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Synopsis:
With The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the focus of Tolkien's epic story moves from the fantastic to the mythic, from magic and monsters towards men and their deeds, as the expanding panorama of Middle-earth introduces us to the Viking-like Riders of Rohan and the men of Gondor. Which is not to say that Peter Jackson's three-hour second instalment doesn't have its fair share of amazing new creatures--here we meet Wargs, Oliphaunts and winged Nazgul, to name three--just that the film is concerned more with myth-making on a heroic scale than the wide-eyed wonder of The Fellowship of the Ring.
There's no time for recapitulation, as a host of new characters are introduced in rapid succession. In Rohan we meet the initially moribund King Theoden (Bernard Hill); his treacherous advisor Grima Wormtongue (Brad Dourif); his feisty niece Eowyn (Miranda Otto); and his strong-willed nephew Eomer (Karl Urban). Faramir (David Wenham), brother of Boromir, is the other principal human addition to the cast. The hobbits, though, encounter the two most remarkable new characters, both of whom are digitally generated: in Fangorn Forest, Merry and Pippin are literally carried away by Treebeard, a dignified old Ent; while Frodo and Sam capture the duplicitous Gollum, whose fate is inextricably intertwined with that of the Ring.
The film stands or falls with Gollum. If the characterisation had gone the way of Jar Jar Binks, The Two Towers would have been ruined, notwithstanding all the spectacle and grandeur of the rest. But Gollum is a triumph, a tribute both to the computer animators and the motion-captured performance of Andy Serkis: his "dialogues", delivered theatre-like direct to the audience, are a masterstroke. Here and elsewhere Jackson is unafraid to make changes to the story line, bringing Frodo and Sam to Osgiliath, for example, or tipping Aragorn over a cliff. Yet the director's deft touch always seems to add not detract from Tolkien's vision. Just three among many examples: Aragorn's poignant dreams of Arwen (Liv Tyler); Gimli's comic repartee even in the heat of battle; and the wickedly effective siege weapons of the Uruk-Hai (which signify both Saruman's mastery and his perversion of technology). The climactic confrontation at Helm's Deep contains images the like of which have simply never been seen on film before. Almost unimaginably, there's so much more still to come in the Return of the King.

Director: Peter Jackson
Composer: Howard Shore
Stars: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen
Stars: Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Bernard Hill
Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Cate Blanchett
Publishers: New Line Productions
Region: 2
Length :172 minutes
Discs :2
Year Released: 2002
Year Product Released: 2003
Audio: 5.1
Where From: Unknown
Rating: 0
Date Added: 2004-02-12
Time Added: 00:00:00

Additional
Special features:
# 2 in-depth programs that reveal the secrets behind the production of this epic adventure, including:
On the set – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Return to Middle-earth
# 8 featurettes originally created for lordoftherings.net:
Forces of Darkness
Sounds of Middle-earth
Edoras & Rohan Culture
Creatures
Gandalf the White
Arms & Armor
Helm’s Deep
Gollum: Andy Serkis, Bay Raitt
# Exclusive 10-minute behind-the-scenes preview of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
# Emiliana Torrini "Gollum Song" music video
# Short film by Sean Astin The Long and Short of It + behind-the-scenes "making of"
# Preview of Electronic Arts’ video game, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
# An inside look at the Special Extended DVD Edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers