The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

"*The world is changing. Who now has the strength to stand against the armies of Isengard and Mordor? To stand against the might of Sauron and Saruman, and the union of the two towers?*"
—Saruman

8***The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers*** is the second installment of *The Lord of the Rings* series and the fifth one over all of Middle-earth.

## Summary

The company of the Fellowship has split up. Frodo and Sam have went on to complete the mission. Meanwhile, Merry and Pippin are being taken to Isengard. The Orcs are being presued by their companions, Aragorn Legolas and Gimli. Instead, the trio comes across Gandalf, who has returned from the dead as Gandalf the White and leads them for the battle against evil.

## Synopsis

For the full synopsis see The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers/Synopsis.

## Cast

* Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins
* Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf
* Liv Tyler as Arwen Evenstar
* Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn
* Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee
* Cate Blanchett as Galadriel
* John Rhys-Davies as Gimli/Treebeard (voice)
* Bernard Hill as Théoden
* Sir Christopher Lee as Saruman
* Billy Boyd as Pippin
* Dominic Monaghan as Merry
* Orlando Bloom as Legolas
* Hugo Weaving as Elrond
* Miranda Otto as Éowyn
* David Wenham as Faramir
* Karl Urban as Éomer
* Andy Serkis as Gollum
* Brad Dourif as Gríma Wormtongue
* Craig Parker as Haldir of Lórien
* Sean Bean as Boromir (Extended Edition only)
* John Noble as Denethor (Extended Edition only)
* Bruce Allpress as Aldor
* John Bach as Madril
* Jed Brophy as Sharku / Snaga
* Paris Howe Strewe as Theodred
* Sala Baker as Lugdush
* Calum Gittins as Haleth
* Bruce Hopkins as Gamling
* Nathaniel Lees as Uglúk
* John Leigh as Háma
* Robbie Magasiva as Mauhúr
* Robyn Malcolm as Morwen
* Sam Comery as Éothain
* Olivia Tennet as Freda
* Alistair Browning as Damrod
* Ray Trickett as Bereg
* Stephen Ure as Grishnakh

## Trivia

* Production notes
* Set notes
* Film Connections

* David Wenham was cast as Faramir due to his striking resemblence to Sean Bean, who portrays Faramir's brohter, Boromir.
* Viggo Mortensen broke two of his toes when he kicked the Uruk helmet while filming and actually, people thought he was acting
* It would take six hours to render Gollum for six shots. Instead, Weta had to render Gollum in a shot or more.
* The 10,000 Uruk-Hai battle chants for the Helm's Deep battle sequence were provided by a stadium of 25,000 cricket fans, who chanted the war chants, "Derbgoo, nashgshoo, derbgoo, dashshoo," spelled out on the Diamond Vision screen, with Peter Jackson himself leading the crowd.

## Set Notes

* Parts of the Helm's Deep building are later re-used for Minas Tirith's building parts.
* The Dead Marshes were filmed at a water filled-parking lot, thus allowing others to see Elijah Wood, Sean Astin and Andy Serkis performing on set.
* The Main Door of Helm's Deep was built so heavily and so well that the real battering ram that was built to knock down the gates failed to do so until the door was weakened.

## Prop notes

* There were Christmas lights placed on set when Galadriel was on screen and her eyes glowed.
## Film chronology

- The events take place after *The Battle of the Five Armies* and *The Fellowship of the Ring* and before *The Return of the King*

## Film connections

* Frodo and Sam departed from the Fellowship in The Fellowship of the Ring.
* Merry and Pippin were kidnapped by the Orcs and Uruk-Hai in the previous film
* Gandalf fell with the Balrog in Moria in *The Fellowship with the Ring*.
* Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn began hunting for the Orcs near the end.
* Boromir was killed defending Merry and Pippin in *The Fellowship of the Ring* moments before dying.
* The company separated in *The Fellowship of the Ring* and later reunite in *The Return of the King*.