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March 07, 2025, 04:18:22 AM  | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Extended Edition (2002/United States, New Zealand) IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer |
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Stars:
John Rhys-Davies as Voice of Treebeard
Bruce Allpress as Aldor
Sean Astin as Sam
John Bach as Madril
Sala Baker as Man Flesh Uruk
Sean Bean as Boromir
Plot:Extras:
- Scene Access
- Audio Commentary
- Bonus Trailers
- Featurettes
- Gallery
- Storyboard Comparisons
- DVD-ROM Content
- BD-Live
- Digital Copy
- Interactive Middle-earth Map; Interactive Sound Demonstration of The Battle of Helm's Deep
My Thoughts:
I finally got to see the second installment... which does an excellent job of continuing the storyline. I enjoyed this one just as much as the first... the cast was great... the storyline was great... the battle scenes were fantastic. I don't know what more to say other then I can't wait to see the final installment. My Rating:
(From What Movies I Been Watching on September 15th, 2014)
Member's Reviews
Hondo, a review by Rogmeister
Okay, pards...here we go with a bunch of western reviews which I hope you'll like. I've got over 300 westerns in my collection (counting just feature films, not TV productions) and I'll keep reviewing as long as you keep enjoying them. Saddle up!
Hondo (1953) 83 minutes. Directed by John Farrow. Music by Emil Newman and Hugo Friedhofer. Based on the novel by Louis L'Amour.
Cast: John Wayne, Geraldine Page, Ward Bond, Michael Pate, James Arness, Rodolfo Acosta, Leo Gordon, Lee Aaker, Paul Fix
DVD Special Features
Introduction by Leonard Maltin
Audio commentary by Leonard Maltin, Frank Thompson and Lee Aaker
The Making of Hondo
Profiler: James Edward Grant (screenwriter)
The John Ford Stock Company: Ward Bond
From the Batjac Vaults
The Apache
Photo Gallery
Original Theatrical Trailer
Batjac Teaser
It seems only fitting to start a western marathon with a John Wayne movie. This movie was actually filmed in 3D, though the craze was pretty much dieing off by the time it was released. There aren't too many obviousl 3D moments in it...the credits obviously have that look and there are a few times in fights where a knife or other weapon comes in at the camera. Luckily, it's an excellent western as well. The story was by Louis L'Amour who first had it published as a short story and then expanded it into a full-length novel. Leonard Maltin, who provides an on-screen introduction, tells us the novel was the first published by L'Amour under his real name.
As with most Wayne westerns, there's lots of familiar faces. Ward Bond has a key role and James Arness is in here, too, two years before he would become Matt Dillon. Paul Fix has a supporting role as does Leo Gordon (the guy John Wayne slugged to start the big mudfight in McLintock!) but there are a few people here who weren't Wayne regulars...Geraldine Page makes her film debut (earning an Oscar nomination for her efforts) and Lee Aaker is her son (he was the young boy in the Rin Tin Tin TV series).
The storyline has Wayne coming to the woman's ranch after losing his horse, accompanied only by his dog Sam (played by Lassie). The small ranch is deep into Apache territory and they are about to go on the warpath because of a broken treaty. Hondo (John Wayne) stays on while he breaks a horse enough to ride, helping her out during his brief stay. Later on, he winds up killing her surly husband in self-defense but it doesn't keep the two from falling in love. The Indian uprising comes to a head, especially after the death of the tribe's original leader (who had been friendly to the two) and the new leader is much more antagonistic (and who Hondo had defeated earlier in hand-to-hand combat).
This film is a good example of a movie not needing to be well over two hours to be entertaining. It's not even a full 90 minutes long but it keeps things moving quickly and still has time for some quiet moments. I liked the photography and the score, surprisingly credited to two composers. Picture and sound are excellent, as you would expect from a major studio release.
Older movies, especially westerns, don't tend to get lots of extras when released on DVD but this is an exception in that area. Besides the intro by Maltin, he also provides an audio commentary and is joined there by western historian Frank Thompson and Lee Aaker who had played the boy, Johnny. There's also a making of short, a profile of screenwriter James Edward Grant, a piece on Ward Bond and (something I always want to see) the original theatrical trailer.
I give this classic western 4 big yee-haws!
(From Roger's Ongoing Westerns Marathon on June 22nd, 2009)
Member's TV Reviews
"Due South" marathon, a review by Tom
3.10 Perfect Strangers (1997-11-30)
Writer: Paul Haggis (Created By), David Cole (Writer)
Director: Francis Damberger
Cast: Paul Gross (Constable Benton Fraser), Callum Keith Rennie (Stanley "Ray" Kowalski), Beau Starr (Lt. Harding Welsh), Camilla Scott (Inspector Margaret Thatcher), Tony Craig (Detective Jack Huey), Tom Melissis (Detective Dewey), Ramona Milano (Francesca Vecchio), Gordon Pinsent (Fraser Sr.), Dean McDermott (Constable Turnbull), Scott Hylands (General Bowman), Shawn Alex Thompson (Chad Percy (Maxwell)), Cedric Smith (High-ranking Mountie), Kenneth McGregor (Nick Evers), Mackenzie Gray (George), Marqus Bobesich (Sonny Dunlap), Tracey Hway (Shelley), Frank Nakashima (Businessman #1), Brett Heard (Businessman #2)
This episode is inspired by Hitchcock's "Stranger on a Train".
I especially enjoyed the scene where Fraser and Ray arrive in Canada.
Rating:
(From "Due South" marathon on January 3rd, 2010)