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JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit (Maple Films Edit)

MovieMaven said:
Put two faneditors in the same room, and you'll get three different cutlists - and five different versions. :)

I think at least some of the White Council and Dol Guldur scenes need to stay, just to explain what Gandalf was up to when he was not with the expedition. Besides, if you must have a strong female character, that's Galadriel hands down. And Christopher Lee was so screwed over by the theatrical release of Return of the King that I don't want to see him cheated again.

And I seem to be in the minority, here at least, about really liking Radagast - he's funny and touching, and the bunny sled is a hoot.

Where I would cut to the bone and beyond, outside the main narrative, is all that hoohah about the Ringwraiths "buried" in the High Fells. They're "wraiths" not because they ever died (they didn't) but because they extended their lives so far beyond the natural span. They stretched themselves too thin, as Bilbo might have put it, and have lost their contact with the physical world when they're not getting power boosts from You Know Who. This is a bit metaphysical to try and explain, and it might be better to leave the impression that they were imprisoned un-live in their cells (presumably by the White Council).
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Agree with the Maven, I would try to keep as many scenes as possible of Gandalf, Galadriel, and Saruman, such an awesome collection of actors. I have been reading the Hobbit again, and it is quite light hearted. Things like the Bombur barrel sequence don't fit with the vibe, but some of the Radagast scenes do. And absolutely ditch the High-Fells storyline, it's totally off base and unnecessary. But one of my top beefs seems to be missed by most editors: during the troll scene, when they grab Bilbo and threaten to tear his limbs off unless the dwarves drop their weapons. Makes no sense at all, drop weapons so all of them can die instead of just Bilbo? Needs to go!
 
kellenpure said:
But one of my top beefs seems to be missed by most editors: during the troll scene, when they grab Bilbo and threaten to tear his limbs off unless the dwarves drop their weapons. Makes no sense at all, drop weapons so all of them can die instead of just Bilbo? Needs to go!
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Exactly, just cut from the dwarves charging to the dwarves tied up. Also get rid of the snot stupidity somehow. Please.
 
kellenpure said:
Agree with the Maven, I would try to keep as many scenes as possible of Gandalf, Galadriel, and Saruman, such an awesome collection of actors. I have been reading the Hobbit again, and it is quite light hearted. Things like the Bombur barrel sequence don't fit with the vibe, but some of the Radagast scenes do. And absolutely ditch the High-Fells storyline, it's totally off base and unnecessary. But one of my top beefs seems to be missed by most editors: during the troll scene, when they grab Bilbo and threaten to tear his limbs off unless the dwarves drop their weapons. Makes no sense at all, drop weapons so all of them can die instead of just Bilbo? Needs to go!
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The main problem with keeping the White Council/Dol Guldur subplot is that it distracts from the main quest. This movie is called THE HOBBIT after all; it should be about Bilbo and his adventure with the dwarves. Galadriel/Elrond/Saruman all had their own trilogy to shine in, and it's not this one. That ridiculous fight between the White Council and Sauron/Ringwraiths was pandering fanservice. Radagast was practically turned into a Middle Earth Jar-Jar and he didn't even manage 5 seconds of screentime in the third film. All of these characters except for Elrond are superfluous to the Hobbit films...this is abundantly clear once they are actually edited out!
 
Yeah, I'd been planning on keeping the Dol Guldur/White Council stuff in my 3-in-1 until I saw BotFA and realized it goes nowhere and doesn't matter at all. Now, I have zero intention of keeping any of it (unless I decide to do an "extended edition" of my edit as well, in which case I might add it back in).
 
Just an update for this thread: has anyone watched the early Hobbit fanedits that are circulating out there? There's a 4-hour "Tolkien edit" and a very lean 3-hour edit that have received the most interest from people so far. I'm guessing the editors for both must have tracked down a pirated copy of BOTFA.

I watched most of both and think the 4-hour version is the better of the two, although the video quality is sub-par and there is still way too much Alfrid in that version. This version would be worthwhile if the editor goes back and makes a higher-quality version.

The 3-hour version is just too short and many scenes fly by too quickly...there is no sense of cinematic pacing with that fanedit. Many sequences and characters have been cut without much regard to plot holes or continuity issues. Also, same as the "Tolkien edit," this version uses a pirated copy of BOTFA and the quality is pretty poor.
 
eldusto84 said:
Just an update for this thread: has anyone watched the early Hobbit fanedits that are circulating out there? There's a 4-hour "Tolkien edit" and a very lean 3-hour edit that have received the most interest from people so far. I'm guessing the editors for both must have tracked down a pirated copy of BOTFA.

I watched most of both and think the 4-hour version is the better of the two, although the video quality is sub-par and there is still way too much Alfrid in that version. This version would be worthwhile if the editor goes back and makes a higher-quality version.

The 3-hour version is just too short and many scenes fly by too quickly...there is no sense of cinematic pacing with that fanedit. Many sequences and characters have been cut without much regard to plot holes or continuity issues. Also, same as the "Tolkien edit," this version uses a pirated copy of BOTFA and the quality is pretty poor.
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Hiya eldusto84
I have been following the thread for sometime now and it seams very interesting
I have read the book many times over the years (although not lately), and every time I read the book, I discovered something new or a new layer if you will. and I have also watched the movies and almost all the edits available on IFDB and elsewhere.
To me, This is a coming of age or transformation story about how and why a simple Hobbit with only a care for his home and his garden becomes the hobbit that you see at the end, the Hobbit that gives away his share of unimaginable wealth and risks his life for friendship, loyalty and for fairness and justice for others.
This transformation does not happen overnight, the story takes place over 13 months and there are certain key moments along the way where he has to make important decisions and choices, and moments where he is impacted by others.
To me, some of these moments include (but are not limited to)
- Conversation with Gandalf at his home (after he faints, befor the dwarves song)
- Conversation with Gandalf outside the trolls cave "...courage is about knowing when not to take a life"
- Conversation with Elrond at Rivendell "...you are welcome to stay"
- Conversation With Bufor at the mountain cave when Bilbo tries to leave
- Conversation with Thorin after the they escape from goblin town "....you lost your home ... and I'll help you get it back if I can)
- Bilbo vouching for Thorin in lake town.
- Conversation with Balin when they first enter the mountain "....I promised I'll do this , and I think I must try"
I have seen BoTFA once, and I don't think I'll see it again until the edits start to come out, but I am sure there are other key moments in it that must be kept.
There is another Key moment that PJ entirely missed, The thing that truly inspires Bilbo and ignites the spark in him is the Dwarvs song, the song also tells the complete story of Dale, Erebor, and Smaug, There are some very good renditions of the song with the complete verses on YouTube and I wish that someone would find a way to incorporate it in an edit
one of the best that I have seen is here:
I am sure there are others as well.
The other thing I am concerned about with most of the edits is sub plot of Dol Goldur, To me Dol Goldur, the white council, the pale orc do not belong to the Hobbit story, and you do not need it it to explain Gandalf leaving at Mirkwood. This is a fantasy story, Gandalf is a wizard and Galadriel is a powerful Elf queen and if you accept magic rings that make you invisible and immortal and mythical creatures like goblins, trolls and dragons then surely you can accept a tiny bit of telepathy;-)
I hope I have not board you much with the long post
All The Best
HM
 
What a great post Hasmak, just like any fan of the book you understand that Bilbo is the heart and soul of Tolkien's story. Hence the title THE HOBBIT, heh.

I've left all those scenes you listed in my fanedit, except for the scene with Bilbo vouching for Thorin's character. It was a nice moment but it also didn't make sense that one or all of the dwarves wouldn't jump in and immediately vouch for Thorin first. After some deliberation I decided to include the Elrond/Bilbo scene from the EE just because it's so simple and well-done.

That is a nice version of the Misty Mountain song, however at eight minutes long I'm not sure where it would fit in the films, even over the end credits. I'm already planning to keep "The Last Goodbye " over the credits, followed by Dreaming of Bag End or some other track.

Don't worry about Dol Guldur/White Council with my fanedit...that whole subplot is gone. No Radagast, Saruman or Galadriel. As I've mentioned before, Azog isn't gone entirely but his role is greatly reduced.
 
eldusto84 said:
That is a nice version of the Misty Mountain song, however at eight minutes long I'm not sure where it would fit in the films, even over the end credits. I'm already planning to keep "The Last Goodbye " over the credits, followed by Dreaming of Bag End or some other track.
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Wishful thinking;-)
The only way I can see the song fitting is to take it from the Dwarves singing in Bilbo's home and somehow carry it as background for the parts that follow, I am not an editor and I don't know if it can be done !!
Thanks
HM
 
In preparation for the March 24 release of Battle of Five Armies, I decided to start making my box art for JRR TOLKIEN'S THE HOBBIT. Here's the direct link to the image:

I scanned and modified the 1966 leather-bound edition of The Hobbit novel for the design here. If you'd like to read my blog post as well, here is the link to that. Let me know what you think!
 
Fantastic cover. Love the "blurb" at the back. Excellent! :)
 
very noss cover, [MENTION=28235]eldusto84[/MENTION]. makes the project look like a tome of magic.
 
I'd like some opinions on this clip. I realize the scene of the company finding the secret door is pretty close to how it was in the book. But after watching it over and over, I felt like it could be condensed without losing too much, so a 7-minute scene was then cut down to 2 minutes.

I'm honestly undecided whether I want to keep this altered version in my fanedit or not, so let me know what you think. Trimming a scene like this means I'm not completely adhering to a "book faithful" version of the film, but at the same time the film's pace is more consistent with the other cuts I've made.

 
The clip works fine but I still prefer the original for the simple reason, it reaffirms Bilbo's roll in entering the mountain, it is because of his determination and complete belief in the quest even after Thorin has given up that he finds the key hole, it is another character buildup
 
hasmak said:
The clip works fine but I still prefer the original for the simple reason, it reaffirms Bilbo's roll in entering the mountain, it is because of his determination and complete belief in the quest even after Thorin has given up that he finds the key hole, it is another character buildup
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That's a good point, I will keep that in mind. I'll probably keep the original scene, and if I'm really pressed to cut my runtime down after editing the third film, maybe then I'll reconsider.
 
eldusto84 said:
That's a good point, I will keep that in mind. I'll probably keep the original scene, and if I'm really pressed to cut my runtime down after editing the third film, maybe then I'll reconsider.
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My personal opinion - runtime is not set in stone, you really should not spoile what is a good edit for the sake of 3-4 minutes,
I have seen too many of what would have been a good cut being ruined because the editor had a preset runtime, quality should come before quantity;-)
That is only my opinion, others will have other openions
 
I actually quite like that clip but if you're interested in a sort of
"in-between" version I'd look at ranger613's "Fire of the Dragon" edit which keeps Bilbo's role but trims the scene considerably.
 
I spent about an hour last night doing some rough edits on the digital copy of Battle of Five Armies. I'm not doing any real editing until the Bluray comes out March 24, but already I can tell that the third film will be the most difficult to cut down and still make sense.

I can't recall another major blockbuster film that feels so sloppily put together. The editing is mediocre at best. When Kili is stabbed by Bolg, I counted TEN back-and-forth closeups between him and Tauriel with both of them looking sad and misty-eyed. TEN SHOTS! We only needed that one awesome shot of Frodo tearing up after Gandalf falls in Fellowship of the Ring to convey the character's emotions.

Anyways, I digress. The film is a mess, plain and simple. Hopefully the Extended Edition will fix things a bit when it comes out later this year, but right now the theatrical version is just all over the place. The two most prominent Hobbit fanedits online right now (The Tolkien Edit and David Killstein's There and Back Again) have done their best to fix that, but there are still major issues that will be tough to work around.

After March 24, I'll post a detailed list of my edits for Battle of Five Armies. On top of the obvious cuts such as the remaining White Council/Dol Guldur scenes and anything with Alfrid/Legolas/Tauriel, I'm also considering more drastic changes that will keep this fanedit closer to the spirit of the book. We shall see!
 
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