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:

Many of the actors portraying the physical parts of the characters in this movie provided the voices. Other characters, such as the hobbits were portrayed by animators and by Billy Barty in the live-action footage, and then voiced by other actors. The actors who play physical parts but not voices are credited as "Character Actors."

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:

Gollum: My Precious. My Precious.

Movie Connections:

Edited from Aleksandr Nevskiy (1938)

Soundtrack:

MITHRANDIR

This is a great film!

First of all, the only reason people keep bitching about this film is because they can't stand a few parts of the true story being "altered". Well guess what? Peter Jackson's film wasn't a perfect rendition either. Well enough ranting. This is a very beautiful film. The backgrounds are gorgeous and taken from well known Tolkein artists. The film covers about half the trilogy (Fellowship of the Ring and up to the battle of Helms Deep in the Two Towers) and moves at a good pace. The voice casting is top notch and the most of the characters look like I imagined they would. Samwise is a bit too ugly for my tastes, but Aragorn looks AWESOME. The film has a great score that completely supports the movie. If you enjoy good fantasy stories but hate reading (the books are even better) give this movie a try, keeping in mind it was made 20 odd years ago.

Also of particular note: Peter Jackson's adaption of Fellowship follows almost exactly the same strand as Ralph Bakshi's (Jackson has said many times how much he admired Bakshi's effort).