Lord of the Rings, The: The Two Towers (DVD)

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Audio:
For me, "LOTR 2" was the loudest movie experience since...well, "LOTR 1". The same sequences that threatened to shatter my ears in the theatre have been well-reproduced on DVD. The Dolby Digital 5.1 EX English track features a nearly continuous bass presence. Clashing swords, explosions, and echoes flood the room. Howard Shore´s orchestral score benefits greatly from the mix´s smooth imaging across the speakers. What´s really great about the audio mix for "LOTR 2" is that there are several passages with nothing except ambient environmental noises and dialogue, and the stillness is as well-done as the loud stuff.

The DVD also includes a DTS 6.1 ES track and a DD 2.0 surround English track (for those of you without digital 5.1 set-ups), and optional English and Spanish subtitles as well as optional English closed captions support the audio.

Extras:
The extended version of the film has been spread across the first two DVDs of this set in order to accommodate two full-bodied 5.1 audio tracks and four audio commentary tracks. The remaining extras are found on Discs 3 and 4. Optional English and Spanish subtitles as well as optional English closed captions accompany the video footage on Discs 3 and 4 (done with DD 2.0 stereo English except for an audio demo on Disc 4).

The extras on Discs 3 and 4 have been organized into sub-sections, but you can also look at all of the extras in long indices. You can watch the featurettes individually, or you can play them all as long movies. However, there are photo galleries and additional featurettes to experience even if you use the "Play All" function.

--Discs 1 and 2--
The "only" extras on Discs 1 and 2 are the audio commentaries. However, four audio commentaries for a 3.75-hour movie provide a qualitatively different experience with each fresh viewing of the film. You can watch the movie with one audio commentary, or you can switch between the tracks and the primary soundtrack with the audio button.

1) The Director and Writers: As expected, this track covers the overall artistic vision of translating Tolkien´s books to the screen. The speakers make some apologies for the changes that they made, but they also explain the necessity of writing for a movie rather than being slavishly faithful to the nuts and bolts of Tolkien lore. Whether or not you entirely buy what they say is a matter of opinion, of course, but Jackson and his writers (Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens) make it known to the world what they had to do.

2) The Design Team: The participants for this commentary detail what they did during the preparation stages. Basically, they had to create the look of Middle-Earth, from the costumes and the sets to the way the complex action sequences would be shot. You can see their developmental work on Discs 3 and 4.

3) The Production/Post-Production Team: Commentary 3 will give you an idea of how the film began to and did take shape.

4) The Cast: Most of the cast members gathered together to record their comments at the same time. Obviously, Commentary 4 provides the most fun since you feel as if you´re part of one big group hug.

--Disc 3--
The extras on Disc 3 deal mainly with the pre-production stage of the project. The titles of the featurettes are basically elf-explanatory, so it´s not necessary to discuss them in great detail. Suffice it to say that the featurettes are very thorough, leaving no stone unturned. Since he´s all over the place anyway, Peter Jackson filmed an introduction for Disc 3.

--"J.R.R. Tolkien: Origins of Middle-Earth"

--"From Book to Script: Finding the Story"

--"Designing Middle-Earth"

--"Weta Workshop"

--"The Taming of Sméagol"

--"Andy Serkis Animation Reference"

--"Gollum´s ´Stand-in´"

--"Middle-Earth Atlas": An interactive map that follows four different groups of characters during their "LOTR 2" journeys.

--"New Zealand as Middle-Earth"

Though I did not actually make my own counts of the total number of stills in the galleries, I would not be surprised if Disc 3 had more than a 1,000 pictures alone. In "The Peoples of Middle-Earth", you will find conceptual drawings and photos of the Easterlings, the Ents, Eomer, Eowyn, Faramir, the Fell Beasts, Gandalf the White, Gollum, Grima Wormtongue, Grishnakh, Haradrim, the Ithilien Rangers, King Theoden, the King´s Royal Guard, Mumakil, the Riders of Rohan, Theodred, the Third Age Elven Warriors, Treebeard, the Uruk-hai, the Wargs and their Riders, and Wild Men. In "The Realms of Middle-Earth", you will find conceptual drawings and photos of the Dead Marshes, Edoras, Emyn Muil, Fangorn Forest, Helm´s Deep, Henneth Annun, Isengard, Ithilien, Meduseld: The Golden Hall, Osgiliath, the Plains of Rohan, the Stables, and Theodred´s Bedroom.

--Disc 4--
The extras on Disc 4 deal mainly with the production (filming) and post-production stages of the project. Once again, the titles of the featurettes are basically self-explanatory, so it´s not necessary to discuss them in great detail. Elijah Wood, the Ring-bearer of the story, replaces Peter Jackson in Disc 4´s introductory video segment.

--"Warriors of the Third Age"

--"Cameras in Middle-Earth"

--"Big-atures"

--"Weta Digital"

--"Editorial: Refining the Story"

--"Music for Middle-Earth"

--"The Soundscapes of Middle-Earth"

--"The Battle for Helm´s Deep is Over..."

--"The Flooding of Isengard" Animatic

--"Sound Demonstration: Helm´s Deep"

Disc 4 also has more stills than you could care to view in a single day. They have been collected in the following galleries: Production Photos, Abandoned Concepts--Slime Balrog, Abandoned Concepts--Endless Stair, Barad-dur, The Black Gate, Fangorn Forest, Helm´s Deep, Osgiliath, Ruined Isengard, and Zirakzigil.

--DVD-ROM--
Those of you with DVD-ROM access can use the weblinks encoded on the DVDs.

--Miscellaneous--
With everything housed in a book-like package, a glossy booklet provides chapter listings and information about the set´s bountiful extras.

Film Value:
Yes, I know that "LOTR 2" is the middle part of an epic story, and many people have told me that a "slow-down" is to be expected. I disagree with that excusatory assessment. Without having to set up the plot and its characters as "LOTR 1" did, "LOTR 2" could have been a home run since it should have taken the accomplishments of its predecessor and made a grand experience of itself. Instead, we get interminable scenes of people flopping in despair, only to be rescued by some deus ex machina. I wish that I could say that I liked "LOTR 2" as much as "LOTR 1", but it´s not to be.

Easter Egg Alert:
Disc 1--Go to the Scene Selections menus, and highlight the horizontal picture of Chapter 30, the last chapter on Disc 1. Press down on your remote control´s direction pad to highlight a ring icon. Click on the ring icon to watch Andy Serkis and Gollum accepting a tub of popcorn at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards.

Discs 3 and 4--Go to the Main Menu, and move the menu cursor to the circle icon at the bottom of the page. Click on the icon to access the DVDs´ production credits.

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