Lord of the Rings intro

[AlbertoDeSagitario]

This is trash compared to the movie intro.

[tantoedge]

I bought the DVD for this movie for ten dollars today while shopping for groceries.

I own this movie, and I deserve to watch it however I choose.

This format is infinitely more convenient then me digging it out, and thus I thank the gods that Comandercat has seen fit to bestow YouTube with this movie.

I hope all the parts fall in perfect order forthwith, else I shall be disa-friggin-pointed.

[Johnlindsey289]

Inferior to Peter Jackson's adaptations, but a nice try.

[azn3000]

I don't technically understand why some people seem to enjoy this movie over Peter's versions. People always say its closer to the book but already I see contradictions with the book, ''But then, the Dark Lord learned the craft of ring-making'' He already knew ring crafting, he taught it to the elves to create the rings of power. Then ''As the last alliance of Men and Elves fell beneath his power...'' The Last Alliance was actually winning the war, not losing.

[BrianMagnumFilms]

@azn3000 this movie blows peter jacksons 3 hour schlockfest out of the park. not for its closeness to the novels, but because it cut to the fuckin chase. peter jackson doesnt know how to do that (king kong, LOTR)

[azn3000]

@BrianMagnumFilms Dude this was a rushed film, of course it cut to the chase but in doing so it left little for supporting details and the plot wasn't fleshed out as well. Peter was able to do that because of a bigger budget and he had the time. As a film, Bakshi's version doesn't do well but as a book adaption it does okay. Peter's version, as a film was excellent and as a book adaption it does good.

[BrianMagnumFilms]

@azn3000 i disagree, i think those details were unecessary and made the movie really drag. i thought for what its worth, this movie is able to do a lot with its characters considering its rather short run time

[azn3000]

@BrianMagnumFilms Some of those ''details'' were in the book. And if you wanted to watch a full adaption of Tolkein's book it would be over 40 hours each book. This movie was unfortunately rushed by Bakshi's studio and if you watched it without reading the books, you really don't give a crap about who the characters are because they aren't fleshed out well along with sloppy editing. You just don't have patience with good films as with many other critics who complained about length.

[BrianMagnumFilms]

@azn3000 I'll be honest I never read the books, but I'll give you an example of something was done well and long: seven samurai. the film is over 3 and a half hours in length, but it goes by very quickly because the plot calls for it. it seems necessary. LOTR, at its heart, is about walking to a volcano. all those details really did was delay frodo from getting to a volcano. to quote randal graves: "Even the fuckin trees walked in those movies!"

[azn3000]

@BrianMagnumFilms Then blame Tolkein for making a huge high fantasy book, the details Peter had in the movie were from the book, some scenes were changed slightly, a few hugely. The film you are talking about isn't based off a book so i can understand that the plot moves differently in there but Tolkein had many supporting details in the Lord of The Rings trilogy that brought out his amazing world to the reader while progressing the plot. Peter tried to include a lot of those details as well.

[zz13x]

@BrianMagnumFilms If you have never read the books, how can you know what the Lord of the Rings was "at its heart?" Only an extremely shallow and unintelligent person could think that, and not think the movies were well done. You are virtually the only person who can't see the huge amount of work put into the movies and the books. Tolkien virtually devoted his life to the Middle Earth universe.

[BrianMagnumFilms]

@zz13x im talking about what the movies are at their heart, dickhead, not the fuckin books. yeah, peter jackson knows how to hire someone to render images in a computer and make the movie look nice, but his trilogy was an incoherent mess that explained nothing. and do i give a shit if tolkien devoted his life to the lotr universe, no. uwe boll devotes his life to making his movies, does that mean they're good? no.

[forhiforpie]

@BrianMagnumFilms If you feel it explained nothing, then obviously you are too much of a moron to see that it actually explains everything important, and you just too much of a useless compleiner to not see it.

[BrianMagnumFilms]

@forhiforpie there is so little about character's motivations that we even see or are referenced. for example, the dark lord as a villain does not go beyond the fact that he's just evil. there's no motivation behind his character aside from the fact that hes just evi. its not explained why the task is appointed for frodo and makes much more sense for aragorn to be the ring bearer. etc.

[twobitsworth]

@BrianMagnumFilms man, rewatch the films and this is all explained - seriously. I'm a bit of a 'need to see a movie twice' guy and if these are really the problems you have then the answers are all in there. Definitely worth another look.

[MasterofArda]

@azn3000

Not to mention the fact that it, along with the Jackson trilogy leaves out Bombadil, Goldberry, and Glorfindel, AS WELL AS the fact that it calls Saruman "Aruman" half the time.

[azn3000]

@MasterofArda I know right? 

[SturmFuhrerx]

0:45 This verse is in "Elvenpath" music by Nightwish. The voice is the same, too, but I'm not sure.

[Toughnuffet]

PENIS IN MY BRAIN

[mwells219]

1:07 so sauron was a knight of ni?

[pacman5698]

@mwells219 It's probably just an oridnary viking hat, I think it makes him look badass.

[emmatuck]

@pacman5698 hell yeah!! musics badass too lmfao :D :p

[beccabeccaish]

@mwells219 He doesn't want the ring, he demands a shrubbery! dun duuuuun!

[CptMystery]

The opening measures of the movie soundtrack always reminds me of a Hammer Studios Dracula film. Pretty crap score as it relates to the action of the film. Nevertheless, I always felt this movie got a bad rap. I loved it as a kid. NO ONE else had even attempted to adapt these books into a cinematic format yet. It was as if the cigar-chomping entertainment moguls had no fucking earthly idea what would sell or what was popular and passed up a golden oppurtunity. Bakshi tried at least.

[CapyGuy]

@CptMystery But my question is, why bother making it a movie at all? For the cretins who wouldn't exert the effort to read the book?

If you're old enough for the movie, you're probably old enough to read the books

[300warrior300]

@CapyGuy because a movie is a completely different experience to a book.

[Johnlindsey289]

@CptMystery

What did you think of Jackson's trilogy?

[the7thsageofhyrule]

I prefer the Peter Jackson version but this is still awesome

[ambereyes93]

Somehow...just somehow...I think this film did more for me than PJs films (but those were kick-ass too!)

[xJustDontBiteItx]

saw this one as a kid and it scared the shit out of me! such dark and creepy animation. but if i hadnt seen it i would have never picked up the books.

[ambereyes93]

@xJustDontBiteItx

I know! I used to make my friend sit next to me while watching this and then turn off the lights just to have the pleasure of seeing her scream :pp

[CAZPERsayz]

A CLASSIC!!!!!

[Via231]

I did not know that LOTR had an animated version of the film..I want to see it, but I'm tired right now. I might rent it tomorrow or something. I just love LOTR! <3

[shrikechan]

Strange. In the Silmarillion it says Sauron crafted all of those rings and presented them to the Elves, the Dwarfs, and the Men personally under various disguises. That`s why his one ring could dominate all their rings; because he made them that way. I can only guess Bakshi didn`t know about that.

[toverkleet]

Sauron didnt make them, he watched how the other Rings were made, except for the Rings of the Elves. Tolkien says that his hand never touched Nenya etc.

[rose444100]

@shrikechan He never made any of them say for the One ring. He ended up getting most of the dwarf rings and all of the rings of the Nine. But he never touched the three elven rings.

[DarthOxillious]

Kinda reminds me of Ewoks hehehe

But this is way better =D

[CAZPERsayz]

peter jackson copied some parts here

but w.e its an epic novel!! WHOOOOOO

[Johnlindsey289]

@CAZPERsayz

He paid homage to this movie in some parts but Jackson remain more true to Tolkein's vision.

[saranight31]

bullshit!

this movie is worse then watching paint dry!

[LordEmilous]

OMG this movie is awesome!

rly scared me when I was a kid :D

monsters are made rly awesomely xD

[oly355]

I always wanted to see that, I never could, hey, it can be good =D

gonna watch it to the end before saying something bad x)

[dirosaga]

I love rankin bass: the hobbit, and lord of the rings. This one i havn't seen yet. HMMMMMM!!! excited!

[pixargod]

It may not be as grand and epic as the jackson films but at least ralph bakshi did have a good shot at it. even though he didn't get to finish the story.

[dearmalika]

Fantastic!

[RetroVGamer]

It always seemed like a magical film to me. Today though, I can see all the flaws and just how bad it is, but it did introduce me to the LOTR books and for that I'm thankful to the film.

[andra6190]

Same. It was my intro to Tolkien too :)

[SpasmOfJoy]

well i just started on the hobbit and im kinda starting to regret seeing the movies first....even tho the movies are fantastic and excellant

[RetroVGamer]

As bad as this movie is, I have fond memories as a child watching it with my friends. At the time there were no other films to compare it to, not only because it was one of the few mainstream adult animated films, but it was a fantasy film. It had Wizards, Trolls, Elves. That sorta thing wasn't easy to come by in a film in those days.

[Johnlindsey289]

@RetroVGamer

What do you think of Jackson's movies?

[MyName42]

This movie is really experimental in a lot of ways--blending live action with animation in ways that had never been done before, the extensive rotoscoping, extreme violence for a cartoon, weird haunting colors, extreme length for a cartoon, etc. But in the end I'm not sure it all paid off. I've watched this since I was a kid, and there're parts I think are done brilliantly, but others I hate. It's a fascinating movie that can't be judged in the same way as the new trilogy.

[northreach]

there's a lord of the rings fan film called halifirien,

which has got an intro like this only way better

[Nusentinsaino]

This is so AWFUL, wow.

[KazumakunA]

Sauron looks kinda like some kind of druid/pagan king....weird

[Hosea22]

The Ring is mine!!!

[MetaPunkXP]

I like the score.

[MoonbaseTaco]

Awesome, Sauron gets the one ring that will rule them all and simply destroys everyone and takes over Middle Earth. Prince Isildur then steps up and breaks a fucking stick over his head and Sauron's tyranny ends. For now...

[Holowachuk]

you are no fan of symbolism I guess...

^^

do you know what symbolism means?

[MoonbaseTaco]

symbolism, if i recall correctly, is using ideas, images, and many other things to represent or explore the symbolic meaning of, lets say, a theme or some abstract idea in a story/poem/song/whatever. I don't remember much symbolism in the lord of the rings, mainly because it's been ages since i've read the books and watched the movies. I just thought it was funny to watch some guy get a stick broken over his head (I just assumed it was sauron gettin pwnd).

[LegoArms34]

if you guys want an awesome comparison of this and the live action films, watch the nostalgia critics old vs new on this, its really good

[BlackWaltz5]

Apart from the beautiful music: LAAAAAAAAAME!!!!

[Wezel1995]

i love the shadowy beginning......just very....mystrious......

[LchanOtakudom]

I watched the Rankin Bass The Hobbit and Return of the King constantly when I was little, but missed this one somehow. The animation is pretty slick, I think I'll enjoy the hell out of this movie :) thanks for posting!

[GS336]

I love this film better than Jackson's. You can critisize me if you want, but I won't change my opinion.

[MysticArksRevenge]

I agree with you. I grew up watching the 1978 version on VHS, and this is the one that I like the best!

[OverlordRocks]

Thanks for uploading this... I saw this as a kid and this is what got me into the whole LOTR thing. A much better one to show to your kids. Since it is closer to the book. Then show them the Jackson Films later.

[Trisscarr]

Thanks for uploading this.

[forsakenprogeny]

lol shadows pokin each other, I wish Rankin Bass had done this one like they did the Hobbit.

[urkhalmaster]

I agree i just got done watching the hobbit but i saw this b4 i saw the hobbit

[sm2142]

"Tall elf kings"? it's just because of the camera angle! lol

[LeKitteNumur12]

lol completly retardidly shit

[Mordimier]

stfu moron.....have a little fucking culture and open mind. What you like rainbrow brite? or lemme guess, the care bare movie! FUCKING FAG die soon :)

[LeKitteNumur12]

lol so i think that thus vershion of the film is shit i bet uve never actually read the book lol

[Mordimier]

I've read the books too dipshit.....

[LeKitteNumur12]

and you think this shitty cartoon is anyway to actually portray it? If you do then ur just retarded and can never become something that actually thinks you mindless worm

[Mordimier]

It was a shot in the dark, no doubt. And so what? Doesn't matter if you like it or not. It's just another person putting the story in to perspective, that's why I said be open minded.

And your mother is mindless worm that gave birth to a filthy maggot like yourself. THAT, I am not open minded about. Go crawl back from where you spawned. Back in mommies filth hole. :)

[LeKitteNumur12]

Well if this is one mans crap interpritation of the book i am completly at liberty to say that it is shit so i dont understand wat you are arguing about.

And as you draged my mother into this even though i rarly slag mothers i will neverthless i will reply in the same manner.

Your mother spawnd such a miserable cur that her vagina should be filled with concret and then be walled and lobed in to a volcano. Then we should try to forget the terrible things she did with her slutty ways

[Mordimier]

just like it's a mystery to me what is wrong with the cartoon. but I guess the same could be said for your mother, right? Even though you're retort was a little weak, I'll give you some points for it. How about that eh?

[LeKitteNumur12]

How about we just stop this misserable escapade and just admit to the world our un-dieing love?

I can tell from youer comments that you must be a giant man with a cock the size of a cow so why dont you just come and ravage me.

And by the way it was you who assumed i was a man by calling me a fag and i also know you are a man for the same reason.

[ltlocus]

You two are really distracting with your meaningless bickering lol. Fighting on the internet is like the special Olympics- even if you win, your still retarded!

Please cant we all just enjoy this directors take on J.R.R. Tolkien's great story.

[LeKitteNumur12]

Can you fuck off we were having a very intamat convo.

[ltlocus]

NO cause you are a perverted fag who needs to see a doctor. Its spelled *intimate conversation, learn to spell before you come on here.

[Mordimier]

Well, that is a way to put a dimmer on the topic, fine by me!! And I am rather endowed in that region if I do say so myself :) I'll put the guns away now

[sonicmandx12]

Are you suggesting that I killed my wife?

[darrin42]

Fuck sake lads, calm down. Your both arguing over a cartoon like a pair of saps!

[borya1978]

the intro is pretty good

[Vishvakarman]

So we get opening credits and a third of the intro?

[The0Fish]

Err... "But then the dark lord learned the craft of ringmaking"...? It was kinda he that taught the elves to do it, and he gave the 7 and the 9 as gifts.

[Quetzacoatl2]

i know...

[samcwic]

Screenplay by Peter S. Beagle? Holy cow!

[larrypearce2]

At one part the theme music turns into the theme song from "Hogan's Heroes"!!!

[D119heavy]

ahh no way!! youtube rules i love finding gems like this

thanks for sharing comandercat

[clay922]

epic

[larrypearce2]

Hardly. The music sounds like some sort of crappy Xmas special.

[musicalpyramid]

Larry! We meet again! Can we have another ''Leonard Rosenman is great - no he's not - yes he is - no he's not'' argument? Please! ;-)

[larrypearce2]

Absolutely! This is what I was talking about when I said that Rosenman was underwhelming. In addition, the score sounds like it was recorded in a garage. This reminds me of some TV special not an overture to an epic adventure. However, since Bakshi's film was anything but epic, perhaps this music was perfect:)

[musicalpyramid]

the recording is dire and has a garage feel as you say - it is actually a full star wars sized orchestra. Isnt hogan's heroes theme a parody of the combat theme, which was written by rosenman?....I've never watched this film, but the soundtrack is fun, mithrandir is lovely and the battle at helms deep is suitably epic for the event.... but if you dont like rosenman this is one to avoid, it is textbook lenny throughout!

[larrypearce2]

0:14 to 0:20 sounds an awful lot like the theme from "Hogan's Heroes".

[ikerbeast666]

The world is changin i feel it on.....

[UltimateVenom]

is the intro live-action or cartoon?

[PKBitchGirl]

@UltimateVenom It looks like it was live-action but in shadow

There was roto-scoping in the movie as well, filmed in live-action and then animated over

[DogoHalibar]

The dialogue does seem pretty corny, except for Smeagol.

[R8erNation636]

Hahaha what a terrible movie; but hilarious!

[CCPnoob]

the history in this is horrible - Sauron made the 16 rings + his ring. The elf rings were made by Cidran, with saurons help, thats why they can be worn

[Drjele]

why do you say things which you don't now??

Three rings were forged by Celebrimbor without help of Sauron

[CCPnoob]

my bad - celbrimor. I got him mixed up with cidran (the shipwright).

[CCPnoob]

O ya and sauron taught celebrimor to make the rings I am pretty sure.

[Drjele]

no, Sauron taught him to make all rings except the Three elven ring

He created them himself, because they are not evil

[r1chardr1chard]

ëxcuse me, but who cares?

[linksboy1521]

The talking part starting with in the early years of the second age thats part of a night wish song called Elvenpath.

[alwaysthecynic]

Lol at 1:20. The dude got owned

[MelodieofLife]

lol nice but when they're raising their hands with the rings voiceover it looks like sauron's taking attendance.

[iDippy]

Thanks for uploading this, I have always wanted to know what the story is, never managed to find it in any form anywhere else.

[jamiegoddard4]

I think it is far better than the 1973 hobbit film. i Love the use of shadows in this bit.

[GarethLlewelyn]

Very stylish intro. And the film was really ahead of its time. Among my favourites.

[balrog13571]

1:32 lol

[weiliiiiiii]

My wife bought me all the books last Christmas. I mean all the books the history of middle earth theres alot of them.

[LilDas187]

if they had to make the movies as long as the books the movies would be about 9 hrs long each!!!!

[JDHyatt1989]

the books have to much info, it should have been more like the hobbit, that was fantastic book

[SpunkySkunk347]

@LilDas187

yeah, they would all go into excruciating detail about what the fellowship ate each day and what the grass was like on the ground they slept on

[300warrior300]

@LilDas187 at least

[DiamondHobbit]

The worst introduction ever - it looks like the took a red bedsheet, some flashlights and filmed it on a home camera. OMG. HORRIBLE.

[Holowachuk]

it is like in my fantasy...

oh... i read the book in fith grade, when only the true fans knew it.

it has become a piece of hollywood now and jackson has destroyed the fantasy. i bet you would have never heard of the book if hadnt see the movie.

and bakshi's film is a masterpiece.

[DiamondHobbit]

Actually, I first watched the Return of the King and The Hobbit cartoons first before this one; those were the better versions - Bakshi's work is not well-made, in my opinion. And I watched those two cartoons when I was very young, like 5 or 6. Then I read the trilogy around 14. Then I saw Jackson's work, which, is well-made (even though Glorfindel was no where to be found in it).

Anyway, don't take it personally - their are good film-makers out there, and ot so good ones as well. lol

[PKBitchGirl]

@Holowachuk

I heard of the books long before Peter Jackson did (not destroy) the trilogy

Oh and you're one of those 'true' fan morons

[boxerjeep]

dude this is almost thirty years old!!! What do you expect CGI?? You are a fool!

[CescoPisicoli]

For 1978 this was a HUGE and underrated cinema achievement!

[Jmarshall2k7]

i'v got this on tape. pretty good laugh.

[Jurassicparkz08]

I like the 1980 version better, but this one was ok... a little too cheesy

[odoogoor]

thanks nigga

[loszhor]

Aw, this vid cuts short. :/

[kafliggle]

best.......book........ever

[hurley501]

this is the best lord of the rings movie that was ever created...nothing could be more terrifying/more entertaning or more spectacular. its so sad to see that bashki never completed the lord of the rings. but nevertheless this movie is a legend.

[Altar360]

I still perfer Peter Jackson's version.

[Fictionluverkdm]

Yes.

[diddymuck]

Best way to make a round ring...hold it over an anvil and hit it with a hammer.

[minadrake]

Oh my god!!! This movie scared the crap out of me when I was little, it's terrifying compared to Peter Jackson's

[67nairb]

How is Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy considered a modern fantasy? Is it because it was written in the 20th Century?

[Overscored]

It is a story of the two world wars.

[ciccioshiva]

that's not true, if you read tolkien's letters he esplicitly said he does not mean to represent the reality, but to sub-create, to build an independent one. read expecially the letters to his editor. I dont mean to be polemic, i use to believe the same as you but he explains very well why uit's nothing like that

[Bluezainbad]

I love Bakshi!! he is the definition of underground, the intelligent director all the big names turned their noses up at! he is the man out on the street sayin': this is the real world!

[NinjaBurglar]

not to be a megolanerd but feanor and his brothers were the only elves capable of forging. It was the dwarves knowledge of metal-smithing that eventually came unto Sauron.

[mikasa15]

Your wrong there, celebrimbor son of curufin, son of feanor helped forge the 20 rings of power. he himself made the elven rings

[Lgilsig]

Why did they change the story? It was the Dark Lord who taught ring-making to the elves, not the other way round...

[dragondisaster]

No it wasn't...Sauron learned the art of ring making from the elves

[thedarksaviour755]

Yes, he tricked them.

[FrenchVanilla32]

I used to have the cartoon and I enjoyed it, but still the Movie does a much better job; Still like the cartoon though thanks for uploading

[JohnnyDepp1323]

the non-amimated one is much better hands down

it is alot scaryer(sp)

[uptheseps]

You've got to remember this was really before big budget children's movies. I enjoyed this movie as a kid as did many people and even though I love the new movies, this version will always have sentimental value for me.

Thanks for posting, brings me back.

[Flowbee79]

Suckers got pwned by the Ring, totally pwned. ROFLLOTRSOSBOBEATSSNAKES!

[serkeien]

The wraiths during the Shire road scene creep me out. I love this movie even though it sucks compared to the book and the live action movie. Thanks for uploading it.

[desotowright]

I love the music during the opening credits.

[WanderdFromTheShire]

I haven't seen this in FOREVER.

It's actually a pretty good movie, considering the time it was made and the fact that it's animated.

Nice soundtrack, too.

(I also agree with previous commenters.)

[casescenario]

Ugh... does anyone else HATE it when people mix up their tenses? "A long time ago, no can stop him! He forged the ring, and he can't be overcome! Then he died!" For a narrator, that's pretty sloppy.

[iwasthor]

download more this was very good. I remember watching it a long time ago

[iwasthor]

casescenario you need to get a life and grow up! anybody that reads other people's comments and chooses to correct their english is a very petty and little person

[Comandercat]

I just uploaded some more of this cartoon.

[tpfang56]

Wow, that was... wierd and not very good, but it's a '78 version, I don't really blame them, but they got one point wrong. They say they gave 3 rings to the elf-kings, one Galadriel was a woman from what I remember, and it's elf-lords. But other than that it's okay.

[desotowright]

I used to hate it, but now I love it.

[tpfang56]

It's good for little kids though..

[desotowright]

Agreed, not as scary as the live action film...though the Ringwraiths are kind of creepy.

[tpfang56]

Creepy! To me they aren't creepy, in fact the voices make them sound like dorks. In non-animated version they scare me a lot more.

[desotowright]

Yeah, they sound like retarded lepers, but they look creepy.

[tpfang56]

A little, but their eyes are floating. Gosh, the live action ringwraiths could beat these things up. In the movie I don't understand why they all wear togas...