![]() Like the films, Shore's thematic elements similarly evolved through the course of the three installments. ![]() It is an interesting experience to view The Fellowship of the Ring directly after watching The Return of the King to see the stark contrast in the tone of the films. Culminating in The Return of the King we find ourselves having traveled from an innocent 111th birthday party in the Shire to a full-out, end-of-all-things war. I hardly have to summarize the achievement that the Lord of the Rings trilogy was for Peter Jackson, Howard Shore, and team the 2004 Oscars did that for me. The complexity of Shore's thematic development of Middle Earth is astounding. Developing themes from Fellowship as a stepping stone to the epic The Return of the King, The Two Towers can also stand alone, although the Rohan story does continue in the third film. ![]() Other themes are, however, further developed from Fellowship only to be built upon in The Return of the King, such as the Nature theme. Musically, the score also has elements that come full circle, such as the Rohan theme, which at the end, is fused into the Fellowship theme. With the exception of Frodo and Sam's journey, little holds over to The Return of the King. Eomer's banishment with the Rohirrim and their subsequent return with Gandalf to Helm's Deep, and King Theoden's rise to protect his people are two such cases. However, the film contains a set of elements that come full circle and are resolved by the end. I have heard a number of people talk about The Two Towers as being a "middle film", and is therefore difficult because it has no beginning or end. The Nature theme is heard in part during this cue, hinting at the orchestral might with which the theme will be used in the final film. ![]() The end of the track is extended from the original cut of the film as the Rohirrim turn away the orcs and ride them into the waiting Ent army. To add to it, he follows this with a heroic statement of the Shadowfax theme as the horse breaks the ranks of the orcs. This cue is truly impressive as it shows Shore's careful planning: he scored the largest action scene in the film with an ethereal vocal performance rather than the expected pounding percussion and brass of action sequences. Ben Del Maestro's vocals return as Gandalf leads the charge toward Helm's Deep. Between these two themes is a newly added choir bit, which was oddly not part of the original soundtrack cue. Opening with a heroic variation on the Rohan theme on the trumpet, it builds into a massive brass statement of the full Rohan theme before segueing into the Fellowship theme upon Gandalf's arrival. One of the best pieces of score from the entire trilogy is contained in "Theoden Rides Forth", which brings together a large number of the film's thematic ideas. The two story lines of The Two Towers end in the next two tracks. The second disc also ends on a quiet note with Frodo and Sam's scenes with Faramir in "Rock and Pool" and "Faramir's Good Council", the latter of which includes an choral piece for the Ring's seduction that was not used in the film. These cues are part of the extended cut score that Howard Shore recorded following the film's theatrical release, also around the time he began developing the Gondor theme for The Return of the King. This statement is preceded by a hint at the Ring theme and is darker and more sorrowful, also ending with the very briefest hints at the Ring theme. The first statement is a triumphant fanfare, but a second one comes at the end of the scene when they show a glimpse of the Gondor flag. The Gondor theme makes its final appearance in this film (to be greatly developed in The Return of the King) in "Sons of the Steward", the added scenes of Faramir's memories of Boromir and his father at Osgiliath. Isabel Bayrakdarien's performance in "Evenstar" is one of the best vocal solos from the films, helping to define the very unique tone Shore chose for the elves and Arwen's story, much of which is told in dreams or memories. This cue contains a very brief statement of the Gondor theme when Aragorn reveals he is from the line of kings. The cue "Evenstar" from the original soundtrack is extended to "One of the Dunedain" to include the added scenes of conversation between Aragorn and Eowyn.
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