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Science Fiction & Fantasy |
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The Lord of the Rings (Box Set) (J.R.R. Tolkien)
written by J. R. R. Tolkien
Studio : Random House Audio
by Random House Audio
Release Date : 1993-09-01
Publisher : Random House Audio
Released : 1993-09-01
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 13
EAN : 9780553472288
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 139 reviews)
List Price : $59.95
Our Price : $33.90
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Product Description |
Dramatization
Thirteen Cassettes, 13 hours
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, The Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell, by chance, into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.
From his fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, Sauron's power spread far and wide. He gathered all the Great Rings to him, but ever he searched far and wide for the One Ring that would complete his dominion.
On his eleventy-first birthday Bilbo disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest -- to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.
The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard, the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, Boromir of Gondor, and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider. |
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wonderfully entertaining! |
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for years i have been in love with this bbc version of the lord of the rings. my audio cassettes have been played and played to the point that several no longer work properly. finding this set on cd was the highlight of my week. if you are one of us tolkien crazy devotees, you should add this to your collection. it is well worth the money. i especially enjoy this on long road trips. ian holm (who played bilbo in the new line cinema movies) makes for a wonderful frodo. the other bbc regulars also offer very enjoyable performances. |
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absolutley awsome !!! |
BBc's version was the best very very very good!!!! the voice acting was excellent couldnt get any better. very good voice actors, Brian sibley you did an awsome job keep up the good work !!!! Tolkien is one of the best writers ever or i would say the best in my opinion. The music was perfect,excellent sound fx. Sam was played excellently the voice actor is perfect for sam. I wish there was a sequel tellin about frodos and bilbo and gandalfs stay in the far west and about there return to hobbiton.
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Happy I found it |
I had a difficult time finding this item. My daughter was so pleased to get it!
Kris |
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Marvelous and heartbreaking rendition - wish I could give it 10 stars! |
What a wonderful adaptation of the Professor's translation of the Red Book! I did not care for Arwen's voice, but otherwise the entire cast is wonderful, just as they were in the films, but I think this is even better than those magnificent productions, truer to life. Ian Holm is superior as Frodo, going from innocent, carefree lad excited about seeing Gandalf's fireworks to one completely broken and in despair. You get the feeling this is what it was really like for him, the pain, the suffering, the fears and the tears, the horrific cost to his heart and soul to be Ring-bearer and carry his cross to Mount Doom. Reading that the Nazgul were pressuring him to put on the Ring is one thing. To actually hear them saying "Put on the Ring, put on the Ring," and hear Frodo struggle against it and not always win is quite another. To read that he lashed out at Sam in the tower while under the influence of the Ring is nothing compared to hearing that meltdown and his retelling in tears of how the orcs had abused him and how he wished the Ring had never come to him. That he suffered during his anniversary illnesses is brought out heartbreakingly well. He's got an incredible voice and range of feelings in this broadcast. Aragorn/Strider has a very calm, soothing voice that is needed for four frightened hobbits to hear and it's clear he cares deeply for them. Smeagol/Gollum is one completely cracked hobbit and that is played very well. The music, though limited, is very good, especially the lovely "Bilbo's Last Song" at the end. I could go on and on. I've listened to it repeatedly. So should you!
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I never tire of this version |
My old tapes are all worn out, and two were eaten by my old car stereo, so I was thrilled to finally get a clean copy of the great BBC dramatization. I have dreamed Middle Earth since I was a child, and had enough visuals in my head to last a lifetime. This old experience of the books has meant that I have overlapping interpretations of the characters in my head, those I built from the readings and those who built themselves out of the air, the sound waves of this BBC production.
Gollum/Smeagol (Woodthorpe) takes my breath away. It is genius of him and the director that keeps his performance perfect, when in the hands of nearly anyone else it would have been absurd. As Frodo carries his burden through the long year, Ian Holm changes with him. His exhaustion, his bitter maturity, his love, his endurance, the awful changes as the Ring wraps aroung his psyche...this is all in Holm's performance.
And you fall in love with Sam all over again. Bill Nighy played Sam to a tee. (Today you can find Nighy under lots of squiddly CGI in the "Pirates" movies.) Peter Howell (Saruman), Michael Hordern (Gandalf), Marian Diamond (Galadriel), Douglas Livingstone (Gimli) and others of this production have been in my head for decades (this production is a quarter century old, made in 1981).
Even the odd, lispy voice of Robert Stephens has become a favorite version of Aragorn/Strider. His voice makes him very human (considering that he hangs with elves), and tired (remember, the longevity granted by Numenorean blood or not, he's nearly 90 when the tale begins; think of him as early middle age, at least mid-40's) deferring his heart's desire for long years of rough living as a Ranger. How Stephen Thorne's Treebeard manages to be good rather than campy or absurd, with his booming oom!s, I don't know. But it works.
And Faramir is rescued from the great disservice done to him by Peter Jackson, et al. (My one real complaint about the marvelous films is messing so with Faramir's character; Jackson has him do exactly what it was so telling of him NOT to do in the books, i.e., try to get the ring, and to impress Daddy Denathor, no less. That is not what Faramir would do, nor does he in the books and this BBC drama. Faramir resists the Ring better than anyone but Sam Gamgee and Tom Bombadil, and that is one reason his creator, Tolkien, liked Faramir so.)
Use of Tolkien's words, music (by Stephen Oliver) that runs from stately/pastoral/very English (when it deals with men and hobbits) to alien but accessible and sung by boy sopranos (themes for the otherwordly elves), and marvelous acting, all make this one of my favorite audio experiences. (If you get tired of the main theme, just recall that it was a radio production. That music was to open and close the aural space, to separate the half hour of magic from the rest of the day. |
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