I love Lord of the Rings, as near perfect a trilogy as the original Star Wars that also suffers the burden of prequels that divided fans. In a new revealing behind the scenes video, Peter Jackson and his crew open up about the numerous production problems that The Hobbit trilogy faced.
There is a lot that I do like about Jackson’s return visit to Middle Earth, but there is also too much that doesn’t work and instead of being epic it feels drawn out. Don’t get me wrong, I have the extended editions of An Unexpected Journey and Smaug and I will be adding Five Armies to that collection. The Appendices discs are worth the price of purchase alone and give a comprehensive look at how these epic productions were made. Then again, watching a near 13 hours quest to destroy a magic ring might be more than enough Middle Earth for most mortal beings.
The video is a hard watch for anybody that has enjoyed a Peter Jackson movie, a lack of prep and a gruelling schedule were the main culprits, but I won’t say too much as I think you should just watch it. To whet your appetite, here’s a snippet from Peter Jackson;
“Because Guillermo Del Toro had to leave and I jumped in and took over, we didn’t wind the clock back a year and a half and give me a year and a half prep to design the movie, which was different to what he was doing. It was impossible, and as a result of it being impossible I just started shooting the movie with most of it not prepped at all. You’re going on to a set and you’re winging it, you’ve got these massively complicated scenes, no storyboards and you’re making it up there and then on the spot.”
The Extended edition of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is out now on DVD & Blu-ray.