The Hobbit (BBC Radio Presents) (audiobook) by J.R.R. Tolkien

A Disappointing Adaptation

Published in 1988 by Bantam Audio Publishing 
Performed by a full cast
Duration: 3 hours, 42 minutes
Abridged and edited for the radio drama format.

Way back in 1968, the BBC created a radio play version of The Hobbit to air in eight 30 minute segments with a full cast, original music and special effects. Due to a dispute between the Tolkien estate and the BBC the original tapes were to have been destroyed. But, the issues were resolved, copies resurfaced and since the late 1980s the BBC has re-issued this version of The Hobbit in various formats. I listened to a 1988 audio cassette version.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973)

Now, I truly love the story The Hobbit - it is a true classic and I listened to this version to give myself a little reminder of the story before the movie comes out at the end of this year.

However, this audio version has some serious troubles.

First, the positives. The narrator (a character created for this abridgment of the story) is quite good and I rather enjoyed the interaction between the narrator and Bilbo. It reminded me of someone telling a story around a campfire and another person coming in and clarifying a point from time to time as the story was being told.

But, there are problems. The dwarves tended to blend together and sounded like a rowdy, whiny frat party most of the time with a lot of hooting, grunting and complaining. But, with 13 dwarves it would have been very difficult to do much with them anyway, except to cut down on the extra noise of having all or most of them speak at the same time in scene after scene. On top of that, the names are pronounced differently in this version than I have ever heard them. Gandalf is pronounced with the emphasis on the last syllable and sometimes sounds like gand-ELF. Gollum is pronounced Gul-loom.

But, that would have all been understandable and forgivable if that were the worst of the problems. The special effects are horrid. Sometimes they are too loud so that they dominate the scene (as in when they are carried by the giant eagles) and other times they are pathetic. For instance, in the scene with the wargs there is no attempt made to make the wargs sound wolf-like. Instead, the actors are all baying, "Woooo-ooooo-ooo!" at the microphone. Throw in the horrid voices of the thrush and the eagles and scenes that are meant to be a treat becomes something that must be endured. This adaptation was made on the cheap and it shows, especially when compared to the high quality work done by companies like GraphicAudio nowadays.

I rate this audiobook 2 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: The Hobbit.

Reviewed on September 22, 2012.

J.R.R. Tolkien (Christian Encounters series) by Mark Horne

A nifty little biography

Published in 2011 by Thomas Nelson

Mark Horne's J.R.R. Tolkien is an enjoyable biography of the famed writer of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is not a large biography (130 pages) but, if you are like me and knew just a little about Tolkien and wanted to know a bit more, this biography fits the bill perfectly.

Horne begins with quite a bit of detail about Tolkien's early life, especially the difficulties caused by the loss of his father when 
he was very young and the death of his mother when he was 12 years old. His mother's faith and the difficulties she endured when she converted to Catholicism are very important foundations of Tolkien's young life.

Tolkien's relationship with his wife Edith (both before and after they were married) are covered quite well. Horne skimps a bit on his children and we almost completely lose track of Tolkien's brother, who endured the same difficulties but chose a different path through life.

Tolkien had no inheritance or lofty standing in society to help him prosper in pre-World War I England. But, he did have a first class mind and despite the distraction of his budding romance with Edith, he was able to procure an academic scholarship to Oxford. Tolkien and academia were a great fit and he continued to teach throughout most of his life. He seems to have been an excellent teachers as his academic programs grew even though he was very much an advocate of letting students have more choices and less rigid programming in their education (this is in line with the general freedoms he promoted throughout his works).

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973)

Academic male companionship was important to Tolkien and he almost always had a group of students and/or professors that he met with regularly. They discussed the news of the day, literature, various academic disciplines and they served as willing foils for each one another's new projects. This seems to have been the great joy of Tolkien's life. C.S. Lewis was one of these companions, being a fellow member of group that called themselves the Inklings.

This little biography's strength is how it tells the tale of the creation of Tolkien's beloved books and their enormous influence on literature and culture even today and how truly surprised Tolkien was at his success. Tolkien was prone to multiple re-writes, self-doubt and what might be referred to as attention deficit disorder when it came to finishing projects - he was constantly adding this or that and re-working sections of books, even while the presses were waiting, as was the case for The Return of the King. Thrown in is Tolkien's omnipresent and ultimately quixotic desire to publish the never-quite-done The Silmarillion, his background source for the world of Middle Earth (it was published after his death after careful editing by his son, Christopher).

I received my copy of this book without charge from Thomas Nelson Publisher's BookSneeze program. There was no expectation of a positive review in exchange for the book, nor would I simply "give" a positive review since that would be unethical.

I rate this biography 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: J.R.R. Tolkien by Mark Horne.

Reviewed on August 1, 2011.

Wizards (DVD) by Ralph Bakshi

My opinion is all over the place with this movie

Originally released in 1977.

Another reviewer described Wizards accurately when he said it was "a weird, horrible, funny, enthralling cartoon movie". That is dead on. The animation is both bad and wonderful. The plot is epic, wonderful and poorly thought out and petty.

Ralph Bakshi

So, here are some random thoughts: 

The animation:

I LOVE the fact that Bakshi used a variety of animation styles and techniques. It made the movie visually interesting and some of the animation is great enough to rival Disney animation at its very best.

Sometimes, however, the animation is of such poor quality that it distracts from the action. At times, the animation is worse than SeaLab 2021 on Adult Swim - and they intentionally make the animation bad! Money became an issue as the movie was being animated and it is, at times, quite obvious that they cut corners in some segments.

The characters and plot:

Avatar putting the moves on Elinore

Well, you clearly have good guys and bad guys. However, you have muddled motivation for the mutant bad guys (led by the evil wizard Blackwolf) to attack the good guys. At first, it seems like Blackwolf's mutants are attacking because they are envious of the prosperity of the good humans and their allies, the elves and fairies. Then, about halfway through, we find out the mutants are forced to live in irradiated territories that the good wizard (Avatar) never quite got around to cleaning up with his good magic even though he comments that he could easily do it. Why didn't he? Well, apparently, he's too concerned with drinking scotch and lusting over his young, lusty, busty apprentice.

Blackwolf showing his movies

This throws the whole plot into a twist - are the bad guys really evil mutants? Or, are they victims of repression on the part of the non-mutants. If that is the case, than what is Bakshi trying to say by having the mutants being whipped up by Nazi propaganda movies? Is he trying to excuse the Nazis by making a parallel with the Peace of Versailles and the terrible terms imposed on the Germans that led to the rise of the Nazis?

No, I think he's just got a really, really sloppy script, as evidenced by the fact that half of the lines of his lead elf character (soon to be king) are incoherent battle screams - even when they're not appropriate. He must be a hoot at the dinner table!

Blackwolf's mutants on the attack.

And I really must ask, why do Nazi propaganda movies turn on non-German-speaking mutants and inspire them to fight? They can't understand Hitler - they just get excited by the pictures, I guess. Was Bakshi trying to say that cinematic violence inspires more violence? That is an interesting sentiment, considering the amount of blood spilled in the movie.

Once again, I don't think he was trying to say anything, I think he was just sloppy.

One more thought: was it just me - or were some of the battle scenes from this movie spliced into Bakshi's version of "the Lord of the Rings?"

Mark Hamill has a voice role in Wizards. He plays Sean, the "King of the Mountain Fairies" - a tiny character with a tiny amount of screen time. Sean in introduced, says something important, and then gets killed after being in the movie for 1 minute and 5 seconds. The character does bear a passing resemblance to Hamill.

I rate this movie 2 stars out of 5.

This DVD can be found on Amazon.com here: Wizards

Reviewed in February of 2005.
 

Walking With Frodo: A Devotional Journey Through the Lord of the Rings by Sarah Arthur

Nicely done

Published in 2003 by Tyndale House Publishing.

Walking With Frodo: A Devotional Journey Through the Lord of the Rings is aimed at middle school through college students. It takes the LOTR trilogy (movie or books) and demonstrates that the struggles in the books are often our own struggles, although perhaps not as dramatic as a battle with the Balrog...

Sarah Arthur uses LOTR "to drive home timeless truths about life."(p. xii) Tolkein's Christian worldview does come out from time to time in the books (who cannot help but to make an analogy between Gandalf sacrificing himself to defeat the Balrog and the despair of his companions afterwards with Jesus dying on the cross and the behavior of the disciples immediately afterwards?)

The book has 9 pairs of devotionals based on decisions or situations in LOTR (bondage vs. freedom and choosing despair vs. choosing hope, for example). There are a few relevant bible verses thrown in for good measure. A strong group leader could make this a powerful Bible study. Or, it can be quickly devoured by someone like me in about an hour because I skipped the discussion questions. Now, I'm inspired to pull out the DVDs and watch the trilogy all over again with a new angle to watch for.

I rate this study 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Walking With Frodo: A Devotional Journey Through the Lord of the Rings.

Reviewed on February 20, 2010.