The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 48fps (HFR)

I went for my fourth viewing of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at Inox, Nariman Point, Mumbai, today at 8pm. I didn’t really know what to expect and was wondering if the action scenes within the movie would appear too fast – the earlier reviews that I read coloured my opinion quite a bit and I was feeling quite ambivalent about the HFR version. But it was after all, the chance to see The Hobbit once again and I was not complaining at all.

Was I complaining after the movie? Not one jot. In fact the experience was wonderful. The HFR as a friend explained later is a more fluid experience instead of stacks of images being shown together. It was the difference of watching something on CD and Blu-ray for instance, or watching something on an LCD screen and then on an LED screen.

The colours were vibrant. The landscapes take on a whole different look and it is a lovely one indeed. Then there is the scene with the eagles that looks just ethereal. Even Sting looks less like a lightsaber and more like glowing steel. Last but not the least I must comment on the last lines of my earlier review.

When I watched the earlier 24fps version, Smaug looked too dark. In this version, I could see the red-gold scales atop the crest of his eye and they look quite lovely. I also wonder if the theatre I saw the 24fps version in did not have a proper contrast scheme, but I would know only if I saw the movie in a different theatre in the 24fps version. I guess I will have to do so in order to find out if I suspect correctly – all right, yes, it will be another chance to see it again.

The action scenes in Moria look much, much better in this version. Without a doubt, they do. The action is not staccato and the figures do not look jarring as they accomplish death defying stunts all over rocks and other sharp objects.

Overall, I would thoroughly recommend the 48fps to everyone who has a chance to watch the movie in a HFR version.

For a full review of the movie click here.

Cast Interviews

Hobbit Cast Interviews

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THIRD FILM CONFIRMED!

Very, very good news!Peter Jackson confirmed the third film on his facebook page!

“It is only at the end of a shoot that you finally get the chance to sit down and have a look at the film you have made. Recently Fran, Phil and I did just this when we watched for the first time an early cut of the first movie – and a large chunk of the second. We were really pleased with the way the story was coming together, in particular, the strength of the characters and the cast who have brought them to life.  All of which gave rise to a simple question: do we take this chance to tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as the filmmakers, and as fans, was an unreserved ‘yes.’

 

We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance.  The richness of the story of The Hobbit, as well as some of the related material in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, allows us to tell the full story of the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and the part he played in the sometimes dangerous, but at all times exciting, history of Middle-earth.

 

So, without further ado and on behalf of New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Wingnut Films, and the entire cast and crew of “The Hobbit” films, I’d like to announce that two films will become three.

 

It has been an unexpected journey indeed, and in the words of Professor Tolkien himself, “a tale that grew in the telling.”

 

Cheers,

 

Peter J”

Sir Peter Jackson says filming the Hobbit in 3D ‘literally feels like you’ve stepped in the story’.

by James Beach

Sir Peter Jackson says filming the Hobbit in 3D ‘literally feels like you’ve stepped in the story’. Photo /Otago Daily Times

Sir Peter Jackson says the sunshine, mountains and fresh air of Arcadia Station, near Queenstown, have raised both his spirits and those of his 450 cast and crew.

Sir Peter spoke in between scenes where Sir Ian McKellan as Gandalf the Grey, Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and dwarves arrive at the house of Beorn (Mikael Persbrandt).

Tuesday was their third and final day of shooting on a giant set, which took eight weeks to build and was based on more than eight months of design – all for one scene of about three minutes of screen time.

“This is such a beautiful area, 360 degrees, everywhere you look, incredible scenery,” Sir Peter said.

“In fact, the scene where Boromir dies in The Fellowship of the Ring was about 100 yards [90m] into that forest there.”

Sir Peter said The Hobbit had been “a strange journey for me” as he originally thought he would produce and not direct the eagerly awaited movies.

“Even though it was frustrating at the times and a little bit stressful from time to time, we’re here and making the movies and it seems like it was meant to be.”

Sir Peter said shooting the two Hobbit films felt like a reunion and “feels like we’re doing it for the right reasons”.

The audience knew what to expect, but he still wanted to surprise them.

Filming in 3D for the first time provided greater depth and he loved the way Middle Earth was coming to life in a more vibrant way, he said.

“You’ll literally feel like you’ve stepped into the story,” he said.

The company shot in Hamilton, Ohakune, bluffs near Te Kuiti, Strath Taieri, near Middlemarch and near Paradise over the past three weeks. All cast and crew and gear were loaded on to 200 trucks and moved to Te Anau yesterday for more filming.

Asked if he felt the weight of expectation on his shoulders, Sir Peter said: “All I can do is make the best movie I can and hope people enjoy it. It’s going to have a different tone to The Lord of the Rings because the characters are quite a lot different.

“The book was very much written for a much younger reader than Lord of the Rings was, but I didn’t want to make a children’s movie, I still wanted to have some of the main themes we had in the Rings.”

Production Video #3

A new production video by Peter J:

OMG! This is an amazing video. We have all the dwarves and a lot of fun thrown in – well, 13 dwarves! Fun is just bound to happen, I expect. And here we also see, Hugo Weaving back as Elrond – AND the ephemeral Galadriel trying out a new gown! OMG! 😀 Yep, I am a fan – didn’t you notice? And – and Peter J gives us a glimpse of Pinewood Studios and one has a suspicion that he is filming Saruman there with the older Mr Baggins – when who should end the video – but Saruman himself! Christopher Lee is so back! 😀