Customer Reviews

The Lord of the Rings (Wood Box Edition): (wood box)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Despite the fact that this is shown as being published in 2001, the copyright dates first from 1954. There is a reason that other versions have come out since this one: this one isn't good.

There are different readers for different characters, and some of the voices are really jarring. Frodo, to my ear, is completely wrong. In addition, it is poorly abridged. One of the most remarkable things about Middle Earth is how wonderfully imagined it is; all of the details are described so lovingly. Not in this version. Here, almost everything is dialog, so you are given little idea of what anything looks like. Some of the most cherished quotations (for me, at least) are mangled. In all, very disappointing. I remember hearing the BBC's dramatization years ago on radio and thinking it was wonderful job on very difficult material. I certainly wouldn't say that of this version.

I think it is worth buying. Your personal preference will affect how you like this version as opposed to the newer one done by the BBC. This is the first rendition I ever heard of the Lord of the Rings. I own both copies and I don't regret owning either one because each Version is good for different reasons.
The voices are different in this version. BBC sounded more like grown men. The voices sounded more elfish in this version. I think that it reminded me of the Ralph Bashki version of the Hobbit. I did feel that this was more concise and less was edited out. Gollum seemed less psycho and scary in this version. There was less music in this version and less of a romantic sideline. I liked that it didn't edit out the part of Tom Bombadil; as BBC's version did. I felt like more was cut out on the BBC version even though it was four cds longer. It was disappointing.
I know that one person found this edition hard to follow. I find all the audio I listen to has to be listened to repeatedly to understand the plot. I will admit that this is the kind of story that one has to listen to to understand all that was going on. With repeated listenings; one hears new things or notices new things. I actually found the narration and actors voices sounded clearer in this version than the later one.

This full-cast abridgement of THE LORD OF THE RINGS is The Mind's Eye version produced for National Public Radio in 1979, several years before the much-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 a young 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. 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 actors, is rendered a painfully draggy conclusion to the epic narrative.

The overall result would not seem so mediocre 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.

Although Tolkien fans will want both, this version might be more appropriate for family listening than the more challenging BBC recording and would serve as an excellent way to introduce children to Tolkien's magic world.

I own both radio dramatizations (Minds Eye and BBC). On the whole I prefer the Minds Eye one. Both have their pros and cons, but as a fan of the book this one was more accurate to the story and conveyed a better sense of emotion than that of the BBC story. The BBC has a way better sound affects, overall better production value, and a more evened out (and higher priced) cast. Still, though, overall the Minds Eye produced better voices for Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Eomer, and Faramir than the BBC production did, and Frodo was well done also (just not as good as Ian Holm). However, the top factor for me was that the Minds Eye is just far more accurate to the book itself, for my money, than the BBC version. Others opinions obviously very. Know what you're looking for in whichever set you buy.

Back in the late 1970's, in an era when radio drama was disappearing from public radio, the American prodcution of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" were created with a full cast of voice actors along with music and sound effects. Reminiscent of the radio dramas of the 1940's and 50's, these productions were usually aired on Sunday afternoons, when a family could listen and enjoy the week's story. Released on Jabberwocky Audio on cassette tapes, I remember the Christmas when I received the entire collection of Jabberwocky's stories on tape. From "The Hobbit" to "Alice in Wonderland" to "The Red Badge of Courage," all were classic tales. They even re-released on cassette some of the original radio productions, such as "War of the Worlds" and "The Gift of the Magi." These stories were designed to get the listener interested and promote reading the books the productions were based on. They were not designed for an adult audience, but rather for children and families to share. Wonderfully edited and masterfully performed, many modern audiences find these old productions a little silly or even perhaps dated, but play it for a child, and they will listen in rapture, just as I did 25 years ago when they were new. Of all my collection of the Jabberwocky tapes, "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" are the only ones that I have trouble playing today, because they have been played so many times over the years that they are worn out. We would play them in the car on road trips, I would play them in my room while putting together a puzzle, and I played them for my friends, who enjoyed them as much as I did. I am delighted to have it on CD to listen to over and over again. At seven years of age, I had not yet read the books when I first listened to the tapes. But the tapes were perfect for a small girl just getting interested in reading. If only all the rest of the old radio dramas were also on CD! I would buy them all. It was unfortunate to come to this website and see the poor reviews written by people who have no understanding of the history of the production or what demographic it was originally intended for. I look forward to the day when I can play these CD's for my own children and see the wonder and delight in their faces when they hear the same stories that I grew up with.

In my line of work, I have to drive a lot from school to school with trips taking anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour and a half. These Nine Hours of adventure, hobbits, men, dwarves, elves and Tom Bombadil, (yes, Tom Bombadil!) is a great way to pass the time. Unlike the Unabridged Reading where the casual listener can get bogged down in the misings of the reader (a production which should be given justice in a situation where you can give it your full attention), this exciting performance with a great cast of voices and well done music is just what the traveling listener needs. Gandalf, Sam, Frodo and Aragorn's voices have to be my favorites. Gollum and Gimli are a bit overdone but to interesting effect but they are all leagues better than the BBC version. I bought that first figuring that a British version would be the golden standard but Gollum just sounded like a normal guy who occasionally slurped or sucked his words and Gandalf sounded like a real loser. The Gandalf here speaks with authority as does Aragorn. Sam has just the right touch of innocence and Frodo never lets the listener down. All the major events of the books with the exception of Galadriel being tempted by the Ring are very well presented. What a sight for sore eyes (or ears I should say) was it to hear Tom Bombadil's merry voice, a favorite of fans and readers who never quite made it into any production at all of the series. The battles are all satisfying as is the climax in Mount Doom and the skirmish with Shelob. I recommend it for journeys long and short.

I have been a long time fan of the LOTR. Since the movies were released some of my friends wanted to know more about the books, so I checked this set out of the Library thinking it was a good place to start. Sadly I was mistaken from the very begining this recording is a disappointment. The Actors voices are flat and devoid of expression. As a result, the listener gets the impression that the characters treat their task with the same respect that they would place on a Disney movie.
After one disc of waiting for things to get better, I decided to try listening to the battle Of Helms Deep. Here too I found nothing but an endless monotone backed by poor sound effects.
If you are a true Tolkien fan or someone who wants to get the full magic of The Lord of the Rings I recommend the BBC production starring Ian Holm.

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.

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.

I own both the BBC and Mind's Eye LotR dramatizations, and I am a life-long fan of the LotR novels. In that sense, I have a broad ability to review this production. The first thing any buyer MUST know is that this production was conducted in 1979 on a literal shoe-string budget using volunteer local voice talent and equipment. Bernard Mayes was the president of NPR at the time, and masterminded the production as a labor of pure love in a market that had not had seen radio dramatizations for many years. In this sense, you have to be willing to cut the production a lot of slack considering the difficult circumstances of the origins.

I will discuss the weaknesses first...

The Mind's Eye production (MEP) is lacking in quality and polish. The voice acting is definitely of a low caliber. Some of the principle actors are poor actors. In particular, the two main characters Frodo (Arrington) and Sam (Louise Bliss). Louise Bliss in particular is a terrible choise. I refuse to play along with the cast notes that call her "Lou" Bliss. This is Louise Bliss - the same woman who played Smurfette in the cartoons and you can tell. Some of the performances are painful to listen to in the same way that the kid in Phantom Menace was painful to watch. Others performers are more capable, such as Bernard Mayes himself who humbly gave himself the role of Gandalf. But none of the acting in the MEP comes across as 'good acting'.

Similarly, the production values of the MEP are poor. The music is a set of 'stock' music that has been used in many cheap, cheesy children's audio productions. The sound effects and other background noises are also noticably substandard. Sometimes they are comically bad and sound like laser beams when Gandalf performs magic. But in most cases the effects are simply basic and forgettable such as when they are clearly using silverware clattering together to make sword sounds. The overall production values of the MEP ranges from somewhat below average (at best), to poor, to the absolutely cringe-worthily laughable.

Where the MEP does shine though is in the scripting. This is beyond any doubt the most complete of all the adaptations. They include the bulk of the dialog, and quite often the narrator includes many of the lengthy descriptions that Tolkien wrote. They included the Tom Bombabil & Barrow Downs chapters, which most productions ignore. This is not to say that they do not abbreviate or condense at times. However, for the most part the MEP sticks to Tolkien's text more faithfully than most. If you are looking for a version of LoTR that is particularly detailed, then this is your best option.

That pretty much sums it all up. Low quality performances and production values combined with a high level of detail and faithfulness to the text. I would say this production is suitable for children, but not as much for adults. Poor acting and bad production values will jar your experience. Overall, a less satisfying experience than the BBC production - but longer.