The Lord of the Rings: The Films, The Books, The Radio Series. (Paperback) 2004

 THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FILMS, THE BOOKS, THE RADIO SERIES by Jim Smith & J Clive Matthews

Originally just a small part of the life's work of the distinguished Oxford University lecturer and philologist J R R Tolkien, THE LORD OF THE RINGS achieved a huge cult following around the world - over 50 million copies of the books have been sold in 25 languages. It was voted the British public's favourite book of the twentieth century and more recently its favourite book of all time whenit triumphed in the BBC's 'Big Read' competition.

This guide takes a detailed look at both Peter Jackson's films and some of the previous adaptation attempts - both on screen and on radio - and provides detailed commentary on the particular difficulties of adapting this epic book for the screen. The different visual approaches of Jackson and his predecessors, such as Ralph Bakshi and Arthur ranking are also discussed, as are the roles played by actors and special effects in transferring Tolkien's world-building exercise into a performed medium.

A paperback published in 2004 by Virgin Books - IN AS-NEW CONDITIOn