The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Academy Award × 2
Rent/Purchase
Frodo Baggins and the other members of the Fellowship continue on their sacred quest to destroy the One Ring--but on separate paths. Their destinies lie at two towers--Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupt wizard Saruman awaits, and Sauron's fortress at Barad-dur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor.
What critics thought
Nearly universally acclaimed on release and still ranked among the greatest sequels ever made, The Two Towers won critics over with the Battle of Helm's Deep, which many called the most spectacular combat sequence put to screen, and with Gollum, whose conflicted inner life struck reviewers as something genuinely new in digital filmmaking. The one consistent reservation — voiced even by admirers — was that the film lacks the sense-of-discovery thrill of Fellowship, trading some of its predecessor's wonder for scale, darkness, and momentum.
“It is not faithful to the spirit of Tolkien and misplaces much of the charm and whimsy of the books, but it stands on its own as a visionary thriller”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Elaborate preparations are required for the payoff in this instalment -- the massing of troops plus much individual struggle as splintered groups of the Fellowship make their separate ways toward the defining battle of Helm's Deep ... Yet these preparations count as payoffs too ... Seldom has a popular entertainment set its stage so carefully or evocatively, with such lavish respect for its audience.”
Joe Morgenstern·The Wall Street Journal
“While everyone else in Tolkien's myth falls neatly into the camps of Good and Evil, the self-lacerating Gollum is at war with himself. In an epic drenched in medievalism, he's the dangerously ambiguous voice of the modern.”
David Ansen·Newsweek
“It may lack the first-view-thrill and natural dramatic shape of Fellowship, but this is both funnier and darker than the first film, and certainly more action-packed. An essential component of what is now destined to be among the best film franchises of all time.”
Empire
“a very watchable, distinctive, if over-extended FX spectacle”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
Genres
Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Cast & Crew
DirectorPeter Jackson
StarringElijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis
ComposerHoward Shore
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Academy Award × 2
Frodo Baggins and the other members of the Fellowship continue on their sacred quest to destroy the One Ring--but on separate paths. Their destinies lie at two towers--Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupt wizard Saruman awaits, and Sauron's fortress at Barad-dur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor.
What critics thought
Nearly universally acclaimed on release and still ranked among the greatest sequels ever made, The Two Towers won critics over with the Battle of Helm's Deep, which many called the most spectacular combat sequence put to screen, and with Gollum, whose conflicted inner life struck reviewers as something genuinely new in digital filmmaking. The one consistent reservation — voiced even by admirers — was that the film lacks the sense-of-discovery thrill of Fellowship, trading some of its predecessor's wonder for scale, darkness, and momentum.
“It is not faithful to the spirit of Tolkien and misplaces much of the charm and whimsy of the books, but it stands on its own as a visionary thriller”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Elaborate preparations are required for the payoff in this instalment -- the massing of troops plus much individual struggle as splintered groups of the Fellowship make their separate ways toward the defining battle of Helm's Deep ... Yet these preparations count as payoffs too ... Seldom has a popular entertainment set its stage so carefully or evocatively, with such lavish respect for its audience.”
Joe Morgenstern·The Wall Street Journal
“While everyone else in Tolkien's myth falls neatly into the camps of Good and Evil, the self-lacerating Gollum is at war with himself. In an epic drenched in medievalism, he's the dangerously ambiguous voice of the modern.”
David Ansen·Newsweek
“It may lack the first-view-thrill and natural dramatic shape of Fellowship, but this is both funnier and darker than the first film, and certainly more action-packed. An essential component of what is now destined to be among the best film franchises of all time.”
Empire
“a very watchable, distinctive, if over-extended FX spectacle”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
Genres
Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Cast & Crew
DirectorPeter Jackson
StarringElijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis
ComposerHoward Shore
Rent/Purchase