Continuing the plot of the previous film, it intercuts three storylines:Frodo andSam continue their journey towardMordor to destroy theOne Ring, now allied withGollum, the ring's untrustworthy former bearer.Merry andPippin escape theirorc captors, meetTreebeard theEnt, and help to plan an attack onIsengard, the fortress ofSauron's vassal, the treacherous wizardSaruman.Aragorn,Legolas, andGimli come to the war-torn nation ofRohan and are reunited with the resurrectedGandalf, before joining kingThéoden to fight Saruman's army at theBattle of Helm's Deep.
The Two Towers was financed and distributed by American studioNew Line Cinema, butfilmed and edited entirely in Jackson's native New Zealand,concurrently with the other two parts of the trilogy. It premiered on 5 December 2002 at theZiegfeld Theatre in New York City and was then released on 18 December in the United States and on 19 December in New Zealand. The film was acclaimed by critics and audiences, who considered it a landmark in filmmaking and an achievement in the fantasy film genre. It received praise for its direction, action sequences, performances, musical score, and visual effects,particularly for Gollum. It grossed over $923 million worldwide during its original theatrical run, making it thehighest-grossing film of 2002 and, at the time of its release, thethird-highest-grossing film of all time behindTitanic andHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.[5] Following subsequent re-releases, it has grossed over $937 million.[3]
Awakening from a dream ofGandalf fighting theBalrog inMoria,[a]Frodo Baggins finds himself, along withSamwise Gamgee, lost in theEmyn Muil nearMordor. They discover that they are being tracked byGollum, a former bearer of theOne Ring. Capturing Gollum, Frodo takes pity and allows him to guide them into Mordor, despite Sam's reservations.
Aragorn,Legolas, andGimli pursue a band ofUruk-hai to save their companionsMerry andPippin, entering the kingdom of Rohan. The Uruk-hai are ambushed by a group ofRohirrim, allowing Merry and Pippin to escape intoFangorn Forest. Meeting Aragorn's group, Rohirrim leaderÉomer explains that he has been exiled with his men by Rohan's king,Théoden, who is under the control ofSaruman and his servantGríma Wormtongue. Éomer believes Merry and Pippin were killed during the raid but leaves the group with two horses. In Fangorn, Aragorn's group encounters Gandalf, who, after dying in battle fighting the Balrog, was resurrected as Gandalf the White to help saveMiddle-earth.
Gandalf leads the trio to Rohan's capital,Edoras, freeing Théoden from Saruman's control. Aragorn prevents Théoden from executing Wormtongue, who flees. Saruman's knowledge reachesHelm's Deep, and Théoden evacuates the citizens there as Saruman sends an army of Uruk-hai to destroy them. Gandalf seeks Éomer and his followers to support their king. Aragorn connects with Théoden's niece,Éowyn, who becomes infatuated with him. When Saruman'sWarg-riding Orcs attack the refugees, Aragorn falls and is presumed dead, but he has visions ofArwen before being found by his horse, Brego. He rides to Helm's Deep, witnessing Saruman's army approaching the fortress.
InRivendell, Arwen is told by her father,Elrond, that Aragorn will not return. He reminds her that if she remains in Middle-earth, she will outlive Aragorn by thousands of years, and she reluctantly departs forValinor. Elrond is contacted byGaladriel ofLothlórien, who convinces him that the Elves should honor theiralliance to men, and they dispatch a company of Elves to Helm's Deep.
In Fangorn, Merry and Pippin meetTreebeard, anEnt. Convincing Treebeard that they are allies, they are brought to anEnt council, where the Ents decide not to participate in the coming war. Pippin asks Treebeard to take them towardIsengard, where they witness the deforestation caused by Saruman's war effort. Enraged, Treebeard and the Ents storm Isengard, trapping Saruman in his tower.
Aragorn arrives at Helm's Deep, warning Théoden of Saruman's army. Théoden prepares for battle despite being outnumbered. A company of Lothlorien Elves arrives to aid Rohan just before the attack. The Uruk-hai breach the outer wall with explosives and kill the Elves' commander,Haldir, in the charge. The defenders retreat to the keep, where Aragorn convinces Théoden for a final charge. At dawn, Gandalf and Éomer arrive with the Rohirrim, turning the tide of battle. The surviving Uruk-hai flee into Fangorn Forest, where the Ents kill them. Gandalf warns ofSauron's retaliation.
Gollum leads Frodo and Sam to theBlack Gate but recommends they enter Mordor by another route. Frodo and Sam are captured by Rangers led byFaramir, younger brother of the lateBoromir. Frodo helps Faramir catch Gollum to save him from being killed by the Rangers. Learning of the One Ring, Faramir takes his captives toGondor to bring the Ring to his father,Denethor. Passing through the besieged city of Osgiliath, Sam explains to Faramir that Boromir was driven mad by its power. ANazgûl nearly captures Frodo, but Sam saves him and reminds a disheartened Frodo that they are fighting for the good still left in Middle-earth. Impressed by Frodo's resolve, Faramir releases them. Feeling betrayed by his capture, Gollum decides he will reclaim the Ring by leading Frodo and Sam to "her" upon arriving atCirith Ungol.
Andy Serkis asGollum(voice/motion capture): A wretched hobbit-like[b]monster originally known as Sméagol, who owned the Ring for 500 years and now guides Frodo on his quest.
Billy Boyd asPeregrin Took: An extremely foolish hobbit who is a distant cousin of Frodo and travels with the Fellowship on their journey to Mordor.
Dominic Monaghan asMeriadoc Brandybuck: Better known as Merry, a distant cousin of Frodo's who is mistakenly captured along with Pippin by the Uruk-hai.
Bernard Hill asThéoden: The King of Rohan, who is under Saruman's spell until Gandalf heals him so he can lead his people once more.Kevin Conway was offered the role but he declined.[8]
Christopher Lee asSaruman the White: An Istari wizard waging war upon Rohan and devastating Fangorn Forest, who allied himself withSauron in the previous film.
Hugo Weaving asElrond: The Elven-Lord of Rivendell who expresses doubt over his daughter's love for Aragorn.
Miranda Otto asÉowyn: Théoden's niece, who is in love with Aragorn.Uma Thurman was offered the role but turned it down and later regretted it.[9][10]
Sean Bean asBoromir: Faramir's older brother and a fallen member of the Fellowship who appears in flashbacks since his death, more prominently in the film's extended edition.
Craig Parker as Haldir: The leader of the Lórien Elves sent by Elrond and Galadriel to defendHelm's Deep.
John Leigh as Háma: The loyal doorwarden of the Golden Hall and a majordomo of Théoden.
Bruce Hopkins as Gamling: Théoden's chief lieutenant and a skilled member of the Royal Guard of Rohan.
John Bach asMadril: Faramir's closest aide, who informs him of battle preparations.
Nathaniel Lees as Ugluk: The leader of the band of Uruk-hai who kidnapped Merry and Pippin.
In theBattle of Helm's Deep,Peter Jackson has acameo appearance as one of the men on top of the gate, throwing a spear at the attacking Uruk-hai. His children andElijah Wood's sister cameo as young refugees in the caves behind the Hornburg, and Alan Lee andDan Hennah also cameo as soldiers preparing for the battle. The son of a producer's friend, Hamish Duncan, appears as a reluctant young Rohirrim warrior.Daniel Falconer has a cameo as an Elvish archer at the battle.[11]
Screenwriters did not originally scriptThe Two Towers as its own film;The Lord of the Rings trilogy was initially written as a two-part series to be produced byMiramax, with parts ofThe Two Towers written as the conclusion toThe Fellowship of the Ring.[12]
On the way to Helm's Deep, the refugees from Edoras are attacked by Wargs, similar to a scene inThe Fellowship of the Ring where the Fellowship battles a group of Wargs. Here, a new subplot is created where Aragorn falls over a cliff, and is assumed to be dead; Jackson stated that he added it to create tension.[13]
A larger change was originally planned: Arwen and Elrond would visit Galadriel, and Arwen would accompany an army of Elves to Helm's Deep to fight alongside Aragorn. During shooting, the script changed, both from writers coming up with better ideas to portray the romance between Aragorn and Arwen, as well as poor fan reaction.[14][15] The new scene of Arwen leaving for the West was created, and the conversation scene remains, edited to be a flashback to a conversation between them in Rivendell, on the evening before the Fellowship's departure.[14] A conversation between Elrond and Galadriel in Lothlórien was edited to be atelepathic one.[16] Nonetheless, one major change (already filmed) remained that could not be reversed: the Elven warriors fighting at Helm's Deep, although Jackson and Boyens found this romantic and stirring and a reference to how, in the Appendices ofThe Return of the King, Galadriel and the Elves of Lothlórien, andThranduil of Mirkwood were first attacked by an army out ofDol Guldur inMirkwood, and then later counter-attacked and assaulted the fortress itself.[14] Another change is the fact that Treebeard does not immediately decide to go to war. This adds to the tension, and Boyens describes it as making Merry and Pippin "more than luggage".[13]
The filmmakers' decision to leave Shelob for the third film meant that Faramir had to become an obstacle for Frodo and Sam.[14] In the book, Faramir (like Aragorn) quicklyrecognises the Ring as a danger and a temptation and does not hesitate long before letting Frodo and Sam go. In the film, Faramir first decides that the Ring shall go to Gondor and his father Denethor, as a way to prove his worth. In the film, Faramir takes Frodo, Sam and the Ring to the Battle of Osgiliath—they do not go there in the book. After seeing how strongly the Ring affects Frodo during the Nazgûl attack, Faramir changes his mind and lets them go. These changes reshape the book's contrast between Faramir and Boromir, who inThe Fellowship of the Ring attempted to take the Ring for himself. On the other hand, (which can be seen only in the film's extended version), it is actually their father who wants the Ring and urges Boromir to get it, while Faramir only wants to prove himself to his father. Boyens contends these plot changes were needed to keep the Ring menacing. Wenham commented on the DVD documentaries that he had not read the book prior to reading the script, so the film's version of Faramir was the Faramir he knew. When he later read the book and noticed the major difference, he approached the writers about it, and they explained to him that if he did say "I wouldn't pick that thing up even if it lay by the wayside", it would basically strip the One Ring of all corruptive power.[14]
The meaning of the title itself, 'The Two Towers', was changed. While Tolkienconsidered several possible sets of towers[17][18][19] he eventually created a final cover illustration[20] and wrote a note included at the end ofThe Fellowship of the Ring which identified them asMinas Morgul andOrthanc.[21] Jackson's film names them instead as Orthanc andBarad-dûr, symbolic of an evil alliance out to destroy Men that forms the film's plot point. The film depicted Saruman openly presenting himself outright as Sauron's servant, whereas this association was not explicitly stated in the novel (and indeed analysis by Gandalf and Aragorn in the chapter "The White Rider" stated that there was a rivalry instead, as Saruman was afraid of the prospect of being at war with Sauron, if Rohan and Gondor fell).
WhenAlan Lee joined the project in late 1997, Helm's Deep was the first structure he was tasked to design. At 1:35 scale, it was one of the first miniatures built for the film, and was part of the 45-minute video that sold the project to New Line Cinema. It was primarily drawn from an illustration Lee had once done for the book, though the curved wall featured in the film was proposed by fellow illustrator and designerJohn Howe. Used in the film for wide shots, Jackson also used this miniature to plan the battle, using 40,000 toy soldiers.[22]
Helm's Deep, a pivotal part of the film's narrative, was built at Dry Creek Quarry with its gate, a ramp, and a wall, which included a removable section as well as the tower on a second level. A 1:4-scale miniature of Helm's Deep that ran 50 feet (15 m) wide was used forforced perspective shots,[23] as well as the major explosion sequence.[22]
The film explores the armies of Middle-earth. John Howe was the basic designer of the evil forces of Middle Earth, with the Uruk-hai being the first army approved by Jackson. Howe also designed a special crossbow for the Uruk-Hai characters, which was significant because it did not require external tools to rearm. Also created were 100 Elven suits of armour, for which emphasis was placed on Autumnal colours due to the theme of Elves leaving Middle-earth. Two hundred and fifty suits were also made for the Rohirrim. The designs for Rohan were based on Germanic and Anglo-Saxon patterns, with most of the weapons designed by John Howe and forged by Peter Lyon. Each sword took 3 to 6 days to make.[24]
The exterior of the Rohirrim's capital ofEdoras, including its thatched roofs, took six months to build onMount Sunday. The interior of the buildings doubled as offices and lunch halls. The interior of the Hall of Edoras was filmed at Stone Street Studios with tapestries designed by Lee, and Théoden's wooden throne was partly created by his daughter.[23]Through Frodo and Sam's story, the film also provides a look at Mordor and Gondor. Barad-dûr is fully seen in a tracking shot, a design which Howe called a mockery of Gothic Cathedrals. He and Lee created the Black Gate (though a typo in the script made the miniature into two[22]) and Osgiliath, a ruined city reflecting London during theBlitz or Berlin in 1945.[25] The set on a backlot was based around a bridge and reused some of Moria.[23]
The Two Towers shared principal photography withThe Fellowship of the Ring andThe Return of the King. The trilogy was filmed between 11 October 1999 and 22 December 2000. The scenes which take place in Rohan were shot earlier in the production, during which time Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies's stunt double Brett Beattie sustained many injuries. Mortensen broke two toes when he kicked an Orc helmet while filming the scene in which he, Legolas, and Gimli find the remains of the Uruk-hai and believe Merry and Pippin to be dead (a shot which is included in the film). Furthermore, during filming Bloom fell off his horse and cracked three ribs, and Beattie dislocated his knee. These injuries led to the actors suffering two days of pain during the running sequence in the first act of the film, leading Jackson to jokingly refer to them as "The Walking Wounded."[25]
The filming of the Battle of Helm's Deep took approximately three months, with most of the nighttime shots handled by John Mahaffie. Some injuries were sustained during the filming of the sequence, including Mortensen chipping his tooth, and Bernard Hill's ear getting slashed.[25] The sequence also features 500 extras, who insulted each other inMāori,[26] and improvised scenes such as the Uruk-hai stamping their spears before the beginning of the battle.[25] However, there was alleged annoyance among the film's crew for the strength of the gates, which were claimed to betoo reinforced during the Battering Ram scene.[23] Mortensen greatly respected the stunt team, andhead bumped them often as a sign of that respect.[26] Wood and Astin were joined by Serkis on 13 April 2000.[27]
As withThe Fellowship of the Ring,Jim Rygiel served as the visual effects supervisor forThe Two Towers, while newcomerJoe Letteri joined the visual effects team to superviseAndy Serkis'smotion capture performance in the creation of the character Gollum. During the production ofThe Two TowersWeta Digital doubled their staff of 260.[28][29] In total, they produced 73 minutes of digital effects with 799 shots.[28] The film featured their first challenge in creating a battle scene, as well as creating two digital characters who needed to act rather than be a set piece, unlike the previous film's Cave Troll and Balrog.[24]
Gollum
Weta began animating Gollum in late 1998 to convince New Line they could achieve the effect. Serkis "played" Gollum by providing his voice and movements on set, as well as performing in the motion capture suit later on. His scenes were filmed twice, with and without him. Originally, Gollum was set to be solely aCGI character, but Jackson was so impressed by Serkis' audition tape that they used him on set as well. Gollum's CGI model was also redesigned in 2001 when Serkis was cast as Sméagol, Gollum's former self, so as to give the impression that Andy Serkis as Sméagol transforms into the CGI Gollum. The original model can still be glimpsed briefly in the first film. Over Christmas 2001, the crew reanimated all the previous shots accordingly within two months. Another problem was that the crew realised that the cast performed better in the takes that physically included Serkis. In the end, the CGI Gollum wasrotoscoped and animated on top of these scenes. Serkis's motion capture was generally used to animate Gollum's body, except for some difficult shots such as him crawling upside down. Gollum's face was animated manually, often using recordings of Serkis as a guide. Gino Acevedo supervised realistic skin tones, which took four hours per frame torender.[30]
While the novel alludes to a division within his mind, the filmdepicts him as having a split personality. The two personas—the childlike Sméagol and the evil Gollum—are established during "perhaps the most celebrated scene"[31] in the film, in which they argue over remaining loyal to Frodo. The two personalities talk to each other, as established by contrasting camera angles and by Serkis altering his voice and physicality for each persona.[31] The key scene, which Peter Jackson has called one of his favorites, depicting the inner struggle was written and directed by Fran Walsh.[32][33]
Treebeard
Treebeard took between 28 and 48 hours per frame to render.[28] For scenes where he interacts with Merry and Pippin, a 14-foot-tall puppet was built on a wheel. Weta tookpolyurethane moulds of treebark and applied them to the sculpt of Treebeard to create his wooden skin.Dominic Monaghan andBilly Boyd sat on bicycle seats concealed in Treebeard's hands to avoid discomfort and were left alone on set sitting in the puppet's hands during breaks. The puppet was shot againstbluescreen.[24]
Themusical score forThe Two Towers was composed, orchestrated, and conducted byHoward Shore, who also composed the music for the other two films in the series.[34] The scores for its predecessor and sequel wonAcademy Awards for Best Score, but the soundtrack forThe Two Towers was not nominated. Initially there was confusion over the score's eligibility due to a new rule applying to sequels, but the academy declared it eligible.[35]
The funeral song that Éowyn sings during her cousin Théodred's entombment in the extended edition is styled to be a traditional song of the Rohirrim and has lyrics in their language,Rohirric (represented by Old English). The text was written by Philippa Boyens, not by Tolkien, and was translated by David Salo.[38] The tune is a variation on a theme of therímur Icelandic folk tradition.[c]
The Two Towers was released onVHS and DVD on 26 August 2003 in the United States byNew Line Home Entertainment. The date was originally intended to be a simultaneous worldwide release, but due to abank holiday weekend in the United Kingdom, some British outlets began selling DVDs as much as four days earlier, much to the ire of the UK distributor,Entertainment in Video, which had threatened to withhold advance supplies of subsequent DVD releases.[42] During its first five days of release, the DVD release sold over 3.5 million units. The film also generated $22.8 million in rentals, breakingThe Bourne Identity's record for having the biggest rentals of any DVD release.[43] By December 2003, it was reported thatThe Two Towers sold 16.4 million copies and earned $305.4 million in sales revenue, becoming the second-highest selling home video release of 2003, afterFinding Nemo.[44] As withFellowship, an extended edition ofTwo Towers was released on VHS and DVD on 18 November 2003 with 44 minutes of new material, added special effects and music, plus 12 minutes of fan-club credits. The runtime expanded to 235 minutes.[45][46]
The theatricalBlu-ray version ofThe Lord of the Rings was released in the United States in April 2010.[47] The individual disc ofTwo Towers was released in September 2010 with the same special features as the complete trilogy release, minus digital copy.[48] The extended Blu-ray editions were released in the US and Canada in June 2011.[49]Two Towers was released inUltra HD Blu-ray on 30 November 2020 in the United Kingdom and on 1 December 2020 in the United States, along with the other instalments, including both theatrical and extended cuts.[50]
Outside the US and Canada,The Two Towers earned $99.4 million from 25 countries during its opening weekend, making it the highest international opening weekend.[55] The combined total opening weekend gross increased to $189.9 million, making it the highest worldwide opening weekend of all time. The film would hold both records until 2003 when they were given toThe Matrix Reloaded and its successorThe Matrix Revolutions respectively.[56][57]The Two Towers set opening day records in Germany, Austria, Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden and Norway, as well as a single-day record in Denmark. It then made opening weekend records in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Mexico, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany and South Korea.[58] In the Netherlands, it surpassedHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to have the country's highest opening weekend, making $2.2 million in just four days.[59] The film collected $13.7 million in the United Kingdom during its opening weekend, combined with $20.9 million from its first five days, reaching the number one spot ahead ofDie Another Day,Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,The Santa Clause 2 andSweet Home Alabama.[60] It topped the box office for a total of four weeks until it was overtaken by8 Mile.[61]
The film went on to gross $339.8 million in North America and $583.2 million internationally for a worldwide total of $923 million against a budget of $94 million.The Two Towers was the highest-grossing film of 2002 worldwide.Box Office Mojo estimates over 57 million sold tickets in the US in its initial theatrical run.[5]
Following subsequent reissues, the film has grossed $345.5 million in the United States and Canada and $592.4 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $937.9 million.[3]
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes,The Two Towers holds an approval rating of 95% based on 260 reviews, with an average rating of 8.50/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "The Two Towers balances spectacular action with emotional storytelling, leaving audiences both wholly satisfied and eager for the final chapter."[62]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, has assigned the film a score of 87 out of 100 based on 39 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[63] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, a grade up from the "A−" earned by the previous film.[64]
Like its predecessor,The Two Towers was released to universal critical acclaim and is widely considered to be one of the greatest sequels in cinema history.Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four, describing it as "one of the most spectacular swashbucklers ever made", and stating "It is not faithful to the spirit of Tolkien and misplaces much of the charm and whimsy of the books, but it stands on its own as a visionary thriller".[65] Nev Pierce for theBBC gave the film four stars out of five, and wrote that while it lacked "the first film's wow-factor", it surpassedThe Fellowship of the Ring "in terms of wit, action and narrative drive". Pierce described Gollum as "the first believable CG character" and the Battle of Helm's Deep as "one of the finest, most expansive combat sequences ever filmed".[66] Writing forThe Observer,Philip French describedThe Two Towers as a "stunning visual epic". French commended the battle scenes and the visual style of the film, relating it to the paintings of "Caspar David Friedrich, thePre-Raphaelites,Art Nouveau illustrations for children's books, and the apocalyptic biblical landscapes ... of the Victorian visionaryJohn Martin". He concluded the review looking forward to the release of the final chapter, writing "This is likely to be happier, more decisive and infinitely more satisfying than anything that will happen to our world in the next 12 months."[67]
Joe Morgenstern forThe Wall Street Journal lauded the narrative construction ofThe Two Towers: "Elaborate preparations are required for the payoff in this instalment -- the massing of troops plus much individual struggle as splintered groups of the Fellowship make their separate ways toward the defining battle of Helm's Deep ... Yet these preparations count as payoffs too ... Seldom has a popular entertainment set its stage so carefully or evocatively, with such lavish respect for its audience." Morgenstern also highlighted the digital effects and the battle scenes, and said of the series "The Lord of the Rings continues to stake its singular claim on movie history; it's a gift of epic proportions."[68] In his review for theEvening Standard, Alexander Walker wrote that the Battle of Helm's Deep was "probably the greatest battlepiece composed for the screen since Eisenstein'sIvan the Terrible", and that withThe Two Towers the trilogy had achieved "a majestic proportion, chivalric and quixotic, earthly and magical, an experience that reaches beyond the dimensions of the cinema screen and somehow reflects the global unease of the world in the first years of the 21st century".[69]
In his review forNewsweek,David Ansen commended Jackson's direction of the battle scenes, writing "Few people can stage a battle -- and the eyepopping siege of Helms Deep is one of the most spectacular you'll ever see -- with such sweep and clarity that the carnage doesn't seem an oppressive end in itself". Ansen also praised the complexity of the character of Gollum, commenting "While everyone else in Tolkien's myth falls neatly into the camps of Good and Evil, the self-lacerating Gollum is at war with himself. In an epic drenched in medievalism, he's the dangerously ambiguous voice of the modern."[70] Caroline Westbrook, forEmpire, gave the film five stars out of five, and wrote "It may lack the first-view-thrill and natural dramatic shape of Fellowship, but this is both funnier and darker than the first film, and certainly more action-packed. An essential component of what is now destined to be among the best film franchises of all time." Westbrook lauded Jackson's ability to temper the spectacular scenes "with some heartstring-tugging moments - peasants despondent as they are forced to abandon their villages, Aragorn and Arwen's troubled relationship, and, of course, the return of Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen, superb as ever), one of the film's most powerful, memorable images that may well leave Ring devotees a little misty-eyed."[71]
A less enthusiastic review was written inThe Guardian byPeter Bradshaw, who had already written a mixed review ofThe Fellowship of the Ring.[72] Bradshaw gaveThe Two Towers three stars out of five, appreciating it as "a very watchable, distinctive, if over-extended FX spectacle". However, he commented that the film could not be taken as "a serious evocation of good and evil", and dismissed the subject as "lots and lots of interminable nerdish nonsense".[73]
The Battle of Helm's Deep has been named byCNN as one of the greatest screen battles of all time,[74] while Gollum was named as the third favourite computer-generated film character byEntertainment Weekly in 2007.[75]
In 2025, it ranked number 43 on the "Readers' Choice" edition ofThe New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century."[76]
^Frodo calls Gollum "not so very different from a hobbit once". In the book, however, Sméagol is described as belonging to "hobbit-kind; akin to the fathers of the fathers of thehobbit Stoors" (Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954a).The Fellowship of the Ring.The Lord of the Rings. Boston:Houghton Mifflin.OCLC9552942., "The Shadow of the Past"); Stoors being one of the three kindreds of hobbits. In an appendix, Tolkien calls his relativeDéagol Nahald (featured in the third film of the trilogy) a Stoor; therefore Sméagol must have been a Stoor himself. In a letter, Tolkien confirms that Gollum was a hobbit.Carpenter 2023, #214 to A. C. Nunn, 1958–9).
^The tune can be heard as part of track 7 in the 1999 recording of a musical version of theEdda bySequentia.[39]
^Walker, Alexander (10 April 2012)."Darkness on Middle Earth".www.standard.co.uk.Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved12 February 2022.
