The Hobbit Trilogy Discussion Thread

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Grand Bob

Bilbo was knocked out by a rock thrown by an orc while he was trying to sit out the battle on the spur of the mountain held by the elves. Apparently he had put on the Ring in an additional attempt to avoid the fray, because he was invisible when people were searching for him after the battle.

(Ah, had confused memories, since he just put on the ring and left, in the Rankin-Bass animated version.)

It seems to me that EricJ is correct: with the exception of the beginning, Thorin - not Bilbo - is the emphasis of Jackson's The Hobbit. So perhaps a more appropriate title would have been "The Dwarf".

The problem with Unexpected Journey wasn't the despair, it was the HOPE.
The scene at the dinner party was almost Fellowship-level faithful out of the book (albeit with dopey Jackson gags about rowdy belching dwarfs), to the point that they even sang The Plate Song to Tolkien's own tune.

[Show spoiler]

JRR Tolkien Sings: Chip The Glasses And Crack The Plates - YouTube

And then they set off on their journey, and....things went wrong. Fast. Starting with Dr. Who in bird poop, and never to recover.

Similarly, in the book of the Hobbit, Bilbo uses his riddling skills (knew they would come in handy later!) to not tell his name to Smaug, and Smaug--not being that complex of a thinker--replies "Barrel-rider?...Then you must be one of those Lake men!", and goes off to roast them.
True, Bilbo in "Desolation" does call himself "Barrel-rider." And Smaug does say the line. In Jackson's version, however, an entire HALF HOUR of Made-Up Crap--to tie the story back into Thorin's Quest--transpires between the two lines. Between the two lines.

That scene just symbolized the entire sinking feeling of "Could you forget your own brilliant self for one blessed minute, Peter?? " throughout the first two movies. And I don't expect More Of It to be Better.

[Lord Method Man]

Originally Posted by ,deeii

As far as I know, it is true actually. He did say that...

Kryptonic doesn't want it to be true, therefore it cannot be.

[R3P0]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

Yeah, that's not true at all.

Yeah it is true man lol go read his quotes about when they asked him to be in the Hobbit.

Fact is here since you want to make an issue of it I even looked it up for you

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3353689.html

The 54-year-old actor played Aragorn in the original trilogy, and had a chance to reprise his role in the Peter Jackson's prequel trilogy, but chose not to participate -- mostly because his character doesn't appear in the J.R.R. Tolkien source novel.

"Before they started shooting, back in 2008, one of the producers did ask if I would be interested," Mortensen told The Guardian. "I said, 'You do know, don't you, that Aragorn isn't in The Hobbit? That there is a 60-year gap between the books?'"

Not sure if you were joking or being serious but if you were serious dont try to call people out without doing research.

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by EricJ

(Ah, had confused memories, since he just put on the ring and left, in the Rankin-Bass animated version.)



The problem with Unexpected Journey wasn't the despair, it was the HOPE.
The scene at the dinner party was almost Fellowship-level faithful out of the book (albeit with dopey Jackson gags about rowdy belching dwarfs), to the point that they even sang The Plate Song to Tolkien's own tune.

[Show spoiler]JRR Tolkien Sings: Chip The Glasses And Crack The Plates - YouTube

And then they set off on their journey, and....things went wrong. Fast. Starting with Dr. Who in bird poop, and never to recover.

Similarly, in the book of the Hobbit, Bilbo uses his riddling skills (knew they would come in handy later!) to not tell his name to Smaug, and Smaug--not being that complex of a thinker--replies "Barrel-rider?...Then you must be one of those Lake men!", and goes off to roast them.
True, Bilbo in "Desolation" does call himself "Barrel-rider." And Smaug does say the line. In Jackson's version, however, an entire HALF HOUR of Made-Up Crap--to tie the story back into Thorin's Quest--transpires between the two lines. Between the two lines.

That scene just symbolized the entire sinking feeling of "Could you forget your own brilliant self for one blessed minute, Peter?? " throughout the first two movies. And I don't expect More Of It to be Better.

That is also the way I see it. The movies are a mass-market appeal that will please 95% of the people because well, it's kind of hard to miss when you have a special effects and art department budget that is larger than the GNP of some countries.

But, with few exceptions, Jackson has missed the boat with the intent of the story by focussing on the sensationalist elements. Occasionally he would get it right, as for example with Bilbo's merciful view that prevented him from killing Gollum before he escaped from the mountains. That was right on the money - mercy as a key element that Tolkien emphasized throughout the entire Middle-earth saga. However, those moments are too few.

As you state, AUJ optimisitically started very close to the story but not without problems. The actual story is highlighted by the conflict between Bilbo's satiation with comfort and his desire for adventure (his mother's adventurous Took side vs. his father's comfortable Baggins backgrounds). For example, in the book, during the unexpected party the dwarves' conversation about treasure causes the "Tookish" (adventurous) part of Bilbo to predominate until he looks out the window and sees flames in the distance, probably a result of someone lighting a fire. This reminds him of the dangerous reality of the dragon and he withdraws into his Baggins- mode. Likewise, the next morning, he is relieved the dwarves are gone (although slightly disappointed). It is only through the insistence of Gandalf that he ever leaves Bag-end. He never would have left the house on his own as shown in the movie.

So you have this constant Took/Baggins struggle going on until Bilbo becomes "self-sufficient" when he kills his first spider, using Sting in Mirkwood. This of course carries through to the end of the story, where we eventually find Bilbo at his home at Bag End, the same place he started from - but now with a more comprehensive understanding of the world and his place in it that will allow him to fully appreciate the remaining years of his life.

There are other major moments that are entirely overlooked, for example his desperate mental situation when he is entirely on his own in the dark right before he finds the Ring (the beginning of the chapter "Riddles in the Dark"), his moment of self-reflection in the tunnel leading to Smaug ("the most difficult thing he ever did in his life", according to the story), etc.

Of course, my problem with these otherwise entertaining movies is that these important moments - the "heart" of the story so-to-speak - are entirely left out. This is despite the fact that there are nine-hours of movie footage in which there is apparently ample time to portray superfluous situations such as the Tauriel-Legolas-Kili love triangle. I'm sure you get the idea, but apparently Jackson and Boyens..., well, anyway.

[supaflyz]

I have the first 2 on blu ray. I haven't watched them until this weekend. It was awesome! I saw the lord of the rings trilogy. Didn't get a chance to see these until this weekend. I figure it wasn't going to be as good as lord of the rings, but with the new technology it was awesome. I really like that first one with the smeagle scene.

[Darth Marcus]

Just 3 more months!!!

[Falaskan]

Originally Posted by Darth Marcus

[Show spoiler]

Just 3 more months!!!

Galadriel almost seems hurt there...

[BluBrown]

I'm so excited to see how Peter Jackson brings this all together!

[Diesel]

Cut out a 16:10 portion for my desktop background

Attachment 95766

[Darth Marcus]

Originally Posted by Falaskan

Galadriel almost seems hurt there...

I don't think she's hurt, it looks to me like she's doing an overly dramatic reach out to Gandalf who's hurt.

[Geoff D]

That's the way I see it, it's basically foreshadowing (or rather hitting us over the head) with the fact that she rescues him from Dol Goldur. I think.

[BluBrown]

Originally Posted by Darth Marcus

I don't think she's hurt, it looks to me like she's doing an overly dramatic reach out to Gandalf who's hurt.

To me it looks like their hands are stuck together and Elrond is about preform surgery.

But seriously, that scene is the most intriguing part or that whole promo banner. I'm curious to see how the whole White Council vs Sauron plays out. They must clearly think they've slowed Sauron somehow at the end of it all, otherwise wouldn't Gandalf be way more freaked out at the beginning of FotR

[Darth Marcus]

Originally Posted by BluBrown

To me it looks like their hands are stuck together and Elrond is about preform surgery.

But seriously, that scene is the most intriguing part or that whole promo banner. I'm curious to see how the whole White Council vs Sauron plays out. They must clearly think they've slowed Sauron somehow at the end of it all, otherwise wouldn't Gandalf be way more freaked out at the beginning of FotR

I've thought about that as well. But I think in Fellowship of the Ring he was more alarmed at finding the Ring of Power in Bilbo's possession than he was at Sauron's existence. He knew Sauron was alive but that he's less powerful without the Ring. I'm with you in that I'm definitely interested to see how they play this out.

Love your avatar, btw.

[BluBrown]

Originally Posted by Darth Marcus

I've thought about that as well. But I think in Fellowship of the Ring he was more alarmed at finding the Ring of Power in Bilbo's possession than he was at Sauron's existence. He knew Sauron was alive but that he's less powerful without the Ring. I'm with you in that I'm definitely interested to see how they play this out.

Love your avatar, btw.

I guess we'll see in a few months. It just seems like Gandalf would have more pressing things to attend to than smoking pipe weed and lighting fireworks with Mordor looming in the east even without knowing the whereabouts of the ring. Especially after witnessing Sauron's rebirth of sorts with his own eyes.

[MechaGodzilla]

The scroll is awesome. I couldn't help but notice Bolg is absent, I wonder if this means he won't have a significant role to play in the film or if it's just an oversight.

I'm so excited for the trailer next month.

[Geoff D]

Like you guys say, it'll be interesting to see just how they handle it in Five Armies. Will we get a "Phew, that's alright, we stopped Sauron! It's Miller time!" celebratory kinda ending or something a bit more low key, with Galadriel or Elrond hinting gravely that Sauron's time will come again (BIG CLOSEUP ON SARUMAN)?

Originally Posted by BluBrown

I guess we'll see in a few months. It just seems like Gandalf would have more pressing things to attend to than smoking pipe weed and lighting fireworks with Mordor looming in the east even without knowing the whereabouts of the ring. Especially after witnessing Sauron's rebirth of sorts with his own eyes.

Yeah, but Gandalf's not Da Boss Man, Saruman is. It's not a stretch to infer that he probably said to Gandalf that he'd take care of everything, that he'd keep watch over Middle-earth - that is until the penny drops in FOTR, so it's not really a plot hole or anything.

[Darth Marcus]

Originally Posted by BluBrown

I guess we'll see in a few months. It just seems like Gandalf would have more pressing things to attend to than smoking pipe weed and lighting fireworks with Mordor looming in the east even without knowing the whereabouts of the ring. Especially after witnessing Sauron's rebirth of sorts with his own eyes.

That's a good point. It's been quite some time since I've read the book, and

[Show spoiler]I know he and the White Council drive out Sauron from Dol Guldur, and that Sauron retreats to Barad-dûr.

But like you said, he does seem pretty carefree at the beginning of the Fellowship of the Ring film, so how or if they tie that together is the question.

[Darth Marcus]

Not exactly news, really, seeing as this is done on every film. Still, I'm excited it's almost here! From TheOneRing.net:

EXCLUSIVE: recording has begun on the score of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 at 9:00 AM BY EARL - Our good friends at WaterTower Music have informed us that the score for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has commenced recording in New Zealand.

As with the previous Middle-earth films, the music for the final film has been composed by Howard Shore.

In conjunction with this news, we are also excited to reveal the cover art for Original Soundtrack to The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

Click the image at the right to view the cover art in high resolution.

The album is set to be released on December 16, 2014.

EDIT: The comments section says they've actually been recording since August.

[Darth Marcus]

Looks like Sting has some orc blood on it.

[JavaJulien]

So does this mean

[Show spoiler]Bilbo will actually be taking part in the final battle?