Product Description
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DVD Special Features and Technical Information:
Discs 1 & 2 (The Feature)
* Feature (approx. 206 minutes PAL) A new version of the second
installment in the epic trilogy! The film includes over 32
minutes PAL of never-before-seen footage incorporated into the
film, made especially for this release:
* Widescreen (2.35:1) version of the Special Extended Edition
* Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Surround Sound
* DTS ES 6.1 Surround Sound
* Stereo Surround Sound
* Four audio commentaries by director and writers, the design
team the production team and the cast featuring more than 30
participants including Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin,
Orlando Bloom and Academy Award winners Richard Taylor, Howard
Shore, Randy Cook
and many more Discs 3 & 4 (The Appendices)
* Two discs with hours of original content including multiple
documentaries and design /photo galleries with thousands of
images to give viewers an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at The
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Disc 3
* Adapting the book into a screenplay & planning the film
* Designing and inspiration for locations in Middle-earth
* Storyboards to pre-visualisation
* Weta Workshop visit See sculptors in action as they create
the weapons, armor, creatures and miniatures from the film
* Atlas of Middle-earth: Tracing the journey of the Fellowship
* An interactive of New Zealand highlighting the location
scouting process
* Galleries of art and slideshows with commentaries by the
artists
* And much more! Disc 4
* Sending actors to battle preparation for fighting
* Principal photography: Stories from the set
* Digital effects including motion capture and "Massive" (a
program to create armies of Orcs)
* "Bigatures" A close-up look at the detailed miniatures used
in the film
* Galleries of behind-the-scenes photographs and personal cast
photos
* Post-production editing it all together
* Sound design demonstration
* And much more!
.co.uk Review
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With significant extra footage and a multitude of worthwhile
bonus features this extended version of The Lord of the Rings:
The Two Towers is as colossal an achievement as its predecessor,
The Fellowship of the Ring ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B000066DY0/${0} ).
There are valuable additions to the story, including two new
scenes which might appease those who feel that the
characterisation of Faramir was the film's most egregious
departure from the book; fans will also appreciate an appearance
of the Huorns at Helm's Deep plus a nod to the absence of Tom
Bombadil. Seeing a little more interplay between the gorgeous
Eowyn and Aragorn is welcome, as is a grim introduction to Eomer
and Theoden's son. And among the many other additions, there's an
extended epilogue that might not have worked in cinemas, but is
more effective here in setting up The Return of the King. While
the 30 minutes added to The Fellowship of the Ring felt just
right in enriching the film, the extra footage in The Two Towers
at times seems a bit extraneous--we see moments that in the
theatrical version we had been told about, and some ed-out
conversations and incidents are rather minor. But director Peter
Jackson's vision of JRR Tolkien's world is so marvellous that
it's hard to complain about any extra time we can spend there.
While it may seem that there would be nothing left to say after
the bevy of features on the extended Fellowship, the four
commentary tracks and two discs of supplements on The Two Towers
remain informative, fascinating, and funny, far surpassing the
recycled materials on the two-disc theatrical version (
/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000062V8Y/${0} ). Highlights of the 6.5 hours'
worth of documentaries offer in on the stunts, the design
work, the locations and the creation of Gollum and--most
intriguing for avid fans--the film's writers (including Jackson)
discuss why they created events that weren't in the book.
Providing variety are animatics, rough footage, countless
sketches and a sound-mixing demonstration. Again, the most
interesting commentary tracks are by Jackson and writers Fran
Walsh and Philippa Boyens and by 16 members of the cast (eight of
whom didn't appear in the first film, and even including John
Noble, whose Denethor character only appears in this extended
cut). The first two instalments of Peter Jackson's trilogy have
established themselves as the best fantasy films of all time, and
among the best film trilogies of all time, and their
extended-edition DVD sets have set a new standard for expanding
on the already epic films and providing comprehensive bonus
features. --David Horiuchi