Extended Edition is definitive Tolkien

Rating: 10/10 (15 December 2003)

I have loved Tolkien's masterpiece since I was 10 years old. I bought the calendars by Brothers Hildebrandt all through college, and I have eagerly awaited the movies since they were announced some four years ago. I just saw the Extended "Two Towers" last night at the Seattle Cinerama, and I was absolutely stunned by how improved it is over the earlier edit (which I saw three times in theatres). As good as "Fellowship" is, I feel that the restored "Two Towers" blows it away.
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So many things that felt half-finished in "TTT" now contribute to the richness of detail that makes this such an epic. The stable scene with Brego, Aragorn, and Eowyn is pivotal in setting up several later scenes. The migration of the trees of Fangorn to Helm's Deep, the flashback to Boromir in Osgiliath, and Theodred's funeral all serve to bring the story much more in line with Tolkien's vision. Even the raiding of the stores by Merry and Pippin is wonderful, injecting some of the lightheartedness of "Fellowship" into what is a much darker story.
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This trilogy will stand as a singular achievement in cinema history. In an era when many big-budget films are mindless, sadistic two-hour pageants of explosions and gunplay, it is remarkable that these films were made at all, let alone with such faithfulness to very complex source material. Bravo to New Line, Peter Jackson, Howard Shore, the entire crew, and of course the magnificent cast, especially Ian McKellen.