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The Hobbit [M4 Book Edit 2021] [4 Hours]

JPePe

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As for the discussion on the battle of Ravenhill, I like it the way it is in my cut. I get both of your guy's points - ever since I released the edit I've always had a few people wishing it was longer with the sequence showing them arrive to Ravenhill, while I also had people wishing it was shorter and most of the duels were just entirely skipped over. Then there's the group who likes it in the middle ground, like me. I think working in the "Misty Mountains" rescored segment is great in tying the whole film together back to the start, as well as paying homage to the way Bilbo acted in the book (after all, this is a book cut), and then of course the action is action I think it's worth it to show the duels on screen for emotional weight, tension, and because the audience might be let down without it.
Would be cool if you could release all the three versions of it 😉

I agree, for a book cut this is probably as close as it can be. I liked the timing Bilbo uses the Ring, and not fight in the city. I just personally didn't like Bilbo running away to Raven Hill. He could just put the Ring on and disappear, appearing later at an appropriate moment (the knockout would probably be hard to show if done like this, maybe one could just show him waking up).

For my non book cut edited version he uses the Ring at that spot but we don't see him invisible, he just disappears. Then he appears at a later point to see Thorin riding up the Hill, and later uses the Ring again (out of screen, but wee see him pop out of invisibility) to go warn the dwarves).
 

M4_

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Yeah unfortunately I won't be tweaking the battle with alternate versions to cater to differing opinions, the final vision I am set on (which you can hear more about it in the audio commentary). Now while I did consider an alternate ending with a shorter battle years ago (even more like the book), I scrapped it because it rarely works unless you actually read the novel.

Though if someone one day accomplishes the same goals in a better way then I'll be very curious-Bilbo running away, no Legolas/no war goats, abbreviated Ravenhill etc.
 

JPePe

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I appreciate that. In the end it's always about your own vision and what you want from the edit. It's your edit after all!
 

M4_

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And that’s not to say that the way I did it in mine is the best way, it’s just what I like. So long as it *works* then I think that’s what matters most in a fan edit, even if you’d have liked for it to work a different way.

But man I do miss editing this project :’) very fun indeed
 

jdsteel7

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Yeah unfortunately I won't be tweaking the battle with alternate versions to cater to differing opinions, the final vision I am set on (which you can hear more about it in the audio commentary). Now while I did consider an alternate ending with a shorter battle years ago (even more like the book), I scrapped it because it rarely works unless you actually read the novel.

Though if someone one day accomplishes the same goals in a better way then I'll be very curious-Bilbo running away, no Legolas/no war goats, abbreviated Ravenhill etc.
"which you can hear about more in the audio commentary"

...which I did, being one of those nerds who listened to the entire editor commentary 😅

I understand you being happy with the final product. I agree, it's impossible to satisfy everyone, and looking at the bigger picture, what you've been able to accomplish with your cuts, given the material you had to work with, is beyond impressive. I think it would be foolish to allow 1 or 2 nitpicks to ruin the overall enjoyment of an excellent fan edit, whether yours or anyone elses. My new head cannon is that an eagle dropped Orcrist from the sky off screen, and that's how he got it back 😄
 

Jnisch

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It always felt cheap that the movie was released as three movies, a common happening of the time. The book was one of my all time favorites growing up. I’d love to see this. I’m sure it’s closer to how I really would have liked to see it.
 
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Nikyukuu

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Hi. I stumbled across this edit and want to use the .iso files to burn Blu-rays of it. The file for disk 1 seems to have a defective menu and some scenes seem broken as well (even when playing back the .iso file without burning it). Disk 2 works without problems. Did this happen to anyone else? Is there a Checksum for the file available anywhere to verify that there were no download errors?
Thanks!
 

M4_

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Hi. I stumbled across this edit and want to use the .iso files to burn Blu-rays of it. The file for disk 1 seems to have a defective menu and some scenes seem broken as well (even when playing back the .iso file without burning it). Disk 2 works without problems. Did this happen to anyone else? Is there a Checksum for the file available anywhere to verify that there were no download errors?
Thanks!
Hey, I've tested both versions as burnt discs and as files played through VLC on a computer so nothing is defective unless your files got corrupted. However, the scene selection page cannot be played through most programs if that's the issue you noticed, including on VLC. When you actually burn the disc, it will work fine.
 

krs0

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Great edit! Thank you for making this!

2 things stood out to us:
- Gandalf was disappearing with no explanations too much :(. And then he comes back with knowledge. I would have preferred the council with Galadriel & Co the investigations in the ruins and the fight with the necromancer to be let in. I liked those scenes in the original although they were not in the book (IIRC).
- Thorin's madness progresses much better in the originals, here without prior knowledge, it looked like he had his period :).

Nevertheless, such a great edit!
 

M4_

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Glad you enjoyed. Gandalf’s disappearances were by design given the main goal of the project, but I disagree about Thorin.

Personally I found toning it down worked well to ground his arc and hone in on the story at hand, instead of stretching it out with flashbacks and dragon sickness when the audience is capable of understanding his pain through his song, stories, and other dialogue, even if the cut parts aren’t necessarily bad. (included as special features)
 

FXR

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Man!... An outstanding Edit!!! Much smoother more faithful plot/action flow in line with the book. Also, I'm stymied how good the color and quality of the video is ... You achieved what we'd hoped for with this fan-edit. Chopping out the over-done, contrived parts. Thank for your work, Hats Off, Bro!!
 

ArtisDead

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You have very good taste! This is very likely the best Hobbit edit.
 

Doranwen

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I'm looking forward to watching this. I've got the Hobbit films because I'm an obsessive Tolkien fan, but a friend warned me years ago not to watch them because of how badly they represented Tolkien's works, so I've never actually seen them. (As far as LOTR goes, I prefer the Kerr Red Book edits to anything else, lol, because of how faithful they are.) This is sounding like a Hobbit film I might be able to actually tolerate.
 

q2fan

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How long was the previous edit? Was it a non-extended edition, or was it also ~4 hours?
 

M4_

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How long was the previous edit? Was it a non-extended edition, or was it also ~4 hours?
Which previous edit? I know for sure the first cut was closer to 3.5 hours in 2020 but it was too short for a first time viewer to really appreciate the full story--skipping many character moments that I have since re-added.

I've always called the project an "Extended Edition" for the sake of the artwork so it matches with LOTR. If you think about it, they'd never release a 4 hour film in theaters, it would be closer to 3 with an extended dvd cut closer to 4 like what they did for LOTR. This is my way of maintaining a sense of continuity, but a "non extended" version of my edit doesn't exist
 

q2fan

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Thank you -- I wasn't sure if "Extended Edition" was extended from your previous edition.
 
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maffblaster

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Awesome work, M4_! Thank you for your spirit of Tolkien preservation efforts.

Unfortunately due to Amazon's blunder, I fear no amount of editing magic will be able to redeem The Rings of Power. :LOL:
 
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