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Author Topic: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Aldo Baez Master Film Handler Posts: 266 From: USA Registered: Mar 2001 posted 12-20-2002 01:19 AM                    Ok just got back from my second viewing... Definately not as good as the first one. This one was.. I don't know I mean the whole time when you were not watching frodo/gollum or merry/pippin it was all about helms deep this and that and the impending battle. This one deviated from the book alot more than the first, and what they did to Faramir really really sucked and had no point (For those not into the books Faramir is supposed to be sort of anti-Boromir really helping and encouraging Frodo and Sam along.) I felt that there was alot of fluff in this movie, the warg attack was just a flashy show of effects (and not very good ones), the ending going to Osgiliath was pointless as well. And what was up with Gandalf all of a sudden fighting the balrog on top of the mountain how did they get up there? And the representation of the nazgul flying beasts, are they flying dinosaurs? The nazgul are supposed to be BADARSES you need to make something scarier than a dinosaur looking thing... The good points gollum was really really good. There were obvious times when you knew he was cgi, but there also times where he just looked amazing and real. Treebard was good, I had a hard time figuring out if the closeups of his face were cgi or a sort of stop-motion animation..? Helms deep of course good. There were some memorable shots in the movie, at the beginning the wide angle shot of gandalf and the balrog falling into the water was amazing coupled with that gothic music. The shot of the ent meeting it sort of pans straight up, my favorite shot of the orcs on the ladders being raised during the battle (it was on the trailer too.) A good movie, I think I enjoyed this one more than the first, but the first one is a better movie to me.  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 12-20-2002 09:21 AM                        How did Peter Jackson get the job? From what I heard, he wasn`t "given" the job for a planned project, he took the initiative and developed the project up to the point where he could show that he was capable of doing it. I think I read somewhere that he invested some of his own money to shoot a few demo scenes. Which reminds me of George Lucas hiring Ralph McQuarrie to draw those great conceptual paintings for Star Wars to demonstrate to the Fox people how the movie would look. I think it is very good that during the past couple of years, "Hollywood" producers sometimes have taken the risk of giving big projects to "unusual" (in the sense of not being completely mainstreamy) directors, such as the Wachowski brothers for "Matrix", Sam Raimi for "Spiderman" or to let an "action movie" director like James Cameron do a mostly romantic movie like "Titanic". Or Alfonso Cuaron, who is going to do the next "Harry Potter". I have to admit that I sort of liked the two movies Chris Columbus made, but I also thought they looked a bit too much like a routine job to me. So I think it was a commendable decision to let Peter Jackson do this enormous project. There were many things I didn`t like about "Fellowship", but one simply has to respect his achievement, and I am looking forward to seeing "The Two Towers".  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 12-21-2002 04:19 PM                        Did anybody notice that Gandalf is wearing tennis shoes in the scene where he calls the horses just after his reappearance? I liked this movie. It is a lot of fun to watch and as I said, it should be respected for the magnitude of his achievement. On the other hand, if I look at it not just as a fun movie to watch, but as an adaption of the novels, it really sucks enormously. I don`t mean all the many details which are different by necessity as this is a completely different medium. I mean the many unnecessary deviations from the book. Why do the heroes have to keep falling down cliffs (Aragorn at the end of the skirmish, Frodo and Sam in front of the Black Gate of Mordor). Does it make the movie more dramatic? Why does the part Liv Tyler plays have to be so extended? Is Gimli the Dwarf soleley there to get a few cheap laughs? Why does Gandalf`s reappearance have to be so over-dramatic and kitschy? As a whole, the movie, even more than the first one, is way too trashy and has no atmoshere or mythical depth like the books. Most things are too obvious and in-your-face such as the cited toy dinosaurs the Black Riders are riding on. Or the scene in the Dead Marshes with the dead faces below the surface was like from a very cheap horror movie. It is also sad that very little attention is paid to details which help build a credible world. Why do the Hobbits have different accents? They are from the same place. Why do the Riders of Rohan not have different accents? They should have maybe Scandinavian accents or a little eastern European feeling to their way of speaking as they are modeled on North-Germanic and Russian tribes. I also think the whole movie is way too light and the colours are too pale. Obviously, this was an artistic decision, maybe to make it look more unreal or something. But I also think many scenes are way too agressively lit. For instance, the background of Fangorn forest is light that you can almost see all the lamps behind the scene. I think that looks very cheap. The one major surprise for me was Gollum. I think I have never seen such a well-animated character, much better than the digital Yoda we had to see recently. His schizophrenic scenes were fantastic. This could have been an even greater movie if it had more atmosphere and wasn`t just a display of costumes, monster masks and toy monsters. "The Two Towers" in the movie are Saruman`s fortress Isengard and Sauron`s, the towers of evil. But doesn`t it say at the end of the first book that the next book will tell the story of the two towers - Isengard and Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor? I can`t check myself as I have given the books to a friend.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-21-2002 09:05 PM                        Liked it. Agreed with Bobby that the CGI work varied considerably in quality, from "awesome" (much better than FOTR) to "marginal." The pacing also seemed a bit screwy: things move too slowly in the first half, and at about the right speed during the second half. The battle scenes are great. I'm not sure how to compare this to FOTR, but I think I have a slight preference for FOTR. As with FOTR, the score and acting were great. I'm looking forward to seeing this again in the near future, as there is just too much to absorb in one viewing.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 12-21-2002 11:17 PM                        As for subjective content, I'll have to defer to my younger daughter, who thoroughly enjoyed all 3 hours of it. I thought it was pretty good, not having been able to see the whole thing in one sitting yet... Technically, I had some real problems with my print. There were defects in 2 reels, which even had my booker questioning my observations. However, the reels were replaced within 24 hours of my report, and everything's ok now. Still, it seems we've had more than our share of print problems lately... and these darned lab splices don't help the attitude any. I'm hoping the digital proponents don't dredge up the nerve to point out that their medium won't have these distracting mid-frame splices in them... especially as they're caused by studio economics in the first place.  |  IP: Logged Ian Price Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1714 From: Denver, CO Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-24-2002 01:13 AM                     I generally liked Two Towers, but I have some nits to pick. 1. GOLLUM looks and talks too much like DOBBY the house elf. 2. When the Blond Elf dude has his big dying scene on the top of the wall, I thought it was the Blond Elf dude who was the fiend. But of course he was fine as I discovered later in the picture. 3. Ok, so there are two towers. So one is the evil hideout of the other wizard. What is the other tower? Other than that, I thought the film was very good. I really want to get kissed by Liv Tyler. So whose bright idea was it to make Hugo Weaving an Elf? I never want to meet an Ork, I’m certain that I would soon become Ork Chow. All I could think of during the final battle scene was that I really wanted a General Electric M-134 5.56mm/7.62mm Minigun.  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 12-24-2002 04:55 AM                        quote: 1. Gallum looks and talks too much like Doby the house elf. Some facial expressions are indeed a bit similar and then of course the general appearance of both is a bit weird. But Gollum is really extremely well animated and "played". The character and his strange hissy way of talking were there a long time before Dobby or Jar Jar Binks quote: 2. When the Blond Elf dude has his big dying scene on the top of the wall, I thought it was the Blond Elf dude who was the fiend. But of course he was fine as I discovered later in the picture. Isn`t it overly obvious that the Elves are the really good and noble in the movie? What confused me a little bit about the Elven captain was that, if Elves are timeless undying creatures, why does he have so bad skin? quote: 3. Ok, so there are two towers. So one is the evil hideout of the other wizard. What is the other tower? In the movie, the other tower is the Tower in which Sauron - The Lord of the Rings - lives near the fiery mountain. There are a few shots where you look from the top of Isengard on which the fiery eye is across to Sauron`s dark tower. But as I wrote, I am not even sure if that is what Tolkien meant (see 3 posts above).  |  IP: Logged Aldo Baez Master Film Handler Posts: 266 From: USA Registered: Mar 2001 posted 12-24-2002 10:03 AM                    The two towers is specifically pointing to the alliance between sauron and saruman and their towers. I haven't read the book in awhile but I don't recall him referring to isengard and minas tirith. Besides in the third book it's pretty much destroyed (in the movie and books).  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 12-24-2002 07:42 PM                        Like I said, I have given the books to a friend so I can`t check myself. Maybe someone who has them at home can. There is a paragraph at the very end of "The Fellowship of the Ring" which announces the second book and what it wil be about. In this paragraph, it is explicitly stated which the two towers are.  |  IP: Logged Gracia L. Babbidge Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 709 From: Bowdoin, Maine Registered: Aug 2000 posted 12-26-2002 02:10 AM                        *steps into geek mode* Tolkein never intended for the Lord of the Rings to be published as anything other than one novel, and in fact hated the idea of it being split into three parts, but that's what ultimately happened. Publishers overriding authors. *getting a little more nit-picky* *GOLLUM* *DOBBY* (correct spellings) *calms down* ....and yes, I've watched 'the Two Towers' already. Three times. I was quite entertained for all three sessions.  |  IP: Logged Dennis Benjamin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1445 From: Denton, MD Registered: Feb 2002 posted 12-26-2002 04:15 AM                        <RANT ON> O.K. People. I liked this film. Those of you who want to compare it to other stories and films: The original books were published in the 40's and 50's. I believe "The Hobbit" was published in the '30's. If there would be any comparing it to any other fantasy film - you have to remember that the "Lord of The Rings" inspired just about every single sci-fi/fantasy writer in this century. So "Dobbie" the house elf was a definate rip off of Gollum. <RANT OFF> As previously stated, this is the middle of the story, so the best is yet to come. The ONLY complaint I have is the time in between. I think they should have spaced them out more like 6 months apart. Waiting a whole year really sucks!!!!  |  IP: Logged Michael Gonzalez Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 790 From: Grand Island , NE USA Registered: Sep 2000 posted 12-27-2002 03:31 PM                     Dobby: Gallum: I groaned when Gallum used the "Smeagle is FREE!!!" line that was definately too close to the "Dobby is Free!" line. I am assuming that Peter Jackson didn't screen Harry Potter before making the final cut of Two Towers because I doubt that he would have left it in the movie. I am looking forward to him addressing the issue when the expanded DVD comes out next year.  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 12-27-2002 05:08 PM                        quote: Like I said, I have given the books to a friend so I can`t check myself. Maybe someone who has them at home can. There is a paragraph at the very end of "The Fellowship of the Ring" which announces the second book and what it will be about. In this paragraph, it is explicitly stated which the two towers are. Quoting myself here. Could somebody please check what it says at the very end of "The Fellowship of the Ring"?  |  IP: Logged Dwayne Caldwell Master Film Handler Posts: 323 From: Rockwall, TX, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 12-27-2002 11:17 PM                     It's been a long time since I've read the books, and now I'm curious. Are Elven irises prone to color changes for some strange reason or did I witness a gross continuity error in the film? Because Legolas' eyes keep changing from blue to brown back and forth during a particular stretch in the film, and I noticed it about the time -MINOR SPOILER HERE- Aragorn makes it to Helm's Deep. Keep in mind Orlando Bloom's natural eye color is brown. And if it's a mistake, do you think Peter Jackson will digitize his eyes blue for the DVD release? Of course this minor distraction doesn't change the fact I thought the movie ruled.  |  IP: Logged Chris Markiewicz Expert Film Handler Posts: 209 From: Glenaviegh, County Tipperary, Ireland Registered: Aug 2002 posted 12-28-2002 11:20 PM                     At the end of the book The Fellowship of the Ring it is stated that "the second part is called THE TWO TOWERS, since the events in it are dominated by ORTHANC, the citadel of Saruman, and the fortress of MINAS MORGUL, that guards the secret entrance to Mordor."  |  IP: Logged

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