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 | Attack

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 (Manitoba/Ontario) (re-rating) (video) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | 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:

In the cave scene where Faramir lifts the Ring from under Frodo's shirt, David Wenham was afraid of accidentally stabbing Elijah Wood so a swordsman was called on to do the scene.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Gamling and Hama ride ahead of the Rohan civilians to scout, and Hama's horse starts to get nervous and Gamling asks what's wrong, Hama is on the right and Gamling is on the left. Then in the next shot they switch places. And when the warg jumps at Hama they switch places again.

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 "Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Isengard Unleashed

Great One

I considered The Fellowship of the Ring to be one of the greatest movies ever. This one is better!

The scenery is marvelous, the animations great, and the story superb. This episode strays further from the books when it comes to the unfolding of events, but I feel that it stays closer in atmosphere and realism; the nazgûls are now the fear-inspiring creatures they should be. Gollum, excellently implemented, even becomes more realistic then I remember him from the books, not to mention other attempts to portray him. His schizophrenic monologues are among the highlights of the movie.

The major drawback is once again the apparent incapability of the dark-side creatures. Aragorn with fellows can ride back and forth among them unhurt, while the Uruk-Hai fall in large numbers just for being nearby. Though I enjoy many of the jokes made at Gimli's expense, this still is another thing I partly dislike. Gimli sure is no clown in the books.

I rate the movie 9/10 (my highest so far).