Rating: 
Summary: Lovely
Review: This film is an elightened spectacular maze of dazzling special effects and romance , blended in the the bright colors of New Zealaand and the magical world of renowned author Professor JR Tolkein.Edward King, Editorial, Junior Film Magazine
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie, all time favorite
Review: Director Peter Jackson's movie version of The Two Towers pays full respect to the most sorrowful part of J.R.R. Tolkien's mighty Lord of the Rings trilogy. This is a sadder, more frightening film than The Fellowship of the Ring, but it is also more exciting, more visually dynamic and more sweeping in its vision. This, film fans, is an epic with a capital E. FILM REVIEW
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(PG-13; epic battle sequences, scary images) Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen. Directed by Peter Jackson. 179 minutes.
The story picks up almost exactly where Fellowship ended, with the original adventurers separated, and Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) facing the next perilous journey alone. All we see from the first film is the wizard Gandalf's apparently fatal plunge into the center of the Earth as he battles the horrendous Balrog monster - a special-effects scene as masterful as modern technology and artistic imagination will allow. A short while later, an even more astonishing techno-wonder awaits in the character of Gollum, a creature generated entirely by computers based on the body and voice of actor Andy Serkis. Gollum has been kept largely under wraps in advance of the movie, the better to astonish audiences with his shocking authenticity. This is by far the most expressive, least mechanical, computer-generated figure ever seen on screen, and the movie's most engrossing character to boot. Once a Hobbit-like being named Smeagol, Gollum was corrupted by the One Ring that Frodo now carries. Gollum dogs Frodo, hoping to steal the ring back. Frodo's appeal to the part of him that is still Smeagol reveals a divided person who carries the battle between good and evil in his own head. Frodo's goal is the ring's destruction in the pit where it was forged, thereby stopping the resurrection of the disembodied Sauron, who has set his wicked wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee) to the task of wiping out beauty, peace and freedom among humans, hobbits and their friends. The movie crosscuts from place to place as Frodo and Sam struggle toward Mordor, tracking friends Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan) in a magical forest overseen by ancient, tree-like beings called Ents, as well as the race by dwarf Gimli (voice of John Rhys-Davies), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) to save their friends. The action peaks when the Fellowship warriors find a reborn Gandalf (Ian McKellen in another sharp, detailed performance) and rally the humans of Rohan to fight Saruman's massive forces. (Be advised that the movie earns its PG-13 rating with thrilling but often horrific combat.) Mr. Jackson, who wrote the screenplay with Philippa Boyens and Stephen Sinclair, interprets Tolkien's stormy vision with tremendous insight and empathy. Frodo's weakening spirit, Gollum's pathos, Sam's loyalty, the fury and dread of the final assault on Helm's Deep - it's all there on the screen, as powerfully as it was on the pages of the great novel. Mr. Jackson has taken a few liberties with the book, but none that destroy its sense or sensibility. Plot complexities are explained in part with flashbacks, flash-forwards and narrative recaps. It is possible the tale could confuse some who are not familiar with the books, but even non-readers of Tolkien stand to be swept up in the film's urgent pace and emotional intensity - not to mention its breathtaking visual riches. The Two Towers is every bit the momentous event fans have been hoping for. All it lacks is three more hours of the story. That comes Dec. 17, 2003. Mark the date.
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Summary: This DVD rocks.
Review: This movie is great. I bought the theatrical version of the dvd when it came out a while ago, but this one just blows it out of the water. This version adds a lot to the overall story and plot of the Two Towers(it has 40+ minutes of added story). Having read the book, I was slightly disappointed with the first release(it was still great), but this release includes quite a bit of stuff they left out. For those of you who haven't read the book, the added stuff should immensely help you understand what is going on. As for the extras, they are great. I have watched one disc of the extra's and still have one more to watch. These extra's are a lot of fun to watch because you get to see how they do the special effects(the one about gollum is very interesting), what they changed, and what the actors thought. Overall, this movie is a great buy. The new 40+ minutes is great and you will hardly notice that it is longer. Also, the extra's are great. This is a dvd you will want in your collection.
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Summary: The uneasy Union between Sauron and Saruman
Review: Awesome !!!! I just now finished watching everything from this Special Edition Two Towers and it is just wonderful !!!! The extra 43 min. of added Scenes to the film really made an allready great movie much better !! Not only was it better but it helps set you up better for The Return of the King !! We get a flashback of Denethor with his two sons Boromir and Faramir all 3 together and it's very nice ( Denethor plays a big role in Return of the King ). Also the Dead Haradrim and what Sam felt those words are given to Faramir in the movie. Also when the Orcs are taking Merry and Pippin to Saruman it explains more of the Rival with Ugluk and the Orcs of Isengard and Grishnakh and the Orcs of Mordor. Plus More stuff with Merry and Pippin with Treebeard and Fangorn Forest. I don't want to give to much away with this extra 43 min. so it just really explains a lot of things better and makes it more enjoyable. More stuff with Frodo,Gollum,and Sam including an extra Scene where Faramir tell's them the name of the pass into Mordor that Gollum is leading them to is Cirith Ungol where a Dark Terror Dwells ( good set up for Return of the King ) !!!!!!!! The Bonus stuff is awesome. 1,800 photos, the documentaries are awesome that explain all this work that went into the Two Towers. It talked some more about J.R.R. Tolkien himself and how he loved Trees and Nature. The 5th Disc was neat how it explained how they made the Gollom Statue and others like it. There is also a book on the Statue of Gollum and the Gollum Statue of him holding a fish is Awesome. P.S. By the way my name is in the Fan Club Credits :) Bye
P.P.S. No new Scenes with the Nazgul but for those who have not seen any version of the Two Towers you will get to see a little bit of them and there Winged Beasts , !!!! Bye Bye
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: This movie-sequel is great to watch! I never get tired of watching it and it's awsome special features it has to offer. The Return of the King preview is amazing! Sequel to The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers will not dissapoint. winner of two Academy-Awards for Sound-Editing and Special Effects, The Two Towers is a fascinating saga in The Lord of the Rings movie-trilogy that is packed with stunning action-sequences, amazing adventure, and wonderful, breath-taking drama. The music (score), special effects, and acting in The Two Towers is superb! I highly recommend that you buy this movie on DVD!
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Summary: This version would have won Best Picture
Review: Simply put, this version is complete and the theatrical release is not - if New Line had the sense to release this version in theaters Peter Jackson would have an Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director without a doubt. This version is astoundingly better than the theatrical release. The extras that take you behind the scenes on CD #3 give a real insight as to how monumental this achievement in filmmaking really is - it is simply the best adaptation of any novel ever made.
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Summary: Jolly Good!
Review: When this DVD extended edition arrived at my doorstep I was like a four-year-old at Christmas. For the next five nights I hijacked the big screen TV to watch, savor, and enjoy Peter Jackson's epic adaptation of Tolkien's THE TWO TOWERS, the second installment of his masterpiece, "The Lord of the Rings." Sure enough, the 40-plus minutes of extra footage not contained in the theatrical release addressed several of the questions that left Tolkien purists--such as myself--scratching their heads in bewilderment. I won't go into the details here (as they've already been discussed countless times already), but will state the extra scenes make watching THE TWO TOWERS a more enjoyable experience, for Tolkienites and non-Tolkienites alike. But even more fascnitating--to me--were many of the features and documentaries carried in the third and fourth DVDs of this set. There is a virtual avalanche of information to be gleaned from these features; here is but a mere sampling: --Tolkien himself vigorously opposed his publisher naming the third installment of his book, "The Return of the King." As the author lamented, "The title gives away the story!" Tokien wanted to name the final installment, "The War of the Ring." --Initially, the film adaptation of THE TWO TOWERS was to include the character Arwen (Liv Tyler) fighting side by side with Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) at Helm's Deep. Jackson released this information on the film's website, and there was such a negative backlash the decision was made to have Arwen's character portrayed differently in the film. --A very candid, satisfying explanation from Jackson as to why the tunnel of Shelob was not included in THE TWO TOWERS, but instead will be featured in the next film. This DVD extended edition is six hours of pure Tolkien bliss--a visual and audio feast of exquisite proportions. Block out some time in your schedule to travel to Middle-earth, and as Treebeard the Ent would say, "Don't be hasty!"
--D. Mikels
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Summary: What else can I say? It's Amazing!!!!!!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful supplement to the theatrical release...
Review: While 'The Fellowship of the Ring' was about as close to the original as a movie could get to a book of its size and scope (and set a new gold standard for DVD's with the release of the extended DVD edition), 'The Two Towers' unfortunately differed greatly from the book in some key places angering Tokien purists (of which I do not number myself). As a movie by itself, 'The Two Towers' is a stunning compliment to the 'The Fellowship of the Ring,' expanding on the themes developed in the first film and bringing audiences closer to the characters than ever and exciting them with some of the best action sequences committed to film. Finally, like the first film, Peter Jackson refuses to sacrifice plot, character development and good acting on the altar of special effects. To state it simply, the sequence of the seige of Helm's Deep (although fudging a little more on Tolkien's words, but not his vision) is a classic that will be forever be used to measure epic battle scenes. The audience feels along with the heroes on screen, the terror and impending doom of the Uruk-Hai seige. Then it is brought through incredible action sequences and to the very edge of complete dispair before a rousing climax. The extended scenes that form this new release of 'The Two Towers,' much like the extended cut of the first film, meld seamlessly with the scenes from the theatrical release. Probably the most egregious departure from the book was the portrayal of Faramir. In the book he is noble and does not succomb to the temptations of the ring at all, where his brother Boromir failed. The extended scenes add a little more depth and give some more redeeming qualities to him of which the theatrical release only gives hints. Moreover, like the extended DVD of "Fellowship...," the documentaries and 'making of' featurettes do not contain a single extraneous moment. To any Lord of the Rings fan the information presented is always enlightening and fun to watch. The bottom line is this: if you consider yourself a fan of the film, you owe to yourself to buy or at least view several times this extended edition of 'The Two Towers.'
Rating:
Summary: Much better - all is forgiven!
Review: I was fairly annoyed with the theatrical release, but this new version adds scenes which explain the motivations behind the new plot devices, and returns favourite bits from the book to the story. A much more balanced and detailed movie than the original, and more fun, too.
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