Hobbit Legendary Edit: A Lord of the Rings Prequel, The

This is one heck of an edit. From the moment the film starts you know it will be special. Wraith added an opening that sets such a completely different tone to the original film, it deserves all praise it gets!

It's also a great example of what a fanedit can achieve overall. Lean cuts, and a hugely entertaining experience overall.

Its as good as a prequel to LotR we will ever get. If you like the Hobbit you will love this. If you don't like the Hobbit, give this a shot! Odds are you will constantly be thinking 'hmmm, I thought I hated these films, maybe the bad parts haven't come up yet?'

Truly inspiring edit.

Very nearly a perfect version for me, once again showing how there is a great story buried in the trilogy that wrapped up ten years ago: have only seen the original versions once each and that was then, the Blu-rays remain unwatched! A/V quality is excellent as is the editing one expects from Wraith, found a couple of stray frames and other issues but those have since been rectified so not something to penalise.

There are just a couple of times where I would have preferred to have seen material left in, but these are embellishments and their absence has no negative impact on the plot, so will probably treat this as my "theatrical cut" going ahead. Need to browse through the other (longer) edits now to see if I can find an "extended edition" that suits my taste, for when I have more than four hours to spare!

"I already have fanedits of The Hobbit; do I really need another one?"

YES! You need THIS ONE. Why? Because it is so different than the others. Prior to this, I leaned heavily into "The Battle of Five Edits" as my preferred Fanedit of The Hobbit, but this one is so different, it deserves a special spot in the collection. This one *feels* like a prequel to the Lord of the Rings, rather than an afterthought. So many changes, it almost feels like an entirely different Hobbit film entry. It's like comparing the Rankin-Bass take to the Bakshi vision from the animated days.

This one makes me want to move directly into Fellowship of the Ring once I completed it.

Truly a great cut of this trilogy! At just around 3.75 hours, it fits nicely with the extended versions of the movies in this universe, and it leaves most of the slapstick and goofy jokes on the cutting room floor.

Wraith cuts some really silly stuff like the Barrel Escape battle, chooses the Mirkwood spiders instead of the sleeping water, tightens up lots of the movie and the final battle, and even leaves room for the two upcoming LOTR Legendary Edits via an epilogue to round out Wraith's trilogy. Obviously there is much, much more, but these changes alone were enough for me to love watching this.

Any visual or audio issues I noticed have been ironed out by the perfectionist themself. Absolutely will be watching again!

If youre going to watch any Hobbit fanedit, make sure its this one.

Crafted over the period of almost an entire decade by esteemed fan editor Wraith, comes an edit of the Hobbit that truly captures the feeling of Fellowship of the Ring.
It feels more like FOTR than either of the two sequels to Fellowship do. Thats whats so impressive about this. It has not only extensive narrative reworking, but actor work, soundtrack work, and sound effect work.
This LOOKS and SOUNDS like it came out in 2001 when Fellowship hit theaters. It captures that same exact feeling.

None of the other films in either the Hobbit or LOTR trilogy quite hit that bar, but here Wraith does it. The highest achievement here though is the brisk pacing. This is a Star Wars level triumph in terms of editing. MARVELOUSLY paced. Wraith managed to fit everything worth watching from all three films into one film, in less than 4 hours. This legendary edit incorporates many extended scenes or character moments most other hobbit edits miss.
Ive seen alot. This ones the best.

Its not just a great fanedit, its a great film in general, and lives up to it's namesake.

Legendary.