The quality continues.

As I said I wasn't made aware of the BBC's dramatization of Lord of the Rings until 2001, twenty years after its initial release. And even then I wasn't aware of the anniversary edition which added the opening and closing narrations by Frodo. But as I said it was a much better version than the NPR Playhouse version. Granted I do still somewhat enjoy that one, but after hearing this one I must conclude that it' is far superior. And of course it's far better than the films, as good as those admittedly were.
One thing I like about this version is that it stays more or less true to the characters as described in the book, which the films didn't always do.. A notable example is Treebeard. In the NPR playhouse version he was voiced by Tom Luce with a rather annoying echo effect added. Needless to say it made hm sound rather campy. In the films he was hostile towards the Hobbits at first and made them aware of Gandalf's survival long before they learned of it in the book. Here, actor Steven Thorn gives him a commanding yet somewat mischievous quality that I always did perceive in the character. And the Ents have a cool marching song which I'm sure was in the novel but here is excellently presented.
In short I don't think I stopped listening to this any longer than was absolutely necessary, such as for meal and bathroom breaks. But then back to it I went. And now that Audible has them I can carry them with me on my IPod anytime, which should come in useful particularly for long trips in the car. And tense or scary parts of the story really come off as tense or scary here, which is definitely a good thing! Excellent music and SFX combined with an excellent cast bring this tale fabulously to life. It's definitely worth the credits or the money.

16 people found this helpful

NOT THE BOOK!

they shortened a 17hr book into a 4hour audio play. absolutely do not recommend. get the one narrated by Inglis.

9 people found this helpful

flies through the book

A wonderful dramatization, but confusing if you aren't very familiar with the book. Mostly dialogue, it gleans over the descriptions and details of place and time. nonetheless it captures a literary feel and language that do the novels justice, often when the movies do not.

6 people found this helpful

Classic Story Well Dramatized

What made the experience of listening to The Lord Of The Rings the most enjoyable?

Had these on tape. Decided to upgrade to digital audio on my players. Reminds me of when I read these as a teenager. Still one of the best stories ever written.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sam. In the middle book of the trilogy you learn the value of Sam and his strength. Like Bean was to Ender, Sam is to Frodo.

Have you listened to any of the narrators???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Well produced ensemble cast. Easy to listen and understand who is talking. Very high production value.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Just relax and enjoy an amazing book.

5 people found this helpful

Great job

Absolutely love this set, One of my favorite series done with amazing narrators, Excellent purchase

3 people found this helpful

Brilliant for light listening

Once again I enjoyed listening to The Two Towers in dramatization. I think the story is always so much more enriched when the different characters are spoken by different people.
If you want heaps of detail to the story line then don't buy this, there is only so much detail that can be added while incorperating sound effects and music. But overall I found that it contained enough plot line to get the major gist of the story without being waffly and boring to listen to. I really love the LOTR trilogy over the full book anyway. The book, (though I'm sure is amazing once you get into it) is very waffly at the start and I could not read it, so having this to listen to gave me the chance to picture the whole Tolkein world with very little effort.
This Is great to have in the car to listen to on long, and otherwise boring, journeys.

3 people found this helpful

Nicely Dramatised

I've read the triligy several times and love the unabridged work, however this dramatised version has very good voices and pace. I don't care for the singing, but I tend to fast forward through that and it's just part of the story.

2 people found this helpful

Hard to follow / Story Great tho

The fight scenes are incredibly hard to follow, just a bunch of grunts and screams, and then the fight is over, very hard to figure out what’s even going on. As well as many of the characters have semi generic voices, making it hard to understand who is actually speaking.

1 person found this helpful

it's a pity it's the only version available.

Naturally, the performance itself is good, but if I wanted a dramatised, abridged version of the book I'd have listened to the movie with my eyes closed. it's just a pity that there's no other version available, like for the first book, which was much more enjoyable and easier to listen to without the sound effects.

1 person found this helpful

I expected so much more from the BBC

Would you try another book from J. R. R Tolkien and/or the narrators?

First of all I'm a fan of the books and the movies. Get any other version.

1 person found this helpful