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

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a film released in December 2002, directed by Peter Jackson. It is the second part in a trilogy of films, following The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, also directed by Jackson. It is an adaptation of the book The Two Towers, the second part of the three-volume novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.

The Cast

• Frodo Baggins: Elijah Wood
• Gandalf the White: Ian McKellen
• Aragorn (Strider): Viggo Mortensen
• Sam Gamgee: Sean Astin
• Galadriel: Cate Blanchett
• Arwen: Liv Tyler[?]
• Gimli son of Gloin (a Dwarf): John Rhys-Davies
• Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) Dominic Monaghan
• Peregrin Took (Pippin): Billy Boyd
• Legolas: Orlando Bloom
• Saruman: Christopher Lee
• Elrond: Hugo Weaving
• Bilbo Baggins: Ian Holm
• Gollum: Andy Serkis[?]
• Theoden: Bernard Hill
• Wormtongue: Brad Dourif[?]
• Éowyn: Miranda Otto[?]
• Éomer: Karl Urban[?]
• Faramir: David Wenham[?]
• Treebeard: John Rhys-Davies (voice)

In addition to many characters returning from the first film, The Two Towers featured Éowyn, a princess yearning to be a warrior; Théoden, a troubled king; and his treacherous counselor, Gríma Wormtongue. These humans were largely overshadowed by special effects creatures including treelike Ents, the pterodactyl-like flying steeds of the Nazgûl, and, especially, Gollum, widely acclaimed as the first fully realized CGI character in a live-action film. His movements and facial expressions were modeled on the actor who provided his voice. 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 unshakeable friendship.

Synopsis

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 a race of giants to join the battle against evil. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas encounter a mysteriously transformed Gandalf and battle Saruman's army at Helm's Deep.

Deviations From the Source Material

Jackson's The Two Towers differs from Tolkien's in several important ways.

Structure

Tolkien divided The Two Towers in two distinct parts. The first told the stories of Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas and Gandalf. The second concerned Frodo and Sam. Jackson chose to intercut between the two to present the events in chronological order.

Events

Jackson and his cowriters added several events to the story, notably:

• An attack by Orcs mounted on wargs.
• A decision by Galadriel and Elrond to send elven archers to Helm's Deep.
• Elrond sending Arwen "to the west".
• Faramir takes Frodo, Sam and Gollum to the besieged city of Osgiliath. (This causes an apparent geographical inconsistency. Frodo and his companions are found on the eastern side of the Great River. Then Faramir takes them to Osgiliath, but they must now be on the western bank since we are told that the eastern side of Osgiliath has fallen. Once Faramir releases them they resume their journey to Mordor and are once more on the eastern side of the river.)

Two important events from Tolkien's The Two Towers did not make it into the film, but will almost certainly make into the next one:

• Gandalf and Saruman's confrontation at Isengard.
• Sam and Frodo's encounter with the monstrous Shelob. (This is foreshadowed by Gollum's line: "She'll get them!")

Characters

Two 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.
• Treebeard, chief among the ents, is unaware of what is happening on the borders of his forest. He does not send Huorns[?] to Helm's Deep.

Awards History - and Critics Opinions

Academy Awards: Winner - Visual Effects, Sound Editing[?]. Nominee - Best Picture, Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Best Editing, and Best Sound.

Empire Awards[?]: Best Picture

Phoenix Film Critics Awards[?] [1] (http://www.moviecitynews.com/awards/phoenix_fca.htm): "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.

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 has been speculated that the Academy is biding its time for the concluding film, Return of The King, to be released so that they can honour Peter Jackson for creating such a successful and acclaimed film trilogy.

External link

• Official movie site (http://www.lordoftherings.net/)