The Lord of the Rings 1978 : Original Animated Classic

Locations
Call Number: Blu-ray Animation Lord
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 1st Floor 1-week checkout	Blu-ray Animation Lord	1-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 1st Floor 1-week checkout	Blu-ray Animation Lord	1-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult A/V 1-week checkout	Blu-ray Animation Lord	1-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult A/V 1-week checkout	Blu-ray Animation Lord	1-week checkout	Due 05-01-2024

Based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Originally released as a motion picture in 1978.
Special features: "Forging through the darkness: the Ralph Bakshi vision for The lord of the rings:" an in-depth interview with the director.
Voices: Christopher Guard, William Squire, Michael Scholes, John Hurt.
A tale of the enchanted land of Middle-Earth - where a brave band of Hobbits, heroes and wizards set out to protect it. When a dangerous and powerful gold ring falls into his hands, a courageous Hobbit named Frodo, he embarks on an epic journey. Along with the mighty Wizard Gandalf and some daring elves, he defends his homeland from the Dark Power who would destroy it.
Blu-ray disc, widescreen (1.85:1) presentation; Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. Dolby Digital 1.0 mono., 1080p High Definition; requires Blu-ray player.
Contents: Fellowship of the ring. -- Two towers.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Summary / Annotation

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Nostalgia and Technical Interest but Read the Book or see Jackson's trilogy submitted by tropology on August 27, 2018, 2:03pm I saw this film in theater when I was a youngster. I remember it much more fondly than it deserves.

The film covers less than two thirds of the trilogy - which was a disappointment then, but even more so now upon rewatching - seeing just how it was ended and what a disservice it does to Tolkien's work.

The animation is interesting in it's use of rotoscope. This gives the proportionality and detail of creatures and characters a higher degree of realism in particular in battle and crowd scenes and certain gestures and postures of individual characters, but does not generally mesh well with the main characters - especially Legolas, Gimli and the Hobbits. Animation elsewhere has tended to rely on stylization to achieve the equivalent emotional and gestural significance. Other uses of rotoscope such as in Linklater aim at a break from realism whereas rotoscope here is seeking greater realism. it runs counter to what we have come to expect from animation, which is interesting to consider.

The screenplay is adapted (among the screenwriters if Peter Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn) and cuts certain characters for brevity and rearranges a bit to provide background.

The film was overly ambitious in attempting to capture the trilogy in one film and the ending is so abrupt it feels like it was not originally intended to end where it did.

If the film simply ended around this point in the plot without declaring an end to the story a lot more could be forgiven.

A film continuation encompassing the third book, Return of the King was later released and was broadcast on television but I've never been able to obtain a copy.

The Lord of the Rings 1978 submitted by lstorc on July 23, 2019, 4:19pm This classic animated adaptation is fun to watch. The modern ones cover more.