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By
ETHAN CUHULINN
The second chapter in the
J.R.R. Tolkien saga finds hobbits Frodo and Sam
(Elijah Wood and Sean Astin) facing terrible
dangers and temptation, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen)
and his companions striving to rescue the abducted
hobbits Pippin and Merry, and the great wizard
Gandalf (Ian McKellen) making a miraculous,
Christ-like resurrection. Christopher Lee, Liv
Tyler, Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies are also
at hand, and director Peter Jackson continues to
helm.
What else is there to say? It continues in the
same spectacular, epic tone Jackson established
with "Fellowship of the Ring." By now, even before
seeing the final chapter, it is obvious that this
is the trilogy that has surpassed the "Star Wars"
series from every conceivable cinematic
perspective (and I say this as a "Star Wars" fan).
Yes, there were obvious advances in CGI since the
'70s early so perhaps the comparison seems unfair,
but there were two "Star Wars" films released only
recently, and besides it's not just the special
effects in "Lord of the Rings" I'm so thrilled
with. It's the sheer act of engrossing story
telling, the caliber of the acting, the moral
ambiguities and Jackson's unbounded imagination.
Besides, to be honest, the only thing I found
distracting in "The Two Towers" was some of the
CGI sequences, especially Gollum's sometimes jerky
movements -- it may be that I'm becoming a more
sophisticated consumer of CGI, but I'm more and
more able to tell what's fake and what isn't.
It's obvious that "The Two Towers" is not a sequel
but an integral continuation of the Tolkien's
story, and Jackson couldn't be more faithful to
the author's intentions and vision.
As with "The Fellowship of the Ring," this
was
a two-tiered DVD release: First the theatrical
version was released, with the film itself on one disc and
several extras on a second disc. Then this whopping four-disc edition which contains the extended version plus a slew of
special features.
The extended version is 43 minutes longer, and
these extra scenes, are seamlessly incorporated
and really do flesh out the story more. What
surprised me is that in term of image and sound
quality this version is also superior. Stuck from
a different source print it is richer and more
detailed, both visually and aurally -- it also
helps that it is spread across two discs and
therefore it has a higher bitrate.
In terms of the extras, the theatrical version contains
several interesting, albeit primarily promotional
items: There's a short 14-minute Starz! special, a
42-minute WB special (it contains lots of
behind-the-scenes stuff and interviews with cast
and crew), eight web featurettes (each one runs 4
minutes and you can also download them from
lordoftherings.net), trailers and oodles of TV
spots. Other features include a music video of
Emiliana Torrini's "Gollum's Song," a theatrical
and a video game preview for "The Return of the
King," a promo piece for the extended edition DVD
release and DVD-ROM links. However, the most
intriguing special is Sean Astin's short film "The
Long and Short of It" (yes, it is short, at a mere
5 minutes long). The story line has nothing to do
with "Lord of the Rings," and, ironically, an
8-minute making-of featurette for "The Long and
Short of It" is longer that the actual film.
In terms of the extended version, the amount of
extras will probably take on the better part of
the year to get though. Are you ready? Here they
are summarized: There are four
audio commentaries by the director and the
writers, the design team, the production team and
the cast. And many featurettes and features on
adapting the book into a screenplay and the
planning the film, the designing and inspiration
for locations in Middle-earth, storyboards, the
preparation for sword-fighting scenes, principal
photography, a close-up look at the detailed
miniatures used in the film, a Weta Workshop
visit, an atlas of Middle-earth, an interactive
map of New Zealand highlighting the location
scouting process, galleries of art and slideshows
with commentaries by the artists, examination of
digital effects, galleries of behind-the-scenes
photographs, as well as personal cast photos, how
editing put it all together, sound design
demonstrations, and, finally, as they say, much,
much more. Phew!
So, should you buy the theatrical version or the
extended one? If you're a fan or a DVD completist
is answer is obvious: buy both. Together they'll
only set you back about $50. It's a steal. If
you're a casual DVD viewer, the extended version
can be bought for a mere $30, compared with the
theatrical for a mere $20. In either case, that's
just nothing for what'll you get. |
