general

I bought the audio-cassette edition of this years ago, before the days of CD and online shopping, and I've long been hoping that it would one day be released on CD. It really is a magnificent achievement - the thought, planning, respect and sheer professionalism that have gone into creating this is simply remarkable. What a contrast to the execrable Mind's Eye edition ! The BBC version is not a complete reading of the book, but rather a (judiciously) abridged and compact dramatisation. Having said that, it's still very long. It's like listening to a really good, long (13 hours!) film of LOTR with your eyes closed. The atmosphere and feeling of the book has been captured wonderfully, with great, stirring performances from internationally-known and respected actors like Ian Holm, Michael Horden and Robert Stephens. The music and songs are haunting and dramatic, and the sound effects are so authentic that you really feel like you're there with the Company on its quest to destroy the ring. Even the packaging is of the highest quality, another thing the people that made the Mind's Eye version should take note of. The CDs come in a very nicely designed box with artwork, maps, and other information. Quite a few people have been asking which CD edition to buy - if you want an amateurish, cartoon-style version this isn't for you. If, however, you are looking for excitement, intelligence, humour, a sense of wonder, and faithfulness to the spirit of Tolkien's masterpiece, then the BBC edition shouldn't disappoint.

The BBC dramatization of the Lord of the Rings is quite a different experience from the recent motion pictures. If you know what to expect, this 13-CD BBC version is quite good. It is closer to the books, probably because it is a little longer than the movie trilogy and is focused on the story-telling and therefore spoken words, many of them from the original books. The BBC version again skips the Old Woods/ Willow-man/ Bombadil/ Barrow Wight material (as did the first film), but otherwise is more complete, and its adherence to Tolkien's original plot is fairly tight. The actor who portrays gollum did an excellent job with his speech mannerisms. Indeed all the actors did an excellent job. The BBC radio version also includes more of the songs and poetry in the original books. In a few places the choral music seemed a little old-fashioned or stuffy (for me) and hard to clearly understand, but the harmonies seemed generally appropriate for the songs being sung. The sound effects are simple but effective. A few of them were a little disappointing to the modern ear. An example is the lack of any battle sounds at Helm's Deep, only a few spoken exchanges and narrator summaries. (They could have at least rounded up a few metal objects to bang together a little more!) The journey home, scouring of the Shire and Grey Havens wrap-up after Mount Doom takes up an entire episode, which was a pleasant surprise since they did not skimp on even this part of the story. I was sad when the last CD was finished, just as when finishing a good book. If you are a Tolkien fan, and are looking for an experience of Tolkien's words and story that is closer to the original books than the recent films, this is an excellent listening experience. It would also be a good warm-up for someone who wants to experience the original version, but to whom the books appear a little daunting due to their length.

By the way, don't be confused by the reviews on this page. Most of them seem to refer to other (print) editions, not to the BBC radio version, oddly enough.

I'm writing this review because all of the reviews currently listed under this item refer to the books and not to the Radio Dramatisation. I'm assuming that anyone interested in this production is already familiar with either the books or the film of Fellowship of the Ring. Firstly, this is a superb production and is far superior to the Minds Eye production which you may have seen in a wooden presentation case. Although the presentation of this product could have been more attractive (and was in it's initial CD incarnation) it is still a "must have" item for any Tolkien fan. The cast is comprised of some of the BBC's finest actors including Ian Holm, John LeMesurier, Michael Hordern and Robert Stephenson. Ian Holm is particularly brilliant in his tortured and beautifully realised descent into despair. The production values are second to none and in some ways surpass the Peter Jackson film simply by allowing your imagination to fill in all the details. Peter Woodthorpe is stunning as Gollum\Smeagol and sets a very steep challenge for Andy Serkis to rise to in the forthcoming Two Towers movie.

Naturally, this is an adaptation and as such is abridged, but the only notable omissions are Bombadil, The Old Forest and the Barrow Wights. Some of the music may not be to all tastes (I personally dislike the Eagles proclamation of Saurons defeat) but all of it is beautifully orchestrated and delivered. Highlights for me would be William Nighy as Sam singing a part of the fall of Gil-Galad and his song in the tower of Minas Morgul. Gimli's recitation of "In Moria, In Khazad Dum" has wonderful emotion and resonance and Bilbo's last song is a beautiful and heartbreaking accompaniment to the scene at the Grey Havens.

Miranda Richardson's Galadriel has great power and she handles the temptation of the ring masterfully. Likewise Eowyn's challenge to the Lord of the Nazgul is amazingly powerful.

The main problem in a radio production is in finding a natural way to describe visual scenes without clumsy "Look Frodo, It's a big walking tree..." lines. This is handled very well for the most part particularly in the Battle of Helms Deep. Brian Sibley's decision to use the Minstrel of Gondor to tell the tale of the Battle of Pelennor Field is less successful but I found that after the first sitting I started to quite enjoy the effect.

I hope this short review has been enough to convince you that this is a very worthy addition to any collection and I hope that it appears in the correct section when you look for reviews of the Radio Play.

As a side note, although it is good, the BBC production of the Hobbit does not reach the heights that this production does, primarily due to poor choice of music style and a less than charismatic Gandalf.