Customer Reviews

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Widescreen Extended Edition) (4 Discs)

5 star:		(604)
4 star:		(81)
3 star:		(34)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(40)

 

 

FEATURE (approx. 214 minutes) -
A new version of the second installment in the epic trilogy! The film includes over 40 minutes of never-before-seen footage incorporated into the film, made especially for this video release:

Widescreen (2.35:1) version of the Special Extended Edition
Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Surround Sound
DTS ES 6.1 Surround Sound
Stereo Surround Sound
Four audio commentaries by director and writers, the design team the production team and the cast featuring more than 30 participants including Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom and Academy Award® winners Richard Taylor, Howard Shore, Randy Cook...and many more

DISCS 3-4: THE APPENDICES

Two discs with hours of original content including multiple documentaries and design/photo galleries with thousands of images to give viewers an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers:

DISC 3
Adapting the book into a screenplay & planning the film
Designing and inspiration for locations in Middle-earth
Storyboards to pre-visualization
Weta Workshop visit - See sculptors in action as they create the weapons, armor, creatures and miniatures from the film
Atlas of Middle-earth: Tracing the journey of the Fellowship
An interactive map of New Zealand highlighting the location scouting process
Galleries of art and slideshows with commentaries by the artists
And much more!

DISC 4
Sending actors to battle - preparation for sword fighting
Principal photography: Stories from the set
Digital effects including motion capture and "Massive" (a program to create armies of Orcs)
"Bigatures" - A close-up look at the detailed miniatures used in the film
Galleries of behind-the-scenes photographs and personal cast photos
Post-production - editing it all together
Sound design demonstration
And much more!

DVD-ROM CONTENT: Includes access to exclusive online features

The extra features are a delight for fans. You can enter Middle-Earth for hours on end. I love the making of this film far more than the actual movie, which is a disappointment to Tolkien fans. But since I'm focusing on the DVD we won't get into the actual movie. The features are fantastic, especially the making of Gollum. Some of the methods for his creation are hilarious. But the biggest disappointment of this DVD is that there are no trailers! Not a single one for The Two Towers or even a little peak at Return of the King. Therefore, the first release of this DVD is better since you get the trailers, and a peak at Return of the King. On top of that, the additional footage does little to improve this film.

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is the second installment in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. But what does this Epic of a film treat us with if we purchase this Special Extended Edition of the DVD?

Well, this review is about to tell you!

DISCS 1-2: THE FEATURE

FEATURE (approx. 214 minutes) -
A new version of the second installment in the epic trilogy! The film includes over 40 minutes of never-before-seen footage incorporated into the film, made especially for this video release:

-Widescreen (2.35:1) version of the Special Extended Edition

-Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Surround Sound

-DTS ES 6.1 Surround Sound

-Stereo Surround Sound

-Four audio commentaries by director and writers, the design team the production team and the cast featuring more than 30 participants including Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom and Academy Award® winners Richard Taylor, Howard Shore, Randy Cook...and many more

DISCS 3-4: THE APPENDICES

Two discs with hours of original content including multiple documentaries and design/photo galleries with thousands of images to give viewers an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers:

DISC 3
-Adapting the book into a screenplay & planning the film

-Designing and inspiration for locations in Middle-earth

-Storyboards to pre-visualization

-Weta Workshop visit - See sculptors in action as they create the weapons, armor, creatures and miniatures from the film

-Atlas of Middle-earth: Tracing the journey of the Fellowship

-An interactive map of New Zealand highlighting the location scouting process

-Galleries of art and slideshows with commentaries by the artists

And much more!

DISC 4
-Sending actors to battle - preparation for sword fighting

-Principal photography: Stories from the set

-Digital effects including motion capture and "Massive" (a program to create armies of Orcs)

-"Bigatures" - A close-up look at the detailed miniatures used in the film

-Galleries of behind-the-scenes photographs and personal cast photos

-Post-production - editing it all together

-Sound design demonstration

And much more!

DVD-ROM CONTENT: Includes access to exclusive online features

I for one will be purchasing this Special Extended Version come November 18th. The Special Extended Version of Fellowship of the Rings was definately the best buy of DVD's in 2002 and I believe this will be no exception. Come onnnn...I know you wanna buy it! We all need out PRECIOUS!

I have seen all three films in theatre and own the Fellowship on the 4 DVD special edition... To make a film on this scale is an achievment .. more than 7 years spent and the results show.. unfortunately i disagree with those who call it a masterpiece.. It is boring.. plain and simple.. as an aspiring screenwriter i find that any film which relies so much on CGI and believes filmgoers come solely to see fantasy/action sequences and not hear a story is taking us for granted.. the book has a superb sructure. will not discuss it here.. but it slowly builds up and takes you on the journey with the characters.. every character from Aragorn to merry and pippin are shaped so well by Tolkien.. The film fails becasue it does not have a structure which involves the audience.. We are just taken through a series of action pieces in the first film.. the second film does better but not much while the third film-climax is more absorbing but because of the first two stinkers a first timer loses the plot.. On my own part I loved the Arwyn-Aragorn story, the scene where she sees him and thier child is possibly my favourite moment in the film.. pure cinema.. wordless and says everything.. A few personal notes of why you may want to pick up the DVD.. the making of the film is nothing short of amazing.. the DVDS 3 and 4 are chock pakced with info about the pre-prod, prod and post and are must have for thier extensive detailing about the prokject.. well worth the money to anyone who wants to find about the hardwork and effort that goes into making a film.. Should the lord of the Rings have been written by a professional screenwriter who understands the craft and structure of an epic.. which is what the LOTR is.. YES.. I think Peter Jackson is a brilliant filmmaker and his hardwork shows but him and Franz Walsh shine through in only certain moments when they don't let the CGI steal the human element from the film.. Having said that pick up the DVD, at that price it's a steal whether you're a lord of the rings afficiando or just a lover of films... On my own part I would have loved the LOTR as a series of six films with each book being divided into 2 parts and each part at 3 hours.. it would have been a more fulfilling experience.. but then that's what i think...

Okay, this was not a BAD film. Of course not -- but as a fan of not only film one, but also the books, fantasy, and even Jackson, I just found this, well, not what I wanted. Battle scenes galore. But it's a war movie. With just a little bit of story thrown in here and there. Sorry -- impressed, but not won over.

I have watched the first one, and much of the second one. I really wanted to like it because it is so respected. But I really don't get the appeal. Sure, the effects are great. But the story and the dialogue are as interesting as watching grass grow. If you know you are a fantasy or a Tolkien fan, go for it. Otherwise...

I don't know, I liked these movies when they hit the theater but the second time around through this series it's really hard to stomach all the eye gazing and crying between sam and frodo. too bad because there's a lot of awesome stuff in these movies that ends up getting ruined by these garbage scenes of those two affirming their love and dependency.

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.