Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy may be the gold standard for that hallowed fantasy saga (and for Middle-earth adaptations, in general), but it isn’t the first attempt to adapt J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous three-part narrative into a cinematic format. There have actually been quite a few different iterations of that story, some relatively good, some bad, and some downright terrifying.
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Among the entries in the Middle-earth annals that fall into that last category is a 1990s gem that came straight out of the Soviet archives. This utterly unique adaptation is titled “Khraniteli” (which translates as “The Keepers” or “The Guardians”). It was produced by Leningrad Television and came out on April 13, 1991, just eight months before the dissolution of the USSR.
“Khraniteli” was technically released as a children’s television program and was considered lost media for decades — until it resurfaced when 5TV, Leningrad Television’s successor, re-released it online for all the world to see in the 2020s. The adaptation only consists of two episodes, which collectively cover the events of “The Fellowship of the Ring.” You can see Part 1 and Part 2 with subtitles (it’s in Russian) on YouTube. Together, they clock in at just under two hours.
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Khraniteli is a bizarre but endearing take on Tolkien’s story
“Khraniteli” is radically different from any other mainstream take on “The Lord of the Rings” for many reasons. For instance, it uses a serialized format, which is more reminiscent of Prime Video’s “The Rings of Power” than Jackson’s trilogy. It also blends theatrical and cinematic techniques, with the long-form structure allowing it to include key characters that Jackson cut from his films, like Tom Bombadil (Sergei Parshin), his wife Goldberry (Regina Lialeikite), and the Barrow-wights (who also show up in “Rings of Power”). And unlike most big-budget Tolkien projects, “Khraniteli” was a virtually unpaid labor of love. As Georgiy Shtil, who plays Bilbo Baggins, told Variety in 2021:
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“We had almost no budget, no costumes, and almost no time. I was pleasantly surprised we were able to do so much with so little.”
It only takes a few minutes of watching to spot the budgetary differences. The costumes are rudimentary, as evidenced by Gollum’s green-clad get-up, while the overall quality of picture and sound is very low. Nevertheless, there are many heartwarming elements, like the light-hearted, distinctly Russian music composed by Andrei Romanov from the Russian rock band Akvarium (an admittedly stark contrast to Howard Shore’s epic themes) and the awkward opening monologue about hobbits.
That said, there are parts of the film that get weird, psychedelic, and downright terrifying. Lothlórien, for instance, feels like you opened a music box while on acid. Likewise, the Barrow-wights are depicted as white-clad and white-face-painted creatures that look like a terrifying manifestation of a failed Cirque du Soleil act. Then, when Boromir (Evgeny Solyakov) attempts to talk Frodo (Valery Dyachenko) into giving him the One Ring, he gets way too personal and actually grabs Frodo’s face as if reprimanding a child. The two-parter even ends with Frodo and Sam (Vladimir Matveev) leaving the Fellowship by riding off into the snow on horses.
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What other Lord of the Rings adaptations are there?
The existence of a Middle-earth adaptation this far off the beaten path begs the question: are there others like it? And the exciting answer is yes. Yes, there definitely are. There are actually quite a few adaptations of Tolkien’s works to date. Let’s start with the obvious ones. There are the animated “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” movies from the 1970s and ’80s by creators Ralph Bakshi and Rankin/Bass. There are also Jackson’s “The Hobbit” trilogy and Prime VIdeo’s “The Rings of Power,” and Warner Bros. is creating films related to Jackson’s iconic trilogy, like 2024’s “The War of the Rohirrim” anime and the upcoming live-action “Hunt for Gollum” film (which has been delayed to 2027).
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Along with these bigger projects, there are a host of smaller adaptations from various places over the decades. One example is a 12-minute, minimally-animated Hobbit film from 1966 that is hyper-condensed and wildly inaccurate. (It turns Thorin into a general, introduces a princess love interest for Bilbo, and uses the Arkenstone to kill Smaug, who is called Slag here.)
Another wild, off-beat attempt to adapt “The Lord of the Rings” came from Sweden in 1971. This one was called “Sagan om Ringen” (the Swedish translation of the title). In this case, actors worked against a green screen to create a short-story version of the first portion of the trilogy in connection with Bo Hansson’s progressive rock album by the same name. Once again, we have to give credit where credit is due here, too. Despite the confusing, low-quality nature of the project, this one at least manages to have the Elf-lord Glorfindel save Frodo from the Black Riders — something that all of the mainstream adaptations have failed to accurately adapt thus far. (Although he may show up in “The Rings of Power” at some point, at least.) There’s also a scrapped USSR animated version of “The Hobbit” made around the same time as “Khraniteli.” This one is truly lost to history, but six precious minutes have survived to mesmerize modern viewers with a glimpse of what could have been.
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Along with projects like these, there’s a host of fan-related content out there, including an impressive fan film called “The Hunt for Gollum” that came into the spotlight recently when Warner Bros. had it temporarily taken down, presumably due to a titling conflict with its own upcoming movie by the same name. “The Horn of Gondor” is another excellent piece of fan adaptation. Along with movies and TV shows, there have been “Lord of the Rings” stage plays, musicals, card games (including Magic the Gathering), and even a BBC dramatized audio. These adaptations won’t stop anytime soon, either, as the appetite for Middle-earth-related content seems only to be intensifying as the popular IP ages.
