LOTR: Bakshi vs Jackson vs other versions

For discussion of the upcoming films based on The Hobbit and related material, as well as previous films based on Tolkien's work
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elengil
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LOTR: Bakshi vs Jackson vs other versions

Post by elengil »

For all the crap that Bakshi's version gets, I feel this is the review is a very fair one. I have always had a soft spot for the cartoon since I grew up with it, and even though it did some things very badly, it did some very well - in a few cases, better or closer to the books than Jackson's movies. I agree with the majority of his assessments here, especially in the characters that Bakshi got right.

Nostalgia Critic: LOTR Animated vs. Lord of the Rings


Ever since Alatar linked to the "first time LOTR reaction" video, I've been stuck in this delightful rabbit hole. I also found this review (in 3 parts) of Bakshi's version, and while it's a very harsh review, I also can't really disagree with it. While it does veer into some questionable territory, it also had me laughing to tears in a few spots.

I did learn quite a bit about the making of the cartoon I hadn't know before, including that all the animation was based on rotoscope (whereas I had always thought the main animation bits were pure animation and only the 'obvious' rotoscoped parts were.)



Last edited by elengil on Wed Dec 16, 2020 7:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: LOTR: Bakshi vs Jackson

Post by elengil »

Jude also found a side-by-side of the two to show the difference in their shared scenes.

The dumbest thing I've ever bought
was a 2020 planner.

"Does anyone ever think about Denethor, the guy driven to madness by staying up late into the night alone in the dark staring at a flickering device he believed revealed unvarnished truth about the outside word, but which in fact showed mostly manipulated media created by a hostile power committed to portraying nothing but bad news framed in the worst possible way in order to sap hope, courage, and the will to go on? Seems like he's someone we should think about." - Dave_LF
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elengil
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Re: LOTR: Bakshi vs Jackson vs other versions

Post by elengil »




I'm not sure I should have enjoyed this quite as much as I did.
The dumbest thing I've ever bought
was a 2020 planner.

"Does anyone ever think about Denethor, the guy driven to madness by staying up late into the night alone in the dark staring at a flickering device he believed revealed unvarnished truth about the outside word, but which in fact showed mostly manipulated media created by a hostile power committed to portraying nothing but bad news framed in the worst possible way in order to sap hope, courage, and the will to go on? Seems like he's someone we should think about." - Dave_LF
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Re: LOTR: Bakshi vs Jackson vs other versions

Post by Beorhtnoth »

A stalled project, but I have been marrying the BBC Radio adaptation with both the Bakshi and Jackson films and I have discovered pluses and minuses for both iterations. For example, Bilbo's party is a better fit from the Jackson film, but the Flight to the Ford is superior in Bakshi's offering (I never forgave Jackson for excising Frodo's failing stand against the Nazgûl purely to beef up Arwen's role).
Of course, there is insufficient film to present the whole of the BBC dramatization, but using Sony Vegas judiciously, with zoom on repeating frames to create new cuts, a surprising amount of dead space can be filled.
I have no-one to play Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, unfortunately...
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Jude
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Re: LOTR: Bakshi vs Jackson vs other versions

Post by Jude »

Are you going to release the final result to the public?
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Re: LOTR: Bakshi vs Jackson vs other versions

Post by Beorhtnoth »

@Jude

I hadn't considered anybody else being interested, but of course I would love to share my Frankenstein monster!

A major stumbling block is copyright. I wonder just how much latitude I would have, plundering the BBC, Peter Jackson and Ralph Bakshi...
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Re: LOTR: Bakshi vs Jackson vs other versions

Post by elengil »

I'd love to see it though I agree copyright might be an issue. I doubt this falls under fair use for educational purposes...
The dumbest thing I've ever bought
was a 2020 planner.

"Does anyone ever think about Denethor, the guy driven to madness by staying up late into the night alone in the dark staring at a flickering device he believed revealed unvarnished truth about the outside word, but which in fact showed mostly manipulated media created by a hostile power committed to portraying nothing but bad news framed in the worst possible way in order to sap hope, courage, and the will to go on? Seems like he's someone we should think about." - Dave_LF
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Re: LOTR: Bakshi vs Jackson vs other versions

Post by Beorhtnoth »

"Educational purposes". I do believe that was the tactic used by publishers of naturist material...

As an aside, I edited a 4 hour Hobbit from Peter Jackson's fare, and considering a major criticism of the trilogy was the bloating of the story, I was surprised how little of the book made its way on to screen. A case in point is the Trolls; I had to cut from making camp to the troll cave because the film troll encounter was so badly actualized.

I have pondered many times why Jackson et al thought they could rewrite Tolkien to make it better...
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Re: LOTR: Bakshi vs Jackson vs other versions

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

Please do not discuss sharing this publicly. It could lead to this site going away.
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Re: LOTR: Bakshi vs Jackson vs other versions

Post by Beorhtnoth »

As I think I intimated, but will state definitively, my playing with media is purely for my own interest. Though I would love to share my produce, I am aware, as stated, of legal implications.

You can rest easy, Voronwë. :)
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Re: LOTR: Bakshi vs Jackson vs other versions

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

Thanks.

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