The Controversial ‘Lord of the Rings’ Adaptation You’ve Never Heard of

Another bit of ‘Lord of the Rings’ history is arriving on streaming services as fans anxiously anticipate the debut of ‘The War of the Rohirrim’ next month. Beginning in December, Max will finally provide the 1978 animated version of ‘The Lord of the Rings’. It was previously only available for purchase or rental on services like Apple TV+ and Prime Video. This animated movie offers a distinctive interpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s well-loved tale and came before Peter Jackson’s famous trilogy. Audiences were more lenient, giving the film a 64% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to critics’ meagre 49%.

Tolkien was given credit for the original works, but Chris Conklin and Peter S. Beagle wrote the animated film. Ralph Bakshi, a talented filmmaker best recognized for his considerable work in animation, directed it. Throughout his decades-long career, Bakshi has directed ‘Spider-Man: The Original Animated Series’ and the hand-drawn adult animated movie ‘American Pop’, which came out in 1981. ‘Last Days of Coney Island’, 2015 short he also authored, is one of his more recent endeavors.

Image Courtesy: Reddit

As evidence of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ ongoing appeal, the original 1978 movie included a strong voice cast. Helm Hammerhand is voiced by Brian Cox, who won an Emmy for his performance in ‘Succession’, and Saruman is played by the late Christopher Lee. As they get ready for ‘The War of the Rohirrim’, which stars Luke Pasqualino, Miranda Otto, and Shaun Dooley and opens in theatres on 13th December, fans can anticipate returning to this beloved rendition.

Keep an eye out for developments on Tolkien-inspired projects and mark 1st December as the day for the Max streaming of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ (1978).

–Farheen Ali