Footage from Ralph Bakshi’s animated rendition of the “Lord of the Rings” (1978) has been recovered.
Back in the 70s, fans of the filmmaker were left hanging on the rampart’s of Helm’s deep when the filmmaker-known for “Fritz the Cat,” “Wizards,” “American Pop” and “Cool World” was not allowed to conclude his animated take on Tolkein’s epic story. He got roughly through two-thirds Tolkien’s three-part story. Thankfully, Bakshi’s son, Eddie Bakshi, has been hard at work rescuing footage from the cutting room floor, restoring and releasing excellent relics of his father’s opus.
The clips below come from the moment in the story when Gandalf takes an unfortunate tumble, grappling with the Balrog in a violent free fall. The first clip is titled “Gandalf recalls fighting the Balrog”
and the second is “Gandalf duels with the Balrog and smashes into the endless staircase.”
If Bakshi’s style piques your interest, explore his Facebook page to see clips from his other canonical works.
[Hat Tip: Boing Boing]
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