The Hobbit Film Trilogy Thread

[SafeUnderHill 205]

[KK 3,307]

Maybe in the Blue Mountains, where he led his people? Doesn't matter really, for all we know, even the writers might not have an answer to that.

[Faleel 5,362]

On another note, in AUJ when Thorin is shown at the end of the prologue making a sword where is he?

Where he was able to find that job.

In Tolkien's writings, it is indicated that it is his own forge.

Maybe in the Blue Mountains, where he led his people? Doesn't matter really, for all we know, even the writers might not have an answer to that.

See my post above.

[SafeUnderHill 205]

[Faleel 5,362]

I just wanna see if he does anything with the Isengard theme, perhaps some kind of building brass fanfaric version.

[Bilbo 3,709]

I'd be interested in seeing him do something with that theme yes! It's hard to imagine it sounding another other than menacing and opposing those. I guess that could still work.

[SafeUnderHill 205]

[Bilbo 3,709]

I demand a mock up as I am too lazy to reach for a guitar or piano.

[SafeUnderHill 205]

[Faleel 5,362]

Company journey theme

But the journey is finished!

[gkgyver 1,646]

LotR, dude! The Fellowship theme will be replaced by Plan 9's theme in the upcoming 6 film box set.

[SafeUnderHill 205]

[Faleel 5,362]

LotR, dude! The Fellowship theme will be replaced by Plan 9's theme in the upcoming 6 film box set.

What does Plan 9 have to do with this?

[crocodile 8,020]

Lee's appearance was confirmed last year in AUJ extendes cut commentary.

Karol

[Faleel 5,362]

And by Lee himself!

[Bilbo 3,709]

Yeah, he confirmed that he does quite a bit of fighting in this movie.

Didn't someone say he does something quite heroic in this one too?

[SafeUnderHill 205]

[Incanus 5,716]

That "windlance" thing is pretty stupid, in design and conception.

Dwarves are apparently artillery experts. Handy with bows and all that.

But I would expect it to be more angular being a dwarven design.

Didn't know it was dwarven design, thought it was from a city of men.

It is named dwarven windlance in DoS so I guess there might be some connection.

[ReflectionInternal 0]

I've lurked here before the premier of each film, and I first off want to say that I think that the best discussion of the Hobbit movies on the internet occurs here and in the individual movie threads.

I've gotten so infuriated by some of the artistic license PJ took with the hobbit films that I took it upon myself to recut the films. I just completed recutting the EE AUJ and the theatrical version of DoS.

EE AUJ edited down is 2:43:00, 2:52:30 with credits, so I removed roughly 20 minutes. I was never really concerned about its length, it was just that every time Azog appeared on screen I wanted to pull my hair out. I don't think I'll ever have that problem again. DoS edited down is 1:53:40, 2:03:30 with credits, 40 minutes removed. The wonderful thing is that Peter Jackson did over-film the movies, but the fact that he did makes it so incredibly easy to fix by taking a scalpel to his films.

Most of my changes in AUJ involved eliminating Azog and any mention of him beyond the introductory history lesson. I realized that he would need to be introduced so we know who he is when we run into him in movies 2&3, but it just seemed so pointless to have him pursuing the dwarves throughout movie 1. Other changes involved cutting away the ridiculous cartoony action sequences in both films that were just over the top CGI abominations. All those complained about here, the run through Goblin Town, Legolas surfboarding on everything, Dwarves vaulting themselves every which way. Speaking of, I loved completely eliminating the confrontation between the Dwarves and Smaug. The entire sequence is so long and full of shots sans dwarves, by cutting all the pieces with the dwarves and some clever soundtrack manipulation, you can tell a story of Smaug chasing Bilbo through the furnace room, into the hall of kings, then going off to Laketown to murder everyone. The Kili/Tauriel/Legolas love triangle? Gone. The dwarves being left behind in Laketown? Gone. Tauriel and Legolas taking on Orcs during the confrontation in the mountain? Gone.

But honestly, my favorite parts of the project was restoring everything I could of the original soundtrack Shore wrote to the movie. In some parts it was unfortunately not possible, just from the nature of the final movie mix, but in other scenes it worked like a charm. I especially enjoyed putting Bilbo's theme back in where I could. I also swapped the jarring Nazgul theme for the dwarven theme in Thorin's charge. I managed to make it look as if Thorin charges Azog's warg (you never get a good look look at Azog himself, he never appears in frame). Removing Azog from that sequence may have been the hardest bit of either of the projects, but Shore's soundtrack really ends up carrying it. I made it so the warg uses Thorin as a chew toy for a couple seconds then throws him away. I also really liked restoring Shore's score to the very end of the movies, as the way PJ decided to end both movies in silence was incredibly annoying to me. The score makes both so much better, even if in DoS PJ only removed some 5-7 seconds.

I know if I ever shared my version of the films widely I'd probably get sued, but for me personally, it is such a relief to be able to watch and enjoy them after spending so long fuming about how they could have been so much better if PJ had just woken up, trimmed the fat from his movies and trusted Shore's instincts as a composer.

How do you folks feel about fan edits fixing the perceived problems in the films? I'd never done any video editing in my life before this, and found myself devoting hours and hours of my time to learning final cut so I could actually enjoy the films for what they could have been.

[SafeUnderHill 205]

[Bilbo 3,709]

There's nothing wrong with making your own cut for educational and personal purposes.

Personally I'd never have any interest in watching a fan edit (Faleel's music restored videos aside) but that's just me.

[Jay 37,374]

Hi ReflectionInternal! Glad to have you on board for what I agree is the best Hobbit/LOTR discussion on the internet

Your fan edits sound really cool! Though I question why you did DOS before the EE is out. I think you're going to want some or all of the Beorn and Thrain stuff in your final cut

As for sharing them with people, you don't have to worry about that - people share fan edits over the internet all the time. Have you been to originaltrilogy.com?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Would it not be best to wait with a fan edit of this trilogy until after it is completed?

[Jay 37,374]

Well, he had never edited before, so this way he got to learn how to do it already.

[Faleel 5,362]

Would it not be best to wait with a fan edit of this trilogy until after it is completed?

Would it not also be best to wait with watching this trilogy until after it is completed?

Here are all three banners combined into one (I know there are some scenes and "alternates" missing)

[ReflectionInternal 0]

Would it not be best to wait with a fan edit of this trilogy until after it is completed?

My edits definitely haven't been locked, and I expect I'll be tweaking them until the BoFA EE comes out. I mostly wanted to to DoS now, (and AUJ for that matter) so I could see if it was even feasible to do some of the things I wanted to do. Turns out I could! I fully expect to incorporate the EE material, and continue to mess with the pacing and soundtrack over the next year+.

As for sharing them with people, you don't have to worry about that - people share fan edits over the internet all the time. Have you been to originaltrilogy.com?

Never have, I'll have to go check it out. Thanks!

[Jay 37,374]

That's tiny, is there a big version available?

[Incanus 5,716]

Welcome aboard ReflectionInternal! I have been toying with the idea of editing a fan version closer to Tolkien but never got around to it. I am glad someone has done so!

[SafeUnderHill 205]

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Finally a poster with the star of the story featured.

[KK 3,307]

Yeah! Why haven't they changed the title yet?!

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

The Tag line of the film should be "The Defiling chapter"

[Jay 37,374]

The Tag line of the film should be "The Defiling chapter"

[SafeUnderHill 205]

[Faleel 5,362]

It's nice to see an elf other than Legolas or Tauriel.

[gkgyver 1,646]

It's nice to see an elf other than Legolas or Tauriel.

What, Thranduil is part of this story ...? I thought it was Tauriel.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Finally a poster with the star of the story featured.

Are you serious? Did you not see the Bilbo poster they released BEFORE this and used on the cover of the OST?

Do you think I'm serious?

[SafeUnderHill 205]

[Barnald 365]

Yep. Thrain plus at least two new Beorn scenes (including what is surely the introduction scene). I can't wait.

[Incanus 5,716]

The Tag line of the film should be "The Defiling chapter"

Yes PJs defiling days are not quite over yet.

Somehow Bilbo's "What have we done?!!!" seems to echo all three films now.

[KK 3,307]

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I dont get you guy, really.

[Incanus 5,716]

I dont get you guy, really.

You tease us about Quenya and Sindarin, we mercilessly kid about the relative filmic merits of these adaptations. So the world turns.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I dont get you guy, really.

You tease us about Quenya and Sindarin.

What?

[Incanus 5,716]

Kalimaaa!

[Arpy 4,145]

PJ in the editing room: "kalima, KALIMA, KALIMAA!"

[Smeltington 1,441]

Shame we heard nothing from the DragonCon Doug Hobbit presentation.

Doug wasn't at DragonCon... I wish he had been!

[Faleel 5,362]

Shame we heard nothing from the DragonCon Doug Hobbit presentation.

Doug Adams went to FantasyCon.

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

Doug attenting so many conventions...does that make him a Con man?

[SafeUnderHill 205]