• Most new users don't bother reading our rules. Here's the one that is ignored almost immediately upon signup: DO NOT ASK FOR FANEDIT LINKS PUBLICLY. First, read the FAQ. Seriously. What you want is there. You can also send a message to the editor. If that doesn't work THEN post in the Trade & Request forum. Anywhere else and it will be deleted and an infraction will be issued.
  • If this is your first time here please read our FAQ and Rules pages. They have some useful information that will get us all off on the right foot, especially our Own the Source rule. If you do not understand any of these rules send a private message to one of our staff for further details.
  • Please read our Rules & Guidelines

The Hobbit: Barefoot Edition

Menbailee

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
178
Reaction score
11
Trophy Points
28
INTENTION: To create from the three movies a single character-driven film evocative of Tolkien’s book, slightly lighter-hearted than Lord of the Rings but ultimately feeling like a single Extended Edition belonging in the same film universe

Total Running Time: 3 h 58m (With a distinct intermission point, like the EEs. Below four hours total has been the guiding standard.)


This edit aims for different goals from existing ones. While it hews more closely to the book than Jackson’s cuts, this is mostly a side-effect of shooting for a more character-driven narrative with most absurdity removed. For example, while Legolas, the love triangle, and the battle at Dol Guldur are removed entirely, Tauriel and Radagast remain, but with different significance. Scenes like the extended introduction to Beorn are included, whereas the stone giants are not.

As of 19/1/2016, this cut is essentially complete, having screened on Sunday the 17th to an audience of two dozen and received a few points of criticism for touching up.

PREVIEW: The Battle of Fives Armies
Password: barefoot


PROLOGUE/FLASHBACKS
Cut, with footage used in a few spots

TAURIEL
She disagrees with Thranduil’s isolationist politics and convinces him to stay and fight at the Battle of Five Armies. She develops a friendship with Kili with flirtatious undertones.

LEGOLAS
Not in the film, not even a cameo. If you have good eyes you can spot him among a crowd of elves in a wide shot. Easter egg.


RADAGAST & DOL GULDUR
Radagast discovers that something is wrong in Mirkwood. When the company reaches the edge of his forest, he (not Galadriel!) informs Gandalf that something is afoot at Dol Guldur. He and Gandalf leave immediately. Gandalf explores Dol Guldur and finds an orcish army ready to march out. He flees immediately to tell Radagast to bring the birds and beasts, then warns the free peoples at Erebor. Radagast later brings the Eagles and Beorn.

WHITE COUNCIL
No sign of it. Galadriel and Saruman both get mentioned once.

GOLLUM
Completely untouched. The longest unedited stretch of the movie and the only scene of substance I haven’t altered in some way.

THE PALE ORC
Plot removed. Azog appears as the leader of the orcs at Dol Guldur and Erebor.

BEORN
Extended edition scenes included, with dialogue about Azog and Sauron removed

LAKE TOWN
The scenes in Bard’s house are skipped entirely. Alfrid uncovers the dwarves beneath Bard’s fish, and they are immediately marched to the Master

ALFRID/THE MASTER
Alfrid has a handful of lines, all of them advancing the story, with none of his horrible clowning, wearing a dress, or poorly-executed class conflict subplot with the Master included.

SAURON
Unmentioned. A few remaining lines of dialogue (like the mention that trolls wouldn’t normally range so far) foreshadow that something dark may be coming.

RIDICULOUS ACTION
The barrel chase, the troll fight, the stone giants, the rabbit chase, the cyborg trolls, and other such nonsense are all removed. “Legolas skating down stairs on a shield” stood as the upper bar for absurdity I would allow. “Send in the goats!” and a silly axe-tossing sequence from Bo5A EE are the most ridiculous moments left in the movie.


FAT-SHAMING, HOMOPHOBIC HUMOR, MISOGYNISTIC SLURS
Removed.

SMAUG
Smaug’s dialogue is now one big scene, a sort of mirror on the monstrous dialogue with Gollum. Bilbo doesn’t quite get the ring on before Smaug spots him. Smaug moves from curious to accusatory to manipulative to threatening, rather than hopping among those four. Having his prey suddenly vanish spooks him, and he leaves to slaughter the barrel-riders from Laketown.

THE BATTLE with SMAUG
The Dwarves never enter Erebor to fight Smaug. Bard kills Smaug with his last arrow. We are never introduced to his son.

THORIN
Lots of little tweaks to render him more sympathetic. Dragon sickness is unmentioned except for Gandalf’s warning of the lure of dragon gold after Bilbo gives Bard the Arkenstone.

BATTLE of FIVE ARMIES
About 20 minutes total, but a different story from in the originals or other edits:
The elves do not fight at first, and the orcs attack human civilians to keep the humans occupied in Dale. Tauriel shames Thranduil, and as the dwarves find their backs against the mountain, Thorin and company emerge. Thranduil and his army join the battle. Thorin leads a chariot charge (with much ridiculousness removed) to Ravenhill to take down Azog. Human women, children, and elderly join the battle as the free peoples begin to lose. While Fili, Kili, and Dwalin, joined by Tauriel, fend off orcs, Thorin confronts Azog. Radagast, the Eagles, and Beorn arrive just before the leaders begin their duel, giving the impression that the tide has turned. Bilbo gets knocked out. When he wakes, Thorin has defeated Azog but is dying, and Tauriel mourns Kili.

THE RING
Bilbo doesn’t lie to Gandalf about losing the ring, nor do beats such as his furious killing of a bug to reclaim it remain. The shot of him on his back like Frodo in FotR is cut. Foreshadowing is done with a lighter hand.

SONGS
Not only is “Chip the Glasses” most emphatically included, but also Bofur’s song in Rivendell. “Goblin Town” is entirely removed other than some orchestration. “Misty Mountains” serves as a motif throughout (in the originals it mostly disappears after the first movie).

LITTLE CUTS
So many of them. We no longer have the weird beat of Thranduil remembering dragon fire, or Gandalf filling his pipe after Thorin’s death, for example. Obviously, the dwarves don’t give up on the steps of Erebor.
 

TM2YC

Take Me To Your Cinema
Staff member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
14,871
Reaction score
2,384
Trophy Points
228
^ Just leave text colour as "Automatic". Black-on-dark-grey is very hard to read. I've fixed it for you. Anyway...

...sounds like some solid ideas there. Good luck with the project.
 

Menbailee

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
178
Reaction score
11
Trophy Points
28
revel911 said:
How are you explaining Smaug covered in gold?

There's no need to include the shot of him launching from the cave. I handle that moment similar to the Spence edit.

And yes, it's edited in HD and will have both DVD and Blu-Ray releases.
 

revel911

Well-known member
Messages
1,080
Reaction score
60
Trophy Points
48
What are you doing to make the ending not feel rushed? That has been my major complaint about many of the 3 in 1 edits is that it too quickly solves the battle.
 

Menbailee

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
178
Reaction score
11
Trophy Points
28
revel911 said:
What are you doing to make the ending not feel rushed? That has been my major complaint about many of the 3 in 1 edits is that it too quickly solves the battle.

I handle this like the book: after the Eagles arrive, which signals to the audience that our side is likely to win, Bilbo gets KOed. When he comes to, the battle is won, but Thorin is dying. We're thus freed from having to grind through every point leading to the conclusion, not to mention skipping the silliness of Azog surviving to stab Thorin through a sheet of ice.

The battle is substantively reordered to focus on familiar characters and their decisions.
 

dangermouse

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
1,100
Reaction score
2
Trophy Points
48
This sounds fanTAStic! Wow. I really liked the original barefoot edition. Looking forward to viewing this one when it's released.
The character beats all sound very good. I especially like the reworking of Smaug - sounds interesting.
The final battle was a complete mess - your plot line sounds fantastic.
 

TV's Frink

You Catch On Pretty Quick
Staff member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
23,676
Reaction score
406
Trophy Points
193
revel911 said:
How are you explaining Smaug covered in gold?

It's how the really rich dragons take a bath.
 

Daxtreme

Well-known member
Messages
72
Reaction score
0
Trophy Points
11
Man your version sounds fantastic! I'm still looking for a definitive version of The Hobbit, and this could just be it!

Eagerly awaiting this one. Seems like I can agree with all your choices :)
 

Menbailee

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
178
Reaction score
11
Trophy Points
28
Thanks! I'm adding a preview for the Battle of Five Armies sequence. I'll be changing a few minor things about it (like removing Bombur's belly bounce), but despite Vimeo's questionable quality, you can see the different story I'm going for here.

Handily, since Thorin has not been a dragon-sick jerk to begin with, we don't even need the scene where he asks them to follow him one last time. Thorin and Bilbo's final scene immediately after the end of this clip is untouched. We briefly see Tauriel silently mourning Kili following Thorin's death. Other than if viewers wish to infer something from her confrontation with Thranduil, no mention is ever made of romantic love between them. The funeral scene from the EE follows.

Password: barefoot

 
Top Bottom