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The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Widescreen)

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The Two Towers is a very complicated story. Fitting it into three hours can make some scenes seem a little rushed to those who have read the book (such as myself). That is my only problem with the theatrical edition. I really don't care about any of the changes (except maybe Aragorn falling off the cliff) because I understand why the makers made the changes, unlike "Tolkien Purists" who have not a clue the challenge of transfering a huge book with such a complicated plot to a 3 hour movie. Anyway, to the point, it was around 30 minutes added to the Fellowship on the Extended Edition. But this year, we are in for a bigger treat as 43 minutes will be added on to The Two Towers in the Extended Version. This edition will make the movie so much better as it will feel less rushed. I will, however, rent the theatrical for all the features that will not be included in the extended extras.

True Jackson did alter parts of the story. But either way, he did make a GREAT movie. If anything I think the changes, (i.e. Faramir's character, as well as the Ents, make much more drama in the movie). Remember, not everyone that saw these movies had read the books, we are talking about most of the globe....

I walked out into the light and am blinking my eyes. I have spent the last six days watching the Extended The Two Towers DVD. If you were pondering the worth of this DVD, it IS worth it.

My biggest problem with the Theatrical version of TTT were the Ents. They didn't seem to play as significant of a role in the film as they did in the book. I think they had maybe three or four scenes before the final battle. In the Extended version, this is fixed. The Ents, Merry, and Pippin now all have enough screen time to make them all present and memorable in the movie. More than any of the other extras, this is what made the film infinitely better for me.

I watched the Theatrical version so many times in the theater that, at first, some of the added scenes seemed a little out of place. No worries. By the time I finished my second viewing of it, the changes seemed very natural.

The commentary with Peter, Philippa, and Fran is wonderful. A lot of "purists" complain about plot and character changes. If you listen to the commentary, the writers/directors had wonderful justifications for the changes they made. Most of the character changes were made to add dramatic tension. Some plot points were changed simply due to lack of time/budget. I think the changes are well reasoned and, for myself, the explanations given are good enough. (In fact, the only bits I don't like are not even plot changes. I'm still bugged by the "olympic torch orc" and the "surfing Legalos". That was just silly.)

I loved the theatrical version of this film. I adore the new DVD version. I didn't think I could possibly like a movie more than this one...until I watched the second and third disc. Normally, I don't like "Behind the Scenes" bits. To me, they can ruin a movie. Often times I'll learn something like a castle or a space ship is a model. Then, when I go back and see the film, I'll always see the castle or spaceship as a model.

Not in this case. The Behind the Scenes section made me gain even more respect for this movie. What I thought was CG was a model. What I thought was a model was a set. What I thought was a mat painting was real. Seeing everyone on the effects crews working their fingers, quite literally, to the bone in order to give the audience a fantastic and detailed presentation was impressive. The detail they went through for something that may be on screen for less than two seconds was mind numbing. Detail so fine, and perfect, that the viewer won't even notice it most of the time. Such as the inlays on the inside of Theodin's armor. The inside!?!? I had thought that Barad Dur (the Dark Tower) was CG. Seeing them create the over 20 foot model with minute detail to be shot for but a few seconds...it was nothing short of amazing. Examples like that really give the viewer the impression that the people working on this film were: 1) doing something they loved, 2) really cared about the audience and the end product, and 3) wanted to produce something that would last and they could be proud of. It was inspiring to watch these people under pressure, literally until the minute before the film was due, to give us the best product they could, under the circumstances.

If you own any DVD, get this one. It has me salivating for Return of the King. The extras really bring some more human moments to the film. As a fan of the books, I'm a little worried about where they're going with the Eowyn, Aragorn, Arwen triangle. The Extended version makes the Eowyn attraction for Aragorn more obvious; and I hope they follow the relationships in the book in the last film. From the commentary, it sounds like they will. If they don't, every change they've done so far has worked for me. After watching the Behind the Scenes, I trust that they will do what they think is best.

I understand that mnay people love this series because they fell in love with the book as a kid. I am not one of those people. I never read the book because I like film better. Should I be punished for it? No. But I was. Like the first, Two Towers is inconsistent and jumbled. Go ahead, tell me that it's the middle of a trilogy and it will all become clear in the third one, but then this film by itself is not a good movie. It is an installment that lacks story and conherent character development. I wasn't lost while watching Empire or Doom or Godfather II and I shouldn't have had to read the book to know what was going on in this film.

Personally, I think it's silly to buy a movie for that price, because that's all it is...a movie (with some behind the scenes and "the making of" etc.) I mean I love LOTR as much as the next person, but that's it. I don't care to watch all that extra stuff, it's boring to me. This is what they always do for these masterpiece movies; they make a real special DVD package with all these documentaries and stuff just...booooring. Pretty soon it's gonna get real old and no one's gonna give into it.

I can see where some people have a problem with this film. Some of the events are inventions of the film makers and it isn't the perfect companion to the novel. But come on, this is an adaptation of a novel with such depth that it certainly appears to be impossible to translate, unchanged, to the big screen. I enjoy the film for what it is, a wonderfully emotional and engrossing tale, with very believable performances and top notch production values. It is in my opinion, the best middle part of a trilogy yet.

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...

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.

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.

I see two distinct type of reviews that have been made. Either people liked this movie, (and the other two), or they really did not. That is OK, but while some think that it sprang from D&D, they need realize that this book was copyrighted 1955. It is obvious that those who did not like the book would not have seen the movie so by natural extention, I believe that those so object to it, really never have read the books. This, (and the other two movies) are the pinnacle in movie technically, as well as visually stunning made to date. They are fantistic!