Lord of the Rings-Two Towers (2002)

"The supreme film adventure of our time.  Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
"Spectacular in every sense of the word, even if you don' t know an Orc from a Uruk-Hai.  Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"The storylines are woven together skilfully, the magnificent swooping aerial shots are breathtaking, and the overall experience is awesome.  Brian Webster, Apollo Guide

Editor's Note Picking up where the first film left off, Peter Jackson's THE TWO TOWERS throws the remaining members of the Fellowship into the scattered chaos of Middle-earth, now fully under siege by the forces of Sauron. While Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) journey to the dreaded Mordor, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) are held captive by orcs, and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) search for their abducted companions. Soon Frodo and Sam are joined by the sulking and duplicitous Gollum (portrayed by the voice and motion-captured acting of Andy Serkis), who becomes their guide through the barren lands leading to Mount Doom. Meanwhile Merry and Pippin encounter the looming Treebeard (voiced by Rhys-Davies) and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli find themselves in the land of Rohan, accompanied by an old friend. As the tale continues, each scenario becomes more perilous, and fierce battles erupt at both Isengard, home of the treacherous Saruman (Christopher Lee), and the massive Helm's Deep. After masterfully setting up the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien in THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, Jackson continues the trilogy with the increasingly dark and battle-filled TWO TOWERS without skipping a beat. Although the director takes a few more liberties in adapting the second installment, he skillfully cuts from one scenario to the next, creating a tightly woven tapestry with the various storylines. Joining the impressive cast this time around are Miranda Otto as Éowyn; Bernard Hill as her father, King Théoden; Brad Dourif as the aptly named Grima Wormtongue; Karl Urban as Éomer; David Wenham as Faramir; and Serkis under the remarkable CGI facade of Gollum. An intense epic that features one jaw-dropping sequence after another, THE TWO TOWERS more than carries its weight as the crucial centerpiece of THE LORD OF THE RINGS.

	Andy Serkis
	Bernard Hill
	Billy Boyd
	Brad Dourif
	Bruce Hopkins
	Cate Blanchett
	Christopher Lee
	Craig Parker
	Dominic Monaghan
	Elijah Wood
	Viggo Mortensen
	Hugo Weaving
	Ian McKellen
	John Rhys-Davies
	Liv Tyler
	Miranda Otto
	Orlando Bloom
	Sean Astin
	Ian McKellan
	J.R.R. Tolkien - Based On The Book By
	Rick Porras, Jamie Selkirk - Co-Producers
	Ngila Dickson, Richard Taylor - Costume Designers
	Peter Jackson - Directed By
	Andrew Lesnie - Director of Photography
	Jabez Olssen - Editor
	Mark Ordesky, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein - Executive Producers
	Robert Shaye, Michael Lynne - Executive Producers
	Michael Horton - Film Editor
	Howard Shore - Music By
	Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson - Producers
	Grant Major - Production Designer
	Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Stephen Sinclair & Peter Jackson - Screenplay By
	WETA Ltd., NZ - Special Make-Up, Creature, Miniature And Digital Effects By
	John Hubbard and Amy MacLean - UK Casting By
	Victoria Burrows - US Casting By
	Jim Rygiel - Visual Effects Supervisor
	Andrew Lesnie - Cinematographer
	Barrie M. Osbourne - Producer
	Frances Walsh - Producer
	Frances Walsh - Screenplay
	Howard Shore - Musical Score
	J.R.R. Tolkien - Based On Novel By
	Michael Horton - Editor
	Peter Jackson - Director
	Peter Jackson - Screenplay
	Peter Jackson - Producer
	Philippa Boyens - Screenplay
	Stephen Sinclair - Screenplay

Entertainment Weekly
"...THE TWO TOWERS conjures an illusion of the gravity that you want from an emotionally charged storybook epic..." 12/13/2002 p.55-6

Los Angeles Times
"...The director's great strength is the confidence with which he translates Tolkien's vision into visual imagery..." 12/18/2002 p.C1

New York Times
"...A rare perfect mating of filmmaker and material....[A] beautifully considered epic....The grandeur is astonishing..." 12/18/2002 p.E1

USA Today
"...Visually dazzling....The RINGS movies are among the most breathtaking achievements in recent cinematic history..." 12/17/2002 p.1D

Variety
"...In some respects a more impressive film than its well-received predecessor. Marked by nonstop conflict that Akira Kurosawa would have envied..." 12/02/2002 p.42

Rolling Stone
"...Jackson keeps the action percolating. The effects astonish..." 01/23/2003 p.76

Film Comment
"...Peter Jackson has pulled out all the stops....Jackson and his team of homegrown artisans have created an exciting form of digital epic filmmaking..." 01/01/2003 p.74

Box Office
"...The visuals are a real treat; everyone and everything -- particularly the landscape -- looks and feels just right..." 03/01/2003 p.60

Sight and Sound
"...THE LORD OF THE RINGS so far stands among the best adaptations of a major work of fantasy ever managed by the cinema..." 02/01/2003 p.50-1

James Berardinelli's ReelViews 10 of 10
The Two Towers starts out a little slowly, but the rousing second half, which gathers momentum like a boulder racing downhill, will leave audiences craving more when the end credits roll. Combined, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers represent one of the most engrossing and engaging six-hour segments of cinema I have ever enjoyed. If the final third of the puzzle is the equal of the first two, this will go down as one of the crowning achievements of cinema. Like its predecessor, The Two Towers is a great motion picture, and not to be missed by anyone who appreciates fantasy adventure. - James Berardinelli

San Francisco Examiner 9 of 10
Ultimately, the best thing about The Two Towers is Jackson's palpable enthusiasm for not just this movie, but the trilogy. He's as excited about part two as he was about part one. But this time, he's buckled down, ready for the serious business of storytelling, glad that the bother of introducing characters is over and done with. We almost can feel his impatience in having to wait a year to show us the rest of his epic. - Jeffrey M. Anderson

Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
The Two Towers will possibly be more popular than the first film, more of an audience-pleaser, but hasn't Jackson lost the original purpose of the story somewhere along the way? He has taken an enchanting and unique work of literature and retold it in the terms of the modern action picture. If Tolkien had wanted to write about a race of supermen, he would have written a Middle-Earth version of Conan the Barbarian. But no. He told a tale in which modest little hobbits were the heroes. And now Jackson has steered the story into the action mainstream. To do what he has done in this film must have been awesomely difficult, and he deserves applause, but to remain true to Tolkien would have been more difficult, and braver. - Roger Ebert