This radio adaptation is certainly more faithful to the finer narrative details of Tolkien’s novels than Peter Jackson and Ralph Bakshi’s film versions, however it’s still not as exhaustingly comprehensive as some fans (including myself) would perhaps like to see or hear. During The Fellowship of the Ring it mercifully leaves out the hobbits’ strange encounter with Tom Bombadil (like most adaptations, although there’s an American radio version I’ve not heard that apparently takes the hobbits through The Old Forest), but it at least gives us more of what goes on at Bree and The Prancing Pony. I’d still like to hear or see a version that includes the Barrow Wights though, which is a very disturbing episode in the books.
The series bravely kicks off (after a quick prologue) with the very graphic torture of Gollum, which is made all the more upsetting by Peter Woodthorpe’s excellent and vivid performance, reprising his stand-out role (along with Michael Graham Cox as Boromir) from the Bakshi animated film.
Surprisingly and rather unfortunately the voice cast is often the least impressive part of this adaptation, although it’s not enough of a destructive influence to cause any permanent damage as there are still some very strong performances. I assumed that Ian Holm would be perfect as Frodo (after seeing him so memorably play Bilbo) but it wasn’t until I listened to this that I realised how reliant on the visual medium of film his acting style was. He has great movements and facial cues on screen, but these are obviously lost on radio and his performance often sounds jumpy and uneven. He also creates too much of a void between the moods he conveys. There’s no middle ground. He’s either being soft and poetic or screaming like a lunatic.
Sadly Frodo isn’t the only main character subject to a poor piece of casting. Listening to Robert Stevens as Aragorn is often a baffling and excruciating experience. Aragorn is meant to be mysterious and charismatic, but Stevens hams it up to such an extent that you can’t help but chuckle or cringe at his fey, wet-mouthed delivery. His timing isn’t all that great either and sometimes you can tell that he’s rushing his lines because he doesn’t understand the script or the character, which is a shame.
Bilbo here is played by the lovely John Le Mesurier, who is perhaps a little too laid back for the highly-strung, excitable hobbit. It makes sense that by this point in the story Bilbo would feel weary due to the weight and power of The Ring, but he often seems to share Stevens’ lack of enthusiasm.
Oh and I found the narrator Gerard Murphy a bit irritating too.
Okay, complaints over.
Although a certain amount of damage is already done by the casting of these key roles, the rest of the ensemble is magnificent and surely owed a great deal of praise. Michael Hordern was undoubtedly the inspiration for Ian McKellen’s Gandalf; a gruff but warm and loving wizard far more interested in people and relationships than magic and adventure. Bill Nighy seems to conserve his energy as Sam during the first third of the story before really cranking it up for The Two Towers and The Return of the King. Peter Howell and Andrew Seear are both hypnotic as Saruman and Faramir, respectively; they share a softly spoken intensity that is both riveting and frightening. My favourite voice on “display” though has got to be John McAndrew as Pippin, who’s voice I’ve just totally fallen in love with. He, along with Seear, has an effortlessly honest and natural quality to his acting, which is a great talent, but there’s also something more innocently seductive about McAndrew’s voice which I find very appealing.
But enough about my perversions.
A clever device the producers have come up with to summon the spirit of the epic battle scenes sprinkled throughout the second and third acts is to use operatic musical pieces instead of relying solely on atmospheric sound effects. It gives such raucous moments a more lyrical and poetic interpretation instead of just barraging the listener with a cacophony of sword clangs and arrow swishes. In fact music is a great weapon in the productions’ armoury and manages to go from being beautiful (the sweet violin sighs during the scenes of the hobbits travelling out of The Shire) to spine-tingling (the sharp and shivering notes during the trek through The Dead Marshes). It’s an integral and memorable component.
So apart from a few iffy acting choices this is really worth a listen. It certainly brings up the darker parts of the story and provides the odd genuine jump here and there. It also strikes a good balance between the lengthy original books and the fast-paced film adaptations.
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