The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Movie Details:

Based on	The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien
Countries	New Zealand United States
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Release date	December 5, 2002 (Ziegfeld Theatre) December 18, 2002 (United States) December 19, 2002 (New Zealand)
Running time	2hr 59min
Age rating	PG-13
Starring	Elijah Wood Ian McKellen Liv Tyler Viggo Mortensen Sean Astin Cate Blanchett John Rhys-Davies Bernard Hill Christopher Lee Billy Boyd Dominic Monaghan Orlando Bloom Hugo Weaving Miranda Otto
Directed by	Peter Jackson
Screenplay by	Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens Stephen Sinclair Peter Jackson
Produced by	Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh Peter Jackson
Cinematography by	Andrew Lesnie
Edited by	Michael J. Horton
Music by	Howard Shore
Production Companies	New Line Cinema WingNut Films
Distributor	New Line Cinema

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Movie Cast & Characters:

• Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, a young hobbit sent on a quest to destroy the One Ring, the burden of which is becoming heavier.
• Ian McKellen as Gandalf the White, an Istari wizard who fell fighting a Balrog and has now returned, more powerful than ever, to finish his task.
• Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, the heir-in-exile to Gondor’s throne who has come to Rohan’s defense.
• Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee, better known as Sam, Frodo’s loyal hobbit gardener, and companion.
• Andy Serkis as Gollum (voice/motion capture), a wretched hobbit-like creature originally known as Sméagol, who owned the Ring for 500 years and now guides Frodo on his quest.
• Billy Boyd as Peregrin Took, an extremely foolish hobbit who is a distant cousin of Frodo and travels with the Fellowship on their journey to Mordor.
• Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc Brandybuck, better known as Merry, a distant cousin of Frodo’s who is mistakenly captured along with Pippin by the Uruk-hai.
• John Rhys-Davies as Gimli, a dwarf warrior and one of Aragorn’s companions.
• Also voices Treebeard, the leader of the ents, who is roused to anger after seeing that Saruman has decimated a large part of Fangorn Forest.
• Orlando Bloom as Legolas, an elven archer and one of Aragorn’s companions.
• Bernard Hill as Théoden, The King of Rohan, who is under Saruman’s spell until Gandalf heals him so he can lead his people once more.
• Christopher Lee as Saruman the White, an Istari wizard waging war upon Rohan and devastating Fangorn Forest, who allied himself with Sauron in the previous film.
• Hugo Weaving as Elrond, the Elven-Lord of Rivendell who expresses doubt over his daughter’s love for Aragorn.
• Miranda Otto as Éowyn, Théoden’s niece, who is in love with Aragorn.
• David Wenham as Faramir, a prince of the Stewards of Gondor and captain of the Ithilien Rangers, who captures Frodo, Sam, and Gollum.
• Brad Dourif as Gríma Wormtongue, an agent of Saruman at Edoras, who renders Théoden incapable of decisions, and desires Éowyn.
• Karl Urban as Éomer, Théoden’s nephew and previous Chief Marshal of the Riddermark who was exiled by Gríma.
• Liv Tyler as Arwen, an elven princess of Rivendell and Aragorn’s true love.
• Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, The Elven Queen of Lothlórien, who discusses Middle-earth’s future with Elrond.
• Sean Bean as Boromir, Faramir’s older brother and a fallen member of the Fellowship who appears in flashbacks since his death, more prominently in the film’s extended edition.
• Craig Parker as Haldir, the leader of the Lórien Elves sent by Elrond and Galadriel to defend Helm’s Deep.
• John Leigh as Háma, the loyal door warden of the Golden Hall and a majordomo of Théoden.
• Nathaniel Lees as Ugluk, the leader of the band of Uruk-hai who kidnapped Merry and Pippin.
• Bruce Hopkins as Gamling, Théoden’s chief lieutenant and a skilled member of the Royal Guard of Rohan.
• John Bach as Madril, Faramir’s closest aide, who informs him of battle preparations.

Storyline:

In the part second of the Tolkien trilogy, Frodo Baggins and the other members of the Fellowship continue on their sacred quest to destroy the One Ring–but on separate paths. Their destinies lie at two towers–Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupt wizard Saruman awaits, and Sauron’s fortress at Barad-Dur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor.

About The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Movie:

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a fantasy action adventure film, based on 1954’s The Two Towers, the second volume of the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair, and Jackson.

It is the sequel to the 2001 film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and the second installment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It stars Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, and Hugo Weaving.

The Two Towers was filmed concurrently with The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King. Principal photography for the trilogy took place from October 11, 1999, to December 22, 2000.

For the intense battle scenes involving horses in the trilogy, about 200 to 300 horses were used. To ensure their safety, a horse and rider were fitted with motion capture suits similar to those used by Andy Serkis. These suits allowed for the recording of horse movements in the studio, which were then digitally inserted into the battle scenes, preventing any harm to the real horses.

During the shoot, Viggo Mortensen broke a tooth and requested super glue to reattach it, wanting to use the pain for his character. Producer Barrie M. Osborne insisted on taking him to a dentist first, and they finished filming afterward.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers premiered on December 5, 2002, at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City, and was released in the United States on December 18 and in New Zealand on December 19. The film was widely acclaimed for its direction, action sequences, performances, musical score, and visual effects, with particular praise for Gollum.

The film grossed over $936 million worldwide during its initial theatrical run, making it the highest-grossing film of 2002. At the time of its release, this was the third highest-grossing film worldwide, after Titanic (1997) and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001). With subsequent re-releases, its total gross reached $951 million.

The film received numerous accolades; at the 75th Academy Awards, it was nominated for six awards, including Best Picture, winning for Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects.

The first sequel to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture when the first movie did not win the award, and the third sequel to be nominated for Best Picture.

The background score heard in the film’s official trailer is the orchestra version of Lux Aeterna, written and composed by Clint Mansell. This composition was the leitmotif of the Darren Aronofsky film Requiem for a Dream (2000).

It is the only installment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy where Frodo doesn’t put on the One Ring.

The final installment of the trilogy, The Return of the King, was released in 2003.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Movie Budget & Box Office Collection:

Budget	$94 million
Opening Day	$26 million
Domestic Collection	$345 million
International Collection	$606 million
Worldwide Collection	$951.6 million