LOTR: Two Towers: Book vs. Movie

Over on Hamlette's blog, The Edge of the Precipice, I wrote a guest post comparing the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers book to the film focusing on The One Ring, Faramir, and the events that take place on the Stairs of Cirith Ungol. To go read and comment on the post, you can click here. Please let me know what you think of it, and please check back tomorrow for my first reaction to a series named Log Horizon.

Also, Hamlette is hosting a giveaway over on her blog, which you can check out by clicking here.

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Two Towers: Book Vs Movie Part 2.

 Here is part two of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Book Vs Movie analysis. Although I found many changes from the book to movie in the Fellowship of the Ring unnecessary, many of the changes in the Two Towers I found to almost be better in the movie or just not really negative. This part is mostly about the Battle of Helm's Deep and obviously has complete spoilers for the movie.

Helm's Deep

I found the chapter "Helm's Deep" to be a little difficult to follow, not exactly sure why, however for this post I revisited the chapter to grasp a better understanding of it. There are many changes from the book to movie in this chapter, however most of the changes really did not have a negative effect on the story and some changes actually improved it. Because there were a good deal of changes I have made some sub-categories to talk about.

 

 

Rohirrim Arrive Before Orcs

In the book, Saruman's army are hot-on-the-heels of the Rohirrim heading into Helm's Deep. However, the Rohirrim arrive well before the Orcs, which serves to give a build-up to the big fight. This is another good change because it gives weight to the battle and builds anticipation.

 

 

 

 

Elves at Helm's Deep

Before the battle of Helm's Deep an army of Elven archers from Lothlórien arrives to help the Rohirrim in the movie. Conversely there were no Elves at Helm's Deep, or at least there were no more than three including Legolas but not a small army. I have to admit it was a very cool scene in the movie when the Elves arrived to help Rohirrim and the way they were used in the battle was inventive. However, there might be a slight geographical problem of the Elves actually making the journey to Helms Deep in time. Since I am no expert in Middle Earth geoaphy I am not certin if this is the case.

 

 

 

 

You'll Have to Toss Me



 Although some might dislike this scene because nothing that resembles it in the book, I really do not care. It was awesome scene! "You'll have to toss me", "I cannot jump the distance you'll have to toss me." It was a brilliant use of comic relief, probably the best change made by Peter Jackson.

 

  

 

Erkenbrand Not Eomer Arrives

In a way this also relates to the previous chapter "The King of the Golden Hall" in that Eomer was arrested not banished. Since Eomer is more of an important character than Erkenbrand, and he had basically nothing to do at the Battle of Helm's Deep in the book, it does make sense why he replaced Erkenbrand so that the audience would know who the person with Gandalf was other than some random Rohirrim soldier.

Orc Shot First

One of the Rohirrim shot first at the battle in the movie, while the Orcs shot fight first in the book. Surprised there have not been "Orc Shot First" shirts like the "Han Shot First" ones. (this was just a joke).

 

  

 

 

 

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Book Review: LOTR The Two Towers.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien is the sequel to The Fellowship of the Ring. Actually a better description would be that The Two Towers is part two of three to the best fantasy story ever told and one of the greatest works of fiction in the work of mankind.

Because not everyone has seen the movie or read the books, I will have a "Spoiler" warning before any small spoilers. Additionally, if you have only seen the movie and not read the book, there is nothing that would be considered spoilers.

I would have to say that I enjoyed it even more than The Fellowship of the Ring. Everything was excellent, the Two Towers was faster paced, more epic, and overall even more involving, although The Fellowship of the Ring is still currently my second favorite book of all-time.

The story of the Two Towers continues directly were the previous book ended. The narrative structure of the Two Towers is unlike any other book I have read. It is split-up into two different parts, the first part focuses on two different groups. The first group being *Spoiler* Aragorn and the surviving company on their journey, excluding Frodo and Sam, who are the focus of the second part of the book. *End Spoiler* Surprisingly, there were many similarities with the movie but that will be discussed in a later post.

All of the characters in the story are more developed and given more depth, especially the ones that were given a more minor role in the previous book. Unlike the previous book, Frodo is not the main character of the story, the material is more evenly distributed among the many fascinating character throughout the story. Also there were almost no poems or songs throughout the book, which was great. Although that is not to say I disliked what was in the first book, it did become distracting at times. The ending of the book really made me love the book that much more, *Spoiler* it was one of the saddest ending to a book I have ever read, even though I know how it is going to end. *End Spoiler*
Author: J. R. R. Tolkien

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Epic

Release Date: November 11, 1954

 

Plot: Because the plot starts directly were the previous book ended, it would be pointless to have a plot summary.

 

 

 

 Plot: 10/10- As with the Fellowship of the Ring, I already love the story. The Two Towers film is one of my favorite movies of all-time, it is just that amazing. The pacing was improved, although the slower pacing was necessary to set up the plot in the first installment, it featured more material of my favorite characters and introduced many other memorable characters that were never developed as much in the films.

 

 

Audiobook: 9.5/10- The audiobook was made by the same fan that recorded the previous one I listened to. However, it was vastly improved compared to his previous work (except for the "White Rider" chapter) with better use of music and voice work. His Treebeard impression sounds exactly like the movie and his ability to mimic the other various characters' voices is great. Only Legolas, Aragorn and a few other minor do tend to sound alike at various points. Other than that minor flaw, it was overall excellent and better than any other Lord of the Rings audiobook I have listened to before.

 

 

Overall: +10/10- I am giving The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers a special rating of +10 to signify that is better than the other books that I have given a ten rating. Everything in the book was basically perfect, and I cannot wait to read the Return of the King.

Closing Comments: The Two Towers is the epic middle chapter in one of the best stories ever told. What more do I need to say, watch the movies or read the books, either way they are both excellent.

 

 

 

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Two Towers: Book Vs Movie Part 1.

Now I have finally written the first part of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Book Vs Movie. Sorry everyone for the delay it took longer than expected to get enough inspiration and ideas to actually write it. This is only part one of the long analysis comparing the book of The Two Towers to the film adaption. Because I watched the movie almost ten years before reading the book, I am a more neutral to any changes than completely roasting Peter Jackson for changing the book. Also I view many of the changes as a film maker, thus some changes are made to work better in the visual mediun of film, opposed to a book.

These are only a few of the changes from the book to movie. There will be another part most likely posted in the near future. For the changes to Faramir, Treebeard, and Shelob's Lair, which I consider the most significant, I am trying a more formal essay format and it is taking far longer than I originally expected. Also be sure to check back here Monday for my review of Back to the Future!

King of the Golden Hall

In the movie Theoden's mind and apparently body is basically possessed by Saruman. Gandalf essentially exorcised Theodan from Saruman's hold on Theoden's mind. However, in the book Theoden is I suppose decevied by Wormtongue not possessed by Saruman. I actually like this change because film is a visual medium were things need to be shown not told. It also gives Gandalf a chance to use his new powers in the form of Gandalf the White.

Warg Battle

In the book there is no Warg battle on the journey to Helms Deep and the journey its self feels rather short in the book compared to the movie. On the other hand, the Rohirrim are attacked by a company of Warg riders. After which Aragorn falls off a cliff and has a vision of Arwen. This serves to add an Arwen scene, which was probably the best way it could have added one without feeling out of place. Although I have yet to see anyone else mention this, the Warg battle in the Fellow of the Ring was removed and this could be the reasoning behind adding the battle to the Two Towers. Similar to how "Old Willow Man" was placed in Fangorn Forrest because Tom Bombadil was removed. Plus it was an awesome action and I definitely cannot complain about that.

 



  

Dialogue

As with most adaptations from book to film the dialogue is drastically altered to make it more suitable for film. However, there are a few lines of dialogue that are nearly the same from the book or a different character delivers the line. Although most dialogue works well in the book, it often sounds awkward if actually said and other lines of dialogue used are out dated and the words mean something entirely different today.

 

 



Do you agree or disagree? There is no real "right" answer to any of these questions so please comment below with your thoughts. 

 

 

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The Two Towers Extend Edition Review.

If you have not read my review for The Fellowship of the Ring Extend Edition. Please Click here to check it out.

Thoughts: I was really excited to watch The Two Towers since it had more extra footage than The Fellowship and it did not disappoint. The added 43 minutes really changed The Two Towers; it almost felt like a different movie with the addedscenes. Although it did slow the pace, which is fine for fan, and there were not near as many scenes with The Hobbits that added or extended. There were many scenes with Aragorn and company and there were a lot of loose ends that were tied up nicely. The character Faramir was given much more screen time and I really liked the character. He was really given the shaft in the theatrical version of the movie. There was again some really funny humor that was added, most of which was with Gimli. There is a lot more information about the characters included in this version and Aragorn's quest was much more interesting and made you feel more invested in the story. Especially the scene were Aragorn tells Eowyn that he is 85 years old! The Two Towers is my second favorite Lord of the Rings movie after The Return of the King but I like them all and the Extend Edition is a must buy for any fan of the movies. Just as in my previous review of The Fellowship of the Ring below are all of the scenes that were added and my comments are highlighted in red below each description of the extra scenes that I think are worth noting.

 The Two Towers Extended Scenes.

Sam uses his Elvish rope to help him and Frodo get down from a cliff and another clip in which it is raining on them.

There was a scene in The Fellowship of the Ring that was cut were Lady Galadriel gave each of the Fellowship something to help them in their quest and she gave Sam some Elvish rope, which was used in this scene.

Pippin believes that Merry is wounded and asks the orcs to give him some water. Instead they give him orc draught to drink.

Some extra stuff with Sauron building his armies and gathering allies, and plotting etc.

Éomer finds his cousin mortally wounded and brings him to Edoras. Later Gríma exiling Éomer is extended.

The encounter between orcs and Uruk-hai extended.

The funeral of Théodred.

The encounter between the hobbits Merry and Pippin and Treebeard is extended; There is also a scene in which Merry and Pippin stay drunk only to hear the powerful voice of the Ent, almost falling off Treebeard's body.

Merry and Pippin drink Ent Draught (Which makes them grow a few inches taller and they get attacked by Old Man Willow and Treebeard saves them.

This scene actually explains how the Ents can talk and I wish this was in the original cut.

Gandalf and Aragorn talk about Frodo's fate on their way to Rohan.

Some humorous scenes, such as one in which Eowyn (who is an awful cook) serves a plate of terrible stew to Aragorn (In which Aragorn reveals his age to be 87)
Now this was a shock. Aragorn was 87 years old! That information should have been included.

Faramir finds the boat carrying the body of his brother Boromir, which brings him many memories that help to explain in detail his relationship with his father Denethor and Denethor's unsympathetic attitude towards his Faramir.
Faramir really got the shaft in the original cut. I like him much more as a character after watching the extended editions.

Faramir and Boromir at Osgiliath and Denethor sends Boromir to Rivendell to find out about the One Ring.
More character development of Farmir, which is good.

Flotsam and Jetsom is a new scene where Merry and Pippin find food and Longbottom Leaf in Isengard
Something that I noticed in the extended editions is that the smoking of weed was mostly removed other than a seeing the characters smoke.

Extended Scene of Sam's Speech at Osgiliath

Faramir shows the hobbits the way out of Osgiliath
More scenes that Faramir was cut out of and it explains how they left Osgliath better.

Fan End Credits

The Movie: 10/10- Before watching the extended edition I was not sure if I liked The Two Towers or The Fellowship of the Ring more but after watching the extended editions I definitely like The Tow Towers more and it is also one of the best movies ever made.

Video: 9.9/10- The video quality was better than the Fellowship and definitely enhances the experience.

Audio: 9.7/10- The only real problem with the audio is that in some scenes the sound effects and music over power the voices of the characters but it does really immerse you into the movie.

Overall 10/10- The Tow Towers is almost like a different movie with the added scenes and is definitely a better movie.

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