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- Hobbit: Into the Fire, The
Hobbit: Into the Fire, The
Updated
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
2013
Original Running Time:
161 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
98 minutes
Time Cut:
63 minutes
Available in HD:
Additional Links:
Synopsis:
No barrel gymnastics. No molten gold.
The Desolation of Smaug is Peter Jackson's adaptation of the middle third of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit. Despite some incredible visuals and fine performances, it was too long and encumbered by many scenes that not only slowed the film, but also were completely invented for the film and deviated from the novel significantly. "Fire of the Dragon" is an earlier edit of this film, where I cut out all the extra made-up-for-the movie padding that stretched a perfectly good 2 hour movie into almost three. 'Dragon' was a version that didn't drag and had good pacing, and is what I feel the Theatrical cut should have been--I emphasize that because a lot of the material I liked from the actual movie and I felt made it entertaining (namely, the barrel fight and the dragon showdown in the end) are left intact in Dragon-- I just felt those made the movie more fun and gave it the feel of adventure it needed.
However, I strongly agree with a lot of the criticism of both the original film and my first cut, in that these things (1) were a little over-the-top at times, and (2) still never happened in the book. So I decided to go ahead and make further changes to produce a "purist cut" of the movie. Instead of just being a watered down version of "Dragon", I trimmed more, reordered certain scenes, and made a new opening for it, as well as a new title.
This is as close as Desolation comes to being a 'book' cut of Tolkien's the Hobbit.
The Desolation of Smaug is Peter Jackson's adaptation of the middle third of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit. Despite some incredible visuals and fine performances, it was too long and encumbered by many scenes that not only slowed the film, but also were completely invented for the film and deviated from the novel significantly. "Fire of the Dragon" is an earlier edit of this film, where I cut out all the extra made-up-for-the movie padding that stretched a perfectly good 2 hour movie into almost three. 'Dragon' was a version that didn't drag and had good pacing, and is what I feel the Theatrical cut should have been--I emphasize that because a lot of the material I liked from the actual movie and I felt made it entertaining (namely, the barrel fight and the dragon showdown in the end) are left intact in Dragon-- I just felt those made the movie more fun and gave it the feel of adventure it needed.
However, I strongly agree with a lot of the criticism of both the original film and my first cut, in that these things (1) were a little over-the-top at times, and (2) still never happened in the book. So I decided to go ahead and make further changes to produce a "purist cut" of the movie. Instead of just being a watered down version of "Dragon", I trimmed more, reordered certain scenes, and made a new opening for it, as well as a new title.
This is as close as Desolation comes to being a 'book' cut of Tolkien's the Hobbit.
Intention:
This cut has none of the zany dwarven antics of previous cuts and is strongly faithful to the novel (if you overlook Legolas, and Bard being a bargeman). It is different enough from previous versions that I felt comfortable giving it its own release-- 'Dragon' is 120 min (41 min cut) , Into the Fire is 98 min (63 min cut). This is a version I hope fans of the novel will enjoy, and is in many ways a better movie than "Dragon", narrative-wise.
Additional Notes:
This is not an extended version. It has even MORE cut out of it than 'Fire of the Dragon'.
Other Sources:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for the new introduction
Special Thanks:
kellenpure, moe_syzlak, ssj, Aztek463, Solid11, njvc, hasmak -- thank you for the support all along the way guys. This one's for you, as always.
Release Information:
Digital
Editing Details:
Adobe Premiere Pro, and the Hobbit Blu-ray
Cuts and Additions:
Changes from 'Fire of the Dragon':
1. The prologue with Gandalf and Thorin in Bree is deleted.
2. Other than a brief scene of him chasing them, all the scenes of Azog and Bolg (the orcs) stalking the dwarves as well of the scene of them at Dol Guldur is deleted
3. Bilbo being tempted by the ring outside Mirkwood forest is cut (this isn't LOTR)
4. Legolas' Gimli reference is cut
5. Entire scene of Tauriel and Kili, and Tauriel with Thranduil is deleted. There is no love triangle.
6. Shots of orcs ceeping up on Mirkwood are cut, making the orc attack more of a surprise.
7. Gandalf at the Nazgul tombs trimmed-- cut the lines "You're asking me to abandon my friends, etc."
8. Kili's arrow to knee is bound and never spoken of again. He's all better in this version.
9. Cut scene of Legolas & co interrogating an orc, as well as Bolg tracking dwarves.
10. Trimmed Laketown scenes for pacing.
11. Cut all scenes of the four dwarves being left behind. Cut all scenes of Tauriel/Legolas (after the Mirkwood battle.)
12. Cut all scenes of Orcs attacking Laketown.
13. Gandalf vs Sauron, is kept in, but moved to before Bilbo enters Smaugs lair.
14. Entire Smaug sequence intact in one flow, except a brief cutaway for about 30 seconds where Bard tells his kids he'll kill the dragon and grabs the black arrow.
15. Cut scenes of Bard running around Lake town and getting arrested.
16. Cut Bilbo's last lines "What have we done". Last lines now Smaug's.
Additional Changes from 'Into The Fire':
1. New intro involving the eagle rescue from An Unexpected Journey
2. All Kili's interaction with tauriel outside of the spider battle is cut
3. Barrel sequence recut to exclude dwarf antics/ over-the-top legolas action
4. Secret Doorway sequence recut to delete sequence of dwarves giving up and abandoning Bilbo
5. Smaug sequence recut to exclude dwarves ever entering Erebor, and NO MOLTEN GOLD
6. Color correction and grading applied at various places to match up spliced shots of Smaug exiting Erebor without gold
7. I see fire reinstated as end credit song, and disclaimer slide added.
8. During the Gandalf-Sauron showdown, a brief glimpse of Sauron in his Maiar or "angel" form can be seen when the eye explodes
1. The prologue with Gandalf and Thorin in Bree is deleted.
2. Other than a brief scene of him chasing them, all the scenes of Azog and Bolg (the orcs) stalking the dwarves as well of the scene of them at Dol Guldur is deleted
3. Bilbo being tempted by the ring outside Mirkwood forest is cut (this isn't LOTR)
4. Legolas' Gimli reference is cut
5. Entire scene of Tauriel and Kili, and Tauriel with Thranduil is deleted. There is no love triangle.
6. Shots of orcs ceeping up on Mirkwood are cut, making the orc attack more of a surprise.
7. Gandalf at the Nazgul tombs trimmed-- cut the lines "You're asking me to abandon my friends, etc."
8. Kili's arrow to knee is bound and never spoken of again. He's all better in this version.
9. Cut scene of Legolas & co interrogating an orc, as well as Bolg tracking dwarves.
10. Trimmed Laketown scenes for pacing.
11. Cut all scenes of the four dwarves being left behind. Cut all scenes of Tauriel/Legolas (after the Mirkwood battle.)
12. Cut all scenes of Orcs attacking Laketown.
13. Gandalf vs Sauron, is kept in, but moved to before Bilbo enters Smaugs lair.
14. Entire Smaug sequence intact in one flow, except a brief cutaway for about 30 seconds where Bard tells his kids he'll kill the dragon and grabs the black arrow.
15. Cut scenes of Bard running around Lake town and getting arrested.
16. Cut Bilbo's last lines "What have we done". Last lines now Smaug's.
Additional Changes from 'Into The Fire':
1. New intro involving the eagle rescue from An Unexpected Journey
2. All Kili's interaction with tauriel outside of the spider battle is cut
3. Barrel sequence recut to exclude dwarf antics/ over-the-top legolas action
4. Secret Doorway sequence recut to delete sequence of dwarves giving up and abandoning Bilbo
5. Smaug sequence recut to exclude dwarves ever entering Erebor, and NO MOLTEN GOLD
6. Color correction and grading applied at various places to match up spliced shots of Smaug exiting Erebor without gold
7. I see fire reinstated as end credit song, and disclaimer slide added.
8. During the Gandalf-Sauron showdown, a brief glimpse of Sauron in his Maiar or "angel" form can be seen when the eye explodes
[Trailer]
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
2013
Original Running Time:
161 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
98 minutes
Time Cut:
63 minutes
Available in HD:
Additional Links:
Synopsis:
No barrel gymnastics. No molten gold.
The Desolation of Smaug is Peter Jackson's adaptation of the middle third of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit. Despite some incredible visuals and fine performances, it was too long and encumbered by many scenes that not only slowed the film, but also were completely invented for the film and deviated from the novel significantly. "Fire of the Dragon" is an earlier edit of this film, where I cut out all the extra made-up-for-the movie padding that stretched a perfectly good 2 hour movie into almost three. 'Dragon' was a version that didn't drag and had good pacing, and is what I feel the Theatrical cut should have been--I emphasize that because a lot of the material I liked from the actual movie and I felt made it entertaining (namely, the barrel fight and the dragon showdown in the end) are left intact in Dragon-- I just felt those made the movie more fun and gave it the feel of adventure it needed.
However, I strongly agree with a lot of the criticism of both the original film and my first cut, in that these things (1) were a little over-the-top at times, and (2) still never happened in the book. So I decided to go ahead and make further changes to produce a "purist cut" of the movie. Instead of just being a watered down version of "Dragon", I trimmed more, reordered certain scenes, and made a new opening for it, as well as a new title.
This is as close as Desolation comes to being a 'book' cut of Tolkien's the Hobbit.
The Desolation of Smaug is Peter Jackson's adaptation of the middle third of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit. Despite some incredible visuals and fine performances, it was too long and encumbered by many scenes that not only slowed the film, but also were completely invented for the film and deviated from the novel significantly. "Fire of the Dragon" is an earlier edit of this film, where I cut out all the extra made-up-for-the movie padding that stretched a perfectly good 2 hour movie into almost three. 'Dragon' was a version that didn't drag and had good pacing, and is what I feel the Theatrical cut should have been--I emphasize that because a lot of the material I liked from the actual movie and I felt made it entertaining (namely, the barrel fight and the dragon showdown in the end) are left intact in Dragon-- I just felt those made the movie more fun and gave it the feel of adventure it needed.
However, I strongly agree with a lot of the criticism of both the original film and my first cut, in that these things (1) were a little over-the-top at times, and (2) still never happened in the book. So I decided to go ahead and make further changes to produce a "purist cut" of the movie. Instead of just being a watered down version of "Dragon", I trimmed more, reordered certain scenes, and made a new opening for it, as well as a new title.
This is as close as Desolation comes to being a 'book' cut of Tolkien's the Hobbit.
Intention:
This cut has none of the zany dwarven antics of previous cuts and is strongly faithful to the novel (if you overlook Legolas, and Bard being a bargeman). It is different enough from previous versions that I felt comfortable giving it its own release-- 'Dragon' is 120 min (41 min cut) , Into the Fire is 98 min (63 min cut). This is a version I hope fans of the novel will enjoy, and is in many ways a better movie than "Dragon", narrative-wise.
Additional Notes:
This is not an extended version. It has even MORE cut out of it than 'Fire of the Dragon'.
Other Sources:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for the new introduction
Special Thanks:
kellenpure, moe_syzlak, ssj, Aztek463, Solid11, njvc, hasmak -- thank you for the support all along the way guys. This one's for you, as always.
Release Information:
Digital
Editing Details:
Adobe Premiere Pro, and the Hobbit Blu-ray
Cuts and Additions:
Changes from 'Fire of the Dragon':
1. The prologue with Gandalf and Thorin in Bree is deleted.
2. Other than a brief scene of him chasing them, all the scenes of Azog and Bolg (the orcs) stalking the dwarves as well of the scene of them at Dol Guldur is deleted
3. Bilbo being tempted by the ring outside Mirkwood forest is cut (this isn't LOTR)
4. Legolas' Gimli reference is cut
5. Entire scene of Tauriel and Kili, and Tauriel with Thranduil is deleted. There is no love triangle.
6. Shots of orcs ceeping up on Mirkwood are cut, making the orc attack more of a surprise.
7. Gandalf at the Nazgul tombs trimmed-- cut the lines "You're asking me to abandon my friends, etc."
8. Kili's arrow to knee is bound and never spoken of again. He's all better in this version.
9. Cut scene of Legolas & co interrogating an orc, as well as Bolg tracking dwarves.
10. Trimmed Laketown scenes for pacing.
11. Cut all scenes of the four dwarves being left behind. Cut all scenes of Tauriel/Legolas (after the Mirkwood battle.)
12. Cut all scenes of Orcs attacking Laketown.
13. Gandalf vs Sauron, is kept in, but moved to before Bilbo enters Smaugs lair.
14. Entire Smaug sequence intact in one flow, except a brief cutaway for about 30 seconds where Bard tells his kids he'll kill the dragon and grabs the black arrow.
15. Cut scenes of Bard running around Lake town and getting arrested.
16. Cut Bilbo's last lines "What have we done". Last lines now Smaug's.
Additional Changes from 'Into The Fire':
1. New intro involving the eagle rescue from An Unexpected Journey
2. All Kili's interaction with tauriel outside of the spider battle is cut
3. Barrel sequence recut to exclude dwarf antics/ over-the-top legolas action
4. Secret Doorway sequence recut to delete sequence of dwarves giving up and abandoning Bilbo
5. Smaug sequence recut to exclude dwarves ever entering Erebor, and NO MOLTEN GOLD
6. Color correction and grading applied at various places to match up spliced shots of Smaug exiting Erebor without gold
7. I see fire reinstated as end credit song, and disclaimer slide added.
8. During the Gandalf-Sauron showdown, a brief glimpse of Sauron in his Maiar or "angel" form can be seen when the eye explodes
1. The prologue with Gandalf and Thorin in Bree is deleted.
2. Other than a brief scene of him chasing them, all the scenes of Azog and Bolg (the orcs) stalking the dwarves as well of the scene of them at Dol Guldur is deleted
3. Bilbo being tempted by the ring outside Mirkwood forest is cut (this isn't LOTR)
4. Legolas' Gimli reference is cut
5. Entire scene of Tauriel and Kili, and Tauriel with Thranduil is deleted. There is no love triangle.
6. Shots of orcs ceeping up on Mirkwood are cut, making the orc attack more of a surprise.
7. Gandalf at the Nazgul tombs trimmed-- cut the lines "You're asking me to abandon my friends, etc."
8. Kili's arrow to knee is bound and never spoken of again. He's all better in this version.
9. Cut scene of Legolas & co interrogating an orc, as well as Bolg tracking dwarves.
10. Trimmed Laketown scenes for pacing.
11. Cut all scenes of the four dwarves being left behind. Cut all scenes of Tauriel/Legolas (after the Mirkwood battle.)
12. Cut all scenes of Orcs attacking Laketown.
13. Gandalf vs Sauron, is kept in, but moved to before Bilbo enters Smaugs lair.
14. Entire Smaug sequence intact in one flow, except a brief cutaway for about 30 seconds where Bard tells his kids he'll kill the dragon and grabs the black arrow.
15. Cut scenes of Bard running around Lake town and getting arrested.
16. Cut Bilbo's last lines "What have we done". Last lines now Smaug's.
Additional Changes from 'Into The Fire':
1. New intro involving the eagle rescue from An Unexpected Journey
2. All Kili's interaction with tauriel outside of the spider battle is cut
3. Barrel sequence recut to exclude dwarf antics/ over-the-top legolas action
4. Secret Doorway sequence recut to delete sequence of dwarves giving up and abandoning Bilbo
5. Smaug sequence recut to exclude dwarves ever entering Erebor, and NO MOLTEN GOLD
6. Color correction and grading applied at various places to match up spliced shots of Smaug exiting Erebor without gold
7. I see fire reinstated as end credit song, and disclaimer slide added.
8. During the Gandalf-Sauron showdown, a brief glimpse of Sauron in his Maiar or "angel" form can be seen when the eye explodes
Cover art by ranger613 (DOWNLOAD HERE)
[Trailer]
Trusted Reviewer reviews
5 reviews
Overall rating
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
9.6(5)
Audio Editing
9.6(5)
Visual Editing
9.2(5)
Narrative
8.4(5)
Enjoyment
9.0(5)
Overall rating
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
10.0
What a fantastic edit! This is by far, to me, the best standalone edit of this film. The amount of bloat that exists in these films is absolutely shocking, and by trimming it to the breaking point you've exposed an exciting film that could have been.
Quality is great across the board, video and audio.
My only qualms with the edit would be:
- I'm not a fan of how you open the film, with the group on the eagles. It feels how Battle of the Five Armies feels: Like that scene should've been at the end of the previous film.
- Smaug breaking through the wall still just doesn't look right, even with the gold removed. It's definitely much better, and maybe knowing it's meant to be gold is making me feel this way, but I'd almost rather not see him break through the wall at all.
Other than those two things I loved every decision, especially the way you cut the barrel sequence.
This is a superior work, and definitely deserving of all of its rave reviews.
Quality is great across the board, video and audio.
My only qualms with the edit would be:
- I'm not a fan of how you open the film, with the group on the eagles. It feels how Battle of the Five Armies feels: Like that scene should've been at the end of the previous film.
- Smaug breaking through the wall still just doesn't look right, even with the gold removed. It's definitely much better, and maybe knowing it's meant to be gold is making me feel this way, but I'd almost rather not see him break through the wall at all.
Other than those two things I loved every decision, especially the way you cut the barrel sequence.
This is a superior work, and definitely deserving of all of its rave reviews.
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
10.0
Personally I can not wait until Jackson's Battle of the Five Armies is available on DVD/Blu-ray - that way faneditors can be unleashed to put together an edit encompassing all 3 bloated Hobbit films into hopefully one epic movie. For now however, one could do far worse than check out Ranger's Into The Fire edit of the second movie. 63 minutes may sound like a lot to cut, but when watching this excellent exercise in how to save a movie, it becomes painfully clear just how bloated and overlong this needless trilogy of movies really are.
Amongst the many improvements, I would single out the huge improvement of the barrel sequence which no longer feels like some CGI excuse to have Legolas leaping all over the show, and perhaps even better is the way in which the finale no longer has to subject us to more set-piece nonsense as the dwarves go through various levels in computer game fashion to douse Smaug in gold. Ranger's editing hand is invisible during these sequences - quite excellent work.
In fact, there's only one scene where you could really feel the editor at work. As the dwarves leave Laketown for Erebor, there is a jump cut of a sort and it just stands out as an "edited" scene. A small complaint however, as I loved how the Orcs no longer attack Laketown. Indeed, other than this, Into the Fire is a genuinely excellent exercise in how fanediting can improve on the original film. My go to version? You bet it is. I can only hope that Ranger may have a go at making one huge Hobbit fanedit of all three films at a latter date. I whole heartedly recommend this to everyone, a quite sterling piece of work. Thanks Ranger :)
Amongst the many improvements, I would single out the huge improvement of the barrel sequence which no longer feels like some CGI excuse to have Legolas leaping all over the show, and perhaps even better is the way in which the finale no longer has to subject us to more set-piece nonsense as the dwarves go through various levels in computer game fashion to douse Smaug in gold. Ranger's editing hand is invisible during these sequences - quite excellent work.
In fact, there's only one scene where you could really feel the editor at work. As the dwarves leave Laketown for Erebor, there is a jump cut of a sort and it just stands out as an "edited" scene. A small complaint however, as I loved how the Orcs no longer attack Laketown. Indeed, other than this, Into the Fire is a genuinely excellent exercise in how fanediting can improve on the original film. My go to version? You bet it is. I can only hope that Ranger may have a go at making one huge Hobbit fanedit of all three films at a latter date. I whole heartedly recommend this to everyone, a quite sterling piece of work. Thanks Ranger :)
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
Overall rating
9.7
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
9.0
First, my apologies for the tardiness of this review. It's been a busy summer moving my family halfway across the country. I was a screener for the first incarnation of this edit, Fire of the Dragon (http://www.fanedit.org/ifdb/component/content/article/79-fanedit-listings/fanfix/1033-hobbit-fire-of-the-dragon-the), and while I thought it was a vast improvement, I (and others) still felt like a more seriious take on the film would be preferable. Ranger613 decided to take this on and this edit is the result. And, for me, it is indeed preferable to the Fire of the Dragon edit. Ranger calls this a "book purists" cut and while that may be true, it isn't the reason I enjoy it more. I never read The Hobbit. But I did feel like Jackson was trying to straddle a line with these movies that just doesn't work. He's trying to keep them in line with the original LotR trilogy, while also trying to make them lighter fare more in keeping with the source material. It just hasn't worked for me and I prefer edits that aim to remove the silliness and video game like action to reveal something much closer to LotR. For the first chapter, I now go to kerr's Arkenstone Edition. And now, for the chapter two, I will go to this. A word of warning though, this definitely does not play as a standalone film, not that the original did either. While we all have yet to see the third and final chapter, it feel entirely possible to me that the best edit will be a four-ish hour film (or two two hour films). One final note, there has been much discussion of the final scene of Smaug shaking off the molten gold (recolored here). I provided feedback during the editing process on this and, to me, it is still not right in my mind. But I have to say that my wife, who had never seen the original movie, didn't even notice. In fact, I didn't tell her this was a fan edit. She simply said it was much better than she expected after the first one (which we saw together in the theatre). To me, that's high praise! Good work, ranger613!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
(Updated: September 11, 2014)
Overall rating
7.7
Audio/Video Quality
9.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
7.0
Narrative
6.0
Enjoyment
7.0
This was my first experience with an edit of Desolation of Smaug. There were some great decisions made but other things didn't quite come together in execution. I'll break my review down into good elements and things that I was left with mixed feelings about:
The Good:
-Cutting most of the stuff with Bolg and Azog was a good move. It definitely helped to quicken the pace and shows how little the film needed these scenes.
-Cutting the Tauriel/Kili/Legolas love triangle. This was very effective. It felt largely shoehorned into the original film so nothing of value is lost here.
-Cutting the dwarves giving up and leaving. This was some pretty brilliant editing and a great change.
-The new intro: I liked it a lot. The original opening scene was hardly missed. That wide shot of the eagles makes for a great opening shot.
Mixed:
-Cutting the fight at Laketown: I always felt the Elves venturing to Laketown was largely unnecessary, but how its handled here is a bit of a mixed bag. The editing is mostly sound, but narratively it's a bit strange that some of the dwarves don't go to the mountain with no explanation given. This seemed like a large plot hole to me. We can clearly see that some of them are missing from the boat and later scenes at the mountain, but no explanation is given as to why they stay back. Also Kili's leg wound becomes a bit of a red herring.
- Bard stuff: I missed some of this. Particularly, the transition from Bard and the Dwarves to Stephen Fry up in his loft now feels rather abrupt as the connection of Alfrid is no longer there. In general, the Bard vs. Stephen Fry stuff feels like a vestige of the original film that you tried to minimize but couldn't completely cut, and ends up coming out as a half-baked non-sequitur.
-Gandalf's story: Moving the encounter with Sauron to earlier didn't work for me. It made this plotline seem even less connected to the rest of the film, and it felt like a false climax. The plotline was rendered an aside that begins and ends in the middle of the film. Frankly, since this is supposed to be a purist cut, I would have went all the way and cut this plotline entirely.
-Barrel Escape: I appreciate the desire to cut this down as it is an action scene that ultimately adds nothing to the plot, but the result is just a choppy and unengaging scene. I would have left this in rather than go with the cut you ended up with, which is essentially the Dwarves going down the waterfalls as the elves dispatch a couple of orcs in the background. The scale of the orc attack is not really felt and the edit doesn't feel smooth and seamless.
-No Golden Smaug: This is the main reason I choose to watch this edit over your "Fire of the Dragon" edit. This extended action sequence in the final act absolutely killed the pace of the movie for me. The editing is mostly handled well except for one thing: Silver Smaug. This essentially kills this aspect of the edit for me. I realize there aren't a lot of options here for an editor, but the change in color timing for the few shots of Smaug here is absolutely noticeable against the rest of the footage, and the change from gold to silver doesn't really make this scene suddenly make sense. This was a good idea that just didn't come together in execution.
Overall this edit was a mixed bag for me but I still appreciate the effort that went into it. You definitely have some editing talent so I'm looking forward to your future edits!
The Good:
-Cutting most of the stuff with Bolg and Azog was a good move. It definitely helped to quicken the pace and shows how little the film needed these scenes.
-Cutting the Tauriel/Kili/Legolas love triangle. This was very effective. It felt largely shoehorned into the original film so nothing of value is lost here.
-Cutting the dwarves giving up and leaving. This was some pretty brilliant editing and a great change.
-The new intro: I liked it a lot. The original opening scene was hardly missed. That wide shot of the eagles makes for a great opening shot.
Mixed:
-Cutting the fight at Laketown: I always felt the Elves venturing to Laketown was largely unnecessary, but how its handled here is a bit of a mixed bag. The editing is mostly sound, but narratively it's a bit strange that some of the dwarves don't go to the mountain with no explanation given. This seemed like a large plot hole to me. We can clearly see that some of them are missing from the boat and later scenes at the mountain, but no explanation is given as to why they stay back. Also Kili's leg wound becomes a bit of a red herring.
- Bard stuff: I missed some of this. Particularly, the transition from Bard and the Dwarves to Stephen Fry up in his loft now feels rather abrupt as the connection of Alfrid is no longer there. In general, the Bard vs. Stephen Fry stuff feels like a vestige of the original film that you tried to minimize but couldn't completely cut, and ends up coming out as a half-baked non-sequitur.
-Gandalf's story: Moving the encounter with Sauron to earlier didn't work for me. It made this plotline seem even less connected to the rest of the film, and it felt like a false climax. The plotline was rendered an aside that begins and ends in the middle of the film. Frankly, since this is supposed to be a purist cut, I would have went all the way and cut this plotline entirely.
-Barrel Escape: I appreciate the desire to cut this down as it is an action scene that ultimately adds nothing to the plot, but the result is just a choppy and unengaging scene. I would have left this in rather than go with the cut you ended up with, which is essentially the Dwarves going down the waterfalls as the elves dispatch a couple of orcs in the background. The scale of the orc attack is not really felt and the edit doesn't feel smooth and seamless.
-No Golden Smaug: This is the main reason I choose to watch this edit over your "Fire of the Dragon" edit. This extended action sequence in the final act absolutely killed the pace of the movie for me. The editing is mostly handled well except for one thing: Silver Smaug. This essentially kills this aspect of the edit for me. I realize there aren't a lot of options here for an editor, but the change in color timing for the few shots of Smaug here is absolutely noticeable against the rest of the footage, and the change from gold to silver doesn't really make this scene suddenly make sense. This was a good idea that just didn't come together in execution.
Overall this edit was a mixed bag for me but I still appreciate the effort that went into it. You definitely have some editing talent so I'm looking forward to your future edits!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
No
Format Watched
Digital
Overall rating
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
9.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
9.0
This was pretty damn fantastic! To me, it proves that action/adventure spectacles can still be great, even if it's "just a 90-minute movie". The story moves at a fast pace and we don't get slogged down with people we don't care about. The Smaug finale is excellent, I loved it as a single flowing scene, and great visual editing there!
Highly recommended for anybody let down by The Hobbit Part B.
Highly recommended for anybody let down by The Hobbit Part B.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
User reviews
14 reviews
Overall rating
9.7
Audio/Video Quality
9.7(14)
Audio Editing
9.8(14)
Visual Editing
9.8(14)
Narrative
9.7(14)
Enjoyment
9.4(14)
(Updated: January 18, 2022)
Overall rating
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
9.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
Watched this a few weeks ago and forgot to drop a review!
Into the Fire is everything Desolation of Smaug should have been. Everything ridiculous and/or egregious has been excised, and while there were some parts left in that I personally don't love (mostly just one: Dol Guldur) Ranger has structured and trimmed this edit so well, that I found them surprisingly tolerable!
If you want to watch what The Desolation of Smaug SHOULD and COULD have been, look no further!
My only complaint, is that I do think the re-color of Smaug breaking out could use some TLC.
Into the Fire is everything Desolation of Smaug should have been. Everything ridiculous and/or egregious has been excised, and while there were some parts left in that I personally don't love (mostly just one: Dol Guldur) Ranger has structured and trimmed this edit so well, that I found them surprisingly tolerable!
If you want to watch what The Desolation of Smaug SHOULD and COULD have been, look no further!
My only complaint, is that I do think the re-color of Smaug breaking out could use some TLC.
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
Not much to say that hasn't been already said. This is as close to perfection as a fanedit can get. The theatrical release made me sick to my stomach. This version, however, I loved. PLEASE do an edit of part 3 when it's released.
Overall rating
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
9.0
I would like to thank you for the time, effort, and motivation that you displayed in completing this edit. I do not see how, based upon the limitations of Peter Jackson's work, it would be possible for a better version of this movie to be put together.
I am an admitted Tolkien purist and while I find faults too numerable to list in Jackson's versions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings you have accomplished something truly remarkable with this version of the film. Thank you for reducing Legolas' and Tauriel's roles, as well as Azog and Bolg, cutting the ridiculousness of the barrel chase, the absurdity of the Smaug chasing dwarves and being covered with gold, and most of all thank you for removing the asinine Kili/Tauriel love story. I almost exploded in the theater when I saw that.
Overall, your edit is infinitely better than anything produced by Jackson and will find its way onto my shelf as the only version of DoS that I will watch. You truly did some remarkable work. Keep up the good work.
I am an admitted Tolkien purist and while I find faults too numerable to list in Jackson's versions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings you have accomplished something truly remarkable with this version of the film. Thank you for reducing Legolas' and Tauriel's roles, as well as Azog and Bolg, cutting the ridiculousness of the barrel chase, the absurdity of the Smaug chasing dwarves and being covered with gold, and most of all thank you for removing the asinine Kili/Tauriel love story. I almost exploded in the theater when I saw that.
Overall, your edit is infinitely better than anything produced by Jackson and will find its way onto my shelf as the only version of DoS that I will watch. You truly did some remarkable work. Keep up the good work.
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
Thank you for this edit =) I expected much from this sequel but it was boring, and full of things that just didn't exist in the book just to fill a movie with 3h bahhh. I only wished that you've changed that end music, it is so not LOTR/Hobbit bahhh. Enya, Emiliana Torrini, Annie Lennox etc super cool but this one???? well, overall I praise you. =)
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Blu-ray
Overall rating
9.7
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
8.0
This edit is much better than the original version. Technically I did not notice any issues, the video quality is high and the audio is only 2 channel but also a high quality. The best part is how much of the movie has been cut but how little you notice the missing pieces.
I loved the LOTR trilogy but could never quite get into the books. However, The Hobbit is one of my favorite books of all time and I have been nothing but disappointed with the Hobbit films. They are overly long, filled with constant unnecessary reminders that these movies are prequels to the LOTR trilogy, and the films seem to forget that Bilbo is suppose to be the main character. Unfortunately some of those things still remain in this edit, which is why I had to take a few points off of enjoyability and narrative.
Nevertheless, this edit will be my official go to version for Desolation until someone creates a literary cut of all three Hobbit films. I highly recommend anyone who likes fantasy to check out this edit and to skip the theatrical cut all together.
I loved the LOTR trilogy but could never quite get into the books. However, The Hobbit is one of my favorite books of all time and I have been nothing but disappointed with the Hobbit films. They are overly long, filled with constant unnecessary reminders that these movies are prequels to the LOTR trilogy, and the films seem to forget that Bilbo is suppose to be the main character. Unfortunately some of those things still remain in this edit, which is why I had to take a few points off of enjoyability and narrative.
Nevertheless, this edit will be my official go to version for Desolation until someone creates a literary cut of all three Hobbit films. I highly recommend anyone who likes fantasy to check out this edit and to skip the theatrical cut all together.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched
Digital
