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Sunday, October 30th, 2005 09:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seraiYay, that was fun. OK, back to serious.
You all remember how some time ago I had said that I would welcome any new adaptation of LOTR? Because, like, I just love the idea of seeing/hearing different interpretations of all that lovely stuff.
Well, I misspoke.
The last month or so, I've been on an LOTR binge. Going back to the original books and exploring them is such a cleansing thing for me. Been reading books on it, etc. ANYWAY. I've gotten copies of the BBC CDs, the Rob Inglis readings, and...the NPR adaptation.
It's not the American accents. Really, it's not. The American voices were the main reason I bought the thing, because I was curious to see how the language would sound. Some years ago, when I was reading some Mark Twain, it came into my head to read it aloud in an English voice, and it worked gorgeously. So I saw no reason why, given the right actors, Tolkien's language couldn't work in American tones. So I thought, "Hey, why not?" And seeing as how I got the entire thing for about $10, it seemed worth the effort.
No, it's not the accents. It's not the somewhat overused and trite sound effects, either. And it's not the abridgement. (It's a dramatic presentation, like the BBC, not a straight reading.) I was surprised at some of the lines left out, but that's not a big deal. It's not the only version of LOTR, after all. No, it's not any of that.
It's the Keebler Elves.
I shit you not. Gildor opens his mouth and out comes a voice that sounds like Hermey the Dentist Elf. ARGHARGHARGHARGH. And then the other elves start twittering behind him and ARGHARGHARGHARGH. I'm still listening to it as I'm writing, and my dread at the thought of Rivendell...ARGHARGHARGHARGH
I'd already encountered such a voice with the hobbits. Frodo's the only one with a plain ol' normal voice. The rest are stereotypical "midget" voices. But I can sort of see it with the hobbits. For a long time, any visual presentation of hobbits seemed to assume they were midgets, which we know they aren't. So I could forgive that. But the elves...not so much. I'm really wondering how they're going to reconcile such an image with Galadriel and Celeborn, who are described as being tall and powerful and imposing.
I'm keeping a set of very tiny, delicate sporks right by, in cast I have to ream out my ears. Will report back later. If I don't check in, send a search party...
ETA: OK, we've gotten to Rivendell. I don't know who Gildor and his crowd were, but they don't seem to be typical elves. Or maybe in this adaptation they're some weird tribe, because Glorfindel sounded quite normally heroic, and Elrond also sounds large. Kind of old and crotchety, but still. Which is OK. I was expecting the Mayor of Munchkinland. Which would have been suicide-inducing.
ETA: ARGHGHGH!! Elrond just introduced "Le-GOH-luss". Mispronounced names. That's another pitfall of this adaptation. Most of the names are okay, but every now and then you get a "El-BE-ruth" or "duh-nuh-duhn". What are they gonna do with "Galadriel", I wonder?
ETA: Suh-ROO-min? Suh-ROO-min??? *writhes*
ETA: Heeheehee. Gandalf and Suh-ROO-min sound like a pair of doddering old hicks on a country porch. And Elrond is starting to sound a touch like Marvin the Martian: ...And the Nine Walkers shall be set against the Nine Riders that are evil, mm-hmm, yes. Isn't that nice?
ETA: Ah, ParodyKarma comes to haunt me, for Frodo sounds more than a bit like Ashton Kutcher, bwahaha. The other funny thing is that, since he's the only hobbit of the Four with a normal voice, I keep imagining a full-size guy walking with three midgets. It's a bit confusing, to say the least. Thank God Legolas doesn't sound as twee as Gildor, or my head would split in half.
ETA: Hm, these Men are doughtier than I thought. The arrival of the Wargs outside Moria seem to raise no more concern than some dogs barking too loud.
ETA: What is with these sound effects? Moria is full of all these weird echoey thrumming and tooting sounds. It's more like Star Trek than LOTR. I keep expecting the Gorn to show up. And the Balrog sounds like it's half asleep. Well, at least it's not making Godzilla-type noises.
ETA: Whoops, spoke too soon.
ETA: Ahaha, Aragorn's getting a bit uppity. I AM THE LEADER NOWWWW!!! He sounds almost glad to be at the helm. MWAHAHA I AM LEADER, YOU WILL OBEY!!! Oh boy, Lothlorien's next...
ETA: Haldir's a bit twee, but Kuh-LAY-born and Galadriel sound like Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver! Clay? I'm worried about the Hobbit... Heeheehee. Really, I'm amazed this thing was recorded in 2002. It sounds like something out of the 60s. And Galadriel's the mother of Kuh-LAY-brain. *sporfle*
ETA: I could swear Boromir's a grumpy professor yelling at one of his students. Hell, Frodo sounds bigger than him.
ETA: Damn, they dropped the whole Parth Galen boat scene! Sam wades out yelling, "Wait, Mr. Frodo!" And then they're rowing away. The writer probably thought the scene was too soppy for American audiences. HARRUMPH
More updates to come. Stay tuned.
You all remember how some time ago I had said that I would welcome any new adaptation of LOTR? Because, like, I just love the idea of seeing/hearing different interpretations of all that lovely stuff.
Well, I misspoke.
The last month or so, I've been on an LOTR binge. Going back to the original books and exploring them is such a cleansing thing for me. Been reading books on it, etc. ANYWAY. I've gotten copies of the BBC CDs, the Rob Inglis readings, and...the NPR adaptation.
It's not the American accents. Really, it's not. The American voices were the main reason I bought the thing, because I was curious to see how the language would sound. Some years ago, when I was reading some Mark Twain, it came into my head to read it aloud in an English voice, and it worked gorgeously. So I saw no reason why, given the right actors, Tolkien's language couldn't work in American tones. So I thought, "Hey, why not?" And seeing as how I got the entire thing for about $10, it seemed worth the effort.
No, it's not the accents. It's not the somewhat overused and trite sound effects, either. And it's not the abridgement. (It's a dramatic presentation, like the BBC, not a straight reading.) I was surprised at some of the lines left out, but that's not a big deal. It's not the only version of LOTR, after all. No, it's not any of that.
It's the Keebler Elves.
I shit you not. Gildor opens his mouth and out comes a voice that sounds like Hermey the Dentist Elf. ARGHARGHARGHARGH. And then the other elves start twittering behind him and ARGHARGHARGHARGH. I'm still listening to it as I'm writing, and my dread at the thought of Rivendell...ARGHARGHARGHARGH
I'd already encountered such a voice with the hobbits. Frodo's the only one with a plain ol' normal voice. The rest are stereotypical "midget" voices. But I can sort of see it with the hobbits. For a long time, any visual presentation of hobbits seemed to assume they were midgets, which we know they aren't. So I could forgive that. But the elves...not so much. I'm really wondering how they're going to reconcile such an image with Galadriel and Celeborn, who are described as being tall and powerful and imposing.
I'm keeping a set of very tiny, delicate sporks right by, in cast I have to ream out my ears. Will report back later. If I don't check in, send a search party...
ETA: OK, we've gotten to Rivendell. I don't know who Gildor and his crowd were, but they don't seem to be typical elves. Or maybe in this adaptation they're some weird tribe, because Glorfindel sounded quite normally heroic, and Elrond also sounds large. Kind of old and crotchety, but still. Which is OK. I was expecting the Mayor of Munchkinland. Which would have been suicide-inducing.
ETA: ARGHGHGH!! Elrond just introduced "Le-GOH-luss". Mispronounced names. That's another pitfall of this adaptation. Most of the names are okay, but every now and then you get a "El-BE-ruth" or "duh-nuh-duhn". What are they gonna do with "Galadriel", I wonder?
ETA: Suh-ROO-min? Suh-ROO-min??? *writhes*
ETA: Heeheehee. Gandalf and Suh-ROO-min sound like a pair of doddering old hicks on a country porch. And Elrond is starting to sound a touch like Marvin the Martian: ...And the Nine Walkers shall be set against the Nine Riders that are evil, mm-hmm, yes. Isn't that nice?
ETA: Ah, ParodyKarma comes to haunt me, for Frodo sounds more than a bit like Ashton Kutcher, bwahaha. The other funny thing is that, since he's the only hobbit of the Four with a normal voice, I keep imagining a full-size guy walking with three midgets. It's a bit confusing, to say the least. Thank God Legolas doesn't sound as twee as Gildor, or my head would split in half.
ETA: Hm, these Men are doughtier than I thought. The arrival of the Wargs outside Moria seem to raise no more concern than some dogs barking too loud.
ETA: What is with these sound effects? Moria is full of all these weird echoey thrumming and tooting sounds. It's more like Star Trek than LOTR. I keep expecting the Gorn to show up. And the Balrog sounds like it's half asleep. Well, at least it's not making Godzilla-type noises.
ETA: Whoops, spoke too soon.
ETA: Ahaha, Aragorn's getting a bit uppity. I AM THE LEADER NOWWWW!!! He sounds almost glad to be at the helm. MWAHAHA I AM LEADER, YOU WILL OBEY!!! Oh boy, Lothlorien's next...
ETA: Haldir's a bit twee, but Kuh-LAY-born and Galadriel sound like Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver! Clay? I'm worried about the Hobbit... Heeheehee. Really, I'm amazed this thing was recorded in 2002. It sounds like something out of the 60s. And Galadriel's the mother of Kuh-LAY-brain. *sporfle*
ETA: I could swear Boromir's a grumpy professor yelling at one of his students. Hell, Frodo sounds bigger than him.
ETA: Damn, they dropped the whole Parth Galen boat scene! Sam wades out yelling, "Wait, Mr. Frodo!" And then they're rowing away. The writer probably thought the scene was too soppy for American audiences. HARRUMPH
More updates to come. Stay tuned.
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no subject
Date: Sunday, October 30th, 2005 06:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, October 30th, 2005 06:30 pm (UTC)Bill Nighy was lovely, and his performance in The Choices section gets me crying every time. :)
no subject
Date: Sunday, October 30th, 2005 06:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, October 30th, 2005 06:14 pm (UTC)OK, that's a hilarious, and useful, review.
no subject
Date: Sunday, October 30th, 2005 06:31 pm (UTC)I'll be updating this review as I go along, so stay tuned!
no subject
Date: Sunday, October 30th, 2005 06:16 pm (UTC)I shall add this as further evidence to the argument: MUST NOT BUY.
no subject
Date: Sunday, October 30th, 2005 06:41 pm (UTC)I'll be posting updates here as I plow through it, so stay tuned! :D
no subject
Date: Sunday, October 30th, 2005 07:55 pm (UTC)Midget hobbits? Keebler elves? Are you sure this *isn't* a parody?
Heh. Ashton Kutcher as Frodo. *snigger*
no subject
Date: Sunday, October 30th, 2005 08:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, October 30th, 2005 11:32 pm (UTC)