LotR releases for Desolation of Smaug

[Doomhippie]

Has anyone seen the Rifftrax version of LOTR?  I literally cried through every one.  If anyone is familiar with MST3000, it's the same guys.  Their 'Alien' version is also fantastic!

Tried but failed. I found the Humor rather flat and uninspired. The usual smoking weed jokes when Bilbo smokes his pipe, the usual call each other names sitautions. Okay, once or twice I actually giggled but overall not my cup of tea.

[Cubs]

This has inspired me to go back and watch the LOTR extended versions again.

I forgot how much I loved Fellowship of the Ring.

[Mr Tough Guy]

TBH while I prefer the extended editions of LOTR I'm hoping someone will do a book cut of the hobbit movies and strip out all the crap that's not in the book

[grant]

TBH while I prefer the extended editions of LOTR I'm hoping someone will do a book cut of the hobbit movies and strip out all the crap that's not in the book

Well, then there would be only one movie, wouldn't there? 

[Mr Tough Guy]

Well, then there would be only one movie, wouldn't there? 

exactly my point 

[Doomhippie]

I'm sure that'll appear on YouTube sooner or later. I am very happy that PJ tried to fit the Hobbit into the context of Middle-Earth and not as a standalone movie. But that is my personal opinion. I like Background stories. Even in tabletop games they are more important to me than the game itself - mostly.

[nic-e]

I'm sure that'll appear on YouTube sooner or later. I am very happy that PJ tried to fit the Hobbit into the context of Middle-Earth and not as a standalone movie. But that is my personal opinion. I like Background stories. Even in tabletop games they are more important to me than the game itself - mostly.

Got to agree here.If the hobbit had just been left completely independent as a movie it would make the franchise feel disjointed.
And i agree on the gaming point aswell, i can't count the amount of demo games i've played where i have never looked at the game again because the narrative wasn't given any attention.

[joroas]

I think that his aim was to create a 6 film cycle, that follows the storyline from TH to LOTR in a way that works, unlike Star Wars!!

[Laughing Ferret]

I think that his aim was to create a 6 film cycle, that follows the storyline from TH to LOTR in a way that works, unlike Star Wars!!

To really pull that off he would have needed a 7th film: Scouring of the Shire. but lost that chance with the way Return of the King ends.
But yes, looks like it will be much more successful at that then Star Wars was.

Even if I am not always thrilled with the choices being made, I'm still greedy for more ...the extended versions of LotR are better than the theater releases: more background tells more, for example the theater version was nearly a character assassination of Faramir, but the extended cleaned up most of that impression. But I can't help feeling that if the Hobbit can merit 3 movies the other movies could have been granted more time & material too.

One thing the movies have captured, at least for me, is a sense of Epic. it does feel larger than life with a feeling of a big rich story worthy of a movie, where a lot (but not all) of fantasy and sci-fi movies of the last decade have felt more in scale with a 2-part TV series episode, and I'm left thinking 'some cool visuals, but wasn't much of a story'.. probably a lot of that is due to Tolkien himself, but I think Jackson's movies have captured the atmosphere and depth of story that other franchises and one-shots haven't come close to with their stories.

[nic-e]

do you know what I would pay 3 times as much to see as this movie trilogy.

the same 3 movies all joined together then edited down to 97 minutes.

same deal with lord of the rings.

I think peter jackson is great but I think who ever his editor is needs to grow a spine and take off the rose tinted glasses and be able to say 'we are cutting that, it does not move the story forward!'

I fell asleep in the hobbit 3 times, I fell asleep in pacific rim twice, slept through an entire half of the avengers or what ever that super hero team up one was. (no idea how that one ends)

Just too long and too boring and unfocused and lazy and egotistical and rude in summary.

Honestly i think this is less an issue with the films and more you needing a better sleeping pattern.

Pacific rim was great,barely any dead space in it as far as i can see.
The avengers.. My god man,how could you not enjoy it?!? the second half was wonderful.
The hobbit took a long time to start in order to properly set up the story plus it had to introduce a large cast of characters in preparation for the second film.

[nic-e]

Pacific Rim about midway both times I viewed it fell asleep
Never got to the second half of avengers, slept through the lot of it and woke when the credits rolled
I threw the hobbit into AE 10 minutes ago and had a very quick muck about with editing a random chunk. In a totally random 30 second chunk the amount of stuff that could be cut and still keep the story intact was scary. easy got it to under 10. I seriously think if you cut out all the extra stuff he added and all the padding on the other stuff you could do the entire film in 32 and 1/3 minutes easy (minus titles and credits eating into that time of course) How long did that extra stuff add? an hour an hour and a half? You have at least another 30 minutes in angstful gazes you can put on the floor. Seriously its far too easy to edit down.

But a movie isn't about having an efficient and time conscious experience, the goal is not to cram as much story into into as little time. it's about escaping into a world, creating a strong and deep world.you can make a utilitarian version of a story sure, but then you may as well just read the basic plot point from the first page of a spark notes study guide.

[Mr Tough Guy]

I have no problem with long movies or epic movies and in the case of LOTR I even think the extended edition plays a lot better than the theatrical cut but with the hobbit I feel like he's shoehorning an epic movie series in what's essentially a children's book. I probably would have less problems with it if it wasn't called the hobbit, but something like the battle of five armies or something that reflects what it really is.

I really would have preferred a simple standalone movie that would reflect the book rather then an 12 hour epic, if I want to watch that I'll put in the Lord of The Rings, I really don't see me watching any of the hobbit stuff again, I'll watch it once in the cinema, because well, might as well, won't cost me anything since I have a subscription deal for the cinema anyway but it's more because I feel I should have seen it rather then that I really want to see it

[nic-e]

actually its both for a good film. You create the rich world as efficiently as possible. and what was so unrich about tolkien that you had to add an hour of extra footage that was not in the book?

I accept other people enjoy this sort of epic thing, maybe even really enjoy it.

Doesn't make it right in my eyes though. For me it will always be overindulgent dross.

You keep enjoying them though because who am I to tell you what you should like.

Is suppose i just enjoy the long film experience.I like the extra stuff, not because i feel that the hobbit needed it but because i think it adds some extra fun.
But as you said, we aren't here to try and make each other switch opinions.

[Tacgnol]

Regarding the new LotR miniatures, I had a look at White Dwarf today and some of the photography in the article covering the Barrels out of Bond set is pretty poor, another hint at GW not being really bothered about the range?

Regarding falling asleep at the cinema, I went to a midnight screening of the last Harry Potter film after a heavy shift at work and crashed out just before the big climactic fight. Not money well spent.

[Ninja]

I am here to change opinions!!!

Heath Ledger as the joker. NOBODY SAW THAT COMING fans complained till the heavens were almost brought down and now some of those same people wear shirts with him on it!!

Prejudice is poor for movies, tv shows, books and people. Give it a shot and THEN tell me why you don't like it. It might be terribly over done hog wash or it may be the relighting of a new generation of fantasy lovers in the youth of today!   

Also I am totally playing around and trolling because I had a bunch of coffee this morning!!!