The Lord of the Rings film franchise is nearly two decades old, yet with the launch of the spectacular new ‘Lord of the Rings in Concert’ series, it is clear that this legendary franchise is just as relevant as it was when it was initially released in 2001. Adapted flawlessly from the classic J.R.R. Tolkien book series, the film franchise is perhaps one of Hollywood’s most unlikely hits, having been one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed blockbuster series of all time, including an unforgettable awards sweep at the 2004 Academy Awards, in which Lord of the Rings: Return of the King took home awards in eleven categories, including Best Picture. Now, with the talented minds at GFN Productions, the Lord of the Rings franchise is back and just as immersive and impressive as ever. We got a chance to attend the most recent performance of the franchise’s second installment, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, traveling exclusively in select Canadian cities, and were thrilled by its spectacular performance.
GFN Productions is a Canadian-based entertainment company that produces classical concerts, adapting pre-existing films into an immersive and mesmerizing experience. For Lord of the Rings, and along with some of their other shows, such as Star Wars: A New Hope in Concert or Fantasia in Concert, the film will be played on stage in conjunction with a stage full of musicians, who accompany the musical score of the film. The film, which has been specially adapted to remove all musical elements is now supported by the live musicians who will deliver the film’s emotional and dramatic components in a method that only makes the film so much more powerful and mesmerizing.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is already such an impressive film, but in a live performance, it becomes clear the amount of work that is part of creating such a mesmerizing soundtrack. In a sense, it’s almost a viewpoint into the behind-the-scenes process of scoring a theatrical film, which often plays the edited film (sans a musical score, or including temporary music) while a large team of musicians play and record what will become the film’s soundtrack once it reaches the editing room. Furthermore, performing for a film that already has a musical score, and to accompany it in the exact same beats and timing of the actual film is an entirely new challenge in of itself, as when editing a film, much of the work of the music is due to the allowance of much time and consideration in an editing room, wherein a live concert, everything must be performed correctly entirely in tandem with every emotional beat of the film. It’s truly an incredible feat to see a film such as this one, with so many intricate musical details and complex components to it be performed so brilliantly, and somehow finding a new way to bring a nearly two-decade-year-old film and find a way to reinvent it is astonishing.
To not only see the fantastic film itself on the big screen is always a delight, but the opportunity to be offered a glance into the talent and precision into such an iconic soundtrack is an opportunity any Tolkien fan should be excited by. Lord of the Rings is a mesmerizing and phenomenal film franchise, and the team behind the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in Concert (as well as Return of the King in Concert, touring in 2021), have brought it to life in a new and memorable fashion. The only caveat in this experience, however, is that after witnessing GFN Productions’ performance of The Lord of the Rings in concert, you’ll never experience the film the same way again.
GFN Productions shows include The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and other cinematic concerts touring select Canadian cities. Check their website for more shows and upcoming performances.
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