BotFA Photoshop Collage 2-D BlurayThere’s been a storm raging today over comments director Peter Jackson made about the process of filming The Hobbit trilogy. Staffer greendragon reflects on the debate which has been unleashed…

With the release this week of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Extended Edition on Blu-ray and DVD, folks have been sitting down to watch the many hours of extras provided in the included ‘Appendices’ footage. Starting with an article on The Guardian newspaper’s website, one particular part of Peter Jackson’s comments (in ‘The Appendices Part 11: The Gathering Storm’) on the making of The Hobbit trilogy has gone viral online, unleashing much debate among fans who love or hate the movies.

Continue reading “Peter Jackson’s comments provoke a ‘Gathering Storm’ in a teacup…”

BotFA Photoshop Collage 2-D BlurayFor fans who have been waiting to get their hands on actual disks before watching The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Extended Edition, today is the day when releases begin! The Blu-ray and DVD sets are available today in America, Nov 18th in New Zealand (so almost today already in NZ!), and across Europe and the rest of the world in the coming days. (Read our International Shopping Guide for further details.)

This is the Home Entertainment release which completes the set for all fans of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth movies. Many have written how the extra footage in the extended cut makes this the version of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies that they wanted to see. (You can read some staffers’ thoughts here.) Others have commented that they had hoped for the full extra 30 minutes Peter Jackson had said would be in this cut, not just the 20 minutes we got. There are certainly more scenes I had hoped to see – but that is where the Appendices come in…

At last we have parts Eleven and Twelve of The Appendices; parts One and Two came out with the Extended Edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, so this has been a long time coming! It’s great – if sad – to see the end of this journey. The tales from the set, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and memories from cast and crew are wonderful, and give us some insight into moments we perhaps wish had made it into a cut of the movie. Have tissues ready for the filmmakers’ ’emotional farewell to Middle-earth’!

There are over NINE hours of bonus features included in this Home Entertainment release, so it really is an essential part of your The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movie collection. In the 2D version, the disc with the film also includes Part 3 of ‘New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth’; Disc 2 contains The Appendices Part 11: The Gathering Storm, The Chronicles of The Hobbit – Part 3; and Disc 3 is The Appendices Part 12: Here at Journey’s End.  There is also audio commentary on the film, with Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens; I haven’t had a chance to watch with the commentary yet, but I’m sure it’s fascinating. I’d still like, at some point, to have some commentary from the cast – maybe that will come with the ‘super mega all-six-films’ box set….?  (For the completists amongst us, you can already purchase the Extended Edition Box Set, also available today.)

Whether you prefer the Theatrical or Extended cuts of these films (and I think most of us come down on the side of the Extended Editions), it is really the bonus features which make this Home Entertainment release a ‘must have’. If you are patient enough to wait, maybe it’s one for your Holiday Gift wish list? (Look out for TORn’s Holiday Gift Guide, coming soon!)

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to watching those nine hours of extras….

Click here to purchase The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Extended Edition (BD) [Blu-ray]

 

 

 

 

 

In celebration of the release today of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Extended Edition Blu-ray and DVD, we have another EXCLUSIVE clip to share with you!  From the behind the scenes footage in the Bonus Features, this gives us a little more insight into dwarven armour.  (Cosplayers, who will be the first to make Thorin’s unseen ‘Ram’s head’ armour??)

 

 

Thanks to Warner Bros. for sharing this with us!

Hobbit_BOTFA_Intl_posterThe day has finally come and gone when many of you were lucky enough to view The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies in theaters. TORn’s facebook page, the discussion boards and Barli’s chat are all buzzing with excited observations! Many of our staffers saw it too and, as it TORn tradition, we’ll be featuring their comments and insights here, as well as a spoilery picture or two. Speaking of spoilers, they abound in the rest of this article, so read no further if you haven’t seen the EE yet and don’t want to be spoiled until you do!

 

 

SPOILER ALERT!!

Continue reading “TORn Staff Reviews the BoTFA EE”

91MJ+Ve4WGL._SL1500_We’re just a little over a month away from the final of The Hobbit Trilogy. That means, as we’ve previously gotten with all the Middle-earth films, an extended edition, which tends to be the most desired version for so many of us. As has also been the case with all the other films we get a great gift set to go with each film. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is no different and once again our friends at Weta Workshop have been tasked with creating a great looking statue for the set. This statue captures Bilbo and Gandalf post battle as they reflect on what’s been won and lost. You can pre-order the gift set with the 3D edition of the final film right now from Amazon for $79 and if it is cheaper when it ships you get it for that price through Amazon.

Hobbit Unexpected Journey Movie PosterA reminder that the extended edition of The Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey, will be airing tonight across the U.S.. As we reported back in early August, this is the first in a series of live showings of all three extended editions of The Hobbit movies sponsored by Fathom Events and Warner Bros. AUJ will air tonight at 7:30 local time. Many local theaters are carrying it, so if you don’t have tickets, and feel like having a last minute visit with some of your favorite characters such as Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin, Saruman, etc., check your local theater!

Also remember that the EE of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will air at the same time and same theaters this Wednesday, October 7th, with the big wrap-up occurring a week from tomorrow, Tuesday, October 13th with the first public showing of the EE of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, with a special introductory message from Peter Jackson.

Those of you lucky enough to see one, or all three, be sure to leave comments below letting us all know how it was!