Lord of the Rings Analysis

Lord of the Rings Analysis:

The scene opens with non-diegetic music and the narrator then comes in telling the story. About 30 seconds into the film, a fade in appears with the franchise title. A fade out is then used and then starts to tell the story. Fade in and fade outs occur in most of the opening as it is trying to build tension as you don’t know what is going to come next.

 The non-diegetic sound is from the narrator. The narrator tells the backdrop of the story in a short space of time so the audience are informed of what the background of the story is and so that people don’t get bored after a long period of time as you may start to lose track of the story and it may not make sense as you watch the film.

The first shots we see are of the rings being made. There is a close up of the rings being created in a mould by someone surrounded by fire.  You can see the hotness of the metal as you can see the ring has just been made. The narrator comments on the rings and it informs us that it is what the franchise will be based around and the important role they may play in the film and its sequences.

You see the groups of people the different rings belonged to. There are close up shots and mid shots in this scene. The camera also pans away from the rings and a mid shot is used to show the different people who the rings belong to. The narrator also points out that the rings are going to have an effect on one of the different races who own them.

In the next shot a map is shown to show the location of the story and where it is set. You can see it is a mystical land. The map divides the land into which each race owns. The music changes as the map of Mawdor is featured. This informs the audience that something bad is there and something could be about to happen. Also the narrators voice changes into a deeper dark tone of voice and there is then a fade out shot.

The shot returns and shows a wide shot of the volcano. We know that something is about to happen there because they have shown it. We see the first shots of a character called Sauron. He is trying to take over the land. We can see he is evil and powerful as there is a low angle shot of him when he is standing there. We can also tell this as the music changes and the narrator also tells us what is happening and who he is.

There is a close up of the ring showing its importance and significance in the film. People have been torn over the ring and are battling with eachoter. Fire is then used to fade out the scene. This is probably due to the setting being in a volcano.

There is a battle and there are sharp cuts happening and the camera is close up due to the place feeling compact and nowhere to move. We hear diegetic noises like arrows being shot, feet stomping and battle cries and shouting. There is a crane/tracking shot to show how long the soldiers are spread. This shows that this needed to inform the audience and it needed to be included to show how the ring takes over people and makes people fight over it.

Later we see the king being killed and the lord picks up his sword and chops off his finger. His finger has the ring still attached to it. There is also a shot looking down on the lord as he feels vulnerable.

We see him later on his horse going through a wintery environment and it is dark and lifeless. Isildor has the ring and it has “corrupted” him as the ring has changed him for worse.

There is now a sound of silence suggesting that something is about to happen then a while later he is ambushed and killed. We see his body flowing down the stream with a pool of blood surrounding him and arrows shot into his back.

A long time has passed since the ring was lost and it is now considered a myth or a legend. A creature finds the ring called Golem. We can tell from the diegetic voice we hear thet he is not a human.

The mountains we see are where Golem lives and they are very isolated.  This is showing the audience that this is what Golem may feel.

We now know that the ring has consumed golem and he is obsessed with it.  We can see him staring at the ring. The audience have also been noted of this due to the narration.

Golem then loses the ring. We can then see this falling and bouncing off the rocks. The sound is more focused on the ring bouncing down the rock face. We can then hear the cries and shouts of Golem as he loses the ring after 500 years.

A hobbit then finds the ring as it has settled on the cave floor. The hobbit picks up the ring but is shocked when he hears the cries of Golem still being echoed around the cave.

The narrator also informs the audience that the hobbits will play a vital role in the films.

There is then a fade out to show that the background of the story has ended. We then cut into a fade in shot of a more calmer and relaxed environment of a hobbit sitting under a tree in a field reading a book. You can hear wildlife sounds like the birds singing in the trees. We can also tell it is a calmer atmosphere due to the music that is being played in the background. We then see the title of the film fade in and the film continues from there.