The Lord of the Ringsnovel by fantasy master J.R.R. Tolkien saw a valuable adaptation in Peter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towersmovie, but it was the movie’s extended edition that really got into the book’s messaging. Both the theatrical version of the movie and the extended edition entailed substantial cuts to the story in the source material. However, director Peter Jackson wanted to build on his theatrical version to create a more faithful movie for fans like himself, even if it required a blistering runtime. This resulted in the extended cut.
Jackson’sLord of the RingsandHobbittrilogieswere known for their extensive runtimes. ForThe Hobbit, this was a mystery, because the trilogy was based on one children’s book. However,The Lord of the Ringstrilogy was based on a sprawling and vast narrative, presenting a huge challenge to would-be adapters. As Jackson’s second Tolkien trilogy,The Hobbitwas likely following the successful formula of the first trilogy, which turned out to found one of the highest-grossing movie franchises in the world.The Two Towersextended cut made the movie even longer, but in many ways, much more fun.
10Elvish Rope Offset Gollum’s Madness
Galadriel Gave Sam Elvish Rope
Based on the eponymous second part ofThe Lord of the Rings,The Two Towersmovie shed some light on Galadriel’s gifts to the Fellowship.The Two Towersextended cut focused in on Galadriel’s impact on Samwise Gamgee, in particular. The extended edition of the movie displayed Sam using magical Elvish rope that had been gifted to him by the Lady of Lothlórien. The extended cut also introduced Gollum’s split personality earlier than the theatrical cut did.
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This rope was tied to the top of a rocky outcrop, and Sam contemplated leaving it there. Realizing he wasn’t capable of removing the rope prompted Sam to contemplate the unfortunate sacrifice, butthe rope untied itself and fell to the ground. As if it had been listening to Sam, the rope met Sam’s needs and demonstrated Galadriel’s beneficial role inThe Fellowship of the Ring, which the former movie hadn’t fully fleshed out.
There Were More Scenes In Fangorn Forest
Merry and Pippin were a highlight ofThe Lord of the Ringsnovel, andThe Two Towersextended edition recognized this by giving them more scenes with Treebeard.Tolkien’s prologue to his novel was titled “Concerning Hobbits"and detailed Hobbits' lifestyles. This was representative of the importance Hobbits had in the overall narrative. Jackson’s trilogy prologue focused on grander themes likethe Second Age of Middle-earthand Sauron’s threat.
Merry and Pippin’s time with Treebeard in Fangorn Forest started to cede some of the story’s interest back to Hobbits.
The difference in prologues between the book and the movie portrayed a wider change, which was the movie trilogy’s reduction of the Hobbits' roles to make way for Aragorn’s heroics.Jackson recognized Aragorn’s Hollywood good looks and knight-in-shining-armor appeal as a suitable focal pointfor the movie’s momentum, editing the source material accordingly. Merry and Pippin’s time with Treebeard in Fangorn Forest started to cede some of the story’s interest back to Hobbits.
8Théodred’s Death Was Valued More
Rohan Was More Tragic In The Extended Edition
Théodred was given a couple more scenesin the extended edition ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Jackson and his crew chose to add in a scene showing Éomer searching a battlefield and finding Théodred’s injured form on the ground. This was supplemented by a funeral scene, where Éowyn sang a dirge in Old English. Apart from being a particularly beautiful song and a particularly beautiful scene, the content around Théodred’s funeral built the importance of Rohan inThe Two Towers.
Rohan was based on Anglo-Saxon culture, and it represented humankind more than any other settlement in the book.
TitledThe Two Towers, the second part of Tolkien’s book is often published separately from the first and third parts, due to its length, and it prioritizes Rohan. Rohan was based on Anglo-Saxon culture, and it represented humankind more than any other settlement in the book. Thissymbolism was behind its shining nobility and tragedy in the book. Jackson’s extended adaptation put forward a bit more of this spirit than the theatrical version had.
7Aragorn Bonded With His Horse More
The Extended Edition Showed Brego’s Importance
Warner Bros.’s extendedTwo Towersmovie added in a scene showing Aragorn’s skill with horses. As a warrior, a healer, and a Ranger,Aragorn’s skills and qualities were wide-ranging, and showing his more gentle side benefited the movie. The trilogy occasionally risked teetering into action-adventure reductivism. It was hard to capture the scope and profundity of such a long novel, so this partially made sense.
Frodo and Sam make their way down a mountain
2:01
Massacre at the Fords of Isen
Éomer and his riders come across the battlefield where Théodred has fallen
1:09
Treebeard sings a song for Pippin and Merry
1:41
The Heir of Númenor
Gandalf tells Aragorn that Sauron fears him as the heir to the throne of Men
2:09
Pippin drinks the nourishment of the Ents and grows taller
3:05
The Funeral of Théodred
Theoden leads the mourning of his son as Éowyn sings a tribute
1:23
Aragorn calms Théodred’s horse in the stables by speaking elvish
1:42
The Ring of Barahir
Wormtongue arrives in Isengard and tells Saruman about a man wearing the ring of the Heir of Isildur
1:31
One of the Dúnedain
Éowyn makes stew for Aragorn and realizes his lineage as they travel to Helm’s Deep
3:06
Sons of the Steward
Faramir has a flashback to Boromir retaking Osgiliath and their father sending him to Rivendell
4:41
Fangorn comes to Helm’s Deep
The Ents arrive to finish off the Orcs as they flee the battle
0:54
Gimli and Legolas compare their body counts during the battle
0:41
Flotsam and Jetsam
Pippin and Merry find a supply of food and pipe-weed in the ruins of Isengard
2:02
Faramir leads Frodo, Sam, and Gollum out of Osgiliath
2:28
However, showing that Aragorn, the movie’s main knight, was more than just a confident fighter, paid dividends. There were arguably scenes that would have communicated Aragorn’s personality more than this. However, adding incontent on Aragorn’s horse also set up future scenesbetween Aragorn and the horse, making the horse’s later loyalty make sense.
6Aragorn Got Closer To Éowyn
Éowyn And Aragorn Shared A Tender Moment
As one ofThe Lord of the Rings’best characters, Éowyn deserved a lot of screen time, andThe Two Towersextended edition acknowledged this. Thankfully,Éowyn was one of the characters that did get the storyline they deservedin the Peter Jackson movies. Éowyn's beloved Théoden was not so fortunate and missed out on getting to prove his value to worldwide cinema-goers, with a far smaller role in the movie than in the book.
Éowyn got an additional scene with Aragorn in the extended edition ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. In this scene,Éowyn fed Aragorn some of her soup, which he hilariously reviled, although he tried to keep this politely secret from Éowyn. This was original material and didn’t buildÉowyn’s skill with a sword, but it did, indirectly, position Éowyn as more of a warrior than a housewife. It also dramatized Éowyn’s unrequited love for Aragorn and, in turn, Aragorn’s love for Arwen.
5The Ents Saw More Action
The Ents Were More Heroic In The Extended Edition
The extended edition ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towersadded a scene of the Ents dominating in Isengard. The movie showed the fighting at Helm’s Deep, which suitably heroized many members of the Fellowship. But Tolkien’s novel made it clear that theEnts had a brand of heroics all their own, and Jackson’s theatricalTwo Towersdidn’t show this so much, whereas the additional content in the extended edition hinted at it. One of the bigdifferences betweenThe Two Towersbook and the moviewas the attitude of the Ents.
In both the book and the movie, the Ents were an isolated peoples and slow to trust. However, in the book, the Ents decided to fight on the side of good and tackle Saruman.The Ents of the movie were more standoffish, and the Hobbits had to trick the Ents into going to Isengard to see Saruman’s threat for themselves before they decided to fight. Adding in more Ent action allowed Peter Jackson to give Ents back some of their agency and power.
4Merry And Pippin Showed Off Hobbit Pipe-Weed
Hobbit Pipe-Weed Was A Big Part Of Tolkien’s Worldbuilding
In one additional scene inThe Two Towers’extended cut,Merry and Pippin found a larder full of food and pipe-weedin Isengard’s cellars. Although swamped, the Hobbits made their way into the cellar to enjoy the liberated stash of goodies that Saruman held in his vaults. While not the most important content that the extended edition could have included, it did bring Hobbits back to the fore. Tolkien was adamant about Hobbits being central to the narrative.
This was an important facet of the work for an adaptation to recognize. It was precisely the Hobbits' simplicity that made them worthy of Ring-bearer status, and made them able to resist the Ring, and therefore made winning the War of the Ring possible for the Fellowship.Hobbits were famous for pipe-weedin the lore ofTolkien’s Middle-earth, making Jackson’s reference to it here a celebration of all things Hobbit.
3Gimli And Legolas Were Better Together
The Extended Edition Developed Its Key Bromance
Gimli and Legolas were a key bromance inThe Lord of the Ringsnovel, probably second only tothe bromance between Frodo and Sam, and the extendedTwo Towersvalued this. While many fans see homoerotic undertones to Frodo and Sam’s deep love,Gimli and Legolas have a quite overtly platonic relationshipthat is stronger than many marriages. Bigging this up in the extended edition ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towersmade sense.
Gimli’s character inThe Lord of the Ringswas one of noble heroism, but the Warner Bros. movies used him for comic relief. The scene Jackson added to his extended cut of the second movie in hisLord of the Ringstrilogy showed Gimli and Legolas comparing their body count after battle. Althoughthis scene built a vital relationship, it trivialized war to a certain extent and relegated Gimli to a comic relief Dwarf.
2Aragorn And Gandalf Set Up The Politics Of The War More
The War Made More Sense In The Extended Edition
Tolkien was dealing with some complex, messy politics throughout his lengthyLord of the Ringsnovel, and Jackson’s theatricalTwo Towersmovie didn’t really scratch the surface of it, but the extended edition came closer.The Lord of the Rings:The Two Towerscut Erkenbrand and many key momentsin the overall buildup to the movie’s fights, also neglecting, understandably, the valuable context provided in the appendices to the novel.
The Two Towersextended version added in a scene whereby Gandalf flagged that Sauron feared Aragorn because he was the heir of Isildur. This tied nicely intoThe Fellowship of the Ring’sprologue, which showed Isildur defeating Sauron in the Second Age. Together,the prologue and the added scene helped explain Aragorn’s significanceand the importance of his return as the rightful king of Gondor.
1Faramir Got Some Well-Deserved Screen Time
The Extended Cut Honored Faramir Slightly More
Faramir was sadly neglected in both the theatrical and extended editions ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, but the extended edition went some way to righting the flaws of the theatrical cut.Faramir was one of Tolkien’s greatest heroes, and he was unquestionably in the top three of Middle-earth’s humans. This didn’t come through inThe Two Towers, which made him just another obstacle in Frodo’s mission.
Jackson’s choices here were understandable in the wider context of making a trilogy with manageable runtimes and dramatic pacing. However,cutting Faramir’s perspective and dialogue missed the opportunityof one of literature’s great characters. The extended movie added a flashback for Faramir that helped portray his struggle to compete with his brother inThe Lord of the Rings, and also added a scene with Frodo and Gollum that helped, somewhat, to dilute his roughness and cruelty in the theatrical version.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Cast
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a Fantasy film by director Peter Jackson and is based on The Two Towers book by author J. R. R. Tolkien. A sequel to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, this installment continues Frodo’s journey to take the One Ring to Mount Doom to destroy it.
