Product: The Hobbit [VHS] (1977)
Rating: 2.0
Watchable, but only barely, for $10
First, let me specify that this review is for the DVD release from Movies on Parade, and not based on the original content, which we fondly remember.As others have indicated, this is a pretty lousy transfer to DVD. The print is so dark in some nighttime or cave scenes that the action can barely be discerned on screen. There were a few spots where the DVD hiccupped or skipped, and the overall quality of the transfer is relatively poor. Also, there are a lot of sounds that are simply missing from the transfer. Maybe it's the best they could locate?It is poor enough that about five minutes into watching it, my friend and I both said "This looks like a bootleg...but Amazon sold it, so it can't be a bootleg, right?"That being said, it IS watchable, and if you aren't tooo particular about the film you'll enjoy reliving those old memories; we did. I don't regret the purchase for a mere $10, but I truly wonder if a better, more complete version couldn't be produced by SOMEONE if a better master print could be obtained. I'd pay for it.As a side note, I re-read the original novel just after seeing the recently released Peter Jackson film, and then picked this up. It's a bit odd that, while only three of Thorin's company die in the novel, about half of the dwarves are killed in THIS animated childrens' version. Seemed like a bit of overkill....