With the great success of The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring we know you can't wait to catch the exciting second installment1 of this fascinating2 trilogy3. It promises to be as visually4 exciting, action-packed5 as the first! Yet no matter how fascinating these movies are, we have to admit that at times they can be pretty confusing6. That's why we have collected all the information on this great film so you will enjoy it even more!
So what's going on in The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers? As you probably know, everyone is fighting for control of Middle-earth which has been overtaken7 by the evil Sauron who wants to end civilization8 and cover the world in darkness. The problem is, he needs the powerful Ring, which had been lost for centuries until it was inherited9 by Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood). Since so many people want to control the Ring, Frodo needs the protection of his Fellowship, which consists of loyal hobbits10, elves11 and the wizard12 Gandalf.
Trying to carry the Ring to the Mount Of Doom13 so that he can destroy it, Frodo and his Fellowship constantly14 face great dangers as the evil wizard Saruman uses his wicked15 powers to steal the Ring.
The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers continues this dangerous journey and starts out with the continued tale of Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas as they rush to save Merry and Pippen, two hobbits, from suffering at the hands of Saruman. At the same time, the movie follows Frodo and Sam (Sean Astin), the last hobbits to remain in the Fellowship, as they carry the Ring towards the Mount Of Doom.
ELIJAH WOOD
Elijah Wood is probably the most recognizable star in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, and he definitely has the biggest part. Elijah plays Frodo, a young hobbit who is the adopted16 cousin of Bilbo Baggins. When he inherits the One Ring, it becomes his mission17 to rid Middle-earth of the Ring and hopefully eradicate18 the terrible evil that is taking over the world. This little, pint19-sized character finds himself changing the course of the future and facing incredible danger and temptations20.
Elijah Wood is certainly a talented enough actor to fill such a challenging part; he has been wowing21 critics since he was just a little boy. When his parents recognized the fact that Elijah had such incredible talent they quickly moved to Los Angeles where he began his career. Elijah hasn't stopped since. He has starred in Rodio Flyer, Forever Young, Huck Finn, The Good Son and Deep Impact among other movies. We have to admit that one of the things that makes The Lord Of The Rings movies so amazingly good is the fact that Elijah is such a good actor. When we watch the movies we find ourselves rooting for22 Frodo and identifying with23 his struggles and experiences.
VIGGO MORTENSON
Okay, Viggo Mortenson is so very hot that at times during the movie we became a little bit distracted24 and realized that not only is this guy a complete hottie, but he is perfect for the part of Aragorn. Aragorn is a human that has been raised by elves and is now a key member of the Ring's Fellowship. He is a fierce25 and serious warrior who is perfectly comfortable within nature. Viggo was so into his role and making sure that he played it convincingly26, that he lived for a short period of time in the forest where they were shooting27. Viggo Mortenson plays Aragorn with great intensity28 and that seems to be the norm29 for him. This poet, painter and photographer began his acting career in the movie Witness and has since starred in G．I． Jane, Portrait Of A Lady, and A Walk On The Moon among many others. We couldn't be happier that he has added The Lord Of The Rings trilogy to his resume30! We love watching him fight those battles in Middle-earth!
LIV TYLER
Liv Tyler brings the full force of her beauty to the role of Arwen in The Lord Of The Rings. An immortal31 she-elf, Arwen falls in love with Aragorn and must choose between immortality and love. We adore32 the fact that Arwen falls in love in the middle of a war and ends up providing more inspiration33 and for the battle that Aragorn must wage against evil. Liv's luminous34 beauty makes her perfect for the part of an elf that has the ability to live forever (and look good while doing so). Her voice in this movie is just as enchanting as her other-worldly35 loveliness. Liv has been an in-demand actress since she first began her big screen career in Silent Fall. She has also starred in Armageddon and Stealing Beauty. We look forward to her greater role in the second and third installments of The Lord Of The Rings.
随着《指环王Ⅰ：魔戒现身》的巨大成功，我们知道你一定翘首期待着这部引人入胜的三部曲第二集。它绝对像第一部指环王一样充满视觉刺激和动作场面。然而，无论这些电影多么引人入胜，我们还是得承认它们有时很令人困惑。正因为如此，我们收集了有关这部大片的所有的信息，方便你更好地欣赏它。
那么，《指环王Ⅱ：双塔》讲的是什么故事呢?你也许知道，在这个故事中，人人都在为控制中土而战，因为这个地方已经被邪恶的索伦王占领了。他想要结束文明，使整个世界笼罩于黑暗之中。问题是，他需要能控制一切的指环，而这个指环已经遗失了几百年，直到它被弗洛多·巴金斯(由伊利亚·伍德饰演)继承。由于有这么多的人都想控制指环，弗洛多就需要同伴的保护，这些同伴包括众多忠实于他的霍贝特人、小精灵，以及甘道夫术士。
弗洛多竭尽全力要将指环带往毁灭之山，以便他能够将其摧毁；途中他和他的同伴们不断地遭遇各种险阻，因为邪恶的术士萨鲁曼千方百计地企图运用他邪恶的法力偷走指环。
《指环王Ⅱ:双塔》延续了这个危险的旅程。一开始就紧承上一集中阿拉根、吉姆利和莱戈拉斯的故事。他们三个人挺身而出，从萨鲁曼的魔爪中救出了两个霍贝特人，梅里和皮聘。同时，故事同时讲述了留在指环同伴中的最后两个霍贝特人，弗洛多和山姆（由辛·亚斯汀饰演）。他们带着指环继续前往毁灭之山的旅程。
伊利亚·伍德
伊利亚·伍德很可能是《指环王》三部曲中最抢眼的明星，而且他的戏份也绝对最多。他在剧中饰演弗洛多，一位年轻的霍贝特人，他是比尔塔·巴舍斯收养的堂兄弟。当他继承这枚指环时，他同时也得挑起去除中土这枚指环的使命，而且他还很有希望消灭主宰世界的可怕的恶魔。这个袖珍人物发现他自己正改变着未来的进程，而且面对着不可思议的危险和诱惑。
伊利亚·伍德绝对是一个很有天赋的演员，完全可以胜任这个充满挑战的角色。他从童年起就一直受到评论界的追捧。当他的父母意识到伊利亚具有如此令人惊叹的天赋时，就举家迁往洛杉矶——在这里，他开始了自己的演艺生涯。伊利亚从此便一发而不可收。他主演了一连串的电影，如《海阔天空》、《永远年轻》、《小鬼闯天关》、《危险小天使》、《慧星撞地球》等。我们得承认，使《指环王》系列电影如此令人叹为观止的原因之一——便是伊利亚的卓越演技。当我们观赏这些电影时，我们发现自己特别关注弗洛多，对他的战斗经历也颇有同感。
维戈·莫特森
是的，维戈·莫特森简直太红了，我们观赏这部电影时难免会因为他而分心。我们意识到这家伙不仅名副其实，而且他演阿拉根真是“盖了帽”。阿拉根是个由小精灵养大的人，现在是指环团队中的一个重要成员。他是一名勇猛而严肃的武士，而且在大自然中如鱼得水。维戈对自己所饰演的角色十分投入，为了保证自己能演得令人信服，他甚至在拍摄该电影的森林里生活了一小段时间。他把阿拉根这个角色表演得如此精彩，以至看起来阿拉根（的角色）是为他度身打造的。作为诗人、画家和摄影家的维戈是从《证人》这部电影开始他的演艺生涯的，从那以后他先后出演《魔鬼女大兵》、《贵妇肖像》、《月球漫步》等电影。现在，我们欣喜地看到，他的演艺履历表又加上了《指环王》。影片中他在中土的 战斗场面真是壮观极了。
丽芙·泰勒
丽芙·泰勒在《指环王》中饰演亚文这个角色。她在这个角色上充分展现了自己的美和魅力。作为一个永生不死的女精灵，亚文爱上了阿拉根，所以她必须在永生和爱情之间作出选择。令人敬佩的是，亚文是在一场战争期间爱上阿拉根，并给了他更多的鼓舞和激励，使他能更好地投身于他必须进行的征服邪恶的战斗中去。丽芙光彩照人的美使她成为永生的精灵这个角色的最佳人选（而且她在饰演这个角色时也确实显得游刃有余）。她在该片的对白里的嗓音也显得那么迷人，就像她那天仙般的美色一样令人销魂。丽芙自从首次参与电影《沉默的陷阱》的演出之后就片约不断。她先后出演了《世界末日》和《偷香》等影片。我们期望她在《指环王》的续集和第三集中担任更重要的角色。
1. installment n． 续集
2． fascinating adj． 迷人的
3． trilogy n． 三部曲
4． visual adj． 视觉的
5． packed adj． 充满……的
6． confusing adj． 令人困惑
7． overtake v． 压倒
8． civilization n． 文明
9． inherit v． 继承
10． hobbit n．穴居矮人（英国作家Tolkien笔下的假想人物，他们的身高仅及常人的一半，生性似兔，善良且热爱和平。）
11． elf [elf] n． 小精灵，矮人
12． wizard n． 男巫师，术士
13． doom [du:m] n． 厄运，死亡
14． constantly adv． 不断地
15． wicked adj． 邪恶的
16． adopt v． 领养
17． mission n． 使命
18． eradicate v． 根除，扑灭
19． pint [paint] n． 品脱（英制容量单位）
20． temptation n． 诱惑
21． wow [wau] v． 使惊叹
22． root for 搜索，寻找
23． identify with 认同
24． distracted adj． 分心的
25． fierce adj． 凶猛
26． convincingly adv．信服地, 有说服力地convince v． 使确信，使信服
27． shoot v． 拍摄
28． intensity n． 强烈，剧烈
29． norm n． 基准，标准
30． resume n． 履历表，简历
31． immortal adj． 永生不死的
32． adore v． 崇拜，敬养
33． inspiration n． 灵感，鼓舞
34． luminous adj． 发光的，明亮的
35． other－worldly adj．超脱尘世的；超俗的