https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m0l3Yr1B50
Peter Jackson’s first installment of The Hobbit trilogy may have won the box office this weekend, but it better be careful – a 1985 Russian version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved novel has been found, and it’s bewilderingly awesome (emphasis on the bewildering). Sure, this Russian version has some issues: Bilbo and Gandalf are the same size; the Goblin King kinda looks like Stalin; and Smaug may just be a puppet held close to the camera to look big. But on the plus side, this Russian version manages to fit the whole damn book in just over 70 minutes, so if nothing else it wins the “efficiency of storytelling” category.
