Justin Freer talks about Howard Shore’s third massive, epic, and incredible score to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, directed by Peter Jackson in 2003, based again on the third volume of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Justin discusses two scenes in this episode, and draws a striking parallel to Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8.

Many considerThe Return of the King as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. The film received numerous accolades; at the 76th Academy Awards, it was nominated for 11 awards and won them all, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, Best Original Song for "Into the West", Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects, therefore tying for the record for the most Academy Awards won by a single film and holding the record for the highest clean sweep at the Oscars.

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-return-of-the-king/