This review by Elizabeth Vail ran previously on Green Man Review.
In this complete three-CD set, the timeless classic Beowulf gets another shot at a dramatic adaptation. While it lacks the cinematic razzle-dazzle of Robert Zemeckis’ recent version (and the CGI-scrubbed facades of Ray Winstone and Angelina Jolie), it possesses a few dramatic chops of its own.
Each CD in the set deals with one segment of Beowulf’s life and adventures, as well as the interrelated (or entirely unrelated) tales and fables that are recounted as subnarratives within the narrative itself. Disc 1 relates the events leading up to Beowulf’s battle with the Grendel, who has spent the last few years claiming the #1 Spot on Danish King Hrothgar’s list of Worst Houseguests Ever, due to his unfortunate habit of eating people.
Disc 2 deals with Beowulf’s accompanying battle with Grendel’s mother, who is a mite put-out by her son’s fatal dust-up with the famed Danish hero, and Disc 3 recounts the aged Beowulf’s final battle with a Dragon angry over a stolen piece of his horde.
None of the material is new, obviously, so most of the CD-set’s oomph comes from the talented cast and sound mixers who attempt to bring an epic to life using only audio. The majority of the story is narrated by Dick Ringler (who also provided the English translation for this version), a deep-voiced orator who bites into every word like a rare porterhouse steak.
Beowulf’s voice, however, is a bit of a letdown — primarily because the actor, Stephen Pelinski, bears an unmistakable vocal resemblance to Frasier’s Kelsey Grammar. It makes it difficult to picture Beowulf as a muscular, sword-wielding barbarian when any minute he sounds prepared to offer comical bon mots.
The rest of the story’s dynamics come from the music and sound effects, which do an excellent job for the most part — either accompanying the storytelling segments with flute playing or the occasional strum of a harp, or Grendel’s eating scenes with gruesomely appropriate sucking and wet cracking sounds. The sound fixing falters where the sound effects actually overpower the narration, and this happens particularly during battle scenes, which can be frustrating to the casual listener.
Otherwise, though, this classic story is interestingly told — and in probably the closest thing to its original oral format, too. It’s an excellent example of oral storytelling by an animated narrator with an entertaining cast of supporting characters and soundmixers, and a reliable addition to any Beowulf fan’s collection.
(NEMO Productions, 2006)
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