M4's The Hobbit Book Edit

I have searched a while for a version of this film that is more faithful to the book. I have seen a few other fan edits without satisfaction. I am so happy to have found M4's wonderful adaptation. I don't have a single criticism of this version, especially considering the limitations of the source material.

I purchased a Blu-Ray burner so that I could experience this film on the "big screen". The audio and video quality is stunning. I was blown away with the special features, additional scenes and especially the audio commentary.

Thank you M4 for giving me a proper film adaptation to one of my favorite books from my childhood.

I'm just going to come out and say it: this was the Hobbit movie I wanted the first time around. Having grown up with the material, the Jackson films and the books, the Hobbit was one of the biggest letdowns of my movie-going life. Then along comes this cut. Most of the edits aren't even noticeable unless you're familiar with the scene. Even then, it was interesting to see a new spin on things and new life breathed into them. Because all the needless fat and pointless additions have been stripped, the acting and craftsmanship of the original cuts shine like never before. I was impressed by the VFX to patch certain scenes, such as removing Bard's son from the climactic arrow-shooting scene. I say do yourself a favor and watch this version.

Had been looking for a 3-in-1 edit of The Hobbit first. For 2 main reasons, 1. it's not a story that requires 3 3hr movies. The 77 animated film (which i grew up with and love) told basically the full story in 90 mins. All i need is the story that is told in the book. 2. Peter Jackson seems to like to make stuff up that he thinks will be cool or funny, or maybe it's studio involvement doing that, but when something that comes in in both LoTR or The Hobbit that isn't out of the books, things get pretty eye rolly. This was less prevalent for the LoTR seriese, but for The Hobbit, this happened so much i had to tap out after the 2nd movie. Tried watching the 3rd at some point, but couldn't wrap my mind around how they decided to put what should have been the climax for the last movie into the beginning of the 3rd.

All that said, from what i had seen of the films, i had to believe there is 1 good movie between them. It's acted well, and most scenes are accurate enough. There isn't stuff missing, just too much added, and a lot of subplots that kill the pacing, and kind of screw up character development in cases.

Anyway. This edit corrects all those issues. The cuts are seemless. Even when i know where a terrible scene should have been, it was cut out so cleanly it just made it more apparent that there was no reason for it. The biggest example is the transition from part 2 to part 3 that blends together and corrects a major flow problem with the original. Watching this with someone who had never seen the films, and they did not know when it actually transitioned into the 3rd film. The transition from 1 to 2 is not so smooth, but that is a problem of the source, since part 2 does not pickup cleanly where the first left off. This is worked around by using an "Intermission" screen. Which while i tend to dislike this even when part of the original movie, and this did take me out of the feeling that i was just watching a single movie, it did end up being a good pause point for us to stop and grab some food, so i guess it does actually end up working out, lol. For the most part i could just forget i was even watching an edited version of the films, and just enjoy it as single story and just one big epic journey.

The only things that threw me were:
- the previously mentioned intermission, which was actually a good thing, and i don't think there would have been a good way to transition otherwise
- A mention of radagast who doesn't appear (maybe this matches the book, but just stood out since i realized he was cut). Though to the edits credit it wasn't till way later that i realize that he never showed up.
- and a single shot of Evangeline Lilly that stands out. her plotline was thankfully removed, but a quick flash of her stands out knowing she was originally in it. Might have also stood out less if she was a less recognizable actress. It seem like that quick shot could have maybe have been edit omit the shot of here.

All in all this is a great edit. I'm sure anyone not being aware that this was originally 3 movies, would not have know it wasn't just one movie. Everyone who watched this version with me thoroughly enjoyed it. Those that had seen the originals, had the same feelings about it that i did (that they were not worth watching mostly, but found this version to be solid)

M4's The Hobbit is easily the best Hobbit edit around. Under the mountain of unnecessary subplots and physics-defying cgi, lies a legitimate adaption of Tolkien's book.
The end of the first movie was expertly edited and inserting the intermission here was a smart move. Using cgi to replace Bard's son with part of the tower was a great idea. The fight between Thorin and Azog is easier to watch without the "jumping out of the ice" fiasco and the battle is wrapped up before it overstays its welcome. I must also mention the cool cover designs and disc art M4 included that demand a spot on your media shelf.
Every choice made in this edit honored the source material and kept the story on Bilbo but didn't sacrifice any element of this epic journey for the sake of runtime. Consider this the definitive adaption of the Hobbit.

You gotta love the amount of passion creators put in these projects.

The result is a polished, better looking and MUCH better paced version of The Hobbit. Trimming down a bloated trilogy to what it should've been, one single great movie.

The color correction was a nice surprise, making scenes look a lot more natural and comfy.

The visual effects made to correct inconsistencies are the cherry on top.