The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug [Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + UV Copy] [2013] [Region Free]

It’s a long film and is the second part of the story (although it would stand on its own) but is well worth the time to watch - I am going through all of the films in chronological order and can’t wait to get into the Lord of the Rings trilogy…/

This film is a worthy sequel to the first in the trilogy - it starts as simply awe inspiring to merely brilliant towards the end. As some of the reviews say it does slip a little but it is still one of the most fantastically presented films of it's type that I have seen. I really do think the book purists are getting it wrong again. These films are BASED on the books, as far as I can see there has never been any promise that they would beexact replicas of the books. So relax, enjoy the films for what they are. They are fantastic fantasy films in their own right and should be enjoyed as such. I'm a trekkie. Have been for 50 years. When the next generation was shown all you could hear was "I'm not watching that, it'll never be as good as the original'. In actual fact it wasn't nor could it be. However, I put the Original Star Trek to one side. Sat back put a boxed set of Next Generaton and enjoyed it thoroughly, before going back to the original series. People who block anything new for the love of the original often miss out on something different and enjoyable, which is a shame. I've read the books, they are masterpieces but it didn't stop me enjoying these films. The acting is sublime and the direction precise. The lighting crew should have got an oscar especially for the Gandalf scene and the superb scenery is enhanced by special effects to die for which just blow your mind. Awsome in so many ways, I'd advise to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Just enjoyed it

After watching LOTR’s boxed set the hobbit much the same story

Plenty of people have focused on the quality of the film itself, so I'm not going to say very much about that. Suffice to say, if you don't know what a Jackson movie version of a Tolkien story is going to be like yet, you might be in for a surprise. Other than the obvious liberties and plot items to stretch the story into three full length films and set the prequel scene for Lord of the Rings, it's really not that bad. A bit over padded and fluffy, but still watchable.This is more to do with the quality of the print on this BluRay version, and the 3D, both of which were very good. The picture and sound quality are strong and the 3D is well utilised, but not so overdone that it takes your attention from the action. The film being shot largely in CGI helps, of course, because there's less real scenery to worry about and quite a lot of the set pieces lend themselves rather well to the shiny hi-def 3D on display here, particularly some of the fight or chase scenes.Audio track is clear and well balanced and the dialogue is audible and not hidden amongst the dramatics of the score or soundtrack.Shame about the 3D version being on two BluRay discs, really. And about the incongruous cut point. The timing of the end of disc one could've been much better

This is more like it. Whereas the first instalment had the almost impossible task of establishing 13+ new characters, this episode has settled in magnificently, giving Jackson and his cast the freedom to do what they do best: tell a ripping yarn.On the down side (although PJ will avow that the 'fillers' have been lifted from the appendices of LOTR and the only really invented character is that of Tauriel), it wanders a little from the 'spirit' of the original book and it is hard to muster tension when you know that the main characters of Gandalf, Bilbo, Legolas et al WILL live to fight another day.That being said, it's a great action adventure with more than enough there for us to get to know the newcomers - Bard, Beorn and the deliciously evil Smaug, no cardboard cut-out dragon he! - and appreciate their stories.Looking forward to part three already!

This is the second film in The Hobbit trilogy and it is another great film.The cast are excellent again and the CGI brilliant.Some people have complained about the length of the film but you must remember that The Lord of the Rings trilogy were long too with The Return of the King having a 3 hours plus run time.Yes it isn't identical to the books with new characters added, not to mention a familiar face returning but I think that isn't a bad thing because Peter Jackson has put his own stamp on it.Personally I love the film and suggest you watch it and make your own mind up.

Martin Freeman really comes into Bilbo in this film. That made it far more enjoyable for me. The cast of Dwarves also gel brilliantly and Ken Stott is fabulous. The most amazing thing is Benedict Cumberbatch who is the voice of Smaug. He is creepy and egotistical and very scary. It is perfect casting not since Andy Serkis's Golem have I believed so much in an animated character. The CGI is fabulous but we expect that from Jackson now and he never fails us. The elves in this part of the tale are not the elves of The Lord of the Rings Lee Pace as Thranduil is fabulous he plays the xenophobic mercurial despot to the very edge of over acting but still manages to pull it back so it is believable.

Una película que me hacía falta y que la recibí en excelente estado, y la disfruté mucho más.

Produit souhaité, Produit reçu.

Il film prosegue l'epica avventura di Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Scudodiquercia e la compagnia di nani mentre cercano di raggiungere Erebor e affrontare il drago Smaug. La regia di Peter Jackson continua a stupire con una straordinaria cura nei dettagli nella creazione di mondi fantastici e creature leggendarie. Le scene d'azione sono spettacolari, mantenendo alta l'adrenalina dello spettatore. Martin Freeman conferma la sua bravura nel ruolo di Bilbo, mentre la presenza di Smaug, interpretato vocalmente da Benedict Cumberbatch, aggiunge un elemento di minaccia e grandiosità al film. Nonostante alcune deviazioni dalla trama originale di Tolkien, il film offre un'esperienza coinvolgente per gli amanti del genere fantasy.

Update March 2015:Amazon won't let me rate the DOS Extended edition w. collector barrel rider figure separately, so I am editing this review to say I am so happy with the quality of the sculpt of the barrel rider figure included with the Amazon Exclusive that I ordered a second one. IMO it's that good, and I noticed that the few sets available by WETA itself are now gone. Gary Hunt of WETA sculpted this work, and WETA has just released an outstanding sculpt of Faramir by this artist - e.g., at this scale, and for this barrel rider figure, the likeness of Thorin, Bilbo, and Kili is stellar, with unbelievable detail and nice paint job - the wrinkles of wet cloth, the expressions - even the tiny little noses and clothing are screen accurate. There's even water in the barrels. Plus there is kind of a vitality and energy about this little piece - I can only completely agree with YouTube reviewer Mark Rivera on the great quality of this collector piece. At this price point it's an amazing piece of work. I wasn't expecting much as these kind of figures are often blobby and poorly painted, with horrible expressions and so on - like cheap figure toys - but I just love this - pictures don't do it justice. Hate to say it, but I think this little Thorin looks more like Thorin, in its way, than the "real" WETA Thorin figure (different sculptors, so that's probably why). Figure seems to be of highly detailed resin - even the water looks real.There's enough details about the DOS EE scenes that I won't say much, but the EE is WELL WORTH THE PRICE. Just seeing the dwarves LOL scuffle at Laketown was a delight, never mind more Beorn, more Mirkwood! IMO for the DOS EE, the Amazon barrel collector set is the way to go, if you like memorabilia. 10 stars + for the Amazon exclusive barrel rider set!ORIGINAL review:The Hobbit movies vaulted themselves into being my favorite movies of all time - personally love what PJ did, the richness of the costumes, sets, locations, the fleshing out of the original story. Most of all the strength of the performances by a stellar cast of actors, IMO lead by the fierce haunting performance by Richard Armitage as Thorin, and Martin Freeman's stellar Bilbo. So I couldn't wait to get my hands on the DOS BluRay.As far as the BluRay, which is the only thing I've watched in this set so far along with the Special Features, on my Samsung TV couldn't be more delighted with the image quality - IMO the crispness, the nuances of color - of course I enjoyed the film in an IMAX theater (more than once) but it's also been wonderful to see so much detail, up close and personal. My only quibble is I wish like the European disks there would be movie scenes or artwork on the disks themselves - it just adds to the pleasure even if it "doesn't really matter since the disk is in a player". I can only assume the 3D version is equally good, when I have a system to watch it.So for me hands down the BR and the movie gets a 10. Where the collector set falls off, unfortunately, for me, is the *bleep* bookends. Don't get me wrong, as a dwarf/Thorin fan, I REALLY wanted these bookends. A little piece of Erebor for a book lover!.As a collectible, they don't suck, the design of the stone dwarf guards is accurate, and they are some sort of heavy resin plastic. But I ordered 2 different sets, thanks to Amazon's wonderful return policy ended up with three of this "limited edition" and every single one of them had a flaw of some kind. It's not Amazon's fault, as one of the sets was from another company.These are sloppy production flaws, everything from blobby features from someone pulling a statue from a mold too fast, to the axes - which evidently are not part of the casting - just snapping off. One of the statues had a cheek guard snapped off. And I don't think this is the shipping, as the bookends are strapped in and encased in heavy, ecologically incorrect form-fitting plastic plus the whole thing was shipped padded. I think it's Noble co. trying to get away with a "good enough" job (I've bought their stuff before) using an indifferent Made in China! *sigh* manufacturer/packer. The painting/color of the figures is OK, I could see someone repainting for appeal tho - kind of an army khaki or something like that.So much for the hype over a limited edition collectible - minus one, as of course one of my 3 sets is heading back to Amazon, who I hope returns to Noble. Well, OK, when I think about it, guess it's about $25 per figure, which is kind of reasonable. I guess. But this isn't one of the Hobbit pens or keychains (which are fine) or letter openers, I was hoping they'd be really nice. And the bookend details ARE very clean and sharp - as long as more care was used, which it wasn't. Overall unless you are a Hobbit movie junkie like me, I'd say just get the BluRay and save dollars and buy a pricey collectible from the "ultimate source" WETA, who did the costumes and sets for the movies themselves. Or wait for a big sale on this bookend edition.As for Noble company, well, re Hobbit collectibles they seem to do a "good enough" job - for instance I have an Erebor key paperweight, but they used the same mold front and back, so you get mirror reverse runes on one side. And the diamond end of the key is just glued in, e.g. the whole thing wasn't cast, just put together for a "good enough" job. Unless you look hard. But what goes around - I was thinking of buying Thorin's sword "Deathless" which at the moment only Noble makes a replica of. And my bookend experience has decided me in NOT buying any expensive collectible from Noble like a sword replica (as opposed to the wonderful job United Cutlery did with the Orcrist replica). As it is, I'm going to handle my bookends carefully, including regluing the axe that had fallen off in the box. Which it wouldn't have if the manufacturing had been better - a shame.

EinführungDer sogenannte Extended Cut hat sich in den vergangenen 10 Jahren für Filmstudios zu einem lukrativen Geschäft entwickelt. Da es sich hier selten um einen echten Director's Cut handelt, fügen die verantwortlichen Studios meistens ohne den Willen des Regisseurs wahllos neue Szenen in die jeweiligen Filme ein. In seltenen Fällen gibt es aber auch sinnvolle Änderungen und der Regisseur kann wieder die Szenen einfügen, die aufgrund des Zeitmangels oder zur Schonung der Altersfreigabe entfernt werden mussten. Das dies aber auch ein absoluter Reinfall werden kann sieht man an der jetzt kommenden Langfassung zu "The Expendables 3". Ein Film der für ein jugendliches Publikum entwickelt wurde, der wird auch in seiner Langfassung durch ein paar digital eingefügte Blutspritzer kein Film für Erwachsene.Doch zurück nach Mittelerde. Der Extended Trend startete damals mit Peter Jackson und seiner Ring-Trilogie und jede einzelne Extended Version seiner drei Filme war ein Genuss und erweiterte den Film nicht nur auf sinnvolle art und weise, auch das üppige Bonusmaterial machte die Langfassungen zur bevorzugten Fassung für die Fans. Und für Peter Jackson sind die Langfassungen, die er eigens mit seinem Team kreiert hat, seine Wunschfassungen.Beim Hobbit sollte sich das alles wiederholen, und zu Teil 1 wurde, wie erwartet, knapp 1 Jahr nach der Kinopremiere, eine Extended Fassung in den Handel geschickt. Ursprünglich sollten es 25 Minuten mehr Inhalt werden, am Ende waren es nur 14. Und erstmals wurden Stimmen lauter, dass ein bereits relativ kompletter Film nur noch weiter in die Länge gezogen wurde. Und es stimmt, wirklich viel zur Handlung trugen die neuen Szenen beim Hobbit nicht bei, was einfach daran lag das der Film bereits in der Kinofassung sehr umfangreich umgesetzt wurde. Ein Effekt wie beim Herr der Ringe blieb zwar aus, dennoch stellen die Erweiterungen und kleinen Umschnitte die bessere Fassung dar und somit ist der Extended Cut der Kinofassung noch immer leicht überlegen (alleine was das umfangreiche Bonusmaterial und Hintergrundwissen angeht werden Mittlerde Fans und Sammler nicht um diese Version herumkommen).Der Hobbit: Smaus Einöde Extended Edition:Nun aber zum zweiten Hobbit Abenteuer. War der Kinofilm bereits seinem Vorgänger in vielen Punkten deutlich überlegen und machte einen ziemlich guten Job als Fortsetzung, ist besonders den Fans des Buches schnell aufgefallen, dass immer noch etliche Inhalte fehlten oder aber relativ abgehackt im Film vorkommen. Besonders unter den Kürzungen mussten die Szenen mit Beorn und die Verwirrung der Gruppe im Düsterwald leiden. Peter Jackson kündigte für den Extended Cut über 20 Minuten neues Filmmaterial an, und am Ende wurden es sogar knapp 26 Minuten. Und so viel ist sicher, jede einzelne Minute ist für den Film unglaublich wertvoll. Denn im Gegensatz zum Extended Cut des Vorgängers sind die Erweiterungen bei Smaugs Einöde nicht kosmetischer Natur, sondern sie erweitern den Film sinnvoll, und viele Szenen, die man in der Kinofassung noch vermisste, wurden größtenteils in den Extended Cut nun eingebaut.Bereits zu Beginn des Filmes wurde die Unterhaltung zwischen Thorin und Gandalf erweitert. Gleichzeitig war diese erweiterte Unterhaltung auch der Auftakt zum neuen Inhalt rund um Thorins Vater Thrain und Gandalfs Infiltration in Dol Guldur.Weiter geht es mit den Szenen in Beorns Haus. Eine große Enttäuschung in der Kinofassung, Beorn, der riesige Hautwechsler, kam einfach zu kurz. Wie bereits in "Die Rückkehr des Königs", wo Jackson den kompletten Part mit Saruman aus dem Film geschnitten hat, so hatte er es ähnlich bei den Szenen mit Beorn in Smaugs Einöde getan. Im Extended Cut wurde besonders die witzige Einführung von Beorn aus dem Buch, beinahe originalgetreu, in den Film eingefügt. Dies ist nur ein kleiner Teil der Szenen mit Beorn, die für diese Fassung erweitert wurden.Auch der Aufenthalt in Düsterwald wurde erheblich erweitert. Die Verwirrung und Ratlosigkeit von Bilbo und den Zwergen ging in der Kinofassung komplett unter. Peter Jackson erweiterte die Odyssee im Düsterwald und fügte etliche surreale Szenen hinzu, die sich teils am Buch anlehnen, teils aber auch völlig neue Wege einschlagen, aber noch immer die Atmosphäre aus jenen Momenten im Buch einfängt. Wenn man die Kinofassung als direkten Vergleich hat, werden einem die Schnitte sofort auffallen.Und so ziehen sich die neuen Szenen durch den kompletten Film. Es gibt kleinere Szenen die hinzugefügt wurden, aber auch komplette Abschnitte, wie die Szenen mit Beorn oder Gandalfs Wiedersehen mit Thorins Vater Thrain in Dol Guldur, die hinzugefügt wurden. Es wurden einige Logiklöcher gestopft und zahlreiche Szenen wurden leicht verändert/umgeschnitten. All diese kleinen und großen Änderungen machen den Extended Cut zu Smaugs Einöde zu der zu bevorzugenden Version des Filmes. Beinahe alles, was in der Kinofassung als vermisst gemeldet wurde, wurde nun wieder in den Film eingefügt. Damit hat Peter Jackson sein Versprechen gehalten und macht die kleine Ernüchterung, die es zur Extended Fassung zum ersten Teil gab, komplett vergessen.Natürlich gibt es noch zahlreiche weitere Szenen auf die ich nicht eingegangen bin. Jeder Mittelerde Fan darf sich diese Fassung aber nicht entgehen lassen. Das gilt besonders für die Leute, die von der Kinofassung enttäuscht waren. Bei über 185 Minuten ist dieser Film genau das richtige für die kalten Winterwochenenden.Anzumerken wäre noch: Wie bei allen anderen Extended Cuts von Jackson gibt es wieder Stundenweise Bonusmaterial, welches auf zwei weiteren Blu-ray Discs aufgeteilt wurde.Bereits jetzt wurde eine ebenfalls, rund 25 minütige Extended Edition zum dritten und finalen Hobbit Film angekündigt (Die Schlacht der Fünf Heere), der am 10. Dezember in den deutschen Kinos anlaufen wird und mit rund 144 Minuten in seiner Kinofassung den Platz für das bisher kürzeste Abenteuer in Mittelerde belegt.