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There And Back Again

Not A Fan Of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit? Watch This Other One, In Russian.

by Jill Pantozzi | 5:44 pm, December 28th, 2012


I’m sort of on the fence about The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. I saw it in 3D and 48 fps and was not a fan of the new technology, so I’m waiting to see it in 2D and 24 fps before I decide whether or not I liked the film. Regardless, here’s an old version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic (entirely unlicensed of course) called “The Fairytale Journey of Mr. Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit.” It was made in 1984 and aired on aired on the Leningrad TV Channel. According to the Tolkien Gateway wiki, “This children’s film featured Zinovy ​​Gerdt as ‘The Professor’ (a narrator stand-in for Tolkien), Mikhail Danilov as Bilbo, Anatoly Ravikovich as Thorin, Ivan Krasko as Gandalf and Igor Dmitriev as Gollum. Smaug and the Spiders were portrayed by puppets. Missing in this version are the Trolls, Elrond, Beorn and the Wood-elves. The Goblins are human-like with little makeup and portrayed by dancers from the Leningrad State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre (as were the inhabitants of Lake Town).”

(via Kotaku)

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  • Anonymous

    I haven’t been following general public opinion on the Hobbit, but everyone I know know loved it and so did I. Though I found the 3D annoying, I find all 3D annoying and should have probably gone for the 2D. I’ve heard whispers of a somewhat lukewarm reception, but I think people need to understand that The Hobbit isn’t the Lord of the Rings and a successful Hobbit movie won’t be anything like a successful LOTR movie. Did I like An Unexpected Journey as much as the LOTR films? No. But I don’t like the Hobbit book as much as the LOTR. But the movie was a great adaptation of the Hobbit and gave me all sorts of happy flashbacks to my interactions with the book as a child (including a play I saw that this vid sometimes reminds me of).

  • Anonymous

    Wow. I liked The Hobbit when I saw it in the theatre, but that was before this revelation! The dancig goblins make Jackson’s imagining seem puerile by comparison and this Gollum puts Serkis to shame!

    I hope they scrap the next two movies and just play this in cinemas instead!

    Does Ian McKellen have a glitter beard?
    No – I didn’t think so…

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=658295430 Calum Syers

    What I didn’t like about Peter Jackson’s version were the fact that for a film called “The Hobbit”, Bilbo was pretty much a supporting character. What with all the beefing up of Gandalf and Thorin’s subplot, it may as well have been called “Gandalf: A Wizard Adventure”. Martin Freeman was even second billed, which frankly ticked me off a bit. Also, the new technology, even in 24fps, made everything look super shiny.

    I would love, love, love to see a fan-edit of Jackson’s trilogy into one or two films. And you just know that there’s gonna be a bunch.

  • http://twitter.com/rockinlibrarian Amy W

    I looked at both yours and Cole20s’ comment above and wondered if it’s strange that I agree with you both. But I do– I loved the movie as is for the most part, even the parts without Bilbo (which I was worried about going in, because I tend to get impatient with anything Martin Freeman is in if he’s NOT in the scene, just waiting for him to come back onscreen to keep being PERFECT for me), though it did feel too long and rambly for a movie theater movie and more like something I’d want to watch in the comfort of home, over and over. But I would also LOVE LOVE LOVE to see a Bilbo-only edit of the movie(s)! (And yeah, Martin deserves top billing. He was only THIRD-billed as Arthur Dent, which is also utterly puzzling. Well, not really– those studios want to put their BIG NAMES first, I understand. But he deserves to be a Big Name in his own right!)

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=658295430 Calum Syers

    This’ll undoubtably appreciate on blu-ray, where one can take a break if they feel is going on for too long. Perhaps not a Bilbo on cut, but I’d love to see two two hour movies, using the footage from the three films, plus whatever DVD deleted scenes etc. that come with it, making it more his story, completely cutting out the orcs, Rivendell and Radagast.

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