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 | Hobbit | Journey | Middle Earth | Quest

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)
El señor de los anillos (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Der Herr der Ringe (West Germany) [de]
Il signore degli anelli (Italy) [it]
J.R.R. Tolkiens Der Herr der Ringe (West Germany) (complete title) [de]
Le seigneur des anneaux (France) [fr]
O Senhor dos Anéis (Brazil) [pt]
O arhontas ton daktylidion (Greece) [el]
Ringenes herre (Denmark) [da]
Sagan om ringen (Sweden) [sv]
Taru sormusten herrasta (Finland) [fi]

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:

During the battle of Helm's Deep, a song with non-English lyrics is heard on the soundtrack. The words Isengard and Mordor can be clearly discerned. The song is not in any of Tolkien's invented languages, instead composer Leonard Rosenman had his choir sing nonsense lyrics to get the desired effect. According to the liner notes of the CD soundtrack, part of the lyrics also include the composer's name backwards.

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:

Pippin: [after Gandalf has read the dwarves' book in moria]
[panicked]
Pippin: Gandalf, I don't want to stay here!
Gandalf: [soothingly] We're going now, Pippin.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Enteng Kabisote: Okay ka fairy, the legend (2004)

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).