Product: The Hobbit [VHS] (1977)
Rating: 3.0
It had potential, but...
I was already a Tolkien vet by the time I actually sat down and saw this movie. To say that I didn't like it would not be entirely true. Even today I fish it out and watch it from time to time. Unfortunately, you almost have to not have read the books to really enjoy it. Either that or you have to be younger than...let's say my age (twenty-two). This is because the film is very short. It's also animated, but there are lots of animated films and TV shows you can enjoy no matter what, so that's not my main gripe. There are a few problems I found with this movie. First, the actors. Yeah, they were good, but they just didn't sit right in my mind. Bilbo, for instance (played by Orson Bean), always seemed to me like he'd have an Irish accent or something. Gandalf always struck me as a British guy, while I always pictured the dwarves as Scottsman. Even their name sounds scottish, ya know, Dwarf.Actually, the thing that really gripes me is the fact that there were quite a lot of key scenes that were not included in the movie I.E. the company's meeting with Beorn and Bombur's little swim in the enchanted stream. The soundtrack was Ok as well, but not the best. The best part of that aspect of the film was that the singers for the songs did a good job. My favorites were Bilbo's song (this was actually at the end of the book), the Goblins' song and the song of the people of Esgaroth. Even with its flaws though, it's still worth a few hours of your time now and then. Just don't expect anything too grand.