The Lord of the Rings
The Two Towers Extended Edition

Fearful of the corrupting influence of the Ring on the minds of men, Frodo (Elijah Wood) and his loyal friend Samwise (Sean Astin) set off alone on the path to Mordor.  At the beginning of The Two Towers (2002) they are quickly intercepted by Gollum, the grotesque former hobbit who for five hundred years was the Ring’s guardian. 

Though the treasure inflicted a terrible toll on his mind and body Gollum will do anything to once more possess his ‘Precious,’ and as Frodo and a distinctly suspicious Samwise continue on their journey they must rely ever more on the malformed creature as their guide.  Meanwhile the rest of the fellowship have their own battles to fight, and the fearsome Ringwraiths remain as determined as ever to hunt down the diminutive Ring-bearer.

Much of the action in this second instalment revolves around the seige of Helm’s Gate at the hands of Saruman’s orc army, and with neither the immediacy of the first film or the closure of the last The Two Towers does drag slightly on occasion.  There is much more CGI on offer than in the opening chapter, and thus, in this age of Avatar and seamless 3D, many more instances of effects being easily recognisable as computer-generated.

There are however new monsters, new friends and new foes introduced in The Two Towers, and Frodo and Sam’s perilous trek to the foothills of Mordor remains thrilling and laden with danger and excitement.  Gollum plays a much larger role in this central film, and despite being one of the earliest motion-captured, computer-generated ever brought to life on life he still looks impressive all these years later. The extended edition also incporates another 43 minutes of footage incorporated into the film to give viewers the definitive story of the Two Towers.

Minor quibbles aside, The Two Towers still stands as a strong technological statement, and sets the scene neatly for The Return of the King.  Jackson neatly divides screentime between a multitude of characters and subplots, and he does so in a way that never feels rushed or extraneous, something that perhaps can’t be said about the final film of the trilogy.

Similar to the extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers collates a healthy amount of special features on the five discs included in this release. Commentary tracks are included by all the major players such as Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, Elijah Woods and Andy Serkis, documentaries, interviews and my favourite, an interactive atlas of Middle Earth. Some special features are a little lacklustre but for the majority, the creators of this release have incorporated a whole wealth of interesting segments to truly flesh out this amazing story by the legendary J.R.R. Tolkien.

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Special Features

• Extended edition of the film, incorporating 43 minutes of footage incorporated into the film

• 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

• Easter Egg: MTV Movie Awards clip (Gollum accepting award)

• Costas Botes documentary: The Two Towers–Behind the Scenes

• The Appendices, Part 3: The Journey Continues (on DVD)

• Peter Jackson introduction

• J.R.R. Tolkein: Origin of Middle Earth

• From Book to Script: Finding a Story

• Designing and Building Middle-Earth

• Gollum

• Middle-Earth Atlas interactive

• New Zealand as Middle Earth (map with video location)

• The Appendices, Part 4: The Battle for Middle Earth (on DVD)

• Elijah Wood introduction

• Filming The Two Towers

• Visual effects

• Editorial: Refining the Story

• Music and Sound

• The Battle for Helm’s Deep is Over