***Official LOTR: The Two Towers DVD Discussion Thread*** -- All Posts Here; NO EXCEPTIONS (1 Viewer)

[rick stein]

Thank you max.

 

[Joshua_Y]

Me too, LOL. 5 times for FOTR, 3 times for TTT. A fellow computer geek (nerdier than me) got it for me at a LAN party. However, they used some very sucky compression techniques to squeeze it onto one DVD-R. Very blocky during action scenes.

Beat ya! I saw FOTR 17 times in theaters and TTT a measely 13 times...

 

[Tino]

JoshuaY

Did you used to post here at the HTF Under the names Josh Hill or Donny G?

They also sw FOTR 17 times in the theater (and were the same person to boot).

Just curious.

 

[Joshua_Y]

Fraid not...

 

[Tino]

Hmm...very interesting. You really do post exactly like him. Same likes and dislikes, posting style..etc.

Maybe you have a long lost twin brother you don't know about.

As for TTT, I will be buying both versions just as I did for FOTR. Worth every penny!

 

[Joel~Solid]

Beat ya! I saw FOTR 17 times in theaters and TTT a measely 13 times...

All that and you still have the AOTC picture in your signature.

Joel

 

[Joshua_Y]

Well I saw AOTC 22 times.

 

[Simon Young]

Well, I got my copy this morning, and having just watched parts of the movie and a few of the extras, here's my review:

- Presentation: Awesome. New Line really does know how to put together a quality product. The outer sleeve matches the one for Fellowship perfectly, and looks lovely in that deep maroon case. The menus also mimick those from the first DVD, with Howard Shore's score pumping out in 5.1 while nice little montages play in the center. Top marks!

- Picture: From what I saw, it looked great. Very crisp, with nice rich colours and quite a lot of detail. Bear in mind that I'm only viewing it on a 28" widescreen display, but my (fairly) keen eye didn't pick up on any obvious compression defects or haloing. The print is spotless, and I saw no evidence of gate-jitter. It looks at least as good as the 2-disc Fellowship, that's for sure. I also thought that it was an improvement on the theatrical release of The Two Towers, if only due to some of the effects blending a little better on the small screen. Top marks again!

- Sound: I have a new demo disc! As with the 5.1 track on Fellowship, this one is sure to give your system a thorough work out. The dynamic range and fidelity of the soundtrack is amazing, due in large part to most of the effects and dialogue being recorded in a studio during post-production. Overall the mix is similar to what I heard in my local THX certified theater. There are times when the music seems a little low in the mix, and I was hoping that they would alter this. However, that is really my only complaint. Dialogue is crisp and clear at all times, and is quite directional in parts. Howard Shore's wonderful music sounds rich and spacious, and often rises up dramatically to engulf the viewer from all directions. The effects range from aggressive to subtle, and everything - from Gollum's creeping footsteps to the Uruk-Hai's ferocious roars - is reproduced without a hint of distortion or compression. Then the LFE - oh my. This disc has some of the deepest bass I've heard. I couldn't tell if it seemed "overcooked", as I'm constantly re-adjusting the volume levels on my subwoofer to suit my mood. However, when the Deeping Wall explodes...wow. Also, my one complaint about the 5.1 track on Fellowship - that the ADR was often too obvious - does not apply here. Top marks.

- Extras: I've only watched a few of the extras, but they're the ones that people will be most keen to hear about, I'm sure. Firstly, the preview of The Return of the King. There really isn't a huge amount of new material here over the two minute trailer that was posted on the web. However, it's great to hear the cast and crew talk about it with such love and enthusiasm. At one point, Barry Osbourn looks like he's about to cry!We're treated to some great footage of the Pelennor Fields, Frodo in Shelob's cave, Aragorn entering a haunted mountain in the Path's of the Dead, Merry telling Pippin that Sauron is now after him, Denethor badmouthing Aragorn (to Pippin's obvious shock and disgust), and Merry riding into battle!
Of course, there is much more here to enjoy, but these were the highlights for me. Next up was the preview of The Two Towers Extended Edition. Strangely, this had me much more excited, if only because it showed loads more new footage.Frodo and Sam descending a rock face using Sam's Elven rope; Faramir finding Boromir's body at the banks of the river Anduin; a lengthy flashback with the two brothers celebrating a victory, including Boromir giving a rousing speech to the Gondorians; more of Arwen and Aragorn; Frodo and Sam leaving Osgiliath via the sewers; Merry and Pippin finding Saruman's stash of pipeweed; Legolas and Gimli after the battle of Helm's Deep; and, my personal favourite, the Huorns turning up at Helm's Deep to kick some Orc butt!
The format is very similar to last year's EE preview, with behind-the-scenes footage mixed in with movie footage. It looks and sounds great, and is sure to send shivers down your spine! Moving on, I watched the trailers, music video and game preview. All fairly predictable, but fun nonetheless, and presented in anamorphic widescreen with 5.1 sound (apart from the the music video, which was stereo). Finally, I watched Sean Astin's short film, The Long and the Short Of It, which is charming but purely a 'watch once' extra, I feel. The accompanying making-of, however, is much more entertaining, with the entire crew playing up for the camera (especially Andy Serkis and Elijah Wood). Although you may get tired of these extras and only watch them a couple of times (besides the previews, of course), this is a solid collection of extras that accompanies the 2-disc release of Fellowship very well.

Overall: Stellar video and audio, exciting extras and presentation that oozes quality. If you bought last year's 2-disc release, you'll know what to expect. Go get it now! Top Marks!!

Here are some links to screencaps that I made from the Return of the King preview:

http://idisk.mac.com/s_young-public/aragorn.jpg
http://idisk.mac.com/s_young-public/arwen.jpg
http://idisk.mac.com/s_young-public/frodo_cave.jpg
http://idisk.mac.com/s_young-public/horses.jpg
http://idisk.mac.com/s_young-public/merry_battle.jpg
http://idisk.mac.com/s_young-public/minas_tirith.jpg
http://idisk.mac.com/s_young-public/orcs.jpg

 

[Mark-C]

I received this yesterday and tried it on a 100 inch screen and it does look and sound amazing.

 

[ChrisA]

Looking forward to getting the Blu Ray extended version in 1080p and 4 Mbit/sec DTS.... should be good

 

[Brent M]

Have fun waiting 3 or 4 years for that HD-DVD version. I'm just looking forward to 8/26 and 11/18.

 

[Joshua_Y]

Simon...thanks for the little TTT EE rundown...I am now officially stoked to see it! Can't wait! Sounds like a much better film than the Theatrical cut...

 

[Brent M]

Um, I think his review was of the theatrical cut, not the EE.

 

[Joshua_Y]

I was referring to his little review of the ROTK preview on the Theatrical DVD...nice to hear what scenes are being put back in....

 

[Yumbo]

looking forward to this on Monday.

 

[Joshua_Y]

Screen shots for the TTT EE from TORN:

http://www.theonering.net/scrapbook/group/929

 

[Wes]

I had borrowed a screener for a bit and was not too blown away with the picture quality, But I don't think Two Towers is as pretty and colorful as the earlier scenes in the first one. It was a DVD9 and had "for Your concideration" on it several times. It also had a DD 5.1 and a DTS 5.1 but the DTS had some bad popping sounds which made it unlistenable.

Here is a screen shot of LotR TT I took from my CRT PJ on my 8ft wide screen.
Sceen Shot

Wes

 

[Simon Young]

Do you guys think I should post this in a new thread so that more people might read it? I'd have thought that people would be more interested in an early review of this disc, to be honest.

 

[Ricardo C]

Nah, they'd probably tell you to "post in on one of the existing threads". Better lo leave it here.

Thanks for the excellent review I'm anticipating this one VERY much, even though it wasn't my favorite film in the series so far. And ROTK... We're exactly four m,onths away, fellas!!!

 

[Ray_Gootz]

I picked up this disc as well. The entire thing is reference-quality, even the trailers on disc two. I haven't got to the big end-battle but just the scene with the orcs running down with Pippin and Merry felt like there was a stampede through my house!

I know people just want to buy the EE but I feel that having both versions is essential. This is the version that was up for Best Picture, this is the version that thrilled us in Theaters. I want to have this version on record and so should many other fans. In fact I feel the original intro to Hobbington in the theatrical version in FOTR is much better than the extended one in FOTR: EE. I've only watched the EE of FOTR once but I watch the original version all the time. To me it's just easier to digest and gives me time to do other things.

Back to my main point this is an amazing disc for an amazing movie. Definitely pick this one up and I love the teaser for it! I've watched it like 7 times. Just the ability to own the trailers is enough of a reason for me buy it.