Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Arkenstone Edition, The

This is the movie I wanted to see at the cinema!

Faster pace, more focused, and best of all much more music from The Hobbit's score is used giving the film its own identity.

I watched this edit on Blu-Ray and it looks (to me anyway) identical to the official Blu-Ray I already owned and visual editing on a whole is fantastic. The only visual edit that isn't flawless is the footage of the picture in Rivendell that I think was taken from FOTR but it only lasts for a few seconds and I couldn't bring myself to knock a point off because of it.

Audio editing is perfect. Using the film's original score as much as possible really makes AUJ feel like its own thing and not just a LOTR cash-in. However, doing this means sometimes the score can overpower dialogue in certain scenes. It really didn't bother me much at all but I can see how it could annoy some people. Still I don't think it warrants knocking that 10 down to a 9.

Overall if you were disappointed with AUJ's original release I recommend watching this. My official Blu-Ray disc is now in a cupboard somewhere with this edit taking its place in the official case.

Thank you, Kerr!

I would imagine I come to these movies in a somewhat unique way. I didn't grow up on the books and only read LOTR after having seen the movies and the EEs many times. I have never read the Hobbit or any other ancillary material, including the appendices for LOTR. With that, I would imagine I came to the theatrical version with a bit less baggage than typical fans of the book. Overall, I enjoyed the movie, but not as much as I had the LOTR movies. I purchased the EE when it was released and actually enjoyed that quite a bit more, though there were some additions I could do without. Most notably, any additions to the Goblin King section. I feel my enjoyment of the EE more than my initial theatrical experience is due, in part, to more familiarity with a large ensemble cast. The issues I initially had, ironically, are expanded in the EE, namely some slow, plodding sections and over-the-top silliness. Yet I enjoyed the EE more. Again, I feel this is because, with no prior exposure to most of these characters in my initial viewing, it took me a while to get to know them and care about them. I think this is why PJ made the Bag End scenes so long. Kerr's shortening to about 30 minutes certainly feels right now, but if this were my initial viewing, would I feel the same way? That's the tough thing about reviewing these fan edits; it's impossible to go in with a clean slate.

By far, for me, the biggest improvement is the cuts to the Goblin Kingdom scenes. Thank god the song is gone (the biggest problem I had with the EE). The chase scenes are so cartoonish and silly--like something from Sonic the Hedgehog--that the fact that Kerr completely removed them was a huge aspect of my enjoyment. Compounding the issue, these silly scenes were intercut with the Riddles in the Dark scene, the best part of the movie. It reminded me of the silliness of the Ewoks intercut with the Throne Room duel in RotJ. I would guess a lot of the silliness is in this movie to try to keep it more in line with the tone of the book (which, again, I haven't read). But I think it needed to be completely a children's story or completely in line with the LOTR trilogy. Kerr does about as good a job as I can imagine making it the latter.

It's impossible to say for sure if I would have enjoyed this version the best, had I seen it first. But it is now my go to version. I will need to grab the Blu Ray version as soon as possible!

One question I did have is where the video game sources were used. I didn't seen them referenced in the changes section.

I can't say much which hasn't been said already in other reviews.

When I watched the first part of the Hobbit in the theater, I thought that there was a good movie hidden in the theatrical edit. Kerr was able to unearth this movie – or better – get the movie somewhat more down to earth. Gone are most of the many physical impossibilities, most of the "funny" stuff, the pacing is better, the story does focus much more on Bilbo.

Sure, I could imagine an even better version if Radagast's Raving Rhosgobel Rabbits were gone, too, if the orc subplot was toned down, and if the White Council vanished, but I totally understand the choices Kerr made to keep it compatible to what came in DoS and most likely will come in the final part (I still hope that an almost close to the book fan edit, without any added stuff, will be possible in 2015). I thoroughly enjoyed the edit (and the incredible audio wizardry, though in a few parts the dialog was a bit hard to understand).

Almost full marks. I enjoyed this greatly, the movie suddenly gained seriousness and depth without annoying scenes. The theatrical release was a disappointment, but this edit made it worthwhile and enjoyable, love it!

I noted some problems with audiolevels, where the music sometimes made the dialogue hard to hear, but that can have to do with my stereo system.

Thanks for a great edit, I can now try to forget the theatrical release.

Great stuff. There's not much to say, so my review will be brief.

I love LOTR, so I was there opening night for AUJ. I knew it wasn't going to be as good as LOTR, that wasn't possible. Like many, I found myself somewhat disappointed in the film (still love it, to be clear), mostly pacing and narrative wise. Let me just say that there's no disappointment in this edit. It's not a replacement for me (I'm still holding tight to my EE - I want as much Middle Earth as possible), but it is, most likely, the best possible version of the film. It's faster, it's not as jumbled - it's definitely more focused. I could go more in depth, but I think the easiest thing to say is look at the cutlist and understand that every change works and improves the movie.

I only have a couple of problems with the edit. First thing I noticed that was off was the shot of painting in Rivendell - color wise and because of the slow motion. Next, and last, was the audio in the final few scenes. The thing is, when the entire audio track was replaced, the music wasn't loud enough, and it felt somewhat empty. Also, some of the original music seeps through when there's dialogue, but that's not as big a deal.

Anyway, great, great edit.