The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (film)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a
film released on
December 18,
2002, directed by
Peter Jackson, with a runtime of 179 minutes. It is the second part of the
Lord of the Rings film trilogy, following
The Fellowship of the Ring and preceding
The Return of the King. It was adapted mostly from the
second volume of
J. R. R. Tolkien's epic literary fantasy,
The Lord of the Rings, by
Fran Walsh,
Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson. (In addition, Stephen Sinclair is credited as a writer: he worked briefly on the screenplay in 1997 before it was conceived as a stand-alone film). The movie was very well received critically[
1] and was an enormous box-office success, earning over $900 million worldwide (making it the fourth most successful film in history at the time of its release, ahead of its prequel).
In addition to many characters returning from the first film,
The Two Towers features
Éowyn, a noble lady of Rohan who yearns to be a warrior;
Éomer, a stalwart Marshal of Rohan and brother to Éowyn;
Théoden, a troubled king, uncle of Éowyn and Éomer; and his treacherous counsellor,
Gríma Wormtongue. The human actors were supplemented by a number of
special effects creatures including tree-like
Ents, the
pterodactyl-like flying steeds of the
Nazgûl, and, especially,
Gollum, widely acclaimed as the best fully realized
CGI character in a live-action film up to that point. Many of his movements and facial expressions were modeled after the actor who provided his voice, Andy Serkis. Only glimpsed in the first film, Gollum here becomes a pivotal character with the potential to change the fate of the story's world. He wrestles with inner demons and becomes a source of friction in Sam and Frodo's previously unshakable friendship.
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Different routes taken in The Two Towers in Middle-earth (shown in yellow, green and blue) |
The surviving members of the
Fellowship of the Ring have split into three groups. Frodo and Sam face many perils on their continuing quest to save
Middle-earth by destroying the
One Ring in the fires of
Mount Doom. Merry and Pippin escape from the
Orcs and must convince the
Ents to join the battle against evil. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas encounter a mysteriously transformed Gandalf and the people of
Rohan, at war with
Saruman's army before the climactic battle at
Helm's Deep.
The movie contains a number of changes from the text of the books. Notably the meaning of the title itself, 'The Two Towers', was changed. While Tolkien considered several possible sets of towers
he eventually created a final cover illustration
and wrote
a note included at the end
The Fellowship of the Ring which identified them as
Minas Morgul and
Orthanc. Jackson's movie, as well as its trailers and posters, instead names them as Orthanc and
Barad-dûr.
Structure
Tolkien divided
The Two Towers into three distinct parts. The first related the stories of Merry and Pippin. The second told of Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas and Gandalf. The third concerned Frodo, Sam and Gollum. Jackson chose to intercut between the three to present the events in chronological order.
Events
Jackson and his co-writers added several events to the story, notably:
* In the book,
Theoden is ill-advised by Wormtongue, has made some unwise decisions, and exhibits feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, similar to what is now referred to as a case of situational
depression. Seeing Gandalf, however, he says he feels much better at once, and some fresh air and discussion with Gandalf are sufficient to revive him. In the film, rather than being depressed, Theoden is actually under an evil magic spell, and is influenced if not possessed by Saruman. Gandalf removes the curse, in a scene reminiscent of
The Exorcist. During the preparations for war and even during the
Battle of the Hornburg (the correct name of the "Battle of Helm's Deep"), Theoden expresses feelings of helplessness once again, almost of cowardice. In the book, he has no such qualms, and it's
his idea, not Aragorn's, to ride out against the attacking armies.
* In the movie,
Faramir speaks of taking the Ring from Frodo, for the defence of Gondor; in the book, he denies having any such desire: "Not even if I found it by the side of a road", he repeats. According to Jackson, this does not work dramatically, as Faramir has no "character arc" (i.e., he does not change as a person from his first scene to his last). Jackson felt this change important for two reasons. Firstly, the most important part of all three films is the Ring, and he felt Faramir's words undermined its power. (The books have the advantage of explaining the internal struggles of the characters and can empower the Ring in that way; a film can only do so through the external words and actions of the characters.) Secondly, Jackson felt Faramir would become more compelling in the films if the character had a "personal journey". Some fan critics say that Jackson's changes actually make the Ring
too powerful, not taking into account the spiritual and personal qualities of those to whom it is offered, and making it appear as if only Aragorn (the rightful king) is immune to its effects.
* In the movie, Faramir takes Frodo, Sam and Gollum to the besieged city of
Osgiliath, but subsequently lets them go. In the book, Faramir does not take them further than the forbidden pool. In the theatrical version it is not clear how Frodo and his companions get back from Osgiliath to
Ithilien, but this is explained in the extended cut — they escape through the ruined city's sewers and so make their way out behind the enemy lines. (A line of Sam's seems to wink to the knowledgeable audience members that this is indeed a stark change: in the midst of his emotional monologue, Sam notes, "We shouldn't even be here.")
* An attack on the Rohirrim travelling to Helm's Deep by Orcs mounted on
wargs results in Aragorn's near death; he is revived by a vision of Arwen in a
dream sequence. Nothing like this is present in the book; Jackson in interviews stated that he put this in to create more "action" and suspense.
* Galadriel persuades Elrond (via long-distance
telepathy) to send Elven archers to Helm's Deep. Interestingly, they appear nonetheless to be Elves of
Lórien, not Elrond's people from
Rivendell. (
Haldir) was seen previously in the Golden Wood. Jackson originally planned to have Arwen herself fighting at Helm's Deep and filmed some scenes along those lines, but abandoned that track. It is still possible to pick her out in the battle, as some footage was used in the Extended Edition. This addition might have been inspired by a single line spoken in passing by Legolas, when he was waiting for the coming forces of Saruman at the walls of Helm's Deep: he wished that he could have had a hundred Elven archers with him to strengthen the defence. In the book, a major point of the
Battle of the Hornburg is that the Elves did not come, being too occupied with their part of the war. It symbolized the coming separation of the two races as the Elves left Middle-earth. However, Jackson felt it was important to have the Elves play a much larger role in the film than they did in the book, to keep these characters from falling out of the story, since a major theme in both the books and the films is Middle-earth changing from an ethereal world of diversity to the more familiar world of mankind. Fan critics complain that this change, above all others, interferes with the logic of the original story.
* Arwen has a vision of her future which is taken somewhat loosely from
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen in the books' Appendices.
* Elrond encourages Arwen "to the West", though her final decision on the matter, and her reason for making it, is revealed in
The Return of the King.
* In the book, Boromir's death takes place in the opening chapters of Volume II, and the events leading to it are explained a bit later on. However, the film trilogy pushed this into the tail end of
The Fellowship of the Ring.
* Gandalf and Saruman's confrontation at
Isengard. This was originally intended to appear at the beginning of
The Return of the King, but a late decision by Peter Jackson meant that this scene was not part of the theatrical version, though it has since been included in the extended cut.
* Sam and Frodo's encounter with the monstrous
Shelob. (This is foreshadowed by Gollum's line: "We could let
her do it.") Shelob's Lair did indeed feature prominently in the third film. The filmmakers' rationale for leaving this out was that it happened later than the other events shown in
The Two Towers: Frodo is captured by the orcs of Cirith Ungol on March 13th at the end of the book, while the Rohan army had reached Isengard a week before on March 5th, and the events of
The Return of the King started with Gandalf and Pippin reaching Minas Tirith on March 9th. See
Timeline of Arda.
Characters
Four of the characters in the film are presented somewhat differently than their counterparts in the book:
*
Faramir requires much more convincing to let Sam and Frodo continue on their quest, whereas in the book he immediately recognizes the wisdom of permitting them to leave freely. He is shown as being much more flawed than in the literary version, but nonetheless someone who is still capable of wisdom, although some fans insist that the changes in the film have ruined his character. On the DVD commentary, Phillipa Bowens states that to include Faramir exactly as he appeared in the book would have dealt irrevocable damage to the character of the Ring. In essence, his immediate rejection of it would dismiss the idea that it is alluring (and thus, dangerous) to all. A similar example of this can be seen in the third film where, as opposed to the version of events portrayed in the book where he quickly dismisses any idea of keeping the Ring, Samwise Gamgee hesitates to return it to Frodo's hands in Mordor. It should also be noted that the extended edition of
The Two Towers establishes Faramir's desperate wish to please his father and "show his quality", as well as
Denethor's desire for the Ring to be held in Gondor. Also, there is a line given to Faramir regarding a fallen
Southron that belongs to Sam in the books, but is not out of keeping with Faramir's character. To read more about the changes made in Faramir's character in the films, see
Faramir.
*
Treebeard, chief among the Ents, is unaware of the extent of what is happening on the borders of his forest and has to be "tricked" into attacking Isengard. In the theatrical release he is not seen sending
Huorns to Helm's Deep, but does so in the extended video version — see below.
* Continuing a trend from the first movie,
Elrond (who doesn't appear in the book) is much more protective of Arwen and is almost antagonistic toward
Aragorn, thus the
Thingol portrayal and the
stereotypical "father-daughter theme" are both apparent.
*
King Théoden's reaction upon learning of Gríma's treachery differs greatly from the novel: in the book, he offers Wormtongue a chance to redeem himself by riding to war with the Rohirrim, whereas in the film, a dazed Théoden tries to personally execute the traitor. Having achieved victory at Helm's Deep, in the third film Théoden offers Gríma the chance to return to him when they meet at Isengard in the extended DVD version. Théoden's attitude towards the coming conflict is also presented differently in Jackson's film: in the novel, Théoden chooses to ride to war, and only goes to Helm's Deep in order to assist
Erkenbrand's forces, which had been dealt a defeat by Saruman's armies. In the film, he opts to avoid open confrontation, and treats Helm's Deep as a shelter for the civilian population of Rohan. Only the ensuing orc siege forces him into battle. The King's sense of self-doubt is greatly magnified in the film, in order to provide him with a character arc, as was done with Faramir.
The
musical score for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was composed, orchestrated, and conducted by
Howard Shore, who also composed the music for the other two films in the trilogy.
*
Academy Awards** Winner:
Visual Effects,
Sound Editing.
** Nominee:
Best Picture,
Best Art Direction - Set Decoration,
Best Editing, and
Best Sound.
* American Film Institute: Digital Effects, Production Design, Movie of the Year
* Apex Awards: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Viggo Mortensen), Best Production Design, Best Original Song Score, Best Visual Effects, Best Make-up
* 2003 Art Directors Guild: Best Production Design (Period or Fantasy feature Film)
* Australian Film Awards: Best Foreign Film
* British Academy Film Awards: Best Costume Design, Best Special Visual Effects, Orange Film of the Year (voted on by the public)
* Broadcast Film Critics Association: Best Digital Acting Performance (Gollum)
* Central Ohio Film Critics: Best Cinematography
* Cinemarati Awards: Best Film, Best Ensemble Cast, Best Director (Peter Jackson), Best Film Editing
* Dallas Fort Worth Film Critics: Best Director (Peter Jackson)
*
Empire Awards: Best Picture
* Golden Satellite Awards: Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble, Best Visual Effects
* Golden Trailer Awards: Best Action Trailer
* Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hairstylist Guild Awards: Best Character Makeup, Best Character Hair Styling, Best Special Makeup Effects
*
Hugo Award (World Science Fiction Society): Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form
* International 3-D Awards (computer graphics industry): Best Feature Film VFX (Weta)
* Kansas City Film Critics: Best Director
* Las Vegas Film Critics: Best Director (Peter Jackson), Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects
*
MTV Movie Awards 2003: Best virtual performance (Gollum)
*
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards [
2]: "Best Picture", "Best Ensemble Acting", "Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium", "Best Cinematography", "Best Production Design", "Best Visual Effects", and "Best Makeup" "Gollum's Song", the theme played during the end credits, won the award for "Best Original Song". The song was written by
Howard Shore and sung by the
Icelandic singer
Emiliana Torrini.
* Rotten Tomatoes Awards: Best Film
* Saturn Awards: Best Fantasy Film, Best Costume (
Ngila Dickson), Best Supporting Actor (Andy Serkis)
* Visual Effects Society Awards: Best Special Effects, Best Effects in Art Direction, Best Visual Effects in Photography, Best Models and Miniatures, Best Performance by an Actor in an Effects Film, Best Character Animation in a Live-Action Feature Film, Best Compositing and Visual Effects in an Effects-Driven Film
* Followers of the Oscars predicted that the movie had a poor chance of winning Best Picture, because it received no other nominations in the major Oscar categories (
Director,
Actor and
Actress,
Supporting Actor and
Actress and
Screenplay). This proved to be true, though the film did win the
Academy Award for Visual Effects. It was speculated that the Academy was biding its time for the concluding film,
The Return of the King, to be released so that they could honour Peter Jackson for creating such a successful and acclaimed film trilogy. The third film was awarded 11 Oscars in 2004.
The theatrical edition of the movie was released on DVD on
August 26,
2003. The DVD was a 2-disc set with extras on the second disc. This was intended to be a simultaneous worldwide release, but some
British stores began selling the DVDs on Friday
August 22 because it was a
Bank Holiday weekend, much to the ire of the film's UK distributor, which had threatened to withhold advance supplies of subsequent DVD releases.
The Two Towers followed the precedent set by its prequel by releasing an Extended Edition (222 minutes) with new editing, and added special effects and music. This version was released on DVD November 19, 2003 along with four commentaries and hours of supplementary material. One of the additional scenes features Sean Bean and John Noble, who do not appear in the theatrical version, in a flashback in which brothers
Boromir and Faramir are seen together with their father, Denethor. This is available on a 4-disc DVD set, with the movie on discs 1 and 2 including four audio commentaries by the crew and actors, and extensive bonus material on discs 3 and 4. There is also a "Special Edition" DVD package containing the 4-disc set, a sculpture of
Gollum, a booklet about the process of designing Gollum for the movie and a short DVD documentary on the process of designing collectible sculptures based on the movies' characters and artifacts.
In December, 2003 there were also limited back-to-back theatrical releases of the extended versions of
The Fellowship of the Ring and
The Two Towers, followed by premieres of
The Return of the King — in all 10 hours and 32 minutes long.
In the
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends episode "Duchess of Wails", the climax is a homage to the attack on
Helm's Deep from the movie. Certain lines are used in the scene's dialogue as well as memorable visual moments, like the initial volley of arrows (tomatoes in the episode) are also used.
In an episode of
Malcolm in the Middle there is also a homage to
The Two Towers when the employees smash into Craig's office.
After the
September 11, 2001 attacks, an
Internet troll named Klerck posted a facetious
online petition to have Peter Jackson change the name of the film
The Two Towers due to its coincidental name associated with the Twin Towers.
In part, the petition read: "The title is clearly meant to refer to the attacks on the World Trade Center. In this post-September 11 world, it is unforgivable that this should be allowed to happen. The idea is both offensive and morally repugnant."
The petition mocked films such as
Spider-Man and
Collateral Damage, which were edited after 9/11 to remove elements that might be a painful reminder of the attacks, as well as the tendency of many at the time to make accusations of exploiting the memory of the attacks.
Reporting about the petition, the
Los Angeles Times added::But it wasn't just Web surfers who had issues. Earlier this year, New Line proposed making its New York premiere of "The Two Towers" a benefit similar to the one held for "The Fellowship of the Ring," which raised $300,000 for the Twin Towers Fund. But the organizations they approached got cold feet.
"Apparently, they thought the name of the film was too close," said New Line head Robert Shaye. There was, he said, a conversation about changing the film's name. "Not going to happen," he said flatly.
In response to the
Two Towers petition, another Internet joker posted a similar petition to have the name of the third film, "The Return of the King", changed to respect the memory of
Elvis Presley.
*Christopher Lee plays the main villain in this installment, Coincidentally he played a similar role in
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones:
Saruman in this one, and
Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones. In both he was sub-ordinate to a greater villain. Coincidentally both characters die at the beginning of the next installment of both series- albeit only in the special edition of
The Return of the King.
*Though Jackson's trilogy refrains from delving too deeply into the religious aspects of Tolkien's Middle-earth, when Aragorn addresses the Elven warriors at Helm's Deep in Elvish, he refers to them as "Eruchín". This means, "Children of Eru", with "
Eru" being the creator (God) of Middle-earth. Thus the phrase essentially means, "Children of God". While Tolkien clearly established the existence of Eru in his Middle-earth, the being is not mentioned in either
The Hobbit or
The Lord of the Rings. (He is alluded to as "the One" in the part of
The Lord of the Rings Appendix A that speaks of the downfall of
Númenor).
*The Two Towers has the second highest body count of any movie on http://www.moviebodycounts.com.
* In
The Two Towers,
Viggo Mortensen (
Aragorn), is seen screaming in sorrow and rage, which was actually caused by him breaking several toes while kicking an Orc helmet. The shot had several previous takes until the producers decided to use the one seen in the final cut.
*Peter Jackson is on record in interviews as confirming that the scene in which Frodo, Sam and Gollum initially approach the Black Gate from overlooking mountain crags is a deliberate
hommage to the scene in
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film) in which the three friends arrive at the castle of the Wicked Witch of the West. The reference is driven home moments later when a group of Southrons march in from the right, voicing an impressive though unintelligible chant.
*
Official movie site*
US Box Office Takings for the movie
