epic stories, Jackson doesn't neglect the smaller stories, like the hobbits befriending treelike ents and battling a wizard. The scripting is impeccable, mixing the funny moments ("Don't talk to it! Don't encourage it!" Pippin wails when a "tree" speaks to them) with the dramatic speeches, and ending with a simple, powerful speech by Sam.
And WETA Workshop's CGI effects don't disappoint. Not only do they manage whole armies and battles, but they brought the gruesome Gollum to life. He's probably the first convincing CGI character, to the point where you can actually forget that this Ring junkie is just a bunch of pixels.
Elijah Wood continues his magnificent performance as Frodo Baggins, with the deep friendship, compassion and weariness that he started to show before. But his performance deepens to include some serious Ring-lust. Sean Astin's performance grows as well, as he does whatever it takes to protect Frodo -- from soldiers, Gollum, ringwraiths, whatever.
But the supporting cast gets plenty of attention too, including a love triangle involving Aragorn and the warrior-maid Eowyn, and Legolas and Gimli becoming best buddies (even competing to see who kills the most orcs). McKellen gets to play "Gandalf 2.0," a less grumpy and wiser Gandalf, and movie veteran Christopher Lee gets more juicy scenes as the warped wizard Saruman. The scene where he sees the ents attacking is outstanding.
This edition contains both versions of the movie -- the original, shorter theatrical version, and the second extended edition with lots of extra footage. While the first one has nostalgia value, the second is undoubtedly the best.
The extra scenes cause the movie to cleave more closely to the original novel, although the handling of the Faramir character comes as a mild shock. Extra scenes are inserted, like Merry and Pippin enjoying the ents' hospitality. There is also a special documentary filmed behind the scenes, apparently to draw in completists who need everything made about "Lord of the Rings."
The journey continues in "The Two Towers," crammed with so much action and pathos that it never has time to suffer from "middle chapter syndrome." An amazing continuation.
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