director

 

The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 American high fantasy animated film directed by Ralph Bakshi. The screenplay was written by Peter S. Beagle, based on an earlier draft by Chris Conkling. It is an adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings, comprising The Fellowship of the Ring and the first half of The Two Towers. Set in Middle-earth, the film follows a group of hobbits, elves, men, dwarves, and wizards who form a fellowship. They embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring made by the Dark Lord Sauron, and ensure his destruction.

 

Ralph Bakshi encountered Tolkien's writing early in his career, and had made several attempts to produce The Lord of the Rings as an animated film before being given funding by producer Saul Zaentz and distributor United Artists.

 

The film is notable for its extensive use of rotoscoping, a technique in which scenes are first shot in live-action, then traced onto animation cels. It uses a hybrid of traditional cel animation and rotoscoped live action footage.

 

The film features the voices of William Squire, John Hurt, Michael Graham Cox, and Anthony Daniels of Star Wars fame, and was one of the first animated films to be presented theatrically in the Dolby Stereo sound system.

 

Director: Ralph Bakshi
Producer: Saul Zaentz
Screenplay: Peter S. Beagle, Chris Conkling
Starring: Christopher Guard, William Squire, Michael Scholes, John Hurt, Simon Chandler, Dominic Guard, Michael Graham Cox, Anthony Daniels, David Buck
Music: Leonard Rosenman, Paul Kont
Cinematography: Timothy Galfas
Editor: Donald W. Ernst