On almost the exactly the 10th year anniversary of the theatrical bow of Peter Jackson’s Lord of The Rings, Fellowship of the Ring, comes the trailer for his return to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth. One might argue this type of thing is redundant. After all, so much as said and done in that super-sized 12 hour trilogy. Stung by legal issues, the demise of New Line Cinema, the arrival of Guillermo del Toro as a creative addition and director but after much creative consulting, his eventual departure prior a single frame being shot.
Delays, delays, delays have been the name of the game as nobody wants to leave the gigantic bag of money on the table for more Hobbit movies. But, one cannot discount the magic of the CGI/model effects, and a lot of good actors giving warm and generous performances. Martin Freeman (BBCs The Office) replaces Ian Holm as a younger Bilbo Baggins, and the dwarves are very well realized. They will be the key in changing the tone from the previous three films, lest this just be a prequel, and not a new adventure, and it looks pretty solid.
Anyone keen to go there and back again?
The trailer is tucked under the seat.
EDIT: Replaced with YouTube link, hopefully more reliable.
I’m appreciating the apparent shift in tone, as in line with the book. This looks pretty wonderful and, not that the LoTR trilogy isn’t, but it looks like it may be a little more young family friendly as well.
I really thought this trailer was aiming for LOTR nostalgia, with many shots (and voices) of familiar characters, all set to Howard Shore’s familiar score.
That said, I think the film looks great and I will look forward to seeing it in a years time.
It’s more like LotR than I expected most of the time – definitely getting a suitably epic vibe from the score and Ian McKellan and the cinematography. The dwarf designs look a little more cartoony, though – I’ll have to see more of them, and for longer, to really decide what I think. But overall, this definitely has me hooked. Much more than I expected to be, and much more than a certain other major trailer released this week managed to do.
In regard to the dwarves, I think one of Peter Jackson’s challenges was to not have 13 Gimli’s in the group, so they designed dwarves of all different shapes and sizes. So you have obviously goofy ones (like Bombur), as well as quite serious ones (like Thorin)
Here’s a pretty good group photo – http://images.hollywood.com/site/hobbitsupersize.jpg
Lots of familiar characters with some Lord of the Rings nostalgia, but does a good job in introducing the massive number of new characters with all the dwarfs. That photo that Sean linked to was horribly photoshopped to death, looking so incredibly artificial, so it’s great to see what they look like on the screen.
I think overall it looks quite amazing and I think they did a great job with the trailer. That said, they really showed a lot of material for a movie that won’t be out for a year.
Also I can’t help but wonder how a Guillermo del Toro Hobbit might have been different.
Definitely a lot of call backs to LORD OF THE RINGS in terms of hooking the audience, but I must admit, the best sequence in this trailer is the dwarves singing. Pretty good stuff, and a positive indication as to how Jackson is going to handle all the Tra-la-la-la-la-la in The Hobbit. They wisely left the dragon out of the trailer (well this is only for Part 1 anyway) at this point, that can all come later on in the advertising.
It looks to be getting things right. It seems very much in line with the LOTR films, but with a hint of a lighter touch. It still worries me that it’s been split into 2 films though. The book is shorter than any of the LOTR ones. I just hope it doesn’t become unnecessarily bloated like Jackson’s King Kong.
If my knowledge is correct, they are using appendixes Tolkien wrote in order to expand the story to better tie-in with LOTR.
The more hardcore fans have been quick to point out that the scene with Gandalf among ruins isn’t from the Hobbit, but quite likely from the appendixes of LotR, where Gandalf hunts to uncover the Necromancer of Dol Guldur.
I happened to watch Fellowship yesterday and it was only coincidental that the Hobbit trailer came out. I am amazed how well it holds up visually, it is a holy shit kind of experience even after so many films riding the coattails of Lord of the Rings… That said, the sentimentality is hard for me to stomach at times, just every so often. Still incredible. I dont watch the extended, because the originals are so damn long already.
So yeah, I am up for The Hobbit, planning to actually read the book too.
I read the book twice when I was 10-11 years old. It was extremely captivating to me at that age and I still remember the details of the story vividly, fifteen years later. That must mean something.
Also, I’m with Kurt. The singing in the trailer is sensational.
If people want to compare, here’s the version from the Rankin/Bass animated version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUXP8VEXWMs
And of course, my favorite song in the whole lot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogTDa-vG2MQ