Product: The Hobbit [VHS] (1977)
Rating: 5.0
Fantastic! start to finish.
I love everything about this movie. I was a fan of the book before I saw the movie on TV. I was a rabid fan and therefore difficult to satisfy. Rankin/Bass pulled off a wonderful adaptation of a wonderful book.I think the screenplay choices were great (good choices of what to leave out, what to emphasize, etc), although I personally wish they had gone ahead and made it longer to include more (especially the meeting with Beorn).What I love best about how Rankin/Bass did the movie was the overall style. It is relatively simple, but it very nicely captures the feel of the book. The characters look like they should look; they sound like they should sound. I was especially pleased with the Goblins.The acting (and choices of actors for the characters) was superb. John Huston is totally awesome. He IS Gandalf. Absolutely perfect. He manages the arrogance and pride right alongside the gentleness and genuine affection for Bilbo and the dwarves. John Huston hits every mark just right. Richard Boone is fantastic as Smaug -- aggressive, arrogant, scary. Hans Conreid imbues Thorin with a lot of color and style; he does an excellent job. Orson Bean manages to convey Bilbo's trembling advance toward courage and his sense of whimsy even in dangerous times. The rest of the actors also do a wonderful job of bringing all of these characters to life.And I love the music. Instrumentally simple, it captures the fantasy setting far better than the overwrought, full symphony music most fantasy films seem to favor. I am especially fond of the Goblins' songs, "Fifteen Birds" in particular.I've watched The Hobbit more than a hundred times, and I absolutely love it every single time. I know every word and every note, and relish them every time.