The End of the Hobbit Books

That's right, this is the sixth and last book in the Hobbit: Chronicles series by Weta (this one is subtitled The Battle of the Five Armies: The Art of War)It's been a long journey and I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm kind of glad it's over: they're very interesting books but it's also quite a lot of content to go through and it does get a little exhausting. (I admit that I also started reading it later than I otherwise would have because I was too busy thinking about Star Wars to get back into The Hobbit quite yet.)

Add to that the fact that much of this book (I think more than with the others, though I could be mistaken) involved white text printed on a black background. That may seem like a petty detail to you, but white text is much harder on my eyes--especially when reading at night by lamps and such, which is usually how I've been reading books lately. So that's one of the reasons why this book took me so long to get through. I would pick it up, excited to read it, and then set it down two pages later because my eyes just couldn't take it. So. Enough of that.

At 250 pages full of images and commentary, well, it was also a good thing to take my time just to be able to absorb it all. We had some of the usual things in here, like concept art of costumes and armor. But there was also a lot that was a little new to hear about in such detail. Terry Notary, Movement Coach on the film, gave lots of commentary both about who different characters/species moved and about choreographing certain scenes. And given that the last movie was basically just the battle, there was much about the layout of the battle, the geography of it, and all that. Kind of amazing how much they had to block out and plan. The fold-out battle map at the back of the book was helpful in visualizing both what they're talking about and what's going on in the movie.

I guess that's about it. This last book is a bit of a monster to read through but just as informative and interesting as the rest. (Side note: there were a few typos in here, which seemed like a bit much for a book like this, even though typos are pretty normal for any first edition book.) It completes my collection, and I don't know of any other movie books that are so detailed as this set. (Just as I don't know of any movie features that are as comprehensive and detailed as those for the extended editions of TLOTR.)

Oh, yes, and one last mention for the cover. You can't tell without having it physically in front of you, but the cover is pretty amazing. It has a layer in it that looks like ice, with Azog breaking through the ice just as he does in the film; it's really quite a cool effect, even though it feels odd and terrifying to be reading a book with Agog on the cover.

The Hobbit Chronicles: Book 5

I may be wrong, but I think this is the last volume in the Chronicles set. It's book five, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - Chronicles: Art & Design. My goodness, what a journey this has been. I've always known movie companions tend to be sparse on information, but they will always seem very bare now after I've gone through such detailed books as these. But movie companions are good introductions to most of the departments that helped create a movie--the Chronicles books are more specific in their focus.

By the time you get to this book, you wonder if there's really much new to go over. Yes, there was a third movie, but doesn't it mostly cover the same locations and characters seen in the first two movies? Maybe not as much as I'd thought. There's discussion in here about the destruction of Lake-town and the refugee camp its citizens set up, Galadriel's look for Dol Guldur, more sections of Erebor and Dale, new costume pieces for the dwarves and other characters, and some of the creatures and sets from the final battle.

Besides, of course, pouring over all the used and unused designs, I enjoyed hearing about the collaborative side of design, specifically how it overlapped with plot. If a certain sequence needed stairs, then those had to be worked into a set--that sort of thing. I think this book, more than the others, showed more of that plot angle. So that made for a new way of looking at how the concept artists, Weta Workshop designers, and costume artists were approaching their tasks.

My pre-ordered copy was signed by Alan Lee, Daniel Falconer, Nick Keller, and Gus Hunter. 

The Final Hobbit Companion

I decided some time ago that I would wait until all three Hobbit movies came out on DVD so I could buy them as a set; it's been a long wait. What's been harder than not watching the movies, though, has been waiting for the behind the scenes. I do love behind the scenes. But I have had all the lovely Chronicles books from Weta to take care of certain aspects of production. For the areas that those books don't cover, the movie guides fill in some more details.

I feel like I've been reading the movie guide for The Battle of the Five Armies for a very long time. Though it isn't long, I've just had to keep pausing in it for many and various reasons. Glad, then, it is that the book is divided into many, many short sections, most of which are only two pages. For being such a brief book, it covers a lot of ground. We hear about so many of the different crew members and what their roles have been, along with stories from the actors. Although there is only so much space for each person or each department, there is a good amount to read for the amount of space that's available. Much of the material comes in direct quotes, which I always appreciate.

Given that so many of the characters and sets are the same for The Battle of the Five Armies, I do begin to wonder how much more they all have to say. (Yes, this book does cover aspects of the first two movies, as well--but there is still plenty of material specific to the last installment.) Apparently there is still more to talk about. There are things I hadn't so much thought about, like the location of Ravenhill and all of the planning and mapping required for a battle. There is also some more discussion about characters and their motives and the fulfillment of their journeys. Brian Sibley has put together some nice settings for the movie material by describing the stories that Tolkien tells and pairing that information alongside the plot and characters of the movie.

This book has really made me excited for those DVD special features. It won't be too much longer now. In the meantime, I have the next Chronicles book waiting for me--after a short break from hobbits, that is. 

One Last Farewell to Middle-earth

Click for my initial thoughts on An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug.

When we walked out of the theatre, I was asked what I thought of The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies. I laughed and said that I didn't even know what to think but I had enjoyed it. And, you know what, I think that pretty much sums up my thoughts on this last movie and on The Hobbit movies as a whole.

It's strange to analyze because you have to keep coming back to what these movies should be, what they set out to be, and what fans wanted them to be. If we had been given one movie that was a very straight adaptation of the book, I think it would have satisfied hardly anyone: while I'm not calling the book flat, there are many things about it that are flat. So these movies have added in awareness of The Lord of the Rings (which, of course, was something that Tolkien also wanted to do) and also awareness of people's love of Middle-earth. Sometimes good things don't have to end instantly; we can let them linger a little. So if there are going to be three movies, why not?

The Battle of the Five Armies and the Trailer Full of Battles

O you devoted ones, I know you've seen this already, but here has come the official teaser trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Wow, that really is a long title, but I guess we're stuck with it now, eh?

You know what I think is most remarkable about this trailer? It's the way that they managed to have two minutes of exciting footage without showing us anything at all. (Yes, I know all the frame-by-framers are busy dissecting everything, but I'm not interested in dissecting: I'll wait for the movie.) Battle sequences without much context, characters that we've seen before, and simple lines. The (wonderful) addition of "Home is Behind" even gives it a slight fan trailer feel. Slightly. 

I mean no disrespect by saying that for, after all, The Hobbit films have always been about giving the fans what they want. An emotional trailer that brings back emotions from the past while getting you to anticipate new feels? Sure thing, here it is. And that song does a wonderful job of growing from where The Desolation of Smaug left off. I've mentioned how I loved the way that movie ended, with Bilbo's realization of chaos, basically, and then that realization fading into "I See Fire." So the trailer takes off from "I See Fire" and Bilbo's face at the end of the movie, giving us his face again and "Home is Behind." That song speaks so well to the nature of The Hobbit the book, where the middle is a definite change of tone from children's adventure story to a darker, action epic. There should be some exciting ground to cover in The Battle of the Five Armies--let's just hope it isn't all swordplay.

Why So Many Battles . . .

You will perhaps have heard the announcement that the third Hobbit film will no longer be called There And Back Again, becoming instead The Battle of the Five Armies. The idea, of course, is that the previous title was not suited to the trilogy (versus the original plan for only two movies) because the group is already "there" when the third movie begins. But regardless of the giant mouthful that this new title seems to be, I find something else about it bothering me.

I'm bothered that the movie is named after a battle. Sometimes with The Lord of the Rings I wonder if my favorite of the three stories is The Fellowship of the Ring--because the fellowship is such a beautiful thing. And the book and movie are named after the fellowship. The third book (although Tolkien wasn't fond of this title since it gives away the ending) is named after Aragorn reclaiming the throne and renewing Gondor. That's also a positive thing. An Unexpected Journey is a neutral title. The Desolation of Smaug is a sad image, but then the point of that movie was to show corruption in many places and in many forms and to acknowledge it. So why must the last movie be named solely for the final battle instead of for something more hopeful?

You see, apart from the many things that I do or don't like in the Middle-earth movies, I do find them battle heavy. But I mostly ignore that fact because, well, they are movies. Movies tend to try to pack in action. If I don't want that, I can go read the books. But the fact that the title The Battle of the Five Armies promises nothing more than warfare bothers me. Sure, you could argue that the name itself of the battle is something hopeful--because different peoples come together to unite against a common foe in this one battle, hence the five different armies. But that's a subtlety.

I suppose, though, it must be strange coming up with a title for this movie. It has to be some sort of phrase that not only describes the plot but also sounds Tolkien. An Unexpected Journey comes out of the book. The Battle of the Five Armies is what Tolkien calls the final battle (although he doesn't put in the "the," so I wonder why the movie does). But I'm not a screenwriter, so I'm left wondering, couldn't they have come up with something better? Probably it doesn't ultimately matter much. But why, why so much focus on battles when Tolkien is so much more than that? The battle barely takes up five and a half pages for him.