Rating: 
Summary: Stupendous
Review: By far the best of all the current presentations to date. I especialy enjoyed the performance of Tom Bombadil (can not remember the actors name ). Also the stunning atmosperic portrayal of the Barrow Downs really sent a sliver of ice up my spine. The soundtrack is stunning I would put it up with classics such as Starwars and Gladiator but more then likey the dirty dozen is where the sound came from. It will be an up hill battle for the current movie to push this gem out of its rightful place as the greatest film in history.
Rating:
Summary: Pre-release comments
Review: The Lord of the Rings DVD will be a re-release of the 1978 animated film. While the film covered only the first half of the Lord of the Rings novels, it does have several wonderful points. Firstly, it is one of the truest adaptions ever done. While some of it was changed to accomidate time constraints - it is already two hours long - it keeps closely to the novels, and presents the characters and story as they were intended. Lastly, the animation used in the film is spectacular. They shot a live action reference film and literally animated it frame by frame. It was the most ambitious animated project ever attempted before computer animation became prevalent. Even with today's computer imagery, the smooth motion from frame to frame in this film is something else. I can't wait for it to be released again!
Rating: 
Summary: Lord of the Rings in a nutshell
Review: How do you fit a 1200 page novel into an animated movie? Unfortunately you have to squeeze things out.In this case, alot of things. If you read the book and loved it, you will probably notice that many of your favorite parts are missing in the movie. This doesn't mean the movie is innaccurate, it just means that it sticks to the main core of the story, whereas the book often would trail off on some side-quest that had nothing much to do with the plot, other than some extra excitement.If you want a rich, deep adventure through a fantasy world, read the book. I watched the movie to see if the animated world resembled like what I imagined it would from the book.I liked it and the animation is really good, considering it's 20 years old.
Rating:
Summary: One of Bakshi's best - Either you love it or hate it
Review: Having seen this film first in '78 in the theaters I was blown away and turned on to the work of Ralph Bakshi (already being a fan of Tolkien - this only fueled the fire more). By the early 80's I was able to purchase a VHS copy of this (for $80+ - ouch) which I still own and use to make friends and family their own copies since this baby is out of print. For what he was able to work with I believe that Bakshi did make his swan song - even though it was harshly hounded on by the critics at the time. I also have the vastly inferior and toned down (no blood) Rakin/Bass versions of The Hobbit and ROTK - and believe me - they do not hold a candle to this. Sure there are parts that don't quite jive with the books but Bakshi is much closer to the mark then 1979's ROTK (orcs are an aberration of elves not a lump with a huge maw and no body - and Casey Kasem's voice in Tolkien - GOD HAVE MERCY!). Bakshi uses dialog that in many cases is directly from the Fellowship and the 1st half of Two Towers. The scene with Gandalf & Sauraman of many colors at Orthanc is wonderfull. Moria is exactly how I imagined, and I still get chills when the black riders unveil themselves at Bree (note the half-orc spy conversing at the table with his fellow spies at the prancing pony - very subtle) The animation is top notch (Bakshi has been animating since the 50's) and while some feel the rotoscoping takes away from the feel of authenticity, I personally feel it fits for the orcs and nazgul and is part of Bakshi's style. This film is now being remastered for a DVD release to coincide with Peter Jackson's trilogy - which I have been anxiously waiting for. I heartily endorse anything by Ralph Bakshi - he is a true master of the craft (what a shame that he retired) and really captures the feel of the era in his films - try Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic, Coonskin (a real natural cotton sweater!), Hey Good Lookin', Wizards (why isn't this on DVD yet?), American Pop, and Fire & Ice (another wonderful fantasy film deserving of DVD release). FRODO LIVES !
Rating: 
Summary: I'm a Little Confused...
Review: If you have seen Bass' version of Return of the King, you may be confused after watching this one. The Orcs really threw me off; they were half-animated, half-real toothy blobs grunting stupidly. Gollum was also foolishly drawn, although not as frustrating as the Orcs. Frodo was drawn quite handsomely, but seemed too young and boyish compared to his rightful age (50); the other cartoon portrayed him better. Sam thoroughly disgusted me: where is the lovable, dedicated, and fierce companion of Frodo? Instead, Sam is a grotesque little guy who bumbles around stupidly. I love Sam, and that hurt my eyes to watch. The rest of the characters are fairly well-drawn (I enjoyed the handsome little Hobbits) and the story is kept pretty acurately. Did I mention the ugly women? Bass' version draws them much better! Perhaps this review is a little harsh; I did enjoy this cartoon, and the animation was pretty swell, but I preferred Bass' version. Why don't you give them both a shot?
Rating: 
Summary: Did we all see the same movie?
Review: I am no 'die-hard lotr fan', but I know a rotten movie when I see one. The quality came nowhere near 'THE HOBBIT' or even 'THE RETURN OF THE KING'. Gandalf and Saruman were horrable, and those orcs---. This is the kind of film that gives LOTR a bad name. On the good side...Gollum was as interesting as in the books, and (better still) therer was no sequal! This film is o.k. if you absolutely MUST watch all Tolkien-related stuff, but don't show it to the uninitiated. It will ruin any chance for you to get them to read the book!
Rating:
Summary: Pretty darn cool
Review: Okay... yes, this film has its flaws. The second half of it is a little jarbled; of course, this is mainly because Bakashi never finished the movie. It cost $10 million to make, and in turn gained a $70 million dollar profit in the box office. For some reason, the studio was unhappy, and Bakashi seems to remain to this day confused as to the studio's complaints. At any rate, for the animation he utilizes a combination of hand-drawn animatics and tracings of actual footage. At times, this technique is breathtaking. However, largely the live-action tracings are disappointing (The orcs are basically black blobs with gray splotches thrown here and there... of course, there are thousands of them on the screen. If Bakashi had not used this method, he'd still be drawing the film to this day.) The characters are well-played by the voice actors, the story is (of course) incredible... the only real disappointment is that it was never finished. Bakashi's direction is on target... he captures the essence of Tolkien's masterpiece. If you can find the VHS, then get your hands on it. It's an excellent movie that has some minor flaws. Kudos to Peter Jackson who's currently making the live-action version... that should be really groovy (i hope)... By the way... just a little tidbit of information: John Boorman (director of Excalibur, Deliverance, Hope and Glory, and [unfortunately] Zardoz... but a great director, nevertheless) was said to have been in the works for making a live-action Lord of the Rings in a single film. Bakashi protested this and was given the rights to make his animated version instead. Anyways, stay cool guys~
Rating:
Summary: Lord of the Rings
Review: To start this review of normally would be a injustice to the film, the first word i'am going to say is wow, this film is amazing, an animated classic that can trick you into thinking its a film. If I could of given this film more stars I would of done. From the age of five I had my dad get this fantasy film off the T.V for me and for the next six months I watched this film religously every week, many times. After about six months it broke taking the video player with it, for the past eight years I have searched every video shop and web site and still have not got it. Ohhhh well some place must have it. Fans of the book must see this. Exellent
Rating: 
Summary: Sloppy, confusing, ugly
Review: There are some things that just should not have been made. Three words describe what Ralph Bakshi ultimatley achieved with his "adaptation" of Lord of the Rings: Sloppy, confusing, ugly. I'm done.
Rating:
Summary: Lord of the Rings
Review: A true classic. This animated video broke more ground than Disney had at the time. Some of the sequences trick you into thinking real actors were being filmed instead of just moving pictures. I recomend this film to everyone, except maybe small children because it may scare them in some places. I hope Hollywood does as good a job with the live action version!
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