The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)

The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 American animated fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi. It is an adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy epic novel of the same name, comprising The Fellowship of the Ring and some material from both books of The Two Towers. Set in Middle-earth, the film follows a group of Hobbits, Men, an Elf, a Dwarf and a Wizard who form a fellowship. They embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring made by the Dark Lord Sauron; he has put much of his power into the Ring, and with it would control the whole of Middle-earth, but if it were destroyed, he would perish with it.
Bakshi encountered Tolkien's writing early in his career. He had made several attempts to produce The Lord of the Rings as an animated film before producer Saul Zaentz and distributor United Artists provided funding. The film is notable for its extensive use of rotoscoping, a technique in which scenes are first shot in live-action, then traced onto animation cels. It uses a hybrid of traditional cel animation and rotoscoped live action footage. The film features the voices of William Squire, John Hurt, Michael Graham Cox, and Anthony Daniels. The screenplay was written by Peter S. Beagle, based on an earlier draft by Chris Conkling.
Although Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings was a financial success, it received mixed reactions from critics, and hostility from disappointed viewers who felt that it was incomplete; there was no official sequel to cover the remainder of the story. Nonetheless, the film was an influence on Peter Jackson's trilogy in the early 2000s, as detailed in the DVD extras of The Fellowship of the Ring.
Category:Films