"Hobitit" (1993) (mini)TV mini-series

Director:

Timo Torikka

Writers:

Toni Edelmann (screenplay)
J.R.R. Tolkien (novels)

Release Date:

1993 (Finland)

Genre:

Fantasy | Family | Adventure | Drama

Plot:

J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings told from the perspective of the hobbits.

Plot Keywords:

Hobbit | Tolkien | Dwarf | Elf | Halfling

Cast

Kari Väänänen	...	Sméagol / Klonkku / Aragorn
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bojan Baric	...	Tramp
Teijo Eloranta	...	Orc
Sanna Fransman	...	Adelaide Tuk
Sari Havas	...	Ruusa
Esko Hukkanen	...	Tom Bombadillo
Jarmo Hyttinen	...	Merri
Seppo Juusonen	...	Southern man
Rauno Juvonen	...	Déagol
Risto Kaskilahti	...	Milo Onkaloinen
Mikko Kivinen	...	Viljami Voivalvatti
Hannu Kivioja	...	Man
Heidi Krohn	...	Galadriel
Jussi Lampi	...	Man
Maija Leino	...	Lobelia
Markku Maalismaa	...	Maruna
Taneli Mäkelä	...	Frodo
Jarmo Mäkinen	...	Man
Jari Pehkonen	...	Pippin
Matti Pellonpää	...	Saruman
Mikko Rasila	...	Nob
Carl-Kristian Rundman	...	Boromir
Erkki Saarela	...	Käärmekieli
Eero Saarinen	...	Hob Aitovahti
Tomi Salmela	...	Gimli
Ari-Kyösti Seppo	...	Lotho
Jukka Sipilä	...	Härkäräikkä
Martti Suosalo	...	Bilbo
Pertti Sveholm	...	Sam
Markku Toikka	...	Bill Imarre
Kari-Pekka Toivonen	...	Orc
Ulla Uotinen	...	Dora Reppuli
Juha Veijonen	...	Orc
Vesa Vierikko	...	Gandalf
Ville Virtanen	...	Legolas
Leif Wager	...	Elrond

Runtime:

Finland:270 min (9 parts)

Country:

Finland

Language:

Finnish

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

YLE TV studios, Pasila, Helsinki, Finland

Company:

Ryhmäteatteri

Trivia:

The series was shot in studio. The outside scenery seen in the series was added on the background of the actors in a then very modern technique not used in Finland before.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

A highly underrated series with superior acting

What this series lacks in visuals, it gains in great acting and atmosphere. It only gets better as it progresses. The last episodes are stunningly real: you can really see the pain, the weight and the fatigue on the hobbits' eyes. Taneli Mäkelä pictures the change that happens in Frodo during the journey in a very remarkable way. Also Vesa Vierikko is very mystical as Gandalf, and Carl-Kristian Rundman's Boromir - in spite of his samurai outfit - is a strong performance that really pictures the feelings of anger and honour that Boromir has.

Kari Väänänen does a great double role as Aragorn and Klonkku (Gollum). His Gollum is no monster, but actually a very human creature, which makes it even more touching. You wouldn't recognize the actor in the role if you didn't know it was him. Also as Aragorn he is good, though maybe not quite as memorable.

Toni Edelmann's music is probably the greatest Tolkien music ever made. It takes some elements from folk music and twists them in a very Middle Earth kind of way.

I can't understand why some people treat this series only as a funny example of a low-budget TV series. For me, it was a very remarkable experience as a kid, and I still think that the acting is superior, compared to the Peter Jackson films, for example. You can see the difference especially between Taneli Mäkelä and Elijah Wood.

I mean, you can always go listing the errors like Boromir's outfit (which is, in my opinion, merely an interesting viewpoint, not an error) or Elrond's beard or whatever, but it has no point. What's important is the overall feeling, not some individual flaws.

Some people have also criticized the fact that the series doesn't actually show what happens in Gondor and Rohan, but only mentions them. I think it was actually a very good choice to concentrate on Frodo's journey. It would have taken a double amount of parts and a double amount of cash to do all that. I also think that it's not necessary to include the whole book - I mean, this is just an adaptation, and adaptations should choose their viewpoint. I think this was just the reason why Jackson's films didn't succeed so well; they lacked viewpoint and tried to tell everything. As a result, they just ended up with three films that jump from one place to another without having time to create any atmosphere in spite of all the stunning scenery, makeup and costumes. This is, of course, only my opinion, and I know may will disagree. Maybe it's also about the fact that I have always been more keen on slow expression and philosophical dialogue on films than action, and this is just the thing that you can find in the "Hobitit"-series.

Overall, the series is not perfect, but it is an interesting different adaptation of the book. I give it 8/10.