• Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh

  • By: Joseph Conrad
  • Narrated by: Kenneth Branagh
  • Length: 3 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (8,995 ratings)

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Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh  By  cover art

Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh

By: Joseph Conrad
Narrated by: Kenneth Branagh
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Editorial reviews

"The horror! The horror!" In this brooding and justly celebrated novella of 1902, seaman Charles Marlow is cruising quietly down the Thames at dusk with some friends. As night begins to fall, he tells them of his harrowing journey down an African river in search of the unscrupulous and near-legendary ivory trader named Kurtz, a quest deep into inky spiritual and symbolic darkness. Acclaimed Irish actor/director Kenneth Branagh impersonates Marlow in this recording. Admirably, while fully playing the drama, he never goes overboard. He plays the tale for the great yarn that it is. But had he taken more cognizance of its trajectory and subtleties, he would have made the listening experience far richer than he has.

Publisher's summary

Prose that demands to be read aloud requires a special kind of narrator. For the Audible Signature Classics edition of Joseph Conrad’s atmospheric masterpiece, Heart of Darkness, we called upon four-time Academy Award nominee Kenneth Branagh.

Branagh’s performance is riveting because he reads as though he’s telling a ghost story by a campfire, capturing the story’s sense of claustrophobia, while hinting at the storyteller Marlow’s own creeping madness. Heart of Darkness follows Captain Marlow into the colonial Congo where he searches for a mysterious ivory trader, Kurtz, and discovers an evil that will haunt him forever.

With this landmark work, Conrad is credited with bringing the novel into the twentieth century; we think Branagh brings it into the twenty-first.

Stay tuned for more one-of-a-kind performances from actors David Hyde Pierce, Leelee Sobieski, Tim Curry, and more, only from Audible Signature Classics.

Public Domain (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Acclaimed Irish actor/director Kenneth Branagh impersonates Marlow in this recording. Admirably, while fully playing the drama, he never goes overboard. He plays the tale for the great yarn that it is." ( AudioFile)

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What listeners say about Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh

Average customer ratings
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much better than reading it..

great reading. brought all characters to life. I've always thought Joseph Conrad was a boring read (thanks college). after listening to this presentation, I'll go back to my books to give him another try.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Captivating!

This was an extremely psychological experience. This book, being written in 1899, lays bare the evils of colonialism, the racism of the time and causes one to to really contemplate and observe how present day colonialism has not changed. It just has a sugar coated language now.
The performance is spot on and Branagh expresses the emotions of each character perfectly.
A Heart Of Darkness is very dark, reader beware, if your soul is weak, or you want to stay in denial of racism and effects of colonialism, this book is not for you.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Kenneth Branagh is WONDERFUL

This is my first time reading this, and my first time listening to Kenneth Branagh. I love his voice and will listen to everything he does happily from now on!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Deliciously descriptive; better than theater!

Would you consider the audio edition of Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh to be better than the print version?

Absolutely!!

Who was your favorite character and why?

The narrator - rich vivid descriptions.

What about Kenneth Branagh’s performance did you like?

Take the journey with Marlow - Conrad's descriptions so rich and vivid; vocabulary so wonderfully precise; Branagh with perfect tone, inflection, and animation - you feel the story as much as read/listen to it. A classic that is short enough to be read again and again, just to relive the adventure.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Adventure

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A classic story, well-performed

Branagh does a good job with narrating/performing this story. Heart of Darkness is controversial from a modern perspective, of course - but if you want to listen to it, this is well worth the time. The recording is atmospheric and draws you into the story.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Timeless

I listened to this because of the movie "Apocalypse Now" and video game "Spec Ops: The Line" which where both influenced by this week.

It's material is relevant, and timeless. As noted by the fact that both the art pieces I mentioned can relate it so well across time periods; all while maintaining the core story.

I would recommend this to someone who enjoys darker stories which resonates into reflective nights.

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The Horror

One of the finest Audible pieces I have enjoyed. Listen carefully for the horror , the horror.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A great performance

I'd tried to fill my sacred obligation as an English major, to read Heart of Darkness, several times. I failed, till this great version came along.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

History Needed before Reading

Where does Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Story was interesting but much better after I read the history of the Belgium Congo. Heard the story a second time with more insight and understanding. This was an important historical novel because it shed light on the abuses of the Europeans towards the native population.

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    3 out of 5 stars

I noticed discrepancies in the narrator's accent which confused me to who was actually speaking.

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