The Lord of the Rings (1978 film): Difference between revisions

| music=Leonard Rosenman

}}'''''J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings''''' is an animated film directed by [[Ralph Bakshi]], and released to theaters in 1978.  It was an adaptation of the first half of [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. Bakshi's most ambitious effort (and his most famous after his animated adaptation of the underground comic ''Fritz the Cat''), the film was produced by [[Saul Zaentz]]'s Fantasy Films, and distributed to theaters by United Artists.

 

The Ring, meanwhile, was found by two friends. One of them, [[Sméagol]], was so enticed by the Ring's power that he killed his friend [[Déagol]] to get it. Sméagol possessed the Ring for hundreds of years, during which it warped him into a twisted, gurgling wretch known only as Gollum, until his "Precious" was discovered (some might say stolen) by the hobbit [[Bilbo Baggins]].  

Gandalf realizes that the "magic" ring is in fact the One Ring forged by Sauron, the evil lord. He knows the Shire is in danger - soon Sauron will learn that the Ring is in the possession of a Baggins and send his "wraiths" after him. Heeding Gandalf's advice, Frodo leaves his home, taking the Ring with him. He hopes to reach [[Rivendell]], where he will be safe from Sauron, and where those wiser than he can decide what to do about the Ring.  In his journey, he is accompanied by three hobbit friends, [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]], [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]], and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]]. From the start, they are pursued by Black Riders (Sauron's Ringwraiths or Nazgûl). Narrowly escaping these and other dangers and meeting other interesting characters en route, they eventually come to [[Bree]], where they meet [[Aragorn|Strider]] (who ultimately reveals himself to be Aragorn, heir to the Throne of [[Gondor]]), another friend of Gandalf who leads them the rest of the way to Rivendell through further hardships. Frodo is stabbed upon the mountain of [[Weathertop]] by the [[Witch-king|chief of the Nazgûl]], with a "[[Morgul blades|Morgul blade]]" — as part of the knife stays inside him, he gets sicker on the rest of the journey.

| [[John A. Neris]] || [[Gandalf]] (character actor)

# "[[Bilbo's Farewell]]" (2:05)

# "[[Frodo's Quest]]" (6:24)

# "[[Saruman's Sorcery]]" (2:43)

# "[[Sinister Horseman]]" (4:19)

# "[[Inn at Bree]]" (3:52)

# "[[Aragorn's Vow]]" (3:54)

# "[[Black Riders Invade]]" (2:50)

# "[[Rider Swordsman]]" (4:19)

# "[[Cornered]]" (5:59)

# "[[Wall of Water]]" (2:39)

# "[[Gandalf's Update]]" (2:51)

# "[[Council of Elrond (scene)|Council of Elrond]]" (4:39)

# "[[Frodo's Quest Renewed]]" (2:19)

# "[[Change in Route]]" (2:40)

# "[[Grabbed at the Gateway]]" (2:44)

# "[[Inside the Mine]]" (3:04)

# "[[Under Siege]]" (3:51)

# "[[Balrog Strikes]]" (0:39)

# "[[Galadriel's Test]]" (3:05)

# "[[Borimir's Madness]]" ''(sic)'' (4:21)

# "[[Whiteskins Attack]]" (4:55)

# "[[The Gollum]]" (1:36)

# "[[Escape in Mid-battle]]" (4:38)

# "[[Treebeard (1978 scene)|Treebeard]]" (3:24)

# "[[Back from the Abyss]]" (1:55)

# "[[Théoden of Rohan]]" (3:48)

# "[[Gollum Gets Touchy]]" (4:57)

# "[[The Orcs Advance]]" (4:42)

# "[[Cave Retreat]]" (4:36)

# "[[Two Weary Hobbits]]" (2:50)

# "[[Outnumbered]]" (2:05)

# "[[Gandalf Triumphant]]" (3:19)

* [[Arwen]] does not appear, nor is she mentioned.

Much of the film used live-action footage which was then rotoscoped to produce an animated look [http://www.ralphbakshi.com/biography/images/38.html] [http://www.ralphbakshi.com/biography/images/39.html]. This saved production costs and arguably gave the animated characters a more realistic look. For the live-action portion of the production, Bakshi and his cast and crew arrived in Spain where the rotoscope models acted out their parts in costume. The actions of [[Bilbo Baggins]] and [[Samwise Gamgee]] were performed by [[Billy Barty]]. [[Sharon Baird]] performed the part of [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] and [[John A. Neris]] was Gandalf[http://books.google.com/books?id=fTI1yeZd-tkC&pg=PA154&lpg=PA154&dq=%22aesop+aquarian%22+%22billy+barty%22+%22sharon+baird%22&source=web&ots=C5jvDP0VA9&sig=_W2bXiWtu0mfcOJYZOxMBjapJR8&hl=nl&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result].