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Product Description ------------------- DVD Special Features and Technical Information: Discs 1 & 2 (The Feature) * Feature (approx. 206 minutes PAL) – A new version of the second installment in the epic trilogy! The film includes over 32 minutes PAL of never-before-seen footage incorporated into the film, made especially for this release: * Widescreen (2.35:1) version of the Special Extended Edition * Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Surround Sound * DTS ES 6.1 Surround Sound * Stereo Surround Sound * Four audio commentaries by director and writers, the design team the production team and the cast featuring more than 30 participants including Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom and Academy Award winners Richard Taylor, Howard Shore, Randy Cook…and many more Discs 3 & 4 (The Appendices) * Two discs with hours of original content including multiple documentaries and design /photo galleries with thousands of images to give viewers an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Disc 3 * Adapting the book into a screenplay & planning the film * Designing and inspiration for locations in Middle-earth * Storyboards to pre-visualisation * Weta Workshop visit – See sculptors in action as they create the weapons, armor, creatures and miniatures from the film * Atlas of Middle-earth: Tracing the journey of the Fellowship * An interactive of New Zealand highlighting the location scouting process * Galleries of art and slideshows with commentaries by the artists * And much more! Disc 4 * Sending actors to battle – preparation for fighting * Principal photography: Stories from the set * Digital effects including motion capture and "Massive" (a program to create armies of Orcs) * "Bigatures" – A close-up look at the detailed miniatures used in the film * Galleries of behind-the-scenes photographs and personal cast photos * Post-production – editing it all together * Sound design demonstration * And much more! .co.uk Review ------------- With significant extra footage and a multitude of worthwhile bonus features this extended version of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is as colossal an achievement as its predecessor, The Fellowship of the Ring ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B000066DY0/${0} ). There are valuable additions to the story, including two new scenes which might appease those who feel that the characterisation of Faramir was the film's most egregious departure from the book; fans will also appreciate an appearance of the Huorns at Helm's Deep plus a nod to the absence of Tom Bombadil. Seeing a little more interplay between the gorgeous Eowyn and Aragorn is welcome, as is a grim introduction to Eomer and Theoden's son. And among the many other additions, there's an extended epilogue that might not have worked in cinemas, but is more effective here in setting up The Return of the King. While the 30 minutes added to The Fellowship of the Ring felt just right in enriching the film, the extra footage in The Two Towers at times seems a bit extraneous--we see moments that in the theatrical version we had been told about, and some ed-out conversations and incidents are rather minor. But director Peter Jackson's vision of JRR Tolkien's world is so marvellous that it's hard to complain about any extra time we can spend there. While it may seem that there would be nothing left to say after the bevy of features on the extended Fellowship, the four commentary tracks and two discs of supplements on The Two Towers remain informative, fascinating, and funny, far surpassing the recycled materials on the two-disc theatrical version ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B000062V8Y/${0} ). Highlights of the 6.5 hours' worth of documentaries offer in on the stunts, the design work, the locations and the creation of Gollum and--most intriguing for avid fans--the film's writers (including Jackson) discuss why they created events that weren't in the book. Providing variety are animatics, rough footage, countless sketches and a sound-mixing demonstration. Again, the most interesting commentary tracks are by Jackson and writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and by 16 members of the cast (eight of whom didn't appear in the first film, and even including John Noble, whose Denethor character only appears in this extended cut). The first two instalments of Peter Jackson's trilogy have established themselves as the best fantasy films of all time, and among the best film trilogies of all time, and their extended-edition DVD sets have set a new standard for expanding on the already epic films and providing comprehensive bonus features. --David Horiuchi