shadow-41 Reviews

The Lord of the Rings (1978)

An excellent production about an immense subject

[7/10 · 16 November 1998]

I have been a fan of JRR Tolkien since I was about 8 years old, and I have never failed in my admiration for both him and his literary works.

I first read The Hobbit, then obviously The Lord of the Rings and was instantly hooked. Since then I have tried to collect every book that he has published, including his other University works.

The Lord of the Rings is an immense work and to turn it into an acceptable film requires a lot of time and patience. Ralph Bakshi has done a terrific job of representing Middle-Earth through some truly inspired animation.

It is unfortunate that he had to severely abridge some of the less important scenes but overall he has captured the main thread of things.

I was a little disappointed with Sam who was not, as portrayed, a country bumpkin. He was actually quite intelligent and it was through him that Frodo made the journey to Mount Doom without giving up.

It is a shame that the film ends just after the Battle of Helm's Deep as I was looking forward to the main battle at Pelennor Fields and the death of the Nazgul.

Overall Ralph Bakshi has done a wonderful job with the funding that was available, and without the aid of 'computers' to enhance anything.

Ice Cold in Alex (1958)

An excellent movie about how people really can work together

[8/10 · 16 November 1998]

This film really brings out how people can overcome their differences, no matter how large or seemingly-impossible, and work together for their own survival.

Anthony Quayle acted his part with perfection, staying both loyal to his own cause, AND to the common cause of survival.

He did not turn anybody over to the German army despite the many opportunities, but turned each incident into an advantage that helped all concerned.

Also the matter of alcoholic addiction was portrayed excellently by John Mills, and the self-realisation which led to his overcoming of the problem was quite poignant.

Overall I would recommend this film as one of the classics amongst war-theme movies. It gets behind the scenes and down to the really important matter of real people and THEIR perspective of things.