I discovered some delightful news on the upcoming Two Towers extended DVD release (due November 18). As you know, just like the extended Fellowship, there is 40 minutes of added material, which is bound to substantially add to an already great movie. Recently, this extended release was previewed at the Melbourne International Film Festival, and the first reviews suggest that the DVD is going to please many fans of the book.
For all its strengths, The Two Towers still took tremendous liberties with the original Tolkien, which offended more than a few purists. I myself was disappointed at some of the omissions. The spoiler review suggests that some of these omissions will be put back in their proper place, and one particular line caught my eye and made me bob with happiness:
"Just before the Ents storming of Isengard, the Huorns mobilise and leave to attend to business elsewhere; they reappear at Helms Deep to kill the Uruk-Hai as they flee."
Yes!
This is, of course, in keeping with the book. The theatrical release of The Two Towers has the battle of Helm's Deep only two-thirds finished without the Huorns inclusion. All in all, I am really looking forward to the DVD release, now!
Who knows: perhaps if the Return of the King theatrical release doesn't contain a Scouring of the Shire, the Return of the King extended DVD will.