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Have you ever wondered what The Lord of the Rings would be like if the filmmakers were obviously stoned? You're about to find out, because the long-forgotten, and largely bonkers, animated Lord of the Rings movies have finally arrived on streaming. Peter Jackson's trilogy is undoubtedly the most beloved adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's world, with a stellar cast and phenomenal practical effects (not to mention the soundtrack), which brings fans back for multiple viewings every year. But, in the darkest corner of Mordor, lies an adaptation so bizarre and surreal, it should be cast into the fires of Mount Doom.

Decades before Peter Jackson brought Hobbits to life on the big screen, Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit both received animated movies in the 1970s. The Hobbit was released in 1977, with Lord of the Rings hitting theaters the following year. Unless you grew up watching these adaptations on TV in the 70s,...

Fantasy books, movies, and TV shows are often spun into franchises because of the expansive worlds that the writers and creators of the series develop. While some spinoffs and sequels don't live up to previous books or screen iterations, these franchises have never disappointed me. Returning to the fantastical worlds that lie within the pages or dazzling visuals of these franchises has provided comfort, escape, and thrilling adventures at every turn. Whether it's through additional books, spinoffs, or multiple sequels, these fantasy stories have the potential to go on for a long time.

While there are some movies and fantasy TV shows that go on for too long, there are other franchises that are ever-expanding. World-building is a considerable factor in whether or not a fantasy series has the longevity to continue for many years. Of course, every audience is biased, as my favorite fictional universes that have captured my...

Russell Crowe reveals why he turned down a role in The Lord of the Rings. Serving as adaptations of the books by J.R.R. Tolkien director Peter Jackson's hit fantasy trilogy was released from 2001 to 2003, chronicling Frodo's (Elijah Wood) epic quest to destroy the One Ring. The Lord of the Rings cast is a major reason why the movies work so well, but it's become common knowledge in the decades since the films' release that various other actors were almost cast for key roles, including Crowe as Aragorn, a role that eventually went to Viggo Mortensen.

In a recent segment for British GQ, Crowe is asked on social media whether he regrets turning down The Lord of the Rings.

Crowe makes clear that it's not a decision he regrets, and explains that he didn't take the job because he had a feeling he wasn't Jackson's top choice. Check out...

Fathom Events is re-releasing the Lord of the Rings trilogy in 4K extended editions throughout June. The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers have both landed in the domestic box office Top 10 for the weekend. The movies are performing well, though they have hardly made a dent in the box office totals of their original runs.

Two Lord of the Rings movies have landed in the domestic box office Top 10. The trilogy, which was adapted from the iconic fantasy novels of the same name by J.R.R. Tolkien, was released between 2001 and 2003 to overwhelming critical and commercial success. They were followed by a trilogy of live-action movies adapting Tokien's prequel The Hobbit between 2012 and 2014. In recent years, the Lord of the Rings franchise has picked up steam once more with the 2022 premiere of Prime Video's The Rings of Power and the upcoming 2024 animated movie The War of the Rohirrim.

Warner Bros. is working on a new Lord of the Rings movie that could arrive in 2026. The project is currently in the early script stage. More recent Lord of the Rings projects have struggled to recapture the magic of Peter Jackson's original trilogy.

Warner Bros. has a new Lord of the Rings movie in the works, and it already has a tentative release window. Adapting J. R. R. Tolkien's beloved fantasy novel series, Peter Jackson's first acclaimed Lord of the Rings trilogy was released from 2001 to 2003. The filmmaker would subsequently return to the world of Middle-earth with his more divisive Hobbit trilogy in the 2010s. Since then, new projects in the franchise have included The Rings of Power on Prime Video and an upcoming anime movie, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

Now, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav reveals during a recent earnings...

Lord of the Rings was initially adapted as an animated movie, but with Peter Jackson's films and Amazon's series, the franchise has seen significant expansion and attention. Pixar's creative and innovative animation style could bring a fresh and unique perspective to Middle Earth, as seen in AI art images shared on Instagram. The use of AI in entertainment has sparked debate among fans, with some wanting a Pixar adaptation of Tolkien's work and others calling for the shutdown of AI art-sharing accounts.

The Lord of the Rings was once seen as a novel that could never be adapted into a live-action movie. Therefore, it is not surprising that the first time J.R.R. Tolkien's world was envisioned on screen was in a 1982 animated movie, which while impressive in its ambition was only able to tell part of the story in its 131 minutes runtime.

the lord of the rings...

Fox Searchlight Pictures has released the first trailer and poster for their upcoming thriller My Cousin Rachel, which stars Rachel Weisz as the title character and Sam Claflin as Philip Ashley. This film will mark the third time that the timeless original novel by Daphne Du Maurier will be adapted, with the first big-screen adaptation debuting in 1952, starring Olivia de Havilland as Rachel Ashley and Richard Burton as Philip Ashley. The novel was then adapted into a 1983 mini-series starring Geraldine Chaplin and Christopher Guard as Rachel and Philip.

My Cousin Rachel is a dark romance that tells the story of a young Englishman who plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms. The original novel was first published in 1951, and also spawned a few other types of adaptations.

It sounds like a winner — Albert Finney and Martin Sheen team up for a daring subterranean bank robbery in the heart of London. The locations, the sets and the production are all first class. So what happened? Susannah York and Jonathan Pryce are in on the heist as well.

Loophole (1981)

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1981 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date January 3, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring Albert Finney, Martin Sheen, Susannah York, Colin Blakely, Jonathan Pryce, Robert Morley, Alfred Lynch, Tony Doyle, Christopher Guard, Gwyneth Powell.

Cinematography Michael Reed

Film Editor Ralph Sheldon

Original Music Lalo Schifrin

Written by Jonathan Hales from a novel by Robert Pollock

Produced by Julian Holloway, David Korda

Directed by John Quested

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

The great movie titled Loophole is still the underdog film noir from 1954, with Barry Sullivan as a bank clerk being dogged by an insurance investigator. The 1981 Loophole, an English movie,...

This week sees the release of several new movies and TV shows, some for the first time ever on Blu-ray. Of the ones coming out this week, we’re excited for a few of them in particular. These esteemed examples of entertainment include The Natural, Dreamscape, the debut of the quirky ABC show The Unusuals, the second season of Simon & Simon, Cocoon and the Blu-ray premiere of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (pictured above with Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellan and John Rhys-Davies). Yes, we realize it’s not the director’s cut of the trilogy but still, having these great films on Blu-ray in any form is cause for excitement.

Check them out:

Movies

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans ~ Fairuza Balk, Nicolas Cage, Vondie Curtis-Hall (Blu-ray and DVD)

Cocoon ~ Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn (Blu-ray)

Dolan’s Cadillac ~ Christian Slater, Wes Bentley, and Emmanuelle Vaugier (Blu-ray and DVD)

Dreamscape ~ Dennis Quaid,...

The classic 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings is coming back to DVD in a brand new restored version and will also debut on the Blu-ray format on April 6. Warner Home Video has provided us with a brand new clip from the animated DVD and three new images as well. You can click below to watch this new video and you can also click on any of the new images to access our image gallery for this DVD/Bd release.

Darkness Bind Them

A young Hobbit named Frodo (Christopher Guard) is thrown on an amazing adventure, when he is appointed the job of destroying the one ring which was created by the dark lord Sauron. He is assigned with warriors including Gandelf (William Squire), Aragorn (William Hurt) and Boromir (Michael Graham Cox). It's not going to be an easy journey for the Fellowship of the Ring, on the...

You can bring home this 1978 animated vision of J.R.R. Tolkein's precious novels on DVD and Blu-ray this April. Ralph Bakshi's animated The Lord of the Rings film will be released in a new Deluxe Edition DVD and Blu-ray on April 6. The standard DVD will be priced at $19.98 Srp while the Bd will be priced at $29.99 Srp. The film stars the voices of Christopher Guard, William Squire and William Hurt. A young Hobbit named Frodo (Christopher Guard) is thrown on an amazing adventure, when he is appointed the job of destroying the one ring which was created by the dark lord Sauron. He is assigned with warriors including Gandelf (William Squire), Aragorn (William Hurt) and Boromir (Michael Graham Cox). It's not going to be an easy journey for the Fellowship of the Ring, on the ultimate quest to rid Middle-Earth of all evil.Special Features:Forging Through The Darkness:...