Was Lord of the Rings possible 20-30-something years ago?

[Timstuff]

Whenever I see a documentary about making Lord of the Rings, I always hear about how "It hasn't been possible to do a Lord of the Rings movie until now", but sometimes I question how true that is. I mean, there were epic movies with giant casts like Ben Hur in 1959, and there were moives like Star Wars and Clash of the Titans in the early 80s, which had amazing creatures and special effects.

Now, if there was a movie with the scale of Ben Hur and the special effects of Star Wars and Clash of the Titans, it would obviously have been one of the most freakin' expensive movies ever made at the time. But my point is, would it have been possible to make a Lord of the Rings movie 20-30 years ago, without the aid of computer effects? Sure, the special effects, battles, etc. wouldn't have been as good but my point is, would the movie have worked?

BTW, I think that Peter Jackson's LOTR movies are nearly perfect. I just made this thread because I'm tickled pink by the idea of Ray Harryhausen versions of some of LOTR's creatures. :P

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Whenever I see a documentary about making Lord of the Rings, I always hear about how "It hasn't been possible to do a Lord of the Rings movie until now", but sometimes I question how true that is. I mean, there were epic movies with giant casts like Ben Hur in 1959, and there were moives like Star Wars and Clash of the Titans in the early 80s, which had amazing creatures and special effects.

Now, if there was a movie with the scale of Ben Hur and the special effects of Star Wars and Clash of the Titans, it would obviously have been one of the most freakin' expensive movies ever made at the time. But my point is, would it have been possible to make a Lord of the Rings movie 20-30 years ago, without the aid of computer effects? Sure, the special effects, battles, etc. wouldn't have been as good but my point is, would the movie have worked?

BTW, I think that Peter Jackson's LOTR movies are nearly perfect. I just made this thread because I'm tickled pink by the idea of Ray Harryhausen versions of some of LOTR's creatures. :P

Watch Ridley Scott's Legend, which was made in 1985. No CGI, but visually astounding even by today's standards.

 

[Fanticon]

Anything is possible. Would it have been good...compared todays standards? Not by a long shot.

 

[LordJK]

Ironically, if it was made 30 years ago (and was a success) LOTR would likely be used as an example to criticize CGI much like the Star Wars OT is used today, instead of being an argument for CGI that it is now.

 

[Edenbeast]

If they hired like 30.000 Ray Harryhausens, then it "might" be possible, but still dated by today's standards.

 

[Shifty]

New Line took some convincing just to make it three three hour long films. The films probably wouldn't be shot all at once either. They would shoot the first and see how it did. It would just be a scaled down version but probably a favourite to many.

 

[Catman]

The Beatles almost made a LOTR movie in the `60s. And, in the `70s we got the animated film.

 

[Movies205]

Watch Ridley Scott's Legend, which was made in 1985. No CGI, but visually astounding even by today's standards.

Too bad it such an astounishingly boring movie

 

[SolidSnakeMGS]

Too bad it such an astounishingly boring movie

So were the LOTR films in IMO.

Sure they could have been possible. Maybe even better. Sure the "graphics" wouldn't have been as pretty, but as long as it was full of wonder and imagination it could have been very possible.

 

[Orko Is King]

Too bad it such an astounishingly boring movie

You take that back!