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The Two Towers - Extended Edition (spoilers)

Oatley1

Oatley1

Beyond the rim
Hey, hey, hey!

I have just sat through the Extended Version of The Two Towers (all 3 hours and 45 minutes), and all I can say is WOW!

Many more scenes have been added or extended (as per the first movie), and the additons are seamless. Like the first EE, it improves the movie a great deal, making it flow much better.

Of the major stuff, it has added much needed substance to the Eowyn/Aragorn relationship, making it more believable that Eowyn would fall for him, and seeing why he would be attracted to her. Better than the theatrical cut.

Also much imporved is Faramir! He is given much needed depth, and starts to approach the Faramir we recognise from the books. The new scene with his father explains much about his attitude, and just why he wanted to go to Osgiliath. Boromir also makes a welcome reappearance (in flashback).

There was a lot of stuff added with Pippin & Merry, which was good, but not necessarily essential.

Smeagol was also made even more pitiful in this version, making you feel for him that little bit more. And much of the dialogue added came straight from Tolkein, which was great.

So the verdict - better than the theatrical release? YES. Better than the EE of Fellowship? In my opinion, no, but that has to do with the original material - I have always preferred FOTR over TTT, as it has the set pieces in Rivendell, Moria, and the Argonath that are not matched in TTT.
 
I can't believe what a fanboy I've become with these movies. As a huge Tolkien fan I was thrilled when I heard they were making the films, but as they approached I got more and more wary because of the hype and my general annoyance of big budget comic-book type movies. When I finally got around to seeing Fellowship, I was thrilled. Two Towers just knocked my socks off.

I hope to buy and view the EE tomorrow night.
 
Hello All,

Although I'm posting it here, it is really more of a general LoTR DVD question.

I've heard conflicting statements regarding the EE DVDs and I'm seeking a answer from some chaps who would know.

Is the original theatrical release available in the EE package for the movies? I've heard "yes" and "no" from people, and I haven't looked into it heavily online, but before I do I figured I'd check with some of the enlightened.

I would hate to have to buy the same DVD twice, and currently I only have the initial Fellowship disc. I'll be getting the EE Fellowship eventually but I'd like to know before I spend too much on Two Towers.

Thanks in advance

>!<
Radar
 
The two-disc DVDs of each film have just the theatrical cut, trailers, and some promotional type extras. The EEs have the extended cut only, none of the extras of the 2-disc, and 5 billion hours of documentaries and extras.

So to get every little thing, you would have to buy both. I personally don't understand why anyone would want to do that, but to each his own.
 
Assuming that nothing from the theatrical release is left out of the EE, if one wanted to closely compare the two, it might be possible to program play of the theatrical release from the EE. A pain in the butt. The manufacturer should have made it an option on the EE releases.
 
Actually different takes and lines have been used in corresponding scenes. Speaking of program play I wonder if the movie would play better if we reshuffled the scenes to follow their position in the book more closely.
 
Just watched it. Ah man, that was so good. The Battle of Helms Deep- wowsers.

I love elves who shoot lots of arrows and DTS and smart alecky dwarves.

And now I will sift through the bonus DVDs over the next three days, or until I run out of patience.
 
Just watched it. Ah man, that was so good. The Battle of Helms Deep- wowsers.

I love elves who shoot lots of arrows and DTS and smart alecky dwarves.

And now I will sift through the bonus DVDs over the next three days, or until I run out of patience.
Click to expand...

DTS is godlike.
 
...it might be possible to program play of the theatrical release from the EE
Click to expand...
That's one of the first things that came to mind when I heard about the DVD format, more to do with setting age limits (skipping sex scenes if the player was set to PG-13, etc.). But in most films that would involve rescoring the soundtrack, it seems.
Considering the amount of money spent on extras nowadays, I wonder if there could be some willingness to do extra soundtrack work to cover viewing options as you described.
 
The extended edition for The Two Towers seems to me to be a mutch better movie. Unlike the e.e. for FotR which mainly had nice moments from the book this one helps the story signifigantly, making much of the story plainer and eaiser to understand. It would probably be easier to follow for those who have not read the books.

I think the current method for the lotr dvds is the fairest for the consumer. To include the theatrical version would require more disc space, adding to the price. It lets you pick exactly what you want and what you're willing to pay for. The fact that there will be multiple versions was widely publicized. I'd rather have the disc space on the special edition put towards extras, picture quality and sound quality than try to jam different versions of scenes and whatever else would be needed to keep both versions running smoothly.
 
Amen.

These are simply the greatest DVDs ever made in every way. Extensive content coupled with stunning presentation of fairly priced discs of phenomenal films about the greatest fictional world ever created.

I don't have the stamina to pay full attention to all the documentaries, but I have it on now as I'm packing and web-surfing. Finishing up the design doc. I think it's great that they had guys like Alan Lee participate in the look of the film.
 
F*#k! F*#k! F*#k! F*#k! F*#k! F*#k! F*#k! F*#k! F*#k! F*#k! F*#k! F*#k! F*#k! F*#k! F*#k! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
Damn, I just got my TTT:EE yesterday. Disc 1 came scratched! Theres a few ocassions within a 40 second sequence where the picture breaks up for a few frames at a time and the sound on the commentary is affected too.

Its the scene where Merry and Pippin first meet Treebeard. If it was on the Appendices I wouldn't mind. Now I'm busy deciding whether to send it back half way around the world for a few seconds worth of material. Considering everything else is so bloody perfect, this really stands out.

What would the rest of you do in my place?
 
Send it back. I don't know how gurantees work in other countries, but here, if you're sent something by post, and it rurns out to be defective, usually the company will pick up the posting tab. Can you e-mail them, explaining your problem? You might not have to send it back

As for the TTT theatrical editon as opposed to the Extended Edition - for me there is no comparison. The EE just fills in so much stuff that was missing in the TE.
One small example, when my mother and I first went to the movies to see the theatrical editon, her second question as we got out of the theatre [her first was about who Eowyn ends with up] was "Where did that bloody horse come from?!", referring to Brego the Wonder Horse. When she saw the TTT-EE the other night, she said, "well that finally makes sense!"
I will probably never watch the TE again. If I do go to those discs again, it will probably be for the extras. Which leaves me with the question, what do I do with the theatrical edition? I'll probably end up giving it to my mother - she wants it, even though she hasn't gotten a dvd-player yet, atlhough she plans to in the next year.
I have a small question about the Extended Edition VHS version. Has anyone gotten that? I got that as a Christmas present for my mother. To be honest, I had expected that considering that the extended films is almost four hours long [and that the dvd version is on two discs], that the film would be spread out over two tapes. Instead, I found that the film was all on one tape. If anyone else has gotten the extended on vhs, how did theirs come? {I'm in New Zealand] Was it a single or double edition? I can understand why it would be as a single tape - having two would probably drive the price of the vhs up, causing fewer people to buy it. But still, I'm curious.
 
Picked up both FOTR and TTT extended editions the other day and am (slowly) making my way through them. IMHO, this is what the DVD format was made for; zillions of extras, cut scenes fit back in seemlessly to the film. I mean isn't that one of the first or second things you look for on a DVD case is the list of extras?

I'll give my impressions of both when I finally get through them. :p
 
I bought mine on Friday (got the Collector's Set, of course), and got around to watching it today. Well, yesterday now, but whatever. Started around 3 something, and it lasted until 9, due to me stopping every now and then for various reasons (one involving the food I ate for lunch... ugh, remind me to never again feast upon the numerous microwavable meals outside in the freezer again). Since I'm currently about halfway through reading TTT, I noticed just how much was changed and shifted around in the movie. No wonder fanboys became irritated. Not that I'M complaining, because I still think it's a helluva good film. It was also nice to see Faramir get a bit more depth to his character through the new and extended scenes involving him (fixing that "Boromir: Part II" problem from the theatrical version of the film). And the bit near the beginning that gave some more lines to the Uruk-hai and the orcs was enjoyable as well. Hell, it was all good.

Now, all I need to do is wade through the two other discs, and I'll be set. When I'll get around to doing that is beyond me, but I WILL do it eventually.
 
I finally watched the EE...some damn good stuff, namely the Boromir/Farmir additions. I think some of the added scenes weren't necessary though. I think the extra material could just have been 30 instead of 40 minutes
 
Thanks for the advice people. I emailed Amazon.ca and they're sending a replacement set. :D :) Its amazing the quality of customer service you get in First World countries.

Of course now I'm highly tempted to get a proper A/V receiver instead of just plugging it into my stereo hifi, especially considering these movies have the greatest movie soundtracks.

Oh, and Sean Bean so owned his character.
My favourite part of the movie is the Last March of the Ents.
 
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