The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Director:

Peter Jackson

Writers (WGA):

J.R.R. Tolkien (novel)
Fran Walsh (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 December 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

A New Power Is Rising.

Plot:

Frodo and Sam continue on to Mordor in their mission to destroy the One Ring. Whilst their former companions make new allies and launch an assault on Isengard.

Plot Keywords:

Temptation | Flashback | Righteous Rage | Cult Favorite | Flooding

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 65 wins & 75 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Aug. 23	8:00 PM	TNT
Sun. Aug. 24	4:15 PM	TNT

Cast

Bruce Allpress	...	Aldor
Sean Astin	...	Sam
John Bach	...	Madril
Sala Baker	...	Man Flesh Uruk
Cate Blanchett	...	Galadriel
Orlando Bloom	...	Legolas Greenleaf
Billy Boyd	...	'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

Also Known As:

Herr der Ringe: Die zwei Türme, Der (Germany)
The Two Towers (USA) (short title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for epic battle sequences and scary images. (also special extended edition)

Runtime:

179 min | 223 min (special extended edition)

Country:

USA | Germany | New Zealand

Language:

English | Sindarin | Old English

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:PA (Manitoba) (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Hungary:14 | Canada:AA (Ontario) (original rating) | Malaysia:U | UK:12 (video rating) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Manitoba/Ontario) (re-rating) (video) | Brazil:12 | UK:12A (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11 | Finland:K-15 (special extended edition) | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:12 | Ireland:12 | Israel:PG | Italy:T | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Philippines:G | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39418) | Greece:K-13

Filming Locations:

Camperdown Studios, Camperdown Road, Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Orlando Bloom originally auditioned for the role of Faramir.

Goofs:

Continuity: At Osgiliath. Frodo is seen walking toward the wall and clearly has no sword. When he stands on the wall and is about to be snatched by the Ring Wraith, Sam grabs him and they tumble down the stairs. Frodo pulls a sword and puts it to Sam's throat despite the fact that he had no sword and had been in Faramir's custody and would not have been left armed anyway.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Gandalf: You cannot pass!
Frodo: Gandalf!
Gandalf: I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. Go back to the shadow. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun! You shall not pass!
Galadriel: The power of the enemy is growing. Sauron will use his puppet Saruman to destroy the people of Rohan. Isengard has been unleashed. The Eye of Sauron now turns to Gondor, the last free kingdom of men. His war on this country will come swiftly. He senses the Ring is close...

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Family Guy: I Take Thee, Quagmire (#4.21)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Gollum's Song

Jackson remains a genius, and this series remains a masterpiece--Faithful enough to Tolkein, and a fantastic movie!

I've read ---with care and delight--- the books four times in the last 34 years, including the recent reversion to Tolkein's "original" manuscript, edited by his son. I'm a fan. There, I said it, and I'm glad, I tell you!

This second installment of the trilogy is probably as good as a movie could get. It captures the Tolkein vibe probably as well as it could be captured in a theatrical release. Watching the flick tonight I realized that much of the vaunted charm of the very readable and very "literary" Tolkein books is in part the time it takes to read the long pages--- 1,000 to 1,400 pages, depending on the edition your are holding. And that time--- weeks and weeks of pouring over pages, re-reading certain passages, pondering and mulling over the fake languages and songs, and histories Tolkein concocted--- allows one to create and invent the Tolkein world inside oneself. That's GREAT! I loved each time I read the original. But no one could possibly expect a movie to give you, in 2-1/2 hours, that kind of luxurious lingering in the fantasy world. Duh!

Therefore, the movie's focus on action--- and FYI, it is dead-on accurate and faithful to the books--- is OK. The Ents' meeting in the forest took 3 or 4 DAYS in the book, and Merry and Pippin spent many more days hanging with Treebeard. The movie telescoped that down into a few hours. But hey!!! Think about it--- how could a movie, ANY movie, capture all of the sylvan reverie (including the Hobbits growing a couple of feet taller with the Entwash, etc.) in a trilogy movie series? All of that dreamy book-world stuff would be great to see on the screen--- but it would take dozens and dozens of hours of screen-time. Who could sit in a theater for that many weeks? There aren't that many "festive" people on the planet to make such a theatrical release profitable.

Maybe if we were wishing, we could have wished for a 30 or 40 hour TV mini-series. Then we COULD afford to meander and linger and all of that. Seriously--- I'd have enjoyed it. But then, the battles and evil empire and such would have to be portrayed with a vigor equal to Jackson's efforts, else the drama and peril (etc.) would be lost. For MY ridiculous wishing, then, I'm wishing for them to have made two projects--- the 3 theater-release movies, AND a 30-hour TV mini-series for all the "literary" vibe. But then, instead of a $300 million triology, we'd have had a $1 BILLION dollar (but memorable!) TV mini-series. Oh well--- if wishing were having...

Overall, "LOTR Two Towers" is an excellent movie! A "10" out of "10"!!!