The Downs on film in Soviet FotR

[Galadriel55]

I have seen Hobitit, I liked it very much. Tob Bom there is quite a unique take with his indigenous look, a different twist on the guardian of his land. But my favourite parts were surprisingly the Book IV equivalent, which is not my favourite to read.

I am yet to see the Soviet adaptation, though several people have sent it to me already. I will absolutely post impressions once I do! At first glance though, I think I get most dissonance from Galadriel and least dissonance from Bombadil. Making Frodo look a 50 year old bachelor is also something that I believe is unique to this take. This Gollum reminds me a lot of the Hobitit Gollum, which I suppose is just in the nature of what you can do without a green suit.

[Thinlómien]

Well, some of us have seen Hobitit as kids, way before the PJ movies. Naturally I have a soft spot for it.

I'm really glad it's on YouTube these days with decent subtitles (won't nitpick about them now) so it's accessible to fans around the world. The cheap early 90s special effects and some of the costume/makeup choices are pretty ridiculous, and some of the adaptation choices are questionable too (following just Frodo&Sam after the breaking of the fellowship? really?) but I would definitely recommend it. It's very atmospheric, more faithful to the book than the PJ movies, and certainly something different.

That being said, I really want to check out the Soviet LotR now. I was happy to discover it seems to have subtitles too, so I can actually follow it!

[Huinesoron]

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

Well, some of us have seen Hobitit as kids, way before the PJ movies. Naturally I have a soft spot for it.

I'm really glad it's on YouTube these days with decent subtitles (won't nitpick about them now) so it's accessible to fans around the world. The cheap early 90s special effects and some of the costume/makeup choices are pretty ridiculous, and some of the adaptation choices are questionable too (following just Frodo&Sam after the breaking of the fellowship? really?) but I would definitely recommend it. It's very atmospheric, more faithful to the book than the PJ movies, and certainly something different.

That being said, I really want to check out the Soviet LotR now. I was happy to discover it seems to have subtitles too, so I can actually follow it!

Hobitit is quite adorable - and even when it gets weird, as you say, it's different.

I've added links to the (a) subtitled version of the Soviet thing to my Google Doc; I think it was only posted after I'd already gone through it.

~

To complete the set... some time ago I scoured the web for details of the John Boorman Lord of the Rings script treatment. I put a written summary together (no pictures, as it never got made):

Boorman of the Rings

Neither Tom Bombadil nor the Barrow-Downs made it into the script... but Old Man Willow did!

Originally Posted by Boorman of the Rings

Soon thereafter here one comes...a Black Rider! Off the Hobbits go at a run into the thick forest. The Hobbits notice that the branches of the trees seem to fight against the Black Rider, impeding its progress, allowing the Hobbits to get away.

But then a bad tree trips Pippin and then Merry. Sam laughs, but then the tree gives him a smack, which makes Sam angry enough to try to attack it with his axe. The tree knocks the axe out of his hands, so the Hobbits try a different tack:

They apologize to the tree, and the Hobbits chant to it:

Eat Earth,
Dig deep,
Drink water,
Go to sleep.

Now the tree likes the Hobbits, and allows them to sleep the night in safety up in its branches.

The following day, Strider rescues them from another Black Rider, right outside the crystal palace of Rivendell. The Boorman script is weird.

hS