Deleted scene from 1978 LoTR film

[Sacrosanct]

Ralph Bakshi posted a brief deleted scene of the fight between Gandalf and the Balrog on his X page here. It's kinda neat.

 

[aco175]

So, I guess Gandalf knows the fly spell, should have used it more often.

 

[Rabulias]

So, I guess Gandalf knows the fly spell, should have used it more often.

I think that is a horizontal (or maybe slightly sloping) tunnel that Gandalf pursues the balrog down. While the balrog is flying, Gandalf is walking/running after it.

Very interesting to see this clip, though it does seem strange the balrog has no fiery elements to it.

 

[M.L. Martin]

I think that is a horizontal (or maybe slightly sloping) tunnel that Gandalf pursues the balrog down. While the balrog is flying, Gandalf is walking/running after it.

Very interesting to see this clip, though it does seem strange the balrog has no fiery elements to it.

In the book, the Balrog's fire is quenched when it plunges into the abyss beneath the Bridge, and it doesn't become fiery again until it and Gandalf emerge from the Endless Stair.

 

[Retreater]

The Balrog shot first?

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

In all its weirdness, I love that movie. When I was a kid, the rotoscoped Nazgul were terrifying. As an adult, the animation is all over the place, but I find that roughness charming. It feels like a raw expression of love for the Lord of the Rings. It's a shame Bakshi never got to make the second half of the story.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

In all its weirdness, I love that movie. When I was a kid, the rotoscoped Nazgul were terrifying. As an adult, the animation is all over the place, but I find that roughness charming. It feels like a raw expression of love for the Lord of the Rings. It's a shame Bakshi never got to make the second half of the story.

I really find Wizards, his audition film for LotR, really holds up better. All of the same elements are in both movies, but they're more tonally consistent in Wizards (characters are either rotoscoped or not, and don't go back and forth between the two) and Bakshi's sense of bawdy humor gets a chance to shine through.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I really find Wizards, his audition film for LotR, really holds up better. All of the same elements are in both movies, but they're more tonally consistent in Wizards (characters are either rotoscoped or not, and don't go back and forth between the two) and Bakshi's sense of bawdy humor gets a chance to shine through.

Agreed on all counts. I would add that Wizards has the better soundtrack, too. Andrew Belling's score glides skillfully between melancholy, desolation, and humor.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Of note ... wings!

 

[Rabulias]

In the book, the Balrog's fire is quenched when it plunges into the abyss beneath the Bridge, and it doesn't become fiery again until it and Gandalf emerge from the Endless Stair.

Good point. Maybe this clip is after their fall off the bridge.