This dark and strange animated telling of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings by director Ralph Bakshi (Fritz the Cat, American Pop, Wizards, Cool World) has been released to coincide with Blu-ray release of Peter Jackson ‘s live-action Lord of the Rings trilogy.

It’s a bit creepy, has a unique visual style and, being the first official LOTR film, certainly helped to set the tone for future adaptations. You definitelyneed to watch this (with an open mind)…

For all you Middle Earth fans out there, I have some rather pleasant news.

The animated classic The Lord of the Rings by Ralph Bakshi, director of films including Cool World and Fritz the Cat, is being digitally remastered and will be released in a new deluxe edition.

The film has been redone with New Dolby 5.1 audio and picture quality and will be distributed as a single disc DVD and Blu-ray combo, which features a Blu-ray, DVD and bonus digital copy. Also available for digital download…