Magnificent, top 10 movie of all time

Rating: 10/10 (23 November 2003)

After I saw the movie in cinema, I gave it a score of 9. Yesterday I got the extended edition, 4 DVD box set, as a gift, and enjoyed the 214 minutes of film. I agree with many others that this was the version I want to have seen in cinema. I don't mind sitting 214 minutes in my chair.
It is a shame that so many parts were cut out in the original release, like Merry and Pippin being swallowed by Old Man Willow, the moving of the forest to help Rohan, the eating of the Orcs by this forest, the funeral of Theodred, the part where Eowyn founds out the real age of Aragorn, and much much more. This version of the movie makes more sense, more things are explained, the story is more comprehensible and logical. And above all that, the scenes that were cut out are often magnificent, in themselves better than many complete movies I've seen.
The characters, the special effects, the sets, the paintings, the armory, the humor, the biting similarities with the real sad history of the world, the overwhelming music and the beautiful views of New Zealand nature: this movie contains a lot of wonderful movies, more action than most action movies, more emotions than most dramas, more story developments than most fiction movies.
I re-voted and now gave a 10 for Two Towers. It is one of the best movies I've ever seen and I am certainly going to see this many times.
I really look forward to Return of the King. I've read somewhere that it will be over 3 hours in cinema and over 6 hours on the extended edition. Next month I will join the marathon session in my local cinema, watching all three movies in a row. This is the best thing ever happened to cinema!