Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Edits, The

Let me start by saying that I wasn't an Hobbit fan until I watched the fanedits. And only had the discs because someone had gifted them to me to pair with my LotR discs.
I didn't like the originals at all. There was potential in them but poor execution/editing. I would rate the originals as an "ok", a 5 out of 10. There was just too much nonsense in them. The fanedits raised the quality to a 7 or 8 out of 10.

I initially watched M4_'s edit during the weekend. And I liked it so much that I ended up rewatching The Hobbit during next week; but this time went with Stromboli Bones' edit.
If you're wondering which version to watch then it mostly depends on how much free time do you have. They are both equally excellent and have made The Hobbit something I intend to rewatch, through their fanedits.

I always find it difficult to write reviews because I easily forget things. Particularly the supposedly "small" things.
But I guess that is the effect of a true craftsman. Removes the warts so you never knew they were there. Polishes the rough edges so everything looks smooth.
In any case one only needs to scroll through the list of changes to see how much work was put into it.

Since I watched both fanedits in such a short period let us hope I don't mix something up here.
And the above section of the review is common to both.

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Stromboli Bones' edit is fantastic. It cuts out 99% of the nonsense and bad subplots while still leaving plenty of meat for a 5h feast.
From the technical point of view I have nothing to add. Everything is flawless and perfect to my eyes.
From a director's point of view as far as I can remember I think the only changes I would have made would be:
- trimmed the scene of the dwarfs doing the dishes
- included the scene where Bilbo approaches the Elven king and Gandalf with the Arkenstone - any reason for removing it?
- have the dwarfs song as the ending theme - yes I'm aware it plays later, but would be nice as the first one

Compliments to Stromboli Bones and all who helped on the project!

A great edit, no doubt!
It is very well done following the adventurous narrative of Bilbo Baggins and the group.
Revealing the story as it goes by, step by step, as for example Azog being introduced later in the movie, instead in beggining of the journey as a story or flashbacks.
Cutting out all of Dol Guldur and side stories was the best choice from my point of view!

I have to say the 5 parts edition suprised me big, when I saw how those were made!
In the end of pt. 2 thou after being saved by the eagles on the cliff, then in the next scene Bilbo seeing Azog scouting party again is very
sudden. Would love to see a transaction scene going down the mountain or what ever can be filled!? If possible

An honorable mention is the 5.1 audio and the enhancement on Thorin's voice under the 'Dragon sickness'!

Overall A great project! Truly enjoyable for watching the pure adventure of Bilbo Baggins!

It comes in 5 parts or "episodes", each about an hour long, with the final one being a little over an hour. I have seen the originals/theatrical cuts so I know much of what was cut. Bones was able to cut out all the bloat extremely well and in a completely unnoticeable way. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone wanting to watch these films for the first time or as an alternative. The plot makes perfect sense with all the cuts and nothing felt off or strange. Fantastic job all around.

Marvelous... stupendous... magnificent! A great idea to combine the creativity of many minds, and congrats for the hard work to make it happen. The theatrical version was a bloated mess; this edit tells a full and satisfying story. I finally understand all of the character motivations, I appreciate more of what Peter Jackson was trying to do in some areas and I was engaged throughout all 5 parts.

When I watch LOTR, it's a perfect ending but I still don't want it to end. I had this same feeling when the Hobbit finished. Well done!

Not much of a poster but saw that I hadn’t reviewed this when I thought I had. This edit is UNREAL! Flawlessly combined and very solid format to break it into 5 episodes. Narrative was clear and I was delightfully surprised how much was edited but how much better it was. Very impressive and definitely how I will watch the hobbit from here on out. Highly recommend.