 "Perfect DVD!" | 2009-11-10 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2OVQEQQJXSBUY |
| Great job by the seller! Package arrived as described and professionally wrapped. The DVD was in perfect working order with no flaws! Would definitely order again from this seller! |
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| "Great!" | 2009-11-06 |
| - Reviewed By User: AD7FBS90KKL6S |
| For 1978, it was a great attempt to bring tolkien to the big screen. Too bad there are so many haters out there...and ralph couldnt finish it. |
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| "Consider the context and the history" | 2009-10-06 |
| - Reviewed By sulgit |
| Fantastic, for what it was and is - minor quibbles aside, this animation feast of what was then cutting edge live action/cell animation paints a dark, rich picture with a lot of depth and a trueness to the book that rarely strays from the source material (Legolas surfing down the stairs at Helms Deep in Peter Jackson's movies comes to mind). I'm not bashing Jackson's vision or his movies, they were a singular achievement, one that probably will never be (or should never be) bested. Yet, Bakshi's version holds a special place in my heart...this was the first "vision" of the books I loved on screen (and it absolutely kicked The Hobbit's cheap looking, goofy animation around the block). Seeing things like the Balraq, Modor, The Shire put to film was, at the time, a first, and if you think Jackson didnt borrow some set design inspiration from this, I think you're wrong. Also, the music is fantastic...it very much helps support the mood of whatever is occuring in the film, be it "good" or "evil". Comparing this to the modern manifestations of Tolkien's work is apples and oranges, and frankly, unfair. Watch this as a stand-alone, and appreciate it for what is it, a vision of Tolkien's work that illustrates (pun intended) some of the best parts of the books. |
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| "Very entertaining" | 2009-10-02 |
| - Reviewed By User: AE9IH4LOALC7M |
As someone who hadn't seen this animated film until after Peter Jackson's trilogy, I still found it to be very entertaining.
Of course it pales in comparison to the live-action version, but then again, I think it's better to just not even compare them, and simply enjoy the differences.
Adapting any book to the film medium is a difficult undertaking, and what we see here is an admirable attempt.
The artwork is at best beautiful and visually stunning, at worst jarring and just strange. You will definitely enjoy it if you are interested in animation in film, as we see on display here some truly interesting techniques, such as blending in live action, which you will see doesn't always work very well.
A very worthwhile purchase. Recommended! |
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 "Available at..." | 2009-06-29 |
| - Reviewed By stmtc |
At the time I am writing this, the DVD is out of print and there are no plans by the film company to make more. If you are looking for this, [...], the website run by Peter S. Beagle's publisher. They bought up remaining DVDs and are selling them at a very reasonable price. Beagle was the one to write the screenplay and was badly ripped off by the production company, and this is finally a way in which he can actually get a bit of money from the film he worked so hard for. (He actually was hired as a consultant to 'repair' an existing script for a small fee, and ended up writing 8 or 9 complete drafts for no extra money, only the promise to be given more screenplay-contracts - which he never got.)
As for the film itself: I saw it long before the Peter Jackson films and before I knew the book. I found the visuals not very convincing or appealing, it ends in the middle of the story and towards the end, the plot isn't very well done - too much has been shortened and it seems very hurried. The new trilogy is simply a lot better, but then it had more money behind it, completely new technologies and some very passionate people willing to work very hard to make their vision come true. But this older version is interesting for fans of LOTR, so I hope that my information on where the DVD is available might be of some help - while conlanpress still have some in stock. I'm sure it won't be the case much longer. |
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| "Highly Stylized and Impressionistic" | 2009-06-14 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1NVEUIF07D76K |
This film is hardly what Tolkien must have envisioned for the Lord of the Rings. It's not what anyone else envisioned, either, for that matter, unless perhaps, for some true-blooded children of the 70's. Nevertheless, I have always loved it.
Watching it is like experiencing The Lord of the Rings in your sleep, as a nightmare. If you can set aside your own vision of the tale and approach this movie on its own terms, it's amazing.
It is a mood-piece.
The landscape art is spartan, dark and drawn in bold strokes. Sometimes the landscape backdrops behind the characters are simply abstract, designed to elicit a feeling more than anything else. The segments where the animation is rotoscoped create a dark surrealism that make you feel like you've fallen into a dream. Although admittedly, that dream is more than a bit psychedelic. :)
I first saw this movie in the theater as a child and it formed the bedrock of my imagination. This film is the reason I spent the first twelve years of my life prowling through my neighborhood as a Ring Wraith every Halloween and the reason I devoured the books the minute my parents thought I was old enough to understand them... and kept on reading everything I could get my hands on.
My own vision of Middle Earth has morphed and grown with me, and yet, coming back to this movie as an objective adult, even though I can see its flaws, I still love it as much as I did then. The creepiness of the style is still haunting. It still evokes the same mood. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who can sit back and enjoy someone else's vision of Middle Earth. |
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