Featured Audience Ratings

• Bethany M

  
  Hated it, bored me!

• AJ V

  
  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… More
  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.

• Phil H

  
  Now this is much better than the live action movies. Its done with rotoscoping and looks great. Very dark, brooding and alittle eerie, especially the orges and the landscapes. It really looks sooo good, the animation is also good for the time and combines some live action in there too… More
  Now this is much better than the live action movies. Its done with rotoscoping and looks great. Very dark, brooding and alittle eerie, especially the orges and the landscapes. It really looks sooo good, the animation is also good for the time and combines some live action in there too which sounds odd but does work. The voice work is another main winner here, it makes the whole thing rise above your expectations and lift it out of the realms of a 'cartoon', every character is perfect and adds realism to the film, Hurt offering that real classic touch. This is how the Lord of the Rings should have been.

• EightThirty .

  
  11/03/2010 (DVD) A brave attempt but it didn't do it for me. It was probably legendary at its released date and I must say, there were some pretty interesting animation ideas that sort of surprised me knowing how pretty old this flick is. Its funny when we say "No… More
  11/03/2010 (DVD) A brave attempt but it didn't do it for me. It was probably legendary at its released date and I must say, there were some pretty interesting animation ideas that sort of surprised me knowing how pretty old this flick is. Its funny when we say "No offense" just before we offend someone, well, "no offense" to those who gave more than 2 stars but it bored the crap out of me, but I'm glad it tickled your bum. (Remember "No offense") It must be because I saw "Peter Jackson's" version, and as a result I find it hard to enjoy it and appreciate its true value. (Let's blame Peter!) Anyway, check it out if you still desire.

• Tim S

  
  It's not the best adaptation of the story, but it does bear that unmistakable Bakshi mark of quality. I enjoy it mostly for that reason.

• Conner R

  
  An extremely bizarre and chaotic version of Lord Of The Rings. It would make absolutely no sense to someone who isn't familiar with the series and has some of the most odd interpretations of characters/settings. The only thing that I actually liked about this movie was the blend… More
  An extremely bizarre and chaotic version of Lord Of The Rings. It would make absolutely no sense to someone who isn't familiar with the series and has some of the most odd interpretations of characters/settings. The only thing that I actually liked about this movie was the blend of animation next to live action, it is incredibly interesting to look at.

• Anthony L

  
  I really liked it as a kid! What was the name of that little furry animal and who was it supposed to be again?

• Dan S

  
  Not bad, but not fantastic

• Lafe F

  
  The 1978 Ralph Bakshi animated version of "The Lord of the Rings" is a snooze-fest that ends up putting me to sleep almost every time. The plotting is good for covering "The Fellowship of the Ring", but then it gets muddled as it delves into "The Two… More
  The 1978 Ralph Bakshi animated version of "The Lord of the Rings" is a snooze-fest that ends up putting me to sleep almost every time. The plotting is good for covering "The Fellowship of the Ring", but then it gets muddled as it delves into "The Two Towers" events. I got sooo confused with what was going on. The rotoscoped animation offered realistic movement, but sketchy and inconsistent details. Sometimes the cels used backgrounds of colored lights to convey the magical effects in some scenes. The Leonard Rosenman musical score was epic, dramatic and an up-beat military march. It bothered the heck out of me they did not make another movie to finish the story! Instead, we got the cheapass made-for-TV "Return of the King" with its tacky songs and oafish animation.

• xGary X

  
  Muddled and overly ambitious attempt to animate Tolkien's novel; it's penchant for "cheating" and just including sections of live action that's been rotoscoped looks a mess and the fact that it just abruptly ends in the middle of the story makes it feel like a… More
  Muddled and overly ambitious attempt to animate Tolkien's novel; it's penchant for "cheating" and just including sections of live action that's been rotoscoped looks a mess and the fact that it just abruptly ends in the middle of the story makes it feel like a bit of a waste of time, really.

• Steve B

  
  It's not that I'm against LotR, I'm just not a big fan of Ralph Bakshi.

• Sophie B

  
  confusing stuff

• Michael G

  
  So bad it's good.

• Lanning :

  
  O-day ou-yay ink-thay I-way an-cay et-gay away-way om-fray eing-bay illed-kay y-bay anatic-fay ans-fay y-bay iving-gay one-way ar-stay o-tay is-thay ovie-may if-way I-way ite-wray in-way ig-Pay atin-Lay?

• Matthew Y

  
  A more honest representation of the tone of the novels than Peter Jackson's epic approach in his live action saga, this animated version by Ralph Bakshi was given to me on VHS by a family member who loved the Tolkien classic. As a kid I hated this film in large part because it… More
  A more honest representation of the tone of the novels than Peter Jackson's epic approach in his live action saga, this animated version by Ralph Bakshi was given to me on VHS by a family member who loved the Tolkien classic. As a kid I hated this film in large part because it is crappily animated (even for the time that it was made) had poor voice acting, a long run-time and don't even get me started on the songs . Revisiting it later in life its a more interesting version than I gave it credit for in my youth but I can't imagine anyone would call it superior to the novels or Jackson's films. Really only Tolkien aficionados or the very nostalgic I feel could get enjoyment from the film but it you're curious enough I can honestly say that its interesting seeing a different interpretation of the infamous trilogy.

• Cameron J

  
  A strong hook and fair animation are met by a lack of engagement, weak editing, expendable scenes, some feeling of repetition, a cop-outastic ending and some bad dialogue. Well, at least the dialogue isn't "Two Towers" bad. Still, that's not to say that it's… More
  A strong hook and fair animation are met by a lack of engagement, weak editing, expendable scenes, some feeling of repetition, a cop-outastic ending and some bad dialogue. Well, at least the dialogue isn't "Two Towers" bad. Still, that's not to say that it's any where close to the live-actions in quality. Of course, I'm not here to compare, I'm here to say that Ralph Bakshi's adaptation of "Lord of the Rings" is a fair, but generally underwhelming film.

• Grant B

  
  Nothing compared to the beauty and vision of Peter Jackson's version of the beloved series

• Yinalí R

  
  Of course, all of these movies deserve a 5...

• Sunil J

  
  Hate this animation and this music

• The S

  
  This much maligned version of Tolkien's classic story is actually very good. On the positive side it is appropriately dark (this is NOT a kids' story), it is well voiced, the genuine animation is excellent and the plot keeps pretty close to the book. On the negative side… More
  This much maligned version of Tolkien's classic story is actually very good. On the positive side it is appropriately dark (this is NOT a kids' story), it is well voiced, the genuine animation is excellent and the plot keeps pretty close to the book. On the negative side some of the animation is the inferior (and cheaper) rotoscoped live action, the sound track is a quite weak, it does not complete the story and, with no sequel, it never does. A shame because, at its best, it's excellent.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings