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In Soviet Russia, This 1991 Lord of the Rings Adaptation Watches You

Photo: YouTube

You shall pass and watch this as soon as you possibly can: A Soviet television adaptation of Lord of the Rings has been recently unearthed on YouTube, 30 years after its initial release and a decade before Peter Jackson himself began to dabble in the joys of Middle Earth. The Guardian reports that the subterranean-budget 1991 adaptation, titled Khraniteli, was thought to have been scrubbed from existence by the Leningrad Television network until it randomly appeared on YouTube in late March. (The uploader is still unknown, so until then, we send our profound thanks to whoever it is. Spasibo!) It’s believed that Khraniteli only aired on the network once before its disappearance, with the run time hovering around the two-hour mark. Alright, so it might not be an Amazon fellowship, but those fake beards and bendy pipes? That’s cinema, baby.

In Soviet Russia, 1991 Lord of the Rings Film Watches You