As fantastic as only a dream can be...

Rating: 9/10 (3 January 2002)

Yes, shame on me because I'm one of the few who haven't read the book but I'm convinced I'll make it up some day for now I have a good reason to believe it is awesome.
I've been a fan of fantasy stories for many years and almost forgot what they could look like. This was probably one of the best times I had in a cinema. As a movie lover I could not think of anything negative to say about Peter Jackson's "The Fellowship of the Ring". I simply loved it all along.
The reason I write this is that I heard some bad insults about Howard Shore's score and I wanted to state my p.o.v. I'm collecting movie soundtracks now for more than ten years and although there are certainly older people with more experience than me I think I can tell whether or not a score is well done, or at least if it's to be loved.
Shore's score is everything I'd expected for a huge fantasy story like "Lord of the Rings" with all the fine details and the awesome orchestral power to describe the ancient struggle between good and evil. I heard someone say the music was too weak for the images. That person must have slept over the whole movie of never have listened to anything composed by Howard Shore. He pictures just the right atmosphere with his themes for Sauron's nine black riders and lifts the spirits high with a playful tune for the Hobbits. Listening to the CD is as much fun as watching the movie.
The way Shore combined his own style with ancient tribal and Celtic sounds superbly added by Enya and haunting orchestral charges of classical adventure should be a sign to everyone like Hans Zimmer who bobs across the lake of mindlessness now for more than half a decade. I am convinced Shore's music for the two episodes yet to come will have the same effect on me and be a living proof why I love movie music so much. My advice is, buy the CD, turn down the light and up the volume and let yourself be taken into a world of magic and adventure, of Elves and Hobbits and get lost in the vast and mysterious realm of Middle Earth.
Just a few more words about the great performance of Elijah Wood, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, John Rhys Davis and so on. They really proved skilled acting and not just displaying of names like in some dumb Hollywood flick. And as for Elijah Wood who has been a brilliant actor since `Radio Flyer' and way back, he sure is the best for the job.