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MiskatonicLMB
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re: Re: Mithril’s Review of ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Cennwyn wrote:
MiskatonicLMB wrote:
The elves in The Hobbit were a bit silly, so there needed to be some reconciliation there no matter what.


Why? Why must everything be so deadly bloody serious?


I just meant that the elves of LOTR and the elves in The Hobbit are very different, so if there is some continuity assumed between the two works, the elves of The Hobbit needed to be made a bit more serious.

But, agree, not everything needs to be serious! :)
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re: The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug -- Review (NO spoilers)

Elenathiel wrote:
Amen, Floradine!

I did not "read" (listen to) the original until after I had watched the first movie.

Prior to listening to it, I enjoyed the first movie, but now I am disgusted by what P.J. has done to this beautiful classic and could not even recognize this as The Hobbit.

We just watched the animated version to soothe the hurt we felt after witnessing that betrayal!


This. Truth be told, years and years later, I still feel the Rankin Bass (sp?) version of the hobbit is still the single best adaptation of the story, both plotwise and "feel"-wise. I've enjoyed watching the current Hobbit movies from a purely fantasy adventure enjoyment perspective. But as adaptations of a beloved story, I've found them to be atrocious. As for the why's and wherefores of how and why the changes have been made, I blame both director vision, a painful attempt to shoehorn "The Hobbit" into the style and "feel" of "The Lord of the Rings", and the doubtless interference from hollywood for profit. But those are all criticisms of art vs profit in general - taken on it's own merits, and avoiding comparison with the source material, the Hobbit movies have been enjoyable, adventurous and pretty. NOT avoiding comparison with the source material, they become shocking examples of a poorly conceived attempt to make one well adapted story into a painfully adapted and converted franchise.

My personal feelings on the matter are far more complicated, and go into considerably more detail, but the above is the violently over-simplified summary of my feelings on the matter.


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re: The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug -- Review (NO spoilers)

This came through my Twitter today :) Make sure to read the credits at the end ;)



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re: The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug -- Review (NO spoilers)

Some interesting comments on the movie from The Tolkien Professor:

http://legendarium.mymiddleearth.com/2013/12/20/art-or-cash-the-desolation-of-critics/
Kiralynn
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re: The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug -- Review (NO spoilers)

Floradine wrote:
This came through my Twitter today :) Make sure to read the credits at the end ;)


That was fantastic! Thank you for sharing it. (The credits really are worth a look!)


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re: a wee hint of perspective

I wish I'd seen this earlier:

http://www.theonion.com/video/the-onion-reviews-the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-sma,34821/?playlist=recent-news
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re: Re: a wee hint of perspective

Suncho wrote:
I wish I'd seen this earlier:

http://www.theonion.com/video/the-onion-reviews-the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-sma,34821/?playlist=recent-news


Oh my. LOL!

oO


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re: The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug -- Review (NO spoilers)

~Alisette~ wrote:
Some interesting comments on the movie from The Tolkien Professor:

http://legendarium.mymiddleearth.com/2013/12/20/art-or-cash-the-desolation-of-critics/
I just saw this and was about to post it here. As one who hasn't yet seen the movie, but will probably get the DVD at some point, I found it very helpful. :) No spoilers, or rather no spoilers that haven't been seen in a lot of other places (i.e., Tauriel, etc.), and a balanced perspective on the book-to-movie effects.

Filmmakers have always had issues with writing scripts based on books. I say this as one who is a big fan of the Sherlock Holmes novels/short stories, but dislikes the majority of the filmed work out there, which begins in the silent movie era (exception: Granada Television's version starring Jeremy Brett, except the vampire one, and BBC's new Sherlock series, starring the voice of Smaug). I remember that when watching the Harry Potter movies, one of our biggest surprises was how closely they DID manage to follow the books - Because we all knew back then that movies and books were rarely the same animal. For me, the best way to handle a movie made from a book is to think of it as "inspired by" the book. As when a comic book series decides to do a reboot and start over, there will be fans of the change, and fans of the original. Personally, I'd like to enjoy each on its own merits.*


*As long as they don't mess with my favorite character again. Even then, if it's overall a decent product for what it is (i.e., film adaptation), I hope to keep an open mind.


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re: The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug -- Review (NO spoilers)

Good read, Alisette, thank you. So even professor Tolkien was not all hung up on the accurate storytelling of his books. Good to know!
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re: The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug -- Review (NO spoilers)

Yes, thanks for posting that Alisette! It is useful to have the original author's perspective as well, to differentiate from one's own (especially if what we feel is outrage over inaccuracies/inconsistencies and commercialization -- hopefully I will remember this!).

The Tolkien Professor's review and others' comments above reflect my reaction to the LOTR trilogy (I too tend to wait for DVD and haven't seen 'Smaug' yet): initially I was outraged over the changes/additions/deletions in Jackson's version of LOTR, but I left the theatre each time blown away not just by the experience of that vision of Middle Earth but also that the heart/soul of what I myself had gotten out of the books remained intact. Since then, with each viewing of LOTR (numbered in the dozens) I have come to forgive/understand some of the choices made: it is one artist's (Jackson) interpretation, it is the seemingly-inevitable compromise of translating the written into the visual, as well as the updating of the material for newer generations/audiences. In the end I am very thankful, for without Jackson's LOTR I daresay we would not have had a LOTRO to venture in.

I didn't have quite the same experience with the first Hobbit movie. I've only read The Hobbit 1.5 times (I've read the trilogy over a dozen times), and since I viewed it as something of an 'appetizer' for the trilogy, as well as already being familiar with the compromises which might be made in a movie version, I went in setting my "critic's bar" somewhat lower than I had for LOTR. In that sense I enjoyed the first movie: it was good but not great, and kept enough of the heart/soul of the story in tact.

Hopefully I can keep the perspective which the Tolkien Professor suggests when I actually see 'Smaug'! We can hold some hope that Jackson can redeem things in the third movie. I also hold out hope that the inevitable success of the Hobbit movies, flawed though they may be, will lead to someone making an adaptation of parts of The Silmarilion. I think there is serious potential for the story of Beren and Luthien.

And yes, someone will likely remake LOTR/Hobbit in 5-10 years anyway!


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re: The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug -- Review (NO spoilers)

I think second helpings of movies are wonderful. My second helping of Desolation of Smaug was in IMAX 3D. I will say here what I keep repeating to EVERYone who will listen to me...if only one award for this move is granted, it has to be Benedict's Smaug. OMG, I cannot rave enough. The voice. The visuals. The dragon movements. My mind is blown for the perfectness of Smaug.

*checks calendar for my next available 3 hour slot of idle time*


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re: The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug -- Review (NO spoilers)

Just got done seeing it!! Loved it, could stay in Middle Earth on the Big Screen for hours...every week!!
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re: The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug -- Review (NO spoilers)

Apparently I'm in the same boat as several others, who enjoyed the first Hobbit movie more than the second one. I hope the third one is the best yet!


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re: The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug -- Review (NO spoilers)

We just finished watching it, and I have to say that I really, really loved it. I'd certainly watch it again.

I think I'm coming at it differently than most here because I had never even heard of Lord of the Rings before Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring, so it was my first experience with Middle-Earth. After I saw that movie, I read the books (LotR, Silmarillion, The Hobbit) and I'm hooked on Tolkien's works now. I think his movies can be a really great introduction to the books for people who normally wouldn't give them a second look.

Oh and Smaug? Benedict Cumberbatch did an amazing job with him. AMAZING. Best dragon ever. It's so hard to do dragons in movies/television in a way that seems realistic, but I was genuinely afraid, because he seemed both incredibly cunning and unpredictable.


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