Petty's Purist LotR Edits [4]

I gave my two line review in Tales of Home.  It didn't annoy me as much as the original, but what more can be said when you were handed a pile of dung to begin with?  Basically all you could do was take out the worst. It was fairly smooth, no real jarring jumps.

{{ Theres a couple bits watching it back I might be inclined to change- the biggest is probably to reorder the Beorn scenes so Gandalf has the introduction with Beorn in the garden before they spend the night rather than after. Partly as it would make more sense to me, and partly to offset PJ's weird day length problem- its night when they get rescued by the eagles, then dawn somehow by time they arrive at carrock, then night again when Bilbo is scouting and they see Beorn, then dawn again, or at latest mid-morning when they arrive at Beorns, then Gandalf tells them to get some sleep and its night again!

The other is more minor, I only didnt notice whilst editing because so many of the battle sequences are out of order in the original - the dwarves in response to the arrival of the orcs form a shield wall- but then its ruined by elves inexplicably leaping over the top of it to attack the orcs, making the shield wall useless and looking ridiculous, but later in the battle we see what I presume was the original shot to go there, before the flying elves were added, of the dwarves raising shields as the orcs break on them and using pole arms, which makes sense, So I figured I could put those two bits back together again.
I mean I knew the battle was a mess in the original, but its only when editing it you realise that PJ has obviously gone back to the original stuff and just thrown crap at it shoving it in anywhere he can until the order of the battle is impossible to follow and makes no sense and is crammed with stupid. }}

It's too bad you couldn't make it look like Thorin, Fili and Kili died in the midst of battle, but they made it impossible. Would have cut out a lot of crap.

{{ How I wish there was way to do that Halfy- sadly as its shot there was no way to do it or even give that impression. Least theres no Tauriel, or goat riding! }}

But still pig and Irish Elk riding.

For a better sense of how Del Toro would have done things:

https://screenrant.com/hobbit-movies-canceled-del-toro-secrets-facts-trivia/

{{ Fantastic news! Ringo has begun uploading my purist edits. So anyone up for a watchalong?

So far episode one is ready (its short covering book 1 of the novel) at 1hr 09mins. And Ringo is kindly uploading book 2 tonight with rest to follow hopefully and all going well, by weeks end.
Cheers Ringo! }}

No time whatsoever. Hopefully you two at least can watch together.

{{ Ringo has now finished uploading all the LotR's edits,split into the 6 books as I originally did them.
And we were hoping for a Fourmshire watchalong.
I know you are busy Halfy, which is a great shame.
But anyone else? Amarie (if you got through TH ediots yet) Norc, you about and want to watch along still with Ringo and I? Az? Figg? Forest? Bungo? Malick? Anyone?!!! }}

well I think you know by now that I thought the original LOTRs was perfect.  But I wont be reading or watching LOTRs for another couple of years, it is too soon for me. I want to watch them 'fresh' which is a bit hard when every frame is imprinted on my memory.

{{ Did you ever watch part 2 of TH Amarie?
If there is any interest at all I'll provide the links from Ringo for the LotR's purist edits too. }}

Watching books 1 and 2 with a friend tonight (spreading the gospel!) - The Rivendell sequence is great, was nice to see it again. Also nice to see some of the more annoying bits cut out. I still love Jackson's trilogy as much as ever, but these edits are refreshing and equally enjoyable I'd say. Time to put those quarantine evenings to some proper use, folks!

{{ Thanks Ringo, and hope your friend enjoys them too}}

Enjoying it very much so far! Might turn into a marathon, just finished book 3 and moving on to book 4.

{{ Glad they are going down well Ringo. And I have been thinking of redoing them, theres a few bits I'd like another stab at, it was one of the first things I ever tried to edit, so its not too late for suggestions for changes. }}

For early attempts they really are pretty close to the mark - if you do decide to rework them, though, let me know - I'd love to be a part of it again, however small. And for the record, the scene I mentioned was the only one I felt was out of place - obviously there will be rough transitions here and there, it's quite unaviodable. But in general, your edits show (and I must have said this before at some point) that Tolkien's storyline works on film, and Jackson had the footage - he just bungled it somehow.

{{ There are a few bits here and here Id like to smoothen, some subtitles Id like to redo a little, and I'd like another stab at the darkness 'filter' as I didnt really have the tools for what I wanted at time, though I still think the idea of it works. But having watched them back theres inst any real major changes I feel th eneed to make.

I think after TH I may have got it wrong on how these films end up as they do in PJ's hands. I used to heavily blame the Coven for it and their scripting. But in both LotR's and Pj's Hobbit adaptions, if you chip away at the silly, stupid, over the top and other unnecessary additions, you tend to find there is in fact something fairly closely, or at the least recognisably the original story, buried in there somehwere. Like the Coven started out with something fairly close and true to source, then PJ came in and just started throwing stuff at the scripts any old way, until the original central script gets buried under all this nonsense TH more so than LotR's but holds true for both).
But if you chip all the nonsense away again you can get them back again to that closer to source original treatment. }}

The subtitles work just fine I thought, especially in book 2 - the interaction between Arwen and Aragorn in Rivendell corrects the storyline almost on its own. And the filter idea was great, and I think it still works as intended. Couple of examples - when Frodo/Sam use Galadriel's light, and Gandalf rides out to meet the Nazgul. And the mood in general with that red filter, I think it works to great effect.

{{ With the subtitles the issue I noticed was that theres often clearly more being said in the subtitles than actual words spoken by the characters. Id thought to try to find slightly shorter wording for some of it, whilst keeping the intentions (as also risk a viewer wont be able to read them in time).
The filter I still think is a good idea- apart from anything else there are a lot of shots in the film where its suposed to be dark and its clearly a lovely sunny New Zealand day, even in Mordor it happens. And likiwise I do enjoy how it works when the phial of Galadriel and the light from Gandalf's staff 'breaks' the darkness momentarily.
Having said that though its applied blanketly across all scenes that require it, the same filter, I think these days I could do it with a little more subtley, toned better to the lighting of each scene. }}

{{ A deserved mention Ringo, the three of you inparticular were hugely important to the original edits in your feedback and suggestions. And greatly appreciated for it too.
Hold on does that mean you watched the whole lot tonight?! }}

Yep, although I watched books 5 and 6 alone (friend got tired) - thoroughly enjoyed watching these again!

{{ Well cant blame them, making through the first 4 parts is no small feat in one sitting.

I was taking a quick look through FotR, and these two shots of the Shire exemplify for me why I dont like PJ's Shire.

First this one, looking out from Hobbiton over the party field towards whats presumably meant to be Bywater Pool. Apart from it all being in the worng place, look how barren and empty the Shire is- how much space is just nothing. There are more hobbits in shot than there appears homes for them all to live in. The pool is just a muddy pond really and the ground we see the hobbits till is a bog! (Maybe they are all cranberry farmers). Why not matt in more stuff in the background to make it seem more its proper size?



And in this second shot we have Bag End. Now Bag End itself looks ok-ish. I mean the size seems ok, the design of it in terms of doors, windows and all fine and good. Even the Hill is fine. And interior spot on.
Except rather it being the only notable hill in Hobbiton hence getting its name as THE Hill, we can clearly see in this shot there is an even bigger hill right behind it! Why? I mean I know this was pre-cgi of any worth, but its a hundred years after matt paintings, why not just take that hill out and composite sky in instead? I mean th eone particualrly notable thing about The Hill is that its the only one. And if there is an even bigger hill right next to it, why does no one live in it? Its not got a single hobbit hole in it.
Anothe irritent is the scruffiness of it all. Look at the garden?
I mean its wrong on lots of levels, wheres Bag End's grounds? It has gardens, an orchard, its basically an english manor house, here its overgrown and unkempt,like everything has been left to seed. Why would Bilbo need one full time gardener and an apprentice gardener to look after that? Its a bloody mess whats he paying them for and where's the Gaffer growing Bilbo's tatters, on the roof?



And the grass is wrong colour too. }}