The Hobbit (the Jackson films)

[Carol the Dabbler]

That's as good a name for that expression as any! Looks like he hasn't quite wrapped his brain around the concept of "dragon" yet -- but doesn't expect to be ecstatic once he does.

 

I just noticed that the cover refers to the Hobbit movies as an "epic trilogy" -- a term that I never expected to hear with regard to that charming little book. (But then Peter Jackson got hold of it! )

[aely]

I think PJ has basically included an awful lot of backstory from the appendices of LOTR amongst other things, that either wasn't relevant or couldn't be included in the LOTR films. I know he has expanded on some of the things that were said 'in passing' in both The Hobbit and in the LOTR appendices. I'm looking forward to it as I know how much I preferred the 'extended' version of the LOTR films to the theatre releases (Faramir's story one of the major ones I liked better).

[Carol the Dabbler]

I think PJ has basically included an awful lot of backstory from the appendices of LOTR amongst other things, that either wasn't relevant or couldn't be included in the LOTR films...

An awful lot, yeah -- far more than in LotR, I suspect.

 

 

... I know he has expanded on some of the things that were said 'in passing' in both The Hobbit and in the LOTR appendices. ...

Here's the entirety of Radagast's role in The Hobbit (see Chapter VII):

'...perhaps you have heard of my cousin Radagast who lives near the southern borders of Mirkwood?'

'Yes; not a bad fellow as wizards go, I believe. I used to see him now and again.'

I rest your case.

 

 

... I'm looking forward to it as I know how much I preferred the 'extended' version of the LOTR films to the theatre releases (Faramir's story one of the major ones I liked better).

 

Definitely -- and Faramir was a real sweetie!

[SherLOCKED221]

I don't like the term "extended" as I believe all the important details should be put into the movie!

The "extended cut" should be the only cut!!

I hate when they do this just for the sake of time!

Because of this 1990's "Nightbreed" make little to no sense in parts despite its brilliance!

The "lost" footage is yet to be found!!

 

Through all this though, I personally love Clive Barker, the (arguable) master of horror.

Sometimes just thinking about "Midnight Meat Train" will give me the occasional shiver! (and that's just wonderful!!)

[aely]

Useless info... Clive Barker went to the same school as George Harrison and John Lennon, not very far away from where I live.

 

In all fairness to PJ, he would have liked to release the movies in their entirety but he couldn't make them any longer than they were as not enough people would have sat through them to make them the success they needed to be because he wasn't the one holding the purse strings.

[Carol the Dabbler]

In all fairness to PJ, he would have liked to release the movies in their entirety but he couldn't make them any longer than they were as not enough people would have sat through them ....

... or at least that's the way the studio saw it (and they were the ones holding the purse strings).

 

This, of course, explains why the fan club roster appeared only on the DVD!

[Undead Medic]

I got to see The Hobbit today, Wow, Martin Freeman just is Bilbo, he doesn't just play a part, you never question it he Is Bilbo Baggins. Very good turns from Ian McKellen, Sylvester McCoy, James Nesbitt, Hugo Weaving and Aidan Turner. It's hard to pick stand-out performances as the quality of each performance in the film was so high. Excellent!

 

We saw it in 3D and it was very sympathetically done.

[Carol the Dabbler]

We went to the just-past-midnight showing on opening day, and were amazed to see that the large auditorium was nearly at capacity (and that's not counting the 3-D auditorium). So even in that small, fairly unsophisticated city, there's a good bit of enthusiasm.

 

The "passing the torch" opening scene is brief but nicely done. I was thrilled when Ian Holm's elderly Bilbo reads aloud from his memoirs: "In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit" (which is also the first sentence of the book). Then we flash back sixty years, and the story begins.

 

In the interest of avoiding serious spoilers, all I will say about the plot is that the orcs and wargs are introduced much earlier than in the book. This puzzled me at first, but then I realized that they provide a theme running throughout the movie (and into the next movie), in contrast to the rather episodic structure of the book.

 

 

We saw it in 3D and it was very sympathetically done.

We chose to see the movie in 2-D and 24 FPS, so we wouldn't be distracted by the technology on first viewing. Even more so than with the Harry Potter movies, though, it was pretty obvious that some sets and some bits of action had been chosen for their 3-D effect. Perhaps these feel more organic when actually viewed in 3-D. We'll see. Meanwhile, I find them slightly annoying. Sorry!

 

 

Wow, Martin Freeman just is Bilbo, he doesn't just play a part, you never question it ....

That's it precisely, he has simply become Bilbo. Of course I was expecting him to be very, very good, so my only concern had been that some of his comic bits I'd seen in trailers might seem gratuitous -- but in context they felt very natural.

 

And, as you say, the rest of the cast is also to be commended. I particularly liked Sylvester McCoy's performance (even though I found some of his character's details rather Disney-esque; those weren't his doing).

[Undead Medic]

I was very impressed with Sylvester McCoy, but as a Doctor Who fan I felt slightly biassed

 

 

Benedict Cumberbatch as The Necormancer was a nice bonus, even for those of us who knew in advance!

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

I don't believe I've ever seen McCoy's Doctor (though my trekfan subconscious is giggling here) -- what was he like?

[aely]

Sylvester McCoy was the Seventh Doctor, he was the one who gave me my love of the show back. His early series were played more for the comedic element and were characterised by the patchy writing that had let his predecessor down, but his later stories introduced a more mysterious and darker side. He was even shown to be Merlin (albeit in a different universe) in one story.

 

This is the Seventh Doctor and Ace (IMO the best female companion ever - she beat up a dalek with a baseball bat) in one of the best stories, Ghost Light.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Sylvester McCoy was the Seventh Doctor, he was the one who gave me my love of the show back....

Darn, I just missed him!

 

My first Doctor was actually the fourth, Tom Baker (perhaps that was when they started running the show over here?). When I hear "Doctor Who" that is still the image that pops into my head. I also liked Peter Davison's fifth Doctor, but just couldn't get into the sixth Doctor (perhaps due to the patchy writing you mentioned), and stopped watching the show well before Colin Baker regenerated into Sylvester McCoy.

 

 

This is the Seventh Doctor and Ace (IMO the best female companion ever - she beat up a dalek with a baseball bat)....

Cool -- those overgrown salt shakers deserved it!

 

Is that just a portrait pose, or were Ace and The Doctor actually kinda cuddly? Baker's Doctor always seemed sort of aloof -- civil to his companions, but not what I'd call even friendly (which annoyed me a bit).

[Carol the Dabbler]

According to an article in the Toronto Sun, the first weekend of The Hobbit grossed $84.77 million in the US and Canada, easily surpassing the old record for movies released in December. Total world-wide ticket sales for the weekend came to $222.97 million. Go, Bilbo!!!

 

(Note: The related-article links look interesting as well.)

[Carol the Dabbler]

This article has a detailed breakdown of The Hobbit's boxoffice receipts, including individual figures from more countries.

[aely]

Is that just a portrait pose, or were Ace and The Doctor actually kinda cuddly?

It's a set promo picture, I think, but they were kind of touchy-feely, more so than a lot of other classic Doctor/Companion sets.

 

I have a couple of icons that are from screencaps

 

 

 

These are both from the last ever televised story, the bottom one is Ace and the Doctor effectively walking off into the sunset (more accurately the TARDIS - home, according to Ace) together at the end.

[aely]

This is a screencap from the Ghost Light ep

 

 

and this one is a promo pic from their 2nd series together

 

 

It didn't seem odd that they did those sort of promos - it suited their characters.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Thanks -- I like that!

 

Back to The Hobbit -- I had a better look at this book today

 

 

... and saw that it's not just a delightful cover -- there are several pictures inside that I had not seen before, including two nice ones of Bilbo on pages 29 (at Bag End, scowling, presumably at the dwarves!) and -- especially -- 31 (holding The Ring behind his back, with a look in his eyes that makes my heart ache for him).

 

It's listed for "ages 8 and up," and it's nice to see the assumption that kids can actually read.

[Carol the Dabbler]

... J. R. R. Tolkien, stated (in Chapter I of The Hobbit) that compared to humans, hobbits are "about half our height." According to Internet Movie Database, Martin Freeman stands 5' 7" (170 cm), so we might assume that Bilbo Baggins is 2' 9.5" (85 cm) or so.

 

... he's not only half as tall, he's also half as wide and half as deep -- which means that he weighs only one-eighth as much (assuming that hobbits have roughly the same tissue density as humans). ... One-eighth of 150 pounds is a mere 18.75 pounds (8.5 kg).

I've acquired a bit more data since I wrote that. First, it looked to me like the movie Bilbo was clearly more than half as tall as Gandalf -- and Ian McKellen is 5' 11" (71" or 180 cm).

 

Then in The Annotated Hobbit, a marginal note on page 33 quotes Professor Tolkien in 1938 thusly:

 

I picture a fairly human figure ... fattish in the stomach, shortish in the leg. A round, jovial face, ears only slightly pointed and "elvish"; hair short and curling (brown). The feet from the ankles down, covered with brown hairy fur.... Actual size ... say about three feet or three feet six inches.

Also, I recently watched a video in which Martin Freeman said that a hobbit (presumably referring to Bilbo) is about 3' 6" or 3' 7". So I stand corrected -- several times!

 

Both Tolkien and Freeman mentioned 3' 6" (42" or 107 cm), so I'll go with that. OK, 3' 6" is 63% of 5' 7", so Bilbo would weigh 63% of 63% of 63% as much as a 5' 7" man, which is 25% of (back to the height-weight chart) 150 pounds, or 37.5 pounds (17 kg).

 

So the statistical Bilbo has "grown" 8.5" (22 cm) from my initial estimate, yet has doubled his weight!

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

I have seen the movie and I really liked it. Loved seeing some of the characters I do so love, Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel. I thought it was very well done. It didn't seem like 3 hours long to me at all.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Are those three characters your favorites from the LotR movies, or from the books?

[aely]

Went to see the Hobbit yesterday with a bunch of friends and loved it - I was literally bouncing in my seat at some points (and not necessarily at the things people might expect, one of them was just before the appearance of Saruman in Rivendell). I adore the way they've integrated so much of the dialogue of the book into the film and managed to fit the background story that we're given in the appendices of LOTR and other slot into the film.

 

Favourite bits:

 

The quoting of the first paragraph of the book... "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.",

 

The inclusion of the song "That's what Bilbo Baggins hates"

 

Radagast - I loved the way Sylvester played him. And the rabbits - "I'd like to see them try!"

 

The riddle scene between Gollum and Bilbo.

 

I will be getting this on DVD for sure.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Favourite bits:

 

The quoting of the first paragraph of the book... "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

Unfortunately, they modified it a bit -- but I will forgive them because they got that wonderful first sentence entirely right. I'd been waiting decades to hear that in a movie theater. (Nearly cried.)

 

 

The inclusion of the song "That's what Bilbo Baggins hates"

... which could as well be titled "That's What Carol's Husband Hates" -- but I just love it!

 

 

Radagast - I loved the way Sylvester played him. And the rabbits - "I'd like to see them try!"

Loved the former, coulda done without the latter (but loved that line).

 

 

The riddle scene between Gollum and Bilbo.

Another waiting-for-decades moment: "What has it got in its pocketses?"

 

Also loved this interchange (quotations may be approximate):

"If Baggins loses, we eats it whole."

[long pause]

"Fair enough."

Don't know whether that's direct from the book. But if it isn't, it should be in there -- and with precisely those deliveries!

 

 

I will be getting this on DVD for sure.

 

Oh yeah! We may even have to buy a Blu-Ray player.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Martin Freeman seems to be the master of timing and deliverance. He nails them constantly in "Sherlock" as well. Understated but very right on. Very affective in the Hobbit as well.

 

I have been in love with Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadiel ever since I discovered the books of J.R.R. Tolkien in the 1970's.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Martin Freeman seems to be the master of timing and deliverance. He nails them constantly in "Sherlock" as well. Understated but very right on. Very affective in the Hobbit as well.

Exactly. I especially love his understated intensity.

 

 

I have been in love with Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadiel ever since I discovered the books of J.R.R. Tolkien in the 1970's.

Me too -- the 70's, that is. But my favorite Tolkien character has always been Bilbo.

[aely]

Unfortunately, they modified it a bit

They did? Blast my ears - the first line was so clear that I think my brain supplied the rest without me hearing it properly.

 

Subtitles are pretty much essential for me at home but I have to do without at cinemas so I suppose it isn't surprising I mishear things, especially when I'm expecting a particular phrase.

 

Funnily enough, I didn't really fall for anyone in the Hobbit, but I fell hook, line and sinker for Faramir in LOTR. I got my own copies of both books in 1978.

 

The 'if Baggins loses' interchange wasn't in the book - I looked for it!