BY DUSTIN LEE
By most accounts, the Lord of the Rings trilogy was awesome. Hugely successful upon their release both critically and commercially, they won a combined 17 Academy Awards including Best Picture and grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide. Fast forward about ten years, and the praise towards Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy has been considerably fainter despite its healthy box office receipts. Most of the criticism launched towards these new films revolves around Jackson's decision to stretch a relatively short novel into THREE epic film chapters. Extraneous subplots, superfluous dialogue, and new characters that did not exist in Tolkien's original text have all been stuffed into this new Middle Earth trilogy. What's more, many of the practical visual effects and beautiful real-world scenery of the original trilogy have given way to prequels that look and feel like high-end video games. Sometimes these CG effects work remarkably well and sometimes they look incredibly fake. So what does all this mean? These new Hobbit films are practically begging for a proper fanedit. For those of you who don't know what that is, a fanedit is a version of a film that has been modified by a viewer in order to create a new interpretation of the source material (thanks Wikipedia). After watching An Unexpected Journey in 2012 and finding myself let down by Jackson's new vision, I decided to undertake my very first fanedit by re-working the Hobbit films. That being said, I have been working on a “purist” version of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, with the ultimate goal of creating an alternate film that is as faithful to the original book as possible. I have read about a number of other editors making their own versions and I’m sure my edit will be one of several floating around by the time the third film is on video. However, many of the versions being worked on now still plan to include scenes/characters/elements that were not in the book. What’s more, there are versions being made that are not using the highest quality source media available- an HD 1080p Bluray with 5.1 audio. This is what I am editing with and I feel that these are films that deserve to be seen in HD, regardless of what version you're watching. As I mentioned previously, I am planning to edit the Hobbit trilogy into ONE MOVIE. This will indeed make for a long film, but let’s not forget that Return of the King Extended Edition was 240 minutes long! That will probably be the running time for JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit (that’s the new version title I’m going with). An old-school Intermission will split the film in half in order to make it more accessible, however. Anyways, as of January 2015 I am about 95% finished with both An Unexpected Journey and Desolation of Smaug. AUJ originally had a runtime of 170 minutes and has now been cut down to around 90 minutes. DOS was originally 161 minutes and is just under 80 minutes now. Battle of the Five Armies is 144 minutes and after having watched it twice in theatres, I have no doubt it can be cut down to 60-70 minutes or less! Obviously, I cannot finish this fanedit until the third film is released on Bluray, most likely in April 2015. Although I will begin editing that film right away, I probably will not release a final version until the Extended Edition of Battle of Five Armies is released in November 2015. More details and updates are sure to come- you can follow Maple Films on Facebook or come back to this site for further info. Also, feel free to leave questions, comments or suggestions in the comments below! I believe there is one truly good Hobbit film buried underneath three not-so-good ones, and that is the film that I'm trying to bring out with this fanedit! Click here to read my detailed list of edits for An Unexpected Journey Click here to read my detailed list of edits for The Desolation of Smaug Video clips from JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit
53 Comments
1/20/2015 01:22:02 am
I'm super excited about this. Can't wait to see the final film in all its trimmed-down-to-something-resembling-what-Tolkien-wrote glory.
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Jake
1/20/2015 02:16:17 am
are you using the extended cuts? some bits, like the Goblin Town song were good and should probably be left in; but were not present in the theatrical cut.
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Dustin Lee
1/20/2015 02:34:15 am
I did go through the first two extended cuts, but didn't find anything crucial to insert into this new version. I know the Goblintown song was in the book, but the film version sounded too modern rock-ish and went on for too long. In the end, it was just another distraction.
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franklapidus4ever
2/23/2015 05:13:03 am
Did you include the dwarves being introduced to Beorn? I've seen other fan-edits that completely ignore this and it really irks me!
Josh
1/20/2015 04:16:45 am
Hi Dustin! I would love to obtain a copy of your condensed version when you are finished. Thanks!
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Dustin Lee
1/20/2015 04:33:39 am
Certainly! I will probably be finished sometime after the third film is released on Bluray, so around May. I'll make a digital file available via torrents and will provide download info here for it. However, I will likely make another version later this year once the BOTFA extended edition is released. At that point I'll not only have a torrent file available, but will also make physical Bluray/DVD copies on a per-order basis. Stay tuned :)
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Juliana Moreli
1/20/2015 05:01:30 am
I'll be sure to check back when the Blue-Ray for BOFA is released! I really think that the 3 movies were really full of unecessary fat.... the Tauriel and Alfrid subplot were the two most random things PJ ever invented. Congratulations on you effort! It is very necessary and welcome!
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Martin
1/20/2015 06:21:08 am
Hi Dustin, I cant wait for your fanedit! I really hope you are going to left out Tauriel and Kiri romance and the whole Alfrid storyline which serves absolutely no point. Too bad you cant also add scenes, haha (Beorn deserved so much more screen time than 4 seconds, we didnt get any conclusion on most of major characters, wargs+wolves army left out, etc, I am sure you are well aware of those flaws). Lets hope there will be some good material to work with in Extended Cut.
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Dustin Lee
1/20/2015 08:48:29 am
Hi Martin, I've removed most of Tauriel's scenes so far and there is no longer a romance subplot. This will get trickier with the third film because of how Kili's fate was portrayed, but we'll see. Alfrid is now only in one scene from DOS- when the company is brought before the Master of Laketown.
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TheLonelyMage
1/20/2015 09:10:03 am
Ever since I've seen the Revisited Edition of Star Wars: Episode 4 A New Hope, I've wanted to see an ambitious edit of the Hobbit films. Do you think you could do anything like the Revisited Editions?
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TheLonelyMage
1/20/2015 09:17:14 am
A premature list of ideas that could be done with some very ambitious editing like the Reviisted that I think could be done. I'm sure it would be a lot of hard work.
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Dustin Lee
1/21/2015 11:07:32 am
Wow, that is quite a list. Some of these items I've already worked on, such as the transition between AUJ and DOS.
Phil
1/20/2015 11:56:49 am
You sir, are my hero! I'm very excited to see your final film later this year
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JDog
1/20/2015 02:07:56 pm
Are you making use of the extended edition scenes? I found the extended cut's were more true to the book.
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Dustin Lee
1/27/2015 01:15:25 pm
I do have the EE's but haven't included any extra scenes from them...yet. I will revisit some of those scenes after I've edited the third film into the mix. The EE for the third film is the one I'm really excited to work on.
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Thierry
1/20/2015 05:42:00 pm
Very good idea but what about the rights ?
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Dustin Lee
1/20/2015 09:55:34 pm
Fanedits of popular films are in a grey area as far as copyright laws are concerned. I personally own the Blurays that I ripped to make this version, and do not plan to profit off the eventual distribution of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit.
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Andrea
1/22/2015 06:26:14 am
Hello Dustin, i watched with pleasure your videos and I think that they are just AWESOME. Your work is incredible. I don't want to make comparisons, but sometimes I'm forced to: i watched some shots of another big work, similar to yours, and really really famous these days.. You obviously know what I'm talking about, because your comment on that wordpress blog redirected me here. For what I've seen your work really manages to fix some of the former flaws, such as continuity, which was a big issue in the other "Hobbit fan-cut version", and soundtrack. Can't wait to see your final version! It'd be really nice from you to add eng subtitles when you'll release the dvd/bluray version. I'm Italian, I actually can understand quite everything, but subtitles will be a huge help for non-native, and it'll help to spread your opera around the world. Thanks!
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Dustin Lee
1/22/2015 12:56:32 pm
Thank you for those nice comments Andrea. Yes, there are many continuity issues in other Hobbit fanedits that I've noticed and that is something I'm trying my best to avoid with my own version.
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Andrea
1/22/2015 07:20:16 pm
Well, I really don't know how subtitles work. I just thought that you (or someone, if is not you) could take the subtitles of the movies, available online, merge them together in one big file, and just cut off the subs in the scenes you've removed. But i don't know if it will be so simple :) well, maybe not. Do you have any idea?
Dustin Lee
1/22/2015 08:40:24 pm
I think there are downloadable subtitle files for movies online, but I haven't had any experience working with those. Whatever the case, they would need to be edited and re-timed to sync with the new version of the Hobbit. I will look into that some more.
Nathan
1/26/2015 12:15:40 am
I am really looking forward to this edit. I watched most of "The Tolkien Edit" and was underwhelmed at the handling of Smaug. Your Vimeo preview is certainly far more interesting and understandable, as is your cut of the barrel sequence. It really feels like once the group gets out of the gate, the climax of the scene is over, which is why when in the theatrical version, it continues with more orcs, it felt like complete overkill.
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Daniel
1/28/2015 03:08:20 am
I am highly interested in this project and I think your work is really well done: for example, I was amazed how you have saved the horrible scene of the barrels; so I can't wait to see the complete edited movie.
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Dustin Lee
1/28/2015 03:49:20 am
Thanks Daniel, I actually never even realized Thorin's clothes changed! I'll see what I can do with that.
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Daniel
1/28/2015 04:37:19 am
You're welcome! I'm pleased to have been a little helpful :)
Drake
2/1/2015 02:25:09 am
I have to say, this looks awesome so far. Really interested to see what you do with the Battle of the Five Armies. Especialy how you handle the death of Kili. The only thing I think can be done is somehow cut it so that it looks like Bolg is about to attack Thorin instead of Tauriel, trim the Tauriel reaction shots to Kili's death and splice in a reaction shot for Thorin. You could use the Shot of Thorin shouting No when his Grandfather is killed at the battle of Moria in the first movie. (It would have to be a close up since Thorin is wearing different clothes.)
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Drake
2/1/2015 02:36:19 am
That way, Kili's death will still have an emotional reaction from a character. Now that means bolg will have to be killed before the movie ends, and that means Legolas will probably have to do it. The only way to keep this, and have it make sense would be to keep the scene where Thorin saves Legolas' life by throwing the sword during the barrel chase. Legolas now has to repay this debt, so him going to Ravenhill to help Thorin makes sense. You can reintroduce him to the battle with the scene where he warns Gandalf about the second army. Cut to bilbo volunteering to warn Thorin, and splice in the audio of Legolas saying "I'll go with you" (to Tauriel) there.
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Dustin Lee
2/2/2015 10:38:49 pm
Yeah, Kili's death is going to be tricky because Jackson shoehorned Legolas and Tauriel into the story. One of the fanedits I've seen just kills him off really quickly, but doesn't show what happens to Bolg. Another version I've seen omits the deaths of Kili and Fili entirely.
Sandro
2/7/2015 12:33:20 am
Hi Dustin. I already read some of your ideas for your fan edit on IMDB. Let me start off by saying that your work looks great so far, I have great confidence in your final version.
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Dustin Lee
2/7/2015 04:39:46 am
Hi Sandro, thanks for the comment. You are not the first person to mention the fact that the Misty Mountain theme song is not used outside of the first film. I do have the full extended music scores and will try to find a way to insert the Misty Mountain cue somewhere.
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Sandro
2/8/2015 05:39:00 pm
"The Last Goodbye" is a good choice, especially to end the story. The other ones sound like they still want to create suspense for the other sequels. Good luck!
Sandro
2/24/2015 04:52:16 am
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franklapidus4ever
2/23/2015 05:22:22 am
Normally I'm not a fan of fanedits, but I am really looking forward to this one. I'm currently writing my own curriculum unit to use when teaching The Hobbit in my classroom, and I'd love to be able to show them a film version that stays close to the book.
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Dustin
2/23/2015 05:34:13 am
Hobbit in class? That sounds cool, and I hope you'd be interested in using this version. I am using the Extended Editions , but haven't found much use for the extra scenes for the first two films. The scene with Bilbo and Elrond in Rivendell has been added, but I honestly think the scene with Beorn and the dwarves coming outside just drags. That's a five-minute scene that doesn't add much at all to the story. The third EE is the one I'm really looking forward to.
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franklapidus4ever
2/23/2015 09:39:51 am
I just like the Beorn meeting the dwarves scene because it honors the scene in the book, I suppose. Another question: how are you handling the dwarves left in Lake-town? Does Kili still get shot with the arrow in your version?
Dustin
2/24/2015 12:27:29 am
Kili still gets shot with an arrow, and remains behind with three other dwarves in Laketown. However there is no Tauriel or Legolas in Laketown, and no silly healing scene with kingsfoil. I haven't tied that plot thread up since it is resolved in the third film, but after seing The Tolkien Edit I have no doubt it can be fixed easily.
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franklapidus4ever
2/24/2015 04:37:40 am
I hope you're not getting sick of all my questions, haha ;) How much Tauriel are you leaving in?
Dustin
2/24/2015 05:47:18 am
No problem, there is very little Tauriel in my fanedit right now. I think she has two lines total. I probably won't be able to cut her out of BOTFA completely but I'll only keep her where it is necessary.
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DoctorBoson
3/5/2015 01:15:13 am
Hello! I just stumbled across this fan edit and it seems like it is going to be some very high-quality action indeed! Certainly keeping an eye on it.
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Dustin
3/5/2015 02:56:49 am
Hi there, glad you found this page! To answer your concerns, I have seen "The Tolkien Edit" and can list for you a few major differences between our two fanedits. To be honest, the only advantage that The Tolkien Edit has right now is that it was the first fanedit to be released. Naturally it has caught a lot of attention online for that fact, but from a quality standpoint I believe there will be far superior Hobbit fanedits down the road.
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DoctorBoson
3/5/2015 04:55:50 am
Wonderful! I highly appreciate your quick and in-depth response! I can definitely agree with you on all points! Very excited for this project indeed. Going through some quick comparisons of the clips you've provided and the Tolkien edit scenes, I definitely prefer your interpretations most of the time (and mad props for that titlecard transition; really well done!).
Dustin
3/5/2015 05:25:00 am
Thanks for the suggestions on the Smaug sequence. I'm hesitant to re-insert a lot of that footage for a few reasons. First off, a lot of the VFX work is dodgy when the dwarves are running around. I feel like this sequence was expanded late in production (probably after they decided to make a trilogy), and the compositing is not very good.
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franklapidus4ever
3/5/2015 07:40:26 am
I really hope your edit of the actual Battle of Five Armies ends up smoother than the Tolkien Edit. A lot of unexplained cuts that don't make any sense. Please tell me that you'll keep the mithril scene in your version! That was another thing that bothered me greatly about the Tolkien Edit.
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Dustin
3/5/2015 09:16:05 am
BOTFA will definitely be tough to edit. Lots of inter-cutting between different characters and plot strands, especially once the actual battle starts. I will definitely keep the mithril scene in there, along with that great bit with Thorin, Bilbo and the acorn. Those small character moments will stand out more once you remove the excess all around it!
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Jake
3/6/2015 04:13:42 am
Hey there, have seen one fan edit and I'm interested in yours. Do you think you'd consider doing a two-movie split: Have The Hobbit and There and Back Again, or else using splicing in the the Book 1 and Book 2 graphics from the LOTR Extended Edition?
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Dustin
3/6/2015 08:05:35 am
Hi Jake, I am inserting an Intermission around the two-hour mark. I placed it right at the point where the dwarves meet Bard for the first time- this is where Peter Jackson originally intended to split the Hobbit when it was still two films.
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Jake
3/6/2015 02:37:01 pm
Ah I didn't know that! Thanks for the reply. Very excited for it.
gkiss
3/14/2015 08:36:57 am
Hi,
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Dustin
3/14/2015 01:16:39 pm
I'm using MakeMKV and Handbrake to rip and convert the Bluray, then Adobe Premiere Pro to edit the footage. You'll obviously need a Bluray drive for your computer to read the disc too!
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gkiss
3/14/2015 06:08:44 pm
Ah thank you very much for the tip. I have a bluray drive, I just couldn't cope with the formats :)
don faber-langendoen
5/21/2015 11:39:56 am
How is the Hobbit fanedit coming. And how will you plan to make it publicly available? All the best with your project. I enver watched the 3rd hobbit movie, as I just felt it was going to end all wrong.
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Dustin
5/22/2015 06:20:54 am
There is a completed early version available for viewing! If you hover over THE HOBBIT FANEDIT button at the top right and click DOWNLOADS, you can find the film there. I will have a final version of the fanedit ready later this year, once the Battle of Five Armies Extended Edition is released.
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Don Faber-Langendoen
5/22/2015 08:55:21 am
Great. I look forward to watching it! and to a final version. Now I just need to hear that there is a Lord of the Rings trilogy that removes a lot of the orc battles and focuses more on the story!
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AboutThis page is dedicated to my ongoing fanedit project for The Hobbit trilogy, titled J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. The plan is to edit three mediocre films into one (hopefully) excellent film. Click here to jump straight to the Downloads Page. Archives
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