J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (Maple Films Edit)

I just saw it complete and enjoy it, in perfect HD and amazing 5.1! I always thought what The Hobbit would be like if I reassembled it by following the book and removing everything that had nothing to do with it and spoiled it; although I was always lazy, and I recently discovered this project that successfully made it. So congratulations and a thousand thanks for making me enjoy this way and giving me the definitive and perfect work.

Watched this edit last weekend. I got to say this was an amazing edit, great quality. The colour correction was great as I disliked the way the original versions looked. I also thought the restructuring of the movies into a 4 hour cut was well done, the unnecessary sub-plots are removed quickening the pace and I didn't mind the long hour run time as I liked that it was split in two just like the Extended Editions of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Ultimately this was more in tone with The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and more structured like Jrr Tolkien's Novel and all and all I really loved this edit and for me it is definitely the definitive version.

Dustin Lee has created a great edit of The Hobbit trilogy that is definitely worth watching.

I'm going to start off and say that I have never seen The Hobbit trilogy in its original form. I loved the novel since I've read it in middle school, but I never watched the movies because I'd heard so many negative things about them. I didn't want such a great story that I adored to be ruined by a poor adaptation. I asked around to see what the best fanedit of the trilogy was that I could watch. I had two big recommends: the Maple Films/Dustin Lee edit, and the Original Two-Film Structure (which I have yet to watch). So I decided to give this one a try.

I was not disappointed. Dustin did a masterful job of editing the films into one four-hour film (that I watched split into the two-hour parts split by an intermission. In a way, this was also the original two-film structure).

Audio/Video Quality:
Both were absolutely superb. It was a 1080p MP4 with a 5.1 surround track, giving the full experience of watching the film. I especially appreciated the 5.1 track, as it is something often omitted/converted to stereo in fanedits.

Visual Editing:
At no point in the film did I notice that any visual editing had been done. This is a good sign! It means that everything was seamlessly integrated into the new story. Well done.

Audio Editing:
Also superb. No complaints here.

Narrative:
I loved how close to the book this adaptation was. Sure, there was still a bit of extra stuff in there, but I didn't find any of it to detract from the story. There was also no point in the film where I thought, "Something was definitely taken out." Dustin has essentially rewritten the film into a cohesive plot that follows Tolkien's original novel.

Enjoyment:
Overall, I very much enjoyed watching this. It will be a part of my collection from now on. Well done, Dustin!

What a task this must have been! The amount of work needed to edit not just 1, but 3 (long) films must be immense.

Regarding the story, I found I agree with pretty much every removed scene / piece of dialogue / character. I was not sure some of these would work but after watching, I’m impressed. The overall narrative is now focused, thematically sound and represents a close interpretation of the original book.

As time and time again have proved, it’s a terrible idea for any scriptwriter / director / book writer to try to “interpret”, “improve” or “expand” on Tolkien’s work and worldbuilding. When Middle Earth is concerned, once you start adding characters and plot points unrelated to Tolkien, the final piece will always become worse.
Rule of thumb: no one improves on Tolkien’s world, no one. The swift extraction of many of these new characters and plot points, from all of the 3 original films, does indeed create a story that’s a “close approximation” of Tolkien’s vision.

In terms of quality and visual / audio editing, I could find no flaws.

Thank you for this!