Why So Blu?

The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition 3D (Blu-ray Review)

Here we are once again.  It’s the same place we were last year.  It’s fall time and the leaves are changing so it must be coincidentally time for the latest Lord of the Rings (LOTR) saga…err I mean The Hobbit saga on Blu-ray in its “Extended” form.  And low and behold…IT IS!  How about I make a promise to you from the get go?  My review below will not be as long as every LOTR infused butt numbing experience you ever had.  No sir!  Or no ma’am!  This is the Extended Edition after all.  You’re all here for all the prizes at the bottom of the Cracker Jack boxes so I promise to keep my babbling to a minimum, but just in case I get a bit tongue tied let’s get a move on it.  We really do have lots to discuss here.  We have a dragon to slay, elves, dwarves and orcs to feud with and possibly even a certain hobbit to toast.  Ladies and gentlemen…this is second “Extended” installment in the three-part film series set to conclude with The Hobbit The Battle of the Five Armies this December…may I introduce to you The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition…on Blu-ray.

Film 

So what you get this second time out, in my opinion, is more of the same I guess, but EXTENDED and a hell of a lot of extras!  Truth be told, I actually dug this movie more in its Extended version here as it expands upon certain scenes and dialogue that I find much more valuable onscreen with them included.  Like in the LOTR trilogy, the second picture amps the action and minimizes all the slow character developments bloated the first feature.  The same could be said of this one, more or less.  The action sequences were sweetened.  The threat levels and stakes were elevated.  And of course, you have a fire breathing dragon.  Did I mention he talks?  Oh yeah!  This dragon speaks courtesy of Benedict Cumberbatch.  However, let’s back up just a bit and catch everyone up to speed with who’s all involved in this second outing and whatnot.  It’s time for some housekeeping!

Once again, Peter Jackson returns to the series, as will be the case with this year’s film too, as co-writer, producer and most importantly, director.  This is obviously a direct sequel too (just in case a few closet dwelling peeps were wondering) that continues the storyline in An Unexpected Journey where hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) travels with our favorite wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) and “the company” of dwarves led by Thorin Oakenhield (Richard Armitage) to reclaim their former home, the Kingdom of Erebor, from the dragon I mentioned above, Smaug. The film also stars Evangeline Lilly and Orlando Bloom (I was very excited to see these two in action), Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Ken Stott and James Nesbitt.  Last but not least, the familiar, thrilling, heroic and heart-warming score of the six-picture saga is brilliantly on display once again for all to enjoy and soothingly take in courtesy of Howard Shore.  And if you know anything about these films, you know how much extra his incredible score adds to the events that unfold onscreen.

The word desolation means emptiness or destruction.  I guess both are accurate when speaking in regards to what Smaug did to not only the dwarves’ former home, but also to the nearby lake town that was devastated during the attack so long ago.  We obviously learn all this and more throughout this film’s now longer runtime of approximately 3 hours and 6 minutes.  The movie also manages to take us back to a familiar bar setting not seen since the first film of the original trilogy.  I have to admit.  It felt really good to be home there.  This scene I am referring to kind of gives us a little backstory on how Thorin and Gandalf first met up and decided to man up and heroically attempt this deemed impossible quest to take back Erebor from Smaug.  Although it was a little disjointed from the fairly straight linear narrative of the films, it was a scene I welcomed with much appreciation and in the end it kind of serves nicely to hopefully answer all your unanswered burning questions.

So after the quick intro flashback, we are thrusted back into the heat of the chase where our merry gang of travelers just nearly escaped the clutches of that horrible looking, CG white orc I hate so much, Azog (Manu Bennett), in the first film.  They are being tracked and fleeing for their lives.  After taking a much needed quick break, it’s not long before they venture into Mirkwood forest where we see our posse attacked by spiders and eventually captured by elves.  I would like to stop here for a moment.  I don’t know if it’s just me or not, but what a feeling of nostalgia it was to see the elves, notably Bloom and Lilly’s characters, engaged wildly within the tight action sequences.  While it was like watching a CG Spider-Man bounce all around as the elves brisk and erratic moves certainly upped the ante and brought back the warm, crazy memories of all the fast-paced battles I loved in the original trilogy.  In other words, with the additions of the elves, the pace of the story FINALLY picked up a bit too.  And when you’re talking LOTR, that’s always a good thing!

With all this talk of elves and quick action sequences I kind of lost track of where we were at in our tale.  Oh yeah!  So the dwarves continued their seemingly forever march to reclaim there homeland in the mountains and we meet a few new friends along the way, or are they friends?  No worries.  I’m not going to drop any spoilers for all the peeps who go into these films like me never having read the books.  Eventually we are going to get to this dragon, right?  Absolutely!

So here’s my conundrum.  I understand this is a fantasy movie.  Just about everything has a voice in these films, even the spiders.  Hell, even trees talk and walk.  But why oh why can I not accept the fact that Smaug the dragon talks?  I’m not sure.  It just kind of ruins it for me.  Rather than him be this menacing dragon everyone should fear, I just don’t feel that way once he opens his big mouth and never shuts up.  It takes the threat of destruction out of him for me.  Of course, that’s not to say he wasn’t beautifully rendered and all.  He was.  It’s just me having a hard time coming to terms with a talking dragon and trying to take the heightened sense of danger seriously.  Hopefully that will fade once I watch it a few more times on Blu-ray or something, but until that day comes I’m still hung up here.  However, that’s my problem, not yours.  I know I’m in the minority here.

My second beef with the film is it’s predictability.  I understand the reason for foreshadowing in a screenplay and what not, but if you watch this film and you can’t tell me how things will resolve in the final film of the trilogy, then you’re an idiot.  They basically spelled it out for you.  Do you need me to hold your hand?  Also, this one kind of has a Matrix Reloaded cut to it where just as you get into the heart of the action/battle it’s lights out.  See you later people.  Pay some more money and come back for more.  It’s LOTR!  What’s another two to three hours on top of this one, eh?

Now let’s talk about what I liked.  Besides the zany action sequences with the much missed elves there are three things I really like about this film that I feel are done extremely well.  First, although he’s not prevalent like in the first film I really enjoy Bilbo’s character arc.  He’s come along way from the first movie and it shows in all the heroic acts he performs.  It’s almost as if Gandalf is right about him.  He has changed.  Thorin who?!  Second, I love the B-story involving Gandalf who kind of goes out and does his own thing and in the linear process of the plot lines it sets up very nicely the events that unfold immediately in the first LOTR film.  And last but not least, I love the fact that the stupid white orc, Azog, has very much diminished screen time.  I mean he’s hardly in it.  Hip, hip hooray!  I hated the rubbery CG way he looked in the first Hobbit film and he’s no better here.  I know we’ll see a lot more of him in the third entry, but for now I’m just ecstatic not having to deal with him here in this one.

The main difference between this film and the last are gone are the songs and silly behaviors of the dwarves.  This one has a much serious tone, if you can imagine that, and um…it has a talking dragon!  Yes, more than half of the movie is filled with chase sequence after chase sequence until they finally meet the dragon (like what else are they going to do to fill up 161 minutes of screen time), but rest assured…it does happen.  Whatever the case, if you’re a fan of the first film, then you owe it to yourself to check this one out theatrically.  I think whatever your feelings about LOTR or The Hobbit are, these films deserve and scream to be seen for the first time on the big screen, and opinions formulated thereafter during a second viewing on Blu-ray, but of course.  So with that being said enjoy your fantastical time on Middle-earth once again.  This time it will feel a tad bit brisker despite this being an “Extended Edition”…and that’s a good thing!

So before we move onto discussing the marvelous video presentation, the thunderous audio one and of course the hefty bounty of extras to be found her in this 5-disc set I thought it would be really awesome if we could spell out exactly what’s all new here in the extra 25 butt-numbing minutes as well as where you can find it during the movie’s runtime.  I hope you don’t mind, but rather than re-invent the wheel here I took the following summaries from the vastly superior write-up of all of this on TheOneRIng.net.  I just wanted to make sure to give credit where credit is due.  So if you want to learn more about the extended scenes, complete with screenshots and spoken dialogue, make sure you check out the full article here: http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2014/10/21/93175-the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug-extended-edition-scene-guide/

3:26 – At the Prancing Pony, after Gandalf asks Thorin what he is doing in Bree, Thorin responds that he received word that his father (Thrain) had been seen wandering the wilds of Dunland, but did not find him.  Thorin then tells Gandalf that he’s like all the others, and thinks that Thrain is dead.

16:00 – After Beorn shifts from bear to man, the scene cuts him entering the house and Bilbo seeing him.  It’s morning, and we see a quick shot of wood being chopped.  Bilbo wakes up, sees the bees, then joins the dwarves standing near the front door.  They are arguing about how to get away from Beorn without being seen.

23:23 – In the woods near Beorn’s house.  We see the dwarves with the ponies that Beorn has lent them, preparing to leave.

29:18 – As Gandalf prepares to leave, he warns the others: This is not the Greenwood of old.  There is a stream in the woods that carries a dark enchantment.  Do not touch the water.  Cross only by the stone bridge.  The very air of the forest is heavy with illusion.

31:00 – After entering the forest, the dwarves are just starting to feel the effects of the Mirkwood air.  They find the remains of the bridge that Gandalf mentioned, but it is impassable.  Bofur suggests that they swim across, but Thorin reminds him of Gandalfs warning.  They try to find another way across;  Kili finds some large vines and starts to climb over.  Thorin tells him to stop, and sends Bilbo over instead.  Bilbo just makes it to the other side.  He tries to warn the others that something doesn’t seem right, but they have already started crossing over.  Before he can make it to the other side, Bombur falls asleep.

1:26:45 – We see the Master in his study.

1:28:38 – After Bard frees the dwarves and Bilbo from the barrels, they head toward Bard’s home.

1:39:22 – As the dwarves and Bilbo are sneaking into the armory to get weapons, the scene shifts to the Master of Laketown’s home.  Alfrid is standing on the balcony.

1:42:25 – After Thorin promises the citizens of Laketown that if they help them, they will be rewarded with riches.  The celebration is interrupted by Alfrid.

1:47:25 – As the dwarves climb into their boats and leave Laketown, the scene cuts to the Master and Alfrid walking back to the Masters home.  Guards walk in front of them, pushing townsfolk out of the way.

1:49:15 – Additional footage of the dwarves and Bilbo climbing the Lonely Mountain, and arriving at Dale.  A thrush flies by them.

1:52:18 –  Gandalf enters Dol Guldur, and walks into a chamber.  He hears something.  The scene cuts back to the dwarves and Bilbo searching for the entrance to Erebor.  Cut back to Gandalf.

2:09:21 – Back to Thrain and Gandalf, running through Dol Guldur.

Video 

I guess you can see from the bold score above that Warner Bros. is continuing its tradition from last year of delivering an exceptional A/V experience on Blu-ray.  Come on I’ll show you around the beauties of New Zealand and the nightmares that haunt Middle-earth.

• Encoding: AVC MPEG-4

• Resolution: 1080p

• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

• Clarity/Detail: From the opening frames this one is incredibly rich in detail and textures from the wrinkles, hair and pores on the dwarves, not to mention the fabric in their clothes, to the ultra clear and chiseled  backgrounds and set pieces.  The landscape of New Zealand is breathtakingly crisp and clear here throughout.   You just want to become part of it.  That’s how inviting it is onscreen.  We cannot forget to mention the terrifically rendered scales on Smaug either.  Although my favorite still has to be the costumes employed throughout and the attention to detail captured in all of the wardrobe.

• Depth: Because of the intricacy in the costumes as mentioned above and the intricate backgrounds (while mostly CG of course) I found the characters onscreen just literally popping right out at me the whole time so yeah I guess you can say this Blu-ray possess that much desired three-dimensional pop we all love in the 2D presentation.  However, when you’re talking Blu-ray 3D y’all know what to expect from this one.  Yes it does make the environments look and feel a bit fake, but they do so with eye popping clarity and finesse.  Even the bumblebee that landed on Bilbo’s face while in hiding made me take notice and go whoa.  Aw hell.  The detail in all foreground characters and props make this presentation snap, crackle and pop right off your 3D HDTV set.

• Black Levels: There were a couple of times where the blacks were not as deep as desirable, but nonetheless they were all still satisfying throughout so no real concerns or deep problems here to report.

• Color Reproduction: I’m a huge fan of the contrast here.  Although the color palette was a little darker than it’s Hobbit predecessor, that did not hinder the contrast here at all one bit.  The colors were representative and faithful to the events unfolding onscreen and you can’t penalize them for that.  And there’s also scenes like the one with the black and white horses running in the brightly green fields.  That scene in particular was so beautiful and serene.

• Flesh Tones: The skin tones worked perfectly for me throughout the presentation here.  Not once did I complain of someone being too hot or orange in the face.  They all had a natural saturation to them.  Check this off as spot on!

• Noise/Artifacts: This Blu-ray presentation is free of all debris, artifacts, white noise, specks, dirt, aliasing and banding.  All evil agents and enemies of the Blu-ray format that would cause interference are locked up and at bay here.  Everything is in check.

Audio 

Continuing where we left off in the video department I dare anybody to find fault with this DTS-HD treatment Warner Bros. drops on us here.  Any takers?  I thought not!

• Audio Format: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital

• Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish-Latino, Portuguese

• Dynamics: I think one of things you will first sonically realize is the brilliant sweeping score of Howard Shore that will capture your attention instantly and may never let you go truthfully.  But other than this the dynamics are off the charts here from the many raging battles, clanging of swords, roar of beasts and fire breathing dragon moments to riding barrels down a lazy or rampaging river and sliding down a pile of golden treasures.  This track is exceptional!

• Low Frequency Extension: We kind of already touched upon this above, but what would this track be without its dynamite bass reproduction in bringing the roaring beats to life, the battles raging in your living room and making dragons breathe fire and infuse your landscape in flames?  It’s all faithfully reproduced thanks to the LFE presentation here!

• Surround Sound Presentation: This is where this 7.1 surround track will really get you and suck you in from the mesmerizing score that will swallow you whole to the many battles that literally engulf you.  You will have golden showers of coins sliding past you, arrows zinging by your head and even spiders crawling overhead.  No expense is spared in ensuring you are part of this onscreen fight to take back the dwarves’ homeland.  I hope you are ready for a rumble because this surround sound package is going to give it to you from all angles.  Directionality is paramount here!  And let’s not forget about the moments when Baggins slides on that ring.  It’s like a familiar chant all around you like being in Vegas and hearing all those chirping and whirling slot machines.  Music to my ears!

• Dialogue Reproduction: The dialogue is always intelligible and clear throughout even in the heat of battle where it’s prioritized.  That’s always important to me and thankfully mastered here.

Extras 

Well here’s why you’re all here.  You finally made it!  You all know that you’re already fans of this film so there’s really nothing new to be found in this Blu-ray review of The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition other than the 25-minutes of never-before-seen footage incorporated into the film’s already hefty runtime and of course the 10+ hours of extras to be housed in this 5-disc Blu-ray 3D set.  Yep!  You read that right!  That’s 5 Blu-ray discs and 9+ hours of bonus features PLUS a redemption code for the extended version of the film on UltraViolet Digital HD!  I hope you’re wide awake because this is going to be a long read for you and a quite painful experience for my typing fingers that are brilliantly recapping everything you’ll find in this Blu-ray set.  You ready to embark on this long, seemingly never ending, but truly “expected” journey with me?  It’s not for the faint of heart and Like Gandalf once said to Bilbo, there’s no promise that you’ll ever return either.  So here we go.  I’m going to take you Blu-ray disc by Blu-ray disc of everything you’ll find on each of them complete with exclusive unboxing shots of each disc.  Don’t you feel so privileged?  You can always turn back now.  This is your last chance.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you because you’ve been served!  Danger!  You past the point of no regrets now.

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So before we begin let’s take a closer look at the fantastic lenticular cover and bad-a$$ black Blu-ray case you’ll find in this Blu-ray 3D set.

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And while this is just a screenshot I thought it would be cool nonetheless to provide you a sample of what the rear cover of the case artwork looks like.

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Disc 1:

• The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition 3D – This is Part One of the Extended Edition in 3D on Blu-ray.  Yep. I do not exaggerate.  This is only Part One of the film housed on the first Blu-ray 3D disc.  Cowabunga!

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Disc 2:

The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition 3D – Obviously this would make the most sense if I told you this second disc is where Part 2 of the 3D film on Blu-ray 3D is housed.  So you ready for this?  It is!

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Disc 3:

This solo disc is obviously where the magic happens if you don’t have Blu-ray 3D viewing equipment.  Disc 3 in this Blu-ray set houses The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition in 2D PLUS the Filmmakers’ Commentary featuring Director/Writer/Producer Peter Jackson and Writer/Co-Producer Philippa Boyens.  The film here has a total runtime of 3 hours and 6 minutes and also includes the below bonus feature.

• New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth – Part 2 (HD, 7:11) – From Mt. Ruapehu to the Pelorus Reiver, the cast and crew introduce the epic Film 2 locations of New Zealand, which we all know as a transformed Middle-earth in the series.  It seems like everyone loves it there too.  I have to admit, it does look insanely beautiful as Luke Evans exclaims.  They actually filmed at a sacred place where the native people welcomed the cast and crew and they all knew how special it was to be part of it all.  The helicopter ride up does look pretty incredible.  And man do the rocks ever look chiseled in this HD featurette as they shot in this one place actually called Paradise.  It was also pretty cool to hear Peter Jackson say how he once visited the Pelorus River when he was 7 years old with his parents and he remembered how he thought it would be so cool to have monsters there.  Brilliant stuff!  No one is ever going to believe this scenery is real, BUT IT IS!

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Disc 4:

So moving on we now arrive to disc #4 of 5 in this Blu-ray 3D set.  This disc is titled “The Appendices Part 9 – Into The Wilderland – The Chronicles of The Hobbit – Part 2.”  It has a whopping total runtime of 5:00:26.  Wow!  In addition to the Play All menu selection there are 14 different segments here in an addition to an Opening.  Let’s take a closer look at all of them.

• Opening (HD, 3:22) – The filmmakers discuss the challenge of this middle chapter because once it was decided they were going to split two films into a trilogy they realized most of this middle chapter hasn’t been shot.  Basically this one is really just a tease of what’s to come over the next 9 hours.  Sigh.  Come on!  Let’s get this show moving!
• A Warm Welcome (HD, 29:23) – Lake-town – February 2012.  Here the dwarf actors find themselves buried in fish and shrunk down in size via slave mo-con.  I loved watching Orlando Bloom performing his stunts from the wire rigs to the “faux-cap” orcs he fought.  Surprise guests also make their way here onto the Lake-town sets.
• Business of the State (HD, 15:24) – The Master’s Chambers – August 2011.  Here we have Peter Jackson improving scenes with Master and Alfrid and tossing eggs at actor Ryan Gage.  We also see Stephen Fry eat plate after plate of the delicacy known as mountain oysters.
• Shelter on the Long Lake (HD, 20:19) – Bard’s House – September 2011.  Here we start out on multiple scale Bard’s House sets followed by Evangeline Lilly’s first shooting days and stunts, seeing James Nesbitt’s daughters make their debut and laughing with dwarf actors navigating their way through a huge prop toilet.
• In The Halls of the Elvenking (HD, 29:17) – The Woodland Realm – September 2011.  This segment features the following: two deleted scenes, Lee Pace making his debut as the Elvenking, the actors releasing the face-off between Thranduil and Thorin and the dwarf actors having fun once again improvising in the Elven cells and barrels.
• Flies and Spiders (HD, 29:43) – Mirkwood Forest – September – October 2011.  This one takes a look at the cast’s challenges on the various Mirkwood sets from fighting imaginary spiders and unexpected rainfall to being cocooned in giant spider webs.
• Queer Lodgings (HD, 27:02) – Beorn’s House – November 2011/March 2012.  This one showcases Stephen Hunter’s sprinting abilities, the massive sets and slave mo-con which makes Mikael Persbrandt eight-feet tall while performs to mere tennis balls.
• On The Doorstep (HD, 18:28) – The Lonely Mountain – February 2012.  Benedict Cumberbatch makes a surprise visit to the set here while we also witness the secret entrance to Erebor, the hidden door, becomes hard for even the actors to find.  LOL.
• Inside Information (HD, 26:12) – Smaug’s Lair – March 2012.  Even though I’m not a huge fan of Smaug the dragon this one is rather cool.  Here we get to see the production crew attempt to make a mountain of gold coins.  If only those were real.  And we also get to see Martin Freeman’s challenges of interacting with a dragon who’s not only not there, but hasn’t even been designed yet.
• Down The Swift Dark Stream… (HD, 15:42) – The Forest River – December 2011.  This one examines the shoot where the dwarves get to ride the barrels on location in New Zealand on the Pelorus River.
• Barrels Out of Bond (HD, 30:05) – The Elven Sluice – May – June 2012.  This one is kind of a hodgepodge of a lot of things from all departments getting involved in creating the barrel sequences to blending digital effects, a jet-powered wet set and performance capture and water simulation.
• A Chance Meeting (HD, 20:37) – Bree – May 2013.  This one is all about the nostalgia of the legendary set of the town of Bree.  I don’t know about you but this one makes me warm and fuzzy inside.  It brings me back to pleasurable thoughts if the original LOTR trilogy.
• Erebor Rekindled (HD, 27:59) – The Dwarf-forges – July 2013.  This one is kind of interesting.  Remember what I said up above in the Opening segment about how there was a lot missing from this middle film once the direction was selected to split these into three movies?  Well this one examines how they conceived an entirely new ending that required shooting climatic forges sequences during pick-ups just months before the premiere and of course the race around the clock to get the film into theaters.
• …Into the Fire (HD, 7:58) – This one is nothing more than a look ahead to see what’s to come in the next installment of the behind-the-scenes journey in “The Chronicles of The Hobbit – Part 3.”
• Credits (HD, 3:26) – Simply stated these are white title credits against a black screen with some folklore music that reminds me of an Irish dance number or two.

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Disc 5:

Last but certainly not least we made it all the way to disc #5 of 5 in this Blu-ray 3D set.  Give yourself a round of applause!  This disc is titled “The Appendices Part 10 – The Journey to Erebor.”  It has a whopping total runtime of 5:05:51.  Wow again!  In addition to the Play All menu selection there are 5 different segments to be found here.  I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel so let’s get going and take a closer look at all of them now before my attention span diverts!

• Summoning Smaug: Last of the Fire-drakes (HD, 01:16:31) – Here we get a detailed look at the history of Tolkien’s dragon, Smaug, as well as the design, creation and animation employed in bringing him to life.  Of course, we also see Benedict Cumberbatch’s take in his role as the dragon.  It should be noted that in addition to a Play All option within this segment there are a total of three featurettes found here.  They are as follows.
  • “The Last and First Dragon” (26:36)
  • “Conversations with Smaug” (24:50)
  • “Into the Dragon’s Lair” (25:36)
• The Peoples and Denizens of Middle-earth (HD, ) – This segment focuses on the design and creation of the characters and creatures in this second film as well as the actors who bring them all to life.  There are also three featurettes under this one with the addition of a Play All option.
  • “Beorn: The Shape-shifter” (25:08)
  • “The Spawn of Ungoliant” (16:49)
  • “The Men of Lake-town” (30:17)
• Realms of the Third Age: From Beorn’s House to Lake-town (HD, ) – This one follows the genesis of Middle-earth locations from conceptual design all the way to practical and digitally created sets.  There are four featurettes under this one and of course that handy dandy Play All option.
  • “Beorn’s House” (26:40)
  • “Kirkwood Forest” (17:00)
  • “The Woodland Realm” (21:05)
  • “Lake-town” (29:55)
• The Music of The Hobbit (HD, ) – This one is always my favorite kind of segment as it focuses on the music of the film otherwise known as its score.  Here we get to learn more about the themes of Desolation of Smaug, composer Howard Shore’s writing process and the actual recording of the score by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.  Here you have three featurettes and of course the Play All option.
  • “Overture: Music of the Wilderland” (21:36)
  • “1st Movement: The World of Men” (20:25)
  • “2nd Movement: In The Halls of Erebor” (19:14)
• Credits (HD, 4:22) – More of the same, scrolling names!  But hallelujah!  We have reached the end of all the extras!  A big thanks for sticking it out with me here!

Summary 

I don’t think the question here is should you own this.  Of course you should!  Even casual fans of the series like myself should have this in their HD arsenal.  There’s no doubt about that!  The Extended Edition releases of these films, whether you love them or hate them, are the absolute authority in this LOTR universe so you have no choice but to embrace them and accept my statement as fact.  There’s also no doubt about the fact that if you want the most exceptional presentation of this film you can get, it has to be this Blu-ray set!  So with 25 extra minutes of runtime and 10 hours worth of supplemental features to get acquainted with I think you know what you need to do.  You need to man or elf up and pre-order this one here so it’s on your doorstep waiting for you when you get home from a hard day’s work on November 4th.  That’s an order hobbit!

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Pre-order Now and Bring Home

The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition 3D

on Blu-ray 3D November 4th…

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…or on 2D Blu-ray!

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