DVD: The Hobbit: The desolation of Smaug

Published Nov 21, 2014

Share

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG

BLU RAY DOUBLE PACK

***

There and back again.

FILM: It may be a clumsy title, but somehow Peter Jackson managed to work it into the dialogue. Oh yes, he did. He also managed to get a lot of walking into this middle film.

This Hobbit placeholder before the final battle – which promises to be epic – sees Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and dwarves get lost in the Mirkenwood and locked up by Elvenking Thranduil. They escaped in wine barrels down the river and are smuggled into Esgaroth by Bard (Luke Evans), the descendant of the last ruler of Dale.

While Gandalf (Ian McKellan) investigates the Necromancer who reveals himself to be Sauron, the dwarves and the hobbit finally make it into the Lonely Mountain.

Once we meet Smaug the dragon, things finally become exciting, as he pretty much tears up the mountain and flies off to see what else he can destroy.

Watching this a second time, or even a third time around, surprisingly it actually becomes better –- it is quite the spectacle, design is gorgeous and it really is just a fun romp in Middle Earth.

BONUS FEATURES: Disc one contains the film plus New Zealand: Home of Middle-Earth Part 2. From Mount Ruapehu to the Pelorus River, the cast and few crew introduce the epic film two locations of New Zealand, transformed by the film-makers into Middle Earth.

Disc two is filled with special features like Ed Sheeran’s I See Fire music video, extended trailers and Peter Jackson live event: In The Cutting Room which is almost 40 minutes of a worldwide live event last year in which film director Jackson gave fans a tour of the production facilities and fielded questions from around the globe.

There are four production videos introducing pick-up shoots and music scoring. These were originally weblogs.

Production video number 11 is about the crew packing up the studios to prepare to shoot films two and three, the cast reuniting in Middle Earth and the dwarves shaping up for the battle.

Production video number 12.1 features unit director Christian Rivers and actor Lee Pace, plus Orlando Bloom and Evangeline Lilly doing their stunt-work, but the funniest part is the plane spotting – something everyone had to take a turn doing.

The three featurettes are immersive documentaries which draw on a cross-section of days during the making of the trilogy, which present the experience of a typical 24-hour day on and off set. – Theresa Smith

Related Topics: