DVD Review HTF REVIEW: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Ext. Ed.) (merged w/"PQ and SQ" thread) (1 Viewer)

[Lou Sytsma]

Nice review Micheal! Quite refreshing to read a review from a Tolkien novice.

 

[Jon Sheedy]

I third this! If this title dosen't what does?

 

[Simon Young]

Viewers will be pleasantly shocked to see that DVD is capable of such clarity.

I would strongly disagree with this statement. While the picture is good, it is definitely not in the same league as Terminator 2: Extreme Edition, Terminator 3 or The Matrix Reloaded. The print is spotless, the transfer impeccable and the compression spot-on. However, it just doesn't have any really fine detail. Where's the film grain? It's been filtered out, and some of the detail with it.

 

[David Illingworth II]

Can anyone tell me if "Behold the White Rider!" has been added back in to the scene when Aragorn and Theoden spy Gandalf on the third morning at Helm's Deep.
Great moment in the book, and it seemed like it would have really added something to the scene.
Thanks.

 

[SteveGon]

This will be by far the BEST DVD of 2003

I don't know about that - some of the Criterion releases are pretty damn good. However, it will undoubtedly be the most popular "best DVD" of 2003.

Michael, good review. I'm not a diehard fan of LOTR, but I'll probably pick this one up...eventually. There's just way too much stuff coming out in the next few months.

 

[greg_t]

I have a question. the Fellowship Extended edition came with a movie cash pass for the two towers. Does this Extended set have one for Return of the King?

 

[Bryant Trew]

However, it just doesn't have any really fine detail.

Totally disagree - I kept looking at the texture of Frodo's cape as a means of determining fine detail - it's there is spades. Same as with several skin shots - the detail is there.

 

[Rob Speicher]

Does anyone know if the EE comes with a free ticket to the next film, like FotR did?

Edit: Missed Greg's question because I just did a quick scan for "ticket"

 

[Dan Brecher]

Does anyone know if the EE comes with a free ticket to the next film, like FotR did?

It doesn't. No.

Dan

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

No free MovieCash ticket? It probably means that it was too popular on FOTR-EE last year. Too many people used it.

 

[EnricoE]

seams no one can answer if the candian dvd has the same quality as the u.s. dvd :frowning:

 

[mark alan]

It probably means that it was too popular on FOTR-EE last year. Too many people used it

No it probably means that they weren't sure that people would go out and buy another copy of FOTR, just 3 months after the original was released. They thought that the EE needed a little sweetner to make it sell. Obviously they aren't worried about this time around.

 

[Bill Burns]

While the picture is good, it is definitely not in the same league as Terminator 2: Extreme Edition, Terminator 3 or The Matrix Reloaded. The print is spotless, the transfer impeccable and the compression spot-on. However, it just doesn't have any really fine detail. Where's the film grain? It's been filtered out, and some of the detail with it.

I haven't seen the EE yet (about a week to go), but I can think of a possible answer to this that need not fault the DVD: all of the LOTR films were digitally graded, and I believe this was done in their entirety. That means they were scanned into a computer (I believe the chosen resolution was 2K), timed and otherwise manipulated, and then rescanned to film. I imagine this expedited CGI FX work, as well.

The Super35 stock on which Jackson was filming should have a very, very fine grain structure in the first place -- I haven't noted any readily visible grain in either theatrical showings of the first two films, though I was lost in the movies and can't say I was consciously looking for it. But I've just seen the theatrical trailer for Return of the King, and it appears clear as a bell -- no visible grain in sight. If Jackson is overseeing these EE DVDs, as I have every reason to believe he is, any lack of grain structure may not only be in keeping with what he's releasing to cinemas, but, if lacking still further, something of which he has approved for the home venue.

Resolution losses are another story (I remain in absolute awe of DVD, which at ... what, 525 lines of horizontal resolution, something like that, about 25% the resolution of a 2K film scan, nevertheless manages, at its best, a very convincing recreation of film, right down to the poures on actors' faces -- many attest that, properly line doubled and otherwise processed by high end equipment, the pixel structure of DVD can appear indistinguishable from a 35mm film print at certain projection sizes), and I'll know more when I've seen the release, of course -- some hit is invariably taken in the encoding for such a long film, even at two discs, when one includes four commentary tracks, DTS and DD soundtracks, animated menus, etc. -- but if the first film's EE is an indication, it won't look like a 2K film scan on my humble 32" Wega, but I expect it's going to look remarkably film-like all the same. Subtract the cell phone addicts and seat kickers, add the fact that I can pause and rewatch to my heart's content, and of course those commentaries and other supplements ... and I'm not going to say I'll be missing the theatrical experience (I did see the theatrical version on the big screen). Nor am I on tenterhooks for HD-DVD in a way that diminishes the value of DVD (to address other issues here). "DVD makes eyes happy" (a silly take-off on a Twizzler's ad, I grant you ).

Improvements are always welcome and, as such, happily anticipated, but I don't know that the inability of the format to fully reproduce 2K* can be fairly held against it -- there's as yet no definite word that HD-DVD (under whatever name it arrives) will be fully equal to 2K itself, and if not it would prove only an incremental improvement betwixt "standard digital video" and true film recreation on video -- an improvement in video and audio resolution, and also, potentially, a compression improvement, but otherwise very similar to what we have today.

I'm anticipating a deeply satisfying experience with The Two Towers: EE.

* There's a further issue involving film scanning worthy of note here: if the full screen DVD releases of these films are open matte, as I believe they are, this means that Weta Digital is rescanning 2K to the entire 35mm film frame. The 2.39:1 extraction from that frame (the matted and anamorphically printed final product for theatres) would capture only a percentage of that full 2K image -- perhaps someone here with a few minutes on hand could do the math. The loss, at any rate, would be much smaller than the 75% suggested above ... perhaps as little as 30-35% or so, off-hand (I haven't done the math), and with the application of color filters and other post-production work, that loss might not be truly visible to the naked eye at full motion. Just a thought in DVD's favor.

 

[Dan Brecher]

I'm anticipating a deeply satisfying experience with The Two Towers: EE.

You'll get it. It's very pleasing.

Dan

 

[StevenA]

That means they were scanned into a computer (I believe the chosen resolution was 2K)

If this is true, it explains why both FOTR and TTT looked so soft theatrically.

Why on earth couldn't they have done this at 4K?

 

[Gregory E]

Man...I just can't wait to get this set. Then, see Return of the King in just over a month.

Wow!

I'm sure it will pick up the ball that The Matrix dropped.

 

[Phil Carter]

Great review, Michael! I applaud your objectivity; after admitting that you hadn't seen either film until a week or so ago, it would be easy to give a, shall we say, less than glowing review of the set. Instead we get a very nicely objective review focusing on the strong points, as it should be.

As a confirmed LOTR fanatic who's triumphantly clutching his Trilogy Tuesday tickets in hand, I think I can safely say that I am quite looking forward to seeing this set arrive in stores. I fully expect it to acquire as great a place of honor in my collection as the Extended Edition cut of the first film.

cheers,
Phil

 

[Martyn S]

Great review as always, but there are certainly not 20 minutes of fan credits at the end. It's more like just over 5 minutes.

 

[Sean Moon]

Now my question about the sound is this. I know the sound on this version was completely remixed, but my new favorite demo scene on the theatrical Two Towers is the breaching of the Deeping Wall on Chapter 41. I have never heard bass like that before in my life....I use that moment to piss off my neighbors and to just tell myself this is why I love HT. Now, on the new mix, specifically the DTS ES mix, is the bass on that scene MORE prominent, less prominent, same or what?

 

[Dan Brecher]

there are certainly not 20 minutes of fan credits at the end. It's more like just over 5 minutes.

Just over eleven actually.

Dan