The Lord of the Rings (DVD)
Produced by Saul Zaentz
Directed by Ralph Bakshi
Publisher: Warner Home Video, $19.98
The Lord of the Rings animated film was originally released in 1978. At the time, it failed in the theaters, due to various reasons. Warner Brothers recently has resurrected this classic and re-released it on both VHS and DVD (my preferred format).
Having been a fan of Ralph Bakshi for years (through such films as “Fire and Ice” and “Wizards”), I found his interpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s world wonderful to behold. The animation, done with the help of roto-scoping (using live film for basis of the animation) is just marvelous to see, and brings forth realism within the movie. It’s a style that Bakshi has used to bring the characters to life in his other animation projects.
The main characters, such as Frodo, Gandalf and such, are done mostly in a traditional and rather well-done animation style. The creatures of Sauron, such as the Nazgul and orcs, are done in a strange blend of live film and animation. I found that this made the villains more distinguishable and menacing. However, a few of my friends have mentioned that this is what they didn’t like about this animated feature. Each to their own, I guess. You’ll either like this animation style or hate it.
Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings film follows the books (“Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers”) fairly well, but does cut quite a bit of it out. Many people have complained that Bakshi cut critical parts of the Trilogy out, such as many of the Nazgul encounters outside the Shire, the encounter in the Barrow Mound, and many other such things (my personal gripe being the little-used material about Tree Beard during the last parts of the film).
However, what Bakshi left in the movie is very close to if not exactly as portrayed in the books. This point came across even more vividly when I saw the previews for the upcoming “Fellowship” movie, which is coming in December 2001. There were a few clips in the previews that were not as they were presented in Tolkien’s books, however these were correct in Bakshi’s movie. (Note that this is not a cut on the new films, just an observation - we’ll have to see how the new films turn out when they are released.)
On its own, this film stands out as a triumph of animation, and as a unique fantasy film. Anyone who enjoys tales of adventure will admire the action within. The only major complaint I have against it, of course, is that the movie never truly had a sequel, other than the made for TV ‘Return of the King,” which was done on a much less grand scale.
One thing that I noticed in this DVD that differed from the original VHS tape came at the end of the movie: they modified the final wording at the film’s conclusion. What is said now connects the movie more closely with the “Return of the King’ cartoon, along with being more audible. It also helps complete the film, instead of just having it abruptly end as the original did (unfortunately).
Suffice it to say that I found what material Bakshi included in the Lord of the Rings animated film to be simply thrilling. If you’re a fan of the book series, you owe it to yourself to get this movie.
(review (c) December 2001 / David Flemming)