The Art of The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings)

The Art of The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings)
by Gary Russell, J.R.R. Tolkien

The Art of The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Gary Russell, J.R.R. Tolkien
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-04-15
ISBN: 0618331301
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Book Reviews of The Art of The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings)

Book Review: Behind the scenes...
Summary: 5 Stars

"The Art of The Two Towers" is a strong follow-up to "Art of Fellowship of the Ring," which features: Concept art. Lots of concept art. The "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy is brimming over with incredibly detailed and exquisite effects, props and costumes, and though not entirely satisfying, this book gives a lot of good material.

In it, Gary Russell handles many different aspects of the movie sets and costumes, no matter how tiny they are. Here you'll find different places: sketches of the Black Gate and Dead Marshes, different Golden Halls of Rohan (right down to the medieval tapestries on the walls, the ornate chairs, cups, and even the door knockers!), Isengard, Fangorn forest (and the way different light made it seem), the glittering caves (only shown briefly in the movie) and many other places.

Costumes include unused Arwen armor and her more-dresses-than-she-has-scenes wardrobe; Theoden's battle armor, Eowyn's dresses (ranging from regal to homespun), and the new, more regal outfit of Gandalf the White. And for the weirder, there are different kinds of wargs (one looks almost wormlike), different extinguished Balrogs, and many different kinds of Ents, some of whom will be recognizable from the movie.

There are paintings, pencil sketches, exquisitely-detailed clay models from WETA Workshops, and photographs of the finished products. "Art of Two Towers" is, like the previous book, a must-read for those who enjoy seeing how movies evolve. The little comments beside most of the pictures add extra insight as to what the brilliant people who did all this were thinking. (They can also be very funny, such as the dying-Balrog discussions -- how often do people say "creature of slime" so seriously?)

This book is not flawless, however. It doesn't seem very well-organized: Gandalf's costume study is plopped in the middle of the "Fangorn" section when it would have been better with the Rohirrim outfits. Some of the concept paintings (such as the people leaving Rohan, or Saruman down among the orcs) are very splotchy. And I'm not sure why concept art for Rivendell is included since most of the Rivendell stuff was in the first movie.

"The Art of Two Towers" is not quite as strong as its predecessor. But it is a solid source of information for both the "Rings" fan, and the movie buff. Definitely recommended, flaws and all.

Summary of The Art of The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings)

A companion to The Art of The Fellowship of the Ring, this authoritative and insightful book is packed with more than five hundred full-color images — many exclusive to this volume — and shows the development of the imagery in The Two Towers from concept drawings to wide-screen glory. With illuminating captions telling the story of the images in the words of the artists and designers responsible for the look of the film, including the renowned artists Alan Lee and John Howe, and contributions from Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, Grant Major, Ngila Dickson, Paul Lasaine, and others, this book is a must for all fans of The Lord of the Rings.
In this essential reference to the architecture and costumes of Jackson?s onscreen Middle-earth, the stunning large-format art, from sketches to paintings to three-dimensional maquettes and digital art, is lovingly reproduced with lavish production values to create a spectacular keepsake for the film?s millions of fans.

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