As a small child, I barely understood any of the words, but I still remember watching wide-eyed in wonder for the entire movie. A deeply beloved film for all time.
One of the main things I love about this animated version is that they included a lot of Tolkien's poetry and songs. Gandalf (John Huston) was magnificent reciting the verses of the Fall of Erebor. All of the songs (except the main title song) were based on Tolkien's words, including the Goblin songs. I was 12 years old when this came out in 1977 and I became an instant fan of Tolkien and got the books and read them all in quick succession.
To be fair.... Many times it isnt actually sung but just recited rotely. Like in this scene. wonderful movie, love the songs... but lets actually sing them, yeah?
I was already a longtime Tolkien fan when this aired on television; a group of Tolkien fans watched it together at a party. We all agreed that while some of it, especially some of the character design, was dubious, and the story downright rushed at times, this scene in particular - which is not rushed at all - stood out for just about everyone as capturing Tolkien in both word and spirit.
I liked the designs but some aspects are rushed but I felt like it was made for tv like Return of the King. Wish they could have fleshed it out as a 2 part tv film and did the whole LotR (whose designs imo were better than Bakshi's despite how intriguing of a film it was).
@@MrEgofreak LOL I was with you until you mentioned Disney, Disney is in the dumps along with CN, Nickoleoden, Netflix. Western animators don't know how to draw anymore.
I love the classical Germanic/Nordic folk art style to this true its not the most accurate to the book but it has an authenticity or an old soul about it.
even loving the book and with them cutting quite a bit to fit this into a Tv spot It still remains the best abridged telling of the Hobbit as it sticks almost word for word with the book, including the numerous songs.
As a little boy I watched this for the first time. Fell in love with fantasy and sword and sorcery.. this led me to Dragonlance, Conan the barbarian, dungeons and dragons, many other wonderful things. Years later, it brought me full circle back to the pita Jackson trilogies. Now I’m 55.. and I still have a copy of the DVD. And I have shared it with my children.. this was a great animated movie. I love it still
Same here, I turn 60 this year and watched this in the fall of 1978. My 8th grade English teacher talked me into reading the book, which I did and of course that led me to the Holy Trilogy, and then D&D, Donaldson, Terry Brooks, etc.
I saw this when it first aired. The line up is just fantastic---Orson Bean, Richard Boone, Hans Conried, John Huston, etc. I still own the VHS tape, and watch it once in a while.
@@smith1958b Take good care of that, and if you can find a way to digitize it, please do. The DVD's are missing some of the audio, Notably the spiders screaming and other music/sound effects. New versions are still enjoyable, but that noise was just so memorable and it takes me out of the film, when i don't hear it.
@@ghosturiel I watched this with some friends recently who had never seen it before and thought I was losing my mind when the spiders didn't make any noise. Weird that they changed that.
@@TreacherousPineappleKing I don't know if "villain" was really what Jackson wanted, but in the books Thorin is basically a haughty proud dwarf. He loved hearing himself talk and enjoyed giving long winded speeches. For some reason, Jackson interpreted that as "Complete dickhead" and that wasn't the case. You can be haughty and long winded and not be a complete dickhead.
@@Goldenbane He is proud, but much of his pride isn't tyrannical as shown by Jackson. Thorin is shown to be malicious at times in the films, deceitful and out for himself - where in the books he isn't. He is wronged numerous times. He is appreciative of Bilbo and turns to him often. It is clear that Jackson wanted another villain in the films. He wanted there to be angst within the party of dwarves and he needed there to be a heel face turn towards the end with a redemptive arc. As such, he discredits Thorin immensely.
@@TreacherousPineappleKing I wouldn't say 'villain', but you're right in that the Jackson films tried to make him more dramatic which only made him more annoying. To me it felt like they tried to recreate Aragorn, but then added some Gollum style obsession to him. It doesn't really fit Thorin.
@@AmericanZergling yeah and Jackson messed too much with the Lore. For one, Thorin wasnt at the attempted retaking of Moria, and Azog was neve a MAIN villain.
Every fan of the movies should read the books at least once in their life, Tolkien had a way of describing a scene in such detail that your mind conjures up wonders far grander than even Peter Jackson managed. You will also get to see what bits Peter left out and what bits he added in himself, the books differ from the movies quite a lot in some places.
The movies (esp the Jackson ones) are a poor substitute for the books. They're a decent plot summary, but the atmosphere is totally different, and they omit a ton. Plus, everything Jackson added is bad. Anything in the movies a viewer liked, they'll likely discover was taken pretty directly from the books. As an example, look at The Hobbit, where the party arrive at Rivendell. In the movie, the place appears abandoned until they are cornered by a group of militarized elves who greet them with suspicion. In the book, the elves know they are coming, and the party encounters elves that are elusive, full of humor and song. They tease but ultimately welcome the dwarves. In the film, it feels like just another encounter, in the book, it's a magical experience for the Hobbit (and the reader) on his first adventure.
As one who has read through the books, respectfully disagree. The Lord of the Rings books are at best an acquired taste, and more simply not for everyone. While Tolkien certainly succeeded in turning them into a love letter for the epics that inspired him, he has a strong tendency to use fifty words when he only needed to use four, and it can cause the books to drag in places. There is also his habit of devoting entire pages of backstory to every second minor character that shows up for a single scene and is never heard from again. For some people this works, but it’s not a style that everyone can enjoy.
The problem with Jackson's version isn't when he relays Tolkein's story. It's when Jackson strays from Tolkein. Tolkein was a master story teller. Jackson is a master technical movie maker. Jackson's story is lame. When Jackson expresses Tolkein's story, it's good.
There was something so magical about these. And not just that it brings back memories of childhood. The songs were great and seemed to transport you in Tolkien’s world.
I have this on VHS and I’m in the belief that this is the best adaptation of the Hobbit. Sure it may not be as technologically impressive as the newer films and Rankin Bass doesn’t appeal to everyone, but I feel this film not only captures the spirit of the book better, it overall encompasses the feel of a fantastical grand journey.
Hang on to that copy since when they made the DVD version they lost a bunch of sound effects, like the sound of hammers when the Dwarven crafters are working in this clip.
@@goatcheezius2399 will do. It’s funny: I found out about it years ago and was curious to buy it, and literally a week later I saw it at a goodwill. A lucky and coincidental find to be sure
It saddens me when I think what Peter Jackson could've accomplished with such a huge budget and three films in which to tell the story if he hadn't listened to the studio heads. This version is still the best adaptation .
I think that Peter Jackson is criticised way too much for the Hobbit films, for a number of reasons. The first is a matter of opinion: I don't think they are that bad as movies. Sure they could definitely be better, but they were still relatively enjoyable (in my opinion). The second is that, compared to the Lord of the Rings, Jackson had hardly any pre-production time (compared to that of Lord of the Rings, being 3 years). In fact, Guillermo Del Toro was going to be the original director of the Hobbit movies. Del Toro wanted to take a more 'fairy tale' approach to the films (reflecting the same way the book is written), perhaps similar to that of Pan's Labyrinth (a film by Del Toro; it's very good and I highly recommend watching it if you haven't already). Unfortunately, about a year and a half into pre-production, Del Toro left the project for a reason that hasn't been disclosed (to my knowledge, at least). We have seen some of the concept art, props etc. from Del Toro's production, and they look very different to what we got in the Jackson version. As these tones and art style differ from the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, I personally believe that Del Toro left the project because he was not able to create his vision (the greedy studio wanted a trilogy as close to 'Lord of the Rings' as possible, for more money). Therefore, Jackson jumped into the project, and (as seen in interviews), he had no idea what he was doing. It's a shame really, Del Toro's version could have been so excellent; I really would have liked to see it. Anyway, in conclusion, it was not entirely Jackson's fault, but greedy corporations who let money get in the way of art.
@@chookity372 the movies aren’t bad at all. I’d even say they are good. But when compared to the Lord of The Rings (which people will do unfortunately) they fall short. By movie standards they aren’t complete crap like some people try to make them out to be.
@@redbaron5308 I would say they are bad... It doesn't get the atmosphere of Middle Earth correct, and it doesn't 'feel' like a journey either. It's far too formulaic, and obviously made to cater to people who want a lot of action scenes and battles over developing its characters. It's good in comparison to most movies we get out of hollywood now, however, technically speaking it's pretty flawed, doesn't do the book much justice, and just feels like an action movie with fantasy elements.
Watched it as a kid in the 90s and felt the same way. My father is also a huge fan of this animated version. They even used to air it on tv here in Canada every now and then.
Ehhh, I think it could be done well again. People like this version, so it's possible that some people would take cues from it -- and more importantly, from the book.
The only folks I might trust to such an endeavor would have been the old DreamWorks, before Disney and Universal put their grubby taint all over them. They could probably still pull it off, but I wouldn't bet money on it being a faithful recreation.
Far over the misty mountains cold To dungeons deep and caverns old We must away, ere break of day To seek our pale enchanted gold The dwarves of yore made mighty spells While hammers fell like ringing bells In places deep, where dark things sleep In hollow halls beneath the fells For ancient king and elvish lord There many a gleaming golden hoard They shaped and wrought, and light they caught To hide in gems on hilt of sword On silver necklaces they strung The flowering stars on crowns they hung The dragon-fire in twisted wire They meshed the light of moon and sun Far over the misty mountains cold To dungeons deep and caverns old We must away, ere break of day To claim our long-forgotten gold Goblets they carved there for themselves And harps of gold, where no man delves There lay they long, and many a song Was sung unheard by men or elves The pines were roaring on the heights The winds was moaning in the night The fire was red, it flaming spread The trees like torches blazed with light The bells were ringing in the dale And men looked up with faces pale The dragon's ire, more fierce than fire Laid low their towers and houses frail The mountain smoked beneath the moon The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom They fled their hall to dying fall Beneath his feet, beneath the moon Far over the misty mountains grim To dungeons deep and caverns dim We must away, ere break of day To win our harps and gold from him Far over the misty mountains cold To dungeons deep and caverns old
For some reason, this poem makes me choke up every time I read it; if I hear it, I sometimes burst into tears. It has such beauty, grandeur and gives me the urge to go on an epic adventure.
I will always have a soft spot for this adaptation of "The Hobbit". While I acknowledge the live action trilogy was better in some ways, this one was more faithful to the original story, and Thorin actually looks younger during the flashback than in the main story (which takes place 171 years later) instead of the same age!
Originally, they had Richard Armitage's Thorin have a longer beard so he looked older. However, that seems to be during the early days when Guillermo Del Torro was going to be directing 2 movies. It's sad to admit it but the hobbit movies could've been worse if it hadn't been for Peter Jackson salvaging what he could with less time in pre production than the lotr movies.
The music is extraordinary and John Huston is a great narrator and a great Gandalf. The voice actor for Bilbo is also fantastic and makes Bilbo incredibly likable.There is an appreciation for pacing and silence in places. It’s the complete opposite of a JJ Abrams film and that’s remarkably refreshing. I think we yearn for it a little bit for that especially when we’re assailed with so much information overflow these days in art and life. Respect for the cinematic moment to marinate needs to return.
This just has that looking at a fire while listening to medieval stories type of vibe. I always imagine myself in their setting, the newer movies can’t reach the atmosphere and tone of these older movies.
SO TRUE LORD❣️ @3Dashhh Also MORE SEGMENTz PLEAZ for EDUcational PURPOSE O'KIWI🇳🇿 FANzz And HISTORY Of Te GREAT DIRECTORZ🥝 Also PRIASE For PETER🥝"SON Of.JACK! "
There is one place in American media where you can find people who talk like this: American Horror Story. I've only seen Coven and Apocalypse, but Kathy Bates and Frances Conroy deliver speeches with captivating pronunciation based on the old theater tradition. Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson to some extent, too. Now, the series is terrible, with gore and disgusting themes, but it is -surprisingly- a place you can listen to long speeches with high vocabulary and theatrical pronunciation.
@@aaronc4899 Good show except for the over bearing political cast they put the show in. Main reasoning as to why i stopped watching it. Especially the alien/vamp one season. The first ep. of the alien side really turned me off of it.
Mystical ancient conversation in Dwarven forge: "Hey, how do you get your tongs to stay cool?" "Oh, I just wrap some leather around the handle and shimmy em a bit when I take em out." "Works with magical stuff too?" "Sure, why not. If it works it works. Don't overthink it. Hey, your sister say anything about me?"
There is a radioplay of the movie that literally covers the ENTIRE book, "The Hobbit", same voices and music, everything, and it runs about 6 hours. I have it on tape... Unfortunately, I literally do not have a tape deck to play it on anymore.
@@DocWolph It’s available from the BBC in the UK I have a beautiful collection of the 10 CDs making up the Lord of the Rings And the earlier 4 CD collection telling the story of the Hobbit It is THE best medium for the story outside of reading the books and very faithful to Tolkien’s original
I have it on cassette… there are 5 or 6 but I’ve never played them. The wrapper is still on for all I know. I still have them somewhere. They are in a cute little wooded box.
I love this movie, have since I was a little kid. But honestly something about the art style and music are still scary. And that line, "In places deep, where dark things sleep" still creeps me out. The idea of living things so dark and terrible even Gandalf will not say their names
I have never read the books and listening to the dialogue of this clip I just realized something I didnt as a kid. This is the most poetic thing i have ever heard!! Its like Shakespeare with words I can understand. Im going to go buy the books. That was beautiful.
Most of the animators from TopCraft went on to create Studio Ghibli when their studio was bought. Sometimes when people ask me "what's your favorite Ghibli films" I'll respond with "The Hobbit".
@@DixiePokerAce The DVD version I have (not sure if it's the same version you have) removed the spider death sounds =( I am quite disappointed by this.
@@whiskeyvictor5703 When I got a copy of "Day of the animals" on DVD it has the standard and the theatrical (two movies) on the same disk. In the day and age of DVD/Blue ray I don't see why the studio that released them couldn't put a version with sound on one side and one without on the reverse side. So I have to suspect legality & trademarks as the culprit. I also recommend avoiding "The Warriors" on DVD as the director pulled a Lucas and re-edited chunks of the film and it throws off the pacing if you ask me.
"Curses to the dragon Smaug!" RU-vid Movies, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug "Did someone say Smaug?" Begone foul beast, back to the abyss from which ye came!
Thorin is voiced by Hans Conried, who voiced Captain Hook in the Disney film, Dr. Terwilliger in the 5,'000 Fingers of Dr. T, King Azaz and the Mathemagician in the Phantom Tollbooth, and the Grinch in Halloween is Grinch Night.
This version is awful. All the sound effects are gone! My VHS version was full of foley sounds that have been wiped from this version's audio entirely. What a loss.
My older brother had this on record and would lure me into his room, turn out the light and would start playing the record right at Gollum’s “ my precious “ part and I would $#&@ my pants in terror! Lol
I remember borrowing this VHS as a little girl from my Church at the time. They had this little area of various VHS tapes that could be borrowed and returned. Because I kept borrowing this one, they let me keep the VHS tape, and I still have it. I can't watch it anymore, the VHS movie anyway, being that my VCR no longer works and I can't find one that is compatible with my tv screen. But! After a lot of searching, I found it on DVD and bought it once I was able. I love this movie so much. I love the artistry, the music, the voice acting, all of it. I love all of it. I didn't know who Tolkien was at the time. Many years later I read the book, and loved it. I haven't read all of LOTR books, but I do enjoy the adaption movies a lot. But, this one out of them all holds a special place in my heart.
The only studio I think should be allowed to do the eye of the world books by Robert Jordan. A cartoon version like they did lord of the rings. Would be worth seeing. More seeing then by Amazon.
Still my favorite adaptation , better than the liveaction, closer to the original and no manufactured nonsense and characters added onto the story to the degree of the horrible recent movie.
I love love love this movie. Probably the first thing I remember my father ever sharing with me. I'd watched this movie hundreds of times but havent seen it in years. Thanks for the upload.
@@josebro352 i agree i watch jacksons films more often than i read the books or these animated films, they are good but jackson made art, his works make me cry with hapiness and sadness and more.
Maybe the most accurate and don't get me wrong these versions are pure art but Peter Jackson's versions in my opinion are truly the best and can't be beat
You all are free to enjoy whatever you want. All I know is a piece of my soul dies every time I see that Radagast, and then again when I see Goblin-town. Only so much can be blamed on del Toro. Jackson is wholly responsible for the other two films. Lindsay Ellis sums it all up far better than I ever could. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uTRUQ-RKfUs.html
@@ScarletBrotherhood oh yea the hobbit is not on par with the original trilogy for me either. Also legolas' shield stair skate and mumakil kill scene is really out of place too.
this was a very good adaptation of The Hobbit, and even The Lord of the Rings wasn't too bad, it's too bad the marketing promised the entire saga in one movie in the marketing just to cut it short at the very end and tell us to "come back next time".
It would be actually really awesome to see some new animated Tolkien adaptations come out today. And hopefully if they do then they’ll actually use well made artwork and unique animation styles to do it. There’s too many poorly made animations today.
I didn't specifically avoid this film, but I'd grown up with the Bakshi LOTR and the DVD covers for this always made it look a lot more childish. But this animation is excellent so I'm going to have to get this one. Much like Flight of Dragons, they're selling an awesome classic with very childish promotional art.
If I remember rightly the first time Smaug attacked dale, the dale-men tried to do something other than just run off into the woods, there just wasn't really a lot they, or anyone, could realistically do. I mean, we're talking about Smaug the truly tremendous here, he is not your local alligator.
Back in the late seventies this movie came on TV. I was ignorant of HRR Tolkien's work, but this movie hooked me in. Right after that I bought the book and was blown away by the mystery and scope of the tale. I have a special place in my heart for this film and I wish it would be shown again. Yes, it's a much better version than Peter Jackson's.
The difference between this version and the newer ones is that this one, as with any animated version for any movie make, it leaves our imagination wide open to our own minds illustrations and visions, wishful thinking and own sense of adventure: live movies takes that away overall.
The fellowship trilogy did this successfully tho, leaving magic, world details, and characters to be mysterious and discovered later. Its not a live movie problem, its a story telling problem, which can be attributed to the difference between one set of movies produced with years of time and minimal money politics, as opposed to the newer ones with half the time allowed as well as multiple entanglements concerning property ownership.
@@BazzBrother Not successful at all, since it was live and not animated and therefore it could not have left our imagination wide open but it shut it. Every time I now read anything LOTR or Hobbit, I see the actors' faces and that is what namely removes imagination from us. The blue light for night time was too much, getting that from other movies who have used it I noticed. I have seen other movies where the blue is mostly left out and it looks much better as a night scene. A modern movie that still leaves the imagination running with wonders and visions are, for example, Beowulf. I can read it but still see images that the movie hasn't ruined. As for politics and other entanglements in movie-making, there have been quite a few well done recent films, displaying that movies can be done properly. Peter Jackson said Tom Bombadil was not in the movie because he (and Goldberry) did not contribute to the story. Jackson is human first and foremost, prone to stupidity and such errors as any one else. TLOTR is primary an epic and high fantasy story, and Toms presence would have contributed to the us being completely taken to this whole new Fantasy world had he been added. "spare no expense" said the good doctor in Jurassic World, and many blockbuster movies do that and yet fail many times in what matters even though, these directors and producers and studios have seen other movies done very well with dignity and respect regarding books or remakes. I love TLOTR movies because Tolkien's books are my favorite readings, but honesty I value highly and P Jackson messed up many times.
I think I know the best way to describe the feeling I get when I rewatch the old Hobbit Movie (and Flight of Dragons as well) the vibe is that of a story being told, as if I were near a fire or in bed. The way Tolkien himself more than likely did. Yes the story rushes a bit, but the animation feels like the right amount of strange and cartoonish to tell us its not a world of our own, and yet its one we can understand, just like as a kid I barely could understand the more complicated speeches and words. Peter Jackson's work is a movie, a very well done movie I can't deny, but it lost the charm and almost simpleness of the original story, by going so grand it took a little away. Its a paradox as I don't think there is a perfect way to retell the story, this version comes close but there are problems which is sad. But perhaps in a way flaws is what makes us talk about these stories and compare them, and in the end of the day, I am happy to see there always a version someone can enjoy.
Imagine if the dwarves never made tunnels big enough for dragons or the Balrog to move around in. Seems like they could have really utilized their short stature to make defensive spaces which would make it incredibly difficult for a physical assault to succeed. Although at the height of their power, occurrences such as a dragon or Balrog claiming their halls probably weren’t particularly.. Expected
Dwarves. Like. Grandeur. They could have had Gandalf himself warning against such possibilities, even presenting irrefutable proof of their inevitability, and if the presented solution was "smaller tunnels", a proper dwarf's answer would absolutely be something as follows: "Weeelll, now that we know of this danger we'll just be better prepared for and defended against it. No need to change those Grand Hall plans, no sir. In fact, from a certain point of view, Dragon-sized hallways are actually a strategic advantage. What appears to be fully free movement for the beast is actually, uh, DIRECTED movement toward greater defenses. IN FACT, if we make the hall grand ENOUGH, it will likely overwhelm the beasts completely, destroying their moral and forcing them to retreat in shame. Yes, this warning you bring us only means the passages must be even larger. Thank you, great wizard. We are in your debt."
The first time I saw this was in 77 when it first came on TV I really liked it when I was 15 I read the hobbit and the lord of the trilogy because the librarian and the public told me about the trilogy which of a continuation of the story now
i remember watching this when i was a kid, and i loved it so much. smaug spooked me at first sight but then i didnt feel fear from him. they did a really good job.
The animation: 10/10, but sadly the voices 3/10 at best. It's why there was always that pressing need to make a film version. Just a shame with the film version we ended up with Scenery/Graphics 10/10, voices 10/10, storyline/production 3/10.
@@sarag1049 I disagree, but that's also one of the problems with turning a book into a film (or animation) - we all hear the voices in a book differently in our head from each other. For mine, the voices I got from the book never sounded like a bunch of kids. They were always deeper, and often far far more resonant than in the animation. Hence, why, to me, the film voices work perfectly. One of the few things they got right in the movie.
The art back then was incredible so much detail from the character designs to the background. The shading the lighting sucks that most of this art is being replace by tumblr shit.
