[The Saucepan Man]

You have to remember that the Bakshi version was made in the late 1970s (I think). At that time, although the original Star Wars had broken new ground in terms of SFX, a live action version of LotR would have been unthinkable. Believe it or not, the way in which the animated film used real action overlaid with drawing (for the horse-riding and battle scenes, for example) was in itself state of the art for the time.<P>As a 12 year old who had just read LotR for the first time and been captivated by it, I was terribly excited about the prospect of the animated film. I saw it at the cinema and loved it. It was wonderful to see what had recently become my favourite book brought to life on the screen. I recall being terribly disappointed that it finished at the end of Helm's Deep, and that the sequel was never made.<P>Now, I have not seen it again since, but I do of course recognise, looking back, that it had its flaws. The visualisation of the characters certainly leaves a lot to be desired (Aragorn the Red Indian, Gimli the Yokel, Boromir the Viking, Legolas the Cross-Eyed etc). And I am sure that it now looks terribly dated. <P>But, as someone who saw this film when it was first released, I cannot but harbour fond memories of it. <P>I think that HC (as always) put it very well when he said:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Technically, I think Bakshi's goal outstretched his grasp, but I admire him for the effort. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>