Tag Archives: The Lord of the Rings

Song of the Day: Theoden Rides Forth (by Howard Shore)

Posted on by Arleigh

For my chosen song from Howard Shore’s orchestral film score for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers I picked the tune which starts off my favorite scene in from that film. This will be the latest song for “Song of the Day”.

“Theoden Rides Forth” begins with the scene of Theoden, Aragorn, Legolas and what remains of the Rohan cavalry riding out for one last time out of the Keep at Helm’s Deep into the thick of the Uruk-Hai forces. The song takes the “Rohan theme” first heard in the early part of the film, but with a heroic flair that transitions to full brass blaring the theme to great effect. The song then segues into a brief appearance of the “Fellowship theme” as Gandalf, Eomer and the Rohirrim appear to save their king and companions. From there the song brings in the “Shadowfax theme” with child soprano Ben Del Maestro providing the solo chorus as the charge comes down the steep incline and into the ranks of Uruk-Hai waiting below. But the song doesn’t end there as it moves into the follow-up scene using the “Nature theme” to show Treebeard and the Ents make their final march to war against Isengard.

This track from the score finishes off the two parallel story lines of Helm’s Deep and Isengard. The transitions in the song from one story line to the other were flawless. The fact that Shore was able to incorporate and combine so many different themes not just from this film but from the previous one shows an artist who is definitely a master of his craft. There’s no denying why “Theoden Rides Forth” became the best tune from the The Two Towers film score and why so many fans of the film and the score wholeheartedly agree.

Scenes I Love: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Posted on by Arleigh

Yesterday, I had chosen my favorite scene from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Today, I just finished re-watching the sequel to that film (though I think of it more as the second act of a 12-hour film), The Two Towers. From this second act I chose the one of the three climactic sequences in the film: Gandalf the White’s arrival and subsequent charge of the Rohirrim to break the siege of Helm’s Deep.

This second act had so many excellent scenes. From the last march of the Ents as they go to war against Isengard, to Gandalf’s descent and fight against the Balrog right up to the hour-long battle for Helm’s Deep. In the end, it was the charge by Gandalf, Eomer and the Rohirrim which sealed the deal for me. It wasn’t just the dramatic entrance of these characters to save their friends, but Howard Shore’s score which really added to the scene.

I love how just as the Rohirrim charge was about to smash into the front ranks of the Uruk-Hai spearmen the sun behind the charge peaked above the top of the incline and blinded the defenders at the bottom. For someone who has studied military tactics and maneuvers in battle this was a textbook use of the sun at a charging forces back to blind and confuse the enemy. Many who saw this film probably just saw it as just part of the scene, but not I. This is the major reason why this scene was my favorite in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Song of the Day: The Breaking of the Fellowship (by Howard Shore)

Posted on by Arleigh

With my favorite scene from The Fellowship of the Ring chosen and posted it’s now time to pick my favorite piece of music from that film’s orchestral soundtrack. This was a soundtrack that I consider just one-third of a massive 12-hour symphony. The song I’ve chosen is actually a re-edited version of this film’s “Complete Recordings” release: “The Breaking of the Fellowship”.

Howard Shore’s work as composer for Peter Jackson’s monumental and epic (if there was ever a subject deserving of that overused word it would be Jackson’s fantasy trilogy) has been hailed by critics and fans alike as one of the best, if not the best, film score of the new millennium. Shore doesn’t go for the typical overly bombastic score that’s become the go-to style for epic films of any stripe. His work on this first third of the total Lord of the Rings score even manages to outdo John Williams’ own compositions for the other major fantasy series to come out the same year in Harry Potter and The Sorcerer Stone.

Where Williams’ had begun to partially cannibalize his own past film scores for his recent ones, Shore was able to look at what Jackson was creating and decided to base the entire score for The Fellowship of the Ring on three motifs which were airy, subtle with the loud and expressive brass section only appearing in one of these three. “The Breaking of the Fellowship” ends the film on a mixture of triumph and sadness as the track’s title describes. Shore takes the peaceful “hobbit theme” from the beginning of the film and combines it with the more rousing “Fellowship theme” then topped with as bonus with sections from the “Rivendell theme”. These three themes combine to highlight not just the breaking of the fellowship in the end of the film, but some sense of loss of innocence of the hobbits in the group as heard by a more somber and pensive rendition of the “hobbit theme”.

Of all the musical cues in The Fellowship of the Ring it’s the one which makes up “The Breaking of the Fellowship” that fully expresses the overall thematic and narrative themes of the film. It’s a song that tells the audience that the peaceful nature of the hobbits have now been tempered by their complete understanding of the exact nature of their fellowship’s quest. It also underscores how even in triumph the fellowship will encounter heartbreak and tragedy. These two themes will continue to be explore in the next two films and their respective score, but it’s in this first one that it truly shines.

Scenes I Love: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Posted on by Arleigh

“I would have would have followed you, my brother… my captain… my king.” – Boromir, Captain and High Warden of the White Tower

It’s been five days since the season finale of the first season of Game of Thrones and the withdrawal symptoms are definitely starting to kick in. Season two of this fabolous series won’t be back for at least ten months. To help alleviate some of the withdrawal symptoms I decided to go on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy marathon all weekend. Tonight will be The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition). It’s from this first leg of the trilogy that I choose today’s scene that I love.

The scene I have chosen is very close to the end of the film and it’s a scene between Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn and Sean Bean’s Boromir. It’s soon after the attack of Saruman’s Uruk-Hai on the group. Boromir valiantly tries to protect and save Merry and Pippin from the Lurtz and his band of Uruk-Hai. It’s the scene which arrives after that really hits home for me just how great Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the first part of Tolkien’s massive tome.

This quiet and heartbreaking scene between Aragorn and Boromir cements Viggo’s performance as the reluctant hero moving towards embracing his legacy and destiny while at the same adding complexities to Sean Bean’s performance as Boromir being a flawed and tragic hero in his own right. It is a scene that will cause more than just a few tears to be shed.