Do you think Howard Shore's music was used well in ROTK - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Lathriel · 12-23-2003, 01:18 AM

Just want to know if you like Howard Shore's music cause I sure do. I think the music has become a really powerful tool in the LOTR movies. How about you?

Beanamir of Gondor · 12-23-2003, 11:20 AM

I think the music was a little different in ROTK, than that in TTT and FOTR. It sounded more like... I don't know... music from the Gladiator more than from LOTR. Ever seen Gladiator?

HCIsland · 12-23-2003, 11:36 AM

There's a couple of moments when Shore's score really hummed.* The lighting of the beacons. * Minas Morgul. * Frodo and Sam climbing up Mount Doom.There are likely others, but those three really stand out in my mind right now.H.C.

BeeBombadil · 12-23-2003, 12:42 PM

Those strings singing in the lighting of the beacons...makes me hair stand up! So beautifully written. I love the whole soundtrack but the beacons and Faramir's charge have to be my favorites.

andreadawn · 12-23-2003, 12:51 PM

I agree with you BeeBombadil, the music for the beacon scene was so moving-I too got chills. The whole score was beautiful, of the the three films I think I like the music from this one the best.

Arcuwen · 12-23-2003, 12:51 PM

The lighting of the beacons was really moving. He did an excellent job for all 3 of the movies. I thought that he composed music to fit each place/character/event perfectly. Example of this is the Rohan theme. It really captures their culture. Some parts in ROTK do remind me of Gladiator, now that I think of it. My friend insists the LOTR music sounds like the music from Pirates. I don't think they resemble each other at all.

TheSquireof Aragorn · 12-23-2003, 02:23 PM

Beacons definetley, and Pippin singing for Faramirs charge, everything about that was perfect. The song, Pippins voice, and the action that went with the song all were perfect.

Jjudvven · 12-23-2003, 03:28 PM

Yes I'd say that the music with the beacons was amazingly well done. I liked Pippin's song also. And I really liked how in some of the tender moments with Frodo and Sam the Shire theme kept coming back in, which was one of my favorite themes.In the other movies, I loved Orthanc music, with those huge drums booming. Did anyone else think this was great?

Lathriel · 12-23-2003, 04:43 PM

I thought some of the music fit the images in the movie so well. I also thought the music at the cracks of mount doom was powerful. The tune the flute plays is so full of hope. I love that part.

HCIsland · 12-23-2003, 06:10 PM

Yes, it was that solo flute that I was referring too when Frodo and Sam were climbing Mount Doom. It was subtle and powerful.H.C.

balrogman · 12-23-2003, 08:01 PM

loved it except the mount doom with the flute...it just felt so out of place

Gorwingel · 12-24-2003, 03:02 AM

Howard Shore's score has been so wonderful. The music has been consistantly teriffic throughout the trilogy. I loved the beacons part, and I thought the music for Shelob's Lair was very cool too. But right now it is kind of hard to pick out specific points, because it is all really a blur in my mind.

Tintalle · 12-24-2003, 05:08 AM

I loved Pippin's Song. Billy Boyd's got a beautiful voice! As for the rest, definitely the beacons & minas morgul scores were good. However, I feel the battle scores in The Two Towers was better than in Return of the King. But I really love Annie Lennox's "Into the West".

Lathriel · 12-24-2003, 12:23 PM

I agree Tintalle. I think the battle music in TTT is better as well. However the music in ROTK seems to be different from the other soundtracks. But I can't put my finger on the differences. However I can hear a different srt of tone in the music. Anyway I will find these differences someday.

Enorëiel · 12-24-2003, 12:58 PM

I think Howard Shore did an outstanding job! The music in ROTK was wonderful! I really loved the music as Frodo and Sam were making their way up Mount Doom, when Faramir was sent on his suicide mission (love Pip's voice!), the lighting of the beacons and at many other places that elude my mind at the moment. The ROTK soundtrack is my favorite among the three for the moment - I think it's just because of all the movie hype. Though, I have to admit I like more songs on FOTR than on ROTK.

Phervasaion · 12-24-2003, 01:23 PM

I also thought that Shores music is magnificent. I thought it was in all three films. As for RotK, I loved the lighting of the the becons and i liked both pippins and Aragorns songs (but i think Viggo Wrote the melody for that).

Orominuialwen · 12-24-2003, 04:00 PM

I really loved all the music in RotK, although I'm not sure the person sitting next to me in the theater felt the same way. (They changed seats halfway through the show. I think they thought I was obnoxious for humming along with the music, but I couldn't help myself. I did try to hum quietly though!)

Finnguala · 12-25-2003, 10:21 AM

I love it!! But I think there were some parts that were a little too loud, though. When the Witchking first appeared, for example. Other than that absolutely beautiful!!

Sauron 666 · 12-27-2003, 09:49 AM

I loved it. Particular moments:I like it how on Mt Doom the shire theme is reprised I love the soprano when Frodo is being carried away, so elegiac! I especially like how all three films have a similair, yet distinct sound. Howard Shore is among my favourite soundtrack composers now. (No One beats Ennio Morricone however!)

Olorin_TLA · 12-27-2003, 10:27 AM

Excllent as usual! I thought it worked great for the Gondor theme (better than Fellowship theme! Oh my Eru!!!) , Grey Havens and Shelob...and everywhere else!

doug*platypus · 12-27-2003, 03:47 PM

Glad to see that others loved the music for the beacon lighting as well. That was the sole reason I didn't mind how incredibly dragged out that scene was (OK, PJ, mountains and beacons we got the point five minutes ago! ). That's more my taste in scores, to have the music really driving the action along rather than skulking around in the background, or repeating the same few bars ad nauseum (like the Saruman/Uruk Hai theme from FOTR). It was fantastic to see Howard Shore finally release, and just blast out a really unconstrained, joyous piece for the beacons.My major gripe is probably more with the editing than the actual music. Aragorn's speech at the Black Gate was completely cheesified with your classic Hollywood score over top. The music should at least have been quieter, and allowed Viggo the attention he deserved at that moment. I was lucky enough to see Viggo filming that scene near Tongariro National Park in New Zealand, and believe me it was much more moving when everything else was still.On the TTT EE DVD (!) I notice that Howard Shore is given very little time to put the final score together, since PJ always pushes his deadlines right down to the wire. I think it would have been nice if the composer had received the final cut of the film a little bit earlier, to allow everything to be put together perfectly.

Finwe · 12-27-2003, 05:31 PM

1) The Lighting of the Beacons2) The Battle of Pelennor Fields3) Before the Black GatesThe score at those three places had me sitting on the edge of my seat, biting my nails, with shivers going down my spine, all at once! Truly amazing!

Lathriel · 12-27-2003, 06:53 PM

I think Howard Shore did a really good job also considering the amount of pressure he was under. It is no easy task writing music let alone writing it just before the deadline. I would fail miserably.

BoromirsBeard · 12-28-2003, 04:18 AM

I wasn't as awed as I expected to be by the Gondor theme, to tell the truth. After first the Fellowship theme and then the Rohan theme, I was waiting to be blown away by Gondor. Instead it was the visuals that did it - when I think of Minas Tirith I think of the amazing aerial view, but when I think of Edoras I hear that hardanger fiddle plucking at the heartstrings.It probably helps Rohan to be more unique, too. Inspired by the vikings, Shore was able to take influences from a culture that Hollywood really hasn't explored. On the other hand, Gondor is an empire along the same lines as Rome (Gladiator!) or the British Empire (Braveheart!). Hence more difficult to find a unique theme.

12-28-2003, 07:09 AM

The music composed by Howard Shore is amazing, really beautiful. I can listen to the cd's a lot, beautiful music. The Beacon Scene is really cool and then the music.My favourite numbers: 1) The King of the Golden Hall 2) May It Be 3) The Ride of the Rohirrim 4) Minas Tirith

Rose Cotton · 12-28-2003, 09:56 AM

I loved this score as well. Some of my favorite moments are:The beacons Shelob Mt. Doom Pippin's song When Gandalf and Pippin are ridding up through the city.

Olorin_TLA · 12-28-2003, 10:47 AM

THe part of the track "Minas Tirith" with the solo where Gandalf saves Faramir from the Nazgul roxors.

12-23-2003, 01:18 AM	#1
Lathriel Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wandering through Middle-Earth (Sadly in Alberta and not ME) Posts: 612	Do you think Howard Shore's music was used well in ROTK Just want to know if you like Howard Shore's music cause I sure do. I think the music has become a really powerful tool in the LOTR movies. How about you? __________________ Back again

12-23-2003, 11:20 AM	#2
Beanamir of Gondor Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: the Shadow Gallery Posts: 276	I think the music was a little different in ROTK, than that in TTT and FOTR. It sounded more like... I don't know... music from the Gladiator more than from LOTR. Ever seen Gladiator? __________________ The answer to life is no longer 42. It's 4 8 15 16 23... 42. "I only lent you my body; you lent me your dream."

12-23-2003, 11:36 AM	#3
HCIsland Zombie Cannibal Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,000	There's a couple of moments when Shore's score really hummed.<P>* The lighting of the beacons.<BR>* Minas Morgul.<BR>* Frodo and Sam climbing up Mount Doom.<P>There are likely others, but those three really stand out in my mind right now.<P>H.C. __________________ "Stir not the bitterness in the cup that I mixed myself. Have I not tasted it now many nights upon my tongue, foreboding that worse yet lay in the dregs." -Denethor

12-23-2003, 12:51 PM	#5
andreadawn Pile O'Bones Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: By The Sea Posts: 23	I agree with you BeeBombadil, the music for the beacon scene was so moving-I too got chills. The whole score was beautiful, of the the three films I think I like the music from this one the best. __________________ "Pleasure is by no means an infallible guide, but it is the least fallible." W.H, Auden

12-23-2003, 12:51 PM	#6
Arcuwen Pile O'Bones Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In your pocket Posts: 23	The lighting of the beacons was really moving. He did an excellent job for all 3 of the movies. I thought that he composed music to fit each place/character/event perfectly. Example of this is the Rohan theme. It really captures their culture. Some parts in ROTK do remind me of Gladiator, now that I think of it. My friend insists the LOTR music sounds like the music from Pirates. I don't think they resemble each other at all. __________________ . . : Green-Eyed Monster : . . Melamin... Cormamin niuve tenna' ta elea lle au'

12-23-2003, 12:42 PM	#4
BeeBombadil Animated Skeleton Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Berkeley, CA Posts: 32	Those strings singing in the lighting of the beacons...makes me hair stand up! So beautifully written. I love the whole soundtrack but the beacons and Faramir's charge have to be my favorites.

12-23-2003, 02:23 PM	#7
TheSquireof Aragorn Animated Skeleton Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Michigan U.S.A. Posts: 46	Beacons definetley, and Pippin singing for Faramirs charge, everything about that was perfect. The song, Pippins voice, and the action that went with the song all were perfect. __________________ "One more soldier dies, and when he gets to Heaven, to St.Peter he will tell, one more soldier reporting for duty, I've served my time in Hell."

12-23-2003, 03:28 PM	#8
Jjudvven Wight Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: The Land to the West Posts: 154	Yes I'd say that the music with the beacons was amazingly well done. I liked Pippin's song also. And I really liked how in some of the tender moments with Frodo and Sam the Shire theme kept coming back in, which was one of my favorite themes.<P>In the other movies, I loved Orthanc music, with those huge drums booming. Did anyone else think this was great? __________________ "I don't know all of you as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you, half as well as you deserve."

12-23-2003, 04:43 PM	#9
Lathriel Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wandering through Middle-Earth (Sadly in Alberta and not ME) Posts: 612	I thought some of the music fit the images in the movie so well.<BR>I also thought the music at the cracks of mount doom was powerful. The tune the flute plays is so full of hope. I love that part. __________________ Back again

12-23-2003, 06:10 PM	#10
HCIsland Zombie Cannibal Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,000	Yes, it was that solo flute that I was referring too when Frodo and Sam were climbing Mount Doom. It was subtle and powerful.<P>H.C. __________________ "Stir not the bitterness in the cup that I mixed myself. Have I not tasted it now many nights upon my tongue, foreboding that worse yet lay in the dregs." -Denethor

12-23-2003, 08:01 PM	#11
balrogman Wight Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: that place with the stuff Posts: 102	loved it except the mount doom with the flute...it just felt so out of place __________________ should i stay or should i go?

12-24-2003, 03:02 AM	#12
Gorwingel Beholder of the Mists Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Somewhere in the Northwest... for now Posts: 1,419	Howard Shore's score has been so wonderful. The music has been consistantly teriffic throughout the trilogy. I loved the beacons part, and I thought the music for Shelob's Lair was very cool too. But right now it is kind of hard to pick out specific points, because it is all really a blur in my mind. __________________ Wanted - Wonderfully witty quote that consists of pure brilliance

12-24-2003, 05:08 AM	#13
Tintalle Pile O'Bones Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: At the Gates of Morannon, waiting for the Great Battle Posts: 15	I loved Pippin's Song. Billy Boyd's got a beautiful voice! As for the rest, definitely the beacons & minas morgul scores were good. However, I feel the battle scores in The Two Towers was better than in Return of the King. But I really love Annie Lennox's "Into the West". __________________ "You seem somewhat familiar ... have I threatened you before" - Capt. Jack Sparrow "A Diversion!" - Capt. Obvious

12-24-2003, 12:23 PM	#14
Lathriel Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wandering through Middle-Earth (Sadly in Alberta and not ME) Posts: 612	I agree Tintalle. I think the battle music in TTT is better as well. However the music in ROTK seems to be different from the other soundtracks. But I can't put my finger on the differences. However I can hear a different srt of tone in the music. <BR>Anyway I will find these differences someday. __________________ Back again

12-24-2003, 12:58 PM	#15
Enorëiel Wight Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Hobbiton, U.S.A. Posts: 165	I think Howard Shore did an outstanding job! The music in ROTK was wonderful! I really loved the music as Frodo and Sam were making their way up Mount Doom, when Faramir was sent on his suicide mission (love Pip's voice!), the lighting of the beacons and at many other places that elude my mind at the moment. The ROTK soundtrack is my favorite among the three for the moment - I think it's just because of all the movie hype. Though, I have to admit I like more songs on FOTR than on ROTK. __________________ You can take a hobbit out of the Shire but you can't take the Shire out of a hobbit. Whoever said "Nothing is impossible" never tried to slam a revolving door.

12-24-2003, 01:23 PM	#16
Phervasaion Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: The wilderness of Middle-Earth Posts: 306	I also thought that Shores music is magnificent. I thought it was in all three films. As for RotK, I loved the lighting of the the becons and i liked both pippins and Aragorns songs (but i think Viggo Wrote the melody for that). __________________ Phervasaion

12-24-2003, 04:00 PM	#17
Orominuialwen Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: May 2003 Location: Umbar, but before the corsairs took over. (Ave Maria University, FL, USA) Posts: 632	I really loved all the music in RotK, although I'm not sure the person sitting next to me in the theater felt the same way. (They changed seats halfway through the show. I think they thought I was obnoxious for humming along with the music, but I couldn't help myself. I did try to hum quietly though!) __________________ Gone for lentSeeyou at Easter! (And on Sundays too, maybe.)

12-25-2003, 10:21 AM	#18
Finnguala Wight Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Lothlorien Posts: 124	I love it!! But I think there were some parts that were a little too loud, though. When the Witchking first appeared, for example. Other than that absolutely beautiful!! __________________ ~'Autha Lun Tana Voima Te Vereni Vahve Maksi'~

12-27-2003, 09:49 AM	#19
Sauron 666 Haunting Spirit Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 59	I loved it. Particular moments:<P>I like it how on Mt Doom the shire theme is reprised <P>I love the soprano when Frodo is being carried away, so elegiac! <BR>I especially like how all three films have a similair, yet distinct sound. Howard Shore is among my favourite soundtrack composers now. (No One beats Ennio Morricone however!) __________________ Ash Nazg Durbatuluk Ash Nazg Gimbatul Ash Nazg Thrakatuluk Arg Burzum-Ishi Krimpatul

12-27-2003, 10:27 AM	#20
Olorin_TLA Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Gardens of Lórien, Valinor. Posts: 420	Excllent as usual! I thought it worked great for the Gondor theme (better than Fellowship theme! Oh my Eru!!!) , Grey Havens and Shelob...and everywhere else! __________________ "For I am Olórin! And Olórin means me!" ELENDIL! - Join "Forth Tolkiengas!"

12-27-2003, 03:47 PM	#21
doug*platypus Delver in the Deep Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Aotearoa Posts: 960	Glad to see that others loved the music for the beacon lighting as well. That was the sole reason I didn't mind how incredibly dragged out that scene was (OK, PJ, mountains and beacons we got the point five minutes ago! ). That's more my taste in scores, to have the music really driving the action along rather than skulking around in the background, or repeating the same few bars <I>ad nauseum</I> (like the Saruman/Uruk Hai theme from FOTR). It was fantastic to see Howard Shore finally release, and just blast out a really unconstrained, joyous piece for the beacons.<P>My major gripe is probably more with the editing than the actual music. Aragorn's speech at the Black Gate was completely cheesified with your classic Hollywood score over top. The music should at least have been quieter, and allowed Viggo the attention he deserved at that moment. I was lucky enough to see Viggo filming that scene near Tongariro National Park in New Zealand, and believe me it was much more moving when everything else was still.<P>On the TTT EE DVD (!) I notice that Howard Shore is given very little time to put the final score together, since PJ always pushes his deadlines right down to the wire. I think it would have been nice if the composer had received the final cut of the film a little bit earlier, to allow everything to be put together perfectly. __________________ But Gwindor answered: 'The doom lies in yourself, not in your name'.

12-27-2003, 05:31 PM	#22
Finwe Deathless Sun Join Date: May 2003 Location: The Royal Suite in the Halls of Mandos Posts: 2,609	1) The Lighting of the Beacons<P>2) The Battle of Pelennor Fields<P>3) Before the Black Gates<P>The score at those three places had me sitting on the edge of my seat, biting my nails, with shivers going down my spine, all at once! Truly amazing! __________________ But Melkor also was there, and he came to the house of Fëanor, and there he slew Finwë King of the Noldor before his doors, and spilled the first blood in the Blessed Realm; for Finwë alone had not fled from the horror of the Dark.

12-27-2003, 06:53 PM	#23
Lathriel Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wandering through Middle-Earth (Sadly in Alberta and not ME) Posts: 612	I think Howard Shore did a really good job also considering the amount of pressure he was under. It is no easy task writing music let alone writing it just before the deadline. I would fail miserably. __________________ Back again

12-28-2003, 04:18 AM	#24
BoromirsBeard Pile O'Bones Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 20	I wasn't as awed as I expected to be by the Gondor theme, to tell the truth. After first the Fellowship theme and then the Rohan theme, I was waiting to be blown away by Gondor. Instead it was the visuals that did it - when I think of Minas Tirith I think of the amazing aerial view, but when I think of Edoras I hear that hardanger fiddle plucking at the heartstrings.<P>It probably helps Rohan to be more unique, too. Inspired by the vikings, Shore was able to take influences from a culture that Hollywood really hasn't explored. On the other hand, Gondor is an empire along the same lines as Rome (Gladiator!) or the British Empire (Braveheart!). Hence more difficult to find a unique theme.

12-28-2003, 07:09 AM	#25
Gayahuaniel Guest Posts: n/a	The music composed by Howard Shore is amazing, really beautiful. I can listen to the cd's a lot, beautiful music. The Beacon Scene is really cool and then the music.<P>My favourite numbers:<BR>1) The King of the Golden Hall<BR>2) May It Be<BR>3) The Ride of the Rohirrim<BR>4) Minas Tirith

12-28-2003, 09:56 AM	#26
Rose Cotton Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: A place worse then Mordor........School! Posts: 1,075	I loved this score as well. Some of my favorite moments are:<P>The beacons<BR>Shelob<BR>Mt. Doom<BR>Pippin's song<BR>When Gandalf and Pippin are ridding up through the city. __________________ "There's nothing you can do, Harry... nothing... he's gone."-Remus Lupin "The closer we are to danger, the further we are from harm."-Pippin (now how can you argue with that logic?)

12-28-2003, 10:47 AM	#27
Olorin_TLA Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Gardens of Lórien, Valinor. Posts: 420	THe part of the track "Minas Tirith" with the solo where Gandalf saves Faramir from the Nazgul roxors. __________________ "For I am Olórin! And Olórin means me!" ELENDIL! - Join "Forth Tolkiengas!"