Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

  • 20022002
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 59m
IMDb RATING
8.8/10
1.6M
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
295
76
Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Miranda Otto, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, and Andy Serkis in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
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.
Play trailer1:44
5 Videos
99+ Photos
ActionAdventureDrama
While Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron's new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.While Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron's new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.While Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron's new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.
IMDb RATING
8.8/10
1.6M
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
295
76
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Peter Jackson
    • Writers
      • J.R.R. Tolkien(novel "The Two Towers")
      • Fran Walsh(screenplay)
      • Philippa Boyens(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Elijah Wood
      • Ian McKellen
      • Viggo Mortensen
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Peter Jackson
    • Writers
      • J.R.R. Tolkien(novel "The Two Towers")
      • Fran Walsh(screenplay)
      • Philippa Boyens(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Elijah Wood
      • Ian McKellen
      • Viggo Mortensen
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 2.7KUser reviews
    • 317Critic reviews
    • 87Metascore
    Top rated movie #14
    • Won 2 Oscars
      • 126 wins & 138 nominations total

    Videos5

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:44
    Official Trailer
    The Lord of the Rings Trilogy on Blu-ray
    Trailer 2:02
    The Lord of the Rings Trilogy on Blu-ray
    Does Andy Serkis Know How Many Times He's Played Gollum?
    Clip 3:01
    Does Andy Serkis Know How Many Times He's Played Gollum?
    A Guide to the Films of Peter Jackson
    Clip 1:33
    A Guide to the Films of Peter Jackson
    Who Else Almost Starred In The Lord of the Rings?
    Video 3:08
    Who Else Almost Starred In The Lord of the Rings?

    Photos615

    Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
    Ian McKellen in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
    Orlando Bloom in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
    Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Peter Jackson, and David Wenham in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
    Peter Jackson in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
    Liv Tyler in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
    Liv Tyler and Viggo Mortensen in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
    Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
    Brad Dourif and Bernard Hill in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
    Sean Astin and Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
    Miranda Otto in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
    Brad Dourif and Christopher Lee in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Elijah Wood
    Elijah Wood
    • Frodo
    Ian McKellen
    Ian McKellen
    • Gandalf
    Viggo Mortensen
    Viggo Mortensen
    • Aragorn
    Orlando Bloom
    Orlando Bloom
    • Legolas
    Bruce Allpress
    Bruce Allpress
    • Aldor
    Sean Astin
    Sean Astin
    • Sam
    John Bach
    John Bach
    • Madril
    Sala Baker
    Sala Baker
    • Man Flesh Uruk
    Cate Blanchett
    Cate Blanchett
    • Galadriel
    Billy Boyd
    Billy Boyd
    • Pippin
    Jed Brophy
    Jed Brophy
    • Sharku…
    Sam Comery
    Sam Comery
    • Eothain
    Brad Dourif
    Brad Dourif
    • Wormtongue
    Calum Gittins
    Calum Gittins
    • Haleth
    Bernard Hill
    Bernard Hill
    • Theoden
    Bruce Hopkins
    Bruce Hopkins
    • Gamling
    Paris Howe Strewe
    Paris Howe Strewe
    • Theodred
    Christopher Lee
    Christopher Lee
    • Saruman
    • Director
      • Peter Jackson
    • Writers
      • J.R.R. Tolkien(novel "The Two Towers")
      • Fran Walsh(screenplay)
      • Philippa Boyens(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Could Jake Gyllenhaal Save Middle-earth?

    Could Jake Gyllenhaal Save Middle-earth?

    It's been 15 years since the Lord of the Rings trilogy ended, but we still can't get enough. Let's look at the stars who missed out on adventures in Middle-earth.
    Find out
    Image caption not available
    3:08

    More like this

    The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
    9.0
    The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
    The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
    8.8
    The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
    The Matrix
    8.7
    The Matrix
    Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
    8.7
    Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
    Inception
    8.8
    Inception
    The Dark Knight
    9.0
    The Dark Knight
    The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
    7.8
    The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
    Gladiator
    8.5
    Gladiator
    The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
    7.8
    The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
    Star Wars
    8.6
    Star Wars
    The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
    7.4
    The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
    Pulp Fiction
    8.9
    Pulp Fiction

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      There were so many extras used in the sequences at Helm's Deep, and the filming went on for so many months, that almost all the extras and principal actors got t-shirts reading "I survived Helm's Deep." There were so many of these shirts that extras would often meet other extras in New Zealand's main cities, because they would recognize the shirts.
    • Goofs
      In their very first scene when Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are seen running on top of a mountain, you can see Gimli's boot/shoe fall off.
    • Quotes

      Frodo: I can't do this, Sam.

      Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.

      Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?

      Sam: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.

    • Crazy credits
      "Cute Rohan Refugee Children . . . . . . . . Billy Jackson and Katie Jackson" (Peter Jackson's son and daughter)
    • Alternate versions
      In the US theatrical and DVD releases (both versions), the New Line Cinema logo at the beginning says "An AOL Time Warner Company" underneath it. For the US Blu Ray release (both versions), the logo has been changed to simply say "A TimeWarner Company" underneath it.
    • Connections
      Edited into J.R.R. Tolkien: Origins of Middle-Earth (2003)
    • Soundtracks
      Gollum's Song
      Performed by Emiliana Torrini

      Courtesy of Virgin Records America, Inc.

      Music by Howard Shore

      Lyrics by Fran Walsh

    User reviews2.7K

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    The final hour of The Two Towers is grand, terrifying, and epic on a biblical level.
    The opening scene of The Two Towers provides an outstanding, yet very brief, taste of action, cinematography, and special effects, only to be matched (and far surpassed) in the final hour of the film. The stunning events of the third hour of The Two Towers are undoubtedly the centerpiece of the film, and while the first two hours serve finely as story development, they primarily build anticipation for the final hour, which mostly depicts the battle of Helm's Deep. More than anything else, the first two hours merely tease and torment the patient audience. It's a shame that such a gap has to exist between the first minute and the final hour, but I take no reservations in saying that despite how you feel about the first two hours of the film, the final hour will make the wait entirely worth its while.

    As stated, the road to the battle of Helm's Deep can be enormously long and painful for any viewer aware of what breathtaking scenes await towards the end of the film. Perhaps The Two Towers' biggest fault is in its own accomplishments; the first two thirds of the film are well shot, well paced, and they necessarily and adequately progress the storyline, but when compared to the spectacular final hour, the first two hours seem uneventful and insignificant. However, to be fair, I feel that it's simply impossible to create two hours of film that could appropriately lead into the battle of Helm's Deep. It's difficult to comprehend how such scenes came to exist in the rather short amount of time Peter Jackson has had to create six hours (so far) of finished film. The battle of Helm's Deep is simply unreal; it's unlike any event that has come to pass since fantasy films gained, and regained, popularity.

    As assumed, The Two Towers begins where The Fellowship of the Ring ended. The majority of the film follows four separate groups and their story lines: Frodo and Sam; Aragorn and Legolas, Merry and Pippin, and Saruman and his army. The performances live well up to the standards of the first film, with a particularly notable performance from Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, whose role is significantly larger in The Two Towers. Aragorn satisfies a thirst for someone to root for, a thirst that was left partly unquenched in Fellowship. It's much easier to root for Aragorn than it is for Frodo; Aragorn has many more qualities of a leading man, a soldier, and a hero. More than once did the audience, filled mostly with academy voters, applaud the heroics of Aragorn. Gollum also shines in a much-welcomed large role, due to extremely realistic computer animation, and a fine performance from Andy Serkis, upon which the animation was modeled. In Fellowship, it was appropriate to consider Gollum one of the many great 'features' of the film. However, here he is more of a leading character and a 'star,' and his convincing dual-personality, stabbing voice, and well-choreographed body movements make him consistently eye-grabbing and the center of focus of nearly every scene in which he appears.

    As was The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers is a visual delight. Those who have seen Fellowship are no doubt familiar with the beauty of the landscapes of New Zealand. The cinematography is, again, one of the best aspects of the film. The swooshing camera movements that follow the armies and horsemen throughout the fields are extremely satisfying in this post-Matrix era. The shots of the ascending enemy-laden ladders in the battle of Helm's Deep are terrifying and chillingly gorgeous all at once. The visual effects take an appropriate leap forward from those of the first film. While the visual effects in Fellowship were outstanding, the battle of Helm's Deep provides for the best application of CGI since the rippling waves of The Matrix's 'Bullet Time.' The battle of Helm's Deep features absolutely awe-inspiring and seamless integration of acting, stunts, and computer animation. Each orc seems to have its own personality, demonstrated in its movements and visual features. The masses of armies fight with strategy and true character, which I imagine is much harder to accomplish than animating thousands of identical clone troopers. The only problem I have with the visual department is the look of Gimli, the Treebeard. Gimli's visual features seem a bit childish and uninspired, inconsistent with the standards set by the rest of the film. But again, there is simply nothing that compares to the battle of Helm's Deep. George Lucas and the Wachowski brothers certainly have not created anything that approaches the grandness and magnificence of The Two Towers' final hour, and I doubt they will do so anytime soon.

    In The Fellowship of the Ring, I had a few minor problems with Howard Shore's score. While I thought it was gorgeous and it established several very memorable themes, I don't think it handled the sentimental scenes (opening in the Shire, Gandalf's passing) properly. I thought it caved in to the melodrama a bit too much, resembling the emotions from James Horner's Titanic. However, I believe that The Two Towers requires the type of score which Howard Shore accomplishes best: dark, continuous, and unrelenting, as demonstrated in Se7en and Silence of the Lambs. The theme used in many of the action scenes in Fellowship (low brass, six notes repeated with a rest in between) is much more present in The Two Towers, appropriately. A brand new theme is also unveiled, the theme for Rohan, a prominent kingdom in Middle Earth. Rohan's theme is played more often than any other melody in the film, underscoring most of the memorable and heroic scenes with great effect. Howard Shore undeniably exhibits his skills as an 'A-list' composer, and with a possible double Oscar nomination this year for The Two Towers and Gangs of New York, he could get propelled to the very top of the 'A-list,' right beside John Williams and Hans Zimmer in terms of demand.

    If not the picture itself, there should be a way to recognize and award the battle of Helm's Deep. The battle sequence alone represents successful filmmaking in its highest form. The choreography of the battle, the visual effects, the pacing, acting, cinematography, and music, all work together in perfection to achieve grand filmmaking which is as entertaining and enjoyable as film can be. For this very reason, no one, whether a fan of Fellowship or not, should miss The Two Towers.
    helpful•277
    65
    • justinrsko
    • Dec 8, 2002

    FAQ18

    • Is this movie based on a book?
    • To what does "Two Towers" in the title refer?
    • What's the music heard in the last half of the trailer?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 18, 2002 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • New Zealand
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • New Line Cinema
      • Official Facebook
    • Languages
      • English
      • Sindarin
      • Old English
    • Also known as
      • The Two Towers
    • Filming locations
      • Hinuera Valley, Matamata, Waikato, New Zealand
    • Production companies
      • New Line Cinema
      • WingNut Films
      • The Saul Zaentz Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $94,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $342,952,511
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $62,007,528
      • Dec 22, 2002
    • Gross worldwide
      • $947,896,241
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 59 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS-ES
      • Dolby Digital EX
      • SDDS
      • Dolby Atmos
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Miranda Otto, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, and Andy Serkis in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) officially released in Japan in Japanese?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View image
    Photos
    These Stars Are on the Rise
    See the gallery
    View list
    List
    Fall TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Double Take: Celebrity Twins
    See the full list
    Back to top

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.