There and Back Again: The Composite Editions
These notes serve to document the editing work done by an anonymous editor who took the greatest ideas from fan editors Dustin Lee, David Killstein and The Underhill Editor. While a certain amount of sound and video mastering were performed during the execution of this fan edit, all of the creative credit for this fan edit belongs to the aforementioned editors. The majority of the changes in these editions were made play-by-play from footage edited and rearranged by these three fan-filmmakers. With a few exceptions, the changes here are “grace notes” made on riffs that have already been established. That being said, these films aim to have perfected the genius works that have been made.
Two editions were produced by this anonymous editor in order to mirror the way the Lord of the Rings films were released:
- There and Back Again: Theatrical Edition (2:59 minutes long)
- There and Back Again: Special Extended Edition (3:36 minutes long)
Each torrent file contains:
- The video file (Standard Definition or High Definition, depending on the torrent)
- The cover art for the edition
- These Notes
Below you will find a list of broad and specific changes to the original trilogy, as well as a list of ways that the Theatrical version of There and Back Again are different from the Special Extended version.
While it would be extremely uninteresting to list every single change and cut that this film makes to the trilogy footage ad nauseum, these are some of the changes that the mastered composite film, There and Back Again makes to the original trilogy:
Broad Changes to the Original Trilogy:
-Azog is not in the film (his face appears as an “extra” in a few shots, but he has absolutely zero bearing in the story)
-There is no love triangle between Kili, Legolas and Tauriel
-The incidents of Dol Guldur are not in the film and Radagast is given only a nameless cameo during the final battle and during Thorin’s funeral.
*The reason for Radagast’s cameo is due to an excellent short film, The Battle of Dol Guldur. It was originally released by editor David Killstein and it restores more dignity to the originally “wacked out” Wizard. I’ve also edited some of the sillier Radagast moments out of the already masterful short film, and I believe he now makes a more-than-worthy character in the Middle Earth canon. Watch the edited film and see for yourself!
-the dragon sickness plot is gone
-Bilbo’s ring as the evil “one ring to rule them all” has been reduced (especially in the theatrical edition)
Specific Changes to the Original Trilogy:
-Bilbo’s prologue is removed, which an introduction, originally made by the Underhill Editor, is used
-Gandalf does not peer into Bilbo’s window, harassing him upon their meeting
-Most of the silly dinner scenes are cut (i.e. Gandalf does not freak out or blow smoke rings)—while these scenes seem like subtle changes, they were some of the more difficult to cut. It is worth it to compare this edition’s scenes with the dinner scenes from An Unexpected Journey
-The musical number, “That’s what Bilbo Baggins Hates” is cut from the Theatrical movie, and shortened greatly in the Extended Edition
-Bilbo’s faint is shortened
-The flashbacks that occur during the dwarves’ Misty Mountains song (originally crafted mostly by the Underhill Editor) are inserted in HD as the song is sung
-Removed all of Thorin’s flashbacks about Azog from the travel scenes
-Cut the scenes that mention the order of Wizards from the theatrical film
-Cut some silliness out of the Troll scenes
-Shortened the troll hoard scene for the Theatrical Edition
-Cut out Radagast and the orc chase
-Reduced the dwarves introductory walk into Rivendell
-Removed most of the dwarves shenanigans at Rivendell
-Cut out the council with Sauron, Galadriel and Gandalf at Rivendell, along with mentions of the Necromancer
-Cut out silly dwarf antics in Rivendell
-Removed stone giants from the storyline
-Cut some of the cheesy parts of the goblin slide (it seems less like a theme park ride)
-Cut out the goblin song (shortened it in the Extended Edition)
-Cut Azog completely out of the warg chase scene; shortened the bloated tree-burning scene
-Added a transition to when the Eagles take Bilbo, Gandalf and the dwarves away from the orcs and wargs
-Cut Beorn out of the Theatrical Edition due to the halt in pacing; kept Beorn’s scenes for the Extended Edition, but added what I believe to be the smoothest transition between An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug—this is an issue that every fan edit has grappled with, and I truly believe mine to be the best and of theater-quality.
-Removed orc presence in Beorn’s house
-Cut Beorn’s mention of Azog and the Necromancer
-Shortened Gandalf’s realization of an orc presence in Mirkwood
-Removed many of the unneeded scenes from Mirkwood that were not in the book
-Reduced a lot of the spider scenes that did not occur in the book
-Reduced many of the scenes in which the dwarves are wrapped in spider webbing
-Removed Bilbo killing a baby spider from the ring
-Cut much of the elves saving the dwarves from the spiders—giving only a short cameo to Legolas
-Cut out a few extraneous scenes when Thranduil negotiates with Thorin about getting treasure from the mountain
-Removed the orc chase scene from the barrel escape
-Removed the scenes that allude to Kili being shot by a poisoned arrow
-Removed ridiculous fight scene and the scenes in which the dwarves enter Bard’s house through the toilet
-Removed unimportant scene of Bard taking weapons from a boat
-Reduced Alfrid to a cameo that doesn’t give him the chance to say anything stupid
-Reduced almost everything about the Master of Lake town
-Reordered the scene in which Bard discovers the prophecy about Thorin and the dwarves
-Reduced the scenes in which the company searches for the door
-Removed extraneous scenes at Laketown and extraneous dwarf scenes when Bilbo is in the mountain
-Cut all scenes in which the dwarves go into the mountain with Bilbo
-Cut all the ridiculous scenes in which the dwarves melt down gold and fight Smaug
-Used a clever series of cuts involving color correction to show Smaug breaking out of the mountain
-Removed all scenes in which Bard is locked up by the Master
-Removed Bard’s son from the way Bard kills Smaug
-Used a scene from An Unexpected Journey of Thranduil looking at gems with ardor as a flashback
-Changed the order of the scenes in which Thorin and the dwarves look for the Arkenstone
-Added a Dustin Lee scene in which the original Misty Mountains theme is played as the dwarves rally out of the mountain of Erebor
-Cut out most of the war scenes—used a war montage made by David Killstein, only slightly altered to show:
- an army of war rams charging
- Thorin getting stabbed by Azog (again, he’s just an orc without a name)
- Thorin stabbing Azog back and coming out alive, but mortally wounded
-Removed everything to do with Legolas or Tauriel in the last battle
-Added a scene by Dustin Lee which inserts Gandalf’s eulogy into the extended funeral scene
-Shortened the ending for the Theatrical version of the film, so as not to include Bilbo’s run-in with Lobelia Sackville-Baggins (the Extended Edition’s ending remains unaltered)
* * *
The differences between the Theatrical version and the Extended version of There and Back Again are listed below:
Theatrical version:
- The dinner song, “That’s what Bilbo Baggins Hates” is completely cut out
- Footage is shortened when Bilbo, Kili and Fili begin to investigate the trolls
- The troll hoard scene is shortened
- Some footage of cave goblins accosting Bilbo and the dwarves is removed
- The goblin song is entirely removed
- Bilbo does not seem Gollum dragging a small goblin away. Instead he wakes up and finds the ring
- Some footage of Bilbo and the dwarves climbing trees is removed during the tree burning scene
- Beorn’s scenes are not in the Theatrical version. Bilbo and the dowarves are seen journeying across various landscapes, picking up horses near mirkwood forest, and riding to the Elven gate.
- Gandalf does not allude to Beorn by instructing the ponies to “return to their master”
- After discovering the presence of orcs near the entrance to Mirkwood, Gandalf says, “So be it.”
- The subplot about Mirkwood’s enchanted stream and beautiful stag are omitted from the Theatrical version
- Some footage of Bilbo entering Erebor’s treasure hoard and saying, “There’s nobody home” is cut
- When Bilbo tries to obtain the Arkenstone, Smaug does not say, “I am almost tempted to let you take it—if only to see Oakenshield suffer—watch it corrupt his heart and drive him mad.” This line is omitted
- Bilbo does not mention picking his acorn up in Beorn’s garden, as Beorn was saved for the Extended Edition
- The ending of the Theatrical version is shortened and does not include Bilbo’s run-in with Lobelia Sackville-Baggins
Extended version:
- The dinner song, “That’s what Bilbo Baggins Hates,” is shortened, but not excised
- There is a conversation between Balin and Thorin which mentions the Blue Mountains before the Misty Mountains theme is sung
- Bilbo is given a pony and a scene ensues in which the dwarves discuss their bets as to whether or not Bilbo would agree to join them
- While camping, Balin and Thorin briefly discuss orcs. An orc is shown observing them
- Gandalf discusses the order of wizards and mentions Radagast
- At Rivendell, the dwarves are seen briefly bantering about the food they are eating
- A flashback is included in which Bilbo remembers conversing with Lord Elrond in a dream
- The goblin song is shortened but not removed
- A transition is added after the dwarves are deposited by the Eagles. Gandalf mentions that there is a house nearby where they might take refuge and that the master’s name is Beorn
- Beorn’s scenes feature prominently in the Extended version of the movie
- Extra footage of Bilbo combating the spiders is seen in the Extended version
- Bard’s introduction and conversation with the dwarves is longer in the Extended version
- In the Extended Edition, Thorin is shown giving Bilbo a shirt made from Mithril—the same shirt seen in the Lord of the Rings
- King Thranduil makes a mention of selling the arkenstone to a citizen of Gondor
- Footage of Thranduil wielding his sword against orcs while on his moose is included in the Extended version
- After the battle of the five armies, Gandalf is seen cleaning his pipe next to Bilbo in an oddly awkward and heartwarming moment
- Thorin’s funeral is shown, and Gandalf’s eulogy is given in voiceover, thanks to excellent work by editor Dustin Lee
- The ending of the Extended version includes Bilbo confronting the Sackville-Baggins’ and the auctioneer. It is a longer ending which also gives his magic ring more gravitas
* * *
Again, thank you for considering this film. I would be remiss if I did not mention one final piece of work to add to your “Middle Earth Canon”. A year ago, editor David Killstein made a short film titled, “The Battle of Dol Guldur”.
He took his torrent links down soon after and deleted his associated accounts, but I still consider the short film to be a near masterpiece. I’ve made a few changes:
1. I removed cheesy scenes featuring Radagast toking on pipeweed
- I’ve removed the line about Radagast’s excessive consumption of mushrooms
- I’ve removed footage of birds flying in and out of Radagast’s hat
- I’ve removed some of the more outlanding “rabbit sled” scenes
- I’ve removed Azog’s name from being mentioned in the short film
- I’ve altered the credits so that all actors in the film are credited
- I’ve altered and created new cover art for the film
I hope you will check out this film as well. Anyways, thank you for reading this far if that is what you did and I hope that you might enjoy the fruits of a project that took me a year to complete.
-The Nameless Editor
Note: without talented actors, a visionary director, 3,000+ crew members and an innumerable amount of hours worked, this interpretation of The Hobbit could not exist. The anonymous editor of this film requires that you purchase copies of The Hobbit trilogy before downloading the editions of this film.
There and Back Again: The Composite Edition 