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[Finrod]

Very much deserved indeed.
I may not completely agree with his vision of the hobbit, but he has done great things. And he gave us Middle earth on the screen, something which i will forever be grateful of.

 

[strafer]

and here I thought he already had one

 

[Jacob]

and here I thought he already had one

Yeah, I'm surprised he didn't have one already. Clearly deserved.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

A look at what we may see in the extended cut of TDOS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOg72b405QI

 

[TitusGroan]

The white stag in Mirkwood is a manifestation of the Elf King projecting himself, and Thorin symbolically tried to kill him? What?

 

[Edmond Dantès]

The white stag in Mirkwood is a manifestation of the Elf King projecting himself, and Thorin symbolically tried to kill him? What?

Peter and co have been keen to add their own 'visual metaphors'.

OneRing.net's analysis of them.

http://www.theonering.net/torwp/201...hors-from-the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug/

 

[obin_gam]

Well deserved whatever anyone feels about his recent output.

I'm gonna pretend it's for Braindead, Bad Taste and Meet The Feebles.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Doug Adams returns to Middle-earth

For the past few months, I've spent most of my create time outside of Middle-earth. That's about to change. Book two--which I've teased on Twitter and in online interviews, but am not yet ready to fully announce--is now in editing. That means I'm headed back to Tolkien's world.

To kick things off, I'll be appearing at Fantasy Con in Salt Lake City over the Fourth of July weekend. I'm scheduled for two events right now, and we're lining up a book-signing as well. And hey, maybe there will be a surprising announcement or two in store ...

Link

His book on the music of The Lord of the Rings is quite exceptional. I look forward to his analysis of The Hobbit's somewhat disappointing (thus far) score.

 

[Loxley]

Doug Adams returns to Middle-earth

Link

His book on the music of The Lord of the Rings is quite exceptional. I look forward to his analysis of The Hobbit's somewhat disappointing (thus far) score.

Looking forward to it. On the subject of the Hobbit score, while it certainly is nowhere near the God-tier package that we got with LotR - there are some gems here and there.

This got me listening to the soundtracks from both AUJ and DOS again, and I've compiled a list of what I feel are the ten best tracks of the bunch. However, I've decided to omit any tracks that contain blatant references to themes from LoTR (much as I enjoy stuff like 'The Adventure Begins' and 'The Hidden Valley'). So all of the ones I'm listing are wholly original to the Hobbit films.

10. 'Beyond the Forest' (DOS)
9. 'The High Fells' (DOS) - I like this mostly because it's probably the closest I'll ever get to hearing what Howard Shore might have come up with had he'd ever been tasked with scoring the Fog on the Barrow Downs chapter from FotR.
8. 'Edge of the Wild' (AUJ bonus track) - I wish I could find a link to the whole song, the first half is cut off in that video for whatever reason.
7. Axe or Sword (AUJ) - Our introduction to Thorin's two main themes, both of which I greatly enjoy...
6. Durin's Folk (DOS) - This is Thorin's big, triumphant track from DOS. I really like that it incorporates both of Thorin's themes and intertwines it with Laketown's theme. It fits well with the scene where Thorin gives his big pep-talk to the people of Laketown.
5. 'The World is Ahead' (AUJ) - Starts of with a lovely bit of Hobbity-sounding music, then transitions into the Misty Mountains theme once the reality of the task that lies ahead sets in. Speaking of which...
4. Misty Mountains (AUJ - The dwarf cast) - Ever since hearing this rendition of the song from the very first AUJ trailer, I've loved it. I know many book fans were disappointed since the song is played up to be a bit more cheery in the text, but that's never really bothered me. Much like the tone of the trilogy as a whole, the song comes off much more as a lament that the dwarves have lost their home, not a cheery bar-song about getting their gold back. Given Richard Armitage's portrayal of Thorin, I think this approach to the song fits much better.
3. 'Dreaming of Bag End' (AUJ bonus track) - What can I say? I'm an absolute sucker for Shire music. It's a beautiful track, Howard Shore just knows how to write music that fits Hobbits.
2. 'Over Hill' (AUJ) - This is obviously meant to be the main theme for the first chunk of BIlbo & Co's journey, and it's easily one of the best movie themes in years (and it's been my ring-tone since AUJ hit theaters ). I understand to an extent why it was dropped for Thorin's motif in DOS, but here's hoping we'll hear it return in BOFA.
1. 'Erebor' (AUJ bonus track) - I hate that this wasn't used in the final film, and cannot think of a good reason why it was omitted. It's utterly fantastic. Both this and Over Hill are up their with the best of The Lord of the Rings score in my opinion. Both are also great reminders that when Howard Shore is at his best, you can close your eyes and picture the places his music is "describing", and Erebor fits that bill in spades. My only problem with this track that it's not longer, but oh well.

I had a few observations while making this list. AUJ has a much stronger OST regarding themes for characters and locations, but DOS seems to be a little more consistent with it's tone for people who care about that sort of thing. Seeing as I'm a theme sort of guy, I tended to gravitate towards AUJ more. Also, it pains me that Smaug didn't have a more memorable track in DOS. Hell, Laketown's brief theme was more note-worthy than Smaug's. That's the true disappointment of DOS

I'm hoping Howard Shore can pull himself together for BOFA and give us something truly great.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Looking forward to it. On the subject of the Hobbit score, while it certainly is nowhere near the God-tier package that we got with LotR - there are some gems here and there.

This got me listening to the soundtracks from both AUJ and DOS again, and I've compiled a list of what I feel are the ten best tracks of the bunch. However, I've decided to omit any tracks that contain blatant references to themes from LoTR (much as I enjoy stuff like 'The Adventure Begins' and 'The Hidden Valley'). So all of the ones I'm listing are wholly original to the Hobbit films.

10. 'Beyond the Forest' (DOS)
9. 'The High Fells' (DOS) - I like this mostly because it's probably the closest I'll ever get to hearing what Howard Shore might have come up with had he'd ever been tasked with scoring the Fog on the Barrow Downs chapter from FotR.
8. 'Edge of the Wild' (AUJ bonus track) - I wish I could find a link to the whole song, the first half is cut off in that video for whatever reason.
7. Axe or Sword (AUJ) - Our introduction to Thorin's two main themes, both of which I greatly enjoy...
6. Durin's Folk (DOS) - This is Thorin's big, triumphant track from DOS. I really like that it incorporates both of Thorin's themes and intertwines it with Laketown's theme. It fits well with the scene where Thorin gives his big pep-talk to the people of Laketown.
5. 'The World is Ahead' (AUJ) - Starts of with a lovely bit of Hobbity-sounding music, then transitions into the Misty Mountains theme once the reality of the task that lies ahead sets in. Speaking of which...
4. Misty Mountains (AUJ - The dwarf cast) - Ever since hearing this rendition of the song from the very first AUJ trailer, I've loved it. I know many book fans were disappointed since the song is played up to be a bit more cheery in the text, but that's never really bothered me. Much like the tone of the trilogy as a whole, the song comes off much more as a lament that the dwarves have lost their home, not a cheery bar-song about getting their gold back. Given Richard Armitage's portrayal of Thorin, I think this approach to the song fits much better.
3. 'Dreaming of Bag End' (AUJ bonus track) - What can I say? I'm an absolute sucker for Shire music. It's a beautiful track, Howard Shore just knows how to write music that fits Hobbits.
2. 'Over Hill' (AUJ) - This is obviously meant to be the main theme for the first chunk of BIlbo & Co's journey, and it's easily one of the best movie themes in years (and it's been my ring-tone since AUJ hit theaters ). I understand to an extent why it was dropped for Thorin's motif in DOS, but here's hoping we'll hear it return in BOFA.
1. 'Erebor' (AUJ bonus track) - I hate that this wasn't used in the final film, and cannot think of a good reason why it was omitted. It's utterly fantastic. Both this and Over Hill are up their with the best of The Lord of the Rings score in my opinion. Both are also great reminders that when Howard Shore is at his best, you can close your eyes and picture the places his music is "describing", and Erebor fits that bill in spades. My only problem with this track that it's not longer, but oh well.

I had a few observations while making this list. AUJ has a much stronger OST regarding themes for characters and locations, but DOS seems to be a little more consistent with it's tone for people who care about that sort of thing. Seeing as I'm a theme sort of guy, I tended to gravitate towards AUJ more. Also, it pains me that Smaug didn't have a more memorable track in DOS. Hell, Laketown's brief theme was more note-worthy than Smaug's. That's the true disappointment of DOS

I'm hoping Howard Shore can pull himself together for BOFA and give us something truly great.

Really good list Loxley. Agree wholeheartedly about Smaug, I expected, no, wanted a memorable theme for him. Shame really. However if Howard can produce anything even close to the majesty of The Lighting of the Beacons, Far Green Country or even the Battle of the Pelennor Fields for BOFTA I'll be extremely pleased. Just mentioning those tracks evokes emotions in me that have been dormant of late.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Jed Brophy (Nori) Interview

Yeah, we did our last lot of reshoots last year actually. Proper reshoots, in terms of us walking and talking and busting things up for The Battle of the Five Armies — just before the whole circus started for the second film last year.

We have got together — the actors have got together — to do some ADR. We’re doing fighting and running and dying sounds as we call it. And they quite often get us together in groups to do it because it’s easier to record and we can get some play between each other — bouncing off each other.

So that’s really… all we have left to do is the automated dialogue replacement — the ADR as they call it.

We did think… we did hope actually, a bit like with Lord of the Rings, that we would have one final hurrah shooting on the soundstages this year. But, you know, Peter obviously knew that he’d got as much of the actor stuff as he wanted, and the rest of it was going to be motion-capture.

But… all of our stunt doubles have been working doing motion capture stunt stuff for The Battle of the Five Armies. As I say, as we speak it’s still going. Yeah, we’re looking forward to seeing a cut, actually. I haven’t seen any of the third film… apart from the stuff we’ve done ADR for, we haven’t seen any, kind of, long bits shot together.

It’s gonna be a big surprise for us as well.

Link


I wonder if the Battle of the Five Armies will surpass the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Peter will want to go out with a bang and may ramp up the scale of the battle far beyond that of the book. It'll certainly be the final battle in Middle-earth that we see depicted for many decades.

I doubt the marketability of anything adapted from the appendices and that is all that remains as long as Christopher and the rights endure.

 

[The Artful Dodger]

But how much skateboarding can we expect to see from Legolas?

 

[Edmond Dantès]

But how much skateboarding can we expect to see from Legolas?

I expect he'll be quite prominent in the finale, he may even lose someone he cares for. I don't think many will care very much if Tauriel expires in BOFTA.

 

[Vashetti]

I expect he'll be quite prominent in the finale, he may even lose someone he cares for. I don't think many will care very much if Tauriel expires in BOFTA.

I would care

 

[Franchuzas87]

Seeing that Loxley talked about the soundtracks (nice list), I would like to give my opinion and say that I really like the DOS one. I have already seen the film four times (one at the cinema, three at home) and some of the tunes definitely are growing on me as much as some of the LOTR did.

For example, Tauriel's theme is easily one of my favourites of the entire Jackson's Middle-earth saga. I love when it kicks in action sequences (like at the end of Flies and Spiders), but it's also fantastic in the more serene version when Tauriel is talking with Thranduil. This also leads us to Feast of Starlight. Say what you want about that invented subplot about Kili and Tauriel, but what is clear for me is that it also has given us some of the best music from Shore in this trilogy. Or the Rings films in general.

Moving on, I'm also a fan of the music in the Woodland Realm, Laketown, Erebor (specially when they finally get to open the secret door), and Girion (this tune greatly improves the scenes where Bard recites the poem and where Thorin & co. find the corpses of the dwarves in the mountain). Smaug's theme may not be one of my favourites of the bunch, but it also has its moments when the tension escalates.

 

[Thequietone]

I expect he'll be quite prominent in the finale, he may even lose someone he cares for. I don't think many will care very much if Tauriel expires in BOFTA.

My wife will, she really likes Tauriel, but she'll care if any of the good guys expires.

 

[Sean*O]

heh

also Filthy tricksie lil Hobbitses. Is he mad cos he got shafted on his wages or something.

http://www.digititles.com/other/whe...d-14/photos/martin-freeman-s-famous-finger-19

I mean, when it's over 20 times he just doesn't give a fuck.

LOL this is great.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

More speculation and rumours concerning the BOFTA trailer

Our Russian friends at Henneth-annun.ru have some additional information about the long-awaited trailer for the final Hobbit film.

Their inside source says that the trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies contains just four spoken phrases. Four sentences only.

If true, here are two possibilities: the trailer is more of a teaser length, or it’s going to be more epic, and more serious than anyone has previously considered.

Which brings us to another snippet courtesy of our own source, who reckons that it’s going to make us all cry.

Now that sounds like some trailer.

Link

 

[Little Old Man]

More speculation and rumours concerning the BOFTA trailer

Link

I just need an end in sight for this very long wait! Shouldn't be too long now!

 

[Edmond Dantès]

I just need an end in sight for this very long wait! Shouldn't be too long now!

It's best to savour it because it'll be decades before Tolkien fans have any film related trailers to look forward to.

 

[Little Old Man]

It's best to savour it because it'll be decades before Tolkien fans have any film related trailers to look forward to.

I'm trying not to think about that to be honest.

At least I'll have the nostalgia for all six PJ film trailers to keep me warm at night. In particular TTT and ROTK when combined with my young age back then!

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Joe Letteri agrees with rename of the final Hobbit film

Joe Letteri insists the title for the final instalment of 'The Hobbit' had to be changed.

The visual effects artist - who is known for his work on films including 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' - claims director Peter Jackson made the right decision in changing the name of the final instalment of the epic fantasy trilogy.
Following on from 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' and 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug', the third in the series was originally going to be named 'The Hobbit: There and Back Again' but was altered earlier this year to 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies'.

Quizzed on whether he felt the new title was a better fit for the concluding chapter, Letteri said: "Yeah because it is the climax, and you really just need to know that there is another battle for Middle-earth".

'The Hobbit' serves as a prequel to 'The Lord of the Rings' - both of which were written by J.R.R. Tolkien and adapted into films by Jackson - and Letteri thinks the new title better demonstrates that.

He told Collider: "The whole extension of The Hobbit's story has really been to get us to the point where we understand when we leave it what's going to happen when you pick up the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, and this really does kind of set that tone".

When asked whether the battle will be the highlight of all six films, Letteri added: "We hope so, that's the whole idea ... It's got to give you the sense that if it isn't won, there is no Lord of the Rings".

Link


And this encapsulates everything wrong about this adaptation.

 

[Dalthien]

And this encapsulates everything wrong about this adaptation.

I disagree. I mean, I understand what you're saying, but the reality is that this is the only way that WB was going to be willing to go through all the trouble of getting all the license/distribution rights ironed out for the film (nevermind actually financing it). They weren't going to bother for a single film, and they certainly weren't going to bother if The Hobbit films didn't strongly tie into the successful LOTR films. PJ eventually decided to expand the 2 films into 3, but the story was always going to be drawn out, and there was always going to be a strong tie-in with the LOTR films. There was no way around that.

The Hobbit films aren't nearly as good as the LOTR films (then again, for my money, the Hobbit book isn't nearly as good as the LOTR book either), but I've still found them enjoyable, and am happy to have had these extra chances to delve back into Middle-Earth on the big screen.

The option was a longer, drawn-out version of the Hobbit that stuck very closely to the LOTR films, or no Hobbit films at all. I'm very happy to have these films that we have rather than nothing.

 

[NeoGiff]

Joe Letteri agrees with rename of the final Hobbit film

Link

And this encapsulates everything wrong about this adaptation.

I don't post here much (if at all), but wow...just, wow. Why does Jackson feel the need to artificially raise the stakes to insurmountable odds? Maybe I'm wrong in thinking so, but if this replaces the Pelennor Fields as the definitive "Battle for Middle-Earth" (which is such a juvenile approach), the tiny sliver of hope I have for any semblance of redemption for this trilogy will be snuffed out.

 

[bengraven]

The extras should have been minimal and fun easter eggs for fans of all the Tolkien books.

The Hobbit should have stood alone.

That said, TABA is more of a title for the entire series, that I will agree with, and not just the final one.

 

[Loxley]

Good lord we're starved for news. Comic-con, hurry up and get here.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

I disagree. I mean, I understand what you're saying, but the reality is that this is the only way that WB was going to be willing to go through all the trouble of getting all the license/distribution rights ironed out for the film (nevermind actually financing it). They weren't going to bother for a single film, and they certainly weren't going to bother if The Hobbit films didn't strongly tie into the successful LOTR films. PJ eventually decided to expand the 2 films into 3, but the story was always going to be drawn out, and there was always going to be a strong tie-in with the LOTR films. There was no way around that.

The Hobbit films aren't nearly as good as the LOTR films (then again, for my money, the Hobbit book isn't nearly as good as the LOTR book either), but I've still found them enjoyable, and am happy to have had these extra chances to delve back into Middle-Earth on the big screen.

The option was a longer, drawn-out version of the Hobbit that stuck very closely to the LOTR films, or no Hobbit films at all. I'm very happy to have these films that we have rather than nothing.

I'll always maintain that The Hobbit would have been fine as a two film adaptation with subtle allusions to The Lord of the Rings. Subtlety is something sorely lacking in this adaptation. Peter and co are certainly capable of such subtlety and to take just one example from The Lord of the Rings; the "incident with the dragon" exchange between Frodo and the Grey. The superfluous lore hasn't really added anything of note and detracts from the primary plot of The Hobbit; the development of the everyman Bilbo.

None of this should be seen as a slight on the team though. Their passion and hard work is exemplary and they should be applauded. One of the positives of this adaptation is that it acts as a gateway for those who haven't ventured into Tolkien's Legendarium and increases recognition for a forgotten and underappreciated tale of faerie.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

BOFTA trailer on the 20th?

https://twitter.com/theoneringnet/status/484063966306385920

 

[N7Commander95]

One thing I really do agree with is changing the name.

There and Back again, worked] extremely well with the two movie format, ot so much with the three

 

[strafer]

BOFTA trailer on the 20th?

https://twitter.com/theoneringnet/status/484063966306385920

says the page doesn't exist

 

[Edmond Dantès]

says the page doesn't exist

It's nothing major, just a cryptic tweet from OneRing.net with stating 'J U L Y T W E N T I E T H'. They have good sources though and predicted a mid-to-late July release date previously.

 

[strafer]

PJ Facebook

Thank you all for your responses to my posting about Lorri and Damien’s book. Of course, many of you asked about the Hobbit Trailer. So, yes - there will be a Hobbit Trailer. But like the previous two years, it’s not going to be released until around Oct. The complex VFX work required to produce the battle shots we’re all wanting to see are simply not far enough along yet.

However … yesterday I finished work on a Teaser Trailer and that has just been delivered to Warner Bros. So no doubt this Teaser Trailer will be making it’s way into the world sometime soon…

Cheers,

Peter J

 

[Napalm_Frank]

PJ Facebook

Aww . I was looking foreward to a full trailer. Oh well, at least after the teaser the wait for full trailer+DOS EE won't be too long.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

What are people expecting from the trailer?

Personally, something akin to Return of the King's would do me just fine, although I don't expect a speech on par with Aragorn's considering the rumour of just 4 sentences.

 

[Loxley]

That's a bummer about the trailer, but at this point they shouldn't rush the effects just to get it out.

What are people expecting from the trailer?

Personally, something akin to Return of the King's would do me just fine, although I don't expect a speech on par with Aragorn's considering the rumour of just 4 sentences.

Considering that even the "teaser" trailers PJ makes tend to be lengthy, I'm expecting a decent amount of footage, and given Jackson's wording, it's likely we won't see a lot of effects-heavy shots. So we may end up with a teaser that focuses more on the characters than the spectacle (I'll be expecting that in October), which in this case is a good thing.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

That's a bummer about the trailer, but at this point they shouldn't rush the effects just to get it out.



Considering that even the "teaser" trailers PJ makes tend to be lengthy, I'm expecting a decent amount of footage, and given Jackson's wording, it's likely we won't see a lot of effects-heavy shots. So we may end up with a teaser that focuses more on the characters than the spectacle (I'll be expecting that in October), which in this case is a good thing.

Indeed. As far as characters go; Bilbo most certainly, but I'm also keen to see how heavily Saruman will feature, not just in the marketing build-up but the film itself. It is important to note that Christopher was quite poorly and frail during the shooting of his scenes, but he has improved much since then thankfully.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

Dantes, what did you think of DoS?

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Dantes, what did you think of DoS?

I enjoyed certain aspects of it, especially Smaug and Bilbo's initial confrontation, before it became an extended chase sequence. Gandalf in Dol Guldur was fun. Peter showing, rathing than telling as Tolkien does in the novel. Lee Pace was excellent as Thranduil.

Tauriel didn't bother me too much, although Philippa and Fran should have looked more closely at Tolkien's better realised female characters for inspiration.

Other aspects of the film not so good. Howard was not at his finest and has yet to reach the highs of the Lord of the Rings, but alas, not many can even reach the those heights more than once in a lifetime. Nonetheless, it's still an adventure (of sorts) in Middle-earth and I can still immerse myself in it without being too judgemental.

But The Lord of the Rings is certainly looking like a lightning in a bottle moment, never to be repeated. If Peter and co can give us a good finale and farewell to Middle-earth on the big screen, I'll be content.

As for the initial hype, well D'artagnan said it best; rapidly do our dreams travel on Imagination's wings.

 

[kingkitty]

I hope every dwarf in Bilbo's crew get killed off. I haven't read The Hobbit, but damn, it's ridiculous how the movies got so much death and destruction, and only one dwarf was ever close to death.

I want dwarf beheadings.

I want that fat dwarf to get a dozen arrows in the neck.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

I hope every dwarf in Bilbo's crew get killed off. I haven't read The Hobbit, but damn, it's ridiculous how the movies got so much death and destruction, and only one dwarf was ever close to death.

I want dwarf beheadings.

I want that fat dwarf to get a dozen arrows in the neck.

A battle is coming and death counts in Peter Jackson battles tend to be high. Dwarves are a hardy bunch though.

 

[Dmax3901]

I enjoyed certain aspects of it, especially Smaug and Bilbo's initial confrontation, before it became an extended chase sequence. Gandalf in Dol Guldur was fun. Peter showing, rathing than telling as Tolkien does in the novel. Lee Pace was excellent as Thranduil.

Tauriel didn't bother me too much, although Philippa and Fran should have looked more closely at Tolkien's better realised female characters for inspiration.

Other aspects of the film not so good. Howard was not at his finest and has yet to reach the highs of the Lord of the Rings, but alas, not many can even reach the those heights more than once in a lifetime. Nonetheless, it's still an adventure (of sorts) in Middle-earth and I can still immerse myself in it without being too judgemental.

But The Lord of the Rings is certainly looking like a lightning in a bottle moment, never to be repeated. If Peter and co can give us a good finale and farewell to Middle-earth on the big screen, I'll be content.

As for the initial hype, well D'artagnan said it best; rapidly do our dreams travel on Imagination's wings.

I tend to agree except I thought Gandalf vs Sauron was really poorly done, felt like something from one of the Harry Potter movies. Also nice tag!

 

[Napalm_Frank]

I still remember when DOS was released and everybody was raving how much better it was than the first one (especially the early showings tweets ect.). Then I saw it myself and thought I was crazy for thinking the first one was better. I still think DOS is the ''worst'' of all the movies even tho i still like it a lot.

But then again I seem to be an oddball with these movies since Two Towers EE is my favourite.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

I still remember when DOS was released and everybody was raving how much better it was than the first one (especially the early showings tweets ect.). Then I saw it myself and thought I was crazy for thinking the first one was better. I still think DOS is the ''worst'' of all the movies even tho i still like it a lot.

But then again I seem to be an oddball with these movies since Two Towers EE is my favourite.

AUJ is certainly the truest to the spirit of the novel, does that make it a better film, no indeed. DOS suffers from much of the issues that plague the second half of AUJ and it's something that may well plague much of BOFTA. Wrapping up loose ends may also be a cause for negativity, considering the criticism of ROTK's ending from some quarters.

 

[DanteSparda504]

I still remember when DOS was released and everybody was raving how much better it was than the first one (especially the early showings tweets ect.). Then I saw it myself and thought I was crazy for thinking the first one was better. I still think DOS is the ''worst'' of all the movies even tho i still like it a lot.

But then again I seem to be an oddball with these movies since Two Towers EE is my favourite.

I felt that DOS was the worst of the five released, but I also felt that it had arguably the best scene of all the movies. Bilbo and Smaug was so well done. It really was breathtaking seeing it on screen.

 

[Megalosaro]

I actually didnt care for that scene actually. Too much moving around.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

The few highs of The Hobbit thus far pale in comparison to highs of The Lord of Rings. These great moments have been discussed numerous times in this thread and threads of yesteryear. Will the same be the case for The Hobbit trilogy once said and done? I think no.

And Saruman said thus; "You are a lesser son of greater sires." Very apt for The Hobbit trilogy.

 

[Little Old Man]

The few highs of The Hobbit thus far pale in comparison to highs of The Lord of Rings. These great moments have been discussed numerous times in this thread and threads of yesteryear. Will the same be the case for The Hobbit trilogy once said and done? I think no.

And Saruman said thus; "You are a lesser son of greater sires." Very apt for The Hobbit trilogy.

I do hope a few years down the line we get someone going on record as to why the Hobbit Trilogy doesn't stack up to it The Lord of the Rings. Was it because The Lord of the Rings was as you've said lightning in a bottle? Was it external pressure from Hollywood Execs due to the huge investment put forth to create them (and thus attempts to add in certain elements to appeal to a mass audience)? Something else entirely?

 

[Edmond Dantès]

I do hope a few years down the line we get someone going on record as to why the Hobbit Trilogy doesn't stack up to it The Lord of the Rings. Was it because The Lord of the Rings was as you've said lightning in a bottle? Was it external pressure from Hollywood Execs due to the huge investment put forth to create them (and thus attempts to add in certain elements to appeal to a mass audience)? Something else entirely?

The points you've mentioned are certainly some of the factors. I'd add that they had less material to work with and when deviating from Tolkien, they tend to do quite poorly. Trying to match the tone of The Lord of the Rings with half hearted attempts to invoke the faerie feel of The Hobbit is also an issue.

The stars aligned for them 14 years ago, and they pulled it off. This trilogy is 14 years too late.

 

[tryagainlater]

I do think a lot of it is the material they have to work with. I do like The Hobbit book but in comparison to The Lord of the Rings books, it's literally comparing a kid's book to an epic. Personally, I'm glad they tried to bring the tone somewhat closer to the LOTR trilogy while maintaining some amount of whimsy. I just wish it was done a bit better.

 

[Jacob]

I think the trying to match the whimsical, almost fairy tale nature of The Hobbit with the epic tone of LOTR was a mistake, particularly because the LOTR movies were already less fairy-ish than the LOTR books. It results in some really bizarre tonal shifts and is also hampered by PJ's sense of humor being so different from Tolkien's. I don't think this concept was ever going to work, not with PJ and company at the helm. That said, I don't think that stripping out the last vestiges of the whimsy and making The Hobbit uniform "badass" action would have worked either, because you're still dealing with a smaller, more parochial, and frankly less interesting conflict than in LOTR. The real selling point of The Hobbit is Bilbo's journey and evolution, but that was never a priority for the movies.