2012 Le Hobbit (Dominique Pinon)

The Hobbit

Release Date: 2012.11.07
Reader: Dominique Pinon
Language: French
Translator: Daniel Lauzon
Organization: Audiolib
ISBN: 9782356414915
Duration: 10 hours 14 minutes
Unabridged: Yes
Country: France
Licenced: Yes
Formats: MP3-CD, Digital

Dominique Pinon is a successful French character actor. Known particularly for his collaborations with director Jean-Pierre Jeunet in films like Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children, and Amélie. His style is best described as “vivacious.” While narrators like Rob Inglis go for a “warm fireplace” vibe, Pinon leans into the eccentricity and danger of the adventure.

This recording uses the new translation by Daniel Lauzon, published by Christian Bourgois éditeur in 2012. For decades, the French version was the 1969 translation by Francis Ledoux. Lauzon’s new translation was commissioned to be more philologically accurate and to harmonize with Tolkien’s own instructions for translators. For example, Bilbo Sacquet became Bilbo Bessac (to better reflect the “Bag” in Baggins/Bag End).

The production was so well-received that it won the Prix “Lire dans le noir” 2013 in the Classics category. Dominique Pinon was invited to a live reading ceremony in 2013 to perform excerpts for an “audience captive,” further cementing his status as the “French voice” of Bilbo Bessac.