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The Lord of the Rings (1978)

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Average Rating: 5.7/10
Reviews Counted: 20
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 10

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 1
Fresh: 0 | Rotten: 1

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Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 448,792

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Movie Info

Controversial animator Ralph Bakshi's literal adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, is brought to the screen in a reverent, stilted way, with Bakshi forsaking his sharp-edged animated looniness for a rotoscoped dullness. Although the film's title encompasses the entire Tolkien trilogy, this longish Bakshi feature, in fact, covers only the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring, and the first half of the second, The Two Towers. Given the complexity of the

PG, 2 hr. 11 min.

Drama, Animation, Kids & Family, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Ralph Bakshi

In Theaters: Nov 15, 1978 Wide

On DVD: Sep 11, 2001

Cast

Critic Reviews for The Lord of the Rings

All Critics (35) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (13) | DVD (15)

Animated adventure too dated and dark for younger kids.

August 3, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comments (4)

Sandie Angulo Chen

Common Sense Media

The live action version trumps it in every conceivable way; there simply is no comparison. And yet Middle Earth is still better off for its presence.

April 13, 2010 Full Review Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page

| Comment

Rob Vaux

Sci-Fi Movie Page Source: Sci-Fi Movie Page

... dark and fantastical with a mature approach rare in animated films of its day, and Bakshi's rotoscope process creates an unusually fluid and expressive style.

April 11, 2010 Full Review Source: Seanax.com

| Comment

Sean Axmaker

Seanax.com

... in retrospect it feels like an elegant, appropriately sized adaptation - with some beautiful animation work.

April 11, 2010 Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

| Comment

Philip Martin

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Not even the Dark Lord Sauron would want to put his name to this movie.

April 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

| Comment

Christian Blauvelt

Slant Magazine

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Audience Reviews for The Lord of the Rings

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Hated it, bored me!

June 23, 2011

Bethany Murphy

Super Reviewer

Bakshi's version of Lord of the Rings, which is of course animated, is good, I enjoyed it, sometimes there are fantasy elements that can only be brought to life in the animated form. The movie follows very close to the book, and the characters look just as I expected them to. I enjoyed this version.

September 6, 2010

AJ Verser

Super Reviewer

The Lord of the Rings Quotes

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1. Gandalf: Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time! Be quiet!
– Submitted by Tyler H (3 months ago)

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