The Lord of the Rings (1978)

Director:

Ralph Bakshi

Writers:

J.R.R. Tolkien (novels)
Chris Conkling (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 November 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

Tagline:

Come to Middle-earth, a world beyond the furthest reaches of your imagination.

Plot:

The Fellowship of the Ring embark on a journey to destroy the One Ring and end Sauron's reign over Middle Earth.

Plot Keywords:

Ring | Middle Earth | Journey | Hobbit | Warrior

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Christopher Guard	...	Frodo (voice)
William Squire	...	Gandalf (voice)
Michael Scholes	...	Sam (voice)
John Hurt	...	Aragorn (voice)
Simon Chandler	...	Merry (voice)
Dominic Guard	...	Pippin (voice)
Norman Bird	...	Bilbo (voice)
Michael Graham Cox	...	Boromir (voice) (as Michael Graham-Cox)
Anthony Daniels	...	Legolas (voice)
David Buck	...	Gimli (voice)
Peter Woodthorpe	...	Gollum (voice)
Fraser Kerr	...	Saruman (voice)
Philip Stone	...	Theoden (voice)
Michael Deacon	...	Wormtongue (voice)
André Morell	...	Elrond (voice) (as Andre Morell)

Also Known As:

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Sindarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:L | Finland:K-12/9 (1988) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Manitoba/Quebec) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 (1980) | Netherlands:AL | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Belmonte, Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

Company:

Fantasy Films

Trivia:

Filmed with live actors in black-and-white and rotoscoped, each animation cel drawn over a film frame of an actor. This was the first entirely rotoscoped animated feature.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): "Minas Tirith" is consistently mispronounced as "Mine-as Tirith" rather than "Min-as Tirith".

Quotes:

[after Gandalf opens the door to Moria]
Legolas: So all you had to do was say friend... and enter.
Gilmi: Those were happier times...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Freaks and Geeks: Kim Kelly Is My Friend (#1.4)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

MITHRANDIR

Underrated adaptation

As an animated film from 1978, this is pretty good--generally well above the standard of the days when Disney hadn't done anything good in years (and Tolkien cared little for Disney anyway). It gets major points for innovative and careful camera work, applying cinematic techniques with relative success. The much-maligned rotoscoping actually works pretty well, especially with the Ringwraiths, and the opening narration. However, it is so drastically overused--possibly as a money-saving technique--that it detracts from the overall effect. The same technique that makes wraiths spooky and otherworldly doesn't fare so well in the Prancing Pony.

As for the adaptation of the story, it's actually quite good. We lose little bits here and there, minor details such as the Old Forest and Tom Bombadil, the Gaffer and the Sackville-Bagginses. We compress a few characters, such as revising Legolas as one of Elrond's household and an old friend of Aragorn's, but that's a rather wise decision for film. In books you have room to include the references to the larger world of the Elves and Middle-Earth's vast history. In film, you trade that for visuals and sound that convey the same elements in a different way. Nothing critical is truly lost here, and although I have minor quibbles about some of the changes, I'm generally pretty happy with it.

If only the dratted writers had managed to remember Saruman's name--he's frequently referred to as Aruman, a decision probably made to make him more distinct from similarly-named Sauron; it took me a second viewing before I was certain I hadn't misheard it. It's also annoying that Boromir is a bloody stage viking, and irritable from the start. However, Gandalf is excellent, and most of the rest of the voicework is excellent. If only John Hurt weren't too old to play Aragorn; I love his voice.

Of course, with the film ending at the midpoint of the story, there's a vast disappointment built in. What makes it far, far worse is the altogether miserable job done by the Rankin & Bass crew on the sequel. That they were permitted to do Return of the King after butchering The Hobbit remains a huge mystery; they seem more interested in bad songs than in proper storytelling. For all its faults, this film's heart is solidly in place and it tries very hard to accomplish a nearly impossible task. I can only hope that the upcoming series of films keeps as true to its vision...