A List of Edits For Battle of Five Armies

3/24/2015

The Battle of Five Armies was released on Bluray today, and I have already begun working on it. I did some test edits on a digital copy in the weeks previous, just to see if some ideas of mine would work. So! With that being said, here is a list of my planned edits for the third and final Hobbit film. I expect to be done with this in the next few days and will have something to share very soon. Stay tuned!

I went back to DOS and realized it wouldn’t be too hard to remove the left-behind Dwarves from Laketown completely, so Smaug’s attack on Laketown is now dwarf and Tauriel-free.
Alfrid has been completely removed from the film aside from the opening scene. It is implied that he dies when Smaug lands on the Master’s boat. You’re welcome.
Since the four dwarves from Laketown were never actually there, I removed their reunion scene with the company.
Some of Thorin’s “dragon sickness” scenes have been cut or trimmed. There were too many of these scenes in the original version and they dragged the film too much. The gold hallucination scene is gone- it is implied that Thorin has a change of heart after Dwalin talks to him.
Legolas and Tauriel are gone completely. Hooray.
The giant were-worms are gone. Azog’s army simply marches out of the mountainside.
The actual Battle of Five Armies has been drastically cut. I boiled it down to its most essential element- Dain’s army is quickly overrun and Thorin must decide whether to help or not. Everything else that happens is not crucial to the plot. Therefore, most of the fighting in Dale has been cut along with some of the more ridiculous bits of the battle. Everything has been streamlined and is much easier to follow now. It also puts more focus on Dain, which is nice.
Ravenhill has been trimmed considerably as well. I'm looking to combine Kili and Fili's deaths and it looks REALLY good so far. Unfortunately there is no onscreen death for Bolg since PJ gave him and Legolas the most unrealistic and ridiculous fight scene ever. So let’s just assume Beorn ate him or something.
Thorin’s fight with Azog is trimmed a bit but is mostly the same.
The film is basically untouched after Bilbo begins his journey home.
The End!

15 Comments

Andrei341989

3/24/2015 07:54:45 am

Sounds awesome. Can't wait to see the final result myself.

franklapidus4ever

3/24/2015 05:39:13 pm

I may have asked you this before but I can't remember the answer, haha. Please tell me you're keeping the mithril scene! So many people have complained about how much they didn't like it, and I can't understand that. It was in the book! Please don't delete it!

Dustin

3/25/2015 12:17:11 am

The mithril scene is staying in. I cut the second part of that scene, when Thorin starts talking in slow motion to Bilbo but the rest of it is there!

Jake

3/25/2015 06:51:05 am

Good luck with the edits, this seems like a real keeper based on your lists. The only thing I wish could be different would be for some way to have the Eagles play a role earlier in the story to make their appearance at the end more significant. Everything else looks spot on. And I totally get why there can't be an Eagle rescue, it clearly got messed up in an effort to give a more "epic" conclusion to the first movie.

3/26/2015 08:50:32 am

Are we to assume that this list will change once the Extended Edition comes out?

3/26/2015 03:14:25 pm

Once the EE comes it, I'll make a list of what I decide to add to the film. Most of the good stuff will come towards the end of the film- more Beorn, Thorin's funeral, hopefully Dain's coronation and tying up various loose ends.

3/27/2015 08:51:59 am

Yes, the removal of the eagles was a tough decision but leaving them in would make the transition from AUJ to DOS very awkward. Remember, they are dropped off on the Carrock but we never see them get off it!

One faneditor did a decent job of working with the eagle scene...I suppose I could try doing what they did. Basically the eagles pick them up and while they're flying, we hear Gandalf talking of a place they could all seek refuge from the orcs. It cuts to black and the next thing you know, we see Bilbo waking up in Beorn's cottage.

Denzel Caragos

3/26/2015 04:23:48 pm

Hey, Dustin! I would just love to congratulate you for this Fan Edit! Thank you so much for excavating Tolkien's true tale from underneath the unnecessary subplots and additions of this trilogy!
I just re-watched AUJ this morning, and I think there's still a hopefully possible way of re-inserting the Eagle rescue and the Battle of Azanulbizar flashback, as well as create a small subplot depicting the Azog's motivations, the amassing of the orc army, and movie-Bolg's role in leading them to the Erebor.
Here are my suggestions:
-After emerging from Goblin-town. Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin & Co. are spotted by a bunch of orcs who are implied to be hunting for food.
-Being opportunistic, they go after the Company and chase them up the trees (Bilbo's accidental warg kill can totally be ommitted).
-The orc-pack's leader, Azog recognized Thorin. Thorin also recognizes him (how they know each other would be explained later on in a repositioned Azanulbizar flashback).
-The scene would play out the same way until Thorin stands in slow-mo, preparing to fight Azog.
-Just then, we hear an Eagle's screech (is that the right word?).
-No Thorin vs Azog and Bilbo Rescue here. Just show some shots of the Eagles attacking the Wargd and Orcs, but most importantly, show the shots of them snatching the Dwarves from the trees.
-Right after Gandalf jumps onto his Eagle, show the close up of the other Eagle carrying Bilbo (I think it's a nice way to put The Hobbit back into the spotlight). This also assures the audience that he was in fact included in the rescue!
-Never show unconscious Thorin. Let's just assume that he was included in the rescue as well.
The Eagles drop them off at the Carrock and, after some sighs of relief, Bilbo spots the Lonely Mountain in the distance.
-The thrush flies by and Thorin regards it a good omen. Bilbo says that he believes the worst is behind them.
-Cut to the scene in DOS where Bilbo is acting as look-out and spots Azog's pack as well as Beorn (I hope the irony of this transition works).
-Later, while the Company is camping on their way to the Forest Gate, Balin tells Bilbo about the Battle of Azanulbizar. Make no mention of Thrain going missing. Just have Balin say: "Thrain, Thorin's father was driven mad by grief... We were leaderless..." Then continue with Thprin and Azog's showdown. (Another poster on another forum, whose name I can't remember, actually suggested moving this flashback Post-Carrock and I would like to thank and congratulate him for such a brilliant idea). Anyway, the scene end with the whole "there is one I could call king" bit. I think it works because Thorin is getting closer and closer to Erebor at this point.
-Cut to Dol Guldur. Do not mention it's name anywhere in the edit. Therefore we can just pretend it's just some random ruin from the old days which has become infested by orcs. I do wonder if you could maybe edit the Necromancer's voice over "We grow in number. We grow in strength" to make it sound deeper, like Azog's voice.
-Place the edited Voice over onto the scene of orcs entering the ruins, replacing the original Ring-verse in Black Speech. The whole point of this is that, now that Azog has once again encountered Thorin, he has begun to amass a huge army to wage another war against the Dwarves ( a sort of reversal of what happened in the Appendices).
-Remember that one orc who asks "Do we call off the hunt?"? Let's pretend that he's being a bit sarcastic ( and gutsy) with Azog. 'Cuz, if Azog is too busy building this HUGE army, then surely he'll lose the Dwarves' trail.
-That's when Azog calls forth Bolg (who now makes his first apperance) and puts him in charge of the hunt. This is a huge responsibility, since he is technically leading his dad an all the other orcs to Thorin's Company, Erebor, and quite possibly, the Dwarves of the Iron Hills... Bolg's role just got bit bigger.
-Bolg's company follows the Dwarves to Mirkwood, but they can't get into Thranduil's Halls.
-There's still the brief skirmish later on where Kili gets wounded. The Dwarves quickly "outrun" the orcs.
-Bolg's company finds Kili's blood puddle on the shore and then head for Lake-town.
-They search Lake-town (no elf-fight) and realize that Oakenshield's already made it to the Mountain.
-Bolg rides off to inform his father and the Army of this turn of events.
-So now we have a subplot that removes the Necromancer but explains the Orcs' motives and shows how they got to the Mountain.
(I'm have no editing skills whatsoever, except maybe in my head... I hope this helps in contributing to the final extended cut of your edit! Best wishes! :))

3/27/2015 05:25:57 am

Hi Denzel, thanks for the detailed suggestions. There are some good ideas in your post, but I don't think they will work for the fanedit I'm putting together.

I've cut the entire Dol Guldur subplot, the Azannulbizar flashback, and the eagle rescue. To re-insert the amount of footage that you've suggested would add 15-20 minutes to the film, which is just too much for what would amount to very little payoff.

I've left just enough Azog in my fanedit so that his motivations are clear. Bolg was a terrible villain in the films, and I've been able to reduce him to a nameless orc sidekick. He appears only twice- at the elven gate battle and briefly in Ravenhill.

3/27/2015 06:18:30 am

There's really no way at all to keep the trees and the eagles in there? The lover of the book inside of me is really, really sad to hear that :(

3/27/2015 01:25:13 pm

Yeah, I had a feeling my subplot idea was gonna add too much time to the edit. But still, thanks for the reply and consideration! :) I just watched the new scene of Thorin rallying the Dwarves and I love how you re-inserted the epic Misty Mountains theme in a post-AUJ scene! Keep up the good work! :D I'm really looking forward to the finished final product! :) God Bless!

Sandro

3/27/2015 05:29:56 am

Hi Dustin,

Once again, great to hear your updates. I have two questions at the moment:
- If the Dwarves of Laketown were never there. How do you explain their absence in Erebor during the scenes with Smaug?
- How does Thorin get Orcrist back if you don't include Legolas?

I'd rather have a little bit more scenes if you can avoid very obvious continuity errors. I myself wouldn't mind a Tauriel or Legolas cameo if it helps stitching the scenes together, as long as these cameos don't feel too much out of place. Hope you find a way around these issues!

3/27/2015 05:47:32 am

-Most of the shots of the dwarves after they leave Laketown are group shots, and it's hard to tell how many of them there are. The scenes with the dwarves fighting Smaug in Erebor have been cut down, and that section of the film focuses more on Bilbo, Smaug and Bard anyways. So again it's not very noticeable that four of them are missing.

-Orcrist is probably the main continuity issue I have right now since my version does not show Legolas after the barrels scene. In order for Thorin to get his sword back, I have to show Legolas fighting Bolg and that whole sequence was SO BAD, lol. There's a domino effect of problems with that, so I'll have to really sit down and think about it. If you get any ideas of your own, let me know!

3/27/2015 06:45:47 am

Maybe if you edit the fight scene with Azog in such a way that you don't see what kind of weapon Thorin is holding?... I think it sounds easier than it really is...

I do hope the EE will partly solve this issue. The book describes Thranduil placing the Orcrist on Thorins grave. If they show that, we will see how he gets it back. But it still won't solve the continuity issue.

An easier way out would be to show just a little bit of Legolas:

I've been watching this scene once again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYd3TbwoLbQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu2CmBsa5XM

'You could perhaps show Legolas once to warn Bilbo that Bolg's army is coming. Then when Thorin fights the big orc and is lying on his back, you could asume that no one else is there. Suddenly we get a surprise when the Orcrist comes flying out of nowhere to kill the orc. We then cut to Legolas briefly fighting Bolg. Then we cut away and simply asume they're fighting off screen and Bolg gets killed."

Or how about this:

'Legolas is fighting Bolg. Show just a few shots. Thorin kills Bolg by dropping another orc on top of him. Legolas then helps Thorin out by giving him back the Orcist.'

I too think it would be better not to have Legolas at all. But then again, I'm not really bothered by his presence. If his father is there at the battle, it's not unreasonable to asume that he's participating as well. As long as you can cut down his ridiculous stunts I'm happy.

I think you should simply decide for yourself what works best: a noticable continuity error or a Legolas cameo.

3/27/2015 08:46:28 am

There would be other issues related with getting Orcrist back to Thorin, such as explaining how and why Legolas arrives at Ravenhill and is alone. I really don't want to show him riding a bat upside down or steering a gimped troll into a tower in order to get the sword to Ravenhill. His addition to BOFA was half-baked and lazy.

To me at least, I feel like any random insertion of Legolas at that point in the film will be more distracting than the Orcrist plothole. It sucks, but if that's the biggest continuity issue I have in my fanedit (which it is) then I'm OK with that. Just look at the The Tolkien Edit...he cut out all the golden dwarf statue stuff but we still see Smaug covered in gold when he breaks out the mountain...hmmm...

JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit