Overview

Khraniteli, also known as Soviet Lord of the Rings, is a made-for-TV film adaptation of the first-part J.R.R. Tolkein Lord of the Rings series, The Fellowship of the Ring, produced for the Soviet Union television station Leningrad Television. Released in 1991, the film was unavailable for nearly 30 years, before being released on YouTube by Leningrad Television's successor 5-TV.

History

In 1991, Leningrad Television released a made-for-TV adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring entitled Khraniteli (translation: "The Keepers"). The film is a television play, shot on a stage live, without traditional coverage of wide shots, closeups and shot-reverse-shot commonly found in Hollywood films, including Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings. Khraniteli reportedly aired only once in the Soviet Union.^[3] Actor Valery Dyachenko, who plays Frodo in the film, told 5-TV:^[1]

Of course this is an event. Because in those years, in 1991, it was all just beginning. In general, Tolkien first appeared here in Russia in St. Petersburg. It is the Leningrad television, I am very grateful to him. It has always been a breakthrough. Now the genre of television performance has disappeared, which is a great pity.

YouTube Release

Khraniteli was long-thought lost after it aired and considered missing for nearly 30 years. On March 27th and 28th, 2021, the YouTube channel for 5-TV uploaded the film in two parts. The first part received more than 1.5 million views in less than two weeks, and the subsequent installment received more than 330,000 views (shown below, left and right).

Reception

The 2021 release film was generally positive reviews as a lost curio, with many noting the film's many bizarre choices, soft-focus photography and low-budget special effects. The Verge^[2] said the film "is a riot of low-budget special effects, bizarre camera work, and Soviet mood music" that "captures a completely legitimate aspect of The Lord of the Rings, just not one we’re necessarily used to." Others, such as The Guardian^[3] called the film "schlocky" but would "scratch a nostalgic itch for many who watched it."

Online Reception

The release of the film on YouTube inspired many conversations and memes on the internet. On April 6th, 2021, for example, Redditor shared a four-panel meme featuring some of the characters from the film in the /r/lotrmemes^[4] subreddit. The post received more than 27,000 points (94% upvoted) and 330 comments in less than two days (shown below).

On April 7th, 2021, Twitter user @sovietvisuals tweeted, "Excerpt from the 1991 Soviet television adaptation of The Lord of the Rings thought to have been lost but recently rediscovered." The tweet received more than 1,500 likes and 400 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Excerpt from the 1991 Soviet television adaptation of The Lord of the Rings thought to have been lost but recently rediscovered. pic.twitter.com/5T1jVSSbyK

— Soviet Visuals (@sovietvisuals) April 7, 2021

Search Interest

External References