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

[Barry the Nomad]

I love that the discs match the LOTR EE releases, though one nitpick, the appendices numbers go from being written out on the LOTR releases to being the actual numbers on The Hobbit.

The outer box is great! The back with the acorn matches the LOTR box that has its own symbol, and I like the larger montage on the Hobbit compared to the LOTR releases just having characters in a line.

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

Originally Posted by Barry the Nomad

though one nitpick, the appendices numbers go from being written out on the LOTR releases to being the actual numbers on The Hobbit.

RECALL!!!!

[Yojimbo]

Since some people are worrying over nothing about Amazon's preorder prices, I feel the need to post this. It comes straight from their website and has been the same for years:

Amazon.com's price for not-yet-released items sometimes changes between the time the item is listed for sale and the time it is released and shipped. The price charged when we ship the item will be the lowest price offered by Amazon.com between the time the order was placed and the end of the day on the release date. The order summary in Your Account will reflect the lowest price within 24 hours of the price change.

Note:

The Pre-Order Price Guarantee applies only to items sold by Amazon.com, and not to items (or prices) offered by other sellers on our site.
The Pre-Order Price Guarantee does not apply to lower book prices offered through any program that requires a customer to join the program to receive the lower price.
If your order enters the shipping process before the release date and the price is lowered on the release date, we will automatically refund your credit card for the difference within 48 hours of the release date.

Hope this helps clarify things!

[Gold Ranger]

Am I the only one that keeps expecting images of the Wally World exclusives every time that a new post shows up....

[MacEachaidh]

Not to contradict anything you've said, Yojimbo, but Amazon is occasionally contrary and does things differently from their description that you've quoted.

I've had several instances where the item I pre-ordered remained the same price in my cart, even when the Amazon price went below that, and I was then charged the price at the time I ordered once the order finally shipped. Amazon would then credit my card with the difference as a separate transaction, within a day or so.

Bit of a pain, since I'm a foreigner, and it means I get charged an additional credit card transaction fee, plus an additional foreign currency fee, for Amazon doing it this way. I've asked if they can issue me a credit on my account for my next purchase instead, but Amazon doesn't appear to have the facility to do that.

Still, at the end of things, Amazon's always kept its terms, in that I only paid the lowest price between the time I pre-ordered and the day the product was released. If the price was lower prior to my placing a pre-order, then that price doesn't come into the deal.

It pays to get in quick with pre-orders, which is exactly the behaviour Amazon is trying to train us into!

[Yojimbo]

Originally Posted by MacEachaidh

I've had several instances where the item I pre-ordered remained the same price in my cart, even when the Amazon price went below that, and I was then charged the price at the time I ordered once the order finally shipped. Amazon would then credit my card with the difference as a separate transaction, within a day or so.

Yeah, I'll give you that one. It's happened to me one or twice where it took two or three days to update the new price, but since I always end up getting the lowest price anyway, it doesn't bother me much.

[ChristmasFnatic]

Yep, I encountered that. Price changes and it wont apply to my item til after 2-3 days.

Amazon will then refund me which takes another 2-3 days.

You can buy giftcards though to pay it off, and if price go down, you get instant refund via giftcard which you can apply to another item.

[XV-LTR1]

Originally Posted by KaineKinetic

Am I the only one that keeps expecting images of the Wally World exclusives every time that a new post shows up....

WM employees, please throw us a bone here. It doesn't even have to be an image.

[kdo]

Originally Posted by kjacobs03

I looked on Walmart.com and they had it listed at $32. Where were you guys seeing at for $19.99?
Thanks

Yes, it was available and now shows as "not available at this time" on Walmart's site:

LINK

I actually had ordered it but then cancelled, since I didn't feel like waiting an extra week for shipping...so I'll be picking it up in-store when it comes out on Tuesday. I'm guessing that it will be $19.96, and if it isn't, I will be holding off on purchasing until it is.

Part of the problem here, is that "Unexpected Journey," while good in its own right, is nowhere near the film that any of the previous LOTR installments were. We all know what the problems are, and in agreeing with Ken Brown, I too would give the film (at least the theatrical version) a 3.5 rating. A $25 asking price for this movie is too much, extended cut or not. The upcoming 2D EE release should've had an MSRP of $24.99 to begin with, with most retailers selling between $15 and $20.

Originally Posted by Ken Brown

Personally my least favorite part of the film is the Goblin-town stretch. It's now much, much longer (with a musical number to boot), which didn't go over so well with me. That played into the small reduction in score. Ultimately, though, my review was stating that I thought the extended cut wasn't quite as good as the theatrical cut, so I thought going with the same score would be confusing.

Like I said in the review, some people will enjoy the extended cut more, some will enjoy it less. Maybe I'll be in the minority

(Side note: I love the LOTR extended cuts!)

Thanks for the heads-up on that Ken. Yeah, there were already some setbacks to this film as it is, and there was certainly no need for anymore. I'm looking forward to the EE, but all I can say is that "The Desolation of Smaug" needs to take care of a few issues...

1. Azog needs to be done away with like during the first 10 minutes of the film. He's a massive weak link, in both appearance and character, and the more I see of him, the more the film is going to suffer in my opinion. I don't even want to hear him speak in the 2nd movie, they just need to kill him off fast...

2. Radagast needs to appear as little as possible (and I'd better not see him dashing through the snow in his little Bunny sleigh again).

3. 3D effects just for the sake of having them (like ridiculous fighting mountains, etc.) need to be quelled. I will never be moved from my stance that these "Hobbit" films shouldn't have been shot in 3D to begin with...that corny fighting-mountain sequence was just awful...

4. The fate of the next two films could very well rest on Legolas. I hope he's onscreen a lot, and that his scenes live up to expectation.

5. We need to see a little more of Bilbo's peaceful side IMO.

6. I don't care how they go about it, but we need more Gollum...

7. The next two films need to stay semi-adult oriented like the original LOTR trilogy. They can be fun and still be dangerous...at no point in "Unexpected Journey" was I ever in fear that any harm was going to befall the heroes. In a lot of ways, the "UJ" seemed a little too much geared towards entertaining youngsters. Not a problem on its own, but again, the reputation of the entire LOTR series is at stake here. And not that it could happen, but I don't ever want to see or hear about the "Hobbit" trilogy even being compared to the absolute disaster that the "Star Wars" prequels were...

Originally Posted by Barry the Nomad

Wait... last night the Amazon 2D blu-ray was $19.96, today its back to $24.99... I placed a pre-order months ago at the $24.99 price, so will I get it at the $19.96 price? Why the hell did it jump back up after less than a day?

Originally Posted by Joshjp

I got it for 19.99, it went to that price for a day then jumped back up, i dnt know what kind of game Amazon is playing.

Because that's what retailers are great at...constantly changing prices and pissing off consumers...Amazon was initially trying to match Walmart's online price, and then when Walmart pulled the listing (for who knows what reason), Amazon shot the price back up to $24.99...

I will be going to my local Walmart on release day, and if it isn't available for less than $20, I will not be buying it. I can wait until the holiday sales kick in, at which point I'm sure you'll see this one available for probably less than $15...

I'm even fine waiting until after I've seen the sequel to pick up the "Unexpected Journey" EE, because if the above issues I mentioned weren't taken into account by the filmmakers...as much as I hate to say it, there is a slight chance I may hold off on buying these films on home-video altogether...when I buy a movie, it has to be something that I will watch repeatedly, and to be honest, "Unexpected Journey" isn't the type of movie I'd tend to throw into my player on a regular basis...that is, unless it serves it's purpose as setting the foundation for what I'm hoping are two outstanding sequels...

Either way, it's a win-win situation for me...

[SethRex]

I'd buy the blu...but I made the mistake of putting it on my Christmas list so now I gotta wait to see if I even get it for Christmas....But a part of me wants it now so if anyone of you guys is willing to give away your UV code, I'd be most gracious and give you feedback when the time came.

[Joshjp]

Originally Posted by SethRex

I'd buy the blu...but I made the mistake of putting it on my Christmas list so now I gotta wait to see if I even get it for Christmas....But a part of me wants it now so if anyone of you guys is willing to give away your UV code, I'd be most gracious and give you feedback when the time came.

I will give you my UV code

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

Originally Posted by kdo

The next two films need to stay semi-adult oriented like the original LOTR trilogy.

Say it with me... "The Hobbit is a children's book."

[therealdjnugz]

Originally Posted by Aragorn the Elfstone

Say it with me... "The Hobbit is a children's book."

Yea, I was just going to say that.

[Early Memphis]

Originally Posted by kdo

... 7. The next two films need to stay semi-adult oriented like the original LOTR trilogy. They can be fun and still be dangerous...at no point in "Unexpected Journey" was I ever in fear that any harm was going to befall the heroes. In a lot of ways, the "UJ" seemed a little too much geared towards entertaining youngsters. Not a problem on its own, but again, the reputation of the entire LOTR series is at stake here. And not that it could happen, but I don't ever want to see or hear about the "Hobbit" trilogy even being compared to the absolute disaster that the "Star Wars" prequels were ...

Yeah, great, so Jackson should ignore the actual book even more than he already has, huh? Have you even read the book? It was made up of a series of little tales Tolkien made up for his children - bedtime stories and such, and not for producing nightmares. The two tales have little in common - in tone. LOTR was a later, adult work by a serious professor - who, while editing The Hobbit for the third edition, was reported to have said that he wished he had time to completely rewrite the book because he was dissatisfied with the "style of its prose".

In truth, The Hobbit should've been made first - in a two-part movie at most. Then the more serious tone would follow the actual story line naturally. But LOTR was the bigger name and it got made first, leaving Bilbo's little adventure as an afterthought. But you can't have that, not now that it's following an epic! So they blew up its skirts and pimped it up beyond all reason by going to three films. The 50th Anniversary Edition is only 317 pages long - and that ain't 3 movies no matter how much you take from the author's notes. But, please, don't ask them to completely rewrite the story even more than they have. Perhaps you'd be happier if they brought in more hobgoblins and Blue Meanies - grown-up ones, of course.

[JackKnightStarman]

Originally Posted by Early Memphis

Yeah, great, so Jackson should ignore the actual book even more than he already has, huh? Have you even read the book? It was made up of a series of little tales Tolkien made up for his children - bedtime stories and such, and not for producing nightmares. The two tales have little in common - in tone. LOTR was a later, adult work by a serious professor - who, while editing The Hobbit for the third edition, was reported to have said that he wished he had time to completely rewrite the book because he was dissatisfied with the "style of its prose".

In truth, The Hobbit should've been made first - in a two-part movie at most. Then the more serious tone would follow the actual story line naturally. But LOTR was the bigger name and it got made first, leaving Bilbo's little adventure as an afterthought. But you can't have that, not now that it's following an epic! So they blew up its skirts and pimped it up beyond all reason by going to three films. The 50th Anniversary Edition is only 317 pages long - and that ain't 3 movies no matter how much you take from the author's notes. But, please, don't ask them to completely rewrite the story even more than they have. Perhaps you'd be happier if they brought in more hobgoblins and Blue Meanies - grown-up ones, of course.

Very well said. I love how everybody has ideas on how it "should" be. READ THE DAMN BOOKS. Then tell us what you think of the adaptations of all four books. While I love the movies, the books are even better. There is just so much you can put in a single 3 hour + movie based on a series of books. While The Return of the King EE is a well rounded finale, the book is a even better more rewarding experience. The themes woven thru the books, up to the last page of book three...just awesome.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

[RyanPom]

Originally Posted by Early Memphis

Yeah, great, so Jackson should ignore the actual book even more than he already has, huh? Have you even read the book? It was made up of a series of little tales Tolkien made up for his children - bedtime stories and such, and not for producing nightmares. The two tales have little in common - in tone. LOTR was a later, adult work by a serious professor - who, while editing The Hobbit for the third edition, was reported to have said that he wished he had time to completely rewrite the book because he was dissatisfied with the "style of its prose".

In truth, The Hobbit should've been made first - in a two-part movie at most. Then the more serious tone would follow the actual story line naturally. But LOTR was the bigger name and it got made first, leaving Bilbo's little adventure as an afterthought. But you can't have that, not now that it's following an epic! So they blew up its skirts and pimped it up beyond all reason by going to three films. The 50th Anniversary Edition is only 317 pages long - and that ain't 3 movies no matter how much you take from the author's notes. But, please, don't ask them to completely rewrite the story even more than they have. Perhaps you'd be happier if they brought in more hobgoblins and Blue Meanies - grown-up ones, of course.

So the Hobbit can't be stretched to 3 films, but Harry Potter gets a free pass for extending Deathly Hallows to 2 movies??

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

Originally Posted by RyanPom

So the Hobbit can't be stretched to 3 films, but Harry Potter gets a free pass for extending Deathly Hallows to 2 movies??

Deathly Hallows - 759 pages
The Hobbit - 276 pages

[RyanPom]

Originally Posted by Aragorn the Elfstone

Deathly Hallows - 759 pages
The Hobbit - 276 pages

But the point is they spent 7 years building up the HP character and they still had to split the movies to provide all the pay off. Same with The Hobbit, here we get ALL new characters aside from 2 or three, and the new characters must have some impact on the viewer, and that can't be done in 1 movie.

[Falaskan]

I was able to find the extended scenes on youtube. I like them all so I'll be getting this. The Goblin song is not that great, but it's not enough to keep me from getting this.

[Edword]

Originally Posted by RyanPom

But the point is they spent 7 years building up the HP character and they still had to split the movies to provide all the pay off. Same with The Hobbit, here we get ALL new characters aside from 2 or three, and the new characters must have some impact on the viewer, and that can't be done in 1 movie.

But each movie was based on each of the previous 6 books. There was no way to squeeze everything from the last HP book into just one movie. If stuff from the appendices hadn't been added into The Hobbit it could have probably easily been put into two films.