Josh Keown | Night Terror Novels 🧛🏻♂️’s review published on Letterboxd:
“You are the one who has the Ring now.”
-Gandalf the Grey (William Squire (Voice))
Part 2 of the Middle-Earth Odyssey.
It’s difficult for me to separate my childhood love and enthusiasm for this version of Tolkien’s immortal series of sprawling epic novels and its sincere quality, having grown up with it (alongside Jackson’s adaptations too, of course).
Directed by Ralph Bakshi, this retelling of The Lord of the Rings is a faithful adaptation of the books and an enjoyable film in its entirety. Originally planned as two separate films charting Tolkien’s trilogy, only one was to see the light of day as producers United Artists unexpectedly refused to finance a sequel, despite its relative success at the Box Office. What this resulted in was one film that chronicles The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, albeit one in significantly more detail than the other, and no conclusion to amiable protagonist Frodo’s grandiose quest.
What this left is a great film, but one that had potential to be something so much better, drawing similarities with the historical epic Cleopatra, which also suffered from production issues and resulted in much wasted opportunity. That put aside though, there is still so much to love here.
Although artistically dated today (and so very ‘70’s), the animation herein has a certain charm to it. Filmed using rotoscoping (in which sequences are captured live action and then animated frame by frame), this The Lord of the Rings is quite unlike any other animated film I’ve ever seen, and it’s no bad thing. It renders the fantastical realm of Middle-Earth with a certain gritty, realistic atmosphere, one that could even be labelled as dark. From the sweeping drab wastelands to the palate of browns and reds, this is certainly a world away from the awe-inspiring vistas of New Zealand, a bleak landscape entirely juxtapose to the cheery and very much ‘of the decade’ characters and script. It would be nonsense to say that this world of Elves and Dwarves, Orcs and Wizards is real and believable, but Bakshi’s Middle-Earth is real and believable.
Bakshi’s interpretation of Middle-Earth’s inhabitants is nothing if not rather bizarre, but despite (or likely because of) this are highly memorable. Be it the Native American Aragorn, the Viking Boromir or the classic old miner Gimli, the fellowship are very much born from Bakshi’s own imagination and less so Tolkien’s original portrayal. Not forgetting Santa Claus Saruman and the legions of pig-men Orcs of course. To viewers raised on Jackson’s incarnations, Bakshi’s motley fellowship can seem quite the strange bunch. However, the voice acting from each cast member certainly can’t be faulted, featuring such talents as Christopher Guard, William Squire, John Hurt and Anthony Daniels. Hurt in particular offers a sterling performance as Aragorn, conveying the equal measure of kingly gravitas and ragged wanderer to perfection, but all the cast do wonderfully in their parts. Peter Woodthorpe also deserves commendation for his work on Gollum, nailing the creepy voice everyone associates with the character.
So yeah, Bakshi’s The Lord of the Rings, and it is totally Bakshi’s; a mighty fine film oft overlooked but deserved of a share of Jackson’s acclaim at least. Imperfect, odd, and very dated, but also magical, oppressive and altogether wonderful, all at the same time. A worthy adaptation of one of the finest series’ ever scripted.
VERDICT; Bakshi’s The Lord of the Rings is one of the most underrated and unique animated films ever to grace the screen, and one that is often overshadowed by its big budget brothers. Though it lacks the emotional investment Jackson’s version has, it is supplemented by that loveable 1970’s bravado and campy aesthetic and is generally a fantastic adaptation. I must draw another comparison to Cleopatra in that this is very much a film of artistic vision – Bakshi’s vision – a film made with that Gung Ho, screw profits and studios attitude that is scarcely seen in cinema nowadays. I can’t really fault ambition like that.
4/5 or 8/10