Samlet tekst

English summary
This master’s thesis examines the use of sound and music in the Peter Jackson movie
trilogy The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003).
! With a theoretical inspiration from cognition theory-based studies of film music the
thesis in chapter 1 expands the scope to include the two other sound track elements:
dialogue and sound effects. In this respect the thesis is in the trend of recent scholarship on
film sound as carried out in e.g. Lowering the Boom published in 2008 (edited by Jay Beck
and Tony Grajeda) and Hearing the Movies published in 2010 (edited by James Buhler,
David Neumeyer and Rob Deemer). With this multi-perspectual approach the study seeks
to examine the way expressive sound in Jackson’s cinematic adaption is supporting what
is seen as the narrative core of the story by J.R.R. Tolkien: The battle between good and
evil. This key narrative dichotomy is used as a structuring principle for the layout of the
analytical chapters:
! Chapter 2 is dedicated to an analysis of the way in which the heros of the story are
portrayed sonically. It deals with some of the key musical themes composed by Howard
Shore, and it explores how music and a special type of silence are being used at emotional
peaks, namely in the death scenes of three important characters.
! Chapter 3 is chapter 2’s evil twin in the sense that it also examines some key
musical themes that are connected with the evil forces of the Middle-earth universe. But
furthermore it also presents and explores some of the most important expressive sound
effects that are central to the portrayal and unfolding of evil in the three films. In particular
this relates to the complex sound design of the One Ring.
! Chapter 4 contains an examination of what happens with the sound track when the
forces of good and evil collide in the films. This study is carried on a macro level that deals
with the big battle scene in front of Minas Tirith in Return of the King and on a micro level
that focuses on the way the One Ring affects its surroundings with its evil power.
! On the analytical background that has been established through the previous
chapters, chapter 5 will deliver an attempt to sum up the different uses of sound in the
films in a typology of three expressive sound strategies. This will lead to the argument,
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