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Two towers3/20/2023 The final narrative shift, and the most important one, is the defense of Helm’s Deep from Isengard’s (Saruman’s) forces. The obsequious and snivelling Wormtongue has been whispering in the ear of the king for too long – Gandalf’s booming exorcism casts Saruman out of Théoden’s body in a particularly climactic sequence evocative of spiritual horror. The triumphant return of Gandalf is the first of many in this thread – the next is the liberation of King Théoden from Saruman’s possession. They must begin preparations for the coming war. Instead of finding hobbits, they find Gandalf the White returned from the dead: a new shiny form (Gandalf 2.0).Īs the wizard calmly states, they have been brought together at the turning of the tide – their purpose has changed as they are led by Gandalf to leave the hobbits. Yet, as Aragon tracks the scene we intercut with the battle (Thread Two), revealing the hobbits’ escape into Fanghorn Forest. The first narrative shift occurs when the hunters find the burned remains of a conflict between orcs and men, also finding the seeming remains of Merry and Pippin. Characteristic of the expanding narrative of the larger epic, this plotline shifts motivations and picks up pace, eventually culminating in the battle of Helm’s Deep. Starting with what is undoubtedly the main plotline of The Two Towers, we follow the journey of Aragon, Gimli, and Legolas (labelled collectively as the hunters) in their initial hunt to rescue the kidnapped Hobbits (Merry and Pippin). Key Players: Aragon, Gimli, Legolas, Gandolf the White, King Théoden, Wormtongue, Isengard’s forces, Rohan’s forces. These three threads interweave together into a satisfying whole. The moving pieces cannot merely be restricted to two plotlines, and so the film follows three main narrative strands: two centring around the defeat of Isengard’s forces, and one on the growing forces of Mordor. The Two Towers gains triumph and catharsis in its depiction of the defeat of Isengard, yet sets up the threat of the third film with the ever-present eye atop Barad-dûr. While Tolkien kept the identities of the ‘two towers’ somewhat ambiguous, the screenplay writers, in a particularly genius move, focused on the towers of Orthnac (Isengard) and Barad-dûr (Mordor) when plotting the middle film. Dramatic films are more effective when plots are interwoven cohesively, and so these books would have to be Frankensteined together. Book three focused on Isengard, and Book four on Frodo and Sam. Rich in details of world and story, as well as expanding further across Middle-earth, it would take a lot of cutting to fit into a feature-length film. Tolkien’s second volume of The Lord of the Rings, containing books three and four, was an especially difficult source text to adapt. It did so through its deft interweaving of three main plotlines, each serving clear dramatic and narrative purposes. The Two Towers had to make this expansion palatable to audiences. The moving pieces begin to move outwards, and The War of the Ring starts to take shape. The writers, headed by Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, and Philippa Boyens, had to contend with an expanding plot structure. The film ends with Merry and Pippin captured, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli hot on their trail, and Frodo and Sam beginning the long walk to Mordor. After the expositionary introduction, we follow the hobbits and the gradual building of the fellowship, ending with its eventual dissolution. The Fellowship of the Ring, while still an ambitious and thrilling undertaking, consisted of an almost exclusively one-track plot line. The project would have to contend with the same fate of the middle child: needing to live up to the legacy of the first (even while sharing its hand-me-down clothes), positively influence the next, and still work as a distinct individual. Originally conceived as two films under Miramax, but expanded into three when the project transferred to New Line, there was an initial difficulty in tackling the central film. Revisiting The Lord of the Rings: The Two TowersĪfter the incredible success of The Fellowship of the Ring, setting numerous international box office records in its opening weekend, the were high expectations for the sequel.
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