Move aside Peter Jackson, there’s a new Lord of the Rings adaptation in town. Or rather, one that originally aired 10 years before his famous film trilogy, but now sees the light of day once more. A Soviet made TV Film interpretation n of J.R.R. Tolkien’s high fantasy work has resurfaced. Entitled Khraniteli, meaning keepers, or guardians, of the ring, the special aired in 1991 by Leningrad Television and then disappeared. Until now.
The low budget Soviet film only adapts the first part of Tolkien’s trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring. It aired only once, shortly before the fall of the Soviet Union. That historic event brought about many beneficial changes, but a full Lord of the Rings trilogy was not one of them.
The works of Tolkien, including The Hobbit, were immensely popular in the Soviet Union at the time. Still, an adaption of his works would be costly in any capacity. Lacking a good translation, advanced special effects, and a full budget, Khraniteli is an absurdly far cry from new adaptations. But what it lacks in budget, it makes up for in psychedelic and absurdist charm.
So why did Khraniteli take so long to resurface? According to The Guardian, a few knew of the film’s existence, but nobody could locate it until 5TV, Leningrad Television’s successor, suddenly posted the digitized film onto YouTube without any warning this April. Nevertheless, fans took notice and the film has almost 2 million views. You can check out both parts of the film, recently subtitled for those who don’t speak Russian, right here:
