adds 44m 27s to the narrative component of the original theatrical version (available from New Line as a two-disc issue running 179m 9s), does lighten things up a bit.
Tolkien’s dramatic interweaving of joy and terror is by no means capricious. In his essay about the poetics of fantasy stories, “On Fairy- stories”—written in 1938-39 at the time when THE LORD OF THE RINGS was beginning to take shape in his imagination—Tolkien introduced two terms: the “eucatastrophe” (the good ca- tastrophe, a sudden turn that produces joy) and the “dyscatastrophe” (the unexpected turn to- ward sorrow and failure). He believed that the eucatastrophe and the dyscatastrophe were es- sential dramatic principles for writing success- ful fantasy (a feature of the fairy-tale), and that they must occur in a more or less rhythmic pat- tern. For instance, to possess the beautiful Ring (eucatastrophe) is to be corrupted by it (dyscatastrophe); Gandalf the Gray’s demise (dyscatastrophe) allows Gandalf the White to emerge as a stronger ally (eucatastrophe). The peculiar strength of THE TWO TOWERS—at least in its extended version—lies in the fact that, of
the three films, it is the one that most closely adheres to Tolkien’s narrative strategy, inter- weaving scenes of joy with scenes of terror, and doing so at unexpected moments. The second installment of a trilogy often runs the risk of being the least compelling dramatically, but it is not so in this case. At the beginning of THE TWO TOWERS, the Fellowship of the Ring has undergone a Diaspora. Gandalf the Gray (Ian McKellen) has apparently been vanquished at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm while battling the Balrog. Boromir (Sean Bean) has been killed by the evil Saruman’s (Christopher Lee’s) Uruk-hai warriors (the humanoid beasts marked with the White Hand of Saruman). The resilient Frodo (Elijah Wood) and his devoted companion Sam (Samwise Gamgee, played by Sean Astin), al- though separated from their companions Aragon (Viggo Mortensen), the elf Legolas (Or- lando Bloom) and the dwarf Gimli (John Rhys- Davies), continue on their quest to Mount Doom in order to destroy the One Ring. Meanwhile, Pip (Billy Boyd), and Merry (Dominic Monaghan) have become prisoners of the Uruk-hai and are
Saruman (Christopher Lee) continues to work his evil through the possessed agency of royal advisor Grima Wormtongue (Brad Dourif).
39
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
