Review of The Lord of the Rings (1978) by Jeb N — 28 Sep 2010

Long before New Zealand director Peter Jackson swept us away to Middle-Earth...Palestinian born animator Ralph Bakshi attempted to bring three of JRR Tolkien's epic fantasy novels to the big screen in the late seventies.

For Bakshi, adapting one of the greatest fantasy works of all time was a daunting task...but he and his animation staff were determined and so bravely forged ahead. During the course of the production however, Bakshi and producer Saul Zaentz suddenly found themselves way over budget and rapidly running out of money.

In an effort to cut costs (and make the film's release date) it was decided that only two books would be adapted. This turned out to be a huge mistake. A mistake that was subsequently confirmed by the film's disasterous box-office earnings after it was released.

The movie, complete with it's abrupt ending, was a dissmal failure...one that ultimately ended Bakshi and Zaentz' movie-making partnership forever. Unfortunately, an abrupt ending isn't the only problem this movie has.

Bad dialogue (despite a stellar voice cast) and horribly coloured/ inconsistent animation prevented this film from becoming the masterpiece Bakshi had originally envisioned. Still, it's worth seeing once.

..if you can find it, as it is extremely rare. The Lord of the Rings was later followed by Bakshi's superior animated sword and sorcery epic 'Fire and Ice' (1982) this one is also well worth a look if you can locate it.