M4's The Hobbit Book Edit

The edit is as close to the book you can get. This is probably the reason this edit really shines in the narrative. The pacing is so good the four hours really fly by when watching this edit. It also includes some impressive VFX edits that haven’t been done before in Hobbit edits, to make certain scenes work better.

Unfortunately going by the book while being limited to the source material leads to some compromises during the last stages of the battle of five armies, which reduce the enjoyment for me. The way it is structured is not too bad. However, when most of the edit is so well made that it could be an official ”The Hobbit Extended Edition”, certain parts of the end battle just made me feel too much like watching a fan edit in comparison.

That being said, this edit has earned its place for me whenever I want to watch the Hobbit in a single 4+ hour marathon session. My favorite way of doing it would be watching this for the first 3:23.55 leading right up to the battle of five armies, and then finishing with Episode 5 of Stromboli Bones’ Edit for a version of the battle that fits my tastes better.

If you are looking for a single movie-book accurate edit, this is the best that you can find. It's really long and there are moments that are a bit inconsistent but I don't think it could be done better with the existing footage. As for the technical aspect, this edit is perfect, I really liked the color correction here.

Finally had the chance to sit down and watch this edit. I can now honestly say that it truly lives up to it's hype. I was afraid that some of the VFX (namely the wood replacement of Bard's son) would be noticeable or distracting, however I can now say that those worries have been put to rest. Watching the edit in it's entirety flows so incredibly well that at no time did it ever feel like a 3-in-1 edit.

M4's editing instinct to cut down scenes for the sake of the overall narrative is masterful. The evolution Bilbo and Thorin's relationship is my overall favorite part of this edit. Removing the flip-floppy nature of their relationship that was present in the original 3 films resulted in a very emotionally impactful conclusion that originally felt largely resolved by the end of the first film.

My main criticism stems from some audio editing that was noticed, mainly in the music. Musical key's shift and clash a few times when the score is faded, levels seemed a bit off (mainly in the goblin tunnels), the bass track seemed to be missing in some scenes that largely needed it (Smaug's fall in Laketown, the bell breaking through the barricade of the lonely mountain, etc.). I also found it a bit odd including two references to Radagast the Brown without him showing up. Usually if a character is mentioned more than once, it is seen as a narrative setup for the character's reveal. I think cutting him mentions entirely would have been fine, with only a reference to the 5 wizards and Saruman's namedrop. Overall, these criticisms are extreme nitpicks that did not take away from my enjoyment of the edit at all.

Overall, the narrative that M4 bleeds from the source material has led to my personal favorite cinematic interpretation of The Hobbit. This version will be the one I return to for each of my yearly Lord of the Ring's rewatches. Thanks for the great work, M4!

I love this. It's near flawless. The only 'problem' I had with it is that it is too book accurate. I think the war and ending could work better if you didn't stick to the book this much.

Video/Audio editing: 10/10. Flawless audio and visual transitions.

Story: Up to the point the war starts it's a solid 10/10. Everything works flawlessly untill the war starts. The war itself and the ending is a 6.5/10 to me, though. There is just some elements missing like Bilbo being on top of the mountain with no context given as to why. Overall I give it a 8/10 for that reason.

I'd be very interested in exactly this edit with a different approach to the ending. That would be perfect imo.

Die-hard Tolkien fans, you need look no further! Ilúvatar has heard our prayers and sent his emissary M4 to bring us the definitive Hobbit edit. I was lucky enough to watch this masterpiece before it was featured in these fora and, although there were already some great fan-edits of the trilogy out there (I personally still keep Maple’s Durin’s Folk and the Hill of Sorcery as an appendix to the main story), M4’s Book Edit immediately became my to-watch version. And here are the main reasons for that:

1) Faithfulness: I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to adaptations. I mean, I never demand a word-for-word translation of the source material, but at the very least I expect to keep it close to the original’s spirit and follow its basic guidelines. M4’s Book Edit exceeds in that. His approach is that of a purist as well, but not to the point of botching up the narrative or the characters for the sake of faithfulness alone. The dwarves, for example, are often (deservedly) criticized for being too goofy compared to their book counterparts - some of them at least, like Bombur and Bofur. M4 trims away most of the misplaced humour without depriving them of their individual traits as depicted in the films, and never leaving them like empty shells of characters. It goes without question that all of the other annoying elements of the trilogy have been removed as well; Tauriel, Radagast, the awkward love triangle, the excessive, gravity-defying action pieces, all gone. Even Azog the Defiler is cleverly “replaced”, although I must confess that I wouldn’t mind if some references to his name were kept in and the Orc leader in the end identified as him, as long as he wasn’t a recurring villain throughout the whole film. All of the above are achieved through multiple seamless cuts and a good deal of digital tampering, which brings me to my second point...

2) The VFX: It’s what brought me to M4’s edit in the first place, after accidentally bumping onto his VFX creator’s reel on Youtube. I simply have no words for the work done on that area. It’s astonishing and really makes a difference! The digital reduction of Thorin’s wounds, the removal of the arrows on the barrels after the (now completely cut) river chase or even the replacement of Bard’s son during Smaug’s attack… And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! The attention to detail is impeccable when addressing continuity errors which may arise due to cuts or different approaches, bringing this edit flawlessly as close as possible to the source material.

3) The transition from An Unexpected Journey to The Desolation of Smaug: It’s a tricky part to edit, that’s for sure. Maple Film’s edit chooses to make this transition with some voice-over from Gandalf as the company moves from the Eagles to Beorn’s house. M4’s solution brings an air of 50’s and 60’s cinema to the table. Like Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments or Gone with the Wind, an intermission is used where The Journey ends and The Desolation starts. It’s old-school, it’s elegant and classy, and gives the audience a legit point to split the whole viewing experience in two. Absolutely love it!

I won’t dwell on all the other changes made (colour correction, Howard Shore’s OST etc.) As a conclusion to my review, I just want to address to any Tolkien lovers and LotR fans out there. Do yourself a favour and check this edit! It’s not just the epitome of a devoted, flawless fan-edit. It’s a total filmsaving experience that will make you see The Hobbit in a totally new light and fall in love with Middle-Earth once more.