Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Spoiler Discussion and Reaction Thread

Come here to discuss and react to the latest installment in the Lord of the Rings story.

All spoilers welcome here.

[image=http://img-www.theonering.net/images/scrapbook/5140.jpg]

 

Well, thanks for starting this, eclipse

He kindly posted soundtrack samples in the Film Music Hall. I gave the article a read and the music a listen.

The soundtrack mirrors the Fellowship soundtrack, yet has a darker, more personal feel (as Empire did compared to A New Hope). The soundtrack so far is looking to be great.

 

Here's the track listing for the upcoming soundtrack:

01. Foundations Of Stone (3:51)
02. The Taming Of Smeagol (2:48)
03. The Riders Of Rohan (4:05)
04. The Passage Of The Marshes (2:46)
05. The Uruk-Hai (2:58)
06. The King Of The Golden Hall (3:49)
07. The Black Gate Is Closed (3:17)
08. Evenstar (3:15)
09. The White Rider (2:28)
10. Treebeard (2:43)
11. The Leave Taking (3:41)
12. Helm's Deep (3:53)
13. The Forbidden Pool (5:27)
14. Breath Of Life (5:07)
15. The Hornburg (4:36)
16. Forth Eorlingas (3:15)
17. Isengard Unleashed (5:01)
18. Samwise The Brave (3:45)
19. Gollum's Song (5:51)
20. Farewell To Lorien (4:39)

I just gave all of the samples a listening.. and I am much more impressed with what I've heard on this soundtrack than the score for Fellowship. There are a lot more themes and cues in use this time around, making the soundtrack sound a lot more vibrant.

 

I've read the book numerous times and I can't wait for the battle at Helm's Deep.

Also, as the soundtrack suggests, will the film pan between Frodo's group and Aragorn's group, or will it follow the book's trend and separate the film into two halfs?

 

It appears that the film will go back and forth between the two groups, a la Return of the Jedi style (Endor/Death Star). I sure hope so.. it'd help the movie flow better, in my opinion

 

Back and Forth is better IMO, if they follow the book style people might start thinking that Frodo's journey, the taming of Sméagol is after Helms Deep, the ents attack on Isengard etc.

There are a lot more themes and cues in use this time around, making the soundtrack sound a lot more vibrant.

Good, FotR soundtrack always seem to repeat the same theme, which annoyed me

 

I've only glimpsed brief excerpts from the forthcoming movie and was wondering how Peter Jackson has brought the ents to the big screen? In the book they play a major role in the battle of Helm's deep and the siege of Isengard, and for the movie to work it's vital that the fx work.
Has anyone seen any footage featuring the ents?

 

[image=http://www.elbakin.com/film/photos/imgnews/sylvebarbenews.jpg]

 

Does anyone know how long the movie is going to be? Is it going to run about the same as Fellowship?

 

It'll be roughly two hours and fifty-nine minutes, I hear.

 

Yeah the movie is CONFIRMED to intercut the stories as will ROTK showing it chronologically. I feel this could add a great deal to suspense/drama by cutting to the other story at the right times.
The movie is confirmed to be 179min.
I can't wait to see this film and then see what they add back in for the Extended DVD release

 

Saruman is confirmed to die in this movie. It is different than the way Tolkien had it.

From French Film Mag:
some changes from the book have to be predicted, for example Elrond and Galadriel's participation to the battle of Helm's Deep, and the demise of the wizard Saruman.

 

Anyone know what day the soundtrack comes out?

 

They're killing Saruman in this one? I'm not really sure how I feel about that. I guess it will allow ROTK to flow a little bit better. Does this mean Saruman won't go to the Shire?

BTW, the soundtrack is being released on December 10.

 

The scouring of the shire is out, so no Saruman.

 

I am wondering whether or not the VOS scene will make it into TTT.

 

Insider reports say that several death scenes were shot for Saruman; some at Orthanc, some at the shire, some with him having his throat cut, some with him falling onto a spike - possibly even more. I don't know how accurate those reports are, but apparently at one point Christopher Lee was trying to convince Jackson to give Saruman a death closer to that of the book, which supports the idea that PJ gave himself some room to manuver on the issue.

As far as I know, no-one knows for certain which one's going to end up in the finished film.

 

Everything I've seen/heard lends itself to Saruman being impaled on a spike in Orthanc, but that may be off.

 

I just recieved the Fellowship of the Ring boxed set for a Christmas gift last night and sat down and watched the entire film today. The soundtrack was done excellently; I am highly impressed with the newly recorded tracks. Watching the film again makes me want to see the Two Towers immediately.

The soundtrack can only be better than the previous one. I've heard a few tracks that are available on other websites and the work itself is outstanding. I don't know if each soundtrack was recorded at the same time, but to me, it feels like they weren't.. which is a good thing, in my eyes.

I can't wait to experience this film.
Gosh, I'm drooling

 

Impaled on a stake at Orthanc?! Surely you jest. I want Sharkey! Though of course once I see it, I'll think it was awesome.

 

Gollum's Song-I have listened to it!

---

Words:

Where once was light, now darkness falls
Where once was light, love is no more.
Don't say goodbye
Don't say I didn't try
These tears we cry are falling rain
For all the lies you told us
The hurt, the blame
And we will wait (or weep, or something with wee-) to be so alone
We are lost
We can never go home
So in the end I'll be what I will be
No loyal friend was ever there for me
Now we say goodbye
We say you didn't try
These tears you cry have come to take back their lives
Their hurt, the blame
And you will weep when you face the end alone
You are lost, you can never go home
You are lost, you can never go home


[hr]

Very beautiful song. Emiliana Torrini is a great singer!

 

PJ could still have Saruman's demise laid out similarly to that in ROTK without having the scouring scene. It could take place somewhere else. Perhaps that is what will happen in TT - the timetable of his death is just moved up a bit.

I can accept such modifications to the tale.

If they include this Isengard scene I'll be happy with the film, and quite disappointed if they do not:

And now they turned their eyes towards the archway and the ruined gates. There they saw close beside them a great rubble-heap; and suddenly they were aware of two small figures lying on it at their ease, grey-clad, hardly to be seen among the stones. There were bottles and bowls and platters laid beside them, as if they had just eaten well, and now rested from their labor. One seemed asleep; the other, with crossed legs and arms behind his head, leaned back against a broken rock and sent from his mouth long wisps and little rings of thin blue smoke.

Followed by Gimli's outburst.

It would amuse me like Bilbo's "half as much as you deserve" line at his birthday party did in Fellowship.

 

TRAILER BEGINS <music swells in>

A glowering shadow from the media takes shape.

Scenes of fans pacing in panic

<dialogue>

Is it going to live up to the hype and be BETTER than the FOTR? Is they're any chance it won't? That sounds too good to be true, how can this movie exceed the first? What happens if it doesn't, will Tolkien's material forever be disgraced whilst the media hogs bash it based on a movie of the material? I mean come one, I want to see a trilogy succeed for once dammit, especialy one that deserves it such as this. None of that annoying, there's too much politics or "Oh great here comes another CGI character whose going to annoy us." No, screw the past blunders, I hope Gollum is so good he could win a nomination for the Best Supporting Actor. And I hope that the media people don't act like the *$#(##@s they are, and try to tell people what THEY think they know about what are GOOD movies, like on those cheesy late night talk shows or fake news programs and give it a bad name because they don't 'get it' or have some kind of problem with it's fanbase or something.

<black screen>

Dec 19th

Oh and by the way, is it really necessary for people to be so anal? See below article


Score one for musical recycling

November 17, 2002

BY ROGER EBERT Advertisement


While watching the most recent trailer for "Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers," I immediately recognized the music as the excellent score from "Requiem for a Dream." I am familiar with the practice of recycling music for trailers--I can't count the number of times I have heard the score from "Aliens"--but why bother, with a sequel to a hugely successful movie with a ready-made score? If it was slapped on for time's sake, I might understand, but the version I heard on the trailer sounds re-orchestrated and tweaked, as if specifically for LOTR. Granted, the urgency and sadness of the music fit the tone of the trailer perfectly, but did the studio think the existing score from the first Rings film not moving enough?

Kermit Holden, Atlanta

A. You have good ears. Yes, the "Requiem" score was used, and yes, it was re-orchestrated. I contacted the AM's expert source David Bondelevich, award-winning music editor and lecturer at the University of Southern California. He at first assumed that "but re-scoring it would be prohibitively expensive," but his contact at the Ant Farm, which created the trailer, said otherwise.

Nathan D. Duvall, music producer at the Ant Farm, explained, "In many cases a trailer is created in two days and there isn't enough time to create original music. With 'Two Towers,' the editor who cut the trailer fell in love with the 'Requiem' score but found that it didn't quite adhere to the typical trailer music formula. To solve this we created a larger orchestration that arched to a big resolution. 'Requiem' is a more intimate feature yet it has a haunting melody that easily translates to a more broad feature in 'Two Towers.' The 'Rings' score is well placed in the first minute of the 'Two Towers' trailer but the editor found that she needed something different since 'Towers' is a different act in the trilogy. Once you have introduced the known characters and reminded the audience of their separate journeys we needed to depart from the old score. Howard Shore had not yet completed his score for 'Two Towers' by the time we finished our trailer so we couldn't use any of the new music. As far as creative decisions go, our partner here at the Ant Farm who holds the Rings account, Barbara Glazer, supported our attempt with the revised 'Requiem' theme. And all creative decisions are finally approved by [LOTR director] Peter Jackson."

Just because Mr. or Ms. Letter Writer is too dim to pick up the obvious powerful nature of the 'Requiem theme' and how amazingly well it fits. For shame.

 

I just bought my tickets for LOTR:TTT, I had to go for the 8pm one though, I might have finals 'til 4pm, but I don't mind.

Ciou-See the Sig

 

There would be no way for Saruman to end up in the Shire in TTT. That would alter the story far more than having Saruman die earlier.