Fails the Bechdel test
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2002. Directed by Peter Jackson, written by J.R.R. Tolkien and Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
12 women characters. 4 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
In the second part of the Tolkien trilogy, Frodo Baggins and the other members of the Fellowship continue on their sacred quest to destroy the One Ring--but on separate paths. Their destinies lie at two towers--Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupt wizard Saruman awaits, and Sauron's fortress at Barad-dur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor.
- Released
- 18 Dec 2002
- Genres
- Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 8.8 / 10
- Metascore
- 87 / 100
- Awards
- Won 2 Oscars. 132 wins & 139 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Aragorn 92 lines, man
- Frodo 71 lines, man
- Sam 71 lines, man
- Gollum 67 lines, man
- Gimli 57 lines, man
- Gandalf 35 lines, man
- Treebeard 30 lines, man
- Faramir 27 lines, man
- Legolas 27 lines, man
- Merry 27 lines, man
Full cast, 104 people
- Elijah Wood as Frodo
- Ian McKellen as Gandalf
- Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn
- Sean Astin as Sam
- Andy Serkis as Gollum
- John Rhys-Davies as Gimli / Treebeard (voice)
- Orlando Bloom as Legolas
- Bernard Hill as Théoden
- Miranda Otto as Éowyn
- Dominic Monaghan as Merry
- Billy Boyd as Pippin
- Christopher Lee as Saruman
- Cate Blanchett as Galadriel
- Liv Tyler as Arwen
- Hugo Weaving as Elrond
- David Wenham as Faramir
- Brad Dourif as Wormtongue
- Karl Urban as Éomer
- Craig Parker as Haldir
- Bruce Allpress as Aldor
- John Bach as Madril
- Sala Baker as Man Flesh Uruk
- Jed Brophy as Sharku / Snaga
- Sam Comery as Eothain
- Calum Gittins as Haleth
- Phil Grieve as Hero Orc
- Bruce Hopkins as Gamling
- Paris Howe Strewe as Théodred
- Nathaniel Lees as Ugluk
- John Leigh as Háma
- Robbie Magasiva as Mauhúr
- Robyn Malcolm as Morwen
- Bruce Phillips as Rohan Soldier
- Robert Pollock as Mordor Orc
- Olivia Tennet as Freda
- Raymond Trickitt as Bereg
- Stephen Ure as Grishnakh
- Billy Jackson as Cute Rohan Refugee Child
- Katie Jackson as Cute Rohan Refugee Child
- Victoria Beynon-Cole as Hero Orc (uncredited)
- Lee Hartley as Hero Orc (uncredited)
- Frazer Anderson as Orc / Ranger (uncredited)
- Ben Barrington as Gondorian Soldier / Ranger / Orc (uncredited)
- Jarl Benzon as Elf Warrior / Rohan Stable Boy (uncredited)
- Jørn Benzon as Orolonn (uncredited)
- Owen Black as Rivendell Elf (uncredited)
- Dorothy Anne Bonner as Rohan Woman (uncredited)
- Ben Britton as Fereveldir (uncredited)
- Riley Brophy as Rohan Refugee Child (uncredited)
- Alistair Browning as Damrod (uncredited)
- Alix Bushnell as Rohan Refugee (uncredited)
- Sean Button as Uruk-hai (uncredited)
- Ryan Carey as Uruk-hai (uncredited)
- Rodney Cook as Uruk-hai (uncredited)
- Augie Davis as Uruk-hai (uncredited)
- Mana Hira Davis as Gondorian Soldier / Harad Warrior / Orc / Rohan Soldier / Uruk-hai (uncredited)
- Shane Dawson as Harad Warrior / Uruk-hai (uncredited)
- Karlos Drinkwater as Easterling Warrior (uncredited)
- Aron Eastwood as Rohan Soldier (uncredited)
- Frank Edwards as Rohan Man (uncredited)
- Clint Elvy as Harad Warrior (uncredited)
- Alexia Fairbrother as Elf Warrior (uncredited)
- Daniel Falconer as Elf Warrior / Rivendell Elf (uncredited)
- Siaosi Fonua as Orc / Uruk-hai (uncredited)
- Kester Fordham as Anglor (uncredited)
- Michael Fowler as Elf (uncredited)
- Ben Fransham as Anendel / Thandronen (uncredited)
- Frank Goldingham as Rohan Refugee (uncredited)
- Winham Hammond as Uruk-hai (uncredited)
- Jonathan Harding as Elf Warrior (uncredited)
- Lucas Hayward as Rohan Boy (uncredited)
- Dan Hennah as Rohan Recruit (uncredited)
- Jason Hood as Théoden's Royal Guard (uncredited)
- Lani Jackson as Uruk-hai (uncredited)
- Peter Jackson as Spear-Throwing Rohan Soldier (uncredited)
- Gareth Jensen as Elf Warrior (uncredited)
- Sam Kelly as Elf Warrior / Uruk-hai (uncredited)
- Richard Knowles as Rohan Soldier (uncredited)
- Sandro Kopp as Elven Warrior (uncredited)
- Sam La Hood as Orc Pitmaster (uncredited)
- Don Langridge as Rohan Guard (uncredited)
- Michael Lawrence as Wildman (uncredited)
- Alan Lee as Rohan Recruit (uncredited)
- Dra McKay as Rohan Woman (uncredited)
- Joseph Mika-Hunt as Uruk-hai / Gondorian Soldier (uncredited)
- Dean Morganty as Haradrim Warrior / Ranger / Uruk-hai (uncredited)
- Henry Mortensen as Rohan Boy Recruit (uncredited)
- Francis Mountjoy as Elf / Gondorian Soldier / Orc / Uruk-hai (uncredited)
- Paul Norell as Easterling (uncredited)
- Barrie M. Osborne as Rock-throwing Rohan Soldier (uncredited)
- Allan Poppleton as Uruk-hai (uncredited)
- Gareth Reeves as Fighting Elf (uncredited)
- Miranda Rivers as Rohan Refugee (uncredited)
- Campbell Rousselle as Tree-cutting Orc (uncredited)
- Matthew J. Saville as Gondorian Soldier (uncredited)
- Samuel E. Shore as Rohan Refugee / Elf (uncredited)
- Allan Smith as Dead Marshes Elf (uncredited)
- Greg Tozer as Conscripting Rohan Soldier (uncredited)
- Piripi Waretini as Uruk-hai Warrior (uncredited)
- Tim Wong as Uruk-hai (uncredited)
- John Wraight as Stable Hand (uncredited)
- Kelley Kerr Young as Rohan Refugee (uncredited)
- Robert Young as Uruk-hai (uncredited)
- Caleb Ross as Rohan Helms Deep Warrior (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
We couldn't read who says what in this film's script, so there's no dialogue chart for it yet.
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 4 are women's.
28 lines from women, 611 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
12 women and 77 men in the cast. 4 women and 32 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 72 of 644.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 204 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 6% of the words (441), men 94% (7,315). Women have 4% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
1
Two men
23
Exhibit E: behind the camera
8 of the 20 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 14% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Peter Jackson (man)
- Written by
- Philippa Boyens (woman), Fran Walsh (woman), Stephen Sinclair (man), Peter Jackson (man)
- From the novel by
- J. R. R. Tolkien (man)
- Produced by
- Peter Jackson (man), Barrie M. Osborne (man), Fran Walsh (woman)
- Shot by
- Andrew Lesnie (man)
- Edited by
- Michael Horton (man)
- Music by
- Howard Shore (man)
- Production design by
- Grant Major (man)
- Costumes by
- Ngila Dickson (woman), Richard Taylor (man)
- Cast by
- Liz Mullane (woman), John Hubbard (man), Victoria Burrows (woman), Amy Hubbard (woman), Ann Robinson (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
3 women, 30 men, 19 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 15 men, 13 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 7 men, 18 not listed
-
Visual Effects
1 women, 19 men, 4 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 13 men, 3 not listed
-
Production
5 women, 10 men
-
Writing
2 women, 3 men
-
Camera
0 women, 4 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 35 on average. Men: 40 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Miranda Otto 35
Men
Elijah Wood 21, Orlando Bloom 25, Dominic Monaghan 26, Sean Astin 31, Andy Serkis 38, Viggo Mortensen 44, John Rhys-Davies 58, Bernard Hill 58, Ian McKellen 63
Exhibit G: the money
It made 11.7 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $79 million
- Box office
- $926 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 1 scenes and 644 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
