The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [Blu-ray] [2012]
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Details
- GenreAction and Adventure,Fantasy
- SubgenreFantasy Adventure,Sword-and-Sorcery
- TitleThe Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
- Countries ProducedNew Zealand,United States
- Duration170 minutes
- Year of Release2012
- Product TagsBlu-ray
- FormatBlu-ray
- Program TypeMovie
- Sound FeaturesDolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel, stereo
- Screen FormatEnhanced Widescreen for 16x9 TV
- Aspect Ratio2.40:1
- LanguageEnglish, French, Spanish
- SubtitlesEnglish, French, Spanish
- StudioWarner Home Video
Other
- Product NameThe Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [Blu-ray] [2012]
- UPC794043165344
Customer reviews
Rating 4.7 out of 5 stars with 2255 reviews
(2,255 customer reviews)to a friend
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Excellent film, must see!
||Posted .This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.Great actors and special effects. I thoroughly enjoyed this flic. Couldn't wait to pick up this Blu-ray Disc. I'll watch this many times.
This review is from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [Extended Edition] [Blu-ray] [2012]
I would recommend this to a friendRated 5 out of 5 stars
Great addition to the LOTR Trilogy
||Posted .This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.Be aware that the Ultra Violet copy can not be redeemed on Itunes. That was my only bad experience with this purchase. Other than that, Good movie.
I would recommend this to a friendRated 5 out of 5 stars
An amazing movie!
||Posted .This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.I saw this in the theater, but the extended bits make the movie even better. The bonus features are incredible as well!
This review is from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [Extended Edition] [Blu-ray] [2012]
I would recommend this to a friendRated 4 out of 5 stars
Roads go ever, ever on…
||Posted .This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.“All good stories deserve embellishment,” Gandalf The Grey (Ian McKellen) tells Bilbo (Martin Freeman) before the latter has even left the snug, leathery comfort of his Bag End armchair and embarked on his Unexpected Journey. There is no way this line, a pithy conclusion to a tall tale of Bilbo’s Tookish grandfather (beheads goblin, invents golf), could have been written unknowingly. The Hobbit is a good story. And embellishment, controversially for some, has been the order of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation — both narratively (An Unexpected Journey is now a trilogy opener rather than part one of two) and visually; this sunnier, 60-years-younger Middle-earth was digitally shot at double the frame rate of the three earlier movies which concerned this mythic realm’s difficult autumn years. To begin with the first form of embellishment is to immediately address the concern that Jackson and co.’s Hobbit may be a painful inflation of a slim, bedtime storybook, as opposed to The Lord Of The Rings’ leaner interpretation of a vast fantasy-historical epic. Team Jackson looks outside the novel’s narrative (which, while quicker than Rings, is still rich in detail and packed with incident) to the Tolkienverse yonder, and unashamedly treats The Hobbit as a prequel in which the return of Sauron The Deceiver is foreshadowed ominously. Yet the cutaways to guano-faced nature-wizard Radagast The Brown (Sylvester McCoy) nursing hedgehogs, going boss-eyed and rabbit-sledging to creepy ruined forts do feel of limited relevance to the main quest. Beyond Gandalf expressing to a sceptical Saruman (Christopher Lee) his fear that dwarf economy-hoarding wyrm Smaug could come into play as a fiery WMD for “the enemy”, the threads concerning the White Council, the Necromancer and aforementioned fort Dol Guldur— all direct prequel material — have yet to be firmly twined with Bilbo’s relatively modest adventure. He may find the One Ring here, but for now its connection to Sauron is known only by us and Howard Shore’s string section. Even so, this particular trek to a mountain has been smartly remoulded — the final destination’s always a mountain, this one Lonely rather than Doomed. It is well-paced, bringing in chief antagonist Azog (Manu Bennett), the albino orc-lord barely in the book, who from the start is hunting the “dwarf scum”, soon giving the quest frantic chase movie impetus. Existing set-pieces have been thoughtfully redrafted, so don’t expect the encounter with the trolls (a cockney Three Stooges) to play out as it does in the novel. And new sequences have been added, such as a skirmish with warg-mounted orcs on Rivendell’s borders. The Goblin Town diversion comes replete with Jacksonian grace notes, featuring a neat swinging gantry gag that references King Kong — although he doesn’t let these set-pieces breathe as freely as those in either Rings or Kong. While it’s good to see Gandalf get stuck in like never before, this is no Moria. And despite the running time, there is still the occasional sense that Jackson is rushing, underpinned by the fact that, for all their elaborate individuality, the dwarves remain somewhat amorphous, with only Thorin (an impressive Richard Armitage), Balin (Ken Stott), Bofur (James Nesbitt) and Fili/Kili (Dean O’Gorman/Aidan Turner) given any special attention. Still, thanks to an Ian Holm-presented prologue, we’re in no doubt as to the significance of their mission. This isn’t just a treasure hunt: this is a desperate gambit to reclaim a homeland for a people who have suffered a generation of bitter diaspora. There is an appeal to the way Tolkien’s book begins small, seemingly trivial — Bilbo the reluctant burglar off on a perilous jaunt — then rises out into something so huge that five armies roll up to the ultimate fracas. But it is appropriate to Jackson’s cinematic rendition of Middle-earth that we should swiftly understand Thorin’s position (part Aragorn, part Boromir) in its weighty narrative history. This comes not only via the prologue, in which we witness the full glory of Erebor and its nuking by malevolent bat-lizard Smaug (of whom there are glimpses), but also an impressive flashback to Thorin’s hard-fought, albeit temporary, triumph over Azog on the slopes outside Moria. One question raised by the book is: why precisely did Bilbo, a homely fellow and appreciator of simple comforts, agree to head off into such danger? And why didn’t he bail when the going got extreme? These are ingeniously addressed, and in fact form the arc of An Unexpected Journey. The Hobbit Episode I is the story of how Bilbo commits to adventure, how he realises his motive. And Team Jackson’s answer is elegantly simple, a fine-brushed masterstroke of scripting: the creature who just wants to go back home discovers that what he’s doing here is helping these homeless dwarves reclaim theirs. It’s a concept sold flawlessly by Martin Freeman, perfect casting for the fusty halfling. There really is no other character like Bilbo in Tolkien’s chronicles, and he is arguably this saga’s strongest: a proper, decent, everyday sort of chap (if a little on the conservative side) whose resourcefulness is drawn from a deep well of inner strength. Not as beleaguered as Frodo, nor as acquiescent as Samwise, nor as comical as Merry and/or Pippin. “I’m not a hero or a warrior,” Bilbo asserts. He’s us. And Freeman encapsulates that throughout, without mugging or winking. His Bilbo does take his predicament seriously, and while this is the jauntiest — at times silliest, at times funniest, certainly the most child-friendly — Middle-earth movie yet, Freeman remains its emotional lodestone. The most powerful moment comes during the Riddles In The Dark incident, which briefly brings back Andy Serkis’ Gollum, the other arguably strongest character in the saga. It is a joy and a thrill to once more see mo-cap master Serkis owning the role, and to have the celebrated encounter brilliantly re-envisioned through the prism of the Sméagol/Gollum split personality. However, the true punch of poignancy comes at that most pivotal of moments: when Bilbo, invisibly standing over Gollum with sword at his throat, exercises mercy. Jackson holds on Freeman’s face. This isn’t just Tim-from-The Office or Watson in pointy ears, but an actor at the height of his prowess finding every layer to a character it now seems he was born to play. So what, finally, of that other embellishment, the history-making visual treatment? 48 frames per second is, as they say, something else. And you can take that both ways. On the one hand, the crispness of detail is almost overwhelming, whether you’re noticing the seam down the back of Gandalf’s hat, or repulsed by the scabby goitre dangling from the Great Goblin’s (Barry Humphries) hideously distended face. On the other, there’s something about the lack of grain and motion blur that oddly makes the movie feel less epic — it’s so immediate and intimate that the distance between seat and screen is all but removed. This may make you feel more thrillingly part of the action, or it may diminish the spectacle and unflatteringly highlight the film’s more set-bound nature. Something to bear in mind when deciding if you’re going to seek out the upgraded experience
This review is from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [Special Edition] [2 Discs] [DVD] [2012]
I would recommend this to a friendRated 5 out of 5 stars
Surprising better than LoTR for me
||Posted .This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.I was surprised that I liked this movie so much having somewhat low expectations after watching LoTR. Yes, I know that a lot of people thought that LoTR was better, but I did not care for the Orcs in that movie and the over emphasis on evil and battles. I am actually not a great fan of dragons either, but one that talks made it a good villain for the dwarfs. The story and all of the characters are quite complicated and I found the overall plot, that is the need for the Dwarfs to retake their homeland back from the dragon to be interesting. I didn't realize that Gandolf had such a big role as well as the Elves. I liked how they all came to help the Dwarfs. Anyhow, The Hobbit is about a Hobbit who unexpectedly comes to help the Dwarfs get their homeland back on the urging of Gandolf. On blu-ray, the movie is a visual feast and on sale I couldn't resist. I think it also has a lot of replay value and so I look forward to watching it (and trying to understand all of its facets) again.
I would recommend this to a friendRated 5 out of 5 stars
Great start to The Hobbit saga!
||Posted .This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.Finally, we get the first part of The Hobbit! I was thrilled when I found out that Peter Jackson would be returning to direct this trilogy. That would ensure that it would fit in seamlessly with The Lord of the Rings to complete the greatest movie series ever. Of course, The Hobbit was a medium-sized book, only about 300 pages. So how did Jackson get 3 movies out of that? Well, by bringing in material from other works such as The Silmarillion. While purists may think this ruins the movie, I think it adds some great side-stories. The Hobbit is a little more light-hearted than LOTR, so those who didn't like the darkness of LOTR may like this better. It's a fun tale with great special effects. The casting is great, and Martin Freeman was an excellent choice for the young Bilbo. Having many of the original cast members reprise their roles from LOTR was wonderful. I can't wait for the next 2 parts of this wonderful movie!
I would recommend this to a friendRated 5 out of 5 stars
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
||Posted .This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.The Hobbit follows the quest of Bilbo Baggins (the hobbit) who is coerced into an adventure that he had not imagined, nor wished to partake in initially, signing a contract as a burglar to win a share of the gold treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug. Bilbo's adventure takes him from the rural surroundings of his home into more sinister territory and into battle with Orcs, Trolls, and Goblins. The story is an episodic quest for Bilbo, his dwarf companions, and Gandalf the Grey wizard, in which many different situations and creatures are encountered. As a result of the adventure, Bilbo earns a new level of maturity, competence, and wisdom with an amazing story to tell to his nephew, Frodo. This is an excellent adaptation of the novel, with the expected variations on the theme for the film, and a fitting precursor to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
I would recommend this to a friendRated 5 out of 5 stars
Plot was inaccurate but movie was excellent.
||Posted .This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.Part two of the Tolkien book The Hobbit was as big and exciting as the first movie, and seemed kind of like Indiana Jones meets The Hobbit. The special effects were expansive and on a par with other movies like Pirates of the Caribbean. All of the visual details were excellent because it was shot with special digital equipment, yet in such a way that it had a film like look. My one big gripe, and this goes for the Lord of the Rings series as well, is that important things were left our and/or characters and events were inserted that were never in the book. Maybe I'm just being a purist, but following the plot accurately is important to me. From a technical viewpoint, though, it was excellent. The packaging of my blu-ray set was in good shape and properly held the discs. Everything worked perfectly.
This review is from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [Extended Edition] [Blu-ray] [2012]
I would recommend this to a friend