The Downs on film in Soviet FotR

[Huinesoron]

In 1991, the Soviet broadcaster Leningrad TV aired an adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring in Russian. It only had a single showing, and then... well, it was 1991 in the USSR, things went a bit wonky. For thirty years, the film was assumed lost.

A week ago, it re-emerged.

(EDIT: There is now a version with English subtitles: Part 1 | Part 2)

I've watched it, and it is a thing of exquisite beauty. All the hobbits have huge sideburns, the three Black Riders (horses are expensive) gallop along to a techno beat, and most important of all - the Barrow-Downs made it in! In fact the whole Old Forest/Bombadil/Barrow sequence forms the break-point between the two episodes, and form a major part of the story.

And it's beautiful. Take a look at this delightful nonsense:


(Click here for larger version)

The Downs -- The Barrow-Wight
The hobbits in the barrow -- Tom Bombadil tearing the barrow apart

Now, I don't speak a word of Russian (though the occasional 'Da! Da! Da!' made it through), but I sat down and watched the whole thing, and created a photo-synopsis of the wonders I found. If you want to see drugged elves, the Orcs Who Say Ni, the Mines of Bluescreen, and of course Legolass, look no further:

Shaving is a decadent capitalist lie: Soviet Fellowship of the Ring

You will not regret it.

hS