Sometimes this MTV/ADHD culture of ours really gets on my nerves. Everything has to be super-fast-paced, because it’s believed that if you move even a slight bit slower than the norm, people will not stay focused.
Such is the fate that has befallen the art of filmmaking, often causing movies to suffer because of it. I can’t say this about too many things, but it is one way in which I wish we still had the sensibilities of the 1950s. Back then an epic could never be too long.
When I walked out of the theater December 18 of last year, having just viewed “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” a few things went through my mind — first, and most importantly, that Peter Jackson had done a damn fine job of following up “The Fellowship of the Ring.” But I also had a feeling that the movie was too short. Too short, you say? At three hours?
As Robert Evans might say, “You bet your ass it was.”
Or maybe I am crazy. I like long, detailed, well-crafted movies a little too much, after all. I have to admit, I love being able to sit in a theater for three hours and have it feel only like two, but I am still left wanting more.
Thank God for DVD — Nov. 18, Peter Jackson’s extended edition of “The Two Towers” was released on DVD with an extra 43 minutes of footage.
I won’t recap the plot, as I think there is no need at this point. What I can say without a doubt, is that this is a far superior film to the one shown in cinema last Christmas. Much like the extended version of “Fellowship,” character moments make up a majority of the new and extended scenes. So what are the best of these additions?
Well, we get more of the Ents, Merry and Pippin. These scenes often add lighter moments to a dark film. Also included are a few excellent scenes with Gandalf, cementing further that no one else but Ian McKellen could play the great wizard. One of the most important of these scenes shows him telling Aragorn how Sauron is afraid of what Aragorn may become, should he take the throne. Moments like this slow down the pace, giving more time for breathing room.
The best material is added to Frodo, Sam and Gollum’s journey. We get more scenes of Gollum arguing with himself, and some nice, light moments between Sam and Frodo. The most important addition comes with their encounter with Faramir, as his character is fleshed out more and his motivations made clearer. Among his scenes is a great flashback that shows the dynamic between his father, Denethor, Boromir and himself.
As with “Fellowship,” this DVD set includes two discs of extra features that cover all aspects of making this epic film. One of the best includes a behind-the-scenes look into the creation of Gollum as a CG character. We get insight into how he evolved into the actor-driven character he is in the final film.
A nice bonus is a look at the final animated creature compared to the animation-reference performance by Andy Serkis. Watching this, we quickly see how much of the actor has been put into the final character.
Another feature is a look at how Jackson and company went about adapting the book to the film. This documentary plays well with the Director & Writers commentary track that plays with the film. By the end of both of these features, we have a clear understanding of why they changed what they changed.
Whether you agree with them or not isn’t the point, but the feature does show that the writers and director had the best interests of the screen story at heart and that they weren’t afraid to deviate if the movie needed it. I believe that no one could do a better adaptation.
There is far too much cool stuff on these DVDs to go into detail here. All I can say is that if you love the books, or just long, detailed, well-crafted movies, then you shouldn’t hesitate to buy this masterpiece of epic filmmaking.
Grade: A
