Bobber

As far as 3-to-2 film edits, go, I recently watched Adam Den’s 2 Film Structure, and while it’s not perfect by any means
(a couple of glaring continuity issues and awkward cuts in each film), it’s an acceptable “extended version” that incorporates the Dol Guldur subplot and keeps Azog in a more central role. It cuts Bilbo’s “warrior” rescue of Thorin, which, if kept in, makes any edit unwatchable for me (by getting rid of the Eagle scene altogether), but keeps the effects of the ring on him, which I don’t like but can tolerate. I’d probably go back to this edit again if I’m ever in the mood for anything other than M4.

I’m of the opinion that the original LOTR trilogy could use its own version of M4. I’ve watched the old Sharkey and Kerr’s Red Book Edits, and enjoyed them, even though they are certainly dated by now. There’s enough unwarranted silliness that can be cut here and there, along with moments like Sam sending Frodo home, Aragorn’s fake death, Frodo offering the Ring to the Wraith, Elves at Helm’s Deep, and Ents deciding not to go to war, for example. Kerr’s Red Book edits even cut some of my pet peeves, like the shot of Sam staying underwater for a bit too long in FOTR. I would welcome any similar edit in higher video quality (perhaps keeping a bit more non-book material in).

Exciting news, thanks for sharing!

Sounds exciting, haven’t seen an “integrated” version of a PT edit with Jar Jar subtitles yet.

Very interested in these edits! Did you ever end up returning to them and making a v 2.0 based on the feedback so far?

Very interested too, please PM the links!

Also very interested in an updated version of these edits.

I’m interested in the updated version. Will you be making a Season 2 edit as well?

Please PM me as well, looks awesome. If you can point me to where to find subtitle files, I’d really appreciate that too.

sidshady12 said:

• Inserted quick “I am sorry I’ve doubted you” from Thorin to Bilbo when escaping, paying homage to how in the book this is the point where Thorin started to think highly of him. Now Thorin does 3 nice things to Bilbo in Woodland Realm, and the later “Bilbo vouching” scene now feels very earned

• 3 trims, Dwalin/Thorin throneroom shot at start, long pause, and removed the part in brackets “we must move {THE GOLD} further underground to safety.” Obviously there is no way a few Dwarves could move the gold further underground, so when we frame it as Thorin wanting to just hide, it both 1) makes him less crazy 2) refocuses his change of heart from mostly letting go of treasure, to now letting go of treasure AND cowardice–so we include more real human characteristics that trace back to Thorin’s own actions: cowardice, something he never used to have, not just an obsession with gold which is more surface level. Obviously his obsession with the treasure is still present, but it was overdone with dragon sickness and this is one very minor change that I think makes a big difference.
• Added a cut Dwalin line taken from the BOTFA trailer, “Bilbo was right,” referencing our little Hobbit is always nice, it also reminds us that the Dwarves are still thinking about him/his impact, and finally it highlights that Bilbo’s actions are part of the reason that Thorin returned and ultimately changed the course of the battle (once again, the trend of small actions by everyday folk that cause significant impact)

These are good and important changes! - already downloaded the latest version

I’m generally a fan of the Jackson’s trilogy and aside from a few awkward or un-Tolkien-esque moments, I don’t think it needs nearly as much fixing as the Star Wars Prequels or Sequels do. I like Sharkey (Hal9000) “purist” and Kerr’s “book” edits, but don’t go back to them often because they are 720p or lower quality.

Wondering if anyone has done a more recent, 1080p or higher quality edit. The kinds of changes I’m hoping for:
FOTR:
Martin Freeman finding the ring instead of Ian Holm
No Bilbo looking for the ring
No Arwen with knife to Aragorn’s throat.
Less Saruman but keep the Uruk Hai introduction
Fixing the “Sam stays underwater for too long” shot.

TTT:
Ents don’t initially decide not to go to war
No Wargs and Aragorn’s fake death
No Elves at Helms Deep
No “squirrel droppings” or “nervous system”.
Frodo doesn’t offer ring to Nazgul

ROTK:
No drinking game and less crude humor.
Frodo doesn’t send Sam home
Gandalf’s staff not broken
Army of the Dead reduced and color-corrected
Mouth of Sauron stays but not decapitated

Just wanted to let you know that this is by far the best Hobbit edit that I’ve seen, and has been my go-to. Would you consider making your bonus materials available in a non-blu-ray format? And have you thought about making a more book-faithful LOTR edit as well? The book-edits out there are lower quality and quite old by now.

Just watched the edit, and it’s the best of RoP one I’ve seen so far, I would say approaching 7/10, and this is coming from a huge Tolkien fan. You really salvaged the character of Galadriel, and I 100% percent agree with your intentions there. That being said, I also agree with some of vranir’s comments, and would have liked to see more fleshing out the Harfoot storyline while possibly reducing some of the Southlands.

Major Star Wars and LOTR fan over many years, hoping to sample some of the great work put together by the community on this site.