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Reviews
From Amazon.co.uk
It took some time for Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson to return to Middle Earth, but the wait was very much worth it. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey starts off by playing strongly to its links to the previous adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings trilogy, before setting off on an adventure of its own.
The first of three films based on The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey isn't a fast film to get going, but it does spent quality time introducing its key characters. Most moviegoers are more than familiar with Sir Ian McKellen's Gandalf of course, but the collection of dwarves and Martin Freeman's take on Bilbo Baggins are all brought together, and the adventure ensues. It's a journey that's punctuated by terrifically orchestrated action sequences, a swirling score, and lavish production design.
Furthermore, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has one or two real standout moments contained within its running time, not least when we finally get reunited with Gollum. The sequence where Bilbo Baggins and Gollum come face to face is as good as anything Jackson put on screen in the Lord Of The Rings films. And while The Hobbit doesn't quite capture the magic of the earlier trilogy often enough, there's a lot here to enjoy, and plenty left to look forward to. It's beautifully, beautifully presented on disc, too. --Jon Foster
Product Description
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first in Peter Jackson's highly anticipated trilogy adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome Dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the Wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of 13 Dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild, through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins, Orcs and deadly Wargs, as well as a mysterious and sinister figure known only as the Necromancer.
Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the Goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever...Gollum.
Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of ingenuity and courage that surprise even him; he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities...A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.
All-new special features on Blu-ray:
The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome Dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the Wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of 13 Dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild, through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins, Orcs and deadly Wargs, as well as a mysterious and sinister figure known only as the Necromancer.
Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the Goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever...Gollum.
Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of ingenuity and courage that surprise even him; he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities...A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.
All-new special features on Blu-ray:
* Commentary with Peter Jackson, Director/Producer/Screenwriter and Philippa Boyens, Co-Producer/Screenwriter
* The Appendices - A multi-part chronological history of the filming of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, covering pre-production in the various departments of the film in the months leading up to the start of principal photography, the boot camp training for the main cast, the work done on set chronologically through the three shooting blocks and in the world of its digital effects.
- Introduction by Peter Jackson
- A Long Expected Journey
- The Journey Back to Middle- Earth
- Riddles in the Dark
- An Unexpected Party
- Roast Mutton
- Bastion of the Greenwood
- A Short Rest
- Over Hill
- Under Hill
- Out of the Frying Pan
- Return to Hobbiton
- The Epic of Scene 88
- The Battle of Moria
- Edge of the Wilderland
- Home is Behind, The World Ahead
- The Company of Thorin
- Assembling the Dwarves
- Thorin, Fili & Kili
- Balin & Dwalin
- Oin & Gloin
- Dori, Nori & Ori
- Bifur, Bofur & Bombur
- Mr. Baggins: The 14th Member
- Durin's Folk: Creating the Dwarves
- The Peoples and Denizens of Middle Earth
- The Stone Trolls
- Radagast the Brown
- Goblins
- Azog the Defilers
- Realms of the Third Age
- Hobbiton
- Rhosgobel
- Rivendell
- The Misty Mountains
- Goblin Town
- The Songs of the Hobbit
- Credits
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
326 of 398 people found the following review helpful
By R. J. Harvey
Format:DVD
Since Sir Peter Jackson's last foray into Middle Earth, he's created the fantastic (King Kong) and the fantastically awful (The Lovely Bones), and now we're back and it's like we never left. Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Hugo Weaving (Elrond), Elijah Wood (Frodo), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel)... they've aged like elves - not a day. Tonally this is breezier than the Lord of the Rings (let's call it LotR) trilogy, but great care has been taken to ensure that it fits seamlessly into the same universe. The same exquisite detail in close-up; the same use of long shots to make the characters tiny in a vast world.
J. R. R. Tolkien's little book concerns a little hobbit, who lives in a hole, who finds himself on a big adventure with a gang of dwarves, overseen by the wizard Gandalf. Tolkien's dwarves, seeking an almighty golden hoard hidden under a Lonely Mountain, are closer to Time Bandits than a heroic Fellowship, but Jackson and his co-writers (now including Guillermo del Toro) have shifted their purpose to something more laudable: the reclaiming of their homeland.
In a beautifully crafted opening, after elegantly intersecting with The Fellowship of the Ring, the bumbling dwarves are introduced to Bilbo and ourselves one by one, as unwelcome visitors to his humble home. They eat, they sing, they talk, and the scene is set. These are the characters we'll follow in almost every scene. The Hobbit is much more linear than LotR; scenes concerning Radagast the Brown (a wonderfully eccentric Sylvester McCoy, channelling the spirit of Tom Bombadil) and Azog (the orcish slayer of Thorin's father, Thrain) are brief asides rather than parallel plots.
So it's all about the dwarves, and we get to know a few of them well, particularly the bold leader, Thorin (Richard Armitage). Read more ›
J. R. R. Tolkien's little book concerns a little hobbit, who lives in a hole, who finds himself on a big adventure with a gang of dwarves, overseen by the wizard Gandalf. Tolkien's dwarves, seeking an almighty golden hoard hidden under a Lonely Mountain, are closer to Time Bandits than a heroic Fellowship, but Jackson and his co-writers (now including Guillermo del Toro) have shifted their purpose to something more laudable: the reclaiming of their homeland.
In a beautifully crafted opening, after elegantly intersecting with The Fellowship of the Ring, the bumbling dwarves are introduced to Bilbo and ourselves one by one, as unwelcome visitors to his humble home. They eat, they sing, they talk, and the scene is set. These are the characters we'll follow in almost every scene. The Hobbit is much more linear than LotR; scenes concerning Radagast the Brown (a wonderfully eccentric Sylvester McCoy, channelling the spirit of Tom Bombadil) and Azog (the orcish slayer of Thorin's father, Thrain) are brief asides rather than parallel plots.
So it's all about the dwarves, and we get to know a few of them well, particularly the bold leader, Thorin (Richard Armitage). Read more ›
37 of 45 people found the following review helpful
By Luonnotar
Format:DVD
I was looking forward to this as I really enjoyed Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. While it's not a bad adaptation of The Hobbit, it's not brilliant either, and I feel that the problem is that Jackson is trying to stretch out a 300 page kids' novel to fill three 3-hour films. This is partly achieved by putting in elements from Tolkien's notes and appendices to Lord of the Rings, such as the White Council, which is not objectionable. But also, a lot of the time is taken up with pointless action sequences which may be visually impressive, but don't really add much to the plot. Another problem is the depiction of the dwarves. In LOTR, Gimli was a one-off comic relief character (unlike his character in the novel), but here almost all the dwarves are depicted as comical, and very difficult to take seriously. The exception is Thorin Oakenshield who is portrayed very well by Richard Armitage. Another problem is Radagast, who comes across as a completely ridiculous character, not at all an angelic being of the order of the Istari, which is what he actually is. And he goes around in a sled pulled by rabbits if you please!
On the plus side, the scene from the book where three trolls debate the best way to eat thirteen dwarves and a hobbit is genuinely hilarious, and the riddle scene with Gollum is very nicely done. But the adaptation could have been better.
On the plus side, the scene from the book where three trolls debate the best way to eat thirteen dwarves and a hobbit is genuinely hilarious, and the riddle scene with Gollum is very nicely done. But the adaptation could have been better.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Jack Flash
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
Animation is superb. Story has great comedy and comes up to the standard expected of Peter and Fran but is padded out so I'm sure trilogy could easily be condensed into one. Looking forward to remaining films though as an avid Tolkien fan. UV copy is wasted here as only Flixster will show on my tablet in SD only - all the other players tell me I am in the wrong country (I need to be in USA) - frustrating!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Film departed from the book to much for my liking.It was as if they were trying to re-read the book in the format of Lord of the Rings.
To much like a computer game than the Book
To much like a computer game than the Book
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Terry
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
This prequel to Lord of the Rings sets the scene of how the ring came to Bilbo and introduces the white council, the reason Dwarves hate Elves and various other creatures that live in Middle Earth. I didn't think the story was stretched, there are more humourous scenes in this that LOTR, but that is how The Hobbit was written - the visuals are as sumptious as ever (I think the blu-ray 2D was better that the cinema 3D) and the musical themes follow from LOTR. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and cannot wait for the second film
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Gina
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
Whist watching in 3D the quality was substandard it actually hurt our eyes when anything moved at a fast pace. It came across as unprofessional. Story line ok but I certainly wouldn't rave about it. Disappointed.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By TManton
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
Product itself is excellent and arrived in good time, well packaged. Unfortunately the film itself is a really let down, lets hope the 2nd part has some redeemable qualities
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Dave
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
So, the positives. The acting's perfectly good, the special effects are pretty and Middle Earth has once again been rendered to perfection.
But this film is pretty dull in lots of places, and seems to have been peppered with unnecessary padding just to eke out a trilogy from material that would have made an absolutely awesome "duology". Jackson did similar things with the LOTR trilogy, altering characters and plot lines to the detriment of the overall movie. It's not that I believe that the films should slavishly follow Tolkien's writing, but adding bad padding for the sake of it does nothing for the film.
Sadly for me, I had recently seen The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, so throughout the film I saw more "Arthur Dent" than Bilbo in Freeman's performance. Not Freeman's fault at all - just an unfortunate coincidence.
Gollum once again steals the show, which is a worry, as he shouldn't reappear in the remaining films... but with Jackson at the helm, who knows?
OK, but not special.
But this film is pretty dull in lots of places, and seems to have been peppered with unnecessary padding just to eke out a trilogy from material that would have made an absolutely awesome "duology". Jackson did similar things with the LOTR trilogy, altering characters and plot lines to the detriment of the overall movie. It's not that I believe that the films should slavishly follow Tolkien's writing, but adding bad padding for the sake of it does nothing for the film.
Sadly for me, I had recently seen The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, so throughout the film I saw more "Arthur Dent" than Bilbo in Freeman's performance. Not Freeman's fault at all - just an unfortunate coincidence.
Gollum once again steals the show, which is a worry, as he shouldn't reappear in the remaining films... but with Jackson at the helm, who knows?
OK, but not special.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hobbit
As a dyed in the wool Tolkien fan I was bound to enjoy this film, espescially as it features the lovely Richard Armitage
Published 12 hours ago by MRS M.A.GARBUTT
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant!
My husband is a real Tolkein fan and we were unable to see this at the cinema so eagerly awaited this release and we were not disappointed it was all what was promised and bodes... Read more
Published 20 hours ago by cherryraider
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect
Great to watch, very good acting from all the cast, great scenery and the music is just perfect to listen too.
Published 21 hours ago by Mrs A Stewart
5.0 out of 5 stars
DVD
Great movie and a must see for all Lord of the Rings fans. The UV copy was very useful as well.
Published 22 hours ago by I. Rennie
3.0 out of 5 stars
Tiny book, huge over-stuffed film.
`The Hobbit' is one of the first books I read and then immediately re-read (seven times) many, many years ago as a child and was my introduction to Middle Earth and the whole... Read more
Published 1 day ago by Willy Eckerslike
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Hobbit, movie
Magnificent movie! I love it. I look very much forward to the next one coming soon. It is better made than Lord of the Ring.
Published 1 day ago by L.T.Larsen
5.0 out of 5 stars
The hobbit blu ray DVD
I loved the DVD we have watched it several times I would recommend it to everyone who likes Tolkein works
Published 1 day ago by cheryl tate
5.0 out of 5 stars
watch it again and again
excellent movie if you like lord of the rings or fantasy. good for the family and good special effects throughout the film
Published 1 day ago by mafmeijer
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as The Lord of The Rings...but what were you expecting?
When the first part of The Hobbit was released a lot of people were saying how disappointed they were about it because it wasn't as good as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Gatekeeper197
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not very good
Not a great film. running off the back of the main trilogy's success. Far too long for what part of the story it covered. Lost interest part way through
Published 2 days ago by ronald samson
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