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BACK IN THE HOBBIT Sean Astin and Elijah Wood in the more nuanced ''Towers'' extended DVD
Lord of the Rings: The Twin Towers: Pierre Vinet
Credits
Rated: PG-13; DVD Release Date: Nov 18, 2003; Genres: Action/Adventure, Fantasy; With: Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen and Liv Tyler...
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Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a senior writer for EW and a frequent contributor to National Public Radio -- he has the tote bag to prove it
What a difference a war makes. When The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers debuted last year in the white heat of Iraq fever, its images of a free people besieged by legions of dark, snarling evildoers aroused fantastical passions -- which fell effortlessly in step with a real-world battle march. J.R.R. Tolkien's subtler (some would say fuzzier) lessons about the treacherous nature of righteous might were all but muted.
The new four-disc extended edition of ''Towers'' seems designed to redress that cultural tilt. Peter Jackson's 223-minute cut restores some of the story's original nuance, including excellent scenes with Faramir (David Wenham), brother of the dead Boromir (Sean Bean, seen here in flashback), whose desire for strategic dominance nearly derails Frodo's quest to destroy the Ring. (This is essentially an arms race, after all.) The deep, sleek documentaries and lively commentaries -- aside from making the vagaries of nasal prosthetics seem absorbing -- seek to rebut allegations of bellicosity and racism leveled at Tolkien's fantasy. We hear a great deal about the author's environmental streak, backed up with added Treebeard scenes. (''The Song of the Entwives'' has been reinstated -- if that means something to you, rejoice; if not, fast-forward.) Overall, ''Towers''' extra scenes feel a bit less essential than the ones in the extended ''Fellowship,'' but they do contain more of Andy Serkis' Gollum, who emerges here as not only the first true success of CGI characterization, but the scarred conscience of a foggy war story.
Posted Nov 21, 2003
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You Might Also Like
- Shaw Report Rating multiple versions of ''Lord of the Rings'' | Rachel Orvino
- DVD Commentary EW's Scott Brown names 2003's 10 best DVDs (Oct 28, 2003) | Scott Brown
- DVD Review Eastern Promises (Dec 23, 2007) | Tim Purtell
- DVD Review Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Dec 04, 2007) | Ty Burr
- Movie Commentary Who could replace Peter Jackson? | Vanessa Juarez
- Movie Commentary Producing ''The Hobbit'' | Missy Schwartz
