The Bottom Line
Like last year, the special edition is one of the most satisfying DVD releases I've ever come across--a fantastic movie packaged with a tremendous amount of quality bonus features.
Pros
- Over 43 minutes more of "The Two Towers"--more Gollum, more Treebeard, more Eowyn, more everybody
- Insightful commentaries and in-depth bonus features
Cons
- If you already bought the 2 DVD set, you'll want to upgrade
Description
- Extended 4-DVD set of one of the best movies of 2002 with over 40 minutes of new scenes
- Four commentary tracks with dozens of participants, incl. cast, writers, designers, and the director
- Hours worth of in-depth making-of documentaries covering various aspects of the production
- Galleries and interactive maps
Guide Review - The Two Towers Special Extended Edition DVD
When the 2-DVD set of "The Two Towers" became available in August, I recommended that "unless you're one of the Frodo-fanatics who cannot live for a few more months without having the film at their fingertips, I highly recommend putting off your Hobbit-hankering to wait for the extended DVD set." Now that it has arrived, it's clear that the the Special Edition was well worth the wait. So many added and expanded scenes are scattered throughout the movie that I won't attempt listing them (the fan sites have very detailed analyses, if you're interested.) But even if you don't consider yourself among the hardcore fanboy demographic, the extended cut is worth seeing because it deepens character and story. The bonus features offer insight into the unique scale of the production in which apparently everybody was willing to push themselves to extremes. This box is proof that the care and love that went into the making of "The Lord of the Rings" was truly extraordinary, and the results are spectacular.
