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The Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King (Dramatised) cover art

The Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King (Dramatised)

By: J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Ian Holm, Michael Hordern, John Le Mesurier, full cast
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Summary

The evil Saruman has been defeated by Gandalf, but in Mordor the battle for the Ruling Ring continues. Wounded by the giant spider, Shelob, Frodo has been captured by the dreaded orcs. Sam, alone and in possession of the Ring, must rescue his master if their mission - to find the Cracks of Doom, and there destroy the Ring - is to continue. Meanwhile, the other Fellowship members are preparing for war against the armies of the Dark Lord, Sauron....

Widely regarded as a broadcasting classic, the BBC Radio dramatisation of 'The Lord of the Rings' stars Ian Holm, Michael Hordern, Robert Stephens, John Le Mesurier and Peter Woodthorpe.

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

What listeners say about The Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King (Dramatised)

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makes me cry every time & want to start it again!

from the 10 year old to the now 35 year old this series has never failed to keep me enchanted, scared and amused, and no doubt it will until I go deaf in my dotage!

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The End of The Red Book

The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King(1981) Adapted for BBC Radio 4 by Brian Sibley and Michael Bakewell

Here we are at the end of the journey my friends. Sauron’s mighty armies have been destroyed and there is a king in Gondor once again. The Dark Lord and his ilk are dispelled. Surely the task is done? Unfortunately for the Hobbits of The Shire the answer is no.

The Return of The King’s dramatisation is also peerless in its field. The Peter Jackson film adaptation is good. The Extended Editions especially. But it has one major omission. It doesn’t include The Scouring of The Shire. I won’t be too specific as to what occurs but from its name I’m sure I don’t need to be the one to tell you that it isn’t exactly pleasant...at least mostly.

The cast are on fine form one last time. Frodo as portrayed by Ian Holm once again comes in for praise only this time his personality has become somewhat warped. At last the burden has begun to lure the good kind gentle Hobbit. But his core is still pure...even though anyone could be tainted and scarred by such an evil.

Thank the Lady of Lothlorien that Frodo has a gardener with him! Samwise Gamgee has a pitch perfect portrayal courtesy of Bill Nighy. Sam manages to be stout-hearted and brave beyond the call of duty. After all he might not be able to carry The Ring but he can carry the Ring-bearer! Sam truly is the hero of the tale which seems appropriate since he is the most ordinary of them all. This is something captured wonderfully by Bill Nighy in his performance. He is also excellent at showing Sam’s incredible loyalty to Frodo and distrust of Gollum.

Speaking of Gollum or Smeagol, he is played by Peter Woodthorpe who manages to display both sides of the character. The two personalities are very well done even if I personally prefer Andy Serkis in the role. His sneaking and corrupted attitudes are shown very well as well as the famous tendency to speak like thisisisis especially with regards to fisheseses. (It actually feels weird to type like that. Maybe it is my inner pedant?)

You’ve heard me praise before the work of the series musician Stephen Oliver and the Radiophonic Workshop’s Elizabeth Parker but I made one notable blunder. I didn’t include the wonderful singing voices tied to the series. There are quite the collection of them across all three parts but sadly I could not find sources where many were named outright. The only names I could find definitively were Matthew Vine, Oz Clark and David James. Regardless I will praise all the singers as a group because all the songs across the series sound absolutely beautiful to my ears. I can’t guarantee they’ll be to everyone’s tastes musically but I certainly enjoyed them.

Once last time I will recommend hunting down either a physical CD of this version – Warning!: Physical versions are expensive – or obtaining a digital download from somewhere such as Audible. If I remember correctly the physical CD release of The Return of The King comes with a bonus disc which contains a large selection of the music heard throughout the series – although I believe not all. Some songs such as The Ballad of Gil-Galad as I refer to it or officially The Fall of Gil-Galad when listened to on the CD in question are sung by other performers than in the original dramatisation which may bother you. Personally it does somewhat hinder my enjoyment of the bonus CD but the bonus songs are notably not included in the digital version I own and have used for the reviews.

Now what could I review next? Perhaps it is time for a visit to the time of handsome cabs, endless fog, opium dens and gentlemen’s clubs? After all this is the home ground of The Great Detective.

Namárië!

Nephrite

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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful tolkein

I realy enjoyed this dramatisation. i am aware it is not a recent one but it stands the test of time.

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An excellent end to a great trilogy

This instalment is like the rest in the series. A great story brought to life by a great cast. An excellent listen.

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A must for all LOTR fans!

This recording is an absolute must for all Tolkien fans. A wonderful cast, superbly put together by Brian Sibly for Radio. I re-listen to this every year. Simply wonderful!

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wonderful

This is my favourite adaptation of my favourite book. Stunning and atmospheric throughout. I particularly enjoyed the music.

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Loved it

Loved this. Well worth a listen! I have always been a fan of The Lord of the Rings from childhood. And this is a beautifully done performance

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent in all aspects

Loved it when. first broadcast. A brilliant production. Wonderful to have it on my phone.

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excellent

Fabulous dramatisation. Wonderful voices which i remember dearly from childhood in the 80s when this series was first broadcast. Sadly many of these great actors have died now. They leave a master piece radio drama legacy.

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Suffers at the end

The book as a whole finishes about half way through the programme here. Though that is not because of the production it is because of the story as a whole.

When the bulk of the action is over ther is a huge amount of story that I just do not care for and this lets Return of the King down. Up until then there is no problems, but after...there are.

The songs are also a hit too prominent here but hey, Tolkien did like his songs.

Tl;Dr: This is representative k f the book but you can stop about half way through.

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