Jules Verne Forum

<jvf@Gilead.org.il>

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec 19961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009

Re: Jules Verne audio narrated by Michael Pritchard

From: Brian Taves <btav~at~loc.gov>
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:09:42 -0500 (EST)
To: Donna Knight <dknight~at~gwinnettpl.org>
cc: "jvf~at~Gilead.org.il" <jvf~at~gilead.org.il>

Donna,
Bill has pointed out the problem with many Veren audio books--they are
typically from bad 19th century translations, and many of these were read
from PG from a collected edition that cut the books further!

Two reviews are offered below from recent pages of our newsletter,
Extraordinary Voyages, one review specifically re Tantor. whis is very
negative, and another re audio books of Journey to the Center of the
Earth, in the wake of the Brendan Fraser film.


Tantor Audio Books
The Verne books in audio format tend to be versions of the three main
titles, Around the World in Eighty Days, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the
Seas, and Journey to the Center of the Earth. I dont believe any of these
are from modern translations, and versions of Journey are often the
dreadful Von Hardwigg version [the worst translator even changed the
name of the protagonists]--even when the packaging indicates Lidenbrock.
I noticed that one company, Tantor Media, had put out a number of lesser
known Verne audio books, advertised as complete and unabridged, and
decided to give one a try. Among their titles, the least expensive, was
The Underground City, one of my favorite novels.
I expected a public domain translation, which I received, but it was
apparently from a text on Project Gutenberg that is substantially cut,
with only 19 chapters instead of the 22 found in the French text. Just as
important, the narrator, John Bolen, who also does the other Verne titles
in the series, was amateurish, constantly offering irritating attempts at
Scottish brogues. I dread to think what he might do with such other Tantor
Verne titles as Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon or Michael Strogoff,
and wont be buying any more of them.



In conjunction with the release of JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 3-D
this summer, Blackstone reissued their reading of the novel. The packaging
features art from the movie, with Brendan Fraser.
Were fortunate on two levels. With Verne, an unabridged reading is no
guarantee of quality, because it still leaves open the question of the
translation being used. Journey to the Center of the Earth is one of the
most hazardous novels to buy in audio form, because often the packaging
will mention Professor Lidenbrock, but a listener hears the dreaded names
of Von Hardwigg and Harry, indicating in fact the wretched translation of
1871.
Fortunately, the text used here is one of the better translations, this
time the Ward Lock edition by Frederick Amadeus Malleson. And Simon
Prebbles reading aptly captures Axels narration, Lidenbrocks irascibility,
and the wonders they experience. It is on 7 CDs and lasts 8 hours, and
retails at $19.95.
http://blackstoneaudio.com/audiobook.cfm?id=4762
Blackstones version is recommended, as are, for contrast, out of print
versions read by Tom Baker (1977, Argo), James Mason (1978,
Caedmon) (alas, the Hardwigg version), and ALIEN VOICES: JOURNEY TO THE
CENTER OF THE EARTH (1997, Simon & Schuster Audio), all of which stand out
for quality and interest and are easy to find second-hand.



Brian Taves
Motion Picture/Broadcasting/Recorded Sound Division
Library of Congress
Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation
19053 Mount Pony Road
Culpeper, VA 22701
Email: btav~at~loc.gov


On Tue, 15 Dec 2009, Donna Knight wrote:

> I am an librarian who was posed with a question about 20000 Leagues Under the Sea:
> What translation of 20000 Leagues Under the Sea is used in the Unabridged Tantor Audio version read by Michael Prichard?
> I would be grateful if you could answer this question for me.
> Sincerely
> Donna Knight
> Dacula Branch
> Gwinnett County Public Library
>
>
> "Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth."
> — Mark Twain
>

        
Received on Wed 16 Dec 2009 - 16:09:52 IST

JV.Gilead.org.il
Copyright © Zvi Har’El
$Date: 2009/12/16 15:00:03 $$