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Summary: The story extended
Review: Although I have watched the original 'The Two Towers' many times, I was enthralled by the extended version. So many of the side stories are brought to life here that one wonders how the film managed without them. Merry and Pip and the entwater are real entertainment; Frodo and Sam and the elvin rope really illustrate the elves gifts; some parts of Aragorn's background and skills are introduced. Best of all is to see the forest which moved to Helm's Deep to slaughter the orcs. That to me is an essential part of the story. I shall watch this version again and again.
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Summary: How to Get Gollum Statue Out of Gift Set?
Review: This DVD is of course excellent. But pertaining to the gift set, how do you get the Gollum statue out of the box without destroying the package? I'm still trying to figure it out. From the top? Bottom? I'v tried every which way but everything is glued together. Any help?
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Summary: Two Towers is Awesome
Review: I think that Peter Jackson has done a superb job on the first and second lord of the rings films. At first, I thought the Two Towers wasn't too good. I am a big Tolkien fan and expected a lot from this movie. But after watching it a couple of times, I really liked this second film. I realized how hard it is to make such a detailed fantasy book into a movie. Of course, the movies will never match up to the books, but they are still great. In the Two Towers extended edition, you'll see a lot of cool clips during the helm's deep battle, hear some lines from the book including bombadil's words from treebeard, and you'll see why faramir acted the way he did with frodo. It isn't true to the book, but this movie, i think, couldn't have been done better.
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Summary: Spectacular!
Review: Although the theatrical version was very good, the Special Extended Edition of The Two Towers (TTT) blows it out of the water.As with Fellowship of the Ring (FOTR), director Peter Jackson doesn't just tack on an extra 40 minutes. Sometimes it's a different camera angle (for instance, watch for one during the Urak-Hai "I smell man flesh..." scene), or a new scene is added which perfectly segues into another scene (the theatrical version often seemed choppy at some points), or a scene is extended just long enough to give greater depth to it (see the above-mentioned Urak-Hai scene). The sound quality is phenomenal. One of the things my husband complained about the theatrical version is that the sound seemed drowned out. Not a problem with this! In the opening scene of Gandalf and the Balrog falling into the abyss, you can hear the crackling of the fire as if it were lit on your living room floor! New flashbacks are used judiciously, especially one concerning Faramir. It explains a lot about Faramir's motivations, whereas the theatrical version glossed over it. I've only looked at a couple of the extras, and they were well thought out and interesting. One is a documentary on Tolkien by writers as to where the origins of Middle Earth came from (and they talk about his literary style as well); another was editorial decisions on TTT. The editorial documentary is a bit long, but you can get some idea of what went into the decisions to cut what scenes, which takes to use, etc. The DVDs are in a box (naturally), this time in dark brown (while FOTR was in green). The scene drawn on the back is of Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn meeting someone in Fangorn Forest... All in all, a splendid job, making a very good movie into a fantastic one! Buy it - you won't regret it!
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Summary: Excellent job, Pete
Review: "...All we have to do is decide what to do with the time we are given."
With, my time, I'll watch "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers." This epic of vast proportions suceeds in replicating the expansive and detailed world crafted by J.R.R. Tolkien. Sequel to one of the best films of 2001, the two towers continues Jackson's creative yet true-to-the-story adaptation of Tolkien's masterpiece. With the Extended Edition, Jackson captures even more of this world while refining it to a swallowable piece of filmaking. The excellently produced extra footage and insightful documentaries give greater depth to this moving tale of fantasy. Trust me on this one, buy it now.
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Summary: Brilliant
Review: This is the movie Jackson wanted to release in the theaters, but couldn't. And people who just see the theatrical version don't know what they are missing. The added scenes do so much to flesh out other bits of the story (including much-needed characterization of Faramir). The first few added scenes with Sam and Frodo are excellent: they really show the relationship developed in the FotR, and you understand the burden the ring is putting on Frodo when he lashes out at Sam later in the film. It is just subtle touches like that which make me wait each year to invest in the extended edition rather than the theatrical. The Gollum statue is finely crafted, and nicely detailed. I have yet to watch the "Making of the statue" DVD which comes with the gift set, but the book of Gollum sketches is really neat. If I hadn't pre-ordered this back in August, it would be first on my Christmas list this year :) I can't wait to have all 3 volumes standing in my argonath bookends.....
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Summary: All I can say about this particular DVD release is...
Review: BEST...DVD...EVER. (at least until Return of the King next year)
In terms of quality of extras and overall presentation/packaging, this is pretty much identical to last year's "Fellowship" extended DVD. What gives the extended "Towers" DVD the slight edge is the video quality is noticably better/cleaner than the "Fellowship" was. The sound is astonishing as well. Probably due to advances in technology...I can't recommend this enough.
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Summary: Another masterpiece!
Review: While I am sure that gushing reviews irritate cynics and nitpickers immensely, I have to applaud P.Jackson's (and his team's) work. This is a wonderful improvement on the original and while not to everyone's taste is an incredible achievement. And to those who think that Peter made a mistake in the scene with Frodo and the Nazgul in Osgiliath, may I point out that if they reflect a little further they may notice that there is no inconsistency at all. Let us not try to be too eager too find fault, eh?
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Summary: A True Vision of Middle earth!!
Review: I received my special extended version of The Two Towers yesterday, after waiting for months, and I can vouch that it is well worth the wait. Like the extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, this version of The Two Towers enhances the theatrical release and far more fully reveals the faithfulness of Peter Jackson's vision to Tolkien's creation. This is not to say that there aren't plenty of plot variations, some merely unfortunate (Aragorn's flirtatiousness with Eowyn) and others grating (the constant stream of Dwarf jokes). But the spirit and atmosphere of this movie must be the closest approximation possible to what Tolkien himself would have filmed, had he had the chance and the inclination to do so. First, the extra material that comes with this special gift edition. The statuette of Smeagol/Gollum is very nice and detailed, right down to the fish which looks to be still dripping wet. This turns out to be one half of a pair of bookends, and you are given information on how to order the other half (for about 80 bucks). With the statuette comes an extra DVD on the Weta workshop which produced it. There's some interesting material about how such things are made, but much of the program is really a commercial for Weta's products. The actual extended version comes in a nice red leather-bookish looking case which folds out to display the four DVDs, two with the movie and two appendices with extra material. A folder provides a road map or overview so you can quickly find your way to sections of interest. There are many interviews with producers and actors and lots of pictures of sets, slideshows of sketch drawings of characters, and the like. One particularly interesting section shows how the drowning of Isengard was planned using bunches of twigs, construction paper, tissue, and old rags. (You can do a side by side comparison here with a splitscreen showing the scene from the movie along with the planning video, which is quite interesting). As for the movie itself, a fine film in theatrical release has now been turned into a masterpiece. Scene after scene has been added or extended, and every addition and extension lends depth and beauty. I'm particularly glad to see a nice nod to Tom Bombadil in the Fangorn segments. Its the wrong book but at least some of him got into the movie after all. Long time Tolkien fans, like me, will watch this film with continued shocks of delight as material pops up again and again that echoes the written word. New Tolkien fans, or those who are only familiar with the movies, will find much more to enjoy and gain a much better understanding of the history and cultures of the peoples and lands being depicted. I won't go into too much detail here for fear of spoiling the surprises. When Peter Jackson's film project was announced I was filled with trepidation lest these books, which I have loved since the age of 12 in 1969, would be forever cheapened. I am now no longer so concerned, for while the films don't live up to the books (an impossible task), they have clearly been made with loving attention to detail and a niggling desire for perfection that matches Tolkien's own. Buy this version of The Two Towers, along with the extended Fellowship of the Ring, and then watch and wait impatiently for The Return of the King to complete the vision.
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Summary: Why can't I give 6 stars?
Review: Words cannot express how great this version is. The extra forty-three minutes enhances the story in a way I'd have never thought possible, and helps Faramir's case greatly. The theatrical becomes obsolete, this one is so vastly superior.
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