BBC Online
March 24, 2001

Bakshi's 'Lord of the Rings' Review
Matt Ford

This sensitive adaptation of Tolkien's epic fantasy classic skilfully maintains the spirit of the book while adding the energy, pace and atmosphere of cinema.

Filming a book is always tricky - but filming Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" is nearly impossible. It's not just that recreating the magical realm of Middle Earth requires huge budgets and would terrify even an elite special effects team; more than that, it's a fan's book - regarded with near-sacred awe by devotees - and however hard you try, you risk offending the very people the film's aimed at. It's no wonder that despite buying the rights in the late 50s, it took Disney nearly 30 years to make the film - the surprise is how good the final version is.

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