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Summary: An Audio Adaption of Most Excellent Quality
Review: One of the chief concerns any fan of a written work has is the adaptive process undergone when the work is translated into an audio, film, or stage presentation. What will be there, and what will have been ommitted? Will the spirit of the work be maintained and key elements of the written work be left intact? These concerns are compounded by the fact that so many books have made transitions to other media, particularly to film, with less than stellar results. Some of the results have been so poor as to make readers apprehensive to explore these literary translations for fear of having their author's carefully painted pictures and emotions torn asunder by someone else's "unique" interpretation of the written words.Without a doubt however, the BBC audio adaptation of Tolkien's "The Lord of The Rings" delivers the most complete rendition of Tolkien's written work bar none, with superb writing, outstanding voice acting, and a wonderfully rich audio environment upon which the actors paint the story of the Fellowship's adventures and quests. To the delight of the Tolkien afficionado, you will find very little removed from the narrative work; the hobbits' encounters with the Elf Gildor Inglorion, Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, and the Barrow Downs come to mind. However, I believe you will find the tapestry of the written work to be very little if at all diminished by these exclusions. All other characters and encounters are treated here with exceptional attention to detail, and the motivations and activities of the characters are re-created in an excruciatingly authentic manner, if such can be said of a work of pure imagination. For the most part, readers' mental pictures of various characters and events from the book will find them faithfully and satisfyingly rendered in sound in this edition. The wisdom of Gandalf, the innocence of Frodo and Sam, the timelessness of Galadriel, and the honor and majesty of Aragorn: all are offered up to the listener in this drama absolutely without fault. For fans of the written works, this is THE audio adaptation to own and enjoy. For listeners of radio dramas with an interest in the fantasy genre, whether you are familiar with Mr. Tolkien's works or not, this radio play is an excellent addition to your collection, and should provide many hours of pleasant, immersive listening. You can expect little more from a well-executed audio drama, and the BBC's version of "The Lord of The Rings" delivers.
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Summary: Very Nice
Review: Great to listen to while exercising.
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Summary: This review is for the BBC Dramatization!
Review: It's a shame most of the reviews here are for the books, which, if you're looking for this particular dramatization, one could assume you already know is FANTASTIC! So let's say you know this, have seen the films and are hungry for more...THEN GET THIS! I've read the books many times, seen the movies, many times...and have heard this dramatization many times. :) Being that this dramatization is more detailed and truer to Tolkien's characters (since more of their actual book dialogue is included), it's closer to my heart than the recent movie adaptations. When hearing these actors perform, you'd SWEAR they were actually 'studied' by the actors performing the same parts in the movies! Gandalf, in particular, and Gollum to some extent, are portrayed so similarly (in comparison to their movie counterparts) you'd believe you're listening to an EXTENDED extended version of the movie. :) Of course, we must attribute it to Tolkien's amazing talent for character development. I hope the Return of the King movie honors Tolkien's fantastic denouement as this dramatization did.
This dramatization is a must for any Lord of the Rings fan!
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Summary: Very well done.
Review: Most of the reviews here deal with the book(s), not the BBC audio drama. Strange.
By now, most of us know the story of the lord of the rings, so I won't go into that. What I will say is that the BBC dramatization is as close to the story as you can get without reading the books. I feel the character voices are well done, allowing you to easily form a picture of them in your mind while you listen. There are also just enough sound effects added to help set the mood without becoming distracting.
It is not unabridged. Several events (Tom Bombadil, Barrow Downs etc...) are left out. These omissions don't take away from the overall story.
In short, if you can find the time to listen to thirteen hours of excellent "story acting", you will not be disapointed. For people like myself, who have a difficult time reading lengthy novels, the BBC radio drama is your best alternative.
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Summary: Amazing days of Abby Hayes, The Declaration of Independence
Review: The book that I read is The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes, The Declaration of Independence. It was by Anne Mazor. It was a great book. In this story Abby wants to go to a festival by herself and not with her little brother. She was finally able to go after she showed that she is not a baby. I would definitely recommend this great book to a friend! I know that they would not regret it!
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Summary: Don't waste your time or money with the movie
Review: Unlike the title suggests, Ian Holm actually plays Frodo. While abridged, this radio drama captures the depth and feeling of Tolkien's books. Excellent cast and performances. No silly changes or addition like Peter Jackson's pitiful movie version. Wonderful entertainment even for people who have never read the books.
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Summary: Excellent balance of detail and dramatic flare
Review: It's always a challange to tell a tale taken from the written word, especially when it's writen from a linguist. However, this BBC presentation strikes an excellent balance between details from the book and keeping the pace moving in this dramatic radio broadcast. The biggest weakness I found was how it handles the actions of battle. It's a limitation of the medium rather than their treatment, you just can't recreate the clash of swords by sound alone. The radio broadcast is abbridged, but I'm very happy with how much detail they were able to fit in. Much more than Peter Jackson's movies, but the trade off I think is the visual treatment of the action. Plus this is 13 cds, so it runs longer than the movies will. If you see the movies first, you'll get a bit thrown by the voice acting, but it nice to see Ian Holm take the role of Frodo.
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Summary: An Audio Review of this CD Set
Review: I have both versions of these CDs; by BBC and the Earlier version in the wooden crate(Mind's Eye). I like both versions for different reasons. The Mind's Eye version edits less of the story. In this version; the style is different; beginning with Gollum being caught for looking for the "One Ring" in Mordor. It sets the tone differently; than the festive beginning of Mind's Eye.
I did find the acting and sound effects to be better; more dramatic. The characters sound more grownup. Gollum's evilness and mental imbalance comes out more in this version; making him seem scarier. The music provides nice interludes in the story.
I felt more like I was there in the story rather than having the story conveyed like watching a play; to me in the earlier version. I think this is a wonderful rendition. In how the voices and sounds are used. I just wish it hadn't been edited to pieces. It is 13 cds long and I am still trying to figure out what adds so much more time to this version; than the older one.
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Summary: nothing matches this adaptaion
Review: Well i'm 16 now, and ever since I was 4, I knew the lord of the rings as Ian Holm, John le Measurer, William neigh, and Michael Hordon interpreted it. Don't get me wrong, the new film is good, but in my opinion no one can match William Neigh as Sam! as I was watching the film I kept hearing their voices over the actors. I think that the reason that I love this version adapted by Brian Sibly, is because it was how I was introduced to The Lord of the Rings, and if I'd grown up with Sir Ian McKellen, and Elijah Wood then I'd perfer that. I don't think that any one, ANY ONE, can beat William Neigh as Sam, Peter Woodthorp as Gollum and Michael Hordon as Gandalf. I really do believe that this cannot be bettered. It's chock full of stunning performances by Englands finest actors. When I listen to them I travel back to the family car trips through Scotland or England or Wales. I only wish now that they had adapted The Hobbit with the same amazing actors as this. If you do decide to buy this version, I can tell you now that you won't regret it!, it's definatly worth the money.
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Summary: Lord of the Rings all the way!
Review: This story is the best I'v ever read! First I saw the movie and that totaly got me into the reading of the Lord of the Rings. Tolkien is very good at describing whats going to happen and you just can up the book down. Now I think it can be slow at some parts, but that is really rare. So last thing you should totaly read this book!!
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