The Fellowship of the Ring embark on a journey to destroy the One Ring and end Sauron's reign over Middle-earth.
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Title: The Lord of the Rings (1978)
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The Return of the King
(TV Movie 1980)
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Watership Down
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Director:
Martin Rosen
Stars:
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Stars:
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Tim Hildebrandt,
J.R.R. Tolkien
American Pop
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(2009)
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Chris Bouchard
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Adrian Webster,
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Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
 |
Christopher Guard | ... |
Frodo Baggins /
Mr. Underhill
(voice)
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| William Squire | ... | ||
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Michael Scholes | ... |
Samwise 'Sam' Gamgee
(voice)
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| John Hurt | ... | ||
| Simon Chandler | ... |
Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck
(voice)
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| Dominic Guard | ... |
Peregrin 'Pippin' Took
(voice)
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| Norman Bird | ... |
Uncle Bilbo Baggins
(voice)
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Michael Graham Cox | ... |
Boromir - Son of Denethor
(voice) (as Michael Graham-Cox)
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| Anthony Daniels | ... | ||
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David Buck | ... |
Gimli - Son of Gloin
(voice)
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Peter Woodthorpe | ... | |
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Fraser Kerr | ... |
Saruman The White Sorcerer /
Narrator (segment "Epilogue")
(voice)
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Philip Stone | ... |
King Theoden /
Uglúk - Uruk-Hai Captain
(voice)
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|
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Michael Deacon | ... | |
| André Morell | ... |
Lord Elrond
(voice) (as Andre Morell)
|
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Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
A young Hobbit named Frodo (Guard) is thrown on an amazing adventure, when he is appointed the job of destroying the one ring which was created by the dark lord Sauron. He is assigned with warriors including Gandalf (Squire), Aragorn (Hurt) and Boromir (Cox). It's not going to be an easy journey for the Fellowship of the Ring, on the ultimate quest to rid Middle-Earth of all evil. Written by Film_Fan
Taglines:
From J.R.R. Tolkien's Magical The Lord of the Rings Trilogy See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
See more »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
15 November 1978 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings See more »Box Office
Budget:
$4,000,000 (estimated)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
Legolas: Pippin and Merry may be dead by now, we don't know.
Aragorn: We cannot forsake them... the fate of the ringbearer is my hands no longer, the company of the Ring has played it's part.
Aragorn: We follow the orcs!
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Many Tolkien fans were disappointed that this film only covered the first two books, and by how some major characters and events were cut from the film. When Saul Zaentz told Ralph Bakshi that he will not allow the film to have a sequel, Rankin and Bass made an animated adaptation of Return of the King. After that was released, many of those disappointed fans changed their minds, stating that Bakshi's film was a more mature and detailed adaptation of Tolkien's stories. See more »Goofs
In many, many shots throughout the second half of the movie, the blond Legolas has dark hair. The actor who played Legolas in the live-action footage on which the movie was based clearly had dark hair, and these shots were insufficiently fully converted into animation. See more »Quotes
Aragorn: [as Boromir's funeral boat floats away] Either we take the last boat and follow Frodo, or we follow the orcs on foot.Legolas: Pippin and Merry may be dead by now, we don't know.
Aragorn: We cannot forsake them... the fate of the ringbearer is my hands no longer, the company of the Ring has played it's part.
Aragorn: We follow the orcs!
See more »
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...