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

I love my book-edit of the Hobbit but I have to admit that some of the non-book material that was added by Mr. Jackson and company was not half-bad. This edit is a fantastic, condensed, and serious Lord of the Rings prequel based on Peter Jackson's 'Appendices' material that was added to make things connect with the LOTR films. Therefore, this edit is probably best for those who never read the book and only saw the Hobbit films. The edit is a reasonable length and the pacing is excellent, as well, feeling refreshingly focused.

Very intrigued by the tease that we may get 'Legendary Edits' of the LOTR trilogy as well...if this Hobbit edit is any indication, this project may end up as something truly special.

Recommended!

This one was great and surprising.

Video and audio quality is great and everything you expect from a Hobbit edit is there.

But first I was surprised how much this is closer to the LOTR feel, especially evident in how the Bag End feast was edited with its focus on food, sharp cuts, and audio overlap as the scene ends.

Then, the removal of the eagle escape was an unexpected stroke of genius I didn't know I needed. When the story is presented in one movie the eagles break the flow and introduce plot holes. This change fixes that and keeps the story going and pressure on.

The only bad cut I noticed was the Goblin King. His first scene is too close and sudden, it's missing at least an establishing shot. Other than that, the shield wall jump and ice jump were left in, which I only mention because I've seen an edit where that is removed (Stromboli). And no subtitles, for those who need them.

All in all, a great one-movie Hobbit experience.

Wow....just wow. After watching I had to show other people. Everyone loved it. The voice over in the beginning had everyone wondering if they wanted to sit down for 4 hours to watch this edit, but a few minutes in and everyone was completely absorbed. This is the way to enjoy the Hobbit Trilogy! Thank you so much!

the best encapsulating hobbit film which doesn't shy away from some of Peter Jackson's new additions to lore and serves a faithful epic rendition of the hobbit like you've never seen before, Bilbo is a bit of a secondary character to prophecies and dwarves, but it serves a purpose as his role inside the film, the editing is some of the best work I've seen on fan edits all together, flawlessly sequencing THREE movies into one single overarching narrative, if you've ever wanted to see the hobbit again, but better, well paced and structured, the legendary edit is the definitive way to go.

I thought Don Kamillo's 5-part Anti Cringe Cut was the last word in Hobbit edits until I saw this. Wraith's attempt at rescuing the three bloated Hobbit films works superbly - better than any others I've seen to date - because it identifies and extracts the strongest narrative thread and rebuilds the film around it with thoughtfulness and remarkable consistency. It shows us that - in all the footage that Peter Jackson shot - Thorin's narrative thread was always stronger than Bilbo's. Not that Bilbo is not a minor character here, but the focus on Throrin feels so right. You might call this edit "The Hobbit's Adventures with Thorin Oakenshield" because that's exactly what it is. Wraith has a deep familiarity with the huge volume of available material and the time he took in planning and thinking about his edit has really paid off. On the technical side, not much to say except that it's the same excellent standard as his other work.