Not really necessary if you've read the novels but a fun abridgment with some nice voices. Holm and Nighy as Frodo and Sam are the standouts.

dad read the hobbit to us when I was 13 and then started lord of the rings after finished the 3 outstanding amazing books at age forteen before highschool and now im about to read silmarillian

In terms of adapting Lord of the Rings, it is not an easy feat and both Brian Sibley and Michael Bakewell deliver an exquisite adaption of JRR Tolkien's work for audio form.

With beautiful music by the late Stephen Oliver and great performances from most of the cast, this is a worthwhile addition to any Tolkien fans collection.

Gros plaisir dans les dernières semaines : j'ai écouté la version radio de la BBC (audio anglaise) de The Hobbit et de Lord of the Rings, à savoir :
- version BBC de 1968 de The Hobbit (4h environ), adaptée par Michael Kilgariff;
- version BBC de 1981 de The Lord of the Rings (5h environ pour le premier tome, 4h environ pour le second et 3h environ pour le dernier), adaptée par Brian Sibley et Michael Bakewell.

J'ai écouté ces adaptations dans le catalogue audio de la Bibliothèque et archives nationales du Québec (application Libby).

Chaque "émission" a des efforts sonores (bruits de batailles, chansons, cris, etc etc) et une équipe complète de narrateurs.

Mes notes sont les suivantes (je note purement la version audio, pas le récit papier) :
- The Hobbit : 4,5 /5
- The Lord of the Rings : 3 /5 pour le premier tome, 3,75 / 5 pour le second et 5 /5 pour le dernier

En bref, c'est une expérience géniale pour les amateurs de The Hobbit et LOTR !!

Réflexions détaillées

- Les effets sonores et l'équipe de narrateurs rend l'expérience superbe : on se croirait tout simplement dans un film sans image.

- Là où le bât blesse (surtout pour les tomes 1 et 2 de LOTR) est l'absence quasi complète de narration "hors dialogue", faisant en sorte que quelqu'un qui n'a pas lu les livres ne comprendrait rien du tout au récit... Plus de narration aurait vraiment amélioré l'expérience, et ce encore plus dans le cadre des batailles... Je souligne que le dernier tome de LOTR est bien mieux à ce sujet, j'ai noté une grande différence dans mon expérience audio.

- Le rythme est évidemment très accéléré et on manque donc le développement des personnages qui est la clé des livres : à titre d'exemple, après avoir entendu Aragorn parler dans seulement deux courtes scènes, Frodo dit à Gandalf à Rivendell qu'il tient beaucoup à Aragorn, ce qui sonne bien sûr plutôt faux (encore une fois, une narration hors dialogue aurait aidé). Par ailleurs, Legolas et Gimli sont quasiment absents de toute l'adaptation radio (ou disons qu'on ne les remarque pas du tout), donc ils nous laissent vraiment indifférent, contrairement aux livres.

- Au début du second tome de LOTR, lors de la fameuse scène entre Boromir et Aragorn, je me suis surpris à attendre l'iconique "I would have followed you. My brother. My captain. My king.", avant de me rendre compte que ces mots apparaissent uniquement dans le film. Cela montre à quel point le film a été marquant; même constant pour le discours de Theoden dans la chevauchée des Rohirrim.

- J'ai trouvé difficile dans les adaptations radios des 4 livres de deviner quel personnage parlait puisque plusieurs voix sont très similaires (à part bien sûr Gandalf, Gimli et la superbe voix de Gollum) et qu'on n'a aucun contexte dans les dialogues, sans la mention des noms.
- Gros problème de gestion du son dans les adaptations radios des 4 livres, avec des hausses subites de décibels (cris etc) qui nous tuent les oreilles lorsqu'on porte des écouteurs comme moi. C'est quelque chose qui aurait dû être travaillé avant de télécharger ces adaptations dans les plateformes audios contemporaines...

- Pour The Hobbit, les voix de Gollum et des gobelins sont excellentes. Il y a plus de narration "hors dialogue" que LOTR, qui permet de mieux comprendre le récit. Il y a le même problème de gestion du son : je ne comptais plus le nombre de fois où les cris de Gollum m'arrachaient les oreilles. Vraiment très très chiant et j'ai failli mettre une note plus basse uniquement à cause de cela...

Je répète : superbe pour les amateurs des livres mais ce serait particulièrement dur à suivre pour quelqu'un qui n'a pas lu les livres ou vu les films.

Vous n'avez pas déjà eu le bonheur de les écouter ? Jetez vous dessus ! Pour les Québécois, l'attente est quasi-inexistante pour ces adaptations dans le catalogue audio gratuit de la Bibliothèque et archives nationales du Québec (application Libby) !

Some parts are magical, and many are silly, but the most frustrating parts are those where they just seemed to lack the imagination to tell the story as a radio drama. But a must-listen for LOTR lovers, especially GenXers who listens to this growing up!

This adaptation of Lord of the Rings, for BBC radio in 1981, is just amazing. Apparently Peter Jackson made his cast members who hadn't read the book listen to it, and in fact, you can see its strong influence on the films he made.

My dad bought it when I was a child (the box of cassettes is still at my mum's place), to listen to while he was driving, and I listened to the whole thing as well. I have fond memories of listening to it in my room. At 13 hours, it includes a lot more from the book than the films do, yet I remember my dad and I bemoaning the absence still of the character of Tom Bombadil.

I've relistened to it, sporadically, over the course of the last year. Easy to dip in and out of something when you know it so well. It really holds up. The script, by Brian Sibley (who also adapted Narnia and Gormenghast for BBC radio), is mostly dialogue but with some narration. The voice cast is fantastic, and includes Ian Holm as Frodo (he played Bilbo in the Jackson films), Michael Horden as Gandalf and a young Bill Nighy as Sam. The performances of these three in particular stand out, and are absolutely spot-on. Nighy is unrecognisable.

Stephen Oliver (John Oliver's uncle!), best known for his operas, did the music. The main theme, with its sudden change from dark and plodding and sombre to bright and sweet, like the sun coming out from behind the clouds, is really memorable; and the English pastoral-style songs are quite striking and lovely.

I love this for the strong memories of my childhood and my dad that it evokes but also because, trying to look at it objectively, it's an almost perfect audio dramatisation of the book. If only it included Tom Bombadil...

Solid adaptation but oscillates from wooden to overwrought. The musical score is a nice touch overall but some of the songs of the elves and Rohirrim are cover-your-ears awful / why people think they hate classical music.

My # 1 favorite book of all time!!! It’s what got me reading again as an adult! LOVE IT❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thank you JRR Tolkien! I love you!!!

An excellent full cast audio drama of the entire series (although The Two Towers got a little shorted).

General Overview
This is already in my Top 5 Books of 2020, if not the decade to come and the two ones I have lived past. Such a wonderful retelling, of what is THE father of fantasy fiction. Any fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's books must give this a listen.

Style
This radio series, now nearly 40 years old, is well known to many fans of the Lord of the Rings. It was re-released on BBC Radio to coincide with Peter Jacksons films of the early 00s. Besides these, and the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings animated films, it is one of the best in style for a retelling, and should be held up with the books and films for its quality and power.

As a radio play, it clearly misses out on some of the detail of the books and films. Its voice acting is spot on however, as are the use of songs and music throughout. These two aspects are reason enough in of themselves to give this 13 episode series a listen. With a length of roughly 13 hours, the story of all three books is covered fully, and I do not feel any part of it is was missed to aid with the play.

The sound effects are spot on, and really bring the whole piece to life.

Story
If you have read this far, you know the story. The legend of the Lord of the Ring, and the Return of the King, as told by the small folk. I am not certain how enjoyable this series would be to listen as your first engagement with the story. I believe it works best if you have read the books already, and wish to enjoy them again in a different way. I am happy to be proven wrong, and would love to hear from someone who first heard this epic story through this radio play.

This retelling really feels more then ever like the tale of Samwise the Brave. This I love. The adventures once the Fellowship is split are all well told and cover, but Samwise seems to be the lead of it all, or so it seems to me.

The ending had me in tears as it always does. Maybe because of its age, and the way it tells of the mystical middle earth whilst not giving away to many of its secrets. I felt a deeper understand of why J.R.R. Tolkien wrote his books, and what they meant to him from listening to this wonderful retelling.

Final Thoughts
I have waxed as lyrically as I can about this series. Go find it, go listen to it, and I am certain you will enjoy it.

Rating scale
5 - Buy it at full price
4 - Buy it at a discount
3 - Borrow it from a library
2 - I read it, don't recommend it
1 - Wasn't worth finishing

Classic fantasy book. A starting point for most new readers