Lord of the Rings [1978] - Beginning

intro

[@FlagtopProductions]

The opening sequence all done using silhouetted figures which, I would imagine, saved a SHITLOAD of animation time.

[@blossomingbeelzebub]

I dont even think they animated this sequence, its just silhouetted live action. The rest of the film being rotoscoped, was probably very taxing on the animators since they had to make sure the lines didnt boil from frame to frame

[@psyberplaylist4688]

Rotoscoped was way better then the other animated versions I think.
The did some rotoscoped work in Heavy Metal as well, I love that type of animation fusion.

[@mckenzie.latham91]

it also has a neat ascetic

[@limpbrisket6851]

The silhouette of Gollum and deagol was haunting as a child

[@MaxxyBee]

its much less of an animation timesave than it is an artistic decision, one you can see in other bakshi films

[@TheConfederateBoy]

I still think the orcs in this movie are the creepiest, scariest motherfucking orcs ever

[@Shagrat65]

+TheConfederateBoy I always thought Narzug in Desolation of Smaug was an ode to the Bakshi Orcs who I love and like you always found creepy.

[@carbootstudios2459]

+Shagrat65 Good point, now that I think about it.

[@KilVall]

Yeah, those apish ones with no lips get me especially.

[@spyrofan9681]

Ugh me too

[@SwfanredLotr]

They marked an important part of my childhood indeed!

[@BauthorFowler]

Peter Jackson said in an interview this movie was his first exposure to Lord of the Rings. And of course the scene where the ringwraiths break into the prancing pony and attack the Hobbits... only to find out they got away was also taken from this version.
For better or worse, this version did have at least some effect on how the trilogy was made.

[@greenkidd529]

mgPlayer
It;s called adapting not copying kid.
they both are adapting what the book describes

[@toxicitzi357]

greenkidd529 so, what?. each director's idea of how to adapt a story from a book to movie is going to come off different.

[@KiljiArslan]

AlfaCromagnon Yeah the only people bitching here are so called tolkien purists.

[@wesorth4417]

***** I'd like to think of myself as a purist. But I also realize there are certain things people can do in allotted time. (Which is why I have extended editions of the movies. Over all I'm satisfied with LotR.) The Hobbit movies is a little much for me. I think they added a bit too much to them.

[@KilVall]

The two clearest homages I can think of in Jackson's were the hobbits under the roots hiding and the wraiths appearing in the room in Bree. Any others I've missed?

[@Rossion64]

'Terrible shadows under His Great Shadow'.....wonderful line. It does sound like Alec Guinness

[@robertisham5279]

I think it was him

[@oi6915]

The narrator was Gandalfs voice actor, William Squire

[@mnomadvfx]

@@robertisham5279 The only actor anyone would easily recognise in this film was John Hurt as Aragorn/Strider.

[@kuribayashi84]

And maybe Anthony Daniels, who played Legolas.

[@ezrastardust3124]

I get goosebumps every time I hear it
That delivery was spot on

[@Eddierangers1989]

What a scary opening. The way it looks. The red background with the silhouettes

[@lanebatts26]

this def was a dark animated movie... thats for sure. mood... blood...

[@Tyronexl1998]

Early live action version before Peter Jackson

[@blueshit199]

it reminds me of the opening to Dracula

[@Snagprophet]

I think it was artistic for Peter Jackson to leave out Smeagol killing Deagol until the final film because we're supposed to think he's redeamable in Two Towers when really he isn't, so in Return of the King it works better to how us it then.

[@SolusBatty]

+Snag Prophet You are right, and yet he was redeemable, the scene "go away and never come back" trumps his distant past, as Smeagol saw in Frodo a chance to be free of Golum. Unfortunately it was a fragile state of mind and Frodo's benevolant lies were the end of it.

[@Snagprophet]

UchihaDualStorm It's kind of like having a really nice character and then you learn their backstory where they've murdered someone, it would ruin it if you knew their past before the reveal (although it's not really revealed to Frodo but it is to the audience).
"and yet he was redeemable"
He was, but I think in films a character becomes irredeemable if they do certain things within the context of the text. For instance, Darth Vader doesn't kill anyone in Return of the Jedi prior to the climax so we're supposed to warm to him, as we are to feel sorry for Smeagol in The Two Towers, however they show us in Return of the King that he killed someone and it sets the tone for the character as well as the darker theme for the film. We aren't supposed to like Gollum in Return of the King. If we were and if Gollum happened to be redeamed they would've done it the other way round, show him murdering someone for the ring in Two Towers then in Return of the King, show a flashback of him being really kind to someone which would then set the tone for the character being a good guy and would make us like him.

[@SolusBatty]

***** Im just back from a LotR marathon. I'll keep this short. You are correct about the presentation through the trilogy, however i was speaking from a perspective of someone who has seen the movies many times, not for the first. And i still find the Faramir Forbiden Pool scene heart wrenching, as i do believe him reedemable up till that point. To be eligible(!) for redemption you must first, for example, murder, so i dont think that makes him irredeemable.

[@crabbyoldgamer3028]

It's sloppy story telling. Jackson is in love with flashbacks.

[@carnsolus]

him having murdered his friend doesnt make him irredeemable, i mean i'd murder all my friends for the one ring

[@jakelegitful]

Always thought this opening sequence was the most compelling part of this adaptation. Love the silhouette approach, very eerie.

[@LunchSays]

lived through the 70's. there was no money knocking around. You had to be creative. Look at the best bands, Music videos and film for reference.

[@HunterZolomon]

I love the theatre like shadow play. So simple, yet with good narration incredibly effective at making your imagination run wild.

[@bullseyecello]

This set up of silhouettes as the opening is almost theatrical I love it

[@Rick-Raven]

"As the last alliance of men and Elves fell beneath his power, he did not notice the heroic shadow who slipped in."
I love that part

[@MrImastinker]

It's still pretty weird of a detail to display.
Like... Sauron was on the run when he made his stand against the Last Alliance. Even the Jackson trilogy depicted the Alliance as having the upper hand until he stepped out and started wrecking shop.

[@andrewellis780]

I love this film, I live how the mood is so menacing and the voiceover has that feeling of weariness and resignation

[@Fredcool1994]

The way Gollum runs toward us used to scare the shit out of me when I was a kid 😐
His hair , his hands and his voice are so eary 😳

[@Checkmate1138]

But he sounds like a perverted Creole sounding old man, lol

[@silverlocket3760]

As a kid for some reason, I thought his big hand's were crab claws. 🤨

[@twinkthatloveslotrtrilogy7676]

Its still creepy

[@Shadowkey392]

You've got to admire the use of live action in this movie. Very cleverly done.

[@waldoman7]

Brilliant concept, tricky to pull off right...and they totally failed harder than is easy to do. Like, when the 3 elf kings hold the rings up, they aren't even acting. It's not three lords majestically raising their hands, it's just three dudes handed some props and told "hey hold this in the air when I shout now"
You could have invented a great animation assistance technique, if the first effort wasn't a legendary failure

[@TheSaneHatter]

I saw this at 10 years old: part of me still refers back to it, in my mind, when I read the story of the Ring.

[@craigstark8866]

Yep me too and whole of our primary school year 1978

[@WilfredIvanhoe]

Same here. This film urged me to read the book because I wanted to know the rest of the story.

[@bartsimpson83]

Me too! My uncle was a huge fan of Tolkien's work and he introduced me to it via this film when I was ten as well. I love Peter Jackson's version but when someone says "Lord of the Rings", this is the film I think of first.

[@tense99]

This does the first few chapters better than Jackson's film. Although it's very annotated, it captures the feeling much better. Frodos fireside chat with Gandalf from Shadows of the Past and the start of Frodos journey etc. Jackson's version of the first few chapters were a mixed bag. The rider being distracted by a bag of mushrooms so they could have a chase scene..ludicrous and it destroyed the pacing that Tolkien intended for that part of the story .

[@Grimfaxe]

This opening is burned into my brain, it is so good!

[@aggerskrtel]

OMG I love this version used to watch it so much as a kid - the soundtrack is so good, and the unique animation! so so good its a real shame they never did the 2nd half

[@AndyP998]

Dont forget voice actors, they were all brilliant. Even better than most in Peter Jacksons movies

[@jhonnymark7581]

After discovering this movie, the animation is so good, that it has realistic texture.

[@AmaraChanTV]

That is because Bakshi used the rotoscoping technique. Most of what you see here isn't animation, just live action footage fitted over an animated background.

[@DarthRushy]

It's films like Lord of the Rings and the Secret of NIMH that really show how awesome animation can be.

[@napoleoncomplex2712]

As someone who watched Peter Jackson's films, I've got to say this looks awesome. Doesn't that intro make you think this is a world you want to spend some time in? To learn about? The introduction of the Nazgul alone is exciting.
I think part of what I like about these old films is that there's less mucking around with dramatic pauses and slow mo effects. It gets straight to the point; things like combat or conversation is direct and to the point, and feels authentic for it. That's not to say I don't like a good superhero smack down now and then, but these old films also have something to them which I feel is lost in later movies.

[@RK-zf1jm]

Its a very good version and shows the balrock in the mines of muira its also the clip they used covince sean bean to play boromir as originally he was up for the role of Arragorn and was going to pull out of the film when they cast vigo mortesen

[@Arander92]

You must be on crack

[@coletrain583]

Actually by then, I really thought even in this, Gollum was beyond the point of redemption after killing Déagol. Using the ring for theving just added insult to injury. Gollum/Smeagol was just not a very good person.

[@meanolduncleeli904]

No… It looks pretty bad.

[@killer2miller23]

Hasn't everyone watched peter Jackson's films?

[@awfulfawful661]

3:58
You can just feel the pure RAGE emanating from his voice. BEST ACTING 2012 OSCAR

[@ethanlaborde]

The narrator sounds a lot like Tolkien. Having come across a sound clip from this somewhere else without knowing where it came from, I thought it *was* Tolkien at first.

[@Bauglir100]

He was dead for five years when this movie came out.

[@satanbrony9235]

Not really, Tolkien's manner of speech is neither as good nor as clear to most people. That is what I got from reading the comments, that they could barely understand him (the interviewer was asking him about the presence of God in the world of Middle Earth/Lord of The Rings.)
There don't seem to be comments complaining about it :)
But in all seriousness the voice is too wise.

[@heyitsmetrousers4399]

Sounds like Alec Guinness

[@mrstephenpariah]

@@heyitsmetrousers4399 It's Richard Burton.

[@Shagrat65]

The prologue is fantastic. I love it and always will. Simple yet perfect imo. I was brought up on this as a kid which to a degree explains my love for it. The score is beautiful as well. Yeah its got its faults but the good far outweighs the bad.

[@kingdavid1226]

I watched this movie when it first came out at the age of 7, blew my mind. The book is amazing.

[@rainmancw9022]

I remember a fews guys coming to our elementary school in W Va and gathering a few classes together to show us this movie. They had said they had been involved in it's making and were out getting opinions from audiences. I was captivated and have loved this genre since

[@RavensbladeDX]

It's interesting how this movie is either loved or hated.

[@death-king1834]

I'm very mixed on it. While I still prefer Jackson's movies. There are some things I can admire about Bakshi's film. Such as John Hurt as Aragorn, William Squire as Gandalf and having a stronger Frodo as well as Leonard Rosenman's score. I find the animation very dated and overall Bakshi's version of Middle-earth I find to be visually unappealing. Maybe if given a better budget he could have done more but alas.

[@Valtamerisielu]

Bits of narration used in Nightwish's song, Elvenpath. Finally I've found this.

[@carbootstudios2459]

+Liquaza Yeah, talk about audio-borrowing.

[@godzilla964]

@@carbootstudios2459It’s called sampling.

[@anonb4632]

I saw this in the early eighties and it's stuck with me ever since. Very well done.

[@ravenhill_firelord_1968]

this adaptation from 1978, was sheer brilliance for it's time.

[@oz_jones]

Bakshi was a master of his craft.

[@rockylopez7846]

Up to this day, Lord of the Rings is still one of the best Ralph Bakshi films ever made!📽️📽️

[@satanbrony9235]

He loved the book as a kid.

[@chittys]

i remember watching this around xmas holidays when i was 8 yrs old,it is a brilliant movie

[@MrAwsomeness360]

I kinda like this depiction of Sauron better simply because you never see him and is kept in silhouette.

[@elrond3737]

This movie has some really good stuff and some really bad stuff. It kinda seems like they ran our of money after Moria and just winged it. The whole Rohan sequence is terrible.

[@silencefilms7668]

that's pretty much what happened. this film was underbudget and the studio really only gave them half the time and money that they needed. so they pulled very shoddy stuff to make it at least somewhat acceptable

[@nate-otero]

It’s kind of a shame they never finished it despite it being the lesser version of lord of the rings

[@codafett]

Agreed, you can tell they ran out of money because The Two Towers took place within like 30 minutes.

[@BlankRami]

The creators had the passion but not the money. The company had the money but not enough passion to give them the Money

[@user-xx6vy9ri8p]

@@nate-otero They filmed Return of the King in 90s...

[@FlyingAce1016]

Love how nightwishs elvenpath uses this!

[@scms2528]

This is a good version. I don't think it's great, but it is still a respectable adaptation. With a limited budget and no one else to base his work off of, Ralph Bakshi did a commendable job.

[@johnbooker1944]

+Jake Tibbs It makes you wonder what he could have produced if given the budget and power to adapt the three books separately.

[@darthsauron8052]

1:01
"But then the Dark Lord learned the craft of Ring-Making."
me: Hold on, Wasn't said Dark Lord the one to _teach_ Ring Crafting to the elves of Eregion in the first place?!

[@VelvetMagician]

Yeah

[@imdone439]

yup

[@silvijakucej3696]

Yes,that is a bad mistake on the lore

[@JohnMoore-qv4vn]

NO.

[@BigHeadClan]

Think so but rule of cool applied and it's a badass line.
Edit: Also this is narrated from Gandalf's perspective so one could argue its a case of an unreliable narrator.

[@elliottharris5463]

This opening has stuck in my mind for YEARS

[@R2green3]

I remember watching this when I was little

[@chadlexmark4595]

So, the whole movie is in red?

[@claydecker1454]

+Chad Lexmark no

[@JoaqMan]

Based on his movies I have a strong feeling Ralph Bakshi is fucking insane

[@KronnangDunn]

+J Wizard Phoenix Sometimes really smart people may seem insane to not-so-smart people.

[@JoaqMan]

+KronnangDunn Are you implying I'm stupid?

[@bastardbenn4903]

+Joaq Wizard Phoenix Maybe Bakshi's version is best seen being stoned.

[@Mellowcanuck33]

+Joaq Wizard Phoenix Beautifully insane.

[@benemlaw6428]

You would be right sir.

[@goodstuff8156]

I love this whole sequence

[@dorisdaumann5914]

This was one of the first movies I saw in the cinema when I was a teenager . Our English teacher invited us - we attended a special course about the Lord of the Rings - I still love the books in English and German . When my children were old enough I first showed them this movie and later we went to the cinema to watch the epic movies of Peter Jackson ...
These animation movie is interesting also , because the scenes they filmed with humans first and animated them later is rather unique ...
I will stay a fan of all the LOTR themes forever ... Of course of the music, too !!!

[@bryantjudoman]

I found that this movie did a far better job of capturing the feeling and mood of the book. Which is a masterpiece

[@DaveFisher-cq2dr]

if J.R.R. Tolkien had lived for just 5 more years, he would have lived to see this

[@fuferito]

Bakshi's influence on Peter Jackson's version, especially in the beginning tableaus cannot be denied.
Jackson even says in an interview that the first time he read The Lord of the Rings it was the paperback with Bakshi's Dark Riders from the movie, which is the very one I read for my first time.
After the Prancing Pony, the movie runs out of money, and it shows, and is unwatchable.

[@internetenjoyer1044]

nah the ringwraith scenes and orc scenes are great, although i agree the film just gets worse and worse. It's such a shame. You can see the artistic vision of Bakshi come through so much, no adaption has done as well the things that this film does right.

[@oi6915]

I think this film would have suffered less if it was just Fellowship, that part of the film is like 1 hour and 25 minutes long, already the length of an average animated film, fill the blanks like the shire or the journey to Lorien and you've a really good film based off Fellowship

[@fuferito]

@@oi6915,
Totally agree. If Bakshi had released it as Fellowship only, and done it right, the positive response and good box office returns would have funded the rest, for sure.

[@saberhamlinconmaverickknud4821]

fuferito That is because you love the trash CGI that Jackson and the filmmakers put in with its hacking and slashing, and its re-written history. You useful idiots with the average IQ at 85 would rather watch that then the actual story and gorgeous character development.

[@AmirHaghanian]

@@saberhamlinconmaverickknud4821 cause this is such a good animation stfu with your bs the movies are all masterpieces

[@elizabethmorrison4205]

Thanks, Love Lord of the Rings

[@elizabethmorrison4205]

Awesome movie

[@JReed1985]

From what I gather it was Sauron who knew how to forge rings and introduced ring forging to the elves. It was his plan all along to make the rings of power so he could control those who wore them and take Middle Earth without a fight.

[@nikosmj1]

Thanks father for bringing this movie to home when i was kid!!

[@music4now]

I used to watch this many times as a kid myself! What I remember quite distinctly is the image of Prince Isildur when he picks up the ring and holds it in his hand as you can see in the film.....I get the sense that looking at his figure (perhaps silhouette-like) and his posture he seems fairly gentle and sensitive which is how I feel myself for the most part.

[@cujo9]

this was excellent back in its time, people of our generation and era are the ones who cherish it, love it.

[@10191927]

“And we wept we’s so alone. And we forgot the taste of bread, the sound of trees, and the softness of the wind. We even forgot our own name”.
- Gollum

[@revanofkorriban1505]

He said, "And we wept (He may have also said ", Precious" here)... to be so alone." Not "And we wept we's so alone."

[@13thcentury]

Bilbo was a Jawa - Utinni!

[@13thcentury]

Oh, Fuck off troll

[@13thcentury]

Bloody hell.this is hot topic

[@ArttuTheCat]

I saw this movie for the first time on VHS in march of 2001, when i loaned it from a city library. I was 17 years old - three months before i turned into 18.

[@MrDuck797]

Funny, because in the books, the Nazgûl first emerged around 2250 S.A. Not around the first 25 centuries of the Third Age

[@MrRoekkum]

This movie is much better than most would think. It's stylish, have a great atmosphere, true to the book. The only bad thing I could point out is the music in some parts (but it was typical music for the 70s movies) and the movie itself is too short.

[@wedgewoodproductions7383]

1:01 You mean the Knight Who Says "NI!"

[@TaylorZanderFrancis]

+Wedgewood Productions But when he was destroyed he became the Knight Who Says "Eki-eki-eki-eki-va-BANG-roo-BOING (mumbles)"

[@Wavemaninawe]

Wedgewood Productions
The Dark Lord Sauron made 20 magic (her)rings in a diabolical scheme to take over the world and claim all of its shrubbery for himself.

[@just-a-silly-goofy-guy]

Michael D. Kimpton time stamp?

[@Brabec95]

STOP SAYING "IT"

[@MrDuck797]

Wavemaninawe ...Sauron instructed Celebrimbor to make the Three Elven Rings and instructed other Elves to make the sixteen others. The only one he made was the One Ring. I have no idea where you got the thought he made all of them.

[@pyromania1018]

It's a shame this never got a proper sequel.

[@factoryXperimental]

What sucks was that the full version of the movie was everywhere on youtube, not so now.

[@obiwankenobi9141]

So this is what Bakshi thought when reading the book, Gollum is Doc Brown, the elves are the knights who say Ni, Sauron is a Viking, and Bilbo is a Jawa, that’s certainly not what I thought when I read the books but we all have different perspectives.

[@spencerstabio5936]

🤣

[@apocalipticdawn4209]

Don't forget that Boromir is another Viking, Aragorn a Native American Chief and Elrond a distant relative of Julius Caesar.

[@matter__matters]

Gollum is so creepy in this. Him calling the ring his birthday present gives me chills. He also does that in the books, if I remember correctly, but PJs version leaves it out, doesn't it?

[@shuukoanisong2897]

This gollum without face but long horrible fingers freaking me out

[@pspboy7]

I always had a soft spot for this film.

[@tedcantu1]

This played the same weekend Animal House opened. I remember standing in line for this... THE BEGINNING is friggen awesome

[@PatricksCrazyPlace]

I think this was the wrong time to attempt a full fledged LOTR film, animated or otherwise. It just wasn't possible to do it justice yet. They tried, but this movie is a bit of a mess.

[@spookedhorse]

NYG4LIFE123 bullshit, this is flawless & better than those crappy movies by Jackson.

[@spookedhorse]

***** right on, Kelly.

[@kristianbrandt3012]

NYG4LIFE123 I think they expected people to have already read all three books, and therefore be able to piece the big gaps together. This was not the case with Jackson's movies.

[@kristianbrandt3012]

***** Rubbish. Yes this little cartoon is great, but so are the live action movies. And the New Zealand backdrop makes them some of the prettiest movies yet made. You're letting nostalgia dictate your judgement. The ring is treturous and its hold of you is tight. Stray but a little and all is lost.

[@kristianbrandt3012]

***** Yeah but as I said, this movie was made for people who'd already read te book.

[@awreckingball]

Great intro and soundtrack. Far more imaginative than that awful Hollywood version.

[@TheDaveBarronBand]

it was fantastic. i saw it about 5 times and was always frantically looking for the sequel which sadly never came!

[@MrTanuki11]

I watched this as a kid...it scared the shit out of me...then I found the books. Great childhood memories

[@ravenhill_firelord_1968]

i have many dvds of this great adaptation now, unfortunately lost my vhs copy.

[@stevie_ily]

This in my opinion is one of the places where where Peter Jackson went wrong.
In Jackson's LOTR they show sauron as a giant spiky suit of armor, there's no mystique or brooding intimidation. He just looks like the cover to Sabaton's Attero Dominatus.
While here he's shrouded in darkness and all you can see is the power he wields through influencing others to kill.

[@jw8395]

+Demitrium Doug Walker agrees with you. And so do I. I love the Jackson movies, but Sauron was too overblown. This film did a much better job at handling Sauron.

[@stevie_ily]

Cheapsunglasses all hail nostalgia critic, king of reviewing horrible movies!

[@stevie_ily]

+ComputerGamerify there are images of sauron outside of his death metal costume. A pale face with burning eyes and long black hair. If sauron were to fight at all, I would think that he would stand in the far back, calculating everything and manipulating the battle through his sheer dark power.

[@crabbyoldgamer3028]

When he lost the ring, Sauron was reduced to a shadow. But when he had the ring, he was a mighty, god like being.

[@Danlovar]

I think Jackson did a good job. Yes, he showed a spiky suit of armor, but you can feel an evil spirit inside.

[@Trendle222]

omg I love this intro, its so sinister and spooky,VERY well made for42 freakin years ago, damn

[@GreatBritishBeans]

i used to watch this as a kid and it scared the shit out of me, still does

[@Boots43096]

LOL it sounds more like a parody than an actual, serious adaption. I mean gollums voice and reaction when bilbo takes his ring is too funny XD

[@warbossgrotsmasha23]

this is by far superior to what amazon is doing, why? because it stays true to the lore

[@jackhummer8344]

No, it doesn't. It implies that Sauron learned the craft of ring-making from the elf smiths rather than the elf smiths learning from him. It also has Sauron turning the nine kings of men into his Black Riders after he lost the One Ring rather than before. So no, this is not accurate to the lore. Amazon is actually probably going to be more accurate in this regard.

[@sunseraph1919]

This is giving me flashbacks of the Nightwish song “Elvenpath”.

[@Ananse15]

I remember this giving me nightmares as kid .....
......good times

[@OneEyedKeys]

Less tech, but better storytelling and more adherence to the spirit of the book than Jackson's version.

[@fyreda2572]

bold statement

[@Beautifullytragic6]

I can't say I share this opinion......

[@ruispuuro]

This movie (back in the day) left me with the feeling that one day i will read the Lord of the RIngs. Peter Jackson's movies did not raise the same strong curiosity towards the books. I liked Peter Jackson's movies and i did eventually read the books and i really like them, but somehow i respect this movie more.

[@toxicitzi357]

most people would disagree, mostly because they're pretty brainless twats.
The way I see what you said, it makes sense, the PJ version is very bombastic and action packed with little to almost no atmosphere, it wasn't void of it, but it didn't have that much to offer, where as with Ralph Bakshi's movie, you only need mention the way the Ring Wraiths were presented to get your point across.

[@majormoe3678]

toxic Itzi Though the LOTR look pretty decent compared those damn Hobbit movies...

[@toxicitzi357]

Major Moe you mean this Ralph Bakshi one, compared to the prequel saga going on now?

[@carbootstudios2459]

+toxic Itzi Even though those black riders did act over-the-top at times in the Bakshi version.

[@toxicitzi357]

Henry Stanley I can forgive some mediocrity, especially when you get the other moments when they remove their hoods and act the most badass out of any version of them anywhere.

[@AroAceGamer]

The Dark Lord learned the art...? He TAUGHT the art!

[@zmani4379]

I've been a big fan of this film since it first came out - and, tho I love the Jackson version, it's only now occurred to me how Jackson's own virtuoso prologue follows Bakshi's very closely - and these prologues are not in the books - Bakshi deserves more credit for showing how these magesterial books could be compressed into film - I spent half my adolescence pining for a Bakshi sequel, so thanks to Jackson for finally filling that void, and so gloriously -

[@johnaybier418]

looks like the menu theme of Rome Total War

[@ziounford]

John Aybier lmao or Attila

[@sockfourpoint0]

01:28: Ouch..! You hurt my widdle hand..!

[@SrhKane]

The truly amazing opening sequence to the animated 1978 film The Lord of the Rings opening sequence from a live action movie trilogy series based off on the same plot.

[@MrRoekkum]

Well, Sauron came back in a material form, he wasn't just a "spirit". In the Hobbit he is mentioned as the Necromancer, a dark lord who lived in Mirkwood.

[@rickdeckard2622]

I like this version more, than Peter Jacksons trilogy.

[@jakemcd4265]

No you don't, nobody does

[@jondoe7036]

@@jakemcd4265 lol

[@corpsebrigadepowerhouse993]

While the intro here I would say is a bit more mysterious than Jackson’s, the unfortunately low budget and effects prevent me from actually taking the scene seriously. With Jackson you feel the scope and seriousness of everything happening, the grand armies, the life or death conflict, the horrible monsters and Sauron’s dominating presence all help to give the viewer the scope of the series epic ness as well as the threat Sauron poses and it feels as real as a movie can be. While it isn’t their fault their budget was so low when I watch this I just see people standing around in costumes and it doesn’t feel as real. Along with that, the dialogue for the intro doesn’t feel as well written or performed as well as Galadriel’s intro voice over to Jackson’s version of the film

[@Thinkythinkerton]

I contend that Jackson’s trilogy would not have had the same, initial, “audience momentum” and as many generations looking forward to it, had it not been for this version.
In 1978, this was AS magical as anything else, moreso.

[@janoschjobstmann4588]

I remeber when I was little watching TV on a kids channel and this intro came on. I got scared and ran to my grandmother crying

[@tidusarslanian2305]

This isn't great obviously but I thought it was a good attempt and was watchable enough. I am intrigued by the rotoscoping.

[@basedcrusader8205]

Yeaaahhhhhhh no.

[@basedcrusader8205]

Tidus Arslanian Make me Trekkie.

[@basedcrusader8205]

Boss Qasim
Star Wars is superior.

[@mrblobby7864]

King Grievous I agree but u hav not answered my question. What is wrong with Trekkies?

[@basedcrusader8205]

Boss Qasim
The fact that they prefer Star Trek more then Star wars. That's what the problem is.

[@alosim1541]

In this intro they say Sméagol and Deagol are “friends” but I thought they were supposed to be brothers, hence why their names are similar

[@jondoe7036]

They are established to be cousins in the book.

[@rudmanpaul2812]

This is burnt into my mind since 8 yr old

[@GabyGibson]

One of my personal favorite films.

[@snakes3425]

One thing I would like to know is what do the Rings actually do?

[@Godunow100]

Their main purpose was to stop the flow of time and preserve things as they are. That's why Sauron (who at this time could assume beautiful physical form) convinced Elves to forge them with his help - as immortal beings they wanted their realms in Middle Earth to remain unchanged.
Of course the rings from the start were part of Sauron plan to dominate Elves - after forging the One Ring he could control lesser rings and those who used them.

[@Willickers]

The rings give their wielders power to achieve greatness, but also bend the wills of the non-elves to lust and greed. The elves who control the rings create realms of peace and beauty. Gandalf (who has an elf ring) can influence others to an uncanny degree. The dwarves with rings create untold wealth and skill but become reclusive misers. Humans carve out vast empires but become horrific warlords in the process. Elves and dwarves can sense the side effects and temper their use of the rings, but humans use the rings at every opportunity until they are completely dominated by Sauron.

[@carnsolus]

the rings would probably mess a non-immortal up regardless but the main negative effects the nine and the seven have were put there by sauron
the three dont have negatives (aside from being controlled by the master ring) as sauron never possessed them

[@mrsnufflekins3479]

They do some crazy shit.

[@juhaniaho6698]

snakes3425 Well, I read from tv tropes, that the One Ring should amplify the powers of it’s wielder, aside giving the power of invincibility. However, it varies from person to person. It does not amplify Frodo’s strength that much, but at the hands of say, Galadriel...stronger than the foundation’s of the earth, indeed.

[@Tigerman1138]

01:00
Poster for "Hamilton."

[@husband19761]

I saw this as a child and its still as amazing today ....bl@@dy love it x

[@contactlight8079]

When I was young this was all we had other than the books. It was magic.

[@WillScarlet16]

I think Bakshi understood the mystery of Middle Earth a lot better than Jackson did. Doing the opening with shadows is the perfect setup, because LOTR does take place in a pre-modern world, a world where most things are dark and unknown. Jackson himself should know, there is such a thing as too MUCH detail.

[@crabbyoldgamer3028]

Bakshi had a very low budget.

[@WillScarlet16]

I stick to my statement.

[@HZTenh17g]

Everyone has their own interpretation.
This pales to Jackson's though.

[@yousuffarah9703]

This isn't even anywhere near as good as the first LOTR movie by Jackson.

[@WillScarlet16]

I never thought Jackson's version felt mysterious enough.

[@exmcgee1647]

have the dvd , really wish they had made the sequel.

[@sethabel4315]

This movie was my favorite in the 80's.

[@Jal8919536]

Michael Graham Cox, who voices Boromir, is reprising his role here from the radio play. What's more, the actor is reuniting with his "Watership Down" co-star John Hurt, who voiced Hazel, while he was voicing Bigwig. ; )

[@mrblobby7864]

The guy sounds like Alec Guinness!

[@ethanlaborde]

Boss Qasim To me, he sounds like J.R.R. Tolkien himself.

[@mrblobby7864]

Ethan LaBorde I have never herd Tolkien speak so I wouldn't know.

[@10thnametried]

+Qasim Yusuf he was already dead by the time this was made its William Squire

[@mrblobby7864]

10thnametried But Alec Guinness died in 2000 and this was released in 1978

[@10thnametried]

+Qasim Yusuf the voice is William Squire

[@Hewylewis]

This opening seems much more epic than Jackson's version.

[@MasterJediDude]

I've never heard of any "hipsters" hyping this animated version, but I know that there are some die-hard purists who defend the animated and live-action versions. The fact is, Bakshi did the best that he could at the time and with a pitiful budget. The live-action movies did the same, but with a bigger budget, director and scope. Both are great in their own right and for the time in which they were created. You can even credit the Rankin-Bass animated versions of "The Hobbit" and "The Return of the King" for book-ending the animated "Lord of the Rings" (because if you watch them all together, they do tell the basic story). As a kid growing up in the 70's and 80's, this is all we had outside of the books. And I'm thankful that it was made to generate my interest in Tolkien at an early age. Nowadays, young viewers are jaded and spoiled and THEY DON'T HAVE ONE CLUE what the world was like before the Internet and movie availability. They have access to everything. Back in the day, it was a damn privilege to see anything repeated on TV or to have access to a movie once it was out of theaters. These movies, whether live or animated, brought the world of Tolkien to life and for that, I'm grateful. But if anything, the Tolkien stories need to be told in a format like a long mini-series or a TV series. Only then will the purists be satisfied that everything can be included from the books.

[@joyadurchoudhury9127]

Aww, watching this brings me such nostalgia...I think I'll go out and buy this tomorrow....hope it's on blu ray 🤔