(10 of 10 stars)
The extended edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released on home video just recently. Just in time for the next part in the story coming to theaters on December 13, 2013.
It is the first movie of a three part story that takes place before The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is adapted from the very popular book by the same name written by J.R.R Tolkien. Even though it is the shortest of the books, one wonders how it can be expanded it into three movies. It was done by delving into the appendices and short stories related to the Rings trilogy. These hold a treasure trove of notes and information the author kept and added to while he was writing the Rings trilogy and the many stories associated with it. His plan was to go back to The Hobbit and revise it with all of that material to bring it more in line with the darker story line of The Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, Tolkien died before he could do that. Peter Jackson, the director of both series, is attempting to do just that with these movies, and I commend him for it.
The book entitled The Hobbit, was published in 1937 intended for and written as a children’s book. It was the first foray into the world of Middle Earth. It proved to be so popular that the author continued the adventure, thus creating The Lord of the Rings.
The movie is set up, seemingly, as a sequel to The Lord of the Rings yet it is a prequel. It begins on the very day in which The Fellowship of the Ring begins; on Bilbo Baggins birthday with Frodo inquiring as to the contents of the red book which Bilbo keeps close to him. Because of this there is the illusion of a sequel. However, it is about an hour or two before the time of the events of the Fellowship. During that hour or two, there is a bit of narrative, then it flashes back 60 years prior. It is about the adventures of Bilbo Baggins traveling with a pack of dwarfs trying to reclaim their home from a dragon. That is the main plot, but there is obviously more going on. The other subplots are building and merging and all will finally converge into The Lord of the Rings.
As for the movie, the extended version includes thirteen minutes of new material. Thirteen minutes may not sound like much, especially when the movie is two hours and forty-nine minutes long. But, think about it. That is about half of a Simpsons episode! Look how much story the writers of The Simpsons can cram into that amount of time.
Now it is not necessary to watch this added material. The scenes are not vital to the story. However, the new scenes add a deeper level to the experience and help connect it to the whole Middle Earth Cycle. For example, a new scene shows Bilbo exploring Rivendel. Here one sees more of that fantastical place than in previous movies. Since this is supposed to be the first movie, it gives one a feel for the place that will play a pivotal part in the future. While exploring the grand and magical city hidden in among waterfalls, Bilbo comes across the pedestal holding the broken sword Narsil, which will be re-forged and renamed Anduril (The Fire of the West). It is a bit of foreshadowing for viewers who have not seen the Lord of the Rings. If one has seen the previous movies, it is an element to help tie the two series together. What a beautiful moment as Bilbo passes by the sword and gives a curious glance, but nothing more. Kind of like a tourist would an object in an antique museum. That is just one example of the many additional scenes and how they enhance the narrative. As I stated earlier, one does not need to buy and watch this version. Nor, one may not want to watch this version. It is mainly for the fans and completists. People like me who love the book series and want to see as much of the rich, and imaginative story translated to the screen as possible. In this case it is thirteen more minutes of time to spend in this fun fantasy world.
It is like when some one offers to make you a chocolate sundae. They begin with the usual two scoops of ice cream. Then they drizzle on the thick chocolate syrup followed by fluffy dollops of whipped cream. Then the shiny red cherry is placed lovingly on top. Your mouth is watering at the site of this delectable dessert. Just as you pick up your spoon to dig in to this mini mountain of mirth, the server begins shaking on some chocolate sprinkles. Not too much, but just enough to give some color to the white canvas that is the whipped cream. In this instance, the additional scenes are the sprinkles. They are there to fill in some of the story, but also help you enjoy this great confection of a movie. The Blue Ray set comes with two extra discs with about nine hours of bonus material. Most of it being documentary segments ranging in length from eight minutes to one hour. They cover almost every aspect of the creation of this movie. I have not seen all of these, but of the ones I have seen they are very informative. There is one about the music featured in this movie. I found that to be very fascinating as it shows how they took the lyrics of the songs from the books and put them to music and incorporated them into the movie. I would recommend these if you are a geek like me.
I would very much recommend this movie to anyone remotely interested in the Middle Earth cycle, especially for anybody who hasn’t seen this movie, yet. Here one would be able to view it in its entirety as the movie should have been released in the theaters; in all its three hour glory. And since this has been released just a few weeks before the start of the second movie in the series entitled The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug, it should drum up more interest for the new movie. I know it has more than peaked my interest. It looks to be better than this one. If you liked this movie I encourage you to go see the next one. I know I will. I will be fighting through hordes of orcs and goblins to get my tickets on opening day. Will you be?
Erich is the author of the soon to be published thriller, Is Love Everlasting? He has a BA in Communications from Colorado State University. He lives in Arvada, Colorado with his cat, who always tries to help him with his writing. He enjoys watching movies, writing poetry, or reading a great book. Follow Erich on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/erich.appelhans.
About Erich Appelhans
Erich is the author of the thriller, Is Love Everlasting? He has a BA in Communications from Colorado State University. He lives in Arvada, Colorado with his cat, who always tries to help him with his writing. He enjoys watching movies, writing poetry, or reading a great book. Follow Erich on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/erichswritingspot. Get his book at Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/410406
About Erich Appelhans