Rating: 
Summary: The Countdown to November Begins!
Review: 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...
Rating:
Summary: PERFECT MOVIE, ALMOST PERFECT DVD
Review: I loved LOTR, the book & the movie. The movies were both easily the best of the year respectively. Everything fit perfectly. The CGI Gollum, as well as all of the effects. As far as the DVD is concerned I was very happy that ALL of the DVD is closed caption not just the movie, which is great for hearing impaired & people like myself who have some difficulty hearing subtle audio parts. The only criticism I have is the DVD needs a play all like the first did.
Rating:
Summary: MY GOD, THIS IS A GREAT MOVIE!!!!!
Review: Once in awhile, you see a movie that just absolutely blows you away. It carries you away emotionally as you get involved in the story, and it also astounds you for the achievement in moviemaking that it is. THE TWO TOWERS does this perhaps better than any film I've seen. It's not the best acted movie in history (Liv Tyler is a bit one note, Miranda Otto a bit bland), but from a technical standpoint, I'm not sure you'll find a better film. Just the achievement of Gollum alone is astounding. I saw (to my chagrin) THE HULK, and there's a great example of how a digital creature doesn't work. Or the three-headed dog in the first Harry Potter movie. Or even the Cave Troll in the first LOTR. You may suspend your disbelief, but in the back of your mind, you know the creature is computer generated. Gollum just can't be fake...can he? After about two minutes on screen, you totally forget he's a computer fabrication. And when he has his "close-up" scene, when he argues with himself, the performance is amazingly convincing. Gollum is breath-taking. And the Battle of Helm's Deep. Wow!! Not sure there's anything else to say. It's on a par with the Chariot Race in BEN-HUR as a classic of excitement and craft. But the story itself is told with such obvious loving care that we become emotionally wrapped up in the story. It has a grand sweep to it, sure, but it feels personal too. Peter Jackson is to be highly, highly commended. And surely, when RETURN OF THE KING is released, he will finally get the Oscar he deserves. The DVD's are astounding too. The Deluxe DVD set for FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING with all the restored scenes and documentaries is the greatest DVD in my collection, and I have hundreds of films. It totally and completely lives up to the promise of the DVD format. Why don't more films restore their deleted scenes back into the movie instead of having you watch them out of context later. Perhaps it's because those scenes actually deserved to be deleted??? In LOTR, the restored scenes simply added depth, character development and MAJESTY to the epic film. These are must-have DVDs. I have seldom been so enthralled with a motion picture. I just can't imagine how anyone can give this film less than 5 stars. NOTE: I'm not a Tolkien fan. I can't get through the books. I don't even know how the story turns out. But from what I gather from talking to fans of the books, reading online and such, the changes Jackson made to the story are all justified from a cinematic story-telling sense. PS: The shot of Orlando Bloom flipping himself onto his running horse...that's probably worth the price of admission right there!!!
Rating:
Summary: It Gets Better Still
Review: First of all let me say I think the books are without equal and yes I know this movie changed a few things from the book. However bearing in mind they had a mere 3 hours to cover the material and the brilliant quality of the film. I for one, am more than prepared to forgive them. A few years ago this movie would have been impossible to create, the special effects that now make it possible like the massed army in the Battle of Helms Deep are nothing short of mind blowing. The quality of the story despite it being altered a little from the book is as most non puritanical people concede without equal. I think the casting is terrific and the acting excellent, particularly in the case of Gollum (Andy Serkis). The location could not be bettered, New Zealand seems so perfect for the movie. I found the beautiful scenery an added bonus I had not considered when I first started to watch The Fellowship. I think these will movies bring this tremendous work to a whole new audience who may not be readers, or who may not be attracted to older classic novels. This alone makes the films worthwhile as a project, quite apart from the superb entertainment they bring to the open minded. I think Tolkien would have approved and been astounded that such a monumental undertaking was even attempted. I also think he would have applauded the product, a nine hour movie that I believe, in time will be as loved and cherished as his temendous novels. Surely the greatist cinematic achievement of all time. I cannot wait for the third movie, so I can pull the phone out of the wall, lock the doors and watch the complete nine hour epic in one hit. Ecstasy!
Rating:
Summary: The War for the Ring begins...
Review: We all walked out of "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" thinking, "How can this get any better?" Well, folks, I'm here to tell you that it can. "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" has greatly surpassed all expectations and defied any doubts that I ever had about this film. Simply put: this is the best film of the year and was unjustly robbed of the Best Picture Oscar. Fans of the first film definitely had their doubts. And who could blame them? We've suffered through a countless number of rotten and disappointing sequels within the past few years (ahem: Star Wars, Jurassic Park 3...). Audiences worldwide were overjoyed at what they got. "Two Towers", thankfully, picks up immediately where "The Fellowship" left off. The Fellowship is broken. Sauron's forces begin to amplify and his allies grow. Saruman's immense army mass towards the City of Gondor where Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are desparately trying to defend the people of Rohan who have taken refuge there. The Ringwraiths are on the prowl. Merry and Pippin are captives of the Uruk Hai. Yet not all hope is lost. The little hobbits, Frodo, the ring bearer, and Sam, a more faithful friend you could not find, press on towards Mordor with the help of Gollum, a pitiful creature consumed by his lust for the Ring's power. As with "The Fellowship", "Two Towers" is alive with (get ready for a long list, here) a wonderfully faithful-to-the-book script, stunning landscapes, emotion, rousing action, a stirring score, excitement, suspense, fine acting, comradery, passion, humility, philosophy, intrigue, depth, symbolism, virtue, and stunning cinematography (whew, did I miss anything?). Bottom line: 5 out of 5 stars. I love this film and you will too!
Rating:
Summary: Sorry for the Few
Review: I'm truly sorry for those few poor souls who couldn't find it in themselves to fall absolutely head-over-heels in love with this incredible film adaptation of JRR Tolkien's book. That they cannot share in the utter and absolute joy the rest of us feel at having witnessed the cinematic miracle that Peter Jackson and crew have accomplished with, literally, their blood, sweat and tears - for four long years. I wish they could be walking on the same clouds I'm walking on, for having lived long enough to experience this lifelong dream of seeing their most beloved book brought to the big screen with such style and verve! By the way: really liked the movie! The first one, too! Amazon.com User Ratings, as of 9/17/2003 at 06:00 UT (13:00 PDT):
1 = 33
2 = 40
3 = 65
4 = 131
5 = 806
Total = 1075
Rating:
Summary: Very Noble Sequel
Review: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, begins immediately from where it ended in the Fellowship of Ring. It is a suspenseful sequel quite worthy of Best Picture of the year. Frodo Baggins starts to fall to the Ring itself, but a strong companion, Sam, helped him keep moderate control of himself. Meanwhile, Aragon and his two companions search nonstop for the other two Hobbits that were imprisoned by Sauroman's army. Soon, the war for Middle Earth will begin and time is running low for Frodo. The honorable sequel ends with the first battle of the war--The Battle of Helmes Deep. The only thing that can save the great fort is hope. Bonds will be broken and retied in this movie. Brace yourself for an action-packed adventure that makes this one of the best sequels filmography has ever produced!
Rating:
Summary: Totally cool
Review: Totally cool, frodo the ring gandalf. Goolum is also totally cool. Totally cool fight thing. This movie is totally cool. The second in the totally cool rings series. They continue the quest for the ring.
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie...
Review: I would have given this movie 5 stars if it weren't for the impending release of the extended version in November. I was going to wait for that one, I really was but impulse got the better of me so I bought this version.
Anyways, I thought the movie was really good and has many things that movies out of Hollywood are lacking these days: a compelling story, believable characters, good vs. evil and a good soundtrack. The battle scenes in this movie were fantastic. I thought the pace was pretty good, it seemed like an hour and half movie instead of the three it was pushing. And I can't wait for the next one to come out.
This movie shows the potential of Hollywood to put out a quality product (hear that Mr. Lucas?)
Rating:
Summary: concerning plot holes..
Review: First of all, this is deffinantly the best of the two Lord of the Rings movies.
I am a Tolkien Purist, and the additions to the storyline were a bit weird and non-sensical to me, but they didn't really take anything from the pureness level. However, some of the stuff that they took out of the movie really irked me - until I watched the preview for the extended edition.
The stuff with the forest swallowing the Uruk-hai is in the extended footage, as is the ent-draught scene, and even a scene i would guess would have to be quite lengthy - the scene after the destruction of the area around Orthanc and the flood and all of that stuff.
I have no doubt that the extended edition will complete the already wonderful movie.
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