Synopsis:

There and Back again turns the three films into two volumes which focuses on Bilbo's adventure, but in context of Thorin's journey as well. Their stories are intertwined so this edit seeks to strip away as many elements as possible that interfere with their respective stories. This is not a 'book' cut that seeks to conform to the novel, so it maintains many of the added story elements that help it serve as a prequel or bridge to Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, but they are reduced and tightened up so as to not interfere with the primary focus of Bilbo's journey.

Intentions:

Truth be told, I had no plans to edit this trilogy. Not only that, as of September 2016 I hadn't even seen the films! However a dear friend who loves all things Tolkien, and loved the LotR films knew she didn't want to sit through the three theatrical films, she implored me to create an edit. I tried to convince her that there were likely numerous edits already out there that she would like but she insisted she wanted to see an edit based on my editing sensibilities. So after much procrastination I finally got around to buying the extended editions and watching them to see what I could make of it. I was blown away by how good so much of the films were, yet also stunned at how much I disliked at the same time. I assumed I'd hate all of the invented storylines I'd heard about and the LotR foreshadowing, yet I found I truly enjoyed many of the additions, as well as liberties taken with the nature of the characters (Dwarves in particular). Going into the project I had assumed that I'd end up making a book cut, but it became obvious to me right away that what I really wanted was to do was maintain the new expanded depth and tone, but cut out the excessive and ultimately needless action, as well as the seriously ill-advised characters who added nothing to the story. Ultimately what I truly fell in love with was Martin Freeman's portrayal of Bilbo, and the revised approach to the Dwarves, in particular Thorin, and thus found the point of my edit; to bring out as much of those two stories as possible while cutting out as much of the pointless and distracting elements, and still allowing it to be a primer for the LotR films.

Change List:

This list represents mostly cuts, but does not address scenes or sequences being re-ordered to serve narrative needs, but works as a good guide to know what is removed and general approach of the project An Unexpected Journey (which is essentially Volume One): - Cut out flashback of Erebor and Dale's heyday and fall - Cut An Unexpected Journey title - Cut Bilbo wandering Hobbiton after being spooked by Gandalf - Cut some dialog in Bilbo's pantry between Dwalin and Balin - Cut out Dwarves overtaking Bilbo's house and Gandalf naming them all off, also being raunchy and rude at the table chugging ale and burping - Cut Bombor snoring moths in and out of his mouth - Cut Introduction of Orcs watching company's camp - Cut out entire sequence of Radagast (various nips and tucks of sequence of Company in the rain in order to accommodate removal of Radagast) - Cut Radagast scaring the Company after they come out of the Troll hole - Cut Orc pack chasing Company and Radagast trying to distract them - Cut some back and forth between Gandalf and Thorin before entering Rivendell - Cut out Thorn's confrontation with Elrond - Cut out dwarves being rude and uncultured at dinner, singing at the table, falling for male Elves etc.. - Trimmed dialog between Gandalf and Elrond to no longer reference the orc pack - Cut Orc pack reporting to Azog - Cut Dwarves bathing in the fountain - Trimmed scene between Elrond, Galadriel, Saruman and Gandalf to remove references to cut elements - inserted flashback of Radagast giving Gandalf the Nazgul sword - Cut Rock Giant fights - Trimmed fall from porch into basket - Used Theatrical version of introduction of the Goblin King, cutting out his song. - Trimmed fight once Gandalf shows up - Cut everything of their running fight once they leave the King's main hall - Leave theatrical conclusion. Ultimate effect/approach. With Volume one, the primary goal was two-fold; cut out as much silliness as possible, mostly accomplished by removing boorish dwarves at Rivendell and the Goblin king and fight through the goblin passages, and also to hold off on Azog's introduction.. we hear about/see him during Balin's tale to set him up.. but now we don't see him as part of the story until the very end of the film when they chase them to the trees. This heightens the tension and makes the reveal more dramatic. Desolation of Smaug - Cut out flashback to the battle outside Moria/Trim dialog between Gandalf and Thorin - Cut Desolation of Smaug title - Intercut Extend and Theatrical at Beorn's house, use theatrical cut's version of waking up with Beorn serving breakfast - Trim dialog between Beorn and Gandalf that references raising the dead and the darker power etc.. - At Elvin gate, cut Gandalf murmuring to himself about the High Fells, and simply says.. "So be it.." before yelling to keep his horse. - Keep Extended version with bridge, cut Bombor falling in the water, trim up and slightly re-arange their getting lost in Mirkwood - Trim spider battle to remove Dwarves ripping legs from spider, cut Bilbo going crazy and killing small creature over the ring - Trim their capture for continuity/remove the 'moments' between Kili and Tauriel - Trim banter between Tauriel and Kili in prison - Trim strange face-melting moment from Thranduil - Cut Thrandruil being a dick to Tauriel about Legolas - Cut more talking between Kili and Tauriel, and Legolas creeping. - Heavily edit barrel escape; gate is never closed so the Dwarves simply sweep right through them as the Bolg and the Orcs attack. This also keeps Kili from getting shot by an arrow. Sequence loses most of the ridiculous fighting elements; Legolas standing on people's heads, Bombor bouncing around in his barrel, etc... - Cut Gandalf going to the High Fells, which also cuts him meeting up with Radagast - Trim Thranduil's interrogation of the Orc to omit reference to Kili getting shot with an arrow - Remove Radagst from outside of Gol Dolgur, Gandalf approaches alone - MASSIVELY REDUCE LAKETOWN. Too many cuts to note, just know that it removes Alfrid and the Master to almost nothing, the Dwarves don't almost get caught running around the docks, no flashback tale about the Black Arrow launchers and Thorin lamenting that if the aim of men had been true... - Cut Dwarves departure from Laketown, do not show Kili, Fili and company being left behind - Cut Bard getting arrested - Cut Orc attack on Laketown, as well as Legolas and Tauriel's fighting there - Cut all of fight inside Erebor between Dwarves and Smaug - Cut credits and blend into Battle of Five Armies - Cut all references to Orcs, Legolas, Tauriel or Dwarves in Laketown, as well as Alfrid and the Master stealing the treasury - Recut Smaug's attack and Black Arrow, he simply uses his last arrow to take him out (basic approach both Spence and Billy Batson take but different execution) - Cut opening Battle of the Five Armies title - Cut Laketown survivors washing ashore, Kili and company parting with Tauriel, all that jazz - Cut as much Alfid as possible - Cut shot of giant worms boring holes into the ground - Cut Alfrid finding Bilbo gone - Used Theatrical version of Dain confronting 2 armies Frome here, too many cuts to detail, suffice to say the battle is dramatically reduced, sequence between Azog's arrival and Thorin, Dwalin, Kili and Fili arriving at Ravenhill is 12 minutes, it unfortunately excises all of Tauriel's part in the battle because it all ties into her love of Kili, most of Legolas antics are also mercifully cut. I use Spence's sequence for Kili's death pretty much frame-for-frame, it's fantastic work and I saw no reason to reinvent that particular wheel. I also use a hybrid of Spence and Billy's concepts how Legolas aids Thorin at Ravenhill. There is no confrontation between Tauriel, Thranduil and Legolas etc.. Ending uses the Thorin/Kili/Fili funeral sequence, Bilbo's goodbye and journey home.

Additional Notes:

There were numerous firsts for me on this edit in terms of approach and scope, but ultimately it is defined by what has become my basic approach or philosophy in edits; focusing on characters, and cutting out anything that gets in the way of their story, and never have I had more fun or been more pleased with the results than this project. While I had done a two-films-into-one project before with Son of Jor-El, the basic structure of that edit had already been laid out by Jelio and it was quite clear what the goal was in terms of the story that needed to be crafted as well as the run-length. Likewise with Alarm Clock I took two films and merged them, but that edit was defined by the fact that I was attempting to reconstruct the original version of the film that hadn't been released, so it was like taking a scrambled puzzle and putting it back together. The Hobbit however was something new. I had no end game. One movie? Two? Leave it at three? A quick review of IFDB revealed people had taken all three approaches. Ultimately I determined that I would have no predefined goal in terms of length. I would edit based on my guiding principle of focusing on the main characters' stories. I knew there were certain primary goals, but beyond that I wanted to simply see what evolved as I sculpted it based on these few key goals: - Fix Laketown as much as possible by reducing Alfid and The Master as much as the story would allow. - Cut out the love triangle - Cut out as much of Radagast as possible - Cut out as much of the fight inside Erebor as possible - Limit the relentlessly over-the-top action as much possible So I simply set out to edit all three into a single film in my timeline, with no running time in mind, just edit the footage into the best possible story that I enjoyed, but to not cut so much as to make it obvious things were missing, whether by narrative points, or pacing. I committed to just following where it took me so that when I was finally happy with the story, I could then figure out how best to divide it up, if at all. Of any project I've done so far, this was by far the most selfish endeavor. I edited it mostly in a vacuum, the only influence being Spence and Billy Batson's edits. Since they were both three-in-one edits, each with very different approaches I figured they'd give me a good glimpse into the most extreme ways to carve out chunks of the film as possible. Even if I didn't want to replicate their edits, it gave perspective to just how far or aggressive you could go. I didn't announce this project on the site or open it up for discussion and group-think like I normally do. I simply enjoyed this so much that I wanted to edit it for me, and if I enjoyed it, figured I'd release it in the hopes others may find it enjoyable. I know there are a ton of other Hobbit edits so this will likely get lost in the shuffle, but I'm supremely gratified with the results and I hope that others may find it an enjoyable variation on the originals. So in the end, my approach was to carve out as much of the pointless, useless and annoying story and plot elements that constantly distract from the real stories being explored; Bilbo's adventure, Thorin's personal journey, and Gandalf's worries about "The Enemy".

Other Sources:

This edit is primarily sourced from the Extended Editions of all three films, however there are a few key edit points where what I wanted to do had essentially been done via the theatricals, so a few key transitions are taken from the theatrical versions (once in the hall of the Goblin King, Beorn's house, and the point at which the initial three armies meet (avoiding the actual conflict between the Elves and Dwarves).

Special Thanks:

Thanks go to NJVC and The Man Behind the Mask for previewing and providing critical feedback. Thanks to Reave for technical support. I am also truly grateful to ThrowgnCpr for his photoshop guidance and BionicBob for his work on the cover art. Also, acknowledgements must be given to Spence and Billy Batson. Their edits were the only ones I allowed myself to watch. There are a few cuts which are near replication of their work and some that find the same spirit but different approach or spirit. If any of those cuts were themselves inspired by other editors, those fine folks deserve credit as well, but I know not who they are. Of course, this edit simply wouldn't have happened were it not for the perseverance of my friend Jewyl. And lastly, as always to Mrs. L8wrtr and our younglings who have embraced this edit and patiently allowed me the time to make this happen.