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:

Ring | Army | Mission | Middle Earth | Hope

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 65 wins & 76 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Dec. 6

10:00 AM

TNT

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)
El señor de los anillos: Las dos torres (Argentina) (Mexico) (Panama) (Spain) (Venezuela) [es]
Le seigneur des anneaux - Les deux tours (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Властелин колец: Две крепости (Russia) [ru]
Banjieui jewang du jaeeui tam (South Korea) [ko]
Bechdebis mbrdzanebeli (Georgia) [ka]
El senyor dels anells: Les dues torres (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Hringadróttinssaga: Tveggja turna tal (Iceland) [is]
Il signore degli anelli - Le due torri (Italy) [it]
O Senhor dos Anéis: As Duas Torres (Brazil) [pt]
O arhontas ton dahtylidion: Oi dyo pyrgoi (Greece) [el]
Pán prstenov: Dve veze (Slovakia) [sk]
Pán prstenu: Dve veze (Czech Republic) [cs]
Ringenes herre: De to tårne (Denmark) [da]
Ringenes herre: To tårn (Norway) [no]
Sõrmuste isand: Kaks kantsi (Estonia) [et]
Sagan om ringen: Sagan om de två tornen (Sweden) [sv]
Stapânul inelelor: Cele doua turnuri (Romania) [ro]
Taru sormusten herrasta - Kaksi tornia (Finland) [fi]
Wladca Pierscieni: Dwie wieze (Poland) [pl]
Yüzüklerin efendisi - Iki kule (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

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:

The Gollum that is briefly glimpsed in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) is an entirely different creation than the one that appears in this film. It was during the filming of the second movie that Peter Jackson realized that Andy Serkis' physical performance would have to be employed in the digital creation of Gollum. So Weta Digital had to alter the design of one of the lead characters in the film, scanning Serkis' face so that they would be able to incorporate some of his facial characteristics (the fact that Jackson had also filmed a flashback to be included in "The Return of the King" with Serkis playing the original Smeagal only cemented this decision). This ultimately meant, however, that Weta Digital had only 2-1/2 months to redo two years' work. Serkis himself thought that the final result looked like a combination of his father and his newborn baby.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Legolos is about to slide on the shield, his bow disappears when it shows the shot of his legs, yet in the next shot his bow is in his hand

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:

Referenced in Ringers: Lord of the Fans (2005)

Soundtrack:

Isengard Unleashed

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"!!!