The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Extended Edition 2D 3D Statues 11/5/13

[Pieter V]

I am sure they will tease us with Smaug. Just like they did with Fellowship Extended Edition on DVD. There was also more Gollum.

[Duffy12]

Originally Posted by Buddy Ackerman

I guess I'm the one person who proves that wrong. I loved the Goblin King (not so much on the first viewing but definitely on subsequent viewings) and thought Barry Humphries did an incredible job. So more of him of more and his weird song? Welcomed by me.

Same here too.

At first he was kind of a shock. But I love the guy now, including his singing.



However...noting beats his little scribe.

.

[Taikero]

If they make the Goblin King more menacing instead of completely stupid silly like he is in the theatrical version, I'll be quite happy. The whole Goblin sequence lacks a lot of danger and menace that should really be there.

"That'll do it." <-- Bad. Very bad. Who greenlit this line?

[Ernest Rister]

I don't think he works in the film at all. Cracking jokes when your abdomen is split open is even worse than the dwarf-tossing jokes, and I didn't think that was really possible.

[Paul H]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

I don't think he works in the film at all. Cracking jokes when your abdomen is split open is even worse than the dwarf-tossing jokes, and I didn't think that was really possible.

When a kid I was told by a person seeing action in the Battle of the Bulge, that in brief moments of War it was not unusual.

[AnimalChin]

Originally Posted by Taikero

If they make the Goblin King more menacing instead of completely stupid silly like he is in the theatrical version, I'll be quite happy. The whole Goblin sequence lacks a lot of danger and menace that should really be there.

"That'll do it." <-- Bad. Very bad. Who greenlit this line?

I couldn't believe that line, it was terrible.

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by Paul H

When a kid I was told by a person seeing action in the Battle of the Bulge, that in brief moments of War it was not unusual.

I don't think people are begging for realism in a Hobbit film.

A consistent tone? Yes.

[famman84]

Am I the only one that is not excited at all about the extended edition? I loved the LOTR EEs, but it was because with those movies the EEs were used to add things from the books that hasn't quite made the theatrical cut. The Hobbit book has already been stretched so much for three films that all this will be is more Peter Jackson created material. And with the "fleeting nudity" all but confirmed to be the dwarves mooning the elves, that is just disrespectful to the works of Tolkien.

[Rambaldi47]

I hope the scene where Bilbo sees the shards of the sword in Rivendell makes it into the EE. I remember it was in the trailer but not in the theatrical version.

[AnimalChin]

Originally Posted by famman84

Am I the only one that is not excited at all about the extended edition? I loved the LOTR EEs, but it was because with those movies the EEs were used to add things from the books that hasn't quite made the theatrical cut. The Hobbit book has already been stretched so much for three films that all this will be is more Peter Jackson created material. And with the "fleeting nudity" all but confirmed to be the dwarves mooning the elves, that is just disrespectful to the works of Tolkien.

I made the mistake to re-reading the book before watching the Hobbit in theatres and all the additions were distracting. I didn't really enjoy it until I watched it a few months later at home.

I know I'm still going to end up buying the extended cut though

[MacEachaidh]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

I don't think he works in the film at all. Cracking jokes when your abdomen is split open is even worse than the dwarf-tossing jokes, and I didn't think that was really possible.

They're my thoughts too. Neither character nor sequence worked for me, so not thrilled about more unless it shifts the tone.

As it stood in the cinema cut, the Goblin encounter seemed more of an unjustified protraction and pace-killer, to the extent where I was glad when the focus shifted to the Riddles in the Dark. Ideally, each sequence should have helped build the tension of the other; to me, the "comic relief" really didn't work.

[Buddy Ackerman]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

I don't think he works in the film at all. Cracking jokes when your abdomen is split open is even worse than the dwarf-tossing jokes, and I didn't think that was really possible.

Fair enough. I realise not everyone loved that bit. But humour is one of the most divisive of human reactions - some people I know loved that bit, some cringed. Both valid.I saw it a few times in packed cinema screens and it always got a big laugh from the families in the crowd. Obviously I'm not sure what that says about my sense of humour but if 8 year olds find the humour in The Hobbit funny then it's good enough for me.

[Captain Kirk]

Originally Posted by Buddy Ackerman

Fair enough. I realise not everyone loved that bit. But humour is one of the most divisive of human reactions - some people I know loved that bit, some cringed. Both valid.I saw it a few times in packed cinema screens and it always got a big laugh from the families in the crowd. Obviously I'm not sure what that says about my sense of humour but if 8 year olds find the humour in The Hobbit funny then it's good enough for me.

I found it pretty funny, especially since it was Barry Humphries doing the voice work.

For the tone complainers - LOTR had some minor pacing problems and it seems time has forgiven that. The Hobbit isn't as serious so you will have more kid-friendly/family focused humor. I don't know what people want. The beginning of LOTR back in The Shire is light hearted as well up until the ring comes back into play. These films are a showing of how everything was up to that point.

[Taikero]

Originally Posted by Serendipity

I found it pretty funny, especially since it was Barry Humphries doing the voice work.

For the tone complainers - LOTR had some minor pacing problems and it seems time has forgiven that. The Hobbit isn't as serious so you will have more kid-friendly/family focused humor. I don't know what people want. The beginning of LOTR back in The Shire is light hearted as well up until the ring comes back into play. These films are a showing of how everything was up to that point.

Difference being that we expect Hobbits to be lighthearted and make jokes and dance and sing and generally make wee asses of themselves.

I don't expect Sauron or Saruman to make silly jokes or appear goofy. I expect villains and evil, especially in this universe, to be serious, scary, and perilous. The Goblin King, though he might partake in a small level of merriment, should temper that merriment with more serious, dour humor (which he does in his song, briefly, so I didn't mind that portion). "Bring out the Bone Breaker!" is funny and great, "That'll do it." is terrible. Two different tones and personalities for the same character.

Perhaps it wasn't so much the fact that he made a dumb joke, but the fact that he made a dumb joke right after Gandalf just basically gutted him ear to ear without any effort. It not only made the Goblin King unbelievable as a leader (How could he lead a whole Goblin nation if he was so poor at defending himself?), but also took some steam out of Gandalf, in that an opportunity was lost here to see Gandalf and the Goblin King duke it out, even if for only a minute.

Essentially, it deflated the entire moment. The dwarves and Gandalf work to make this grand escape and are confronted with this giant (approximately) 2 ton goblin leader, and he's dispatched with barely a blink of an eye between confrontation and execution. How is that exciting? How does that ratchet up tension, stakes, or engage the audience?

It doesn't. That's why the scene sucked, because all tension was removed from everything that occurred previously in the entire Goblin scene. Subsequently, we had the Riddles in the Dark scene which honestly would have been perceived better than it was had the Goblin scene retained its tension and menace.

I'm hoping the EE helps remedy some of this, though I won't hold my breath.

[Buddy Ackerman]

Originally Posted by Taikero

Subsequently, we had the Riddles in the Dark scene which honestly would have been perceived better than it was had the Goblin scene retained its tension and menace.

The Riddles in the Dark sequence was one of the parts that almost all fans of the book have said was done right. It was perceived fine. For a lot of people - even the really picky ones - it was the highlight of the film.

[RyanPom]

More songs? Eek!

[YoreLore]

Originally Posted by RyanPom

More songs? Eek!

I wish.

The songs in Tolkiens books are great and important enough to be included in many chapters. Wish The Lord of the Rings movies had even more songs in them.

[Taikero]

Originally Posted by Buddy Ackerman

The Riddles in the Dark sequence was one of the parts that almost all fans of the book have said was done right. It was perceived fine. For a lot of people - even the really picky ones - it was the highlight of the film.

I agree with you. That's why I said "better than it was". I wasn't disparaging the Riddles in the Dark scene, I just meant that had the tension from the previous scene been kept up throughout, the humor during the Riddle in the Dark scene would have contrasted in such a way as to make both scenes shine better than they would alone (e.g. build up tension, then release with good humor during riddles). By killing the tension with the Goblin King's pathetic end, there is no tension leading into Riddles in the Dark, which while it was a good scene on its own, received no tangential benefit from what directly preceded it.

In other words, it killed the overall emotional flow which Riddles had to re-establish, even though that shouldn't have been necessary.

[Duffy12]

Originally Posted by MacEachaidh

They're my thoughts too. Neither character nor sequence worked for me, so not thrilled about more unless it shifts the tone.

As it stood in the cinema cut, the Goblin encounter seemed more of an unjustified protraction and pace-killer, to the extent where I was glad when the focus shifted to the Riddles in the Dark. Ideally, each sequence should have helped build the tension of the other; to me, the "comic relief" really didn't work.

Maybe it was because the Riddles in the Dark scene was not actually....


shown in the dark.


That was my major gripe about the scene. That scene had waaaaay too much ambient light in it. With lighted passages every which way. You could read a book in that cave without torchlight. I can't remember how that scene was edited, however if the Gob King was cut into it, then you have a point there.

Also one other minor problem that I had with that scene was that Gollum was hard to understand sometimes- "Eeeeeeegs."

.

[RyanPom]

That was the best scene in the movie other than the meeting at Rivendell scene and the flashback with Frodo.