LOTR: The Two Towers (2002)

VHS CASE/SIDE

Length of film:  179 Minutes (Extended: 235 Minutes)

Rated: PG-13

Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler, Sean Austin, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee

IMDB Rank: 8.7/10

Part 1 Time: 80 Minutes (Extended: 106 Minutes)

Part 2 Time:  99 Minutes (Extended: 127 Minutes)

Where does the first part end?  Frodo (Elijah Wood), Sam (Sean Astin) and Gollum (Andy Serkis) are captured by Gondor soldiers lead by Faramir (David Wenham).

Final line of dialogue on the first part: 

Theatrical: “Bind their hands.” Faramir speaks with his soldiers.

Extended: “War will make corpses of us all, bind their hands.” Faramir speaks with his soldiers.

First line of dialogue on the second part: 

Theatrical/Extended: “Its true you don’t see any dawf women, in fact we are so alike in boast appearance that they are wrong mistaken as dawf men.” Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) speaks to Eowyn (Miranda Otto) during Rohan’s journey towards Helm’s Deep.

How jarring is it when the first part ends? Minimal, Frodo, Sam and Gollum have been captured by an army that will not harm them. The army of Gondor is fighting against the same enemy (Mordor), they just don’t know it yet.

Which part is better? Part two is by far better, due to the Battle of Helm’s Deep and the Destruction of Isengard.

Academy Awards: Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Picture (Nominated), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Nominated), Best Film Editing (Nominated), Best Sound (Nominated).