George Lucas envisioned a dark, psychedelic interpretation of The Lord of the Rings that would have been unlike any other adaptation before it. He sketched concept art and pursued the project around the same time as John Boorman, but these efforts never reached the screen despite years of development work.
Ralph Bakshi released an animated feature titled The Lord of the Rings in 1978 that covered only the first half of Tolkien's epic narrative. This film represented the first completed cinematic attempt at bringing Middle-earth to life through animation.
The BBC broadcast a twelve-part radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings during 1955 and 1956 that reached audiences across Britain. Brian Sibley and Michael Bakewell wrote a new twenty-six half-hour stereo installment version for BBC Radio 4 in 1981 featuring Ian Holm voicing Frodo Baggins.
That same production moved to London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane running from May 2007 until July 2008 at an estimated cost of twenty-five million pounds. The Guardian described this expensive venture as the most costly musical mistake in West End history.
The Library of Congress recorded an unabridged version of The Lord of the Rings in 1967 narrated by Livingston Gilbert on vinyl media. This initial recording was withdrawn from circulation when a second version emerged featuring Norman Barrs on four-track tape media during 1978.