The Lord of the Rings (1978)

It’s the first major adaptation of Tolkien’s trilogy and it is…rotoscope animation? Enter Ralph Bakshi and his completely batshit vision of an animated Middle Earth!

Is it a mixed masterpiece or a very audacious disaster? Either way, Bakshi’s rotoscope RINGS is extremely influential for Peter Jackson, and we’re celebrating its legacy this week.

Next week, we complete our unofficial animated trilogy with RETURN OF THE KING (1980) from Rankin and Bass. Join the conversation on our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx and get more Eye of the Duck on our Patreon show, After Hours https://www.patreon.com/EyeoftheDuckPod

References:

• Special Features
  • Forging Through The Darkness: The Ralph Bakshi Vision
• Middle-Earth Envisioned: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings: On Screen, On Stage, and Beyond by Brian J. Robb and Paul Simpson
• Cinefantastique Production History
• Jim Hill Media Ralph Bakshi Interview
• A.V. Club Ralph Bakshi Interview
• The Hollywood Reporter Production History
• Ralph Bakshi on Peter Jackson

Credits:

Eye of the Duck is created, hosted, and produced by Dom Nero and Adam Volerich.

This episode was edited by Michael Gaspari.

This episode was researched by Parth Marathe.

Our logo was designed by Francesca Volerich. You can purchase her work at francescavolerich.com/shop

The "Adam's Blu-Ray Corner" theme was produced by Chase Sterling.

Assistant programming and digital production by Nik Long.

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