All times are UTC


It is currently Sun Nov 24, 2024 4:04 am



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 5 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Is the Special Extended Hobbit AUJ worth buying?
PostPosted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 3:55 pm 
Loremaster
Loremaster
Offline

Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 9:14 pm
Posts: 1556
Location: England
Images: 17
Hi guys,

There has been a bit of banter on this already but, I wonder if what the reactions have been from those of you who have actually bought the film?
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Is the Special Extended Hobbit AUJ worth buying?
PostPosted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 5:57 pm 
Wayfarer
Wayfarer
User avatar
Offline

Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2013 3:49 pm
Posts: 14
Location: Edoras
Images: 5
I bought mine the other and love it, I am a huge fan of Tolkien and I think it is worth
every cent. I absolutely love the behind the scenes extras.

_________________
''In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Is the Special Extended Hobbit AUJ worth buying?
PostPosted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 8:06 pm 
Ringwraith
Ringwraith
User avatar
Offline

Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 1:50 pm
Posts: 1339
I would say absolutely yes.

Firstly the film:

Only being extended by 13 minutes means that the overall shape of the film doesn't really change, it's certainly not as pronounced as in any of the LOTR extendeds. Most of the scenes are small snippets of under a minute here and there. The two biggest changes are 1) The introduction of the Goblin King who gets, IMO, a very cool song based on the goblins song from the book and a longer interrogation of the dwarves 2) Rivendell, there is easily the most extended material in Rivendell and a lot of it is very good, there's some great scenes that foreshadow the movies to come and there's some lovely character stuff for both Bilbo and the dwarves. I'd guess that there's easily 6 minutes of new stuff in Rivendell.

I don't really think the new cut will change people's opinion of the film, if you liked it, you'll think it's a bit better, if you disliked it, you'll think it's a bit longer.

Secondly the extras:

I've yet to watch the commentary so I can't comment on that but I was slightly disappointed to learn there was only one as I've listened to the 4 from the LOTR cuts many, many times.

Beyond that the other extras are absolutely superb. There's around 9 hours of extras covering the whole production process with very little overlap with the production diaries, really interesting and really high quality interviews and very much in the style of the LOTR ones. Very impressed there. My only complaint was that there wasn't a 'book to script' documentary, most of the docs are about casting, designing and filming rather than the writing which I was really interested in. There's also no mention of the fact that 2 films became three which I found surprising, although it might be that they're saving this for a doc on the DOS extended edition called 'the film that was never meant to be' or similar.

Finally the price:

Amazon list the Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray 3D and Ultraviolet copy as £17 which is really good value (The LOTR ones were £30 each for just DVD when they were released). It's a shame they've moved to Ultraviolet rather than iTunes, sure you can stream it anywhere (that you have internet connection) but you can only download it on one device at a time. Personally I like knowing I can watch/play my films at any time rather than having to depend on streaming and I find Ultraviolet a hideously complicated service but that just personal opinion.

Ultimately it's a fantastic package at a fantastic price that has a damn good go at being as good as the LOTR ones (even if it doesn'ty wuite get there), hope this helps!

_________________
Finished 2nd in the 2014 GBHL. My Wife's so proud

Free SBG fanzine: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29569
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Is the Special Extended Hobbit AUJ worth buying?
PostPosted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 8:13 pm 
Ringwraith
Ringwraith
User avatar
Offline

Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:56 pm
Posts: 3736
Location: The Height of Nonsense
I shall be picking it up shortly - I always like to get the 'FULL' version, maybe because every minute in Middle-earth is worth it.

_________________
Published ebooks:
Instrument of the Empire
A Note of Defiance
Phantom Ships, Ghost Flotilla
More to come!
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Is the Special Extended Hobbit AUJ worth buying?
PostPosted: Fri Nov 15, 2013 1:26 am 
Kinsman
Kinsman
User avatar
Offline

Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 11:08 pm
Posts: 55
Location: Essex, UK
I thought it was excellent.

Grant has the right of things.

If you liked the theatrical version, this is better.
If you disliked the theatrical version, this is longer and not significantly improved.

_________________
Essex, UK based SBG/WOTR player!

My SBG WIP thread.
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 5 posts ] 

All times are UTC


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: