Microphones in Middle-earth...the BBC Lord of the Rings

[Macalaure]

I'm listening to the BBC radio adaptation for the first time now. I thought about buying the CDs some time ago, but it was simply too expensive (would have to be imported). I didn't know it's available on Youtube. I'll try to listen to it and enjoy it on its own - without making too many comparisons to the movies. It probably won't be easy.

Of course it is easier for a radio play to transport oneself to Middle-earth since you can enjoy your own images. To someone who has read the books, the fact that it's more restricted than a movie ironically makes it more effective. But I wonder how it works for people who haven't read the books: Are they able to create those images on their own only from listening? Do we have anybody here who was introduced to Middle-earth by the play? That would be interesting to hear more about.
I think it's interesting to observe that on the third, visual, dimension the movies did very well, while on the first two dimensions, acting and writing, it had its highs and lows. So far, the radio adaptation is very well-written and -acted, at least in my opinion.

The beginning was interesting. I didn't expect it to start with Gollum entering Mordor. But it was very effective in capturing the listener's attention while presenting important facts. I thought Gollum's voice was too deep, but maybe I've become too influenced by Serkis' Gollum. I don't think I like the idea of Gollum being a "half-animal". By what I've heard of him yet, I wouldn't have gotten the idea. (an aside: I didn't like the "addict" too much either - it made it too easy to pity him.) I'll reserve my judgement until I have heard more of him in the later episodes.

I, too, liked it that the dialogue between Gandalf and Saruman was closer to like it is in the book, but I would have wished for a little more suspense. It's clear from the beginning that Saruman is not on Gandalf's side and it is clear that Gandalf won't accept his offers. What is left is very nice and atmospherically dense, but regrettably unsurprising dialogue.

I also think that the Sackville-Bagginses are much nicer integrated than they were in the Jackson movies, but that's a minor thing.

[davem]

If its easier for anybody, for quotes & help in remembering what happened, a transcript of the entire episode is here: http://www.tolkienradio.com/shadow.html.

I did like the way we were first taken into the Ivy Bush to meet the Hobbits over beer & pipes. We first encounter 'typical' Hobbits, rather than the atypical ones - Bilbo & Frodo. When we do meet them, in the next scene (which, as I noted, has been invented in part in order to introduce Sam into the story, but mainly so that Bilbo & Frodo will have a scene together at the start), things have been set up well - the atmosphere is quiet & domesticated, but the underlying mystery about Bilbo has been captured perfectly.

I think most listeners who are familiar with the book will also have noticed that John Le Mesurier get's Bilbo's 'half as well as you deserve' line wrong!

I think what i liked most about this production was the way they used so much of Tolkien's words - both dialogue & description in the narration. It roots the adaptation so much more deeply in Tolkien's world. And even a little thing - like having Gandalf & Frodo discussing the Ring on a fine, bright morning (as opposed to the movie, where it happens at night) - makes you feel you're in the right Middle-earth. Of course, this the other advantage of a production that is so dependent on words - you can convey so much more information to the listener:

Gandalf: He doesn't grow, or obtain more life, he merely continues, until at last every minute is a weariness. And if he often uses the Ring to make himself invisible, he fades: he becomes in the end permanently invisible, and walks in twilight under the eye of the dark power that rules the Rings.

Explains far better & much more clearly the effect of the Ring on a bearer than all the rushing about & histrionics we saw in the movie. All in all, its a very good effort at setting up the story, the listener will know far more about the world of Middle-earth than they would at this point in the movie - even though it takes about the same amount of time to get to the same point - & this is something else I've heard - that Jackson didn't have as much time to tell the story as the adaptors of this production did. That's simply not the case - this is a thirteen hour production, & if you take the SEE editions of the Jackson trilogy they total about the same amount of time.
Finally the climax is a perfect cliff-hanger - we get to see the capture & imprisonment of Gandalf as it happened, rather than in flashback at the Council. Once again, the advantage of an adaptation dependent on words rather than images means that we learn much more about the characters of both Gandalf & Saruman. It may not be clear as yet, but Peter Howell's Saruman is a very accomplished piece of acting - the way he flips between the charming, solicitous counsellor & the vicious, self-righteous traitor in the Voice of Saruman episode is perfect.

[Mithalwen]

Many thanks to Davem for bringing this long held aspiration in to the world - or at least the Downs! I hope to make a proper contribution tomorrow when I have a little more time. I dont' know how many participants we will get but, at least, I hope it will bring some understanding to those who wonder what we are on about when we get misty-eyed about this production.

It isn't perfect - some of the sound effects are a bit ropey - I always think Gollumis being tortured with an empty stapler and later Legolas' bow string will have a very rubber band-like sound - but it has a great many strengths and I have listened to it often since I bought the tapes 6 years ago. I had the tape of the music from when I heard it on the radio in the 80's but wore it out!!!

[Elmo]

Haha I've lost one, one! tape from this and I am completely gutted. It was my favourite (probably that's why I lost it) cause I used to take it out on its own. Cause it had Sam's singing that brilliant version of The Fall of Gilgalad. If anyone has a linky to that I'll be eternally grateful.

[davem]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

It isn't perfect - some of the sound effects are a bit ropey - I always think Gollumis being tortured with an empty stapler and later Legolas' bow string will have a very rubber band-like sound !

They are. And yet it doesn't matter. I think that you get so drawn into the drama that it hardly registers on you that the effects aren't quite convincing. In a production like this the effects aren't as 'in your face' (in your ears?) as in the movie, as long as you get the idea they've served their purpose. That said, apparently they spent a good deal of time & effort on them.

As an aside I'll just point out that one of the things I'm grateful to this series for is that I can now recall whole chunks of Tolkien's dialogue, because I've heard this so many times & they took so much straight off the page.

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Originally Posted by davem

They are. And yet it doesn't matter. I think that you get so drawn into the drama that it hardly registers on you that the effects aren't quite convincing.

Obviously it does matter and you did register, otherwise Mith would not have commented and if she did your reply would have been "really? I did not notice"

[davem]

Looking through the booklet that accompanies the LotR stageshow cast recording I noticed that, while not endorsing the production, the Estate had given the official translator complete access to all Tolkien's linguistic writings to use in his work. Taken along with the great efforts CT went to in helping the adaptors of this production, its clear that they are not the over-possessive 'ogres' they are sometimes made out to be as far as the use of Tolkien's material is concerned. JRRT may only have sold the movie rights to LotR & TH, but in this series Sibley & Bakewell used a section of Unfinished Tales & Christopher approved this (well, to the extent that he approved the scripts before they started production). OK, the radio rights are different to the film rights, but CT clearly had no problem with his father's other works being used

The recording CT made (I've heard the first few minutes of it) is interesting, & shows that he had an appreciation of the difficulties of dramatisation & wanted to help out as much as he could in making this a faithful adaptation of his father's work.

BTW, this recording is the only acknowledgment I've come across that the 'infamous' mistake on the original LotR map - which has the name Hithaeglir for the Misty Mountains spelled 'Hithaeglin' - was down to Christopher: one of the words Sibley had asked him to pronounce. Christopher acknowledges it was his fault. An interesting bit of trivia about the production then - Sibley must have been using the first edition map, as the mistake was corrected for the Second Edition, where it appears correctly as Hithaeglir.

[davem]

The transcript of the episode can be found here http://www.tolkienradio.com/blackriders.html.

We ended the first episode with Gandalf imprisoned at Orthanc & Frodo making preparations to move to Crickhollow, & this one will take us as far as Bree.

I suppose the first thing many will notice is the introduction of an entirely new scene: Gandalf coming before Theoden & requesting a horse, & being told to take one & begone. And the second thing is the introduction of an episode from The Hunt for the Ring from Unfinished Tales. I don't know whether Brian Sibley (the adaptor) asked permission from Christopher Tolkien to use this episode beforehand, or just took the chance & included it. Either way Christopher approved its use & its in there. Whether for good or ill is a matter of personal opinion - it opens up the story certainly, & introduces the Black Riders not as mysterious figures coming out of nowhere to hunt down the Hobbits, but as a group with a definite agenda. What the scene also makes clear is that Saruman does not fear them, & goes so far as to send them off with a flea in their collective ears. What this addition also does is to add to the sense of urgency - Gandalf has just escaped Orthanc & is headed north to the Shire on Shadowfax, & the Riders are just behind.

So there is new material, but there are also some omissions - Fatty Bolger is missed out, as is Gildor - though originally Sibley included him. Unfortunately, time constraints meant that either Gildor or Farmer Maggot had to go, & Sibley felt that the incident with Maggot enhanced the drama & gave more background information to the listener, so Gildor had to go. And, of course, the major omission is the whole Old Forest/Bombadil/Barrow Downs episode - again, time constraints meant it could not be included (though Sibley came back to the episode some years later & dramatised it, once again for BBC radio).

One nice thing about this adaptation, & something that makes it feel more 'authentic', is the presence of the poems & songs. Another is the extent to which the adaptors have tried to stick as far as possible to Tolkien's original storyline. Merry & Pippin are introduced into the story as they are in the book, & the Crickhollow/Conspiracy Unmasked storyline are kept.

Also kept are Gwaihir (a nice touch which brings home that the Great Eagles of Middle-earth are not just big birds - a failing in the movie), & Gandalf's letter & most of the Bree episode. This is a much more authentic Bree, pleasant, comfortable - a haven from the night: as Tolkien intended. And, as with Nighy's Sam, I think James Grout's Butterbur is the definitive portrayal of that character.

So, did Sibley & Bakewell succeed here? Did they capture the spirit of the book - did their 'opening out' of the story to include Gandalf's escape & the Rider's arrival at Orthanc draw you in, or should they have kept to Tolkien's slow revealing of the background?