The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers

Story

The extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was perhaps the most comprehensive DVD release to date, and its follow-up proves a similarly colossal achievement, with significant extra footage and a multitude of worthwhile bonus features. The extended version of The Two Towers adds 43 minutes to the theatrical version's 179-minute running time, and there are valuable additions to the film. Two new scenes might appease those who feel that the characterization of Faramir was the film's most egregious departure from the book, and fans will appreciate an appearance of the Huorns at Helm's Deep plus a nod to the absence of Tom Bombadil. Seeing a little more interplay between the gorgeous Eowyn and Aragorn is welcome, as is a grim introduction to Eomer and Theoden's son. And among the many other additions, there's an extended epilogue that might not have worked in the theater, but is more effective here in setting up The Return of the King. While the 30 minutes added to The Fellowship of the Ring felt just right in enriching the film, the extra footage in The Two Towers at times seems a bit extraneous--we see moments that in the theatrical version we had been told about, and some fleshed-out conversations and incidents are rather minor. But director Peter Jackson's vision of J.R.R. Tolkien's world is so marvelous that it's hard to complain about any extra time we can spend there.

While it may seem that there would be nothing left to say after the bevy of features on the extended Fellowship, the four commentary tracks and two discs of supplements on The Two Towers remain informative, fascinating, and funny, far surpassing the recycled materials on the two-disc theatrical version. Highlights of the 6.5 hours' worth of documentaries offer insight on the stunts, the design work, the locations, and the creation of Gollum, and--most intriguing for rabid fans--the film's writers (including Jackson) discuss why they created events that weren't in the book. Providing variety are animatics, rough footage, countless sketches, and a sound-mixing demonstration. Again, the most interesting commentary tracks are by Jackson and writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and by 16 members of the cast (eight of whom didn't appear in the first film, and even including John Noble, whose Denethor character only appears in this extended cut). The first two installments of Peter Jackson's trilogy have established themselves as the best fantasy films of all time, and among the best film trilogies of all time, and their extended-edition DVD sets have set a new standard for expanding on the already-epic films and providing comprehensive bonus features. --David Horiuchi

DVD Features

• Available Subtitles: English, Spanish
  
• Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), English (DTS 6.1 ES), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
  
• DISCS 1-2: The Feature:
  
• A new version of the second installment includes 43 minutes of never-before-seen footage incorporated into the film. (approx. 223 minutes)
  
• Commentary track by writer-director Peter Jackson and writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens
  
• Commentary track by the design team
  
• Commentary track by the production/post-production team
  
• Commentary track by 16 cast members, including Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Bernard Hill, and Miranda Otto
  
• DISCS 3-4: The Appendices:
  
• Two discs with hours of original content including multiple documentaries and design/photo galleries with thousands of images to give viewers an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
  
• DISC 3:
  
• Adapting the book into a screenplay & planning the film
  
• Designing and inspiration for locations in Middle-earth
  
• Storyboards to pre-visualization
  
• Weta Workshop visit: See sculptors in action as they create weapons, armor, creatures, and miniatures from the film
  
• Atlas of Middle-earth tracing the journey of the Fellowship
  
• An interactive map of New Zealand highlighting the location scouting process
  
• Galleries of art and slideshows with commentaries by the artists
  
• DISC 4:
  
• Sending the actors into battle: sword fighting
  
• Principal photography: Stories from the set
  
• Digital effects including motion capture and the computer program to create the armies of Orcs
  
• Bigatures: a close-up look at the miniatures
  
• Galleries of behind-the-scenes photographs and personal cast photos
  
• Post-Production: editing it all together
  
• Sound design demonstration
  
• DVD-ROM Content: Includes access to exclusive online features

Cast

Bruce Allpress	Aldor
Sean Astin	Samwise 'Sam' Gamgee
John Bach	Madril
Sala Baker	Man Flesh Uruk
Cate Blanchett	Galadriel
Orlando Bloom	Legolas Greenleaf
Billy Boyd	Peregrin 'Pippin' Took
Jed Brophy	Sharku / Snaga
Sam Comery	Éothain
Brad Dourif	Grima Wormtongue
Calum Gittins	Haleth
Bernard Hill	Theoden
Bruce Hopkins	Gamling
Paris Howe Strewe	Théodred - Prince of Rohan
Christopher Lee	Saruman the White
Nathaniel Lees	Uglúk
John Leigh	Háma
Robbie Magasiva	Hauhur
Robyn Malcolm	Morwen
Ian McKellen	Gandalf
Dominic Monaghan	Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck
Viggo Mortensen	Aragorn
Miranda Otto	Eowyn
Craig Parker	Haldir
Bruce Phillips	Rohan Soldier
Robert Pollock	Mordor Orc
John Rhys-Davies	Gimli / Voice of Treebeard
And Serkis	Gollum
Olivia Tennet	Freda
Ray Trickett	Bereg
Liv Tyler	Arwen
Karl Urban	Eomer
Stephen Ure	Grishnákh
Hugo Weaving	Elrond
David Wenham	Faramir
Elijah Wood	Frodo Baggins
Victoria Beynon-Cole	Hero Orc
Lee Hartley	Hero Orc
Philip Grieve	Hero Orc
Billy Jackson	Cute Rohan Refugee Child
Katie Jacoson	Cute Rohan Refugee Child
Sean Bean	Boromir (extended edition)
John Noble	Denethor (extended edition) (as John Nogle)
Peter Jackson	Rohirrim Warrior (uncredited)