Microphones in Middle-earth...the BBC Lord of the Rings

[davem]

Tracks 2&3 take us to the halfway point of the episode. Frodo & Sam's trek through Mordor has come to its end & they have reached the Mountain. Gandalf, Aragorn & the Captains of the West have confronted the Mouth of Sauron. Again the 'limitations' of the medium have actually worked in favour of the story. We focus on the sufferings of Sam & Frodo, Sam's inner struggles against his own despair - which has become a desire to simply give in, & Frodo's focus on getting to the Mountain, even though he knows that if he actually gets there it will prove impossible to do the deed.

The Meeting with the Mouth is, again, far superior to the movie version. Jackson's focus on visuals to tell the story means that the tension of the confrontation is lost, the hopelessness of the West's cause is brought home & we see the mind & plans of Sauron clearly through the words & attitudes of the 'Herald'.

Finally, we have the return of Gollum, & all the pieces are in place. The Lords of the West are at the point of ultimate defeat as the hordes of Mordor surge forth, & Frodo, Sam & Gollum are at the entrance to the Sammath Naur.

[davem]

The Ring is Mine..... Indeed. Now, I don't know how well others feel the climax at the Sammah Naur is done. Frodo seems completely intoxicated by the Ring once he has claimed it fro his own, so that he does nothing to fight Gollum - even when Gollum actually tells him he is going to bite his (Frodo's) finger off:

Frodo: So now the Eye can see me.

Gollum: Give us the Precious, hobbit. The Precious. We wantss it.

Frodo: No.

Gollum: Yesss! Yes, we will have it.

[Frodo laughs quietly]

Gollum: Where's its handses? Got it!

[He hisses]

Gollum: Now, give us the Preciouss.

Frodo: No, Sméagol. It is mine!

[Gollum hisses and laughs]

Gollum: Well, if it won't give it usss, then we'll bites it and takeses it.

[Gollum bites down and Frodo screams]

Gollum: Lost its finger, has it, hm? Silly hobbit! Now, we've got the Precious! Precious, precious! My Precious!

I'm not sure about it - but it must have been an impossibly difficult scene to write & to perform. If you aren't going to have the Narrator describe the events (which would kill the dramatic impact of the events) how do you depict the events with voices alone? It doesn't work as well as in the book, obviously, but it is far, far superior to the silliness of the movie. I also think that Peter Woodthorpe's magnificent performance of Gollum's exultation at finally winning the Ring back is so powerful that any slight sense of 'awkwardness' one might have felt at the lead up to it is forgotten. This is Gollum's moment & he should have the glory of that scene. Ian Holm's performance is superlative, once you accept his/the writer's decision that Frodo is so drunk with his surrender that he is incapable of registering what is happening. What follows, with Sam's amazement at the achievement of the Quest, & the sudden magical resurgence of hope - Bill Nighy plays that so well - Sam's sudden belief that they may make it out of there after all, that he may see the Shire again.

And then Frodo tells him he can;t manage to go any further, dashing Sam's hopes...Frodo has given up (Tolkien stated in one of the letters that Frodo had expected to die at the end of the Quest, & Ian Holm captures this perfectly - you almost feel that he is not interested in going on now.

But then the Eagles come & it is Sam's wish that is granted, not Frodo's . The appearance of the eagles is not accounted for, & we are not told what happened at the Black Gates. I still don't know whether this is a lack. But its not really important - at least the Lighthouse was absent!

I love how the Field of Cormallen was handled, Sam's joy, the merry meetings, the praise of the Ringbearer & his servant. Stephen Oliver's struggles with the Ambrosian Singers have been alluded to at the beginning of this discussion, but he succeeded admirably, & the whole scene captures the power & joy of the event perfectly.

The Eagle's song, intercut with Faramir & Eowyn's pledging their love for one another, the crowning, & marriage of Aragorn & Arwen & the discovery of the White Tree in the snows of Mindolluin is beautifully done, tying up many loose ends, & closing off that part of the tale, & setting up the final scenes - Frodo receiving the White Jewel from Arwen, with the mention of Bilbo & his final journey. We are being prepared for the ending of the long tale. The Hobbits are going home, via Rohan & then on to Rivendell (Oh, & let's not forget that unfinished business at Isengard!)

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I like the way the Eagle's Song was expanded to tie up loose story ends here - a great idea! I also very much like the use of the countertenor voice for the Eagle to convey otherworldliness.

[Brian Sibley]

Originally Posted by davem

The Ring is Mine..... Indeed. Now, I don't know how well others feel the climax at the Sammah Naur is done. Frodo seems completely intoxicated by the Ring once he has claimed it fro his own, so that he does nothing to fight Gollum - even when Gollum actually tells him he is going to bite his (Frodo's) finger off...

I'm not sure about it - but it must have been an impossibly difficult scene to write & to perform. If you aren't going to have the Narrator describe the events (which would kill the dramatic impact of the events) how do you depict the events with voices alone? It doesn't work as well as in the book, obviously, but it is far, far superior to the silliness of the movie.

I'm not sure about it, either, and I think I wrote that episode!

As Dave says, it was an impossible scene to write aurally. I think worse options would have been Frodo saying: "Aaaaggghhhhh! He's bitten off my finger!" Or Sam saying: "Deary me! Nasty Slinker's bitten off poor Master's finger!" It is a scene that needs to be read not described by the participants in the action.

I also think that Peter Woodthorpe's magnificent performance of Gollum's exultation at finally winning the Ring back is so powerful that any slight sense of 'awkwardness' one might have felt at the lead up to it is forgotten. This is Gollum's moment & he should have the glory of that scene. Ian Holm's performance is superlative, once you accept his/the writer's decision that Frodo is so drunk with his surrender that he is incapable of registering what is happening.

I agree: Woodthorpe played his final moment superbly well.

During the recordings, Ian and director, Jane Morgan, got irritated by Peter's tendency to (how can I put it?) 'luxuriate' in his lines! Partly because the many ssssss that he added to words somewhat lengthened the running time (!) and, in Ian's case, quite often 'underscored' his own lines!

Personally, I always thought that Peter was thoroughly immersed in the character and, if (as he obviously did at times) he p***ed off one or two of his fellow actors that was very much 'in character'!

Ian's 'intoxication with the ring' was, I think, his interpretation and there was a moment where he almost became Woodthorpe's Gollum.

I remember the recording of this scene very vividly: two actors standing at a microphone, holding scripts and wearing ordinary clothes and specs. Suddenly, when it came to THAT line, Peter seized Ian's hand and forced it into his mouth. Fantastic! So when I hear those lines, that's what I see in my mind's eye!!

Glad you're finishing off this epic! Well done!!!

PS: Unlike Estelyn, I could have done without counter-tenor for eagles!!

[Mnemosyne]

Originally Posted by Brian Sibley

I remember the recording of this scene very vividly: two actors standing at a microphone, holding scripts and wearing ordinary clothes and specs. Suddenly, when it came to THAT line, Peter seized Ian's hand and forced it into his mouth. Fantastic! So when I hear those lines, that's what I see in my mind's eye!!

Oh my gosh... thanks so much for this tidbit, as I'm never going to get that out of my head...

Glad you're finishing off this epic! Well done!!!

Actually, davem, thanks for the delay, as if you had finished this on time I would never have been able to jump on board.

I also like the track division, as the copy I finally managed to buy is the 2003 recut version (after all this is over, might we go back and discuss the extra narrational bits recorded to tie the new cuts all together?) and I'm pretty sure the tracks line up. Unfortunately, I can't check, as this week I lent out my copy to a friend who's never heard it before. Which is a great reason to not contribute aside from reactions based on memory, but still.

PS: Unlike Estelyn, I could have done without counter-tenor for eagles!!

Oh, good... I thought it was my youth and/or Americanism that made that so off-putting for me. The notion of a singing eagle is already difficult to dramatize without it sounding silly, but the notion of his being a counter-tenor (and I'm imagining the bells attached to his talons, too) just kills my secondary belief with one hit.

As I recall (it's been a long time since I've heard the episode in its one-hour context) this entire episode just exuded awesome. Even though I know it's coming, I can never fail to get chills whenever Ian Holm lets out the Evil Chuckle (in case we hadn't yet gotten the picture that he was completely gone at this point). Good stuff--limited only, I think, by the fact that it's really difficult to adapt the last moments of the Sammath Naur for audio.

[davem]

I like the eagle! Honestly, the way the song intercuts the action is perfect as far as I'm concerned. I love the whole episode, & its a perfect example of how radio drama, done right, is a true art form. Actually I've just come across a book (searching on Amazon) Life on Air: A History of Radio Four by David Hendy http://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Air-His...687902&sr=1-14
which speaks of the

'fanfare of publicity for Radio Four's new serialisation of The Lord of the Rings, adapted by Brian Sibley & Michael Bakewell, directed by Jane Morgan, & starring Ian Holm as Frodo, John Le Mesurier as Bilbo Baggins, Bill Nighy as Sam Gamgee, & Michael Hordern as Gandalf.....there were twenty-six episodes, original music - & plenty of coverage in the press. Like Vivat Rex, this was a production on the epic scale. But equally satisfying for many inside Broadcasting House was that The Lord of the Rings played it straight. It was sumptuous but not flash, & satisfied the Tolkien aficionados as well as those new to the work. Crucially, the calibre of the acting had spoken for itself. As one senior editor suggested, the impact of their performances 'would raise the morale of the whole directorate'. And, indeed, it was now in the early 1980's, that critics wrote more insistently of acting on Radio Four being 'infinitely' better than ever before, & about a self-confidence having returned to Radio Drama.

Found that on the search inside option, btw, so don't ask me who the 'senior editor' was, but I'd have to agree - & with the passage as a whole. We won't ever see the like of this series again, & thank God we were so blest in the team that brought it together. Its one of the jewels in the BBC's crown.

Mnemosyne You can lead the discussion on the 'extra' narration - I haven't heard it! I'm curious - is there a lot of it?

[Mnemosyne]

Originally Posted by davem

Mnemosyne You can lead the discussion on the 'extra' narration - I haven't heard it! I'm curious - is there a lot of it?

Ehh... not more than a couple minutes at the beginning and end of each "Book" (except for the last one since the rest are all set in Frodo's study as he's trying to compose everything). They are, by and large, excellent mini fanfics--especially the one that brings up the potential plot hole of Frodo and Sam not hearing Boromir's horn! What I find most fascinating about it, honestly, is that you really can't tell that over 20 years have elapsed between the narrations and the drama.

Anyway, the recut is worth listening to at least once... I love the bonus narrations, but it's a lot harder finding four-hour chunks to listen to each "book" and you don't get all the fun mini-cliffhangers that basically created the original format. (Well, you get them, but then they're immediately spoiled.) But that was what Barnes and Noble had, and since they had it, I had to buy it. Previously I'd used interlibrary loan for the thirteen-hour sets and you could probably do the same pretty easily with the recut.

[davem]

Originally Posted by Mnemosyne

Anyway, the recut is worth listening to at least once... I love the bonus narrations, but it's a lot harder finding four-hour chunks to listen to each "book" and you don't get all the fun mini-cliffhangers that basically created the original format.

The best way to experience the series if to set aside a full day & listen to it right the way through (which I've done twice), setting out with the Hobbits in the morning, & returning to Bag End with Sam as the day ends. If anyone hasn't done that I'd recommend they try that at least once - you'll be amazed at how powerful the experience is. (I find the existence of three different versions of the series quite intriguing. Bit like the books, in a way - we have the First Edition, the slightly different Second Edition & then the new 50th, with its 300-400 changes authorised by CT. )

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Mnemosyne

Oh, good... I thought it was my youth and/or Americanism that made that so off-putting for me. The notion of a singing eagle is already difficult to dramatize without it sounding silly, but the notion of his being a counter-tenor (and I'm imagining the bells attached to his talons, too) just kills my secondary belief with one hit.

I love the countertenor voice and David James is one of the best but this isn't my favourite piece of music - the other counter tenor tracks were a revelation and turned me into a bit of a "falsetto fancier" . I think singing eagles were always going to be difficult but there is an operatic convention of using the voice for supernatural and otherworldly characters (eg Oberon and Voice of the mask in Britten's Midsummer Night's Dream and Death in Venice) or the alienated Refugee in Jonathan Dove's "Flight" .

More interesting I think is his use of a countertenor for Galadriel's song. I wonder if it were for practical reasons or for the purer timbre. The range may be the same as a mezzo but even going easy on the vibrato the tone isn't.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

In Music in Middle-earth, Paul Smith (himself a counter-tenor) writes of Galadriel's song:

...it is interesting that this solo is assigned to a counter-tenor rather than a contralto; perhaps, since the music plays in the background of the narration, an evocation of other-worldliness associated with the male alto voice was considered to be more important.

Smith also assumes that the counter-tenor voice is used for Gwaihir

...to evoke the otherness of the Eagle.

and goes on to say:

Dramaturgically, the short episodes of the aria move the action forward by framing the discovery of the sapling on Mindolluin and the acclamation of Aragorn as Elessar.

That is interesting - normally, it is the recitative in an opera, not the aria, which moves the story forward!

[MerryinRealLife]

Yeah, I've just been reading this thread. Pretty good stuff. So yeah, I listened to the radio series on YouTube, although recently it's been taken off but...oh well. I thought it was pretty good.
Yep.
That's all I have to say, really.
I thought it was brilliantly adapted, though I admit I was saddened by the loss of Tom Bombadil but the rest of it, and the fact that the Scouring of the Shire, one of the most important parts of the book, was included felt like quick and efficient painkillers given for a wound rather than rubbing salt on it. I loved the acting and...
Yeah.
I can't really think of anything else to say.
It feels strange to be answering a thread that really hasn't been answered for such a long while.
But yeah, for me so far, this was the best adaptation of The Lord of the Rings that I have heard so far.
Though one day...
I really hope to actually do it and do some kind of adaptation, radio or TV series, where I can include as much as I can-Tom Bombadil, Scouring, and all-and stay true to the spirit of Tolkien.