Lord of the Rings - BBC Radio 4 Dramatization

[Gwalchmei]

Oh my god this is amazing stuff! Thank you for opening this thread!

You are most welcome, Farinal.

It would be a sin and a shame for any fan of Tolkien to miss out on the pleasure of listening to this.

I thought that most of us Brits (well those of an age to remember the original broadcast) would be familiar with it, but also suspected that it may not have spread further afield. And I know that there is a significant international presence on this forum so thought it worthwhile flagging it up on the off chance.

I think my favourite bits from the Fellowship episodes (and there are so many to choose from) are the scenes in the Prancing Pony (always liked Barliman Butterbur for some reason) and the Bridge of Khazad-Dum. Love it when the Balrog comes upon them and both Aragorn and Boromir don't bat an eyelid. Stirring stuff. The funny thing was I was doing some gardening at the time and I had this urge to brandish my leaf rake and shout out "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" with Sir Michael Hordern.

Not sure what the neighbours would have had to say...

[Rich H]

The funny thing was I was doing some gardening at the time and I had this urge to brandish my leaf rake and shout out "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" with Sir Michael Hordern.

Pet peeve but it's "You cannot pass".

[jacksarge]

I thought that most of us Brits (well those of an age to remember the original broadcast) would be familiar with it, but also suspected that it may not have spread further afield. And I know that there is a significant international presence on this forum so thought it worthwhile flagging it up on the off chance.

Well it was certainly broadcast here in Australia. The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) must have done a deal with the BBC, and it sounds like we had it not long after you blokes in the UK. I remember my Dad recording the episodes onto cassette tape from the radio broadcast back in the 80's, so we could re-listen to it.

[jacksarge]

The funny thing was I was doing some gardening at the time and I had this urge to brandish my leaf rake and shout out "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" with Sir Michael Hordern.

Pet peeve but it's "You cannot pass".

Yep, in fact Gandalf says "You cannot pass" 3 times in the paragraph:

'You cannot pass,' he said. The orcs stood still, and a dead silence fell. 'I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass.'

[Rich H]

This may also be of interest to people:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKyIVZJAAXg

There are some lovely highlights from it - eg, his laugh at the end of reading "Upon the Hearth". I love listening to old recordings, especially those of older people; it is as if they are speaking to us from afar, undiminished and unhindered by time... Hmmm.

[Bram Corolev]

For a guy just doing an audio book on his own, this has to be one of the most amazing things I've ever heard. He uses a combination of his own voices, sound effects, and edited music from the movies. His Gollum voice is amazing. The whole thing is finished now, however he still goes back and revises some of the chapters to improve them. I believe somewhere he has all of his recordings downloadable on MP3.

Phil Dragash reads Lord of The Rings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jYdUfQ ... 61D68B836E

[Uncle Mojo]

Too bad all the copies of the BBC dramatization for sale nowdays are $100+ and/or used and in not-so-good condition. In addition, UK Amazon offers are nearly all only available to UK customers, no international postage option. Oh well, there is at least one episode on YouTube.

[Gwalchmei]

Pet peeve but it's "You cannot pass".

Good spot. Apologies but I must have been thinking of the film version (great scene too by the way).

Oh well, I'll just have to listen to the Radio version again to get it right in future. Quel dommage....

[Gwalchmei]

Too bad all the copies of the BBC dramatization for sale nowdays are $100+ and/or used and in not-so-good condition. In addition, UK Amazon offers are nearly all only available to UK customers, no international postage option. Oh well, there is at least one episode on YouTube.

I downloaded mine from iTunes. About £9 per 'book'.

[Glorelendil]

I'm tempted to just buy it, but it will make a great Christmas wish list item.