# The BBC Radio LOTR Adaptation



## Squint-eyed Southerner (Jan 30, 2022)

I see it's available, in bite-sized chunks, at The Internet Archive:









The Lord Of The Rings: The Complete Trilogy (BBC Radio Dramatization) : BBC Radio : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive


Widely regarded as a broadcasting landmark, this thrilling dramatization by Brian Sibley and Michael Bakewell boasts a truly outstanding cast, including Ian...



archive.org





This is a re-release, with some new introductory musings by Frodo, of the 1981 version. I believe it was released at the time of the movies.

Though still abridged, it remains the most faithful adaptation, as well as the best -- IMO.


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## HALETH✒🗡 (Feb 1, 2022)

I've started listening and I already like it.


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## Squint-eyed Southerner (Feb 1, 2022)

As you may have noticed, Ian Holm, who played Bilbo in the movie version, voiced the part of Frodo here.


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## HALETH✒🗡 (Feb 1, 2022)

Squint-eyed Southerner said:


> As you may have noticed, Ian Holm, who played Bilbo in the movie version, voiced the part of Frodo here.


I haven't noticed it at first, but now the voice seems familiar to me.


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## Ealdwyn (Feb 1, 2022)

I love the radio adaptation. I have the older version and it doesn't have the parts they added here for the re-release, so I think I might have to download a copy.

As well as Ian Holm, Michael Horden's Gandalf and Robert Stephens' Aragorn are superb.


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## Squint-eyed Southerner (Feb 1, 2022)

Much as Ian McKellan became the "voice" of Gandalf for those who saw the movies first, Michael Hordern's was for me, once I heard it, way back in 1981 on the radio -- even though I'd read LOTR many times by then!


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## Ealdwyn (Feb 1, 2022)

Squint-eyed Southerner said:


> Much as Ian McKellan became the "voice" of Gandalf for those who saw the movies first, Michael Hordern's was for me, once I heard it, way back in 1981 on the radio -- even though I'd read LOTR many times by then!


I 'hear' Ian McKellen when I read the book. I find it hard to imagine anyone else now.


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## HALETH✒🗡 (Feb 1, 2022)

I watched both Russian and English versions of LOTR. That's why I got used to differences in voice acting.


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## Erestor Arcamen (Mar 12, 2022)

Not sure if this is the same BBC one or not but found this today









Hoard of the rings: ‘lost’ scripts for BBC Tolkien drama discovered


Original manuscripts show how author rewrote scenes for 1950s adaptation of his Middle-earth epic Lord of the Rings




www.theguardian.com


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## Squint-eyed Southerner (Mar 12, 2022)

It's a different one, but this is an exciting find!

Some of Tolkien's reactions to this first adaptation can be found in Letters 193-194. He wasn't pleased. 😄


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## Squint-eyed Southerner (Sep 7, 2022)

As this was brought up in the Shoutbox, I thought I'd revive a thread about it. Definitely worth a listen, IMO.


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## Squint-eyed Southerner (Sep 15, 2022)

Here's a short clip of one of my favorite parts:




Simple, but evocative.


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