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

User Rating:

8.6/10   

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:

Ring | Army | Mission | Middle Earth | King

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 65 wins & 76 nominations

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

Also Known As:

Der Herr der Ringe - Die zwei Türme (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 | New Zealand | Germany

Language:

English | Sindarin | Old English

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:14A (Manitoba/Ontario) (re-rating) (video) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) (original rating) | Malaysia:U | UK:12 (video rating) | UK:12A (original rating) | Hungary:14 | Brazil:12 | 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:

Between takes, Brad Dourif stayed in character by continuing to speak with an English accent until all his footage had been completed. This was so convincing that, at the end, when he spoke with his normal voice again, Bernard Hill thought that his English accent was real and that his American accent must be fake.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the initial shot when Theoden is talking to Gamling on the wall outside Helm's Deep, Gamling's mouth is moving like he's replying to Theoden's orders but no sound is heard.

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:

Featured in Creatures of Middle-Earth (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Isengard Unleashed

My precious...

Seriously, I never thought a movie could get better than the Fellowship of the Ring, but it did. This movie should be #1 on the IMDb top 250. This movie, as long as it was, captivated me from start to finish, and those who are not entertained by this movie can not be entertained period.

Yes, I have read the book. Any chapters cut out at the end of books III and IV will probably themselves in the next installment. If you haven't noticed, the beginning of the Two Towers was actually closed the Fellowship of the Ring on the big screen.

Gollum was a CG masterpiece. He added some light to this incredibly dark movie. At the same time, there are areas where you feel sorry for the poor guy, or just want to kill him. Smeagol was probably the most diverse character I've ever seen.

Elijah Wood put on a better performance than he did in the first movie, as did Sean Astin. Ian McKellen, who captivated us in the last movie, captivated us even more in this one. Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies, and Orlando Bloom made a great trio. They laughed together, cried together, prospered together, and suffered together. This trio gave life to Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas. Eowyn expressed her emotions clearly through Miranda Otto.

The music need not be discussed. Its greatness speaks for itself.

Favorite Scene: The Battle of Helms Deep. Possibly the greatest scene in the book, 50% of the trailer, and action packed climax to this beautiful movie.

The movie, like its predecessor, fails to bring us closure, but that's ok. Closure will come next year. I look forward to the Return of the King.

The Two Towers is now my favorite movie of all time.

The scale is broken. 10 is not a capacity sufficient enough to hold this movie... my movie... my... precious...