The Lord of the Rings

Rating:
Summary: Fairly disappointing...
Review: Overall, I'd say this is a fair audio adaptation of the trilogy. However, there are times when the action portrayed isn't adequately conveyed by what you are hearing. Also, as another reviewer noted, the voices given to the characters are terrible at times. For instance, they give Sam an annoying little boy's voice, and in one scene, for some reason, they give elves screechy fairy-folk voices, like they're supposed to be pixies or something. Did they just misunderstand what elves are supposed to be in the Tolkein mythology? Also, after seeing the movie, you will be disappointed when Gimli doesn't have a Scottish accent, and in general disappointed by the other voices. Another problem is that you get cheesy sounding laser blast sound effects when Gandalf uses his power. These things kind of ruined it for me.

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre, historically important Mind's Eye radio drama.
Review: This full-cast abridgement of THE LORD OF THE RINGS is The Mind's Eye version produced for American radio in 1979, several years before the infinitely superior BBC version with Ian Holm. The eleven-hour-plus dramatization deserves recognition as a sincere, pioneering attempt to bring J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy to imaginative life for an American audience in a way that the animated films of the period could not. The production was very well-received at the time and appreciated as a folk-culture event. Radio drama has been a rarity in the United States since the early 1950's whereas it has always thrived in the United Kingdom. (There had been an early British radio broadcast of LotR of which Tolkien, who disliked dramatic forms in general, disapproved.) While the subsequent 1981 BBC masterwork is a lavish, technically dazzling production sporting internationally acclaimed actors, the humble Mind's Eye version, utilizing a small cast of local-theatre players, is a low-budget, no-frills affair reputed to have been recorded in a bathroom in Pittsburgh with the microphone taped to a rubber duck. Most of the voices are wrong and pronunciation awkward, but everyone makes an enthusiastic effort, which is the main reason that the marathon show remains so endearing despite its uneven quality. Scriptwriter Bernard Mayes had his task cut out for him, considering that it no doubt was a labor of love which had to be done quickly for little or no money. According to the conventions of the radio drama format, the adaptation emphasizes dialogue over description, and while the merest sketch of the novel, Mayes' script is generally an effective condensation, highlighted by the inclusion of the beloved Tom Bombadil episode. Scripter Mayes also plays Gandalf quite splendidly and his fine, robust performance make this version worth a listen for all but the most cringing of purists. Gale Chugg (a notable cartoon voice) gives a spirited and straightforward account of the narration and doubles as a delightfully creepy Gollum. Other voices do not fare so well, but weaknesses among the supporting cast would mean little if the protagonists were not so drastically miscast. Samwise (Lou Bliss) is energetic and cheeky but sounds like a contemporary Noo Yawk street kid; while Frodo (James Arrington) starts out with an appropriate clear-speaking earnestness, only to become a monotonous, whining drone when crushed by the terrible burden of the evil One Ring. This means that THE RETURN OF THE KING, which places an inordinate burden of its own on these young actors, is rendered a painfully draggy conclusion to the epic narrative. The overall result would not seem such a travesty if so much better had not since come from Ian Holm, Martin Shaw, Rob Inglis and of course the Peter Jackson films. For all its gross imperfection, The Mind's Eye LORD OF THE RINGS maintains a nostalgic charm for listeners who can be forgiving of the primitive circumstances of the little production and focus on its historocity and ambitious, well-meaning intent.

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre, historically important Mind's Eye radio drama.
Review: This full-cast abridgement of THE LORD OF THE RINGS is The Mind's Eye version produced for American radio in 1979, several years before the infinitely superior BBC version with Ian Holm. The eleven-hour-plus dramatization deserves recognition as a sincere, pioneering attempt to bring J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy to imaginative life for an American audience in a way that the animated films of the period could not. The production was very well-received at the time and appreciated as a folk-culture event. Radio drama has been a rarity in the United States since the early 1950's whereas it has always thrived in the United Kingdom. (There had been an early British radio broadcast of LotR of which Tolkien, who disliked dramatic forms in general, disapproved.) While the subsequent 1981 BBC masterwork is a lavish, technically dazzling production sporting internationally acclaimed actors, the humble Mind's Eye version, utilizing a small cast of local-theatre players, is a low-budget, no-frills affair reputed to have been recorded in a bathroom in Pittsburgh with the microphone taped to a rubber duck. Most of the voices are wrong and pronunciation awkward, but everyone makes an enthusiastic effort, which is the main reason that the marathon show remains so endearing despite its uneven quality. Scriptwriter Bernard Mayes had his task cut out for him, considering that it no doubt was a labor of love which had to be done quickly for little or no money. According to the conventions of the radio drama format, the adaptation emphasizes dialogue over description, and while the merest sketch of the novel, Mayes' script is generally an effective condensation, highlighted by the inclusion of the beloved Tom Bombadil episode. Scripter Mayes also plays Gandalf quite splendidly and his fine, robust performance make this version worth a listen for all but the most cringing of purists. Gale Chugg (a notable cartoon voice) gives a spirited and straightforward account of the narration and doubles as a delightfully creepy Gollum. Other voices do not fare so well, but weaknesses among the supporting cast would mean little if the protagonists were not so drastically miscast. Samwise (Lou Bliss) is energetic and cheeky but sounds like a contemporary Noo Yawk street kid; while Frodo (James Arrington) starts out with an appropriate clear-speaking earnestness, only to become a monotonous, whining drone when crushed by the terrible burden of the evil One Ring. This means that THE RETURN OF THE KING, which places an inordinate burden of its own on these young actors, is rendered a painfully draggy conclusion to the epic narrative. The overall result would not seem such a travesty if so much better had not since come from Ian Holm, Martin Shaw, Rob Inglis and of course the Peter Jackson films. For all its gross imperfection, The Mind's Eye LORD OF THE RINGS maintains a nostalgic charm for listeners who can be forgiving of the primitive circumstances of the little production and focus on its historocity and ambitious, well-meaning intent.

Rating:
Summary: Get the right one
Review: While this is a very sincere effort at reducing LOTR into digestible audio episodes, it simply cannot compete with the BBC's version. It might be slightly more appropriate for younger listeners, and features more direct quoting from the novel's descriptive passages, but essentially every voice actor is inferior to the BBC counterpart, and the breaks every half hour (at least on the cassette version) leave the story feeling choppy. Look into this if you're a completist, but if you only want one, go with the BBC.