Synopsis:

I set out to create a leaner, cleaner first part to The Hobbit. I do not demand purism relative to the book; instead, I insist on solid storytelling. Although I've cut most sequences that looked outright ridiculous, I kept Radagast and several other features that don't appear in the book or are more directed toward children, but which contribute to the story. Azog is gone, save only in an appearance as the angry orc in pursuit of Thorin & Company after the death of the Goblin King, the flashbacks are much condensed and differently placed, Frodo is gone, and we are left with a quicker and more magical return to Tolkien’s famous novel.

Intentions:

As soon as I watched The Hobbit, it became my highest fanedit priority. As might be expected for a thin book expanded into three long films, An Unexpected Journey turned into a bloated and muddled mockery of the grandeur we remembered from Jackson's Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit got mired in set pieces, and it thematically undermined Bilbo's story with his violent involvement in the superfluous White Orc plotline. Meanwhile, scenes like The White Council or the Stone Giants provided something of a snoozer but advanced the plot not one whit. I aimed to improve pacing, to attain greater thematic consistency with Tolkien’s Hobbit, and to remove some laborious absurdity, all while keeping the movie hopefully in continuity with the future films--or at least an edited version thereof.

Change List:

Prologue flashbacks truncated and re-ordered to make dwarves more sympathetic, and moved to where Bilbo learns the story during the unexpected party. A few establishing shots are altered to fit the scenes into context. Frodo cut Dwalin/Balin head bump cut Some extra shots of dwarves being messy cut Redundant Thorin & Gandalf dialogue cut Gandalf's exposition on Bilbo's thoroughly unremarkable childhood cut Thorin & Balin's conversation after "it appears we have lost our burglar" cut (shot of Thorin reversed so that he is look toward Bilbo instead of away) Misty Mountains song uses footage excised from the flashbacks, converted to slow motion, to create a montage. Entire Pale Orc plotline cut--this involved many cuts throughout the movie, starting with the flashback after Fili and Kili tease Bilbo The dwarves no longer have a silly fight scene with the trolls only to throw down their weapons for a companion they don't even like. Instead, they charge the trolls, and we cut directly to their cooking over the fire. Clearly the charge was a well-laid plan. (Finagling the audio for this cut was the biggest pain in the rear for the edit; I doubled and reversed the battle cry to avoid sounds and music on the center track.) Troll banter on seeing Gandalf cut Radagast stays! He sets up the Necromancer plot for the next movie. However, his appearance to Gandalf happens after Rivendell rather than before, and Gandalf is implied to separate from the dwarves with him. A shot back to the sword helps explain what Gandalf has just received. The entire warg chase scene is cut. Thorin's concern that the elves will stop them cut (but mistrust kept) Elrond's skepticism concerning the Erebor quest cut White Council removed entirely. Ugh. Stone Giants cut. Blerg. Fall down goblin hole made less ridiculous Goblin King trimmed Every single frame of Gollum kept! Goblin chase scene cut from five minutes to one. This involved many small cuts. Many small cuts reduce the Pale Orc from a nemesis of Thorin's to the Really Angry Orc who pursues them after they killed the goblin king. The dwarves and Bilbo do not leave the tree once chased up. The Eagle rescue has also been trimmed; they do not fight the wargs except to drop a tree on several. Our only explanation for Thorin's KO is that falling from trees and eagles can be rough on a dwarf; this is the only significant continuity issue for which I could not find a fix. Bilbo becoming accepted as a DwarfBro cut Erebor mattes replaced to suggest a greater distance from the mountain--thanks to TM2YC for creating the modified matte I used for this Ending credits music modified...

Additional Notes:

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Special Thanks:

TM2YC for feedback, a beautiful cover, and a reworked matte that I used for the final shots of a more distant Erebor. Also my thirteen friends and my girlfriend who attended the screening party for the first completed workprint.