Evanus

I still think saying that its a study of Bilbo and Thorin's relationship is a wrong asesment. Its much more about Thorin as a solo character, and of his and his compatriots' yearning for their homeland, and of Thorin's personal tragedy.
 
I find that aspect fascinating, deftly handled, worthy of a trilogy and refreshingly different to anything in The Lord of the Rings.
 
I also don't see the Dol Guldur subplot as so extraneous. Undercooked? Yes. At times mishandled? Absolutely. But redundant? No. It is part of the Tolkien canon, it explains Gandalf's absence (which is imperative) and its actually woven quite tightly into the narrative, by making both Azog and the Orc armies attacking Erebor subservient to Sauron.
 
 
She very quickly went on some tangent regarding some contractual stuff with Warner Bros that I couldn't care less about. Just as much as we need to separate the art from the artist, I think we need to separate art from the process.
 
I generally find Lindsay's essays (and really the whole concept of a full-length essay delivered in video format) overwrought and overly pedantic and petty, and of course when it came to discussing matters such as Tauriel, she infused it with her own brand of social agenda - which I found distasteful. For comparison, she once said that the closing line of King Kong - "It was beauty killed the beast" - should be "colonialism killed the beast". Or her notions of racism in Tolkien's works. I mean, gimmie a break, lady.
 
Also, Lindsay's much more of a screenwriter than Chris, and her analyses are much more script-oriented - making her reviews and essays much less well-rounded than those of Chris Hartwell or the blokes at 3byThree, who make prudent comments on both the way films are written and directed.
 
I'm saying this not necessarily as someone who agrees with Chris all too often, but I appreciate the way he articulates what he likes and why.

An enjoyable balanced review of the Hobbit trilogy, though mostly focusing on the positives.
 
Nice to see ‘Feast of Starlight’ getting a specific mention!

Having seen Avengers: Infinity War (which is a phenomenal film and the best entry in the MCU), having bought and listened to the deluxe edition of the soundtrack via iTunes, I have to say that Alan Silvestri outdid himself. His score to Avengers: Infinity War blows his score to The Avengers out of the water, and is just as great as his score to Captain America: The First Avenger (in some ways it even surpasses that score). Not to say that his score to The Avengers was not good. It just was not as good as his score to Captain America: The First Avenger, except for a few highlights (the Avengers theme is perfect). Silvestri's score for Avengers: Infinity War perfectly captures everything that takes place. The musical theme and sensibility for Thanos fits that character perfectly. The cues for the action sequences are grand in scale. One particular highlight I feel needs mentioning is the cue "Even for You". Not giving away any spoilers, but this cue portrays a very pivotal scene in the film. The reprisals of the Avengers theme are welcoming and are integrated in some of the most critical and crowd-pleasing sequences in the film. I also love that the entire score is full orchestra, with some sequences and cues being accompanied by full chorus, the chorus being the London Voices. I also love that there are a few subtle reprisals of Captain America's theme (it is there if you listen closely; it is not full blown statements, but it is there). I also love that Alan Silvestri reprised Ludwig Borannson's Black Panther theme.
Avengers: Infinity War is the beginning of the end to Marvel Studios' cinematic saga that began ten years ago with Iron Man; the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Alan Silvestri's score delivers with the film itself. I look forward to Avengers: Endgame; that will be the finale to the three phase saga. I wait with anticipation to hear what Alan Silvestri will do with the music.
 
I am very grateful that a deluxe edition of the soundtrack was released along with the standard soundtrack. In fact, the deluxe edition, comprised of 30 tracks and clocking at an hour and 56 miniutes, as opposed to the standard soundtrack comprised of 23 tracks and clocking at only an hour and 16 minutes, contains almost the entire score. There is probably between 5 to 10 minutes of music not included on the deluxe edition, but having that much music is a welcomed treat.

And you didn't have fun with Bourne? Those were the best action scores of their decade!

*whispering* and otherwise.😉

It is finally here!
 
Just the first few bars and - wow, this is completely different to what I was expecting!
 
I figured it would start with AUJ material and the material would just be edits of the scores as heard on album. But it starts with a new arrangement of Smaug’s theme!
 
 
Notes about the video:
It is a very strange video player, I seem to have no option to scrub through the video — only play on pause it. Unfortunately the audio quality is quite poor. It is hard to tell how good the orchestra is because of the quality, certainly doesn't sound anywhere near as good as LPO/NZSO. (update: it lets me scrub through, and there is now a HQ option)
 
 
I would suggest waiting to hear this in good quality - perhaps it will get a CD release eventually. Couldn't stop myself from listening though - how exciting it is to hear new Howard Shore middle earth arrangements!
 
 
Ha, the way the drums are played in this performance it makes The Wooland Realm theme sound like a dance! It kind of dig it ☺️.
 
Planning to watch the whole concert - I'm so far enjoying the pieces from his scores that I hadn't heard before. Nice to see him conducting too!
 
So it appears... they have only released recordings for two of the four movements!

The original intention was to use the Shire theme over the Hobbit title.  I don't think it was recorded.

Time is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it. 
Howard Shore, and beyond, the far green Hobbit Complete Recordings and the Music of the Hobbit Films book under a swift sunrise.

All will become clear in time.

This sort of shop talk always makes me wish for those The Hobbit CRs and a certain book with certain Rarities Archive. A lot actually. And not for the OCD need to figure out these minutiae but for the brilliant music.

The reasons I can see for the Hobbit Complete Recordings to exist:
The 2 hours of unreleased music that Jim mentions The opportunity for expanded liner notes (without having to avoid spoilers like the OST liners) The chance for the scores to be released on Bluray in high resolution and on Vinyl Presenting the score in complete chronological order (following the structure of the analysis in The Music of the Hobbit films) Opportunities for any other bonuses, like interviews/rarities/score sheet music excerpts
The music I’m most looking forward to off the top of my head:
Previously unheard DOS prologue battle music which is rumoured to combine the House of Durin theme and An Ancient Enemy theme Complete Spider sequences with additional Mirkwood theme appearances and Shelob-like music New Beorn sequence with the reprises of Thorin’s theme and the AUJ/FOTR dwarf welcome theme The gorgeous House of Durin statement for the EE scene in Laketown Complete Fire & Water piece, including the missing bard’s family theme statements and music for the dwarves watching from Erebor The complete Chariot battle sequence, with previously unheard music Complete BOTFA funeral piece  - dwarven themes in counterpoint, yes please!
I do hope these releases happen, and I think it is ultimately up to Shore. They’ve been doing complete/expanded release of his lesser known scores, so I hold out hope.

Wonderful!

Sure, I'm talking about his craft as a screenwriter and producer, as well. Both equally inconsistent lines of work. Anyway, I never thought nor wanted him to be the showrunner, but I would very much appreciate it if he were "around".
 
Generally, I don't subscribe to the opinion that filmmakers suddenly "lose" their edge. I think a lot of them (if not most of them, really) simply peak early, e.g. as much as I like Gibson as a director, I can never see him top Braveheart. The same is true of Jackson with The Lord of the Rings. I've still enjoyed his later output a lot and many others have, as well.

He lost his mojo back in 2005. Everything else he's done after that have ranged in varying degrees of mediocrity. It's not like he's the only person who is capable of making a Middle-earth feature, be it a movie or a TV series.
 
John, who had a feeling Chen would react with  or  to any post that doesn't align with his convoluted opinions!

Yeah, because why would we want one of the most visionary directors of our time give a helping hand in this...

Not if the film they like is generally badly recieved. Try defending Kingdom of the Crystal Skull or Attack of the Clones....

While we're on the topic...
 

 
This shot begins the longest take of the series: about 1:30 worth. This different style of photography continues throughout the trilogy: A a long-take through the streets of bree here, an establishing long take through Beorn's House there, and finaly a long take (around 50 seconds) through the streets of Dale as Bard returns to the city after the battle has begun - and all of these are done with practical camerawork.
 
Since the whole point of the long take is to allow you to take the world of the film in, they're really effective in this, and form a nice constrast to the more lively camerawork of the action climaxes or to The Lord of the Rings. Bag End, in particular, is also subject to some great framing. In yet another long take, Bilbo is framed within the passageway into his own parlour, but with the door outside of his house fully in focus.
 
And than there's the scene from my avatar: very atmospheric, dim lighting, constrasted by the more high-key - but never flat - lighting earlier in the Bag End setpiece. The lighting really communicates the warmness of the place, and since this trilogy is going down a darker path than its written counterpart, this period of warmth is nice.

From The Last Jedi

From The Hobbit: Battle of the Five ArmiesThe Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Indeed. 
 
Really, in terms of cutting the films down, the only things I will have changed are:
 
Cut out a few shots out of the Dwarves' partying. I don't mind that they're a bit vulgar, but I would have toned it down slightly and maybe cut out a few of the shots where they're drinking and spilling ale. Cut the troll sequence out of the theatrical cut of An Unexpected Journey. That stage of the quest, where Erebor is still far away and the chase isn’t on, should have been as concise as possible for the theatrical release, and it would have made for an overall more concise and enrapturing "establishing film" for new audiences watching this series. This of course would have required pick-up shoots to differently plot the arrival at the troll hoard and the finding of Orcrist and Sting. Try to make the Radagast scenes and the White Council a bit more concise. The introduction of Radagast stalls the first part of the second act, because it comes right off of the heels of the flashback to the battle of Moria. I will have also removed the Old Toby scene. Those beats aside, the character of Radagast really isn’t that silly: his dialogue is for the most part very serious and grave. Edit down the Bombur barrel extravaganza so that he is catapulted out of the water and instantly lands and kills the Orcs. All the bouncing around makes you wonder how the character escapes unscathed. Cut the final Tauriel scene from The Desolation of Smaug and push Legolas’ brawl with Bolg into its spot. That scene is the point where the Tauriel/Kili thing becomes cheesy. I also think that, given the film's very impressively-agressive cutting, that moving from Legolas chasing Bolg to the stilness of Erebor will have been a stronger transition. Make one or two of the Dwarves get hurt more seriously in the finale of the second film. I’m thinking Gloin, who is thrown from the cart he is in down to the ground. Cut down some of Legolas’ stunts. I don’t mind his gravity-defying stunts, but what I like about it in The Lord of the Rings is that it’s gradual: first he walks on snow and climbs on a chain and over a troll's head; than he leaps on a horse and slides down a shield in the next film. Here, he’s living up to the Mumakil sequence from the moment that we meet him. Just tone it down a bit, is all I'm saying. Tone down the Alfrid on The Battle of the Five Armies. Thankfully, he isn’t in it for a lot of time as it is, so just a tiny bit less will have made him far more tolerable. Redo Kili's death: tone down the slow motion and move Tauriel's grieving for him earlier down the line and shorten it. Azog should have at least been present in the scene, as well, so Kili can try to attack him before Bolg  intervenes. Obviously another pass for the special effects and maybe touch up the color grading in the third film. Remove some of the musical edits, and add the company themes into the second and/or third film.  
None of these changes would have shortened the series too much (with the exception of a change to the theatrical cut of An Unexpected Journey) nor justified a restructuring of the series into something other than a trilogy.
 
I will have added stuff, too: namely, a couple of more small character moments for the individual Dwarves, especially Fili, Bifur and Nori; even a scene with Thranduil that explains the significance of the white gems a bit more clearly. But all of these touches needed to have been done in the editor’s bay and in pick-up photography: they can’t be made satisfactorily after-the-fact in a fan edit.
 
Really, the films just will have benefited another pass for the edit. But even as it is, it doesn’t bother me too much. If I could, I would have edited stuff differently for The Two Towers and even The Fellowship of the Ring. But since I like the movies overall, I don’t really see the need to bother with either trying to make or trying to find such a fan cut.

I'll have to re-check but i remember that when Carter screams, the Rex in the tent is 'scared' and breaks the tent and does not see as it is over its head. Then the female appears roaring from one side and pursuing the humans. The male remains on there sniffing on the tent and then Roland tries to shoot him.
 
But i Was just making an observation and i coul be wrong, i Hope my comentary didnt offend you 

To me every note of JP is essential. Period.

The visuals aren't dog shit either. How can someone call a film with that incredible design of Smaug, Erebor, Beorn, Mirkwood, Laketown etc shit? DoS has its fair share of dodgy CGI, most noticeably the Forest River and the Forgeries stuff in the end, but there is a vast difference between a director demanding over the top scenes being created, resulting in effects looking fake (Legolas barrel dance), and the actual designs and visuals, which are just great.

The Hobbit films are not exactly perfect, but to refer to them as dog shit is really not appropriate at all.
Get off your horse there.