I’ve seen a lot of films and movies, however I particularly enjoy Peter Jackson’s Lord of

the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) often choosing to rewatch this instead of watching

something new. The film adaptation of Tolkien’s books is a distinct piece of art. Howard Shore

created some three hours of music for the film. Although the film runs for a total of two hours

and fifty-eight minutes. Not to forget the incredible performances including Elijah Wood as

Frodo, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Orlando Bloom as Legolas, and of course the infamous Golem

played by Andy Serkis.

A lot of pieces go into making this film a great film, but I’ll start with the beginning. The

title sequence starts the film with a narrator giving an explanation of the world’s history as it

plays on screen. The music is loud with longer tones broken up by fast smaller notes for dramatic

effect. It works well on screen, a good example is the lower tones that rise as Isildur cuts the

Ring from Sauron’s hand. More noticeably however the introduction makes it abundantly clear

the main focus is on the Ring as it follows the Ring’s journey from Sauron to Isildur, upon

Isildur’s death it was found by Golem, and then eventually stolen by Bilbo, a hobbit from the

Shire. It gives the audience a lot of information but not enough to satisfy them, in fact it does the

opposite, it acts as a very effective hook and now the film has their attention.

Now that there is an effective hook, let’s talk about sound. What is the audience hearing

throughout the film. Howard Shore’s score has a marvelous way to emphasize what is going on

in the film. The most notable account of this would be the Mordor and Rivendell scenes.

Whenever Mordor or Orcs come on screen the music is mainly loud low brassy tones, such as a

Tuba or Baritone, and loud bass drum beats and rolls. Similarly the rivendell, loth lorien scene,

or when dealing with the elves in general, the music has higher more tranquil music and

sometimes an elvish choir. Not only is the music great in general but it helps add another layer of
depth to the world and help engage the viewer in what is going on. Similarly, the music shifts to

a minor key at the death of Boromir, to further emphasize the despair parts of the scenes are

slowed down and voices are muted. All of this builds a wonderfully dramatic scene at the death

and self sacrifice of Boromir to redeem himself of being corrupted by the ring.

Camera angles, placement, and all things concerning cameras as well as site choice. The

entirety of the film was shot in New Zealand, an island thats about the size of the US State

Nevada. The movie displays a wide variety of terrains and environments that the heroes must

cross in order to reach Mordor from mountains to forests to rolling plains and the blackish desert

of Mordor. The camera’s also do a wonderful job via far off shots before closing in on the

characters. Prime example is right before Boromir first tries to take the ring from Frodo. The

scene opens with a birds eye view of the characters hiking up the snowy mountain, then the

camera closes in upon Frodo as he falls and he drops the ring. It then continues from a 3rd person

perspective. The birds eye view is frequented throughout the film and it really gives the world a

depth in the sense that the characters have an arduous task ahead of them as well as showing the

natural beauty of Middle Earth (or New Zealand). By letting you see more of the world the

director is causing the world to feel all that more real even though it’s full of fantasy and fictional

content.

Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring is a wonderful film. It is

full of little things that make it great. Howard Shore created wonderful music that fits the settings

perfectly. Combined with John Howe’s (concept artist and illustrator on Lord of The Rings)

beautiful visions brought to life on film and New Zealand’s wonderful topography. It isn’t hard

to find oneself immersed into the world of Middle Earth on Frodo’s adventure that starts in the

quiet Shire.