Hobbit: There and Back Again, Part I

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9.1
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(Updated: March 15, 2014)
Overall rating
 
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
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8.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
Valar be praised, my favorite franchise has been saved! A month ago I had no idea what a fanedit was, now I'm thinking my fantasy/sci-fi collection may eventually be completely replaced with burned material!

Most importantly, it seems like the faneditors on this site are dialed into the most basic need for most movies - a version that does not cater to the silliness and inane action so popular with children (and many adults!). I watched this edit a second time with my kids and found they mentioned how they missed the scenes that I disliked the most. There you go.

OK, so specifically to the work of Menbailee here are the points I liked best about this edit: the focus on Bilbo (huge), shuffling and editing of scenes to create more mystery and suspense (dwarf flashback, etc), keeping most all the gollum material (it was pretty well done in the original), goblin king just disappears off the edge (that's enough, he's dead), short goblin escape (I hated the original), and wow the video/audio was outstanding (I saw the background details like never before), and much more I won't try to list it all.

Here are some things that in my humble opinion could be changed: Gandalf lops the head off a goblin with almost enjoyment (then lectures Bilbo about not being hasty to deal death - I can't see Gandalf ever taking a death lightly, even a goblin), how does the goblin king know Thorin so readily, Thorin mysteriously injured when no one else is (as explained in other reviews this might be unavoidable), still too much CGI (particularly pale orc, so sad they went away from real actors. I watched the FOTR again and found the costumed orcs so much more engaging and frightening. How I wish this orc could be removed entirely!).

Uncertain (not really sure if these should stay or go): plate tossing - it's over the top and really too bad, because it's a fun scene in the book. Troll dialogue - really pulls you out of serious mode with the movie and it's hard to believe they are any relation to the LOTR trolls. But I'm on the fence because the Hobbit is meant to be a bit lighter than LOTR, and the actor for Bilbo (Freeman) does an excellent job in the troll scene. I suppose I would need to see an edit without these scenes (or seriously cropped) to decide whether a change works.

Wish list: I wish for fanediting to advance to the point that beards can be put on the freaking dwarves! Durin would roll in his grave to see the 5 O'clock shadow on Thorin and his nephews (and some of the others with weak beards). I can't get over it honestly, and ultimately can't give a 10 to enjoyment unless that is rectified some day. I get trying to give the dwarves some individuality, but it could have been done with suitable beards. Please someone figure out how! Until then I can never enjoy the movie as a "10".

Ultimately though, Menbailee, you made my day. I was depressed coming out of the theater, I wanted to like the movie so badly but could not. Now I can, and so hope you will tackle Desolation of Smaug, though that be a much more challenging task!

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Overall rating
 
10.0
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10.0
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10.0
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10.0
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10.0
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10.0
I've given it all 10s because really I can't find any fault with this edit.

This is a superb edit and is my default option for viewing this movie, when I'm not in the mood for Jackson's forthcoming super-long cut. It feels more like the steamlined LOTR theatrical cuts. Jackson considers both LOTR versions as equaly valid, one shorter cut for the bum numbing cinema and one longer cut for relaxing at home with (Cup of tea in hand). Sadly with the theatrical Hobbit Jackson seemed to have forgotten is own rule.

The cuts in this edit are smooth, natural and help thboth the story and the pace. I LOVED the removal of the early Azog (aka 'Generic Villain' no.6) scenes, as it really keeps the narrative focused on the original quest. I LOVED the removal of the long intro sequence*. I LOVED the shortened Goblin escape. I LOVED that the final battle now feels less like an articially introduced "Epic" conclusion.

My favourite change was the removal of Bilbo's action-hero rescue of Thorin at the end. When Bilbo pledges himself to help Thorin in the previous scene I got goosebumps when I first saw it. This is the moment when you can see Thorin's heart melt and he finally respects Bilbo. Bilbo didn't need to then rescue him from Azog to doubly prove himself! A magical bit of subtle editing on Menbailee's part. True it does create a minor continuity error when we Thorin injured but this is a classic case of ends 100% justifying the means. I cringed when I last looked at the original cut of the ending after seeing Menbailee's cut.

Thank god Thorin pretending to be mad at Bilbo at the end has been removed, it made Thorin seem like a douche. Sooo much better now, the way it should always have been.

(* Menbailee has moved some of the intro footage into a beautiful montage as the Dwarves are singing. It gives me goosebumps up my arms and a lump in my throat. Not only that but we can directly see why Bilbo changes his mind and runs off to help the Dwarves take back Erebor.)

This will take pride of place next to my Extended Cut Blu-Ray at Christmas... and then my Theatrical Cut BR may very well be going to a 2nd hand store ;-)

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Yes
Format Watched?
DVD
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Overall rating
 
8.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
8.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
With the greatest will power in the world, I just couldn't bring myself to laud praise upon The Hobbit in the same way which I had for Jackson’s LOTR trilogy. It had nothing to do with how close the film is to the book; much like Menbailee, I feel it’s more important for the film to work as a piece of cinematic storytelling than a pure page by page representation of the book. It was simply that Jackson over-egged the pudding on this one. The decision to make three movies out a book so much shorter than the LOTR was fool hardy enough – to make the first film at 3 hours is just asking for trouble. Inevitably, the film suffers from padding galore and also Jackson’s most annoying trait of going that one step too far in terms of how he constructs and edits a major set-piece. By the time Gandalf and the dwarves are trying to escape the Goblin King and his army, I felt like I was watching a computer game at times.

However, underneath all the excesses, I thought there was a good movie there and thankfully, on the whole, Menbailee has managed to trim away the fat and produce the kind of movie I wanted to see at the cinema. First major plus point is the pointless Frodo cameo hitting the fanediting cutting room floor. This is quickly followed by some invisible trimming of the dwarves meet up with Bilbo. Then Menbailee really begins to get plus points for severely trimming down the sequence where the Dwarves fight the Trolls in an effort to save Bilbo from being their next meal. Granted, the cut is a bit abrupt and some may say heavy handed, but it’s a compromise well worth making, as this is one of the scenes which dragged painfully in the theatrical version.

I didn’t miss the White Council scene at all. My girlfriend disagreed, but I like the idea of The Hobbit standing on its own two feet, rather than throwing in too many attempts to refer and link directly to characters from Jackson’s LOTR trilogy, so this was a plus in my eyes.

Certainly, as the edit progressed, I began to really warm to the film as a whole. At last, I became fully engaged with the characters and the adventure they had embarked upon. Sure, it still lacks that certain something which felt more immediate and fresh when I saw Fellowship of the Ring, but there’s little doubt that this is a massive improvement on the bloated mess which we saw at the cinema last year.

However, there are a couple of issues here. Some may call them minor, others may see them as pretty key; but basically they relate to continuity issues caused by the cuts made. Firstly, the excision of the Warg attack is welcome, but then to leave in a line of dialogue when the company meet up with Elrond at Rivendale, about Gandalf admitting it may be their fault that Elrond was held up with taking care of the fall-out from that very attack, seems to come from left field somewhat. The same kind of problem presents itself when Thorin is still seriously injured even though his fight with the Warg’s is cut. The editor admits that he couldn't find a way around this, and we have to believe that it’s the falling through the different trees that has caused his injuries. In the end I think it works better with no final fight, so again I feel it’s a worthy compromise. However, such issues do prevent this edit from being a true masterpiece.

Ultimately, this is still an impressive piece of fanediting. Flawless, no. But still a must see if you, like me felt The Hobbit you saw at the cinema was an over-long, self indulgent exercise in dragging out a story to fill what will be 3 movies. Recommended.

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(Updated: August 18, 2013)
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
Ii was really concerned when the theatrical release went from two to three long films.
Those fears proved correct when The Hobbit - Part 1 was three ass-numbing hours.
This edit was more manageable, and more enjoyable.
Visually, it was stunning, and the sound was rock solid, as well.
I noticed trims, but they didn't bother me since what was removed was fatty slime.
The overall narrative, however, still seems too long.
Menbailee's edit cut a lot of crap, but not nearly enough.
The initial meeting inside Bilbo's hobbit hole goes on forever, the low point being the tossing of the crockery.
Then there's the over the top, fake as all out, "action" inside the Great Goblin's hall, cut from five minutes to one. To be fair, there is no way to repair this. It's simply cartoony.
Menbailee is due all the praise in the world for such a great overhaul, and I am looking forward to what he can do with Part 2.

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Yes
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Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Great work on this edit! While I did enjoy the theatrical version, and am looking forward to the seeing the extended edition - a two hour runtime is much easier on my backside. Like at the theater, I viewed this with my 10 year old, who said she preferred your edit. While scenes with Frodo, Azog, the White Council & the stone giants certainly were fun to see on the big screen, they aren't necessarily missed when viewing this film as a complete (or 1/3 complete) story.

The Great: Moving & dividing the prologue was EXCELLENT! We already have the intro with old Bilbo, so its nice to just get the story of the unexpected party started.
The troll fight cut was a necessity as it seemed like a waste of time where the dwarves looked like warriors only to be too easily defeated with no damage to the trolls.
While the warg chase was a throwback to the beautiful scenery used in The Two Towers; its elimination really keeps the journey moving, a major criticism of the LOTR films.
Thank you for trimming the Goblin king and subsequent chase scenes, these appeared to be too long & busy in the theatrical version, and the added "humor" of falling and smashing was not missed by me. Even the Erebor shots were done nice & proper, a change that might not have been considered by many.

Video quality was excellent, no artifacting at all. Only issue was my blu-ray player and TV couldn't figure out the letterboxing which left the picture cropped. Audio work was perfect with surround sound left intact. It seemed like a slight jump cut after the troll fight, but not sure what else be done visually (audio was spot on).

The Good: The showdown with orcs looked like it could have actually gone down that way, until we see the leader of the group unconscious during flight & requiring revival by Gandalf. Its too bad there weren't enough useful shots during these scenes that this part of the narrative couldn't be skipped. Omitting the acceptance speech played well into these changes, but even my kid found it hard to believe Thorin was knocked out without explanation. While I thought the addition of Azog was a fun way to create a more important villian for the film in the same vane as Lurtz in FotR, I'm sure we'll see over the next 5-6 hours of this trilogy that there are much bigger stories to tell.

Overall, a great addition to the world of LOTR edits which I can happily put up next to the official releases.

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