Elijah Wood as Frodo and Sean Astin as Sam in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Peter Jackson made The Lord of the Rings a household name with his 2000s movie series, but one 1991 adaptation beat him to a key Lord of the Rings moment. Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie was released in 2001 to critical acclaim, but it wasn’t the first time Tolkien’s epic graced screens. Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment made The Hobbit in 1977 and The Return of the King in 1980, while Ralph Bakshi helmed 1978’s The Lord of the Rings. But Khraniteli, released in 1991, offers a totally unique perspective.

Khraniteli is a Soviet production, made in the USSR and released just before its collapse. This little-known Lord of the Rings miniseries aired in two parts on Leningrad Television but was thought lost after the chaos following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However, it reemerged in 2021 and can be watched on YouTube with English subtitles. It is very unlike Peter Jackson’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies with its psychedelic sheen and its inclusion of one fan-favorite character. Famously, Jackson cut Tom Bombadil from The Fellowship of the Ring.

1991’s The Lord Of The Rings Adaptation, Khraniteli, Adapted Tom Bombadil In Live-Action

Peter Jackson Found Tom Bombadil Hard To Adapt

Tom Bombadil in Khraniteli.

Khraniteli includes a fascinating depiction of Lord of the Rings’ Tom Bombadil in live-action, avoiding Jackson’s controversial decision to cut the character from his movies. Jackson’s concerns about the character of Tom Bombadil included his oddball thematic significance and detachment from the overarching plot. The Hobbits bump into Tom in the Old Forest in Tolkien’s seminal 1945 novel, but it doesn’t impact their mission to destroy the One Ring. Jackson struggled to include Bombadil and retain vital pacing, but he fits right in with the meandering psychedelia of Khraniteli.

How Khraniteli’s Tom Bombadil Compares To The Rings Of Power’s Version

Neither Tom Bombadil Is Totally Faithful To The Book

Rory Kinnear as Tom Bombadil Wearing a Pointed Hat in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) looking shocked in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 6 Rory Kinnear as Tom Bombadil looking to the side with concern in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2. Markella Kavenagh as Nori crying while saying goodbye to The Stranger in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 finale Tom Bombadil looking to the side in Rings of Power season 2

Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power adapted Tom Bombadil surprisingly faithfully compared to Khraniteli — if his location and plotline are ignored. The Rings of Power season 2 stunned viewers with an on-screen representation of Tom, masterfully portrayed by Rory Kinnear. Appearance-wise, Kinnear is the spitting image of Tolkien’s Tom, from his blue coat to his ruddy cheeks. Meanwhile, the Tom that appears in Khraniteli wears a red coat. Tom’s signature yellow boots can’t be seen, but he does have a yellow hat.

Covering Lord of the Rings’ Second Age, Rings of Power places Tom Bombadil in an unusual situation. Khraniteli‘s Tom’s role is quite faithful in terms of storytelling, as he appears in the Old Forest and helps the Hobbit escape a grasping Old Man Willow. Contrastingly, in The Rings of Power, Tom is thriving way out east in Rhûn, millennia before his canon insertion into the narrative. Tom Bombadil’s subplot is entirely invented by The Rings of Power, despite his joyous singing, which does give a deeply faithful idea of The Lord of the Rings character.