THE TWO TOWERS FINALLY CAME OUT ON DVD AND VHS!!!

[Arwen Evenstar]

IT FINALLY CAME!!! <BR>The Lord of the Rings part two The Two Towers<BR>came out on DVD and VHS yesterday, August 26, 2003 here in the U.S.A!!! YAHOO!!!

[Goldberry]

Yes, that was very exciting. Now I can watch it whenever I want!<P>And welcome to the downs!

[Arwen Evenstar the Fair]

Hey Arwen, welcome to the Downs, are we related? lol <P>The movie rocks, but I am so checking out all the behind the scenes stuff!!! HURRAY for special features!!! <P>LONG LIVE LOTR!!!!!

[Shy Hobbit]

I got mine yesterday morning (after failing my driving test miserably ) and as soon as I got home, I dug right into the extras disc

[Meneltarmacil]

I pre-ordered mine from Amazon.com several months ago, but it hasn't gotten here yet. I really hope it gets here soon...

[Enorëiel]

I went right after school yesterday to get it!!!! I was sooooooooo happy! I came home and immediatly put in the special features dvd, I watched most of it, i would have watched all of it but I had to go to my friend's surprise party (and yes, she was surprised and happy too, she got the TTT DVD as well as a HUGE Legolas poster). I got home late but still watched a lot of it. I went to bed after midnight(even though i had school the next morning). I've been watching it ever since i got home from work.... in fact i'm watching it now("The white wizard approaches"...). But anyway... Yay!! I am soooooooo happy! I can now watch it anytime i want - YES!!

[Marileangorifurnimaluim]

So, those of you who've seen it, bearing in mind that I'm one of those who loved The Fellowship of the Ring and didn't like The Two Towers... is it an improvement over the theater release? Before you jump on me, remember PJ said he had trouble in the editing of this film. <P>The flaws I hope were mended are:<P>- the choppy quality of the editing. <P>Do you think it flows better, more smoothly?<P>- the slow pacing in the middle of the movie. <P>Do you think that the Arwen portions no longer dominate the middle part of the film? <P>Is it a little more balanced among the characters?<P>- the relatively tame quality of the battle of Helm's Deep. I felt the end of the Fellowship had a more powerful battle scene, gripping from beginning to end. This surpised me, as I was salivating for Helm's Deep. Helm's Deep had moments that were intense, but other moments that were silly or pulled you away from the action. <P>Have they added anything to Helm's Deep to make it more intense?<P>- Elijah's wide-eyed acting. Unfortunately, Elijah did not read either The Two Towers or The Return of the King, and it shows in that he couldn't find in the script what was going on with Frodo in his scenes. His lines were cut down to repetitions of 'the ring is getting heavy' etc etc - and there is no way to say that without whining. <P>Have they added any dialogue between Frodo and Sam to give a little more emotional range to his scenes?<P>Those are the issues, especially the flow and pacing, that I hope were fixed in the Special Edition release. Were they?<P>Maril

[HCIsland]

Marileangorifurnimaluim, the special edition doesn't come out until November. All that's available now is the theatrical version.<P>H.C.

I am sure I am being really annoying but I am new here and haven't yet spoken to anyone. On the quiz board I have set up a new forum on just general LotR quizzes, wondered if anyone would like to come and have a little game with me as I love LotR Quizzes but have donw all the ones here on the Barrow Downs site about 3 times each and wondered if anyone here would like to swing by and say howdy. Hope I'm not being intrusive and annoying, which I probably am, tell me to **** off if you want.

[Arwen Eruantale]

[b]Welcome to the Downs, LalaithaUndomiel! That's a great name. Hope you enjoy it here...

[The Only Real Estel]

I picked it up at 2:00 AM the on August 26th. A little early, perhaps, but I couldn't help myself...

[Gorwingel]

We bought it yesterday and watched it yesterday. It is great! I have not got to watch all the special features, but the film is of course wonderful viewing. Though I did watch it with my sister and her friend and they don't like Frodo, so they were making fun of him the entire time and by the end I just was so mad. It is definitely the last time I am watching any of the films with them at home.<P>Oh and on another note... Hi <B>Maril</B>,<BR>Welcome back to the Downs

[Arwen Eruantale]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I picked it up at 2:00 AM the on August 26th. A little early, perhaps, but I couldn't help myself...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Whoa. *laughs* <I>I <B>wish</B></I>... <BR>Can I come over and watch it? (Just kidding.)

[Lyta_Underhill]

I think, if anything, I enjoyed the movie more than I did the first time I watched it, although Maril's point about choppy editing is well taken. The transition between Merry and Pippin scenes and Frodo and Sam left me wondering why Pippin was clambering up rock, until I realized it was Sam! And the preparations for Helm's Deep and Aragorn's over the cliff ride do drag a bit. <P>And I find that I still can't get over the Faramir thing, although I forgive Frodo quite easily. Sure, Faramir and Frodo's exchanges have been messed up to lessen the forthrightness on both parts, and there is not the deep connection forged there that I loved from the books and Faramir just suddenly lets them go after bringing them all the way to Osgiliath...etc etc. I'm sure everyone has heard this before, but I believe the basic underlying flaw is Faramir's character and not Frodo's (whew!). It is clear to me now that Faramir does this for favor with Denethor and has not even thought it through, but I'll lay off it for now! <P>I found that Aragorn and Legolas seemed somewhat silly, especially with Legolas pausing on a run across the fields to say "A red sun rises; blood has been spilt this night." And then they keep on running...heh heh. And the whole bit with Aragorn's seeming death over the cliff was unnecessary IMO. Another silly line, delivered in a silly way, "We're not alone," with portentous undertone, Frodo to Sam at the beginning. I expected the ominous music to swell...<P>And it seems that we'll have to squint from now on whenever Gandalf the White enters the scene! Speaking of that, why does, Gandalf shines, but Legolas, Haldir and the Elf legions do not? Maybe they need to break another Elf-lightstick in their armor? <P>I found that, even with the pratfalls and comic relief, Gimli I liked more than I remembered. He was fierce at Helm's Deep and faithful all along; his friendship with Legolas shows through nicely. <P>And I did notice the draining of the initiative from Merry and Pippin; however, they hinted well at Pippin's part in leading the Three Hunters on their trail and also of persuading the Ents to go to war. This illustrated his growth appropriately, I think, although I felt for Merry; he seemed to be beating against a wall, almost whining about the Ents not going to war, rather than speaking of the changes that have come to the world and the treason of Isengard, etc. Merry did not come off as erudite, although he sure knows a lot about the "shepherds of the trees!" I really got a feeling for the danger of Fangorn forest and felt a connection to Treebeard, especially when Pippin's sentiments seem to mirror his. Once Merry convinces Pippin, Pippin "convinces" Treebeard. Although not canon, it is an elegant parallel. <P>I do wonder about Elrond's running off to the Havens part in the middle of the story, though. I didn't so much mind Arwen's part in it, but it seemed to make Elrond look very short sighted, especially when Galadriel voices her thoughts on this matter. It just makes the Elves seem indecisive. No wonder Arwen wanted to run off to be with Aragorn! I find the whole "should I stay or should I go" conflict to be a bit tiresome, as I had thought it all settled long ago when Arwen bound herself to Aragorn. Grumpy old Elrond! <P>I rather enjoyed the Frodo/Sam/Gollum trio the whole way along, even though Faramir having to learn of the Ring from Gollum was a bit disturbing. And it is clear to me that Frodo did NOT offer the Ring to the Nazgul at Osgiliath; rather he was about to don the Ring and was trying to keep himself from doing it. Where would Frodo be without Sam? I do take exception to Frodo's attacking Sam, though! <P>On the thought of Elijah not having the feel of Frodo due to not reading the books, however, I cannot fault an actor for avoiding source material sometimes. I take as my example Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as Steerpike in Gormenghast, the BBC adaptation. He purposefully did not read the text in order to draw the character in his mind firsthand, from direct experience. He does an outstanding job, IMO. Except for the Faramir scenes, I do not find Frodo's character lost in Elijah's portrayal. I simply find there to be more sensationalism added, and that is the fault of the scene writers, really. His relationship with Gollum/Smeagol is heartbreakingly true to me!<P>More thoughts later! I know I've gone on quite long enough already!<P>Cheers,<BR>Lyta

[The Only Real Estel]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Can I come over and watch it? (Just kidding.) <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Sure! (if you live near Kansas .)

[Arafangwen]

I got it the day it came out and watched it two times, then I got up early the next morning to watch it again before I put in the second disc of special features, and then I annoyed my sister to no end by playing Gollum's Song at least twelve times and then singing it the rest of the day, even in ballet class! Let, me tell you, if my classmates didn't think me wierd yet, they do now!

[Marileangorifurnimaluim]

HCIsland, thanks. I'm out of the loop on these things lately.<P>Oh what a drag. I have to wait till November... well, at least I know not to run to the video store.<P>-Maril

[Arwen Eruantale]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Sure! (if you live near Kansas.)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Nope. Far away, in the real mount doom... Arizona. <BR>My Dad's still considering whether or not he wants to wait for the EE. But even he says 'that's a long ways away'. He's so cool...

[Daisy Brambleburr]

My mum rented it out for me on the 26th so i watched it that evening. Watching the film for the third time, these are the things that really struck me:<P>Merry: I just think he is so groovy when he is angry! And I don't blame him for being mad, it must be somewhat frustrating trying to get Ents to do something. <P>Merry and Pippin: I liked how Pippin was always asking questions and trying to look on the bright side while Merry was being more realistic and down to earth. But in the end it's Pippin's hair brained scheme that did the job. I liked how they interacted, if only there was more of them!<P>Gimli: Although the dwarf humor was not always my cup of tea I loved how he was so brave at the hornburg, leaping into a load of Uruk Hai and not getting depressed or worried like some people *coughLegolascough* Lol, just kidding.<P>Faramir: Maybe he could have stood to be a bit less evil, but I loved the way the actor (his name escapes me) delivered his lines. Some of my favorite lines, coincidentally. When he says 'it would grieve you then, to learn that he was dead?' and 'Boromir was my brother'. I loved that part in the book and I think it was done pretty well in the film.<P>Stuff I didn't like? Little things really, 'looks like meats back on the meny boys!' made me squirm, Fangorn looked all squidgy and I still don't really know why Aragorn had to fall off the cliff. <P>And sometimes the editing was quite choppy because it took me a moment to adjust into the diferent scene. But that couldn't really be helped.<P>But I watched it until about 1 in the morning so I'm a little delirious.

[HCIsland]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> It is clear to me now that Faramir does this for favor with Denethor and has not even thought it through, but I'll lay off it for now! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I agree here. I really think the idea was that there where extra pressures put on Faramir that made him, at first, make a decision that was against his better judgement. In the book, when Faramir returns to Minas Tirith he tells his father that he wished he knew his will before such a decision was put on him. I think PJ made it so that he did know Denethor's will. <BR>The problem was they cut out the scenes explaining this.<P>When I look at the scene where Faramir pulls The Ring out with the tip of his sword, it definately looks like a pick-up. As has been noticed elsewhere, the barrels that were behind Frodo and Sam suddenly are gone when Faramir enters (a sure sign these two shots were filmed at different times). As well, Sam appears to have lost weight in his face and actually seems a bit more dirty.<P>I wonder if the original idea was for Faramir to tell Sam and Frodo that he had know choice but to take The Ring to his father. He was under orders, but once all the scenes between Faramir and Denethor were cut, that explanation no longer makes sense, so in the interest of brevity, they simply made it appear that Faramir was tempted to take The Ring himself (the non-book audience could easily understand that though every Faramir fan was cringing in his/her seat).<P>H.C.

[Meneltarmacil]

I finally got the DVD today! Preordered it months in advance and it still got here 2 days after the 26th. But I still got it! <P>*attempts to leap and dance for joy but slips and falls to the ground with a very loud crash*

[Ughósh the Abominable]

I *rented* Two Towers tonight, because I'm not going to *buy* anything until the EE comes out. I did appreciate the EE preview on the TTT extras disc; it looks like the EE is going to mend a lot of the things that marred this movie.<P>However, the EE only adds things; it doesn't take them out of the movie that's already there. It won't remove the silly, soap-opera style Elrond/Arwen scenes; it won't remove Aragorn's rediculous falling episode. It won't remove Theoden's melodramatic senility.<P>There is a difference between drama and melodrama, and that is the same as the difference between good and bad. Drama is good, melodrama is bad. Melodrama just makes people tired and disgusted; the melodrama in the TTT movie is no exception, in my case. The weird "suddenly Aragorn and Arwen broke up" thing is melodramatic. The "Aragorn's dead but now he isn't but now he is but now he isn't" thing is melodramatic. Theoden's "I'm the king, biatch" bit is melodramatic.<P>What it boils down to is this: J.R.R. Tolkien is a far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far better writer than Peter Jackson will ever be, and as such, Prof. Tolkien has given Mr. Jackson the best movie script any director could ever ask for. But Pete, in a mad rush to make the story "his own", has slashed up that script and re-arranged it all around and then added some hot air of his own. The result is not Lord of the Rings, but Peter Jackson's Middle-Earth Playland. It looks like Lord of the Rings; it sounds (vaguely) like Lord of the Rings. But once one gets a good sample of it, one realizes it has an entirely different flavor. Some like it, the same way some people like Green Tea-flavoured Bubble-Tea; others see it for what it is: a perversion of the original, warped to its current shape simply by the pride of the translator, all in the guise of "originality" and "artistic license".<P>Okay, my diatribe is now finished. Return to your normal activities.

[samrohan]

AND WE ALL WENT TO THE SHOPS AND GOT IT IMMEDIATELY, but I must admit that my three year old boy was scared into running back into his bedroom by the sight of Gollum.<P>What a shame, I want to make him into a LOTR fan.<p>[ August 29, 2003: Message edited by: samrohan ]

[Everdawn]

I am glad that australia got something at the same time as everything else. Im so angry that we get ROTK weeks after the american and british audiences... So when i go and chat or if people post here about here i cant contribute unless i have ESP or a really good bootleg copy.<P> The one and only thing we have got first has been Ned Kelly which is out on DVD now and hasnt even been in cinemas around the world for long.

[HCIsland]

I have to ask, am I the only one that doesn't find the Arwen/Aragorn/Elrond scenes a weak point in the film? I like how the dream sequence seemlessly drifts into flashback. I like the scene where Aragorn tries to return the white pendent to Arwen while we see the Fellowship preparing to leave in the background. I like the flash-forward to Aragorn's death and Arwen's grief.<P>I find it slows down too much during Galadriel's monologue/naration with Elrond, but I find the slowest point in the film is the preparation for battle at Helm's Deep, especially Legolas' despair. It picks up again nicely with Theoden's "where is the horse and the rider ..." monologue but there's a good few minutes of film that could have gone in my opinion. (Man, there are other films where I would take out half an hour of film. This film is three hours long and I'm complaining about a few minutes.)<P>So, are there any others that actually like the Arwen scenes, or is it just me?<P>H.C.

[Arwen Eruantale]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I have to ask, am I the only one that doesn't find the Arwen/Aragorn/Elrond scenes a weak point in the film? I like how the dream sequence seemlessly drifts into flashback. I like the scene where Aragorn tries to return the white pendent to Arwen while we see the Fellowship preparing to leave in the background. I like the flash-forward to Aragorn's death and Arwen's grief.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Nope. I'm with ya, <B>HC</B>. Although I would say the <I>kiss of life</I> thing may have been a bit much, Aragorn and Arwen are one of my favourite parts of the story. And -believe me- that's a lot coming from a major anti-romance fan.

[Arafangwen]

I'm with you two as well! I didn't see it as a weak point, but the whole "kiss of life" was a bit much for me. What is it with PJ, elves, and powers? I don't think elves quite had that 'place a hand on them and they're healed' kind of power and it seems to me that PJ might think a tad in that direction. But I still liked the movie, I doubt that anyone could say that they hated it, even if it was a slight mockery of Tolkiens work, it was still pretty good. Namarie!

[The Only Real Estel]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>it won't remove Aragorn's rediculous falling episode.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Well of course not. Sorry but that was a fairly major part in the movie & they aren't going to take it out (not that I especially like it, but oh well.)<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>What a shame, I want to make him into a LOTR fan.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I'm trying to do that with my 6-year-old bro & my 10-year-old sister, but my Mom won't let me .<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I have to ask, am I the only one that doesn't find the Arwen/Aragorn/Elrond scenes a weak point in the film? I like how the dream sequence seemlessly drifts into flashback. I like the scene where Aragorn tries to return the white pendent to Arwen while we see the Fellowship preparing to leave in the background. I like the flash-forward to Aragorn's death and Arwen's grief.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I must agree with you, HC, & Arwen Eruantale, I don't find the scenes hard to live with at all, except for the 'kiss of life' one. & the 'go to sleep' scene is a little harder to swallow, but I actually kind've like the other ones (& can live with the ones I mentioned above).<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I find it slows down too much during Galadriel's monologue/naration with Elrond <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> This part confused a lot of people, as they couldn't tell if or how Galadriel was talking to Elrond. Although I did like it how Elrond looked at the Isildur/Sauron painting/drawing as Galadriel says, "Do we let them stand alone?" that was cool. <p>[ August 29, 2003: Message edited by: The Only Real Estel ]

[Gilthalion]

As a fan of the novels for more years than many of you have been breathing, let me say that while if I tried hard I could quibble with certain additions and subtractions from the text, overall the movies have so far been a splendid effort that has captured the spirit of Tolkien's masterpiece.<P>The Arwen/Aragorn/Elrond scenes were fine with me. Some of you might look into the appended material at the end of ROTK (the book) and will find that Jackson took much of that straight from Tolkien. It maintains the romantic interest through the second part, which would have been difficult to do without the flashback to Elrond's prophecy. It was a very clever use of Tolkien's extra material.<P>Even so, I do expect that the Extended TTT will be a much better motion picture than the cinematic release.<P>I have heard that the Extended Versions of FOTR and TTT will be released in the theatres prior to ROTK...

[The Only Real Estel]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I have heard that the Extended Versions of FOTR and TTT will be released in the theatres prior to ROTK...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes but I believe that will be limited to something like 120 screens in 12 different states in the US, or perhaps it's only 12 different places around the globe. I'm not exactly sure those are the correct numbers, but I do know that it'll only be released in a select few locations. Unfortunatly, because I'm sure that won't include Kansas .

[Arwen Eruantale]

<I>We got it!</I> <P>I'm gonna watch both disks tonight! Be back tomorrow...

We got it the seccond it was in stores and i have already seen it twice, YAY

[Arwen Eruantale]

Welcome to the Downs, <B>ElvenEyesLegolas</B>! (that's a cool name) I hope you enjoy being dead! <P>Ai, I forgot how much I really liked TTT. <BR>I was up 'til 12:30 watching the movie, and until 2:00 this morning watching <B><I>all</I></B> the special features. <BR>Oh it was great!

[Brinniel]

I rented the DVD on Thursday and have enjoyed the movie and all the special features. But honestly, for me, the entire DVD felt like a preview for the extended version. The features were fun to watch, but they seemed like nothing compared to what the extended version will be (I guess I get spoiled too easily ). The extended version will be well worth the wait, even if I do bite all my fingernails off in the process...<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> I have to ask, am I the only one that doesn't find the Arwen/Aragorn/Elrond scenes a weak point in the film? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I actually liked the whole scene with Arwen and Elrond (the flash forward was especially a nice touch). I didn't particularly enjoy the dream, though it wasn't something I despised.

Yeah, I agree with the advertising taint in a lot of the special feature pieces. Maybe they didn't realise the first time around how many idiots (that's us ) would spend so much money first seeing the film ten times, then getting the original version, then the special edition as well.<P>I actually didn't like the extended version of Fellowship. It didn't flow half as well, and I especially felt that the beginning where we lingered in Hobbiton much longer bogged it down. I couldn't have shown that extended version to a person who hadn't already seen the original version of the film or read the books. They would have gotten bored.<P>I expect the extended version of TTT to be similarly bogged down by Ents. I mean, they are cool, but one of their endearing features is how long it takes them to do everything. Yikes. Of course I will still get it, I need every second of Boromir that is available =)<P>It was different watching TTT with the gap in between to come to terms with the changes in the plot. I wasn't so offended by Gimli's comic role. Maybe he did manage to keep his digity after all and I was just overreacting. And maybe Gandalf did need to play the exorcist just to show that as Gandalf the White, he is Saruman's equal, and not about to be slung helplessly around Orthanc a second time.<P>And comments from the cast are always fun. Viggo is so weird outside his role, his face completely blank; empty as though it has nothing to do when there is no character to be portrayed; yet the things he says in that emotionless voice are insightful and often poetic. It's a bit freaky watching him go under the rapids.

[The Only Real Estel]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I actually didn't like the extended version of Fellowship. It didn't flow half as well, and I especially felt that the beginning where we lingered in Hobbiton much longer bogged it down.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I don't feel the same. I actually didn't mind the extended beginings surrounding the definition of Hobbits, because it helps those who haven't read the books yet; & it's not THAT bad to have to watch .<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>They would have gotten bored.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> That's not been the case in my expierence.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I mean, they are cool, but one of their endearing features is how long it takes them to do everything. Yikes.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I do agree with that. They move sooo sloooow. I can deal with it for a while, but then it just takes forever for their segment to end, & they rarely accomplish anything, really. I think Merry, Pippin, & the Ents segment are pretty close to boring. <P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I wasn't so offended by Gimli's comic role.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I wasn't at first, but then it went on & on. Practically everything he said was supposed to be funny, I quickly figured out the true meaning of the phrase 'to much of a good thing'.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>And maybe Gandalf did need to play the exorcist just to show that as Gandalf the White, he is Saruman's equal, and not about to be slung helplessly around Orthanc a second time.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> The 'exorcism' wasn't as bad as the lameness surrounding the exorsism, which I've already discussed in the thread called (odly enough)'Theoden's Exorcism' (or something like that); so I won't recount them here (lucky for you guys ).<p>[ August 30, 2003: Message edited by: The Only Real Estel ]

[Catherine]

I got the DVD the first day it came out at about 10:00 AM I have already watched it 5 times and i think i am going to watch it again tonight!