The Lord Of The Rings: BBC Radio 4 Dramatisation (Audio Book) - J.R.R. Tolkien

Before Peter Jackson’s remarkable film trilogy, if you didn’t want to plough your way through the mighty tomes that make up J.R.R.Tolkein’s ‘Lord of the Rings’, the only option available was the BBC Radio 4 radio adaptation, which was first broadcast in 1981. Fortunately, this is one of the finest pieces of radio drama ever made, with a host of star names playing the roles.

VERY QUICK PLOT OVERVIEW
The second age of middle earth is drawing to an end, which marks the passing of the age of elves and the coming of the age of men. The last struggle of the old order is to ensure that the One Ring of power made by the elves’ great foe, Sauron, is destroyed, even if this ensures the doom of the elves. Unfortunately, destroying this ring is not an easy task, but it falls to Frodo to carry it out. Frodo is a hobbit – hobbits are small, men-like creatures, who live living in rural tranquillity, enjoy smoking a pipe and have an enormous appetite for mushrooms.

Encouraged and frightened in equal measure by the wizard Gandalf, Frodo sets off on an epic quest to destroy the ring, accompanied by his faithful servant, the gardener Sam, little knowing all that awaits them. Their quest is drawn into a titanic battle of good and evil involving lands throughout the whole of Middle Earth. They receive help from unlikely quarters.

The Lord of the Rings is an epic tale, that is not a Christian allegory like the Narnia chronicles, nor a political work like Animal Farm. Yet, the story has such breadth and depth and richness of the tale, that it holds the reader enthralled throughout.

WHAT YOU GET WITH THE CDs
The dramatisation was originally broadcast in 26 half hour episodes. My edition has 13 CDs, each ending on a dramatic crescendo. In addition, in the black cloth and cardboard case came a disc with Stephen Oliver’s music and a fold-up A5 map of Middle Earth. The edition that you can buy now comes in 3 4-disc sets, to match the Peter Jackson film trilogy, with the music added on to the third disc and some new opening and closing narration on the various sets.

HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM THE BOOKS AND FILMS?
As with the films, there are whole passages of the books which have not been included. Most notably, there is no Old Forest, Tom Bombadil and Barrow Downs episode. However, unlike the films, there is no significant change to the books to achieve dramatic effect. You have Glorfindel meeting the hobbits after Weathertop not Arwen, who is the somewhat peripheral character one finds in the books. Even better, Eomer, Treebeard and above all Faramir are portrayed faithfully, with none of Jackson’s character assassination.

Other tiresome changes made by the films which are not repeated are the warg attack on the way to Helm’s Deep and the dismissal of Sam by Frodo on the stairs of Cirith Ungol.

WHAT DO I PARTICULARLY LIKE?
i) It is often said that the great thing about radio compared with film is that the pictures are better. Certainly, the from the initial clarinet note rising, swirling like pipe smoke, overtaken by the insistent strings conveying a purposeful march, I am transported immediately into Middle Earth. The narrator, Gerard Murphy, has an authoritative yet calm voice which sets the scene in an unfussy way.

ii) The cast is top rate. These are just some of the names:

Gandalf – Sir Michael Horden (who inter alia was the voice of Paddington Bear when I was growing up)
Frodo – Ian Holm (he played Bilbo in the films, but I remember from Chariots of Fire)
Aragorn - Robert Stephen (a stalwart of the Royal Shakespeare company)
Bilbo – John le Mesurier (Sergeant Wilson from Dad’s Army)
Sam – Bill Nighy (Love Actually)
Celeborn – Simon Cadell (Hi-de-hi!)
Denethor – Peter Vaughan (Genial Harry Grout from Porridge)
Butterbur – James Grout (Morse’s boss, Chief Superintendent Strange)

But for me the star is Gollum, played by Peter Woodthorpe (Max the pathologist from Morse). While Andy Serkis received deserved plaudits for his Gollum in the film, some of that is due to the CGI. Woodthorpe however conveys all the twisted emotions with nothing other than his voice.

iii) The faithfulness to the books is paramount. I have repeated read the books (and in more than one language), so it is a joy to see no liberties taken with the text. Even the songs that appear, ‘Gil-galad was an elven king’, ‘The road goes ever on and on’ are done in such a way that they meld perfectly into the narrative.

iv) The ending is really powerful in its simplicity. This is true of both the books and the film, but there is something particularly powerful in this version, as the final credits music brings the epic tale to an end.

v) It is the perfect accompaniment to a long journey. I have worn out a set of tapes, nearly worn out the CDs and now it is on my iPod, transporting me to Middle Earth as I drive up and down the motorway network. It is more animated than a straight reading, with plenty of music, and thanks to the masterly dramatisations of Brian Sibley and Michael Bakewell, it is beautifully paced, allowing a sense of mourning for Boromir without losing the sense of urgency to escape the Nazgul and Orcs.

OVERALL
At a cheapest price currently of £54.99 from Play.com, this requires a not inconsiderable outlay. However, for me, there have been very few better investments in listening entertainment.

If you only know the films, not the books, there are parts of the dramatisations that will be a big surprise to you, but to those who have read the books, this should come across as a faithful dramatisation that is full of humour, humanity and with nothing essential missing.

Go ahead treat yourself.