The Lord of the Rings Blu Ray Review (Warner Bros.)

The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 animated film directed by Ralph Bakshi (Spider-Man, Heavy Traffic, Fire and Ice, Wizards, Cool World, and Fritz the Cat). It was written by Chris Conkling (Paranormal Highway and The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries) and Peter S. Beagle (The Dove, Little Mermaid, Camelot, A Tale of Egypt, and The Last Unicorn). It’s based on the book series from author J.R.R. Tolkien. It was produced by Saul Zaentz (The English Patient, Amadeus, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Goya’s Ghosts). The budget was $4,000,000 and it grossed $30,477,175 worldwide at the box office. An evil sorcerer Saruman (played by: Fraser Kerr from Theatre of Death, Doll’s Eye, and Macbeth) from a previous era created a magical ring which enables its users to call upon its tremendous powers to rule the world, but it inevitably warps them to evil. It was believed lost, but during a resurgence of magical evil in the world, Bilbo (played by: Norman Bird from The League of Gentlemen, Maniac, Buddy, and Omen III: The Final Conflict), a simple, plain-spoken hobbit, recovers it from its hiding place. The forces of good give his nephew Frodo (played by; Christopher Guard from Jackanory, Doctor Who, Return to Treasure Island, Casualty, and Where Time Began) the choice to bear the awful burden of the ring to a place where it may be destroyed!!!! This is one of the more controversial animation adaptations ever made. The Lord of the Rings 1978 only covers some of the original source material from author J.R.R. Tolkien’s franchise. This animated feature is definitely different compared to the books and the live action movies. Don’t get me wrong, it still has plenty of the original ideas and concepts from The Lord of the Rings. Director Ralph Bakshi was one of the most talented film makers when it came to these earlier animation and cartoon productions. Veteran actor John Hurt (Alien, Hellboy franchise, Midnight Express, and The Elephant Man) as Aragorn stands out the most for the entire voice cast. He really elevated this classic adventure and fantasy world. Christopher Guard is solid here as Frodo. It’s a unique take on the known character but it definitely fits this 70’s animated project. William Squire (Les Miserables, Doctor Who, and Callan) is fantastic as the good wizard Gandalf. The rest of the vocal cast includes Fraser Kerr, Michael Scholes (Rentaghost), Simon Chandler (The King’s Speech), Dominic Guard (Picnic at Hanging Rock), Michael Graham Cox (A Bridge Too Far), Anthony Daniels (Star Wars franchise), David Buck (The Dark Crystal), Peter Woodthorpe (Monkey), Philip Stone (The Shining), Annette Crosbie (One Foot in the Grave), and André Morell (Barry Lyndon). I usually don’t have any issues when they change some stuff from the original novels but they tried something so different than I thought it would be. I don’t like how they portrayed Sam here, it’s nothing like the actual character. The Lord of the Rings starts out very kid friendly until it develops more into something darker. I didn’t expect it to be as brutal as it was. It kinda had that retro Disney animated look to it and it has a nice visual style for this adaptation. I’m really surprised that they didn’t do a sequel to this with all the remaining material to cover for The Lord of the Rings. So yeah it ends with the audience feeling like it’s not completely done which is never good when it doesn’t happen. I still think it’s way better than it’s reputation. I know a good amount doesn’t even know it exists. Hopefully, this re-release gives it some new life again and more support. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Warner Bros Pictures! This 1080p (1.78:1) transfer has the exact same transfer as the original 2010 home video release. It’s still a sharp improvement over it’s DVD and VHS versions. This might be the best it’s ever going to look to be honest. It has a few different audio options which includes English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French: Dolby Digital Mono, German: Dolby Digital 2.0, and Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks on the disc. The audio is actually great for this older animated movie. The score and the action in this really shines. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the adventure is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH, French, German SDH, and Spanish subtitles. It has the 30 minute 2010 documentary “Forging Through the Darkness: The Ralph Bakshi Vision for ‘The Lord of the Rings”. It features interviews with Ralph Bakshi, Victoria Bakshi, Chris Conkling, Timothy Galfas, Scott Kleinman, and more. This focuses on director Ralph Bakshi. They chat about his style and their experiences with him. He wasn’t fond of the Disney productions at the time and he’s not shy to share his honest opinions on it. This was interesting inside look into one of the greatest animation directors of all time. It’s awesome that all of these catalog titles are getting re-released on home video again. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!