Are you like us? Bouncing with joy to receive your copy of ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘ on Blu-Ray or DVD? Okay, maybe you aren’t physically bouncing, but the release here in the US has made this boring Tuesday in March a lot more exciting!
To help capture that excitement, we’ve just opened up a special Flickr gallery just for this purpose. The only rules for the gallery are that you, your family, your pet or something Middle-earth-esque is featured in the photo WITH a copy of ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘ on Blu-Ray or DVD. Well, and of course keep it family friendly 😛 Follow the break to see folks who have already submitted their photos and join in – as and when the home entertainment release of An Unexpected Journey reaches your corner of the world! [Flickr Gallery] Continue reading “Share your ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ Blu-Ray and DVD Photos!”
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a re-post that we thought might be helpful to consumers today, the street date of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” for home use. We also have a series of excellent interviews about the film and Blu-ray further down our page. Don’t miss them!
Consumers will have a lot of choices when it comes to which version of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” they decide to have at home. There will definitely be an extended edition in time for the holidays confirmed by a press release from Warner Bros., but the choices are greater than just to get the theatrical version or the extended version.
Those in the U.S. can buy the film March 19, but with a variety of versions, all of which we will detail here. Besides the several formats it will be available in, there are exclusive editions at Target, Best Buy and Wal-Mart. But have no fear busy potential consumer, we will make everything clear below, detailing all the versions, the available covers and the in-store exclusives. Interestingly, many theaters are still showing the film which crossed the $1 billion earnings mark over the weekend.
When the “Lord of the Rings,” films were hitting the home video market, many users were also making the late jump from VHS to DVD and those films, for many, were the incentive needed to jump to a new format. This is true now with DVD and Blu-ray although there seems to be much less push from the industry to make that happen, perhaps because of the growing all digital download market. Amazon has versions of all these films and we have the choices below linked if you wish to pre-order there. Doing so earns us a commission so support your friendly not-for-profit website if you are going to buy online. Prices range all over the place, but Amazon seems to be very competitive. Below are all the versions available supplied to us by the studio along with the official box art. Way down we provide the non-U.S. release dates as well as a link to a useful message board page with further information. Unfortunately for some, “Return of the King,” was the last Middle-earth movie to be released on VHS!
2-disc DVD edition of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”
Still watching films old school style? Then the 2-disc special edition DVD is probably for you. It comes with both a DVD of the film and an Ultraviolet copy, which is useful for using the computer on laptops or down the road when it seems likely we will never deal with discs at all. The official information is as follows:
2-disc Blu-ray edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
For those who enjoy the superior picture of Blu-ray, and have invested in a player, the combo pack for that format might be the way to go. But, those who will eventually watch Blu-rays, this version also comes with a DVD copy of the film. Personally, I wouldn’t touch the old format, even for the nostalgia of having all the Middle-earth movies lined up together in one packaging line, but including the DVD here makes it a non-choice. WB’s Blu-ray releases are region free, meaning they will play world-wide and aren’t specially coded for regional players. Eventually we will download and watch all movies and rarely bother with discs but for now this is the best format available and I still like to hold a product and packaging in my hands.
3D Blu-ray combo pack of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
If you are really forward thinking or an early adopter of technology the 3D version of the film will also be available now on Blu-ray as well. You need a 3D television to actually use this version but what do you know, it also comes with a regular Blu-ray copy, a DVD copy and an Ultraviolet copy while the bonus material is the same. This is the one Peter Jackson wants you to buy, or at least watch, to see his personal version of the film. 3D TVs will be more and more affordable and more common. For me the best thing about this version is the fantastic lenticular Gandalf cover. Fortunately there aren’t individual lenticular editions with Thorin, Bilbo, Bombur and the rest of the company on them. 3D Blu-ray™ Combo Pack
o 3D Blu-ray copy of the film
o Blu-ray copy of the film
o DVD copy of the film
o Ultraviolet copy of the film
o Bonus content includes 10 production videos
But the choices are not over. Three big box retailers also have ways to tempt you to buy from their outlet and each definitely has its appeal. Collectors, start giving plasma now because some will want all three. Each version is for the Blu-ray combo pack, which means if you are buying the 3D Blu-ray combo pack, where you buy can be determined solely by price.
The Best Buy exclusive version of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Best Buy’s exclusive comes with a documentary titled: “A Hobbit’s Tale Part 1: The Journey Begins,” and a flip lenticular with Bilbo and Gollum. No word on who produced this documentary but I have a completely unconfirmed, baseless guess (that I believe to be true) that it comes from the same folks who produced the video blogs, which means they will be excellent. Please don’t base any purchase on my hunches, and you may not blame me or anybody else if that is wrong. TheOneRing will post a review of that content when available. The Best Buy cover is also interesting.
Best Buy – Blu-ray™ Combo Pack with Exclusive Documentary A Hobbit’s Tale Part 1: The Journey Begins and Flip Lenticular
o Blu-ray copy of the film
o DVD copy of the film
o Ultraviolet copy of the film
o Bonus content includes 10 production videos, as well as exclusive bonus documentary A Hobbit’s Tale Part 1: The Journey Begins
o Includes exclusive Bilbo/Gollum flip lenticular packaging
Target’s exclusive is LEGO-centric and while I am not a “LEGO guy” and didn’t play with them as a child, these sets have won me over completely and the included Bilbo Baggins minifigure is pretty sweet booty. Those figure characters are absurdly cute but it also contains the exclusive featureete: “LEGO The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” Target probably hopes to sell Hobbit LEGO sets as well as the Blu-ray and for some this will be another no-hesitation choice. It also features unique art that I haven’t seen anywhere else.
Target – Blu-ray™ Combo Pack with Exclusive LEGO® Bilbo Minifigure and behind-the-scenes LEGO Featurette
o Blu-ray copy of the film
o DVD copy of the film
o Ultraviolet copy of the film
o Bonus content includes 10 production videos, as well as exclusive bonus behind-the-scenes featurette LEGO THE HOBBIT: An Unexpected Journey
o Includes exclusive LEGO Bilbo Baggins Minifigure
The Wal-Mart exclusive version of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Finally, Wal-Mart weighs in with a third tempting exclusive edition that contains four bonus featurettes (titles below) and a 64-page book, “The World of Hobbits.” Unlike a LEGO figure, it is impossible to know the quality of the book and extra extras until seeing them but just a stab in the dark (a dark, underground cave) but they are probably quite good and may (MAY!) be from the behind-the-scenes team. Wal-Mart is offering a real incentive for those hungry for more information about this film. Fans of Thorin Oakenshield will appreciate him on the cover and again, like the Target edition, the art here is unique as far as I know. From the art provided it looks as if the book is the size of the Blu-ray packaging.
Wal-Mart – Blu-ray™ Book Combo Pack with 64-Page The World of Hobbits Book and Exclusive Digital Featurettes
o Blu-ray copy of the film
o DVD copy of the film
o Ultraviolet copy of the film
o Bonus content includes 10 production videos, as well as 4 exclusive bonus featurettes entitled The Journey Back to Middle-earth, Bilbo and The Riddle Game, Gandalf and the White Council, and Thorin and the “Song of the Lonely Mountain” accessible digitally through Vudu
o Includes 64-page The World of Hobbits book within the Blu-ray packaging
The WBshop.com exclusive comes with a panoramic poster that features combat ready dwarves. Pretty cool! Canadians can get it in French with the same cover as Best Buy, except, you know, in French.
Thanks to message board user TheHutt, we also have a fair bit of information about foreign editions of The Hobbit. I was going to copy it all here, but he has done such a good job presenting it all, that I suggest you simply click here. Again, collectors, beware, because there are some pretty cool versions listed, like the UK’s Amazon-exclusive Steelbook edition with a lenticular Bilbo / Gollum. Yes, I want it and it would be precious to me.
Some foreign dates are as follows:
UK – April 8
Germany – April 19
Russia – April 11
France – April 19
Italy – April 9
Czech Republic – April 19
The 1977 animated version of The Hobbit by Rankin and Bass.
All these choices certainly are nice for the consumer unless there are completests out there who feel like they need to own them all. (But I confess to wanting some of the non-U.S. versions too!) Also, some will accuse the studio of “double dipping” by having a theatrical edition and later, an extended edition with extra content. We disagree with that notion because Warner Bros. has been upfront about the eventual release of both. A true double dip, and the feeling of being ripped off, doesn’t stem from having more than one choice but from a consumer thinking she has purchased the definitive version only to find out later there is another even more definitive version. (Yes Star Wars, we are looking at you but you have plenty of company.) In this case, we have plenty of advance knowledge of our choices. Further, there will be very likely be a rich supply of quality extras on the extended editions from Pellerin Media, the group that defined what DVD extras should be with the LOTR EEs. That extra content, hopefully wide and deep, will add value to that later release. Does the studio want to maximize its earnings? Of course, but they are being transparent with consumers. Those wishing only to buy one version will have Netflix or Redbox or neighbors or friends to watch it with in the meantime.
Finally, some will question using the video blogs from Peter Jackson’s Facebook page as extra materials. TheOneRing doesn’t have an official position about it, but as I said and wrote to anybody who would listen as they were released, they are better quality features than most DVD extras anyway. And, chasing them down on Facebook or YouTube is a lot less satisfying for me than watching them in my man cave will be. And, I just think they are that good. I look forward to having them presented on a disc in an organized fashion where I can, if I want, watch them consecutively and really get a good feeling for the shooting of the film.
We’re not wishing to rub salt in the wounds of those who are not yet able to get their hands on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – but for many folks, Middle-earth is coming home today! If you’re a proud owner of a Hobbit DVD or Blu-ray, and a social media user, show us your pics of you and your preciousss by using the tag #TORNDVD
Meanwhile, to distract those who are still waiting, we’ve been sharing some interviews with various cast members. You can see our chats with Richard Armitage here and with Andy Serkis here, while a conversation with Bilbo himself, Martin Freeman, can be found here.
Our final interview is with the man who brought Bofur to life, James Nesbitt. This charming fellow chatted with staffer greendragon about the delights of being made into an action figure, what he hopes to see in the Extended Edition, and why three movies just aren’t enough. He even has a word to say about TORn’s own Oscar celebrations – and how he might party with us in future!
Middle-earth Madness officially starts today! We’ve split our field of 64 characters and objects into four divisions: The Shire, Erebor, Angmar and Mordor.
As noted in previous comments and on FB, there are some very interesting match-ups in this first round. In a semi-rematch, can the brave Hobbit Merry take out The Witch-king in a division that includes his own name? Who will win in the battle of brothers as Kili and Fili face off in the Erebor division? And what about last year’s champion Samwise Gamgee?! Can he really take out the ever popular Balrog of Moria? Imagine what “Bullroarer” Took will do against Shelob in the Mordor division. Can the dragon Ancalagon the Black take out Legolas’s father Thranduil in The Shire division?
A note to those of you whom may not know some of the names in the bracket. A great way to educate yourself on the vote is by simply googling the name. We found that Wikipedia has a plethora of information on each character.
Voting in Round 1 will remain open until March 21st at 10pm ET. At that point, we’ll calculate the winners and post the next round on March 22nd. Follow after the break for a complete bracket image (download it), and to vote on all of our Round 1 match-ups! [Round 1 Bracket] (If you are interested in how we came up with this bracket and why some characters are left off (*cough Legolas*), check the note at the bottom of this post) Continue reading “Middle-earth March Madness 2013 – Round 1 – Voting Begins!”
The wait is over and the day has finally arrived as the official release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is here! Special guest, Mr. Bilbo Baggins himself, Martin Freeman, answers several questions by Ringeer Peter Genovese, including whether or not he ever read “The Hobbit” before he was cast for the movie, his experience when he found out that he landed the role of Bilbo, mental preparations for playing a Hobbit, and his most memorable experiences on set.
Peter: Did you ever read the Hobbit before you auditioned for this movie?
Martin: No, I didn’t, no actually, especially to you, is the wrong answer! <laugh> I didn’t grow up a Tolkien fan. Obviously I knew of him. You certainly can’t be English and not know that name. No, it wasn’t part of my upbringing particularly but I obviously read it before I started the movie. <laugh> I came into it as an adult.
Peter: Do you recall the moment when you found out that you landed the role of Bilbo Baggins and what was your experience with that?
Martin: Well it was slightly staggered because I had found out that I had gotten the part early on. From the moment that I went on tape for Guillermo, when Guillermo was still director, all the way through for months and months there was no other traffic on the road, you know, it was me and I was being told by the artistic team “we want this to be you, there is nobody else we want it to be” but then it came to the point where I couldn’t do it due to my commitments to Sherlock which was a show I was doing in the UK and so I had to walk away, I had to turn it down, I had to not do The Hobbit anymore which was gutting and a very tedious statement of affairs. But, the real sort of changing call was that I was rehearsing a play in London at the time and my London agent Michael had called me and said that “Peter has rearranged the whole schedule around your availability on Sherlock and that you could do both” so I was delighted of course and very excited and very surprised, yeah.
Peter: With respect to mentally getting into character, did you do anything to make yourself feel smaller with respect to the size of a Hobbit, to get into a smaller frame of mind for the character?
Martin: No, because he (Bilbo) doesn’t think he’s small, of course. He is normal sized. You feel smaller when your house is inundated with Dwarves and bigger people and more imposing warrior figures so that makes you feel small but Bilbo is a very reactive character. Part of the pleasure of Bilbo and part of the comedy of it is in the reaction. I do what I do which probably doesn’t really bare a lot of talking about because it would be very boring but one does what you need to do to kind of feel that you’re something else. A lot of that is physical and a lot of that is just the doing of it. There wasn’t particularly a psychological thing, I just felt a way, I knew the way I wanted him to move and I knew that I wanted him to be slightly tentative and slightly cautious and if you walk around tentative and cautious, after a while, you mentally feel tentative and cautious so that was my way.
Peter: Many years from now when you think back on the experiences of making the The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and the upcoming two movies, was there anything that really stuck out with the whole experience that you’ll cherish, whether it be the wonderful cast that you worked with or even just the locations/scenery that you got to experience working at?
Martin: All of the above, really. I saw some beautiful geography in New Zealand, met some delightful people who I hope will stay friends with and got to work with one of the main directors of my time on one of the main books of our time. I’m kind of spoiled, really. And then there’s the films that are coming out, you know, that whole experience of going around the world and opening the films and doing the premieres was on a scale that few people get to see with the sort of madness of that, enjoyable madness, but it is still a kind of madness. All of that is so memorable and I’ll never forget any of that. I’m a very lucky man.
Make sure to get your copy of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey “available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack and 2-disc DVD Special Edition on TODAY! [Official Site] [Full Listing of Available Versions]
Also, don’t forget to submit your questions to Peter Jackson by today. Here’s more info:
Q&A with Peter Jackson
Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson will host a live first look at “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” the second film in “The Hobbit” Trilogy, on Sunday, March 24 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern/12pm Pacific at www.hobbit.com/sneak. Just added: The live event will now include a Q&A with Jackson and fans! Video questions can be submitted beginning March 12 through March 19 on “The Hobbit” Facebook page, or through the Vine mobile app using the hashtag #askPeterJackson. Fans can also Tweet links to video questions using the hashtag #askPeterJackson. The live event will be limited to holders of an UltraViolet™ code, available by purchasing “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” which arrives on Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack and 2-disc DVD Special Edition on March 19. Visit thehobbit.com/sneak for more information.
Still eagerly awaiting the precioussss, aka a copy of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey of your very own? Although the release date in the USA is tomorrow, fans in other parts of the world have to wait a little longer. To help ease the wait, earlier today we shared a video of Thorin himself having a chat with a staffer from TORn. Here’s a second video from that press junket: Andy Serkis talks about what he is keen to see in the Extended Edition, what he’s working on next, and with whom he’d rather be locked in a room – Gollum or Smeagol??
Are you like us? Bouncing with joy to receive your copy of ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘ on Blu-Ray or DVD? Okay, maybe you aren’t physically bouncing, but the release here in the US has made this boring Tuesday in March a lot more exciting!
Middle-earth Madness officially starts today! We’ve split our field of 64 characters and objects into four divisions: The Shire, Erebor, Angmar and Mordor.
The wait is over and the day has finally arrived as the official release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is 
Peter: With respect to mentally getting into character, did you do anything to make yourself feel smaller with respect to the size of a Hobbit, to get into a smaller frame of mind for the character?
Peter: Many years from now when you think back on the experiences of making the The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and the upcoming two movies, was there anything that really stuck out with the whole experience that you’ll cherish, whether it be the wonderful cast that you worked with or even just the locations/scenery that you got to experience working at?
