The first Tolkien movie trilogy, part 3: The Return of the King (1980)

“And lo, as foretold, the epic of the Return of the King
ends at the beginning of the new age of man”

The third instalment in this early Tolkien movie ‘trilogy’ is a bit of an oddity. After the proposed sequel to Ralph Bakshi’s animated The Lord of the Rings was cancelled, fans probably thought they’d never see a cinematic conclusion to the story. However in 1980 the production team responsible for The Hobbit TV special from three years earlier returned to the world of J.J.R Tolkien to wrap up the story and provide a sequel (of sorts) to Bakshi’s film.

The first Tolkien movie trilogy, part 2: The Lord of the Rings (1978)

“One ring to rule them all; one ring to find them.
One ring to keep them all, and in the darkness bind them!”

After the success of The Hobbit TV special of 1977, Tolkien fans didn’t have to wait long for the next Middle-earth adaption – less than a year in fact. On 15th November 1978 the first attempt to translate JRR Tolkien’s most famous work to the big-screen was released: director Ralph Bakshi’s ambitious The Lord of the Rings.