Justin Freer talks about Howard Shore’s massive, epic, and incredible score to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, directed by Peter Jackson in 2001, based on the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

Many consider the film to be one of the most influential films ever made, and won four Academy Awards from thirteen nominations, including Best Original Score. With over four hours of finalized music for the film, it was performed by the 100-piece New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Voices, London Oratory School Scholastic's, and the Maori Samoan Choir, and a variety of vocal soloists.

Howard Shore has composed the scores for over 80 films, and has won three Academy Awards for his work on the first trilogy, with one being for the original song "Into the West", an award he shared with Eurythmics lead vocalist Annie Lennox and writer/producer Fran Walsh, who wrote the lyrics. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg, having scored all but one of his films since 1979.

In addition to his three Academy Awards, Shore has also won three Golden Globe Awards and four Grammy Awards.

Where to watch: https://letterboxd.com/film/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-fellowship-of-the-ring/