The
Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies - Extended Edition (2014/New
Line/Warner Blu-ray)
Picture:
A- Sound: A Extras: C Film: B
We
had previously reviewed The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies on
this site to generally favorable reviews. Rewatching the film, the
film remains the best of the trilogy with the best pacing, action,
cinematography, and overall coherent presence.
Under
review here is the newly released Extended 3D Blu-ray Edition,
which adds an additional 20 minutes of footage to the already well
done film. The extra footage does not (necessarily) add nor detract
from the film and (too most) may go generally unnoticed.
The
most noticeable addition is the extended funeral procession at the
end of the film at Dain's inauguration. Beyond that, most of the
extended footage (which will please hardcore fans) are a plethora of
lengthy battle sequences; most notably that between Gandolf and a
Troll. The battle scenes are masterfully well constructed to start
with and this extended footage truly fleshes them out.
Casual
fans of Tolkien or The Hobbit series may not get much extra
out of this extended edition, but for long time/hardcore fans this is
a must. It is not on the level of any of the Lord of the Rings
films, but is well done.
For
a look at our previous review of The Hobbit: The Battle of Five
Armies Blu-ray/DVD release, please follow the link below:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13396/The+Hobbit:+The+Battle+of+Five+Armies+(
The
technical features on this 2D Blu-ray release of The Hobbit: The
Battle of Five Armies remains impressively well done and is the
same transfer as the previous release; of course adding on extended
footage. I will say (once again) that the films were meant for the
high frame rate (48fps HD vs. the usual 24 or 30), 3D format and look
better in 3D (also available in a separate Blu-ray set); but,
nevertheless, are near demo quality in standard 2D as well. The
picture is presented in a marvelous 1080p, AVC encoded, MPEG-4, 2.40
X 1 aspect ratio. The colors are spot on, the blacks are inky,
black, and bold and the detail is amazing as you can see every
wrinkle, hair, and texture.
The
films slowly transitioned a darker hue as the story progressed from
An
Unexpected Journey
to Battle
of Five Armies.
Whereas An
Unexpected Journey
is very bright (something I took issue with) Five
Armies
is much darker; though nowhere near the level of The
Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
The Red Epic Camera System used for this film (and its predecessors)
gives the film its amazing details and textures; giving the film a
layer of depth and distance unlike many others. There are a few
issues here and there with aliasing and minor other gripes; but in
the end an excellent presentation. The sound is a lossless DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 7.1 mix that is superbly engulfing as the viewer is
thrown into the heart of the action. If the title alone wasn't
enough, I assure you this is an action film where the expansive
battle scenes are front and center. The sound is spot on with crisp,
clean dialogue, booming bass, solid prioritization and panning, and
an overall presence that is admirable to say the least.
Other
extras besides Digital Copy and the extra footage are a
feature-length audio commentary track with Peter Jackson,
Director/Producer/Screenwriter & Philippa Boyens,
Co-Producer/Screenwriter, The
Appendices
and New
Zealand: Home of Middle-earth
featurettes.
-
Michael P. Dougherty II
