MovieFreak.com - "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" DVD Review by John Teves

DVD REVIEW

Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, The (2002)

Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Christopher Lee, Orlando Bloom, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis

Director: Peter Jackson

Rating: PG-13

Distributor: New Line Cinema Home Entertainment

Release Date: August 26, 2003
Review posted: September 6, 2003

Spoilers: None

Reviewed by John Teves

Synopsis

The Fellowship has broken, but the quest to destroy the One Ring continues. Frodo and Sam must entrust their lives to Gollum if they are to find their way to Mordor. As Saruman's army approaches, the surviving members of the Fellowship, along with people and creatures from Middle-earth, prepare for battle.

Capsule Critique

LORD OF THE RINGS THE TWO TOWERS is by far one of the best sequels ever made. It towers over the action from FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING and I found myself staying awake during this one. The visual effects are spectacular, and that's what makes this film awe-inspiring. THE TWO TOWERS improves upon the slow parts of FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, but it also seems less integrated and prevailing. For the most part I felt THE TWO TOWERS provided a solid flick on its own.

The Video

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: TWO TOWERS appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. This was such a remarkable looking disc. Sharpness was tremendous. I saw no issues regarding to jagged edges, edge enhancement, and or print flaws. Colors remained vivid and accurate as well. The palette demonstrated a somewhat restricted and gloomy palette, but this created a truthful presentation that worked well for the film. Black levels appeared dense and rich, while shadow detail came across clearly; low-light scenes seemed appropriately heavy but not excessively dark. Overall, LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS was absolutely remarkable.

The Audio

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: TWO TOWERS is presented in a Dolby Digital EX 5.1 tack. Through out the films presentation, the soundfield was lively. All five channels presented lots of effects that kept the viewer immersed. Speech was natural and distinct, and I detected no issues related to edginess. Effects were accurate as there were no problems related to distortion. As a whole LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS presented a very lively and involving track that worked very well for the films presentation.

The Extras

Documentary "On the Set: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (Starz/Encore special)
Documentary "Return to Middle-earth" (WB special)
Eight featurettes originally created for lordoftherings.net: "Forces of Darkness," "Sounds of Middle-earth," "Edoras & Rohan Culture," "Creatures," "Gandalf the White," "Arms & Armor," "Helm's Deep," and "Gollum: Andy Serkis, Bay Raitt"
Emiliana Torrini "Gollum Song" music video
Short film by Sean Astin "The Long and Short of It"
Exclusive 10-minute behind-the-scenes preview of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
Preview of video game, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
An inside look at the Special Extended DVD Edition of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"
Theatrical trailers, TV spots
DVD ROM Features: Exclusive online content

Overall

The DVD offers excellent picture and sound and includes a moderately valuable roster of extras. If you’re torn between which is better, THE TWO TOWERS provides more action and gore as FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING presents a decent snore. Keep in mind that New Line will release an uncut version of the TWO TOWERS later on this fall. That version will include a substantially longer cut of the film as well as tons of extras not found on the original 2-disc set. The four-disc Uncut Version seems a bit too long for my taste, so I'm recommending this 2-Disc release as it seems to be the best way to view the theatrical version of the film - without falling asleep. THE TWO TOWERS comes highly recommended.

John Teves rates the film 4 out of 4.

Review originally appeared on DVDFreak.net

VERDICT: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

DVD REVIEWS BY JOHN TEVES:

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- Frida