MovieChat Forums > The Return of the King (1980) Discussion > Rankin-Bass Hobbit and ROTK on laserdisc...

Rankin-Bass Hobbit and ROTK on laserdisc (not CED)?

posted 21 years ago by The_Blue_Wizard
5 replies | jump to latest

Hello, does anyone on this board know if the Rankin-Bass animated TV specials of The Hobbit and The Return of the King were ever released on laserdisc (or actually own them in this format)? Please bear in mind that I am NOT referring to RCA's proprietary format called CED that resembled laserdisc but was encased in an outer caddy for protection and was read with a diamond needle rather than a light beam. I would appreciate any information that the fine folks here can provide. Many thanks and may the grace of Iluvatar shine upon you!

[–] 21 years ago

[deleted]

[–] thepelagicargosy 21 years ago

You sad and ignorant tool.

[–] LivingNeonDreams 20 years ago

What exactly makes him/her a sad ignorant fool?

Nobody ever told me I found out for myself
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[–] Kawalsky59 21 years ago

He definitely means laserdisc. It was way before DVD's. It was supposed to be the answer to videotapes quality problems, but the discs were just too freaking large and expensive. It never caught on, which is probably why you've never heard of it.

[–] Uberhamster 21 years ago

Man, the world is stuffed with abandoned audiovisual projects like that. To name but a few are betamax, video2000, laserdisc, picturedisc, videocd, CDI, DCC, DAT. Some of these really had advantages (video2000), others just were not such good ideas.
I have only vaguely heard of a picturedisc that could be read with a needle though.

But anyway, laserdiscs were continued quite some time after dvd had arrived, but I have never seen or heard of one of tRotK (1980).

(I'm from Europa, so I don't know which doomed products were or weren't tried in the US. Laserdisc was sold here, lot's of movies were available. That other thing, CED, definetely never came to Europe.
Later correction it was around three years on the European market. PAL, not NTSC)

But back to the movie: you're some sort of collector I suppose? Try the radio drama by the BBC, it's really good even if you're not into raddio drama at all.

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