The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Finally, the final chapter is reached. Many have taken the paths to Mordor itself with Sam and Frodo, for over 3 years they have treachered the same danger and experienced incredible adventures. This all thanks to Peter Jackson, the director who did the unthinkable and created Middle Earth with visuals when it was told only in letters. Thanks to the wonderful cast who created the living heroes when they were only alive on paper. Thanks to the visual artists who created the threats and mystical monsters when they only scared us in our fantasy. Thanks to the scouts who presented Middle Earth to be found in such fantastical landscapes as the ones of New Zeeland. Thanks to Howard Shore, for guiding us through the 12 hour story with film music worthy of scope. Impossible, not the man for the job, he will destroy the films, he is not the composer we had in mind. Roughly 4 years ago those were the stories when we heard Howard Shore was the man who would compose the trilogy of LOTR. I too was somewhat surprised to find his name attached to the massive conquest of middle earth but I hoped for the best and we got the very best. In truth, The Lord of the Rings is what Star Wars was for many people 20 years ago. The finest films a trilogy can wish for and the best music a saga can dream of. The Fellowship of the Ring was outstanding, The Two Towers the biggest climatic and finest score to grace us for a long time and at the point of hearing The Two Towers, I thought it was impossible for Howard Shore to top it. And he didn't but he at least equaled the scope of it all. The Return of the King comes in third when I want to compare all three scores, but only because the music doesn't capture that much choir anymore and that the score wasn't finished when they produced and finalized the commercial CD for release.

In reality, Howard Shore needed to write a lot of action music for the final sequences of the battles and he couldn't present it on the CD in time. While he said it wasn't to present highlights but to present a listening experience instead, I still feel The Return of the King doesn't have the highlights as The Two Towers for instance. But I'm betting it has them all when you present the music as heard in the film. For instance, a sequence I was dying to hear after the first score already was namely the fellowship theme with choir. And we received the fellowship theme with immense Latin choral strokes at the end with the fight at the black gate. However, this is a piece that needed to be finished in the movie and so sadly it isn't found here. And merely speaking for CD limitations, this hearts the rating of The Return of the King, especially if you compare it with the other two scores. Of course in truth, I would give The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King five stars, if I only could rate The Two Towers with seven stars. But when all is said and done, the score still promises its listening experience. And more, you can't believe how much Shore variates and alternates his 20 themes he wrote for the entire LOTR trilogy. Impossible but The Two Towers was a case in point where Shore adapted and presented so many themes, it was a joy to find and hear them all. In The Return of the King he presents them too but so differently and barely in the full mode, fans who aren't ready will be missing half of the statements. 'A Storm is Coming' states already the ring theme, sprightly hobbit music which doesn't concern the theme, the ring theme on violin and a staggering mix of horror music with Sauron's theme in the middle of it. Here you spot the themes but in slightly altered orchestrations or orchestral tone. 'Hope and Memory' alters the fellowship theme and a variation on the white rider theme and 'Minas Morgul' uses a most devilish version of Sauron's theme to present true evil.

Further tracks show the previous themes of the entire trilogy, 'The Ride of the Rohirrim' portraying Gondor's theme with brief uses of the hardinger fiddle but not in the grand way it was presented in the second film, 'Cirith Ungol' showing variations on the ring theme and the hobbit theme while stating a timid version of Sauron's theme while 'Andúril' represents back the theme for the elf village. However, new themes await us plenty with the brilliant new theme for Minas Tirith and its usage in the trailer of the film months before. 'Minas Tirith' presents it with the grandeur of the city itself and its a beauty right before Ben del Maestro sung a solo performance beautifully. The sensational build up from orchestra to the massive heroic theme presence of Minas Tirith rocks even more 'The White Tree' and is a sensational highlight. And then we have Shelob, a wonderful sequence in the film which works as effectively as the music spinning its web. Its enormously chaotic and melodic at the same time, bringing an orchestral build up of massive scale and its a piece that sets your mind on different ideas. Nonetheless 'Shelob's Lair' is a gigantic feast. 'The Fields of the Pelennor' has Gondor's statement before it uses sub themes heard in The Two Towers, until it effectively uses the orchestral build up without the massive choir of 'Foundations of Stone' moving into a choral Ringwraithts' theme performance of grand scope. Its sensational as the next with Howard Shore adapting every piece of music he has written for all three films. Or what about the use of actors to present the emotion on screen? While Viggo Mortensen didn't need to perform much, Billy Boyd does it more then exemplary in 'The Steward of Gondor' and adds a special twist of emotion into the scene. 'The Black Gate Opens' has many themes in another form, variations on Minas Tirith theme but above all, a full statement of the fellowship theme and choir moving into the theme for I guess Sam. It is heard in the scene here when Sam picks up Frodo and carries him on the hill, and it very effectively finishes the movie in the final track softly, when we see the end of the sage.

Anyway, its a great trumpet theme and only to think what this theme could do with choir is for me beyond words, or feeling. The brilliant tapestry of themes which Howard Shore created here is so much better then most main themes of other films. With other words, for a fantasy epic the themes are all fantastic and in one way or another they somehow all connect. 'The End of All Things' is an exploding track with grand choir, the ring theme, a short statement of the fellowship theme on vocal style (but not like the massive treatment in the film) and then very effectively Sauron's theme with heavenly optimistic and climatic choir, to signal the end of all ends. 'The Return of the King' is a 10 minute piece, covering not grand loud music but soft and beautiful variations of the hobbit and fellowship theme before you hear a brilliant string version of the hobbit theme, and the sprightly tune when they return back home. 'The Grey Havens' is a bit disappointing since it uses music which is lovely but nothing of grandeur. Nonetheless, the whispering tones are for Sam's theme when he closes the saga with a door shutting the way to fantasy land. Sam's theme is used very good in my book in Annie Lennox' translation of 'Into the West', winning a Golden Globe as the score did in its category. In all the commotion about me writing "theme wise" reviews, the entire trilogy presents more then 20 themes for you to like, love, adapt and adore. And even if we have 3 hours, there is 6 hours missing from the normal films and 9 hours from the expanded editions. So to think we haven't heard anything yet is an understatement and the sad thing is, The Return of the King misses the most of its excellence compared to the rest presented on disc what was heard in the film. Basically he couldn't top the brilliance of The Two Towers, for which he should have gotten the Oscar, but The Return of the King is an emotional firecracker that ends a saga not to be taken lightly. Because LOTR has gotten its massive respect from moviegoers all over the world because of the talent of all the people involved. They have created the one and only ring to sweep us all. For that I say: "Thank you so much!"

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. A Storm Is Coming (2.52)

2. Hope And Memory (1.45)

3. Minas Tirith * (3.37) Excellent Track

4. The White Tree (3.25) Excellent Track

5. The Steward Of Gondor ** (3.53)

6. Minas Morgul (1.57)

7. The Ride Of The Rohirrim (2.08)

8. Twilight And Shadow *** (3.30)

9. Cirith Ungol (1.44)

10. Andúril (2.35)

11. Shelob's Lair (4.07)

12. Ash And Smoke (3.24)

13. The Fields Of The Pelennor (3.25) Excellent Track

14. Hope Fails (2.20)

15. The Black Gate Opens **** (4.01) Excellent Track

16. The End Of All Things *** (5.12) Excellent Track

17. The Return Of The King ***** (10.14) Excellent Track

18. The Grey Havens **** (5.59)

19. Into The West: Annie Lennox (5.47) Excellent Track

* Featuring Ben Del Maestro

** Featuring Billy Boyd

*** Featuring Renée Fleming

**** Featuring Sir James Galway

***** Featuring Sir James Galway, Viggo Mortensen & Renée Fleming

Total Length: 72.07

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons

=== Link to Composer Site: Howard Shore ===