The Lord of the Rings analysis

Though not inherently a movie of the thriller genre, the lord of the rings has the ability to very often at times dispense feelings of intensity and even dread into its viewer. The story itself is also extremely villain driven, with the tales antagonist constantly bombarding the protagonists with obstacles to triumph over, also giving it lots of ties and similarities with the thriller genre.

The first 58 seconds of the film are simply a jet black background, overlaid by a woman’s notably dreary voice, and intense, almost whiny orchestral piece. The voice speaks of a seemingly impending danger, describing subtle differences in the world around her that just aren't right, such as an odd feeling in the water, and an unfamiliar taste in the air. A voice, quieter and more menacing than the woman’s, can be heard whispering an ancient language, and it is unknown to the listener exactly what the voice is chanting. This darkness of the pitch black background is used to paint an image of utter despair within the viewer’s mind, craftily giving them an idea of the movies disparity without actually showing them anything solid to go by yet. The woman’s weary voice, and the woeful music also work to engage the viewer with the frightfulness of the world that they are yet to see, with both the voice and music working hand in hand to create an image of changed world, devoid of prosperity, and simply filled with darkness and despair. The subtle whispering is an excellent device to install a sense of great fear within the viewer; however it also causes a psychological effect on the viewer, as they are forced to question the voice. What could it be saying? What is its purpose? This ties in perfectly with the thriller genre, as it is causing the audience to put things into consideration, whilst also lavishing a veil of mystery on top. Is the voice a plot point? Something important for the tale to come? Only time can tell. After 58 seconds, a title “the lord of the rings” emerges on the screen in gold lettering, and just as it does, violins screech a higher pitched segment of the original song playing in the background. This is particularly chilling, as the title fades in slowly and the sudden raise in pitch of the violins sounds particularly menacing, and is unexpected. 

After that, a close up shot can be seen of a tool dragging molten metal from what appears to be a furnace. A cut is then made to another shot of the same tool pouring molten metal into a mould. The voice of the woman from earlier proceeds to give context of how “it began with the crafting of the great rings”, to which the shot cuts one again, this time to an extreme close up of three laid out hands, each wearing a different spectacular ring. The use of close-ups for the period of these scenes create a tense feel, taking the viewers out of their comfort zones whilst still surrounding the situation in an air of mystery and confusion. This confusion is encouraged further by the line, “it began with the crafting of the great rings”, which does not give an entire depiction of the situation, intentionally leaving out context for the viewer to be thrown into a sense of wonder.

Similar shots occur until the 1 minute 36 mark, all taking advantage of the use of close ups and extreme close ups in order to discomfort the viewer. The woman’s voice continues to give more and more context however, as rings are gifted to the other races of middle earth, slowly painting a greater picture of what truly going on for the audience. The entire time, brownish tint overlays each shot. This tint is used to give a clear understanding that each shot is in fact a flashback of a time before. This makes sense in consideration of the context being given simultaneously to the tinted shots.

After explaining who each ring was granted to, a panning shot then goes on of a map of middle earth (the land in which lotr is set) being scoured, 

until the camera reaches Mordor, a kingdom within the universe. The woman’s voice states how the holders of the rings were all “deceived”, to which the music takes a sudden change, becoming much more menacing and dramatic. This sudden contrast installs a sense of excitement within the viewer as well as an uneasy feeling of dread due to them not knowing what’s coming next. The camera then goes to an establishing shot of the barren landscape of Mordor, with a giant volcano spewing molten rock in the distance, a black sky choked with ash and soot, and grey sheet of intimidating rocks and crags covering the ground below. This shot gives the audience a sheer feel of how monstrous the land is, and the absolute scale of its terror.

The disembodied voice speaks of how the dark lord Sauron (the antagonist of the story) crafted a ring in secret, and as it does, the camera cuts to a shot of the lord himself. There is a red/orange filter covering the shot, enforcing the sense of dread from the music in the background and the fiery imagery surrounding the dark lord. The camera begins to rapidly zoom on his face to which flames burst force on the screen, where the shot then cuts to an extreme close up of his hand bearing his ring. The woman then speaks the films slogan aloud, “One ring to rule them all”.