The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Review
by Aahz (aahz AT pobox DOT com)January 14th, 2002
[Warning: mega-spoilers for both versions of _Lord of the Rings]
Comparison of
_Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring_
(2001, live action, directed by Peter Jackson)
versus
_Lord of the Rings_
(1978, animated, directed by Ralph Bakshi)
Reviewed by Aahz, [email protected], copyright 2002
After watching Jackson's LotR, my primary and I watched Bakshi's version on DVD. Where I was moderately unhappy with Jackson originally, now I think that Jackson truly squandered his opportunity.
Before I start ripping Jackson to shreds, let me start with the one thing he did right: visually, Jackson has it all over Bakshi. The Jackson version is just plain beautiful, Jackson does a good job with characters (particularly given that he had to find live actors) and a brilliant job with their costumes, Jackson's scenery is compelling, the settings (most notably the Shire) are just plain Right, and the Balrog is magnificent.
I do like the visuals in Bakshi, don't get me wrong. I think Bakshi overall did better with the look of the hobbits and Boromir, and I like Bakshi's conception of the Riders better. But I'll happily concede the visuals to Jackson because I can condemn him on so many other grounds. (Historically, many reviewers have disliked Bakshi because of the rotoscoping, but I like it.)
Where Bakshi does better: despite a shorter run length and covering 1.5 books (to Jackson's one book), Bakshi manages to cram in much more of Tolkien's dialog and writing. Credit for this I think is due particularly to Peter Beagle, who co-wrote the screenplay. Beagle has more than earned his own chops as a fantasy writer who cares about language, and this care is evident in the way that he pushes as much of Tolkien into Bakshi as can possibly fit. One technique that Bakshi uses is to have character dialog or book narration during travel sequences.
There are three critical points where Bakshi's variation absolutely trumps Jackson in creating the feel of the book: when Merry/Pippin make clear that they're going with Frodo to Rivendell, when Frodo confronts the Riders at the ford, and the council at Rivendell. But all through Bakshi, my primary and I were going "YES!" whenever we heard some important bit of Tolkien that Jackson cut.
Then there's the problem of Jackson ADDING material. I'm not fond of giving Arwen so much screen time (Bakshi replaces Glorfindel with Legolas), but it's a compromise for modern sensibilities that I can live with. The parts that bug me the most are the council at Rivendell (that shouting match disgusts me) and the scene where Frodo drops the ring and Boromir picks it up. Jackson gives Saruman too much screen time; the schoolboy brawl between Saruman and Gandalf is at best undignified. The troll scene in Moria takes even more too much time and isn't particularly faithful, either.
Finally, Jackson sees fit to completely remove the singing (yes, Jackson has a chorus in background, but you can't ever actually hear the words, which is what counts).
Oh, and let's not even talk about stupid little bits in Jackson, like Sting glowing when Glamdring doesn't, or when Frodo is visible on the river when he leaves the Fellowship (instead of being invisible). So many times when just following Tolkien would be as dramatic, Jackson futzes with things (e.g. the sequence where Boromir argues with Frodo over where to go with the ring).
Bakshi does cut some bits that Jackson puts in. The Shire sequence is much shorter, and Farmer Maggot is completely chopped. Bakshi doesn't show the Moria lake monster getting disturbed. Several other bits of scenes are also abbreviated or chopped (no entrance or departure to Lothlorien, for example). And Bakshi makes a boo-boo when Glamdring breaks in the fight with the Balrog.
All in all, Bakshi has problems, but if you want to see a movie that's relatively faithful to half of the books, it's your only choice. Bakshi is proof that it is possible; I'd dearly love to see a movie based on Bakshi's script with the Bakshi problems remedied.
--- Aahz <*> (Copyright 2002 by [email protected])
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 http://www.rahul.net/aahz/ Androgynous poly kinky vanilla queer het Pythonista
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