The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Dramatised)

By: J. R. R Tolkien

Narrated by: Ian Holm, Michael Hordern, Robert Stephens

Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

A BBC radio full-cast dramatisation of the first book in JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. Brian Sibley's famous 1981 adaptation, starring Ian Holm and Michael Hordern, has been divided into three corresponding parts, with newly recorded beginning and end narration by Ian Holm.

©2018 BBC Worldwide Ltd trading as BBC Studios (P)2018 BBC Worldwide Ltd trading as BBC Studios

Great dramatization, but read the book first!

I read The Lord of the Rings twice as a teenager, and watched the movies more than once. When I found this dramatization I thought it would be nice to experience the story again, but in a new way. I was a bit sceptical as I read the reviews, but decided to buy it anyway. And I'm glad I did! I spent most of yesterday with my headphones on, and the story made my Saturday cleaning and laundry quite enjoyable this week.

I listen to a lot of audiobooks and wasn't sure if I'd enjoy a dramatization, but I really did. My boyfriend listened to the beginning of the story with me and was annoyed with how the story wasn't exactly as it is in the book, but I didn't mind. It's a very short version of the story, and they do skip a lot of things that are hard to fit in the "story-told-by-dialogue-and-sounds" style of a dramatization, and for the same reason you miss a lot of details because you can't see anything and no one is explaining what's going on in the action-sequences (but the result of the action is mentioned after by the characters). I still enjoyed it as I could imagine everything based on my memory of the story from the book. I think they did a great job making this, and the narrators/cast are really good.

DON'T buy this if you want the whole book and the whole detailed story, because then you will be disappointed (there are audiobooks available...). Buy this book if you love the story and want to experience it again, but don't mind if it's a short version or that Tom Bombadil is still missing. I loved it, and have already bought Two Towers:-)

26 of 28 people found this review helpful

Wonderful

All three of the titles in the trilogy are most excellently performed as a radio drama for the BBC. The actors do a splendid job, the effects are realistic. I felt as is I were watching the performance in my mind. Highly recommend this audio program.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Worth buying a second time

I already have this dramatisation on CD, but I bought it from Audible so I could listen on my mobile device. It has been welll worth the extra money. The acting is credible, drawing you into the story. Not all the incidents from the books are included, so the plot moves along faster. The songs embedded in the story enrich the performance. Having listened to the whole trilogy on CD, I can thoroughly recommend all three books, though I haven't bought the other two from Audible yet.

20 of 22 people found this review helpful

Dramitization

For what it is, it is brilliantly done. I'm just too fond of this story (the whole story) to be fully content with an abridged rendition.

That said, I take less exception to what was cut/changed (text and content-wise) in this version than some of the things done in the 2001 film. One of my favourite moments is the Fords of Bruinen as it was written, and that spirit is kept in this dramatization.

Five stars for dramatization, but only four as 'The Fellowship of the Ring' since it is missing so very much. It seems 'Fellowship' is usually the part of the trilogy that is cut down the most for dramatization.

48 of 54 people found this review helpful

Very well done.

Any additional comments?

My only complaint about this series is that some of the voices were a little too close together in sound and it got a little confusing as to whom was speaking.

Prime example is the voices of Gandalf and Aragorn .

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Well done but lacking

I am a fan of the Lord of the Rings series. I have read the books, seen the movies, and bought the T-Shirt. THis audiobook was professionally made, and was an easy listen. It is nice to hear distinct characters in the dramatized versions.

I am disappointed in the this version in the following ways. It is missing a full section with Tom Bombadil. Well, the Movie was missing him too. I guess I was expecting something a little less abridged. There are several specific things lacking in this version that to me, caused me to not buy the remaining books.

83 of 101 people found this review helpful

Great adaptation for a fan of the book to have

I was nervous about this title when I downloaded it from Audible. As a fan of the books who reads them at least once a year, I can say that this dramatized version was very well done. Yes parts of the books have been removed and certain lines were changed but the performances from the actors help you to forget this. This dramatization is a great way to introduce the story to younger kids who may not want to 'read' a book this long. Worth every penny.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

The LOTR dramatisation

i love this adaptation of the LOTR. all the actors do justice to the characters in this beloved classic. i especially enjoyed the voice of ian holm (who plays bilbo in the movies) giving life to frodo. i highly recommend all three (TLOTR, TTT, and TROTK) dramatisations from BBC.

10 of 12 people found this review helpful

At last, for young kids

My 8 yr-old has bugged me about LoTR, the movies (too scary) and books (high school reading level). Enter the BBC radio plays: an abridged version of the books, chock full of adventure enhanced by the full cast, music, and effects. We listened to all three in the series.

19 of 24 people found this review helpful

Absolutely excellent.

I've been a fan of the Lord of the Rings for about twenty years now, ever since the age of eleven. It wasn't until I was 21, however, that I learned of this particular production. This production, quite frankly, beats the crap out of the 1979 NPR Playhouse version. The music in this production is absolutely excellent and the cast is amazing. Michael Hordern plays the sort of Gandalf I would feel comfortable trusting my life to. Robert Stevens' no-nonsense portrayal of Aragorn is also what I would have expected. It's much better than Viggo Mortensen's Hollywood influenced portrayal. Don't mistake me. I was very impressed with the movies over all and in fact I own them. But I didn't like how Peter Jackson changed certain things and explicitly went against Tolkien's writings in so doing. This radiodrama is extremely faithful to the novels, lacking only the Tom Bombadil section. It also expands on the events that led to Sauron's discovering the truth of the Ring's continued existence, even showing a bit of Gollum's torture at the hands of the Mouth of Sauron.
All in all I really enjoyed this production, particularly the newer version which includes extra material at the beginning and end of each novel. And rather than detracting from the story this new material (consisting of opening and closing narration by Ian Holm as Frodo), sets the stage for the next presentation and then refreshes the listener's memory about how the prior one ended. Combine excellent acting with generally high quality sound effects with excellently-composed music and you have a program well worth your time. The only odd effect I can find is that the horses of the Nine sound more like tapdancers' shoes. The cast, however, was excellently chosen. And I really liked how Ian Holm, who plays Frodo here, later went on to star as the aging Bilbo in the film trilogy. So if you haven't already you should give this one a go. You might just be in for a good tim

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

A Great Listen

I have just listened to this again after a gap of 10 years and it is even better than I remember. I thought after having seen the films that it would have lost some of the magic. But, this is not the case. One of the great things about audio is that you still get to fill in the gaps using your own imagination and this BBC Radio 4 version gives you plenty of opportunity to that. The new start to each of the books is a good addition, as is the linking together of the individual episodes. Sam is still my favourite character, with Gandalf a close second. If you have not listened to this yet then don't wait too long before you do!

16 of 16 people found this review helpful

Should have been published on Audible as a whole!

I loved the original radio series so much that I had it on cassette - not terribly useful these days.

I'm pretty sure this has been edited from the original broadcast, some of the classic lines I remember don't seem to be there and I can't have dreamt them all. At one time I could recite entire episodes of this dramatization by heart.

That brings me to my main bugbear. This was a 13 part radio dramatization of the whole trilogy. There is no reason (other than making 2 extra sales) for it to have been divided into three.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

A blast from the past

Listening to the lord of the rings brought back wonderful memories for me because i bought the Lord of the Rings Trilogy on cd. Unfortunately i had those stolen and missed hours of dramatised enjoyment. Thank God for Audible and downloading the trilogy. I can now sit and listen to the lord of the rings for hours on end again. WONDERFUL ENTERTAINMENT.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

I'd have been preferred it in 13 parts

I would have give it 5 stars if it were the original radio drama 'prepared for radio in 13 parts, by Brian Sibley' but it's not.
I grew up listening to the cassette tapes of this play and there are some changes. 99% of it is the same, but it's been re-edited. There are alternate takes and extended scenes that I just find so jarring as they weren't in the original version. At first I thought I was losing my memory.
The title music is sped up with a new voiceover, but as it's only at the front of the play it's not too distracting. The pacing has suffered, because now it's no longer in 13 parts, the end of each episode is now a chapter. There is no longer a little cliffhanger and as a result it feels a tad less exciting. I liked the music and used to look forward to hearing it again. The score is excellent and some of the score was woven into the end title music on some episodes, which is now sadly lost.

it's still a brilliant drama with some of the best voice acting on Audible, but it's not quite the version I grew up with.

If you aren't over familiar with the original broadcasts you'll probably think I'm nitpicking. You're probably right.

8 of 10 people found this review helpful

Enjoyable Tolkien

This is a wonderful dramatisation of Tolkien. For me travelling long distances in NZ it turns a great drive into a fantastic experience. The charaters are wonderfully portrayed and I loved it about to play the next book.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Good but I stay hungry

It would be great to listen complete story (as it is written in the book)

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Superb presentation so why only 4 stars?

LOTR is one of my favourite series and I am constantly being drawn back to Tolkien’s Middle Earth.
These radio plays are a true gem. Each of the cast plays their part well. The production is excellent.
It appears that every version of these suffers the same background noise issue - as if you are listening to an audiotape and picking up the other side.

Why four stars? Well, the above is one reason. Another is that the Old Forest and Tom Bombadil are skipped entirely.

But still thoroughly recommended.

Lord of the Rings Book 1

This series is fantastic, I would recommend to everyone. I love these books, excellent work.

loved it

cant wait for next installment the two towers, going to get it next, brill for flight home

Didn't get on with it.

l only played it until Frodo was about to leave the Shire. Not for me.