Justin Freer talks about Howard Shore’s second massive, epic, and beautiful score to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, directed by Peter Jackson in 2002, based again on the second volume of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Justin discusses two scenes in this episode, one utilizing an interesting instrument called the hardanger fiddle, with the second using a boys choir soprano solo over one of the more beautiful shots used in the film.

Many considerThe Two Towers as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. The film received numerous accolades; at the 75th Academy Awards, it was nominated for six awards, including Best Picture, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing, winning two: Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects.

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-two-towers/