Lord of the Rings...
I picked up the remastered version of Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings...
Bakshi combined traditional cel animation with "rotoscoped" (i.e., meticulously traced) live-action footage to produce a version of the Lord of the Rings that deserves more credit than it typically receives.
I had the previous un-remastered DVD release and the primary reason that I wanted to have this version, was not so much that it had been remastered, but, rather because it contained a new documentary on Bakshi's life and work. I combined the new and previous version of Bakshi's Lord of the Rings in a double disc case. It looks like a lot of the interview footage was taken from a recent Comicon panel discussion. It's nice to hear Bakshi talk about his passion for animation.
Although it was ultimately overshadowed by Peter Jackson's live-action Lord of the Rings trilogy, Ralph Bakshi's animated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy classic is not without charms of its own. A target of derision from intolerant fans, this ambitious production is nevertheless a respectably loyal attempt to animate 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. While the dialogue is literate and superbly voiced by a prestigious cast (including John Hurt as Aragorn), Leonard Rosenman's accomplished score effectively matches the ominous atmosphere that Bakshi's animation creates and sustains.
I had the previous un-remastered DVD release and the primary reason that I wanted to have this version, was not so much that it had been remastered, but, rather because it contained a new documentary on Bakshi's life and work. I combined the new and previous version of Bakshi's Lord of the Rings in a double disc case. It looks like a lot of the interview footage was taken from a recent Comicon panel discussion. It's nice to hear Bakshi talk about his passion for animation.
