The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (movie)
Warning: Wikipedia contains spoilers.The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a film released in December 2002, directed by Peter Jackson. It is the second part in a trilogy of films, following The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, also directed by Jackson. It is an adaptation of the book The Two Towers, the second part of the three-volume novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.
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2 Synopsis 3 Filming Locations 4 Deviations From the Source Material 5 Awards History - and Critics Opinions 6 Video Release 7 External link |
The Cast
In addition to many characters returning from the first film, The Two Towers featured Éowyn, a princess yearning to be a warrior; Théoden, a troubled king; and his treacherous counselor, Gríma Wormtongue. These humans were largely overshadowed by special effects creatures including treelike Ents, the pterodactyl-like flying steeds of the Nazgûl, and, especially, Gollum, widely acclaimed as the first fully realized CGI character in a live-action film. His movements and facial expressions were modeled on the actor who provided his voice. Only glimpsed in the first film, Gollum here becomes a pivotal character with the potential to change the fate of the story's world; he wrestles with inner demons and becomes a source of friction in Sam and Frodo's previously unshakeable friendship.
Warning: this section contains spoilers not just for The Two Towers but also for The Return of the King.
The surviving members of the Fellowship of the Ring have split into three groups. Frodo and Sam face many perils on their continuing quest to save Middle-Earth by destroying the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Merry and Pippin escape from the Orcs and must convince the Ents to join the battle against evil. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas encounter a mysteriously transformed Gandalf and battle Saruman's army at Helm's Deep.Synopsis
| Fictional Location | Specific Location in New Zealand | General Area in New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Plains of Rohan | Greenstone Station | Kinloch |
| Rohan | Poolburn Lake | Ida Valley |
| Edoras | Mount Sunday | Rangitata Valley |
| Dead Marshes | Kepler Mire | Te Anau |
| The Black Gate | Rangipo Desert | Lake Taupo |
| Helm's Deep | Hayward's Hill | Lower Hutt |
Jackson's The Two Towers differs from Tolkien's in several important ways.
Tolkien divided The Two Towers in two distinct parts. The first told the stories of Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas and Gandalf. The second concerned Frodo and Sam. Jackson chose to intercut between the two to present the events in chronological order.
Jackson and his cowriters added several events to the story, notably:
Two of the characters in the film are presented somewhat differently than their counterparts in the book:
Academy Awards: Winner - Visual Effects, Sound Editing. Nominee -
Best Picture, Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Best Editing, and Best Sound.
Empire Awards: Best Picture
Phoenix Film Critics Awards [1]:
"Best Picture", "Best Ensemble Acting", "Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium", "Best Cinematography", "Best Production Design", "Best Visual Effects", and "Best Makeup" "Gollum's Song", the theme played during the end credits, won the award for "Best Original Song". The song was written by Howard Shore and sung by the Icelandic singer Emiliana Torrini.
Followers of the Oscars predicted that the movie had a poor chance of winning Best Picture, because it received no other nominations in the major Oscar categories (Director, Actor and Actress, Supporting Actor and Actress and Screenplay). This proved to be true, though the film did win the Academy Award for Visual Effects. It has been speculated that the Academy is biding its time for the concluding film, Return of The King, to be released so that they can honour Peter Jackson for creating such a successful and acclaimed film trilogy.
The theatrical edition of the movie was released on VHS and DVD on Tuesday, August 26, 2003. The DVD was a 2-disc set with extras on the second disc. This was intended to be a simultaneous worldwide release, but some British stores began selling the videos on Friday 22 because it was a Bank Holiday weekend, much to the ire of the film's UK distributor, which has threatened to withhold advance supplies of subsequent video releases.
An extended version of the movie is due for video release on November 18, 2003. One of the additional scenes will feature Sean Bean, who does not appear in the theatrical version, in a flashback in which brothers Boromir and Faramir are seen together. This will be available on VHS and on a 4-disc DVD set, with the movie on discs 1 and 2 and extensive bonus material on discs 3 and 4. There will also be a "Special Edition" DVD package containing the 4-disc set, a sculpture of Gollum, and a special bonus DVD about Gollum.
There will also be a limited back-to-back theatrical release of the extended versions of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers followed by premieres of The Return of the King. Deviations From the Source Material
Structure
Events
Two important events from Tolkien's The Two Towers did not make it into the film, but will almost certainly make into the next one:
Characters
Awards History - and Critics Opinions
Video Release
