While watching The Fellowship of the Ring with my co-dictator of the planet (a.k.a. my significant other), we talked about the differences in things like cinematography, soundtrack, and other elements of film-making as they were in the LotR movies and then, for comparison, the way those elements were shown in The Hobbit trilogy. After I wouldn’t shut up about them for a good portion of the movie, my SO suggested that I write a blog post about it, since I clearly had a lot to say on the matter.
He was right.
Growing up in a nerdy household meant that when the LotR movies came out, my mother was excited. Well … very excited. At the time, I was a bit too young to go and see them in theatres with my parents, but I remember going to the LotR exhibit when it came by my home city. Like other movie exhibits, it featured props and costumes from the film and transformed the space into mini-versions of the sets. I’ll never forget the Dead Marshes room. It’s forever burned into my memory.
Naturally, The Hobbit movies set off a lot of excitement in my house and we went to see them right away. While I enjoyed them, watching The Lord of the Rings recently has made me realize why I never feel a sense of temporal embarrassment for the filmography of that series in the same way I predict The Hobbit will make me feel years from now.
More simply, nostalgia-goggles aside, I think The Lord of the Rings was overall a better trilogy than The Hobbit.
HUGE DISCLAIMER: I enjoyed The Hobbit trilogy and do not mean to sound as though the following things ruined the films for me. They are my observations and personal opinions.
I’m going to break all of this down into sections to aid in clarity of rambling, hence the multi-part post.
Fun fact: I listened to a large portion of the LotR soundtrack while writing this. I found a nearly 3 hour long video containing ALL THREE SOUNDTRACKS. Here’s the link. Open in a new tab and press play for “total immersion”.
The Soundtracks:
Overall, The Hobbit soundtracks feel like they were more lazily put together when compared to the gorgeous soundtracks in The Lord of the Rings. Are The Hobbit soundtracks bad? Hell no. They’re just not as compelling when separated from the film in the same way that The Lord of the Rings are.
With the LotR soundtracks, I can listen to them and, without looking at the track names, know exactly which scene is playing. There are noticeable themes for the various locations and characters all used throughout the three films’ soundtracks in beautiful ways.
The Hobbit soundtracks contain themes, of course, but I felt that they were fewer in number and thus were used repetitively to a fault. For the best example of this, look (hear?) no further than the “Misty Mountains” theme. Comparable to the “Fellowship” theme, it’s used to ill-effect by being stuck into so many soundtrack “moments” that it starts to lose impact. There are two “moments” in The Hobbit soundtracks that stand out for me:
1. When Bilbo leaves the Shire after signing the contract, we get a really nice, energetic theme that weaves in the very-familiar “hobbit” theme from the LotR soundtrack. It makes me smile when I hear it because THAT was the lovely theme-usage I was expecting from The Hobbit‘s soundtrack. Sadly, this kind of theme-weaving (it’s a term now, deal with it) doesn’t memorably occur elsewhere.
Hobbiton is very close to my heart.
2. The first time we hear the Laketown theme. I couldn’t find this clip on YouTube, but it’s very recognizable. I’m talking the very first time the theme is played. While it’s not brilliant by itself, the introduction of that new theme comes as a breath of fresh air after hours upon hours of increasingly stale “Misty Mountains” re-runs. You FEEL like the story has entered a new location, both physically (duh) as well as emotionally. There are new characters to care about–exemplified by Bilbo’s concern for Laketown at the end of The Desolation of Smaug. The stakes have changed and consequences have been added.
I do not mean to sound as if I completely hated The Hobbit‘s soundtracks. Merely they do not hold up the same way the LotR‘s soundtracks do. I can’t nail down “favourite moments” in the LotR soundtracks because I have too many of them.
This came up while watching the scenes in the Mines of Moria–particularly the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. The bridge has a whole track to it on the soundtrack and a lot of attention was put into it. I love the way it’s orchestrated, using musical elements that signified the dwarves as well as the Balrog (men’s voices, drums, “primal” sounds). It helps add tension and excitement as the group escapes from the mine and, more directly, the Balrog (something which, as Saruman says, the dwarves angered).
I’ve set the clip to start at 1:04 because that is where this really comes into effect–the track starts with the “Fellowship” theme. Try not to cry when you get to … THAT part. One word. Or … name … GANDAAAAAALF!
Of course, this is just one example from three films full of really great orchestration. If I were to pick ONE theme or moment I had to call a favourite, I would definitely say that my favourite theme is that of Rohan and King Théoden (they kind of go together, him being king and all). This comes up across the soundtracks of the second and third films, but most strongly in “King of the Golden Hall” (which also includes Éowyn’s theme).
I just really dig those strings. I feel very empowered by this theme. Like I wanna find a horse, learn how to ride it magically, and then ride across the Gap of Rohan wearing one of Éowyn’s gowns.
On the whole, what makes the LotR soundtracks so effective is how well they are woven into the scenes. It’s how I can listen to the soundtracks and know exactly where in the film I am without having to look at the track listing. Well, my mother is better at that than I am, but it only proves my point.
There’s a distinct lack of that same connection in The Hobbit soundtracks, in my opinion. I remember the “big moments” during songs, but the “little moments” feel reduced to more dull ambient music than the beautifully crafted web of themes that existed in the LotR.
Next post, I’ll be tackling another part of why The Lord of the Rings holds up better for me than The Hobbit will. Again, I’d like to stress that I enjoyed The Hobbit trilogy. These opinions are just that. Opinions. They are still good films that I will enjoy in the future. Watching the LotR (and re-reading the books) has called to mind a lot of differences that I felt like discussing.
See you in the next post!
Unfortunately, I do not know whom to credit for this wonderful GIF. Apologies, creator. It wasn’t me, just so you know.
juliameadows 