THE LORD
OF THE RINGS
  
VOICES OF: Christopher
Guard, William Squire, John Hurt, Michael Sholes, Dominic Guard
1978,
133 Minutes, Directed by: Ralph Bakshi
Description:
Animated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy classic covers the first half of
Tolkien's trilogy, beginning with the hobbit Frodo's inheritance of "the One
Ring" of power from Bilbo Baggins, and ending with the wizard Gandalf's triumph
over the evil army of orcs. —
Amazon.com
I
must confess to never having been a Tolkien fan. I began reading Lord
of the Rings once, but I soon lost interest and never
finished it. I'm not much of a Fantasy fan either. So there you
have it. I don't mind that fantasy is just that: fantasy, pure
escapism. We need that. But when one's literary diet seems to
consist mainly of those thick fantasy tomes, I would recommend
seeking immediate help.
What I do mind about
fantasy is that it is a formulaic affair, much like those stacks of Mills & Boon
books that pop out of some twilight dimension. It rarely has something more than
escapism to offer. It offers no insights, nothing vaguely to think about or
discuss - it lacks balls!
So
it would come as no surprise that I didn't like this film version
of Lord of Rings. If it's any comfort, fans won't like
it either. Bakshi's technique mixes animation and live action
tracing and the net effect is amateurish. If you want to see a good Bakshi film,
then rent Fritz the Cat. If you
want Lord of the Rings, then read the book. Or better: watch the big
budget Hollywood action movie versions of
Lord of the Rings: The
Fellowship of the Ring
(2001) and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(2002) and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003).
Incidentally,
the film covers only a chunk of the hefty Lord of the Rings
series. It stops abruptly and one expects "To be
continued..." to flash on the screen. It doesn't. A sequel
completing the story was never made.
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