The Lord of the Rings (1978)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

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:

At one point in the film's development, studio executives thought that the names "Saruman" and "Sauron" were too similar, and would confuse the audience, and decided that Saruman should be renamed "Aruman". This decision was eventually reversed, but some references to "Aruman" remain in the finished film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the first shot of the orc attack in Moria, Legolas' bow is tall with spiral tips (which he uses throughout the movie). In the very next shot, two seconds later, it is much smaller, with the regular curved tips of a straight-limb longbow.

Quotes:

Frodo Baggins: I wish it need not happen in my time.
Gandalf: So do I.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Bugi Fiction (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

MITHRANDIR

An Experience That Just Keeps Getting Worse Each Time...

As an avid Tolkien junkie, I grew up on this film; but even at a young age I could see it for the foul-smelling garbage that it was.

Let's see: the music is overbearing and painful; the actors used to articulate the characters' movements throw their arms about in a style that can only be described as "Dinner Theater" (check out Merry when he says, "I'm TIRED of looking at my cousins all day!"); The Hill in Hobbiton is actually a valley (!); Gandalf tosses the Ring into the fire without bothering to check for an inscription; "Sauruman" is pronounced "Aruman" for no apparent reason, but only half the time; dialogue is badly recorded (listen to Frodo when he says that, "Merry and Pippin insisted on coming with us as far as Bree."--it sounds like Christopher Guard phoned it in a day before the film's release); the Black Riders limp like lepers, and resemble Darth Vader when unmasked when they ought to be decrepit old men (not to mention the fact that we see them "revealed" on Weathertop before Frodo even puts on the Ring); "Sauruman the White" has suddenly become "Sauruman the Red and Purple" (and don't even ask about his "melodious voice"); Aragorn has suddenly become Native American (it seems the animators took the whole "Man of the West" think WAY too literally); Frodo and Sam's relationship almost becomes homosexual on Weathertop before they're interrupted by the Nazgul; the Flight to the Ford is drawn out so long that it becomes sleep-inducing (except for that puzzling moment when someone shouts, "Go Back!" in a voice that more than resembles a ten-year old boy, and who it's supposed to be is beyond me); Legolas has Florence Henderson's latter-day Brady coif; Rivendell has gone from being a city hidden in a ravine to an architectural nightmare built into a cliff; Boromir is a Viking (so much for the richly-dressed son of the Steward), and carries a sword that looks like it's about to break at any time; Gimli the Dwarf is as tall as Legolas (!); neither Aragorn nor Boromir wear pants; Narsil is never reforged, but we hear Aragorn loudly proclaim that he is the heir of Elendil, despite the fact that Elendil is never mentioned, nor is the breaking of the sword; Gandalf's hat changes color during the Council for no apparent reason (ah! Such magic!); Sting looks identical to the sword Frodo was carrying throughout the first part of the film (and no, neither one glows blue); Boromir, especially outside the doors to Moria, is an utter jerk; the Moria Gate swings inward, making it impossible for the Watcher to close as it is depicted; the Balrog is almost unimaginably embaressing (but, boy, do those fuzzy slippers look great!); the elves of Lothlorien are not only terribly obnoxious, but sing like the world's most polished elementary school choir; we never get the opportunity to see Frodo and Sam's visions in the fountain (though we DO see the Eye of Sauron, which looks like a trippy kaleidoscope screen saver); Galadriel never gives the Fellowship their gifts, which raises the question of how Frodo was planning on getting through Cirith Ungol without that handy little phial; the Argonath appears to have been made of troll dung, melting under the sun; Frodo leaves "Invisi-Prints" when he flees Boromir; vocal effects from earlier scenes are re-used in Boromir's death sequence (Merry and Pippin's grunts are Frodo flailing before the Moria gate, and Boromir's hysterical screams are the same as the orcs that Merry and Pippin accidentally bump right into); Boromir's arrows pierce his body so deeply that there's no way he could have slid down the tree like that); and then there's the part where--

Oh, wow. I'm only halfway through the movie. And boy do my fingers hurt.

Get the point?