Search - The Lord Of the Rings: The Two Towers [Fullscreen]

The second film in Peter Jackson's series of screen adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's internationally popular -Lord of The Rings trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers literally begins where The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ended, with the Fellowship splitting into three groups as they seek to return the Ring to Mordor, the forbidding land where the powerful talisman must be taken to be destroyed. Frodo (Elijah Wood), who carries the Ring, and his fellow Hobbit Sam (Sean Astin) are lost in the hills of Emyn Muil when they encounter Gollum (Andy Serkis), a strange creature who once carried the Ring and was twisted by its power. Gollum volunteers to guide the pair to Mordor; Frodo agrees, but Sam does not trust their new acquaintance. Elsewhere, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) are attempting to navigate Fangorn Forrest where they discover a most unusual nemesis -- Treebeard (voice of John Rhys-Davies), a walking and talking tree-shepherd who doesn't much care for Hobbits. Finally, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) arrive in Rohan to discover that the evil powers of Saruman (Christopher Lee) have robbed King Theoden (Bernard Hill) of his rule. The King's niece Éowyn (Miranda Otto) believes Aragorn and his men have the strength to defeat Saruman, his henchman Wormtongue (Brad Dourif), and their minions. Éowyn soon becomes infatuated with Aragorn, while he struggles to stay faithful to the pledge of love he made to Arwen (Liv Tyler). Gandalf (Ian McKellen) offers his help and encouragement as the Rohans, under Aragorn's leadership, attempt to face down Saruman's armies, but they soon discover how great the task before them truly is when they learn that his troops consist of 10,000 bloodthirsty creatures specially bred to fight to the death. Most of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was shot in tandem with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King during a marathon 18-month shooting schedule, overseen by Peter Jackson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Elijah Wood - Frodo Baggins
Ian McKellen - Gandalf
Liv Tyler - Arwen
Viggo Mortensen - Aragorn
Sean Astin - Samwise Gamgee
Cate Blanchett - Galadriel

2002	Best Composer (nominee)	Broadcast Film Critics Association	Howard Shore
2002	Best Director (nominee)	Golden Globe	Peter Jackson
2002	Best Director (nominee)	Directors Guild of America	Peter Jackson
2002	Best Art Direction (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Grant Major
2002	Best Editing (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Michael Horton
2002	Best Picture (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Barrie M. Osborne
2002	Best Sound (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Christopher Boyes
2002	Best Sound Editing (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Michael Hopkins
2003	Best Score (nominee)	Broadcast Film Critics Association	Howard Shore
2002	Best Visual Effects (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Jim Rygiel
2002	Best Visual Effects (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Joe Letteri
2002	Best Visual Effects (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Randall William Cook
2002	Best Visual Effects (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Alex Funke
2002	Best Sound Editing (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Ethan Van der Ryn
2002	Best Sound (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Michael Semanick
2002	Best Sound (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Michael Hedges
2002	Best Sound (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Hammond Peek
2002	Best Art Direction (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Dan Hennah
2002	Best Art Direction (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Alan Lee
2002	Best Picture (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Fran Walsh
2002	Best Picture (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Peter Jackson

New Line Cinema and Peter Jackson continue their sting of excellence in the first release of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on DVD. Presented here in its theatrical cut, the focus isn't quite heaped on the extras as much as it is on presenting the film audiences saw and loved in the theaters in the most spectacular presentation possible for home viewing. Visually, The Two Towers admittedly looks better in the widescreen edition, though its 1.33:1 full-screen picture still manages to show off cinematographer Andrew Lesnie's skillful eye and the amazing digital color-correction done in post-production. The audio as well is powerful and full, thanks to the 5.1 Dolby Digital EX Surround Sound and 2.0 tracks supplied -- for proof, look no further than the Battle of Helm's Deep, whose layers of rain, thunder, and carnage are mixed perfectly with Howard Shore's driving score, creating bombastic booms that will no doubt rock whatever sound system you're running.

The rest of the two-disc edition follows the same groundwork laid by the original =Fellowship DVD in which the extras are mostly just but a taste of what's to come. Even though audiences are licking their lips for the later, more beefed-up =Special Extended Edition (featuring a longer cut of the film along with an unbelievable amount of extras), this edition still holds its own with bonus materials that won't make it onto its sister disc -- most notably, the ten-minute preview of The Return of the King, which finds Peter Jackson in the editing lab teasing the audience with snippets of footage that will no doubt leave fans on the floor ready for more. With equal time split between behind-the-scenes and actual film footage, for most, this is the main draw of this release and not surprisingly, it doesn't disappoint. For more sneak peeks into the third film's goodness, simply head to the preview of Electronic Arts' The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King video game, which showcases more choice footage from the upcoming film along with interviews from the cast and creators of the game. For those that just can't wait for =The Two Towers: Extended Edition, there's also a preview of the four-disc set, which highlights Boromir's (Sean Bean) cut flashback scenes, along with many other large and small plot lines that are now added back into the film (which should lay rest to any of the hardcore Tolkien fans' initial complaints).

There are two full specials that make an appearance on the disc, both filmed especially for the Starz/Encore and WB cable channels. Each provide the same levels of insight into the production of the second film, which are in turn, built upon in the lordoftherings.net featurettes -- eight small behind-the-scene video bits that were available on the web before the release of the film. The teaser and theatrical trailer are also supplied, along with a whopping 16 TV spots ready for you to jump into. Throwaway to most, though probably important to the remaining few, there's also Emiliana Torrini's music video to "Gollum's Song," which basically comes off as a classy, but still throw-together compilation of footage from the film and her in the studio (a duet with Gollum would have been better). Finally, one of the best things about the disc is the inclusion of Sean Astin's terribly sweet short film The Long and Short of It, filmed in the town of Wellington on an off-day from the production utilizing everything from extra cameras to various cast and crew alike, followed by a behind-the-scenes clip with some hilarious interviews with Andy Serkis and company. Far too easily written off as the lesser of the two initial releases of the film, this disc is an assurance that the original version of the film will live on for years to come. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

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