Adaptations of The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings, an epic high fantasy novel by the British author J. R. R. Tolkien, set in his fictional world of Middle-earth, has been adapted several times.

Film

Three film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings have been made. The first was The Lord of the Rings (1978), by animator Ralph Bakshi, the first part of what was originally intended to be a two-part adaptation of the story. The second, The Return of the King (1980), was a television special by Rankin-Bass. The third was director Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, released in three installments as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy featuring some of the same characters, was released on 12 December 2012, directed by Peter Jackson. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was released on 13 December 2013 and the final installment, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, was released on 11 December 2014. A previous animated adaptation of The Hobbit (1977) exists, and was directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr.

Television

A Swedish live action television film, Sagan om ringen, inspired by the music album Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings by Bo Hansson was broadcast in 1971.[1]

A Finnish live action television miniseries, Hobitit, was broadcast in 1993 based on the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Stage

An actor as Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings comedy musical in Cincinnati

Several musical theatre adaptations have been made based on The Lord of the Rings.

Full-length productions of each of The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003) were staged in Cincinnati, Ohio.[2]

Lifeline Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, produced individual plays of each of the three books over various years in the 1990s.

In 2006, a large-scale three-and-a-half-hour The Lord of the Rings musical was produced in Toronto. The expensive production lost money and closed six months later and, after some cutting and rewriting, began performances in London on 9 May 2007 and was a success with audiences, closing on 19 July 2008.

A musical parody of The Fellowship of the Ring, titled Fellowship! ran in LA for a stint at two separate occasions, coming back 3 years after its debut for a number of shows in the summer of 2009.

Video games

Audio

Readings

Library of Congress recordings

Generally, Library of Congress recordings are only available to the blind and physically handicapped.

1967 (Livingston Gilbert)

The Library of Congress recorded an unabridged version of The Lord of the Rings in 1967, narrated by Livingston Gilbert, on vinyl media. This version was taken out of circulation at the time of the recording of the 1978 version and is no longer offered for checkout to Library of Congress patrons. Reference numbers were TB 03367 (The Fellowship of the Ring), TB 03369 (The Two Towers), and TB 03368 (The Return of the King).

1978 (Norman Barrs)

The Library of Congress recorded a second unabridged version of The Lord of the Rings in 1978, narrated by Norman Barrs, on 4-track tape media. This version was taken out of circulation at the time of the recording of the 1999 version and is no longer offered for checkout to Library of Congress patrons. Reference numbers were RC 10975 (The Fellowship of the Ring), RC 10976 (The Two Towers), and RC 10977 (The Return of the King).

1999 (David Palmer)

The Library of Congress recorded a third unabridged version of The Lord of the Rings, A trip to Mordor in 1999, narrated by David Palmer, on 4-track tape media. This version is also available on the new digital players provided for Library of Congress patrons. Reference numbers are RC 47486 / DB 47486 (The Fellowship of the Ring), RC 47487 / DB 47487 (The Two Towers), and RC 47488 / DB 47488 (The Return of the King).

Rob Inglis unabridged reading, 1990

In 1990, Australian actor Rob Inglis read/performed an unabridged version for Recorded Books in their New York studio.[3] While not strictly a dramatisation, Inglis created voices for all of the characters. And along with project producer Claudia Howard, he created music for all of the songs, which he performed. The project took six weeks to record, plus preparation time. A year later he recorded an audio version of The Hobbit.[3]

Dramatisations

1955–1956 BBC radio play

In 1955 and 1956, the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings, a 12-part radio adaptation of the story. Tolkien disparaged this dramatisation, referring to the portrayal of Tom Bombadil as "dreadful" and complaining bitterly about several other aspects.[4] No recordings of it are known to survive.

WBAI radio adaptation

In the early 1960s radio station WBAI-FM, New York, broadcast a short adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, with music. This version, which had not been authorized by Tolkien, was later suppressed by his legal representatives.

1979 The Mind's Eye radio play

A 1979 dramatization of The Lord of the Rings was broadcast in the USA. The series was produced by The Mind's Eye, a small theater company that specialized in audio adaptations of popular works, and which also produced a six-hour adaptation of The Hobbit. The Mind's Eye version has since been reproduced and sold in many different cassette tape, CD and MP3 editions.

1981 BBC radio play

In 1981 the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings, a new, ambitious dramatisation in 26 half-hour instalments. It starred Ian Holm as Frodo Baggins, the protagonist; he would play Bilbo Baggins, his character's cousin/uncle, in the live-action trilogy.

1992 German radio play

In 1992 the German radio stations SDR and WDR broadcast Der Herr der Ringe, a 30-episode adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.

1999-2000 Danish radio play

In 1999-2000 the Danish radio station Danmarks Radio broadcast Eventyret om Ringen, a Danish language retelling of The Lord of the Rings by Rune T. Kidde. Music by The Tolkien Ensemble, Hedningarna, Sorten Muld and Kim Skovbye.[5]

2001–2003 Slovak radio play

In 2001, 2002 and 2003, the three volumes of the Lord of the Rings were adapted into three annual series of fully cast radio plays. Each series consisted of six episodes. The character of Bilbo Baggins served as the narrator. The eighteen episodes were produced and broadcast as a co-production between the public broadcaster Slovak Radio (now Radio and Television Slovakia) and the private broadcaster Rádio Twist (later known as Rádio Viva).[6][7]

References

  1. ↑ K-Special, "I trollkarlens hatt" (at 24m30s), Sveriges television, 23 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  2. ↑
  3. 1 2 Joseph P. Menta (December 2001 – January 2002). "Talking With Rob Inglis". AudioFile. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  4. ↑ Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, no. 175, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
  5. ↑ http://www.imladris.dk/?id=11&show=95
  6. ↑ "The Lord of the Rings - Worldwide radio premiere". sk.radiotv.cz. RadioTV.sk. 10 November 2001. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "Marián Labuda as the hobbit Bilbo". http://www.radioservis-as.cz/. Týdenník Rozhlas (online archives). Retrieved 12 September 2015.

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