Hobbit: The Motion Picture Trilogy [Blu-ray]

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

The Hobbit cinematographer Andrew Lesnie and Saruman actor Sir Christopher Lee both died in the year between the cinematic release of the last of Sir Peter Jackson’s trilogy and the release of the extended edition of the film on Blu-ray and DVD.

There’s no better way to remember them than in The Hobbit: The Motion Picture Trilogy: Extended Edition boxed set. The 15-disc set tells Jackson’s interpretation of JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth tale on three Blu-ray discs and repeats it on six DVDs, leaving six further Blu-ray to explore the behind the scenes saga over 28 hours.

You don’t have to get very far into the first bonus disc accompanying The Battle of the Five Armies for a lovely, poignant, moment, where the grinning Lesnie and Lee pose for a portrait with their mate Jackson.

The Battle of the Five Armies, the last of the trilogy to get the extended treatment, comes in at 164 minutes, 20 more than the theatrical release.

For the most part Jackson’s additions to that film are extensions to existing scenes and would be hard to spot for someone who has only seen the film a few times. There’s 16 expanded scenes beginning with Smaug’s attack on Lake-town pre credits and ending with the King Under the Mountain at the movie’s end. There’s a lot of extra blood and guts during the battle, stuff that was probably cut to keep the rating down for the censor. Some of it feels like it would be more at home in Jackson’s Bad Taste movie.

The War Chariot is one of two brand new scenes that stands out for both its length and its vision. In it Balin, Dwalin and Fili drive a dwarf war chariot, pulled by mountain goats, to Dale, taking out any orc who gets in their way. It feels like it was inspired by the chariot race in Ben-Hur, although it is far more bloodthirsty, but you can’t help but cheer for the good guys as they decimate the forces of evil. Now I know what actor Graham McTavish was on about at the Hamilton Armageddon. For some this scene will become just as iconic as Ben-Hur.

DVD Wholesale Main Features    

Actors: Peter Jackson, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage
Directors: Peter Jackson
Format: NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English
Region: Region A/1
Number of discs: 9
Studio: WarnerBrothers
DVD Release Date: November 17, 2015
ASIN: B014GJBTWI