Max Bernardini I wouldn't recommend this movie too the average person who likes movies. But I would recommend this to LOTR fans and fans of animation. The visuals are really good and do a good job capturing the story and world of Tolkien. The huge negative was that it only goes to the Two Towers, and some of the character choices could annoy you. But overall it's enjoyable and well worth a watch...or two.

earlseth I love Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings! It open JRR Tolkien for me,who I love very, very much! Most people who hate this film did not grow up in 70's with little Tolkien except these Great Things! The Hildebrandt Brothers great Artwork, and The HOBBIT 1977 TV Movie and the Led Zepplins great song! Because of Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings I started to collect animated Cels! I have a great Cel of Frodo looking through the Ring offering it to Galadriel! I also have animation art from Disney ,Hanna-Barbara,and Heavy Metal Cels (Taarna, Barbarien Leader Cels) I have over 200 cels! People who hate this film must hate Tolkien and the fine art of Animation! This is 23 years BEFORE Peter Jackson Version ,which he used this as some guidance! Like my N.C. Licence Plate FRODOLIV!!!!!

mrscerullo Now those of you who watched the Peter Jackson adaptions of the book first, I can understand the disappointment you may have seeing this animated version from the 1970s. If however, you were growing up during the late 20th century when this was the only version available to you, I'm sure you probably have now a completely different opinion, in fact you may even look upon it oppositely.When I was very young I was enthralled by this film - it was well animated and the use of rotoscoping for the Orcs really works a treat. The Orcs are genuinely frightening for younger audiences and I sometimes wonder that had the film been made today, would they be at all? The 1970s was a glorious time for powerful disturbing imagery, we saw it in many commercials for the period and it has not been spared here.Almost all the characters in this adaptation have the perfect voice actors. I particularly liked John Hurt as Aragorn and I also liked William Squire as Gandalf very much. You can tell that they really researched their roles here and executed it with passion. The other great thing with this film is the music score, almost the same as in 'The Car' (same composer) but here it really is perfectly suited.The artwork you may find familiar-- any fans of HR Giger out there? Well he designed much of the beautifully haunting backdrops for the film and combined with all these great talents, this movie really deserves appreciation. In fact Peter Jackson himself gives much credit to Ralph Bakshi for his efforts.It not without its flaws though I assure you. For one thing, Sam is IN LOVE with Frodo, and he is also quite irritating at times. The film is indeed cut short but believe there was due to be a following film later which never materialised. There are other things but they're really just quibbles.It's a very enjoyable animation, just don't compare it to Peter Jackson works.

MissSimonetta Ralph Bakshi's 1978 LOTR adaptation is one of the most divisive entries in his filmography. Some see it as a bastardization of its source due to having to condense so much into little screen time. Others praise it as a bold work of art. I can understand both views, but after watching this twice, I am sorry to say I cannot come to the conclusion that this is a good movie. And it has nothing to do with how close it is or isn't to the books.To start with the positive side of things, the score is magnificent. In fact, I like it more than the music from the much-loved Peter Jackson LOTR trilogy, probably because it's less gloomy and bombastic. It just exudes fantasy and adventure. The animation is mostly solid and I enjoyed how Bakshi employed rotorscoping with the more sinister characters.However, even though the animation and rotorscoping are good on their own, I do not think they blend well. The mix of realistic characters, more cartoony characters, and the rotorscoped characters make for a messy, rushed aesthetic that feels more annoying than cutting edge. I think the rotorscoping worked much better in Bakshi's previous fantasy film, Wizards (1977), since it was only a mix of non-realistic characters with rotorscoped demons and monsters.The editing is sometimes awkward and the characterization choices are sometimes borderline strange (in Sam's case, it was downright abominable; "OH HOO-RAYYYY!!"). Some of Gandalf's antics are unintentionally funny. The pacing is atrocious and there are stretches where you find yourself groaning and checking your watch every other minute.In conclusion, the film just feels unfinished. Bakshi often had to work with low budgets and one could accuse him of being an undisciplined artist, but he was certainly capable of better than this if Heavy Traffic (1972) and Wizards are anything to go by.