The
Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Extended Edition (2013/Blu-ray
3D w/Blu-ray)
Picture:
A/A- Sound: A/A Extras: A Film: A-
If
you thought turning the shortest book in the Tolkien, Lord of the
Rings series into 3 lengthy feature films; then perhaps an
extended edition of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is not
for you. For the rest of us, this 186 minute feature film is
AMAZING!
Now,
is it hours and hours of new footage? No. Does the new material
change the film? No. Is this Extended Edition as good as the
penultimate Lord of the Rings: Trilogy Extended Editions? No.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Extended Edition is,
however, the better edition of the film and better than the extended
edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; which seemed a
bit long winded and unnecessary.
The
25 minutes of extra footage is hard to notice at times, but does the
job of fleshing out scenes and building a bit more character
development than previously seen. For the general public or casual
fans, the Theatrical Cut is just find; but diehards will find this
edition superb.
The
technical features on this extended edition Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray
are undistinguishable from the original Blu-ray releases; which is a
good thing seeing as how excellent those original renditions were.
The only difference is the addition of extended footage, which blends
seamlessly.
By
adding the material back in Jackson has given the film a bit more
girth and room to breathe. That is too say (though an already
lengthy film) at times Desolation of Smaug seemed to abruptly
jump from scene to scene (or tangential tale); here the few extra
minutes give the film a new life and allow a scene to show its true
potential.
If
you are a Hobbit/LOTR fans this is a must own and a must upgrade; the
25 minutes of extra footage is enough, but with over 10 hours of
bonus material fans should be drooling like an Orc.
For
a more in depth look at The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug please
refer to the link below:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12688/The+Hobbit+-+The+Desolation+of+Smaug+(
The technical features
again on this Extended Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray release are all done
exceedingly well. The picture on the standard Blu-ray is a 2.40 X 1
image in a 1080p, AVC encoded, MPEG-4 that is again stunning from
beginning to end. The image is crisp, clean, and clear throughout;
giving off astonishing realism and capturing the true essence of the
film. Every hair, every fiber, every bit of rust can be seen. The
film is without light and dark issues; projecting the finest details
in even the murkiest of atmospheres. There are the occasional
moments of aliasing, but far and few. As a reminder, Peter Jackson
filmed The Hobbit exclusively on a Red Epic Camera System at
the 48 frames per second (fps) rate; which translates to 24 fps here
on Blu-ray without any issues to be seen. My main issue with the
film (similar to the first) is the brighter style of The Hobbit.
With the Lord of the Rings Series we were delivered all of
the fine detail and life, but with a dimmer lighting scheme and grit
that made the film appear realer. As we move from An Unexpected
Journey to Desolation of Smaug the film does take on a
somewhat deeper, darker feel; but not enough for this reviewer's
taste. The 3D contains all of the same positive elements as the
standard Blu-ray, but with the added screen jumping 3D action. The
3D for The Hobbit was done exceedingly well and again
translates nicely to Blu-ray. I would say even somewhat better than
the standard release this time around; as Jackson had always intended
for this adventure to be in the 3D format. The dimensionality that
the 3D brings to the film whole heartedly encompasses the world of
The Hobbit and Jackson's true vision.
The sound on both the
3D and standard Blu-rays are again presented as a 7.1 DTS-HD Master
Audio (MA) lossless mixed down from the theatrical Dolby Atmos 11.1
presentations in select venues that is flawless. Desolation of
Smaug has a heavy track to deal with as the film is action packed
and constantly moving. Prioritization is spot on as the speakers
come to life without a single moment of muddled sound. Solid bass
brings a vibrato to the film that keeps the viewer on the edge of
their seat. The dialogue, the roar of the dragon, the musical
scores, and the clang of each sword projects with ease; in the end
creating a truly dynamic track.
Outside of the
magnificent picture and sound transposed to this new release; the
real treat are the numerous amount of bonus features. Over ten hours
in total, stretched across two BD-50 discs, the extras will give any
fan a ton to dig through. Extras are a mix of promotional material
and featurettes, all displayed nicely here. Not everything from the
2014 Theatrical Blu-ray release is ported over here; though some
duplicates do exist (New Zealand: Home to Middle Earth Part 2).
Bonus material includes:
Audio Commentary with
Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens
An
extremely well done and informative commentary track with the duo;
divulging the production process, hardships, successes, scripting,
editing, and much more from beginning to end. Though Jackson and
Boyens are a wonderful wealth of knowledge it may have been nice to
invite the cast/other crew in to share their experience and liven
up the track. Minor gripe.
New
Zealand: Home to Middle Earth Part 2
The
Appendices: Part 9 - A Long Expected Journey
The
Appendices: Part 10 - The Journey to Erebor
Summoning
Smaug - Last of the Fire Drakes
The
Peoples and Denizens of Middle Earth
Beorn:
The Shape Shifter
The
Spawn of Ungoliant
The
Men of the Lake Town
Realms
of the Third Age: From Beorn's House to Lake Town
The
Music of the Hobbit
-
Michael P. Dougherty II
