Discs three and four contain hours of supplemental material, available via multiple platform navigation systems. These one-of-a-kind features include: production documentaries and featurettes; design and photo galleries containing hundreds of images; DVD-ROM content including access to exclusive online features, and more.

“The home theater platform release strategy of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring proved that there is consumer demand from both fans of the original theatrical release and The Lord of the Rings aficionados who desire to go deeper into the mythology of Middle-earth,” says New Line Home Entertainment President and Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Einhorn. “The Special Extended Edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers offers 43 minutes of new material thoroughly integrated into the body of the film. It is arguably an even richer, more epic, immersive experience than the theatrical version and prepares viewers for the hugely-anticipated December 17th release of The Return of the King, the final installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.”

What can fans expect from this nearly four-hour version of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers? Apart from several extended sequences, the Extended Edition is jam-packed with stunning detail and psychologically-nuanced character moments: there’s more of Frodo (Elijah Wood), Sam (Sean Astin), and the mysterious Gollum (Andy Serkis) journeying toward the black gates of Mordor; more of Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin’s (Billy Boyd) perilous travels on the backs of their rampaging Uruk-hai captors; more backstory establishing King Théoden’s (Bernard Hill) loosening grip over the equestrian-based Kingdom of Rohan; scenes of treacherous Rohan advisor Grima Wormtongue (Brad Dourif) and Saruman The White (Christopher Lee) discussing Aragorn’s (Viggo Mortensen) possible royal lineage; Éowyn (Miranda Otto) singing a funeral dirge at Théodred’s funeral; interplay establishing Éowyn’s unrequited love for Aragorn (and the revelation that the virile warrior is 87 years old!); a scene of Aragorn taming the wild horse that will eventually rescue him; scenes of Treebeard (voiced by Gimli actor John Rhys-Davies), the tree-shepherd Ent, explaining the mysteries of Fangorn Forest to Merry and Pippin, and much more.

Throughout the Special Extended Edition, Peter Jackson’s masterful vision of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth—its topography, its creatures, its rituals—grows richer, stronger, more complex, more complete. Perhaps the most notable addition to the Special Extended edition is the most sustained sequence, a flashback that reunites viewers with Boromir (Sean Bean), slain human member of The Fellowship of the Ring, and brings his younger brother, Faramir (David Wenham), to the fore. Scenes relaying Boromir’s decision to travel from Gondor to Rivendell in pursuit of the One Ring, Faramir’s discovery of his dead brother’s body, and Faramir’s conflicted relationship with his father, Denethor (John Noble), allow Faramir to emerge as a tortured and heroic character; a figure languishing in his older brother’s shadow, desperate for his father’s approval and an opportunity to display his own noble and heroic character.

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