Your first experience with Shore's scores

[SafeUnderHill 205]

[Jay 37,374]

When I first saw FOTR I probably hadn't heard the OST yet

Hard to recall now

[SafeUnderHill 205]

[gkgyver 1,645]

Did anyone here see the films in the cinema having not heard the scores prior, or not even being a fan of film music at that point?

I wonder what it would be like to sit down and hear the Shire theme for the first time, to experience Rohan and to have all this iconic music thrown at you for the first time.

Perhaps it is something that grows with time, I have read some users here from 2003 be pretty meh about ROTK.

I didn't know the score, or much about film music, before I saw Fellowship in 2002. I immediately thought that this was the best freaking thing ever.

[Marian Schedenig 8,211]

Did anyone here see the films in the cinema having not heard the scores prior, or not even being a fan of film music at that point?

I saw each of them without listening to the score beforehand. I was already a fan of Shore before. The FOTR title was an amazing moment.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Did anyone here see the films in the cinema having not heard the scores prior, or not even being a fan of film music at that point?

I wonder what it would be like to sit down and hear the Shire theme for the first time, to experience Rohan and to have all this iconic music thrown at you for the first time.

Perhaps it is something that grows with time, I have read some users here from 2003 be pretty meh about ROTK.

Well I was interested in music and film music, though not in as big a way since FOTR itself was one of the scores that lit a fire under my ass. Back then you didn't have score leaks all over the place (though I recall Into The West finding its way out early), and I didn't habitually grab anything as soon as it was released, so going in to the theater I had no idea what to expect. I remember it all very vividly. Defining moment for me. I can still recall exactly how I felt when the New Line logo floated by and everything started. Those opening moments remain a very magical experience for me whenever I watch it. The moment that literally made my jaw drop though was Gandalf and Frodo's conversation in Moria, and then of course the Dwarrowdelf. Sublime.

Seems like it's time to watch all six films.

[Incanus 5,716]

Oh I was both a huge fan of film music and Tolkien back in 2001 and I definitely bought the soundtracks to all three films before seeing them in the theater. I remember getting the FotR OST very clearly. It was my first year at the university at the time and I had a couple of hours before my next class and so decided to go to buy the CD, which I had been waiting for quite a while already. I remember vividly how I marched to a big local department store in the crisp weather of the November/December and went full of trepidation to the soundtrack section. The CD had arrived and I chose the one with the Gandalf cover (duh!) and tried to figure out how I could listen to it before my day at uni ended. Being the impatient person I am I finally went to the local library which to my delight had stereosystem and headphones they loaned out. I never forget my first listen in the reading room (with a bunch of people reading newspapers) and me sitting in the middle with my headphones and trying to take the whole musical experience in. It was quite an eye/ear opener in terms of Howard Shore and his music and no mistake. I was impressed yet not quite sold. That came when I went to see the film for the first time (in the premiere of course) and the opening titles appeared and the History of the Ring started to play. Ah sweet memories.