John Ronald Reuel (J.R.R.) Tolkien is widely considered the father of modern fantasy. Way back in the 1950s, Tolkien wrote a trilogy of books that has gone on to sell more than 150 million copies. If you haven’t put it together yet, that’s a lot of reading (and movie watching) from one collection of source material.
A video has surfaced that mixes an audio recording of J.R.R. Tolkien himself reading an excerpt from his books mixed with the Ride of the Rohirrim scene from the 2002 “The Two Towers,” the second film of the trifecta.
The audio of Tolkien is most definitely old-timey and yet you can’t help feel the enthusiasm of what’s been unsheathed from his words and splashed across the screen in a visual feast of color and action.
Tolkien narrates the Ride of the Rohirrim
Maybe you waited in line and joined the millions of people who rushed to the theaters to witness the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy of movies Maybe you completely avoided Director Peter Jackson’s massively successful series of films, which garnered 17 Oscar wins and a staggering $3 billion in box-office sales. Nevertheless, it’s hard to deny the lasting influence of this artistic endeavor, which has delighted generations the world over.
The story behind the audio recording is interesting too. In 1952, George Sayer presented his good friend Tolkien a curious new technology called a recorder. Apparently Tolkien wasn’t immune to the magic of one’s own voice and so he recorded excerpts from the then unpublished manuscript of “The Lord of the Rings.”
Why the sudden interest in a fantasy writer from long ago and some audio tapes?
The empire that is Amazon is releasing a new online series “The Rings of Power” as a prequel based on Tolkien’s epic fantasy books. Amazon Prime has invested a record budget into the show, which premieres online September 2, 2022.
If you enjoyed listening to one of the most successful fantasy writers in modern history, find more audio recorded outtakes here.
