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Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
2012/2013/2014
Original Running Time:
533 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
290 minutes
Time Cut:
242 minutes
Subtitles Available:
Available in HD:
Additional Links:
Awards:
Synopsis:
Five Episodes. Five Hours. Five Edits.
The Hobbit is changed.
I see it in the Films.
I read it on the Forums.
I tell it, on the web.
Much that once was, is cut. And none now live, who remember it.
It began with the forging of the Great Edits.
Three films were given to the Nerds; immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings.
Seven years to the Editors. Redesigners, and craftsmen of the Forum Walls.
And Five, Five Edits were gifted to the Academy, who above all else, revise for hours.
For within these edits was bound the length and the skill to govern each film.
But they were all of them deceived, for another edit was made.
In the land of Indoors, in the fires of "My Room," the Dark Lord Stromboli forged in secret, a master edit, to combine all others.
And into this edit he poured his creativity, his talents, and his will to culminate all Five.
One Edit to Rule Them All.
The Hobbit is changed.
I see it in the Films.
I read it on the Forums.
I tell it, on the web.
Much that once was, is cut. And none now live, who remember it.
It began with the forging of the Great Edits.
Three films were given to the Nerds; immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings.
Seven years to the Editors. Redesigners, and craftsmen of the Forum Walls.
And Five, Five Edits were gifted to the Academy, who above all else, revise for hours.
For within these edits was bound the length and the skill to govern each film.
But they were all of them deceived, for another edit was made.
In the land of Indoors, in the fires of "My Room," the Dark Lord Stromboli forged in secret, a master edit, to combine all others.
And into this edit he poured his creativity, his talents, and his will to culminate all Five.
One Edit to Rule Them All.
Intention:
There are quite a few Hobbit edits out there, and each one handles the original films in its own way. However, none of them QUITE scratched the "perfect" edit itch for me. Thus, The Battle of the Five Edits is my attempt at creating something akin to a "Greatest Hits" of Hobbit edits.
I have taken all of the "best" elements and ideas from all those other Hobbit edits and combined them into One; cutting, rearranging and replicating portions of them in any way that I felt added to the enjoyment of The Hobbit as a piece of visual media. I tried my best to do this a way that pays great respect to all those who came before me, while also allowing my own vision to shine through.
I have taken all of the "best" elements and ideas from all those other Hobbit edits and combined them into One; cutting, rearranging and replicating portions of them in any way that I felt added to the enjoyment of The Hobbit as a piece of visual media. I tried my best to do this a way that pays great respect to all those who came before me, while also allowing my own vision to shine through.
Additional Notes:
Extra huge shoutout to DonKamillo, whose edit served as the framework for my own.
Alongside DonKamillo, I’d like to thank Spence, Dustin Lee, L8wrtr, and Adam Dens whose edits were the “Big Five” that I drew tons of inspiration from. Later on, I decided to include some things from Wraith and M4’s edits, and later still, I added a few things from TM2YC and other community feedback! Without these eight other editors, their magnificent work, and this wonderful community, my edit would not exist.
Thank you so much to all of you for your own hard work, your invaluable feedback, and your guidance as I crafted what I consider to be a Tribute to the brilliance you have each poured into your own projects.
Other Sources:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Official Soundtrack
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Official Soundtrack
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Official Soundtrack
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Hobbit: 'Song Of Durin' by Eurielle - (Lyrics by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Princess Mononoke (tiny sound clip)
CinePacks Fire and Water FX
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Official Soundtrack
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Official Soundtrack
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Hobbit: 'Song Of Durin' by Eurielle - (Lyrics by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Princess Mononoke (tiny sound clip)
CinePacks Fire and Water FX
Special Thanks:
Most importantly, I want to thank my wife, whom I married on Frodo on Bilbo's birthday! Without her this project would not exist, nor would I have had the opportunity to show it off at my local movie theater to almost 30 of my closest friends!
I would also like to thank Jasper Rex for the awesome artwork he did, Wraith for taking the time to watch (over and over) and review my edit, and Artisdead for doing everything in his power to see my project come to light, and flourish!
I would also like to thank Jasper Rex for the awesome artwork he did, Wraith for taking the time to watch (over and over) and review my edit, and Artisdead for doing everything in his power to see my project come to light, and flourish!
Release Information:
Digital
Editing Details:
April, 2022 Update - Since I initially finished this project in November, 2021, I have rebuilt the entire edit from scratch in order to improve the overall quality (including subtitles). I also implemented several changes that were suggested by members of the community, friends, and other viewers alike!
This edit has an episodic structure, consisting of 5 Volumes/Episodes, complete with a custom title-card, and simple “To Be Continued” outro. The total runtime is 4:51:34 (291 minutes and 34 seconds) with episode runtimes of:
An Unexpected Journey - 53:29
Riddles in the Dark - 52:42
A Warm Welcome - 1:01:05
Fire and Water - 52:35
There and Back Again – 1:11:43 (58:25 + 13:18 end-credits)
"Bonus" Episode - The White Council - 36:15
DonKamillo's: The Anti-Cringe Cut provided the scaffolding for my edit. I have changed many things about it, but his edit has the largest inclusion of them all in my edit. The first and foremost being the episodic structure, as well as the names for each episode.
This is not a "book" cut. There are some elements from the books that I have excised, and there are some elements unique to the films that I have chosen to retain. This project came from my goal to create the best possible version of these films, without any constraints outside of quality.
This edit has an episodic structure, consisting of 5 Volumes/Episodes, complete with a custom title-card, and simple “To Be Continued” outro. The total runtime is 4:51:34 (291 minutes and 34 seconds) with episode runtimes of:
An Unexpected Journey - 53:29
Riddles in the Dark - 52:42
A Warm Welcome - 1:01:05
Fire and Water - 52:35
There and Back Again – 1:11:43 (58:25 + 13:18 end-credits)
"Bonus" Episode - The White Council - 36:15
DonKamillo's: The Anti-Cringe Cut provided the scaffolding for my edit. I have changed many things about it, but his edit has the largest inclusion of them all in my edit. The first and foremost being the episodic structure, as well as the names for each episode.
This is not a "book" cut. There are some elements from the books that I have excised, and there are some elements unique to the films that I have chosen to retain. This project came from my goal to create the best possible version of these films, without any constraints outside of quality.
Cuts and Additions:
A more detailed Episode-by-Episode changelog is listed further below!
This is a short list of common/major scene removals:
Musical Numbers (Misty Mountains stays, of course)
Most things that defy the laws of physics (stone giants, certain barrel stunts, etc)
Prologues/Flashbacks (The Black Arrow Flashback remains)
Dor Guldur/High Fells/Radagast/White Council
White Orc Plot (90% deleted, he is the nameless leader of the army at the end, like Gothmog in Return of the King)
No orcs during the Eagles rescue
Legolas/Tauriel/Kili – Romance removed, Gundabad subplot removed, Legolas and Tauriel only appear in a few scenes, including showing up at the battle at the end (Tauriel doesn’t do anything)
Battle of Five Armies +Thorin vs Azog – Both heavily restructured
Detailed Changelog
Episode 1 - An Unexpected Journey
o This episode retains 99% of its structure from the Anti-Cringe Cut (No Prologue, No Azog, No Radagast) except for a few small things:
o Cut Gandalf scaring Bilbo by looking through the window, and added back the scene of Bilbo going to the market
(Both modeled after M4’s cuts)
o Cut the “have a feel of me tubers, nice and firm they are” line from the end of the scene where Bilbo is in the market in the shire because…yeah.
o Removed the line “You must be Mister Boggins!” so that the sequence goes “Fili, Kili *bow* at your service.” “NOPE you can’t come in you’ve come to the wrong house” (TM2YC)
o Cut Blunt the Knives (TM2YC)
o I have re-added Blunt the Knives in an Alternate version of this Episode, for those who miss the song (honestly, I did too!)
o Minor, yet significant change of: swapping Thorin’s 2 reactions to Gandalf saying “to look ahead/looking behind” and then “He had the nous to play for time. None of the rest of you thought of that!”
o Thorin now smiles after Gandalf talks-up Bilbo (TM2YC)
o Since Thorin and Bilbo no longer have their big moment at the end of the Eagle rescue, I figured it was important to include some of these moments that TM2YC implemented in an effort to both diminish Thorin’s over-the-top hatred of Bilbo, and to make their friendship grow more organically. It’s the little things that count here!
o Took the first half of the Post-Rivendell-Walking-Montage and placed it here to better transition the company from the troll caves into Rivendell. The second half occurs where it does originally (M4)
Episode 2 - Riddles in the Dark
o This is where things start changing quite a bit from Anti-Cringe, starting with a few small continuity errors
o Gandalf mentioning the orc/sled chase sequence that had been excised; once when Elrond arrives, once at dinner, and then once at the start of Episode 3
o Cut Bofur singing and dancing on the dais they used for the One Ring in the Fellowship (Love the joke, don't mind the song, but too goofy)
o I always loved how Anti-Cringe moved the scene "My lord Elrond, the dwarves.... They're gone." to come right after Galadriel shows up. I thought it was genius. However, someone pointed out to me that we see Thorin and Bilbo dropping eves on that conversation like 30 seconds prior to that announcement, so it was a continuity error that was perhaps pretty minor, but one that bugged me enough to change it!
o As a result, the Rivendell sequence now only has 1 night, instead of 2.
o Day arrival -> Dinner -> Night Moon Runes -> Night Eavesdropping -> Galadriel -> Bilbo explores Rivendell the following morning -> Departure
o Used the 2nd half of the walking Montage that originally shows up here
o As mentioned above, I used the 1st half in Episode 1 to transition from the troll hoard to Rivendell like M4 did
o My version differs from M4’s slightly here by including the Gandalf/Galadriel conversation
o Removed a line where Gandalf mentions Saruman when he’s talking to Galadriel. While most of us know who he is, Saruman doesn’t appear in this edit, and so it implied that he was referring to a conversation with someone that happened off-screen. Is that a problem? Eh, maybe not. But I cut it anyway.
o Used Maple's version of removing the (Rock & Stone) Storm Giants, which includes Bilbo slipping and falling and needing rescuing, rather than ALMOST falling
o Toned down Thorin raging at Bilbo for said fall, just a little (TM2YC)
o No Goblin King song (kept the very short version that appears a bit later in the Theatrical)
o Bilbo does not witness Gollum dropping the Ring out of his pocket; he finds it like he did in the book. The rest of the Gollum sequence is 100% intact
o I tried using a couple different versions of the Golbin Tunnels escape/battle, but most of the fighting in these scenes is just too silly and CGI heavy for me, so I went with L8wrtr's version:
o Gandalf shows up, chase begins, cut to Bilbo and Gollum which then concludes with Gollum hiding from the party as they run by, Bilbo escapes and joins them.
o There’s some fighting initially when Gandalf shows up, but everything after that has been excised
o Removed Gandalf noticing Bilbo put the ring in his pocket (M4)
o Added back his "Awwww" expression towards Bilbo once Bilbo gives his wholesome speech (I accidentally cut this in an old version)
o Hal9000
o The Eagles rescue occurs with a few Orcs, but no Azog. I then used M4 and eric1894's version of the carrock scene; Thorin's scars have been digitally removed, and the scene occurs without the complicated Thorin/Bilbo bonding scene.
o Episode ends with the company gazing out at the Lonely Mountain
o I have an alternate version that keeps the original ending of this episode that DonKamillo did. Bilbo says “I think the worst is behind us” and it cuts to just before Bilbo sees Beorn.
o This version also exists in my Single-Film Version and is the only real change going from the Miniseries to the Single-Film
o I always liked this transition, but it was a complaint from viewers, more often than not, and I DO see why people don’t like it. So I decided to cut it from my main version.
o Replaced the slowed shot I used of Bilbo in this alternate ending with a cropped and zoomed version of the same shot for removing the caption. Wraith and I discussed this a while back and I thought it looked weird, but when I saw TM2YC's edit and barely noticed, I realized it was the way to go!
Episode 3 - A Warm Welcome
o Episode now begins Post-Bree-Prologue
o Bilbo pops his head up over the rock to gaze down at the Wargs (caption removed)
o He then sees Beorn
o Desolation of Smaug title removed
o This is now the “Main” version of this episode’s beginning. The “Alternate” Version begins right after this, with Bilbo running down to warn the company about what he just saw (at the end of Episode 2, in the Alternate’s case)
o Cut one of the dwarves (Thorin?) saying “and be run down by a pack of orcs?”
o There are Orcs in the distant mountain shots, and I don’t feel that that’s so much a plot hole (or at least, a big enough one for me to care about) as it is just part of the world of Middle-Earth; Wargs and Orcs hang out. However, I cut the line originally because the attack was from “just” Wargs (I just adjust it a bit here)
o Used M4's transitions for the party arriving at Beorn's house and Gandalf's departure outside Mirkwood
o Beorn's intro from the extended edition is here because I loved it in the book and they kept it pretty close to verbatim
o Removed any mention of Azog
o Sauron's eye at Mirkwood moved a bit so it’s not tied to the Ring
o Entering Mirkwood up to the Spider attack is untouched.
o Some spider-battle antics cut
o Bilbo doesn’t lose the Ring, nor kill the baby spider
o Kept "That's my wee lad: Gimli" because I love it and you can’t stop me…
o Reversed shot of Bilbo peeking around the corner inside Thranduil's house (M4)
o The Legolas/Tauriel/Kili love story has been completely excised
o Thranduil DOES do his weird melty-face bit because he lays down some foreshadowing about Thorin being "just like [your grandfather]"
o No changes here, just information
o Legolas and Tauriel’s only real roles are capturing the dwarves in Mirkwood, shooting some Orcs during the barrel sequence and then, and warning Gandalf about Bolg's army later in Episode 5
o The Barrel Chase scene remains, with Bolg, but has been trimmed heavily in my own modified version of Maple Films's version
o The Company arriving in Lake Town is a modified version of DonKamillo's, with a sprinkling of M4
o There’s no Anti-Bard conspiracy
o Sorry Stephen Colbert
o Episode 4 - Fire and Water
o The dwarves don’t stay behind with Bard and his family; Maple Films handled this beautifully, and I replicated it (including his digitally edited shot(s) of all the dwarves walking to the mountain)
o I previously mimicked L8wrtr's version of the dwarves not giving up when they couldn't find the keyhole, then I tried Maple's, ended up with M4's.
o Remove Sauron's eye when Bilbo takes off the ring (Smaug encounter). Now, the only time Sauron's eye shows up in my edit is right before Gandalf leaves Mirkwood. This was done at Wraith's recommendation to disassociate the Ring from feeling so "LotR-Prequel"y, and place that foreshadowing on Gandalf's shoulders, so it can be fleshed out in Episode 4.5
o Created new sequence during the Smaug encounter (modeled off of Maple Films) to make a better transition
o The dwarves do not enter the mountain until after Smaug has been defeated
o No Golden Smaug – I used L8wrtr’s version of Smaug’s exit and applied M4's (Formerly Maple's) color correction to Smaug
o The lead-up to Smaug decimating Lake Town is of my own design, and I'm very proud of it!
o Cropped the shot of Bard pulling back on his stupid makeshift bow to make it look more like he’s pulling back on a regular bow, rather than one that breaks the laws of physics.
o I always knew this shot was a continuity error if you realized what you were looking at, but I never knew how to deal with it.
o Thanks JPePe for the suggestion!
o Used M4’s digital removal of Bain from the clocktower
o Bard then uses a regular arrow in a modified version of L8wrtr’s Smaug fight which makes perfect sense to me because:
o (Already stated above) I always felt that having the Black Arrow be the only thing that could pierce the dragon's hide was fine, but then having that also be the "only" thing that could kill him once the armor was already broken was.... Overkill?
o Used a combination of M4/Maple Films's version of the post-Smaug lake town carnage/recovery efforts
o Tweaked this further to remove Alfrid entirely (we assume he died with the Master) and mention of the Black Arrow, whilst keeping the scene of Bard giving his rallying speech to the people of Laketown (.......We find shelter etc)
o You don’t see Bilbo hand over the Arkenstone, nor do you see Gandalf return and consult with Thranduil and Bard about the incoming orc assault. Episode 4 ends with Bilbo leaving the company on the wall at night, and Episode 5 begins in the morning with the elves and men knocking at the gate.
o I did this for three reasons:
1) Gandalf telling Thranduil and Bard that Azog has an army that has "been bred for war" is a line I got sick of hearing, it also diminishes the entire existence of the Uruk-hai in LotR
2) Gandalf's return is now also seen as a surprise, as the viewer sees his return at the same time the dwarves do, which doesn't automatically make it a good thing, but I believe it is in this case. Gandalf has been disappearing and reappearing for like 4 hours (7 originally) straight at this point so it's very in-character
3) Cutting Bilbo's Arkenstone delivery adds a layer of mystery to his departure. Sure, we can all guess why he left, but we don't KNOW why he left, until it is revealed. I am aware that his delivery is a scene that's in the book, but I feel cutting it from my version helped with the pacing and added a little dose of mystery to the film(s).
o Episode 4.5 - The White Council
o This episode contains the entirety of the Dor Guldur subplot, much in the same way that Maple Films has his "Durin's Folk and the Hill of Sorcery" but mine won't include any flashbacks. It strictly follows Radagast and Gandalf as they investigate the High Fells and the Necromancer. It's intended to be watched only if you enjoy the Dor Guldur content and wish it had been left in!
o Some digitally altered shots from TM2YC have been used, as well as how he handled the White Council meeting (Radagast gives Gandalf the Morgul blade in a flashback during the council meeting)
o Using TM2YC's footage here allowed me to keep this episode as a standalone episode that also fits linearly in the timeline of the original 5 episodes, as he digitally removed the Company from the shots of Gandalf and Radagast talking in the woods that originally took place right after the Troll scenes.
o This episode then butts up to episode 5 by showing Gandalf riding to Erebor.
o Episode 5 - There and Back Again
o The large majority of the Battle occurs the way it does in Adam Dens's edit (silliness removed, worms removed, the usual stuff)
o Adam Dens is the only edit I've ever seen that removes the absolutely atrocious elves-leaping-over-the-dwarven-phalanx bit. That scene gives Game of Thrones a run for its money for the Worst Military Strategy I've ever seen (Looking at you Battle of Winterfell) Thank God for Adam. It's gone.
o Azog kills Fili and Bolg kills Kili (Adam Dens)
o Azog is never mentioned by name, (re-used and reversed a shot of Thorin to cover up Bilbo saying "Azog" in one shot)
o A lot of editors trim out Bard leading the humans in battle inside Dale, but Adam chose to leave it and intertwine it with the second phase of the Battle. I kept this because giving Bard an actual story (rescuing his kids, leading the humans) was an excellent choice by the filmmakers to fix Tolkein's Deux Ex Machina of having some random dude named Bard show up and One Shot "the chiefest and greatest calamity of our age" and then be completely inconsequential.
o Thorin still experiences dragon sickness but it is toned down just a tad. In the book it's not some magical illness, things are just going to his head (primarily greed) but I felt that trying to cut out all of the film's version left things feeling magically resolved, so I left it. Plus I absolutely love all of Richard Armitage's acting during this bit. He portrays the sort of Gollum/Smeagol-esque dual personality disorder VERY well. Not everyone is, but I am especially partial to when Thorin spits out a Smaug line word-for-word to Bilbo and he just stares back in disbelief.
o There are some scenes containing “CGI monstrosities” like the catapault-trolls, and I have added back in the war-goat ride up to Ravenhill
o I know not everyone loves the goat sequence, but it gave Balin some much-needed time in the spotlight, which lets me overlook the CGI
o Azog kills Fili
o Bolg kills Kili
o Azog vs Thorin: M4 had a solid version of handling this that removed the entire bit of Azog breaking out of the ice, but it involved cutting out so much of the fight that when we come back to it after seeing the Eagles/Beorn wrecking shop, all of a sudden Thorin is on his back about to die. To circumvent this I rearranged the sequence of events here so that the Eagles/Beorn show up before Thorin and Azog even start their fight, and then the fight plays out until Azog knocks Thorin off his feet with his rock flail, and capitalizes on it. Both of our versions have some slight continuity errors, but those errors pale when compared to Azog's physics-defying jump out of the ice.
o I further modified this sequence so that the Eagles now arrive AFTER Thorin defeats Azog. I didn’t love this idea at first, but JPePe had some sound reasoning, and after some thought, I think it actually makes even more sense than he initially realized!
o To my knowledge, nobody has ever done it this way before, JPePe you’re a wizard
o Thorin now fights and defeats Azog thinking that this is the ONLY way they're going to win the Battle; by cutting the head off the snake. This adds weight to their duel, whereas in the originals (and my edit originally) their duel was overshadowed pretty heavily by the fact that a handful of literal Bird Deities just showed up with gigantic Bear-man to start absolutely wrecking shop. If Thorin had lost this duel, chances are the good guys would have won the battle anyway, and probably would have killed Azog. Delaying the Eagles means that the characters and the audience are both operating under the assumption that Thorin's life isn't the only thing at stake here; He has to win this, or the good guys are hosed!
o By extension, the impact that the Eagles and Beorn have on the battle is now reduced (Azog is dead, it has been implied that this will cause the army to fall apart) and makes them more of a Clean-up Crew, rather than Tolkein's signature Deus Ex Machina (A complaint I hear, and agree with, quite often!)
o This was surprisingly a super easy change (I basically just cut and pasted), but I think it actually has a pretty substantial impact on how the final act plays out. Thanks again JPepe for all of your suggestions, and for finding all my other goofs, too!
o Used Maple's/M4's digital removal of Radagast riding an Eagle
o Funeral has Gandalf's deleted scene speech reinserted (M4)
o Removed Gandalf acknowledging that Bilbo possesses a Ring (M4)
o I kept the full BoFA credits because although there are a few characters (like Radagast) who don't show up in this edit, I don't intend to diminish the time and effort they put into making the original films by excising them from the credits!
o Added shoutouts to everyone who was a part of this project!
This is a short list of common/major scene removals:
Musical Numbers (Misty Mountains stays, of course)
Most things that defy the laws of physics (stone giants, certain barrel stunts, etc)
Prologues/Flashbacks (The Black Arrow Flashback remains)
Dor Guldur/High Fells/Radagast/White Council
White Orc Plot (90% deleted, he is the nameless leader of the army at the end, like Gothmog in Return of the King)
No orcs during the Eagles rescue
Legolas/Tauriel/Kili – Romance removed, Gundabad subplot removed, Legolas and Tauriel only appear in a few scenes, including showing up at the battle at the end (Tauriel doesn’t do anything)
Battle of Five Armies +Thorin vs Azog – Both heavily restructured
Detailed Changelog
Episode 1 - An Unexpected Journey
o This episode retains 99% of its structure from the Anti-Cringe Cut (No Prologue, No Azog, No Radagast) except for a few small things:
o Cut Gandalf scaring Bilbo by looking through the window, and added back the scene of Bilbo going to the market
(Both modeled after M4’s cuts)
o Cut the “have a feel of me tubers, nice and firm they are” line from the end of the scene where Bilbo is in the market in the shire because…yeah.
o Removed the line “You must be Mister Boggins!” so that the sequence goes “Fili, Kili *bow* at your service.” “NOPE you can’t come in you’ve come to the wrong house” (TM2YC)
o Cut Blunt the Knives (TM2YC)
o I have re-added Blunt the Knives in an Alternate version of this Episode, for those who miss the song (honestly, I did too!)
o Minor, yet significant change of: swapping Thorin’s 2 reactions to Gandalf saying “to look ahead/looking behind” and then “He had the nous to play for time. None of the rest of you thought of that!”
o Thorin now smiles after Gandalf talks-up Bilbo (TM2YC)
o Since Thorin and Bilbo no longer have their big moment at the end of the Eagle rescue, I figured it was important to include some of these moments that TM2YC implemented in an effort to both diminish Thorin’s over-the-top hatred of Bilbo, and to make their friendship grow more organically. It’s the little things that count here!
o Took the first half of the Post-Rivendell-Walking-Montage and placed it here to better transition the company from the troll caves into Rivendell. The second half occurs where it does originally (M4)
Episode 2 - Riddles in the Dark
o This is where things start changing quite a bit from Anti-Cringe, starting with a few small continuity errors
o Gandalf mentioning the orc/sled chase sequence that had been excised; once when Elrond arrives, once at dinner, and then once at the start of Episode 3
o Cut Bofur singing and dancing on the dais they used for the One Ring in the Fellowship (Love the joke, don't mind the song, but too goofy)
o I always loved how Anti-Cringe moved the scene "My lord Elrond, the dwarves.... They're gone." to come right after Galadriel shows up. I thought it was genius. However, someone pointed out to me that we see Thorin and Bilbo dropping eves on that conversation like 30 seconds prior to that announcement, so it was a continuity error that was perhaps pretty minor, but one that bugged me enough to change it!
o As a result, the Rivendell sequence now only has 1 night, instead of 2.
o Day arrival -> Dinner -> Night Moon Runes -> Night Eavesdropping -> Galadriel -> Bilbo explores Rivendell the following morning -> Departure
o Used the 2nd half of the walking Montage that originally shows up here
o As mentioned above, I used the 1st half in Episode 1 to transition from the troll hoard to Rivendell like M4 did
o My version differs from M4’s slightly here by including the Gandalf/Galadriel conversation
o Removed a line where Gandalf mentions Saruman when he’s talking to Galadriel. While most of us know who he is, Saruman doesn’t appear in this edit, and so it implied that he was referring to a conversation with someone that happened off-screen. Is that a problem? Eh, maybe not. But I cut it anyway.
o Used Maple's version of removing the (Rock & Stone) Storm Giants, which includes Bilbo slipping and falling and needing rescuing, rather than ALMOST falling
o Toned down Thorin raging at Bilbo for said fall, just a little (TM2YC)
o No Goblin King song (kept the very short version that appears a bit later in the Theatrical)
o Bilbo does not witness Gollum dropping the Ring out of his pocket; he finds it like he did in the book. The rest of the Gollum sequence is 100% intact
o I tried using a couple different versions of the Golbin Tunnels escape/battle, but most of the fighting in these scenes is just too silly and CGI heavy for me, so I went with L8wrtr's version:
o Gandalf shows up, chase begins, cut to Bilbo and Gollum which then concludes with Gollum hiding from the party as they run by, Bilbo escapes and joins them.
o There’s some fighting initially when Gandalf shows up, but everything after that has been excised
o Removed Gandalf noticing Bilbo put the ring in his pocket (M4)
o Added back his "Awwww" expression towards Bilbo once Bilbo gives his wholesome speech (I accidentally cut this in an old version)
o Hal9000
o The Eagles rescue occurs with a few Orcs, but no Azog. I then used M4 and eric1894's version of the carrock scene; Thorin's scars have been digitally removed, and the scene occurs without the complicated Thorin/Bilbo bonding scene.
o Episode ends with the company gazing out at the Lonely Mountain
o I have an alternate version that keeps the original ending of this episode that DonKamillo did. Bilbo says “I think the worst is behind us” and it cuts to just before Bilbo sees Beorn.
o This version also exists in my Single-Film Version and is the only real change going from the Miniseries to the Single-Film
o I always liked this transition, but it was a complaint from viewers, more often than not, and I DO see why people don’t like it. So I decided to cut it from my main version.
o Replaced the slowed shot I used of Bilbo in this alternate ending with a cropped and zoomed version of the same shot for removing the caption. Wraith and I discussed this a while back and I thought it looked weird, but when I saw TM2YC's edit and barely noticed, I realized it was the way to go!
Episode 3 - A Warm Welcome
o Episode now begins Post-Bree-Prologue
o Bilbo pops his head up over the rock to gaze down at the Wargs (caption removed)
o He then sees Beorn
o Desolation of Smaug title removed
o This is now the “Main” version of this episode’s beginning. The “Alternate” Version begins right after this, with Bilbo running down to warn the company about what he just saw (at the end of Episode 2, in the Alternate’s case)
o Cut one of the dwarves (Thorin?) saying “and be run down by a pack of orcs?”
o There are Orcs in the distant mountain shots, and I don’t feel that that’s so much a plot hole (or at least, a big enough one for me to care about) as it is just part of the world of Middle-Earth; Wargs and Orcs hang out. However, I cut the line originally because the attack was from “just” Wargs (I just adjust it a bit here)
o Used M4's transitions for the party arriving at Beorn's house and Gandalf's departure outside Mirkwood
o Beorn's intro from the extended edition is here because I loved it in the book and they kept it pretty close to verbatim
o Removed any mention of Azog
o Sauron's eye at Mirkwood moved a bit so it’s not tied to the Ring
o Entering Mirkwood up to the Spider attack is untouched.
o Some spider-battle antics cut
o Bilbo doesn’t lose the Ring, nor kill the baby spider
o Kept "That's my wee lad: Gimli" because I love it and you can’t stop me…
o Reversed shot of Bilbo peeking around the corner inside Thranduil's house (M4)
o The Legolas/Tauriel/Kili love story has been completely excised
o Thranduil DOES do his weird melty-face bit because he lays down some foreshadowing about Thorin being "just like [your grandfather]"
o No changes here, just information
o Legolas and Tauriel’s only real roles are capturing the dwarves in Mirkwood, shooting some Orcs during the barrel sequence and then, and warning Gandalf about Bolg's army later in Episode 5
o The Barrel Chase scene remains, with Bolg, but has been trimmed heavily in my own modified version of Maple Films's version
o The Company arriving in Lake Town is a modified version of DonKamillo's, with a sprinkling of M4
o There’s no Anti-Bard conspiracy
o Sorry Stephen Colbert
o Episode 4 - Fire and Water
o The dwarves don’t stay behind with Bard and his family; Maple Films handled this beautifully, and I replicated it (including his digitally edited shot(s) of all the dwarves walking to the mountain)
o I previously mimicked L8wrtr's version of the dwarves not giving up when they couldn't find the keyhole, then I tried Maple's, ended up with M4's.
o Remove Sauron's eye when Bilbo takes off the ring (Smaug encounter). Now, the only time Sauron's eye shows up in my edit is right before Gandalf leaves Mirkwood. This was done at Wraith's recommendation to disassociate the Ring from feeling so "LotR-Prequel"y, and place that foreshadowing on Gandalf's shoulders, so it can be fleshed out in Episode 4.5
o Created new sequence during the Smaug encounter (modeled off of Maple Films) to make a better transition
o The dwarves do not enter the mountain until after Smaug has been defeated
o No Golden Smaug – I used L8wrtr’s version of Smaug’s exit and applied M4's (Formerly Maple's) color correction to Smaug
o The lead-up to Smaug decimating Lake Town is of my own design, and I'm very proud of it!
o Cropped the shot of Bard pulling back on his stupid makeshift bow to make it look more like he’s pulling back on a regular bow, rather than one that breaks the laws of physics.
o I always knew this shot was a continuity error if you realized what you were looking at, but I never knew how to deal with it.
o Thanks JPePe for the suggestion!
o Used M4’s digital removal of Bain from the clocktower
o Bard then uses a regular arrow in a modified version of L8wrtr’s Smaug fight which makes perfect sense to me because:
o (Already stated above) I always felt that having the Black Arrow be the only thing that could pierce the dragon's hide was fine, but then having that also be the "only" thing that could kill him once the armor was already broken was.... Overkill?
o Used a combination of M4/Maple Films's version of the post-Smaug lake town carnage/recovery efforts
o Tweaked this further to remove Alfrid entirely (we assume he died with the Master) and mention of the Black Arrow, whilst keeping the scene of Bard giving his rallying speech to the people of Laketown (.......We find shelter etc)
o You don’t see Bilbo hand over the Arkenstone, nor do you see Gandalf return and consult with Thranduil and Bard about the incoming orc assault. Episode 4 ends with Bilbo leaving the company on the wall at night, and Episode 5 begins in the morning with the elves and men knocking at the gate.
o I did this for three reasons:
1) Gandalf telling Thranduil and Bard that Azog has an army that has "been bred for war" is a line I got sick of hearing, it also diminishes the entire existence of the Uruk-hai in LotR
2) Gandalf's return is now also seen as a surprise, as the viewer sees his return at the same time the dwarves do, which doesn't automatically make it a good thing, but I believe it is in this case. Gandalf has been disappearing and reappearing for like 4 hours (7 originally) straight at this point so it's very in-character
3) Cutting Bilbo's Arkenstone delivery adds a layer of mystery to his departure. Sure, we can all guess why he left, but we don't KNOW why he left, until it is revealed. I am aware that his delivery is a scene that's in the book, but I feel cutting it from my version helped with the pacing and added a little dose of mystery to the film(s).
o Episode 4.5 - The White Council
o This episode contains the entirety of the Dor Guldur subplot, much in the same way that Maple Films has his "Durin's Folk and the Hill of Sorcery" but mine won't include any flashbacks. It strictly follows Radagast and Gandalf as they investigate the High Fells and the Necromancer. It's intended to be watched only if you enjoy the Dor Guldur content and wish it had been left in!
o Some digitally altered shots from TM2YC have been used, as well as how he handled the White Council meeting (Radagast gives Gandalf the Morgul blade in a flashback during the council meeting)
o Using TM2YC's footage here allowed me to keep this episode as a standalone episode that also fits linearly in the timeline of the original 5 episodes, as he digitally removed the Company from the shots of Gandalf and Radagast talking in the woods that originally took place right after the Troll scenes.
o This episode then butts up to episode 5 by showing Gandalf riding to Erebor.
o Episode 5 - There and Back Again
o The large majority of the Battle occurs the way it does in Adam Dens's edit (silliness removed, worms removed, the usual stuff)
o Adam Dens is the only edit I've ever seen that removes the absolutely atrocious elves-leaping-over-the-dwarven-phalanx bit. That scene gives Game of Thrones a run for its money for the Worst Military Strategy I've ever seen (Looking at you Battle of Winterfell) Thank God for Adam. It's gone.
o Azog kills Fili and Bolg kills Kili (Adam Dens)
o Azog is never mentioned by name, (re-used and reversed a shot of Thorin to cover up Bilbo saying "Azog" in one shot)
o A lot of editors trim out Bard leading the humans in battle inside Dale, but Adam chose to leave it and intertwine it with the second phase of the Battle. I kept this because giving Bard an actual story (rescuing his kids, leading the humans) was an excellent choice by the filmmakers to fix Tolkein's Deux Ex Machina of having some random dude named Bard show up and One Shot "the chiefest and greatest calamity of our age" and then be completely inconsequential.
o Thorin still experiences dragon sickness but it is toned down just a tad. In the book it's not some magical illness, things are just going to his head (primarily greed) but I felt that trying to cut out all of the film's version left things feeling magically resolved, so I left it. Plus I absolutely love all of Richard Armitage's acting during this bit. He portrays the sort of Gollum/Smeagol-esque dual personality disorder VERY well. Not everyone is, but I am especially partial to when Thorin spits out a Smaug line word-for-word to Bilbo and he just stares back in disbelief.
o There are some scenes containing “CGI monstrosities” like the catapault-trolls, and I have added back in the war-goat ride up to Ravenhill
o I know not everyone loves the goat sequence, but it gave Balin some much-needed time in the spotlight, which lets me overlook the CGI
o Azog kills Fili
o Bolg kills Kili
o Azog vs Thorin: M4 had a solid version of handling this that removed the entire bit of Azog breaking out of the ice, but it involved cutting out so much of the fight that when we come back to it after seeing the Eagles/Beorn wrecking shop, all of a sudden Thorin is on his back about to die. To circumvent this I rearranged the sequence of events here so that the Eagles/Beorn show up before Thorin and Azog even start their fight, and then the fight plays out until Azog knocks Thorin off his feet with his rock flail, and capitalizes on it. Both of our versions have some slight continuity errors, but those errors pale when compared to Azog's physics-defying jump out of the ice.
o I further modified this sequence so that the Eagles now arrive AFTER Thorin defeats Azog. I didn’t love this idea at first, but JPePe had some sound reasoning, and after some thought, I think it actually makes even more sense than he initially realized!
o To my knowledge, nobody has ever done it this way before, JPePe you’re a wizard
o Thorin now fights and defeats Azog thinking that this is the ONLY way they're going to win the Battle; by cutting the head off the snake. This adds weight to their duel, whereas in the originals (and my edit originally) their duel was overshadowed pretty heavily by the fact that a handful of literal Bird Deities just showed up with gigantic Bear-man to start absolutely wrecking shop. If Thorin had lost this duel, chances are the good guys would have won the battle anyway, and probably would have killed Azog. Delaying the Eagles means that the characters and the audience are both operating under the assumption that Thorin's life isn't the only thing at stake here; He has to win this, or the good guys are hosed!
o By extension, the impact that the Eagles and Beorn have on the battle is now reduced (Azog is dead, it has been implied that this will cause the army to fall apart) and makes them more of a Clean-up Crew, rather than Tolkein's signature Deus Ex Machina (A complaint I hear, and agree with, quite often!)
o This was surprisingly a super easy change (I basically just cut and pasted), but I think it actually has a pretty substantial impact on how the final act plays out. Thanks again JPepe for all of your suggestions, and for finding all my other goofs, too!
o Used Maple's/M4's digital removal of Radagast riding an Eagle
o Funeral has Gandalf's deleted scene speech reinserted (M4)
o Removed Gandalf acknowledging that Bilbo possesses a Ring (M4)
o I kept the full BoFA credits because although there are a few characters (like Radagast) who don't show up in this edit, I don't intend to diminish the time and effort they put into making the original films by excising them from the credits!
o Added shoutouts to everyone who was a part of this project!
New Trailer
Smaug Demo
Thorin vs Azog Demo
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
2012/2013/2014
Original Running Time:
533 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
290 minutes
Time Cut:
242 minutes
Subtitles Available:
Available in HD:
Additional Links:
Awards:
Synopsis:
Five Episodes. Five Hours. Five Edits.
The Hobbit is changed.
I see it in the Films.
I read it on the Forums.
I tell it, on the web.
Much that once was, is cut. And none now live, who remember it.
It began with the forging of the Great Edits.
Three films were given to the Nerds; immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings.
Seven years to the Editors. Redesigners, and craftsmen of the Forum Walls.
And Five, Five Edits were gifted to the Academy, who above all else, revise for hours.
For within these edits was bound the length and the skill to govern each film.
But they were all of them deceived, for another edit was made.
In the land of Indoors, in the fires of "My Room," the Dark Lord Stromboli forged in secret, a master edit, to combine all others.
And into this edit he poured his creativity, his talents, and his will to culminate all Five.
One Edit to Rule Them All.
The Hobbit is changed.
I see it in the Films.
I read it on the Forums.
I tell it, on the web.
Much that once was, is cut. And none now live, who remember it.
It began with the forging of the Great Edits.
Three films were given to the Nerds; immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings.
Seven years to the Editors. Redesigners, and craftsmen of the Forum Walls.
And Five, Five Edits were gifted to the Academy, who above all else, revise for hours.
For within these edits was bound the length and the skill to govern each film.
But they were all of them deceived, for another edit was made.
In the land of Indoors, in the fires of "My Room," the Dark Lord Stromboli forged in secret, a master edit, to combine all others.
And into this edit he poured his creativity, his talents, and his will to culminate all Five.
One Edit to Rule Them All.
Intention:
There are quite a few Hobbit edits out there, and each one handles the original films in its own way. However, none of them QUITE scratched the "perfect" edit itch for me. Thus, The Battle of the Five Edits is my attempt at creating something akin to a "Greatest Hits" of Hobbit edits.
I have taken all of the "best" elements and ideas from all those other Hobbit edits and combined them into One; cutting, rearranging and replicating portions of them in any way that I felt added to the enjoyment of The Hobbit as a piece of visual media. I tried my best to do this a way that pays great respect to all those who came before me, while also allowing my own vision to shine through.
I have taken all of the "best" elements and ideas from all those other Hobbit edits and combined them into One; cutting, rearranging and replicating portions of them in any way that I felt added to the enjoyment of The Hobbit as a piece of visual media. I tried my best to do this a way that pays great respect to all those who came before me, while also allowing my own vision to shine through.
Additional Notes:
Extra huge shoutout to DonKamillo, whose edit served as the framework for my own.
Alongside DonKamillo, I’d like to thank Spence, Dustin Lee, L8wrtr, and Adam Dens whose edits were the “Big Five” that I drew tons of inspiration from. Later on, I decided to include some things from Wraith and M4’s edits, and later still, I added a few things from TM2YC and other community feedback! Without these eight other editors, their magnificent work, and this wonderful community, my edit would not exist.
Thank you so much to all of you for your own hard work, your invaluable feedback, and your guidance as I crafted what I consider to be a Tribute to the brilliance you have each poured into your own projects.
Other Sources:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Official Soundtrack
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Official Soundtrack
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Official Soundtrack
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Hobbit: 'Song Of Durin' by Eurielle - (Lyrics by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Princess Mononoke (tiny sound clip)
CinePacks Fire and Water FX
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Official Soundtrack
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Official Soundtrack
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Hobbit: 'Song Of Durin' by Eurielle - (Lyrics by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Princess Mononoke (tiny sound clip)
CinePacks Fire and Water FX
Special Thanks:
Most importantly, I want to thank my wife, whom I married on Frodo on Bilbo's birthday! Without her this project would not exist, nor would I have had the opportunity to show it off at my local movie theater to almost 30 of my closest friends!
I would also like to thank Jasper Rex for the awesome artwork he did, Wraith for taking the time to watch (over and over) and review my edit, and Artisdead for doing everything in his power to see my project come to light, and flourish!
I would also like to thank Jasper Rex for the awesome artwork he did, Wraith for taking the time to watch (over and over) and review my edit, and Artisdead for doing everything in his power to see my project come to light, and flourish!
Release Information:
Digital
Editing Details:
April, 2022 Update - Since I initially finished this project in November, 2021, I have rebuilt the entire edit from scratch in order to improve the overall quality (including subtitles). I also implemented several changes that were suggested by members of the community, friends, and other viewers alike!
This edit has an episodic structure, consisting of 5 Volumes/Episodes, complete with a custom title-card, and simple “To Be Continued” outro. The total runtime is 4:51:34 (291 minutes and 34 seconds) with episode runtimes of:
An Unexpected Journey - 53:29
Riddles in the Dark - 52:42
A Warm Welcome - 1:01:05
Fire and Water - 52:35
There and Back Again – 1:11:43 (58:25 + 13:18 end-credits)
"Bonus" Episode - The White Council - 36:15
DonKamillo's: The Anti-Cringe Cut provided the scaffolding for my edit. I have changed many things about it, but his edit has the largest inclusion of them all in my edit. The first and foremost being the episodic structure, as well as the names for each episode.
This is not a "book" cut. There are some elements from the books that I have excised, and there are some elements unique to the films that I have chosen to retain. This project came from my goal to create the best possible version of these films, without any constraints outside of quality.
This edit has an episodic structure, consisting of 5 Volumes/Episodes, complete with a custom title-card, and simple “To Be Continued” outro. The total runtime is 4:51:34 (291 minutes and 34 seconds) with episode runtimes of:
An Unexpected Journey - 53:29
Riddles in the Dark - 52:42
A Warm Welcome - 1:01:05
Fire and Water - 52:35
There and Back Again – 1:11:43 (58:25 + 13:18 end-credits)
"Bonus" Episode - The White Council - 36:15
DonKamillo's: The Anti-Cringe Cut provided the scaffolding for my edit. I have changed many things about it, but his edit has the largest inclusion of them all in my edit. The first and foremost being the episodic structure, as well as the names for each episode.
This is not a "book" cut. There are some elements from the books that I have excised, and there are some elements unique to the films that I have chosen to retain. This project came from my goal to create the best possible version of these films, without any constraints outside of quality.
Cuts and Additions:
A more detailed Episode-by-Episode changelog is listed further below!
This is a short list of common/major scene removals:
Musical Numbers (Misty Mountains stays, of course)
Most things that defy the laws of physics (stone giants, certain barrel stunts, etc)
Prologues/Flashbacks (The Black Arrow Flashback remains)
Dor Guldur/High Fells/Radagast/White Council
White Orc Plot (90% deleted, he is the nameless leader of the army at the end, like Gothmog in Return of the King)
No orcs during the Eagles rescue
Legolas/Tauriel/Kili – Romance removed, Gundabad subplot removed, Legolas and Tauriel only appear in a few scenes, including showing up at the battle at the end (Tauriel doesn’t do anything)
Battle of Five Armies +Thorin vs Azog – Both heavily restructured
Detailed Changelog
Episode 1 - An Unexpected Journey
o This episode retains 99% of its structure from the Anti-Cringe Cut (No Prologue, No Azog, No Radagast) except for a few small things:
o Cut Gandalf scaring Bilbo by looking through the window, and added back the scene of Bilbo going to the market
(Both modeled after M4’s cuts)
o Cut the “have a feel of me tubers, nice and firm they are” line from the end of the scene where Bilbo is in the market in the shire because…yeah.
o Removed the line “You must be Mister Boggins!” so that the sequence goes “Fili, Kili *bow* at your service.” “NOPE you can’t come in you’ve come to the wrong house” (TM2YC)
o Cut Blunt the Knives (TM2YC)
o I have re-added Blunt the Knives in an Alternate version of this Episode, for those who miss the song (honestly, I did too!)
o Minor, yet significant change of: swapping Thorin’s 2 reactions to Gandalf saying “to look ahead/looking behind” and then “He had the nous to play for time. None of the rest of you thought of that!”
o Thorin now smiles after Gandalf talks-up Bilbo (TM2YC)
o Since Thorin and Bilbo no longer have their big moment at the end of the Eagle rescue, I figured it was important to include some of these moments that TM2YC implemented in an effort to both diminish Thorin’s over-the-top hatred of Bilbo, and to make their friendship grow more organically. It’s the little things that count here!
o Took the first half of the Post-Rivendell-Walking-Montage and placed it here to better transition the company from the troll caves into Rivendell. The second half occurs where it does originally (M4)
Episode 2 - Riddles in the Dark
o This is where things start changing quite a bit from Anti-Cringe, starting with a few small continuity errors
o Gandalf mentioning the orc/sled chase sequence that had been excised; once when Elrond arrives, once at dinner, and then once at the start of Episode 3
o Cut Bofur singing and dancing on the dais they used for the One Ring in the Fellowship (Love the joke, don't mind the song, but too goofy)
o I always loved how Anti-Cringe moved the scene "My lord Elrond, the dwarves.... They're gone." to come right after Galadriel shows up. I thought it was genius. However, someone pointed out to me that we see Thorin and Bilbo dropping eves on that conversation like 30 seconds prior to that announcement, so it was a continuity error that was perhaps pretty minor, but one that bugged me enough to change it!
o As a result, the Rivendell sequence now only has 1 night, instead of 2.
o Day arrival -> Dinner -> Night Moon Runes -> Night Eavesdropping -> Galadriel -> Bilbo explores Rivendell the following morning -> Departure
o Used the 2nd half of the walking Montage that originally shows up here
o As mentioned above, I used the 1st half in Episode 1 to transition from the troll hoard to Rivendell like M4 did
o My version differs from M4’s slightly here by including the Gandalf/Galadriel conversation
o Removed a line where Gandalf mentions Saruman when he’s talking to Galadriel. While most of us know who he is, Saruman doesn’t appear in this edit, and so it implied that he was referring to a conversation with someone that happened off-screen. Is that a problem? Eh, maybe not. But I cut it anyway.
o Used Maple's version of removing the (Rock & Stone) Storm Giants, which includes Bilbo slipping and falling and needing rescuing, rather than ALMOST falling
o Toned down Thorin raging at Bilbo for said fall, just a little (TM2YC)
o No Goblin King song (kept the very short version that appears a bit later in the Theatrical)
o Bilbo does not witness Gollum dropping the Ring out of his pocket; he finds it like he did in the book. The rest of the Gollum sequence is 100% intact
o I tried using a couple different versions of the Golbin Tunnels escape/battle, but most of the fighting in these scenes is just too silly and CGI heavy for me, so I went with L8wrtr's version:
o Gandalf shows up, chase begins, cut to Bilbo and Gollum which then concludes with Gollum hiding from the party as they run by, Bilbo escapes and joins them.
o There’s some fighting initially when Gandalf shows up, but everything after that has been excised
o Removed Gandalf noticing Bilbo put the ring in his pocket (M4)
o Added back his "Awwww" expression towards Bilbo once Bilbo gives his wholesome speech (I accidentally cut this in an old version)
o Hal9000
o The Eagles rescue occurs with a few Orcs, but no Azog. I then used M4 and eric1894's version of the carrock scene; Thorin's scars have been digitally removed, and the scene occurs without the complicated Thorin/Bilbo bonding scene.
o Episode ends with the company gazing out at the Lonely Mountain
o I have an alternate version that keeps the original ending of this episode that DonKamillo did. Bilbo says “I think the worst is behind us” and it cuts to just before Bilbo sees Beorn.
o This version also exists in my Single-Film Version and is the only real change going from the Miniseries to the Single-Film
o I always liked this transition, but it was a complaint from viewers, more often than not, and I DO see why people don’t like it. So I decided to cut it from my main version.
o Replaced the slowed shot I used of Bilbo in this alternate ending with a cropped and zoomed version of the same shot for removing the caption. Wraith and I discussed this a while back and I thought it looked weird, but when I saw TM2YC's edit and barely noticed, I realized it was the way to go!
Episode 3 - A Warm Welcome
o Episode now begins Post-Bree-Prologue
o Bilbo pops his head up over the rock to gaze down at the Wargs (caption removed)
o He then sees Beorn
o Desolation of Smaug title removed
o This is now the “Main” version of this episode’s beginning. The “Alternate” Version begins right after this, with Bilbo running down to warn the company about what he just saw (at the end of Episode 2, in the Alternate’s case)
o Cut one of the dwarves (Thorin?) saying “and be run down by a pack of orcs?”
o There are Orcs in the distant mountain shots, and I don’t feel that that’s so much a plot hole (or at least, a big enough one for me to care about) as it is just part of the world of Middle-Earth; Wargs and Orcs hang out. However, I cut the line originally because the attack was from “just” Wargs (I just adjust it a bit here)
o Used M4's transitions for the party arriving at Beorn's house and Gandalf's departure outside Mirkwood
o Beorn's intro from the extended edition is here because I loved it in the book and they kept it pretty close to verbatim
o Removed any mention of Azog
o Sauron's eye at Mirkwood moved a bit so it’s not tied to the Ring
o Entering Mirkwood up to the Spider attack is untouched.
o Some spider-battle antics cut
o Bilbo doesn’t lose the Ring, nor kill the baby spider
o Kept "That's my wee lad: Gimli" because I love it and you can’t stop me…
o Reversed shot of Bilbo peeking around the corner inside Thranduil's house (M4)
o The Legolas/Tauriel/Kili love story has been completely excised
o Thranduil DOES do his weird melty-face bit because he lays down some foreshadowing about Thorin being "just like [your grandfather]"
o No changes here, just information
o Legolas and Tauriel’s only real roles are capturing the dwarves in Mirkwood, shooting some Orcs during the barrel sequence and then, and warning Gandalf about Bolg's army later in Episode 5
o The Barrel Chase scene remains, with Bolg, but has been trimmed heavily in my own modified version of Maple Films's version
o The Company arriving in Lake Town is a modified version of DonKamillo's, with a sprinkling of M4
o There’s no Anti-Bard conspiracy
o Sorry Stephen Colbert
o Episode 4 - Fire and Water
o The dwarves don’t stay behind with Bard and his family; Maple Films handled this beautifully, and I replicated it (including his digitally edited shot(s) of all the dwarves walking to the mountain)
o I previously mimicked L8wrtr's version of the dwarves not giving up when they couldn't find the keyhole, then I tried Maple's, ended up with M4's.
o Remove Sauron's eye when Bilbo takes off the ring (Smaug encounter). Now, the only time Sauron's eye shows up in my edit is right before Gandalf leaves Mirkwood. This was done at Wraith's recommendation to disassociate the Ring from feeling so "LotR-Prequel"y, and place that foreshadowing on Gandalf's shoulders, so it can be fleshed out in Episode 4.5
o Created new sequence during the Smaug encounter (modeled off of Maple Films) to make a better transition
o The dwarves do not enter the mountain until after Smaug has been defeated
o No Golden Smaug – I used L8wrtr’s version of Smaug’s exit and applied M4's (Formerly Maple's) color correction to Smaug
o The lead-up to Smaug decimating Lake Town is of my own design, and I'm very proud of it!
o Cropped the shot of Bard pulling back on his stupid makeshift bow to make it look more like he’s pulling back on a regular bow, rather than one that breaks the laws of physics.
o I always knew this shot was a continuity error if you realized what you were looking at, but I never knew how to deal with it.
o Thanks JPePe for the suggestion!
o Used M4’s digital removal of Bain from the clocktower
o Bard then uses a regular arrow in a modified version of L8wrtr’s Smaug fight which makes perfect sense to me because:
o (Already stated above) I always felt that having the Black Arrow be the only thing that could pierce the dragon's hide was fine, but then having that also be the "only" thing that could kill him once the armor was already broken was.... Overkill?
o Used a combination of M4/Maple Films's version of the post-Smaug lake town carnage/recovery efforts
o Tweaked this further to remove Alfrid entirely (we assume he died with the Master) and mention of the Black Arrow, whilst keeping the scene of Bard giving his rallying speech to the people of Laketown (.......We find shelter etc)
o You don’t see Bilbo hand over the Arkenstone, nor do you see Gandalf return and consult with Thranduil and Bard about the incoming orc assault. Episode 4 ends with Bilbo leaving the company on the wall at night, and Episode 5 begins in the morning with the elves and men knocking at the gate.
o I did this for three reasons:
1) Gandalf telling Thranduil and Bard that Azog has an army that has "been bred for war" is a line I got sick of hearing, it also diminishes the entire existence of the Uruk-hai in LotR
2) Gandalf's return is now also seen as a surprise, as the viewer sees his return at the same time the dwarves do, which doesn't automatically make it a good thing, but I believe it is in this case. Gandalf has been disappearing and reappearing for like 4 hours (7 originally) straight at this point so it's very in-character
3) Cutting Bilbo's Arkenstone delivery adds a layer of mystery to his departure. Sure, we can all guess why he left, but we don't KNOW why he left, until it is revealed. I am aware that his delivery is a scene that's in the book, but I feel cutting it from my version helped with the pacing and added a little dose of mystery to the film(s).
o Episode 4.5 - The White Council
o This episode contains the entirety of the Dor Guldur subplot, much in the same way that Maple Films has his "Durin's Folk and the Hill of Sorcery" but mine won't include any flashbacks. It strictly follows Radagast and Gandalf as they investigate the High Fells and the Necromancer. It's intended to be watched only if you enjoy the Dor Guldur content and wish it had been left in!
o Some digitally altered shots from TM2YC have been used, as well as how he handled the White Council meeting (Radagast gives Gandalf the Morgul blade in a flashback during the council meeting)
o Using TM2YC's footage here allowed me to keep this episode as a standalone episode that also fits linearly in the timeline of the original 5 episodes, as he digitally removed the Company from the shots of Gandalf and Radagast talking in the woods that originally took place right after the Troll scenes.
o This episode then butts up to episode 5 by showing Gandalf riding to Erebor.
o Episode 5 - There and Back Again
o The large majority of the Battle occurs the way it does in Adam Dens's edit (silliness removed, worms removed, the usual stuff)
o Adam Dens is the only edit I've ever seen that removes the absolutely atrocious elves-leaping-over-the-dwarven-phalanx bit. That scene gives Game of Thrones a run for its money for the Worst Military Strategy I've ever seen (Looking at you Battle of Winterfell) Thank God for Adam. It's gone.
o Azog kills Fili and Bolg kills Kili (Adam Dens)
o Azog is never mentioned by name, (re-used and reversed a shot of Thorin to cover up Bilbo saying "Azog" in one shot)
o A lot of editors trim out Bard leading the humans in battle inside Dale, but Adam chose to leave it and intertwine it with the second phase of the Battle. I kept this because giving Bard an actual story (rescuing his kids, leading the humans) was an excellent choice by the filmmakers to fix Tolkein's Deux Ex Machina of having some random dude named Bard show up and One Shot "the chiefest and greatest calamity of our age" and then be completely inconsequential.
o Thorin still experiences dragon sickness but it is toned down just a tad. In the book it's not some magical illness, things are just going to his head (primarily greed) but I felt that trying to cut out all of the film's version left things feeling magically resolved, so I left it. Plus I absolutely love all of Richard Armitage's acting during this bit. He portrays the sort of Gollum/Smeagol-esque dual personality disorder VERY well. Not everyone is, but I am especially partial to when Thorin spits out a Smaug line word-for-word to Bilbo and he just stares back in disbelief.
o There are some scenes containing “CGI monstrosities” like the catapault-trolls, and I have added back in the war-goat ride up to Ravenhill
o I know not everyone loves the goat sequence, but it gave Balin some much-needed time in the spotlight, which lets me overlook the CGI
o Azog kills Fili
o Bolg kills Kili
o Azog vs Thorin: M4 had a solid version of handling this that removed the entire bit of Azog breaking out of the ice, but it involved cutting out so much of the fight that when we come back to it after seeing the Eagles/Beorn wrecking shop, all of a sudden Thorin is on his back about to die. To circumvent this I rearranged the sequence of events here so that the Eagles/Beorn show up before Thorin and Azog even start their fight, and then the fight plays out until Azog knocks Thorin off his feet with his rock flail, and capitalizes on it. Both of our versions have some slight continuity errors, but those errors pale when compared to Azog's physics-defying jump out of the ice.
o I further modified this sequence so that the Eagles now arrive AFTER Thorin defeats Azog. I didn’t love this idea at first, but JPePe had some sound reasoning, and after some thought, I think it actually makes even more sense than he initially realized!
o To my knowledge, nobody has ever done it this way before, JPePe you’re a wizard
o Thorin now fights and defeats Azog thinking that this is the ONLY way they're going to win the Battle; by cutting the head off the snake. This adds weight to their duel, whereas in the originals (and my edit originally) their duel was overshadowed pretty heavily by the fact that a handful of literal Bird Deities just showed up with gigantic Bear-man to start absolutely wrecking shop. If Thorin had lost this duel, chances are the good guys would have won the battle anyway, and probably would have killed Azog. Delaying the Eagles means that the characters and the audience are both operating under the assumption that Thorin's life isn't the only thing at stake here; He has to win this, or the good guys are hosed!
o By extension, the impact that the Eagles and Beorn have on the battle is now reduced (Azog is dead, it has been implied that this will cause the army to fall apart) and makes them more of a Clean-up Crew, rather than Tolkein's signature Deus Ex Machina (A complaint I hear, and agree with, quite often!)
o This was surprisingly a super easy change (I basically just cut and pasted), but I think it actually has a pretty substantial impact on how the final act plays out. Thanks again JPepe for all of your suggestions, and for finding all my other goofs, too!
o Used Maple's/M4's digital removal of Radagast riding an Eagle
o Funeral has Gandalf's deleted scene speech reinserted (M4)
o Removed Gandalf acknowledging that Bilbo possesses a Ring (M4)
o I kept the full BoFA credits because although there are a few characters (like Radagast) who don't show up in this edit, I don't intend to diminish the time and effort they put into making the original films by excising them from the credits!
o Added shoutouts to everyone who was a part of this project!
This is a short list of common/major scene removals:
Musical Numbers (Misty Mountains stays, of course)
Most things that defy the laws of physics (stone giants, certain barrel stunts, etc)
Prologues/Flashbacks (The Black Arrow Flashback remains)
Dor Guldur/High Fells/Radagast/White Council
White Orc Plot (90% deleted, he is the nameless leader of the army at the end, like Gothmog in Return of the King)
No orcs during the Eagles rescue
Legolas/Tauriel/Kili – Romance removed, Gundabad subplot removed, Legolas and Tauriel only appear in a few scenes, including showing up at the battle at the end (Tauriel doesn’t do anything)
Battle of Five Armies +Thorin vs Azog – Both heavily restructured
Detailed Changelog
Episode 1 - An Unexpected Journey
o This episode retains 99% of its structure from the Anti-Cringe Cut (No Prologue, No Azog, No Radagast) except for a few small things:
o Cut Gandalf scaring Bilbo by looking through the window, and added back the scene of Bilbo going to the market
(Both modeled after M4’s cuts)
o Cut the “have a feel of me tubers, nice and firm they are” line from the end of the scene where Bilbo is in the market in the shire because…yeah.
o Removed the line “You must be Mister Boggins!” so that the sequence goes “Fili, Kili *bow* at your service.” “NOPE you can’t come in you’ve come to the wrong house” (TM2YC)
o Cut Blunt the Knives (TM2YC)
o I have re-added Blunt the Knives in an Alternate version of this Episode, for those who miss the song (honestly, I did too!)
o Minor, yet significant change of: swapping Thorin’s 2 reactions to Gandalf saying “to look ahead/looking behind” and then “He had the nous to play for time. None of the rest of you thought of that!”
o Thorin now smiles after Gandalf talks-up Bilbo (TM2YC)
o Since Thorin and Bilbo no longer have their big moment at the end of the Eagle rescue, I figured it was important to include some of these moments that TM2YC implemented in an effort to both diminish Thorin’s over-the-top hatred of Bilbo, and to make their friendship grow more organically. It’s the little things that count here!
o Took the first half of the Post-Rivendell-Walking-Montage and placed it here to better transition the company from the troll caves into Rivendell. The second half occurs where it does originally (M4)
Episode 2 - Riddles in the Dark
o This is where things start changing quite a bit from Anti-Cringe, starting with a few small continuity errors
o Gandalf mentioning the orc/sled chase sequence that had been excised; once when Elrond arrives, once at dinner, and then once at the start of Episode 3
o Cut Bofur singing and dancing on the dais they used for the One Ring in the Fellowship (Love the joke, don't mind the song, but too goofy)
o I always loved how Anti-Cringe moved the scene "My lord Elrond, the dwarves.... They're gone." to come right after Galadriel shows up. I thought it was genius. However, someone pointed out to me that we see Thorin and Bilbo dropping eves on that conversation like 30 seconds prior to that announcement, so it was a continuity error that was perhaps pretty minor, but one that bugged me enough to change it!
o As a result, the Rivendell sequence now only has 1 night, instead of 2.
o Day arrival -> Dinner -> Night Moon Runes -> Night Eavesdropping -> Galadriel -> Bilbo explores Rivendell the following morning -> Departure
o Used the 2nd half of the walking Montage that originally shows up here
o As mentioned above, I used the 1st half in Episode 1 to transition from the troll hoard to Rivendell like M4 did
o My version differs from M4’s slightly here by including the Gandalf/Galadriel conversation
o Removed a line where Gandalf mentions Saruman when he’s talking to Galadriel. While most of us know who he is, Saruman doesn’t appear in this edit, and so it implied that he was referring to a conversation with someone that happened off-screen. Is that a problem? Eh, maybe not. But I cut it anyway.
o Used Maple's version of removing the (Rock & Stone) Storm Giants, which includes Bilbo slipping and falling and needing rescuing, rather than ALMOST falling
o Toned down Thorin raging at Bilbo for said fall, just a little (TM2YC)
o No Goblin King song (kept the very short version that appears a bit later in the Theatrical)
o Bilbo does not witness Gollum dropping the Ring out of his pocket; he finds it like he did in the book. The rest of the Gollum sequence is 100% intact
o I tried using a couple different versions of the Golbin Tunnels escape/battle, but most of the fighting in these scenes is just too silly and CGI heavy for me, so I went with L8wrtr's version:
o Gandalf shows up, chase begins, cut to Bilbo and Gollum which then concludes with Gollum hiding from the party as they run by, Bilbo escapes and joins them.
o There’s some fighting initially when Gandalf shows up, but everything after that has been excised
o Removed Gandalf noticing Bilbo put the ring in his pocket (M4)
o Added back his "Awwww" expression towards Bilbo once Bilbo gives his wholesome speech (I accidentally cut this in an old version)
o Hal9000
o The Eagles rescue occurs with a few Orcs, but no Azog. I then used M4 and eric1894's version of the carrock scene; Thorin's scars have been digitally removed, and the scene occurs without the complicated Thorin/Bilbo bonding scene.
o Episode ends with the company gazing out at the Lonely Mountain
o I have an alternate version that keeps the original ending of this episode that DonKamillo did. Bilbo says “I think the worst is behind us” and it cuts to just before Bilbo sees Beorn.
o This version also exists in my Single-Film Version and is the only real change going from the Miniseries to the Single-Film
o I always liked this transition, but it was a complaint from viewers, more often than not, and I DO see why people don’t like it. So I decided to cut it from my main version.
o Replaced the slowed shot I used of Bilbo in this alternate ending with a cropped and zoomed version of the same shot for removing the caption. Wraith and I discussed this a while back and I thought it looked weird, but when I saw TM2YC's edit and barely noticed, I realized it was the way to go!
Episode 3 - A Warm Welcome
o Episode now begins Post-Bree-Prologue
o Bilbo pops his head up over the rock to gaze down at the Wargs (caption removed)
o He then sees Beorn
o Desolation of Smaug title removed
o This is now the “Main” version of this episode’s beginning. The “Alternate” Version begins right after this, with Bilbo running down to warn the company about what he just saw (at the end of Episode 2, in the Alternate’s case)
o Cut one of the dwarves (Thorin?) saying “and be run down by a pack of orcs?”
o There are Orcs in the distant mountain shots, and I don’t feel that that’s so much a plot hole (or at least, a big enough one for me to care about) as it is just part of the world of Middle-Earth; Wargs and Orcs hang out. However, I cut the line originally because the attack was from “just” Wargs (I just adjust it a bit here)
o Used M4's transitions for the party arriving at Beorn's house and Gandalf's departure outside Mirkwood
o Beorn's intro from the extended edition is here because I loved it in the book and they kept it pretty close to verbatim
o Removed any mention of Azog
o Sauron's eye at Mirkwood moved a bit so it’s not tied to the Ring
o Entering Mirkwood up to the Spider attack is untouched.
o Some spider-battle antics cut
o Bilbo doesn’t lose the Ring, nor kill the baby spider
o Kept "That's my wee lad: Gimli" because I love it and you can’t stop me…
o Reversed shot of Bilbo peeking around the corner inside Thranduil's house (M4)
o The Legolas/Tauriel/Kili love story has been completely excised
o Thranduil DOES do his weird melty-face bit because he lays down some foreshadowing about Thorin being "just like [your grandfather]"
o No changes here, just information
o Legolas and Tauriel’s only real roles are capturing the dwarves in Mirkwood, shooting some Orcs during the barrel sequence and then, and warning Gandalf about Bolg's army later in Episode 5
o The Barrel Chase scene remains, with Bolg, but has been trimmed heavily in my own modified version of Maple Films's version
o The Company arriving in Lake Town is a modified version of DonKamillo's, with a sprinkling of M4
o There’s no Anti-Bard conspiracy
o Sorry Stephen Colbert
o Episode 4 - Fire and Water
o The dwarves don’t stay behind with Bard and his family; Maple Films handled this beautifully, and I replicated it (including his digitally edited shot(s) of all the dwarves walking to the mountain)
o I previously mimicked L8wrtr's version of the dwarves not giving up when they couldn't find the keyhole, then I tried Maple's, ended up with M4's.
o Remove Sauron's eye when Bilbo takes off the ring (Smaug encounter). Now, the only time Sauron's eye shows up in my edit is right before Gandalf leaves Mirkwood. This was done at Wraith's recommendation to disassociate the Ring from feeling so "LotR-Prequel"y, and place that foreshadowing on Gandalf's shoulders, so it can be fleshed out in Episode 4.5
o Created new sequence during the Smaug encounter (modeled off of Maple Films) to make a better transition
o The dwarves do not enter the mountain until after Smaug has been defeated
o No Golden Smaug – I used L8wrtr’s version of Smaug’s exit and applied M4's (Formerly Maple's) color correction to Smaug
o The lead-up to Smaug decimating Lake Town is of my own design, and I'm very proud of it!
o Cropped the shot of Bard pulling back on his stupid makeshift bow to make it look more like he’s pulling back on a regular bow, rather than one that breaks the laws of physics.
o I always knew this shot was a continuity error if you realized what you were looking at, but I never knew how to deal with it.
o Thanks JPePe for the suggestion!
o Used M4’s digital removal of Bain from the clocktower
o Bard then uses a regular arrow in a modified version of L8wrtr’s Smaug fight which makes perfect sense to me because:
o (Already stated above) I always felt that having the Black Arrow be the only thing that could pierce the dragon's hide was fine, but then having that also be the "only" thing that could kill him once the armor was already broken was.... Overkill?
o Used a combination of M4/Maple Films's version of the post-Smaug lake town carnage/recovery efforts
o Tweaked this further to remove Alfrid entirely (we assume he died with the Master) and mention of the Black Arrow, whilst keeping the scene of Bard giving his rallying speech to the people of Laketown (.......We find shelter etc)
o You don’t see Bilbo hand over the Arkenstone, nor do you see Gandalf return and consult with Thranduil and Bard about the incoming orc assault. Episode 4 ends with Bilbo leaving the company on the wall at night, and Episode 5 begins in the morning with the elves and men knocking at the gate.
o I did this for three reasons:
1) Gandalf telling Thranduil and Bard that Azog has an army that has "been bred for war" is a line I got sick of hearing, it also diminishes the entire existence of the Uruk-hai in LotR
2) Gandalf's return is now also seen as a surprise, as the viewer sees his return at the same time the dwarves do, which doesn't automatically make it a good thing, but I believe it is in this case. Gandalf has been disappearing and reappearing for like 4 hours (7 originally) straight at this point so it's very in-character
3) Cutting Bilbo's Arkenstone delivery adds a layer of mystery to his departure. Sure, we can all guess why he left, but we don't KNOW why he left, until it is revealed. I am aware that his delivery is a scene that's in the book, but I feel cutting it from my version helped with the pacing and added a little dose of mystery to the film(s).
o Episode 4.5 - The White Council
o This episode contains the entirety of the Dor Guldur subplot, much in the same way that Maple Films has his "Durin's Folk and the Hill of Sorcery" but mine won't include any flashbacks. It strictly follows Radagast and Gandalf as they investigate the High Fells and the Necromancer. It's intended to be watched only if you enjoy the Dor Guldur content and wish it had been left in!
o Some digitally altered shots from TM2YC have been used, as well as how he handled the White Council meeting (Radagast gives Gandalf the Morgul blade in a flashback during the council meeting)
o Using TM2YC's footage here allowed me to keep this episode as a standalone episode that also fits linearly in the timeline of the original 5 episodes, as he digitally removed the Company from the shots of Gandalf and Radagast talking in the woods that originally took place right after the Troll scenes.
o This episode then butts up to episode 5 by showing Gandalf riding to Erebor.
o Episode 5 - There and Back Again
o The large majority of the Battle occurs the way it does in Adam Dens's edit (silliness removed, worms removed, the usual stuff)
o Adam Dens is the only edit I've ever seen that removes the absolutely atrocious elves-leaping-over-the-dwarven-phalanx bit. That scene gives Game of Thrones a run for its money for the Worst Military Strategy I've ever seen (Looking at you Battle of Winterfell) Thank God for Adam. It's gone.
o Azog kills Fili and Bolg kills Kili (Adam Dens)
o Azog is never mentioned by name, (re-used and reversed a shot of Thorin to cover up Bilbo saying "Azog" in one shot)
o A lot of editors trim out Bard leading the humans in battle inside Dale, but Adam chose to leave it and intertwine it with the second phase of the Battle. I kept this because giving Bard an actual story (rescuing his kids, leading the humans) was an excellent choice by the filmmakers to fix Tolkein's Deux Ex Machina of having some random dude named Bard show up and One Shot "the chiefest and greatest calamity of our age" and then be completely inconsequential.
o Thorin still experiences dragon sickness but it is toned down just a tad. In the book it's not some magical illness, things are just going to his head (primarily greed) but I felt that trying to cut out all of the film's version left things feeling magically resolved, so I left it. Plus I absolutely love all of Richard Armitage's acting during this bit. He portrays the sort of Gollum/Smeagol-esque dual personality disorder VERY well. Not everyone is, but I am especially partial to when Thorin spits out a Smaug line word-for-word to Bilbo and he just stares back in disbelief.
o There are some scenes containing “CGI monstrosities” like the catapault-trolls, and I have added back in the war-goat ride up to Ravenhill
o I know not everyone loves the goat sequence, but it gave Balin some much-needed time in the spotlight, which lets me overlook the CGI
o Azog kills Fili
o Bolg kills Kili
o Azog vs Thorin: M4 had a solid version of handling this that removed the entire bit of Azog breaking out of the ice, but it involved cutting out so much of the fight that when we come back to it after seeing the Eagles/Beorn wrecking shop, all of a sudden Thorin is on his back about to die. To circumvent this I rearranged the sequence of events here so that the Eagles/Beorn show up before Thorin and Azog even start their fight, and then the fight plays out until Azog knocks Thorin off his feet with his rock flail, and capitalizes on it. Both of our versions have some slight continuity errors, but those errors pale when compared to Azog's physics-defying jump out of the ice.
o I further modified this sequence so that the Eagles now arrive AFTER Thorin defeats Azog. I didn’t love this idea at first, but JPePe had some sound reasoning, and after some thought, I think it actually makes even more sense than he initially realized!
o To my knowledge, nobody has ever done it this way before, JPePe you’re a wizard
o Thorin now fights and defeats Azog thinking that this is the ONLY way they're going to win the Battle; by cutting the head off the snake. This adds weight to their duel, whereas in the originals (and my edit originally) their duel was overshadowed pretty heavily by the fact that a handful of literal Bird Deities just showed up with gigantic Bear-man to start absolutely wrecking shop. If Thorin had lost this duel, chances are the good guys would have won the battle anyway, and probably would have killed Azog. Delaying the Eagles means that the characters and the audience are both operating under the assumption that Thorin's life isn't the only thing at stake here; He has to win this, or the good guys are hosed!
o By extension, the impact that the Eagles and Beorn have on the battle is now reduced (Azog is dead, it has been implied that this will cause the army to fall apart) and makes them more of a Clean-up Crew, rather than Tolkein's signature Deus Ex Machina (A complaint I hear, and agree with, quite often!)
o This was surprisingly a super easy change (I basically just cut and pasted), but I think it actually has a pretty substantial impact on how the final act plays out. Thanks again JPepe for all of your suggestions, and for finding all my other goofs, too!
o Used Maple's/M4's digital removal of Radagast riding an Eagle
o Funeral has Gandalf's deleted scene speech reinserted (M4)
o Removed Gandalf acknowledging that Bilbo possesses a Ring (M4)
o I kept the full BoFA credits because although there are a few characters (like Radagast) who don't show up in this edit, I don't intend to diminish the time and effort they put into making the original films by excising them from the credits!
o Added shoutouts to everyone who was a part of this project!
New Trailer
Smaug Demo
Thorin vs Azog Demo
Trusted Reviewer reviews
4 reviews
Overall rating
9.3
Audio/Video Quality
9.5(4)
Audio Editing
9.8(4)
Visual Editing
9.8(4)
Narrative
8.3(4)
Enjoyment
8.5(4)
Overall rating
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
7.0
Enjoyment
7.0
I will say upfront that I have never truly enjoyed any version of The Hobbit movies, despite seeing theatrical, extended, and multiple fanedits. So for me, a version that makes these films work is a much bigger ask than someone who just doesn't like the LOTR setup bits or hates a few select lines. I have massive problems with
the overall tone management, (https://boxd.it/4CcDTd)
the basic plot adaptation to film, (https://boxd.it/4CdoSr)
and the central performance: (https://boxd.it/4CdYA9)
So, no, this fanedit did not fix these issues for me, and did not turn the films into something I want to rewatch. I think this fanedit takes a very middle-of-the-road approach, combining elements from other edits to come up with a even-handed cut that will appeal to everyone. With nearly 200 reviews here and most of them glowing, clearly it works. Personally though, I think I need a much more severe cut. Maybe an absolutely brutal edit that streamlines these things to a razor and eliminates all goofiness would do it. Or more likely, one that embraces the "kids' bedtime story" approach and eliminates all seriousness and horror and gore. But the middle-of-the-road was one that I couldn't really get behind, as much as a lot of it worked seamlessly. Removals of whole characters and sequences were barely noticed, and the technical aspects of the edit are flawless. There are even subtitles! Much appreciated.
All in all, it seems unfair to bash the edit for not fitting my personal approach. I've sent my quibbles to the editor privately, but for here I'll just say: if you were fairly happy with a lot of The Hobbit and just wanted a less egregious telling of the original story, but with lots of the big blockbuster excitement, this could very well fit the bill. It's sort of Fast, Fantasy, & Furious!
the overall tone management, (https://boxd.it/4CcDTd)
the basic plot adaptation to film, (https://boxd.it/4CdoSr)
and the central performance: (https://boxd.it/4CdYA9)
So, no, this fanedit did not fix these issues for me, and did not turn the films into something I want to rewatch. I think this fanedit takes a very middle-of-the-road approach, combining elements from other edits to come up with a even-handed cut that will appeal to everyone. With nearly 200 reviews here and most of them glowing, clearly it works. Personally though, I think I need a much more severe cut. Maybe an absolutely brutal edit that streamlines these things to a razor and eliminates all goofiness would do it. Or more likely, one that embraces the "kids' bedtime story" approach and eliminates all seriousness and horror and gore. But the middle-of-the-road was one that I couldn't really get behind, as much as a lot of it worked seamlessly. Removals of whole characters and sequences were barely noticed, and the technical aspects of the edit are flawless. There are even subtitles! Much appreciated.
All in all, it seems unfair to bash the edit for not fitting my personal approach. I've sent my quibbles to the editor privately, but for here I'll just say: if you were fairly happy with a lot of The Hobbit and just wanted a less egregious telling of the original story, but with lots of the big blockbuster excitement, this could very well fit the bill. It's sort of Fast, Fantasy, & Furious!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
No
Format Watched
Digital
Overall rating
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
8.0
Enjoyment
8.0
Although the first movie offers the most material to work with (and two of the five episodes are thankfully dedicated to it), I’m still of a mind that there’s too much included here. I can do without the dish song for example. I’m biased as I believe the original movies don’t capture the tone of the Hobbit book but rather they feel more like the tone of a prequel to the LotR movies yet undermine that repeatedly with silliness and inconsistencies. As such, scenes like trolls, goblins, and dragons talking or spontaneously breaking into song while juggling dishes feels out of place in the movie. That said, if you can accept all that, the episodic nature of this edit works very well. Though Gandalf suddenly appearing out of nowhere to save the day near the climax of multiple episodes does stand out. And there’s things that I feel are narratively inconsistent. For example, I may be mistaken, but is there any reason given for the orc army to join the battle at the end? I watched this over two weeks and of course also have the prior knowledge of the movies, but I can’t recall that army being a significant part of the story at all up to this point.
Overall it works better than the movies for me, but it isn’t a home run. It’s somewhere between a LotR prequel and a book edit, though closer to the latter. I want my Hobbit edits to be closer to the former as I believe that is what the source material calls for. Though I admit it would be tough to make it totally consistent with LotR given the talking dragon, etc.
That said, it is clearly what many other Hobbit fans do want and it is flawlessly executed. I now really want a strong LotR prequel style edit that uses the same episodic nature. Though I still think four hours, max, is enough time.
This is a very strong edit, if not one that satisfies my issues with the source material.
Overall it works better than the movies for me, but it isn’t a home run. It’s somewhere between a LotR prequel and a book edit, though closer to the latter. I want my Hobbit edits to be closer to the former as I believe that is what the source material calls for. Though I admit it would be tough to make it totally consistent with LotR given the talking dragon, etc.
That said, it is clearly what many other Hobbit fans do want and it is flawlessly executed. I now really want a strong LotR prequel style edit that uses the same episodic nature. Though I still think four hours, max, is enough time.
This is a very strong edit, if not one that satisfies my issues with the source material.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
(Updated: December 06, 2021)
Overall rating
8.5
Audio/Video Quality
8.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
8.0
Enjoyment
9.0
EDIT: I may not be quite as active on FE in the coming days so I wanted to revisit this review. After speaking with the editor, I know he will address the quality issues, so I have adjusted the rating to where I know it will be once those changes are accomplished. Thanks Stromboli Bones.
The Battle of 5 Edits takes many different ideas from the best edits of the Hobbit trilogy and combines them into a new storyline. I like the idea of this: building one edit to rule them all. Here's what I liked most about this edit: it did a good job of splitting up the story into a more easily digested series. The re-scoring effort took a lot of love and it shows. Also not seeing Gandalf for quite a while and then all of a sudden he steps forward to save Bilbo from Thorin throwing him from the ledge-- that was a superb dramatic moment!
As a personal preference, I enjoy little to no expository especially of the type where characters explain the storyline itself. Much of that was left intact in this edit. Overall, this is a good effort, but I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't distracted by the audio fidelity and many not quite seamless audio transitions-- and glitches.
The audio is in surround format so high praise for that alone, but it sounded rather compressed throughout all episodes. The lower audio bitrate of 384 kbps (for 6 channels) resulted in an overall slight muddiness of the voices, and during orchestral parts, a noticeable swirling sound of higher frequency compression artifacts. The rendered audio differs greatly from the original source in terms of fidelity.
The audio fidelity ranges from fair (6) to below average (4) depending on content, average rating of 5.
The video fidelity of the series ranges from good (8) to below average (4), depending on content, average rating of 7. So I gave the average of the audio and video which is a 6. The great disparity on video fidelity (ranging from good to below average) is due in part to editing the renders from other editors rather than ripping the original source and recreating what the other editors made. Also the final bitrate or encoder used for this edit appeared not to handle dark scenes well.
The visual editing I rated at good with a rating of 8, rather than excellent (9) or best in class/perfect (10) because of one flash frame and some jittery slo-mo, which are easily corrected (detailed below).
The audio editing I rated a 4 because of non-seamless audio transitions and various glitches. When watching an edit of a film, I don't want to know I'm watching an edit of a film, so audio anomalies really stand out to me. Audio is the most important part of fan editing really. More details given below.
Video artifacts below, listing just some examples to support the video quality rating given:
Ep 1 26:44 banding artifacts noticeable artifacts on chair
Ep 1 31m 29s major banding artifacts in background during song
Ep 1 31m 49s extreme banding artifacts in the night sky
Ep 2 8m 37s significant banding night sky
Ep 2 14m 39s background night sky blockiness and banding
Ep2 31:02 significant moving blocks on Gollum's arm
Ep 2 50m 45 much blockiness during bird rescue with night sky
Ep 3 5m transformation from bear to man - moderately blocky
Ep3 50m 9 extreme banding/blocking on Thorin's and Bilbo's clothing, night scene
Note Ep4 overall appeared to have mostly good perceptual quality
Ep 4 39m 28s extreme blocking/pixelation in out of focus foreground
Ep 5 20m 31s moderate blocking on close shot of Thorin
Ep 5 24m 48s blocking/banding in background when Thorin expresses a change of heart
And below are detailed comments for each episode:
Ep 1
Nice job on the opening titles The Hobbit Battle of the Five Edits for all the episodes.
4m 14s the tail end of some of Bilbo's cut dialogue is audible for a split second.
I like how we don't see Gandalf give Thorin the key, makes it seem later like they have a backstory together
30m 7s Thorin is still shaking the key but no longer talking
53m 42s audio abruptly goes out in right channels for a moment
55m 24s audio fade out at end stops abruptly
Ep 2
16m 33s disharmonious audio transition, notes here do not blend well because the pieces blended were in different keys.
48m 53s example of high frequency sound artifacts during music
50m 50s jarring audio transition. Sounds like maybe reverb was used to help blend it but the reverb effect abruptly stops???
52m 23s audio transition problem in quick shot from Thorin back to mountain. Sudden jump in EQ or content on a channel with no audio blending.
52m 51s as Bilbo peers over the rocks, very choppy slow-mo. I suggest optical blending mode.
Really nice ending on part 2 with the bear and the music!! Creates a sense of danger.
Ep 3
2m 5s audio skips for a split second just before Gandalf says, "there is a house."
Cool how the A Warm Welcome text disappears with the axe hit. I like things like that.
10m 9s audio sync is off for a few seconds, as Beorn speaks
10m 14s odd audio fade in happens mid-scene as Beorn continues to speak
13m 51s flash frame split second shot of Gandalf at a different angle
Audio fade out for end titles jarring/has an error. It starts to fade but shifts suddenly to port noises then immediately goes silent.
Ep 4
6m 34s music transition from Bilbo being surprised to Thorin ready to open the lock is a bit abrupt and could probably be smoothed out some
39m 16s as Thorin fortifies the mountain, ambient noise suddenly cuts out mid scene. Possibly center channel muted.
Overall Ep4 has the best video quality and fewest audio transition issues
Ep 5 (Note: much improved music choices for the end credits!)
18s audio glitches a little before the WB logo
6m 11s audio skips while the wind whistles around
38m 35s in the audio transition from battle to the flying creatures, can't tell if this is a clunky audio transition or just audio artifacts from low bitrate.
41m 26s un-smooth music change
1h 1m 7s disharmonious audio transition during end credits
End credits music ends long before credits end
Overall, I did appreciate this edit and will enjoy it more once it gets a little more refined. Thank you Stromboli Bones!
The Battle of 5 Edits takes many different ideas from the best edits of the Hobbit trilogy and combines them into a new storyline. I like the idea of this: building one edit to rule them all. Here's what I liked most about this edit: it did a good job of splitting up the story into a more easily digested series. The re-scoring effort took a lot of love and it shows. Also not seeing Gandalf for quite a while and then all of a sudden he steps forward to save Bilbo from Thorin throwing him from the ledge-- that was a superb dramatic moment!
As a personal preference, I enjoy little to no expository especially of the type where characters explain the storyline itself. Much of that was left intact in this edit. Overall, this is a good effort, but I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't distracted by the audio fidelity and many not quite seamless audio transitions-- and glitches.
The audio is in surround format so high praise for that alone, but it sounded rather compressed throughout all episodes. The lower audio bitrate of 384 kbps (for 6 channels) resulted in an overall slight muddiness of the voices, and during orchestral parts, a noticeable swirling sound of higher frequency compression artifacts. The rendered audio differs greatly from the original source in terms of fidelity.
The audio fidelity ranges from fair (6) to below average (4) depending on content, average rating of 5.
The video fidelity of the series ranges from good (8) to below average (4), depending on content, average rating of 7. So I gave the average of the audio and video which is a 6. The great disparity on video fidelity (ranging from good to below average) is due in part to editing the renders from other editors rather than ripping the original source and recreating what the other editors made. Also the final bitrate or encoder used for this edit appeared not to handle dark scenes well.
The visual editing I rated at good with a rating of 8, rather than excellent (9) or best in class/perfect (10) because of one flash frame and some jittery slo-mo, which are easily corrected (detailed below).
The audio editing I rated a 4 because of non-seamless audio transitions and various glitches. When watching an edit of a film, I don't want to know I'm watching an edit of a film, so audio anomalies really stand out to me. Audio is the most important part of fan editing really. More details given below.
Video artifacts below, listing just some examples to support the video quality rating given:
Ep 1 26:44 banding artifacts noticeable artifacts on chair
Ep 1 31m 29s major banding artifacts in background during song
Ep 1 31m 49s extreme banding artifacts in the night sky
Ep 2 8m 37s significant banding night sky
Ep 2 14m 39s background night sky blockiness and banding
Ep2 31:02 significant moving blocks on Gollum's arm
Ep 2 50m 45 much blockiness during bird rescue with night sky
Ep 3 5m transformation from bear to man - moderately blocky
Ep3 50m 9 extreme banding/blocking on Thorin's and Bilbo's clothing, night scene
Note Ep4 overall appeared to have mostly good perceptual quality
Ep 4 39m 28s extreme blocking/pixelation in out of focus foreground
Ep 5 20m 31s moderate blocking on close shot of Thorin
Ep 5 24m 48s blocking/banding in background when Thorin expresses a change of heart
And below are detailed comments for each episode:
Ep 1
Nice job on the opening titles The Hobbit Battle of the Five Edits for all the episodes.
4m 14s the tail end of some of Bilbo's cut dialogue is audible for a split second.
I like how we don't see Gandalf give Thorin the key, makes it seem later like they have a backstory together
30m 7s Thorin is still shaking the key but no longer talking
53m 42s audio abruptly goes out in right channels for a moment
55m 24s audio fade out at end stops abruptly
Ep 2
16m 33s disharmonious audio transition, notes here do not blend well because the pieces blended were in different keys.
48m 53s example of high frequency sound artifacts during music
50m 50s jarring audio transition. Sounds like maybe reverb was used to help blend it but the reverb effect abruptly stops???
52m 23s audio transition problem in quick shot from Thorin back to mountain. Sudden jump in EQ or content on a channel with no audio blending.
52m 51s as Bilbo peers over the rocks, very choppy slow-mo. I suggest optical blending mode.
Really nice ending on part 2 with the bear and the music!! Creates a sense of danger.
Ep 3
2m 5s audio skips for a split second just before Gandalf says, "there is a house."
Cool how the A Warm Welcome text disappears with the axe hit. I like things like that.
10m 9s audio sync is off for a few seconds, as Beorn speaks
10m 14s odd audio fade in happens mid-scene as Beorn continues to speak
13m 51s flash frame split second shot of Gandalf at a different angle
Audio fade out for end titles jarring/has an error. It starts to fade but shifts suddenly to port noises then immediately goes silent.
Ep 4
6m 34s music transition from Bilbo being surprised to Thorin ready to open the lock is a bit abrupt and could probably be smoothed out some
39m 16s as Thorin fortifies the mountain, ambient noise suddenly cuts out mid scene. Possibly center channel muted.
Overall Ep4 has the best video quality and fewest audio transition issues
Ep 5 (Note: much improved music choices for the end credits!)
18s audio glitches a little before the WB logo
6m 11s audio skips while the wind whistles around
38m 35s in the audio transition from battle to the flying creatures, can't tell if this is a clunky audio transition or just audio artifacts from low bitrate.
41m 26s un-smooth music change
1h 1m 7s disharmonious audio transition during end credits
End credits music ends long before credits end
Overall, I did appreciate this edit and will enjoy it more once it gets a little more refined. Thank you Stromboli Bones!
User Review
Format Watched
Digital
Overall rating
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
It's been an extremely long time since I've seen The Hobbit, I basically haven't touched it since I completed my edit so long ago. When this project was brought to my attention I was immediately intrigued. I have to say, I enjoyed it significantly more than I had anticipated.
My biggest issue with The Hobbit has always been the length. To me, this is a story that didn't need more than 3 hours or so to be told, yet we ended up with almost 9 hours of it. It's bloated, messy, and doesn't feel as technically proficient as the original trilogy of films.
In this edition, the story is told in a 5-part structure. This made it feel less like a trilogy of movies and more like one of those big epic TV miniseries they used to make back in the day. I feel like this structure allows the story to take it's time, and makes some of the things I personally would've cut out a lot more palatable. Beorn doesn't feel like a waste of time now, he's just another stop on the journey.
The "greatest hits" approach really shines here, and I was honored to see some small parts of my edit reflected in this edition. However, It can't be looked how much Stromboli Bones put into this and let's their own sensibilities shine. This isn't just a mash up of 5 other edits, Stromboli really made it their own.
Quality wise, I didn't spot any issues, though I've never been much of a tech head. Everything was in sync, looked good, and the edits are hidden well.
In my personal opinion, this is still too much Hobbit. Obviously I feel that way, as I did my own edit that's significantly shorter. However, if you want to take your time with the story and really spend some time in Middle Earth with Bilbo, Thorin and Gandalf, this is likely the best way to do it.
Great job!
My biggest issue with The Hobbit has always been the length. To me, this is a story that didn't need more than 3 hours or so to be told, yet we ended up with almost 9 hours of it. It's bloated, messy, and doesn't feel as technically proficient as the original trilogy of films.
In this edition, the story is told in a 5-part structure. This made it feel less like a trilogy of movies and more like one of those big epic TV miniseries they used to make back in the day. I feel like this structure allows the story to take it's time, and makes some of the things I personally would've cut out a lot more palatable. Beorn doesn't feel like a waste of time now, he's just another stop on the journey.
The "greatest hits" approach really shines here, and I was honored to see some small parts of my edit reflected in this edition. However, It can't be looked how much Stromboli Bones put into this and let's their own sensibilities shine. This isn't just a mash up of 5 other edits, Stromboli really made it their own.
Quality wise, I didn't spot any issues, though I've never been much of a tech head. Everything was in sync, looked good, and the edits are hidden well.
In my personal opinion, this is still too much Hobbit. Obviously I feel that way, as I did my own edit that's significantly shorter. However, if you want to take your time with the story and really spend some time in Middle Earth with Bilbo, Thorin and Gandalf, this is likely the best way to do it.
Great job!
User reviews
74 reviews
Overall rating
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
9.9(74)
Audio Editing
9.8(74)
Visual Editing
9.8(74)
Narrative
9.6(74)
Enjoyment
9.8(74)
Overall rating
9.7
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
9.0
I just finished episode 1.
The pacing is fantastic and captivating. It truly immerses you in the world of this high-end Middle Earth miniseries.
I wish the opening and closing titles felt a little more professional, but I understand motion graphics are complicated.
The editing and, more importantly, the storytelling
Is top-notch in this beautiful edit
I can’t wait for the other episodes.
The pacing is fantastic and captivating. It truly immerses you in the world of this high-end Middle Earth miniseries.
I wish the opening and closing titles felt a little more professional, but I understand motion graphics are complicated.
The editing and, more importantly, the storytelling
Is top-notch in this beautiful edit
I can’t wait for the other episodes.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Overall rating
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
This one was great for me.
The episodic format especially suits me and my wife to draw it over the week.
Every story episode and ending feels natural.
Video and audio quality is excellent, more color saturation pops the colors and subtitles are available.
An unexpected highlight was the removal of the shield wall jump, great job!
The only awkward cut I noticed is the arrival of the eagles, Thorin's look and posture are too different from the shot before.
It's not even that bad, I just kept returning to it, imagining if it could be improved.
I'm no editor but I feel like it would be better if the eagles arrived at the start of the Thorin-Azog fight (something like Azog smirk->Azog's army->Azog looks up surprised ->Eagles over Thorin) so we have concurrent story stakes.
OR, if you leave the eagles after the fight, then just don't show the eagles over Thorin (Bilbo already announces them) and instead show them and Beorn fighting when Thorin is looking over the cliff.
Anyway, of the few edits I've seen this ticks almost all my boxes and I believe it will become a regular addition to the LOTR marathon.
The episodic format especially suits me and my wife to draw it over the week.
Every story episode and ending feels natural.
Video and audio quality is excellent, more color saturation pops the colors and subtitles are available.
An unexpected highlight was the removal of the shield wall jump, great job!
The only awkward cut I noticed is the arrival of the eagles, Thorin's look and posture are too different from the shot before.
It's not even that bad, I just kept returning to it, imagining if it could be improved.
I'm no editor but I feel like it would be better if the eagles arrived at the start of the Thorin-Azog fight (something like Azog smirk->Azog's army->Azog looks up surprised ->Eagles over Thorin) so we have concurrent story stakes.
OR, if you leave the eagles after the fight, then just don't show the eagles over Thorin (Bilbo already announces them) and instead show them and Beorn fighting when Thorin is looking over the cliff.
Anyway, of the few edits I've seen this ticks almost all my boxes and I believe it will become a regular addition to the LOTR marathon.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Overall rating
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
9.0
I have never been a hater of the original trilogy. I liked Unexpected Journey, I loved Desolation of Smaug. The only one I had problems with was Battle of the Five Armies. That was the one I felt like had the most problems and was the one that felt the most 'shoehorned'. Despite me liking the movies overall, I could clearly see the issues. Bloated action, unnecessary storylines, just plot bloat in general. I saw that, I just didn't care that much. Now. Does the fan edit fix the issues?
Hell yeah. Fan edit DOES fix the issues. Love storyline? Gone, reduced to atoms. We lost Evangeline Lilly's character along the way, but it was the sacrifice the edit demanded. Interesting enough, you watch the edit and you realise how unimportant that whole plot was overall. Purely added to stretch movies into the trilogy from the original two movies plan. The same goes for any other storyline really. Any action scene. All of it was trimmed down, but in the end you don't feel like you're missing out. On the contrary, action doesn't drag, nor does the more quiet scenes take over and make you snooze. The balance is perfect. Which only highlights how the theatrical cut added too much. Did I personally enjoy Bombur's barell spin massacre? Yes. Do I miss it in the cut? No. Was it a right decision, then? Yes. And the cut is filled with similar changes
Narratively, everything falls into place, regardless of the scenes cut. Then again, it does not have a quiet perfect conclusion. The final episode is the only one where I would say there were some noticeable narrative leaps. Why are orcs at the mountain all of a sudden? Where does Thranduil go? He's just like 'I've spilled too much elvish blood, peace' and he's out. Legolas is there one moment to help Thorin, then vanishes from the story. The unusual orc kills one of the main dwarves and...he's gone? Where is his comeuppance? Where does Bard end up? This is the story about Bilbo and Dwarves, alright. But Bard has a huge part to play in the story, but in the end we last see him charging into the orcs in the city. Then the story doesn't tell us, what happens to him. Listen, I get that all fan-edits are limited by the footage they have. And if the original had those problems, then the fan-edits can't be expected to fulfill that void. However, I still think it's necessary to point that out
One of the other main plot points which ended up on the cutting floor was Azog chasing the dwarves through the movies. The story builds up their rivalry with Thorin, which goes into their final battle. Azog is completely gone from the edit, apart from him appearing during the final major battle. In the edit he comes off just like some orc general, who's leading the armies. The whole relationship aspect with Thorin is gone. I liked him being cut, but that's one of the things where you're like... maybe it shouldn't have been? The final confrontation feels less important, than it was in the theatrical cut
Overall, me and my wife, we enjoyed that edit very much. Technically I have nothing to say against it. Blended together perfectly, as it was meant to. Does it improve the original? Yes. It removes the redundant stuff. The stuff that doesn't make the movies better, but simply makes them longer for better or for worse, depending on your taste. So, the flow is much smoother and much concentrated. Apart from the mentioned Azog above, I think everything else was justifiably cut
Do I recommend it over the theatrical cut? Huh. That's interesting, because I can't say that I do for one hundred percent. If you hated the original, you may very well try this one, because it fixes many issues you may have had the first time you saw it. Did you like the theatrical cut and want some new experience? Sure, go for it. That makes it interesting to see, but I can't say that this cut will be your 'go-to' version of the series. Does this cut make it a perfect movie experience? Not really. There are still some fundamental issues with the story, which, honestly, I can't put into words and describe. It's more like of a feel, like something's just not right. In the end, the fan edit did its best and that what matters
I give out huge respect for everyone's sweat and second that was put into making the fan-edit. I surely enjoyed it. That's one of those edits where you see fundamental changes done well. Entire storylines are cut, and yet, the movie still works as is. That's the magic of the editing, and that's what makes it truly special
Hell yeah. Fan edit DOES fix the issues. Love storyline? Gone, reduced to atoms. We lost Evangeline Lilly's character along the way, but it was the sacrifice the edit demanded. Interesting enough, you watch the edit and you realise how unimportant that whole plot was overall. Purely added to stretch movies into the trilogy from the original two movies plan. The same goes for any other storyline really. Any action scene. All of it was trimmed down, but in the end you don't feel like you're missing out. On the contrary, action doesn't drag, nor does the more quiet scenes take over and make you snooze. The balance is perfect. Which only highlights how the theatrical cut added too much. Did I personally enjoy Bombur's barell spin massacre? Yes. Do I miss it in the cut? No. Was it a right decision, then? Yes. And the cut is filled with similar changes
Narratively, everything falls into place, regardless of the scenes cut. Then again, it does not have a quiet perfect conclusion. The final episode is the only one where I would say there were some noticeable narrative leaps. Why are orcs at the mountain all of a sudden? Where does Thranduil go? He's just like 'I've spilled too much elvish blood, peace' and he's out. Legolas is there one moment to help Thorin, then vanishes from the story. The unusual orc kills one of the main dwarves and...he's gone? Where is his comeuppance? Where does Bard end up? This is the story about Bilbo and Dwarves, alright. But Bard has a huge part to play in the story, but in the end we last see him charging into the orcs in the city. Then the story doesn't tell us, what happens to him. Listen, I get that all fan-edits are limited by the footage they have. And if the original had those problems, then the fan-edits can't be expected to fulfill that void. However, I still think it's necessary to point that out
One of the other main plot points which ended up on the cutting floor was Azog chasing the dwarves through the movies. The story builds up their rivalry with Thorin, which goes into their final battle. Azog is completely gone from the edit, apart from him appearing during the final major battle. In the edit he comes off just like some orc general, who's leading the armies. The whole relationship aspect with Thorin is gone. I liked him being cut, but that's one of the things where you're like... maybe it shouldn't have been? The final confrontation feels less important, than it was in the theatrical cut
Overall, me and my wife, we enjoyed that edit very much. Technically I have nothing to say against it. Blended together perfectly, as it was meant to. Does it improve the original? Yes. It removes the redundant stuff. The stuff that doesn't make the movies better, but simply makes them longer for better or for worse, depending on your taste. So, the flow is much smoother and much concentrated. Apart from the mentioned Azog above, I think everything else was justifiably cut
Do I recommend it over the theatrical cut? Huh. That's interesting, because I can't say that I do for one hundred percent. If you hated the original, you may very well try this one, because it fixes many issues you may have had the first time you saw it. Did you like the theatrical cut and want some new experience? Sure, go for it. That makes it interesting to see, but I can't say that this cut will be your 'go-to' version of the series. Does this cut make it a perfect movie experience? Not really. There are still some fundamental issues with the story, which, honestly, I can't put into words and describe. It's more like of a feel, like something's just not right. In the end, the fan edit did its best and that what matters
I give out huge respect for everyone's sweat and second that was put into making the fan-edit. I surely enjoyed it. That's one of those edits where you see fundamental changes done well. Entire storylines are cut, and yet, the movie still works as is. That's the magic of the editing, and that's what makes it truly special
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Overall rating
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
This is the only enjoyable way to watch these movies! Very well done edit that I enjoyed more than the extended or theatrical versions of these films. Enjoyed the titling for each episode as well. I look forward to more of your work!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
(Updated: July 28, 2023)
Overall rating
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
10.0
This is a very well-done edit. Cutting nearly half the runtime from this bloated trilogy was insane. I really loved how well the "episodes" played out, especially the titles! "A Warm Welcome" worked on three different levels for that episode, it was really amazing. I loved how each episode was 1 hour but never felt cut-off too quickly.
The only things I had a question about (and maybe I just missed it) were the armies arriving at the end: how did the orcs know about the treasure; how did the humans and the elves know each other; how did the dwarves hear about the battle if Thorin&Co locked themselves away with no messengers?
If someone can answer these for me, I'll amend my review to a 10 for Narrative.
Fantastic work!
The only things I had a question about (and maybe I just missed it) were the armies arriving at the end: how did the orcs know about the treasure; how did the humans and the elves know each other; how did the dwarves hear about the battle if Thorin&Co locked themselves away with no messengers?
If someone can answer these for me, I'll amend my review to a 10 for Narrative.
Fantastic work!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
