Hobbit: The Anti-Cringe Cut, The

Holy crap. This edit was beautiful, one of [if not] the best I've seen, alongside Scott Pilgrim vs. the Editor.

I was not a fan of The Hobbit when it came out. I'm 17 now, so I was 10 when then, and a fan of Lord of the Rings. Not a huge fan as I didn't really appreciate things that much back then, but I certainly was entertained by the series. Nothing particularly stood out to me as 'bad' in these films, they were just boring and a little stretched out for my liking. I saw the first one and didn't like it all too much. The second one was better, I really enjoyed Smaug hanging out in the gold, and the stuff with the elves. Never got around to seeing the third one, or rewatching the first two, even after buying the 6-film Middle Earth collection a few years ago (when I became more interested in film, and the Lord of the Rings series).

A little after getting into fanedits earlier this year, I decided that I'd like to try out The Hobbit again. I debated between this edit, and the Original Two-Film structure for my first endeavor, and this one was what I decided on, as there is more cut and the miniseries format lends itself to keeping my attention span.

Anyways, enough about myself. This edit was phenomenal! I can't give very good specifics as I'm not all too familiar with the source content, but I never got bored during the edit, and each episode wrapped up perfectly as it's own narrative. This edit turned me from a [presumed] Hobbit hater, to an actual fan of the series, and debating where I rank it amongst the rest of the Middle Earth set.

I noted a few small issues in editing, not with audio but with visual transitions, most likely just due to the source material available (there was one crossfade from a tracking shot on I think Thorin's head to a landscape, and just the speed/context of the fade was a little strange). Additionally, while, again, I'm not familiar with the source and it could be in there already, there was a few moments where dialogue was cut kind of awkwardly. Not so much that it took me out of the moment, but I felt that some stuff cut messed up the pacing - although I'm sure it successfully "Anti-Cringed" it. (For example, when Bard stands up to Smaug, Smaug doesn't see nor hear him, but somehow notices him immediately and starts speaking to him). However, editing still gets a 10/10 because the % I'd give it would round up anyways...

This edit was extremely well done, and I'm super interested in checking out The Last Jedi - Anti-Cringe Cut now.

Ah... DonKamillo, DonKamillo, DonKamillo - you f***in' genius you!
I too watched the Mini-series and you have, to quote the Oracle... 'Polished a Turd', and made the overkill of the 'original' Hobbit, at the very least, now worth watching and in bite sized pieces too.
The 'whole' now hangs together something like properly, it flows and it bobs up and down [like those awful barrels in the water!] and you now [whisper it!] care about the story and its inhabitants.
Having said all that - I still prefer the book!!! :D
Well done and THANKS, you wizard !!
;)

I watched the Miniseries version of this edit and I must say that DonKamillo you are an absolute genius. Watching in this format allows for the narrative to be restructured entirely by simply adding an intro and an outro. Genius.
I have watched almost all of the edits on this site and I have never found one that left me fully satisfied. Your edit came as close to that as I think I'm going to get without simply making my own; a feat I'm not sure I'm skilled enough to attempt.
Your editing was absolutely superb, there were a few cuts that I wish you hadn't made, and a few I wish you had (the Goblin king song) but overall this is by far my favorite edit.
I think you should explore the idea of making an episode 4.5 that contains the Dor Guldur subplot as an optional episode for those who care about why Gandalf dipped out for half of the series, I've found that to be the most jarring thing in many of the edits on here (and yes I know he does it in the book) so this isn't something I hold against yours.
My biggest complaint, surprisingly, was Azog being 100% gone. I think keeping him in as the orc commander would have been fine, he just doesn't need the back story PJ gave him.
Thanks for hooking me up, I'll be watching this edit for many years to come!

Okay, this may just be one of the absolute greatest fanedits I've ever seen. Admittedly, I'm a big fan of the Hobbit trilogy as is, but as someone who really adores the book, I was so happy with how more skillfully and much better this five-hour epic captures the spirit of the original source material. All of the changes, edits, and cuts made are for the absolute better, allowing for the story to flow more smoothly and the characters to be more interesting and involving. In my eyes, this is the definitive adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's unforgettable story. Flawlessly edited and visually stunning. Loved this so much.

I opted for the miniseries version and absolutely loved the experience of watching the five one-hour episodes, one per day. They never felt too long (as the movies did to me) and the episode breaks are at good spots in the story that leave you wanting more.

The editing is wonderfully done throughout with almost no noticeable cuts. In terms of the narrative, this fanedit truly captures the spirit of the book by focusing the story on Bilbo and the Dwarves and cutting out the side story fluff. As a result, I felt much more invested in the characters and their relationships than in most fanedits I've seen. The tone also flows from being more fairy-tale at the beginning (with the songs included) towards a darker tone more in line with the Lord of the Rings movies by the end - you really feel the shift in the episodic experience.

I do feel that the series could be trimmed a bit more, just based on personal preference for some scenes, but since the episodes are an hour long those moments didn't really last long enough to bother me (and to be honest, I'm just nitpicking). My only real issue was the inclusion of Bard's son in the arrow shot as for me this is the most cringy moment in the entire trilogy. Again, the moment goes by pretty quickly so it's not too offensive. I believe DonKamillo is looking into alternatives for this scene and this edit would become my go-to version in that case.

Overall, it's a fantastically edited series and a fun and different experience to watching the story. Well done and keep up the great work!