"The Hobbit: including Alan and Michael Perry" Topic

I've just been to see The Hobbit, Battle of Five Armies. I was pleasantly surprised to spot our hobbies Alan and Michael Perry in it. Alan did say to me they featured as extras, but I forgot until I saw them on screen!

I was also a little confused that two scenes from this trailer YouTube link were not in the movie, the Dwarf Sheep cavalry charge and the chariot on ice. I suppose they were cut, but why put them in a trailer?

I'm always torn in two by Peter Jacksons Middle Earth films. The film fan in me thinks they are all, including the new one, the greatest movies of the Fantasy genre ever, by far. The life long Tolkien fan in me thinks they are an abomination. A conflict that'll never be resolved.

I think Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy was a Masterpiece. I am leaning towards abomination with "The Hobbit" films. I only bothered to see the first film in the theater, I'll watch the last two on TV.

Sheep cavalry – very silly, a bit too Narnia wouldn't you think? Perhaps they rethought that one.

Although missing scenes = Extended Edition DVD & BluRay.

Wouldn't be the first time the Perrys were MISCAST.

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.

The Battle for Middle Earth featured the Dwarves having big Ram pulled battle Wagons. Wouldn't be surprised to see them on the extended DVDs. Much like the Witch king's flaming sword.

What scene are they in?

Peter Jackson closet fan of Bored of the Rings

They are retreating Lakemen in Dale during the battle.

Abomination! I suffered through the Hobbit, the only beacon of light being Trevor the Hedgehog! I ended up fast-forwarding through the horrible bits of the second – ie. most of it.

That gold statue hooey was unbearable.

Why they had to turn a nice little book into a 3 movie epic is beyond me (ok, money might have had something to do with it). That said, I suppose the Hobbit IS actually book for children, so a childish approach is sort of warranted? For myself though, I'll wait till the dvd comes out.

Horrorwoods' Middle Earth can never equal true Tolkien epicness, so take it for what it is, bad light beer, OK if you don't want to be drunk and decently sociable ;)
Cheers and make mine a good strong Dwarven Ale.

I love em

Good to see the Perry's getting an inclusion as extras. Were they in LotR as well?

I'm with those who say the LoTR (extended versions) were a triumph. Not perfectly congruent with the Tolkien books, but certainly better pictures than a perfectly faithful recreation would have been.

As to the Hobbit, I'm really enjoying being back in middle earth, but they are too long, way over the top and not nearly as good. I think of it this way:
LotR was lightly sprinkled with a few slightly over-the-top moments here and there throughout a 12 hour epic. Surfing down the stairs on the shield, Dwarf tossing, swinging up onto a warg, Elf kills Mumikil, etc…
In Hobbit, however, these type of feats seem to be happening every other scene in an endless barrage a'la John Woo.

The same up-the-ante increase in action feats can be seen between the original Star Wars Trilogy and the "new" trilogy. Maybe I've become an old fart in my 30's, but I think in both cases it cheapens the films and the franchise. It seems that the director doesn't believe in the source material -or doesn't have enough material- and thus feels the need to distract the audiences attention with repeated gratuitous action scenes.

I seem to remember the Perry twins were extras in the Two Towers at least: they are Rohan peasants waiting to get weapons handed out at Helms Deep when Aragon yells at Legolas. They may have been in at other times, but I think they were there.

"…It seems that the director doesn't believe in the source material -or doesn't have enough material- and thus feels the need to distract the audiences attention with repeated gratuitous action scenes."

I think Mr Jackson lost track of the story. He doesn't know how to tell a simple tale so his solution is to baffle the viewer with bulltish.

Wow.This was the last post that I read last night before I went to sleep.Then,of course,I dreamt I was at the Perry's miniature factory,very "Wonka-esque".No Oompa -Loompas or scary boats,though,but lots of ladders to climb,and I never did find that plastic set I was looking for,they were out.I rember thinking why were they out,this is the factory? Any way,I did attend a Christmas party last night,maybe it was a bit of under done potato or something…. :)

I saw the first two movies (first one was not bad, really not all that fond of the second), I suppose I'll drag myself to this one. While I think Jackson's LOTR trilogy was probably the best adaptation of the source material that could be hoped for, I rank his Hobbit movies as among the worst possible adaptation of it's source material.

I think that a large part of the problem, on top of the issues that ordinarybass outlines, is that Jackson tried to hard to make the movies 'LOTR Prequels'. A lot of the extra stuff he's crammed in are to make the movies link more clearly to the LOTR story, either thematically or plot.

-Will

Not only were they in the Two Towers, but their trampled corpses (including dismembered arm) are sculpted on the the Mumak's base.

The other problem with the Hobbit movies is that if you DO watch them as prequels before seeing the LOTR movies is that it's OBVIOUS that Sauron is around, gathering his strength etc – something that they spent quite a while in the LOTR movies ascertaining. "Rumors of a dark power in the East" – what rumors? Giant flaming eyeball is literally in your face, Galadriel!

Regarding the OTT action scenes, it's kinda like the 300 sequel. In 300, the Spartans were portrayed as the epitome of the ideal warrior, that's why they were so feared and respected on the battlefield. Now in 300: Rise of an Empire it seems as though EVERY fricking Greek is a ninja warrior, capable of slaughtering mountains of Persians. It does nothing besides belittle the accomplishments of the first film.

If I recall rightly the White Council already knew Sauron was in Dol Guldur gathering his strength again as Gandalf had already made two forays into DG years before. Saruman persuaded the coucil not to do anything, as he was already searching for the ring himself, and when Gandalf goes off during "The Hobbit" it is to join the White Council to drive Sauron out.