Hobbit Deluxe Edition DVD9)

While the movie leaves a lot out from the book, the animation and the music/songs are great!! Richard Boone as the voice of Smaug is the best, and the "Crack the Dishes Smash the Plates" song by the dwarves makes all kids laugh and all parents cringe. Wish they had done the whole series in this style of animation, as it was fun...and I'm not taking anything away from other Tolkien movies and videos, but this one is definitely worth watching many times. My sons all love it too. Heck, now that I've written about it, I'm going to have to go watch the movie again. cmz :-)

Even after I saw the recent 2012 version, I still felt this animated one from the 70s was better.First, I'll bring up the DVD issues that others have raised. I did encounter some problems with the DVD. It does skip in a few places. (Such as when Bard of Laketown presents himself to the dwarves.) Slightly annoying, yes. But nothing that really hampers the enjoyment of the film. Not seriously anyway.The other complaint people raised is that sometimes the whole image is dark, and it's hard to make out what's happening. This was true when I played it on a standard DVD player. But when I put it on my upgrader, the image was much better.Onto the material at hand.The main reason I prefer this version is because this 1977 animated version sticks to the story of what "The Hobbit" is. The new 2012 version has tried to make this story into a "Lord of the Rings" saga full of war. "The Hobbit" was more the story of a Hobbit's journey that involved SOME violence.I'd rather not go through a whole synopsis. Chances are that if you are on this site, you probably already know the story.But I will say that this 1 1/2 hour (maybe a little less) film captures the story in a most beautiful manner. We have Bilbo's somewhat forced journey to help the dwarves reclaim a treasure they consider theirs. Gandalf is certainly heroic and benevolent. But he hasn't quite become the Christ like figure he will eventually become in "The Two Towers." The dwarves are great in their roles as 'supposed good guys.' But we are allowed to wonder. They seem to manipulate poor Bilbo a lot, even where matters 'not in the original bargain' are concerned. And they are quick to forget about certain bargains.(IE The men of LakeTown help Thorin, feed him and his friends; and they 'trust to his gratitude.' Biblo flushes out Smaug trying to help the dwarves get their gold back; in a rage Smaug burns LakeTown; later Bard tells the dwarves that Laketown has been destroyed and must be rebuilt, and that they can thank him by sharing their fortune; and the dwarves aren't so gracious. Never mind the fact that Smaug destroyed LakeTown as a result of the dwarves trying to get their gold.) What a contrast how the dwarves refuse to share. And when Bilbo entered Smaug's cave, Smaug says: "Well thief, I smell you, I feel your air, and I hear your breath. Go on. Help yourself. There's plenty and to spare."Even poor Smaug isn't so 2D if we think about it. He had left the people in LakeTown alone for many years. And he didn't attack until Bilbo flushed him out in an attempt to get the dwarves their gold.I don't want to go through the whole story, but the events of the story alternate in a most beautiful manner between the events of the story and the narration. (Be the narration from Gandalf or Bilbo.)Also, the voices are so perfect. Orson Bean is the sweet and innocent Bilbo Baggins; John Huston is great as the heroic and benevolent, but not quite yet the Christ like Gandalf; Otto Preminger is memorable as the Elf King; Richard Boone is convincing as the dangerous, but possibly not all evil Smaug; and John Stephenson seems well suited for his roles as the Goblin King and Bard (the eventual King of LakeTown).Many of the songs are also beautiful and memorable.All in all this is a great DVD that I still prefer over the 2012 version.

When comparing this version to the new, and hopefully more complete, version as yet in the process of being relieased, it can, at times, seem a bit brief and choppy... The speed with which it moves through the story is, by comparrison, remarkably quick, and can seem to lack Lots of backstory... but for 1977, and for decades afterward, This Was the deffinitive version of the hobbit!As someone who grew up with it, I found the brevity to only inspire my own imagination as to the possible reasons, and even now, certain phrases, images, and sounds Stick in my Subconscious in ways I've never really completely appreciated...A level of subtlety which I've only recently come to realise when noticing a handfull of 'sound effect omissions' from This Version... For instance, while the 'sound' is made elsewhere, there's something about that weird 'dying scream' noise that the spiders originally gave time and again that has haunted me for Years... I can remember as a kid, wondering just why they spun around and around (when they died) and the sound has never left my mind...Other similar sounds, such as the arrows bouncing off of Smaug's chest during the battle, I am also comming to realise, have become Strong Memories in my mind... made most conspicuous in this version by the one or two omissions...Indeed, Visually, but More So, AUDITORALLY This Is the one that marks my memory So Well.Sound Effects aside, the MUSIC of this version is Stunning, Deffinitive, and So Completely Perfect in Every Way, I find myself Continually Disappointed and Underwhelmed by Any Other Interpretation!Tolkien is known for using song in his work, and essentially ALL of the musical lyrics come directly from the text, yet Every Single Version of the songs presented here have become, in essence, the ONLY Versions of their work which I can Really Totally Enjoy.Indeed, much of the story is presented in abbreviated form Through the Use of Song, and thus, part after part I find myself not only singing along with, but remembering afterward.The animation too is intriguing in that it is familliar also to those who went on to watch 'the thundercats' and similar animation from later years, which - in my mind - can be seen to SLOWLY Morph into the sorts of Deffining Styles of Anime to come some 20 years later...Backgrounds, costumes, voices, music... the Essential Materials of This version are, in my opinion, the BEST Possible interpretations... Indeed, the Only Fault I find later on is the brevity and quickness with which it runs through the story we have all now discovered to be so very much deeper and more complicated...Nevertheless, to my mind, and indeed perhaps to all children who grew up with this version alone, This Marks the deffining backdrop of sound, texture, and tone which has come to underpin All of my future experiences with Tolkien... While the second of the series is conspicuous most in its failure to so completely do so, This version is, without a doubt, one to Never Be Left Out of the overall story...While I'd love to get the Truely Complete and Original version with ALL the sounds I remember, and the wish to see a more in depth telling, in the same style, may never come to fruition... the ability to purchase a copy in Digital form that I can both easily replay, and quickly scan for my favorites, nevertheless makes the purchase price well worth it to my mind.Years from now, I may just Begin my children's introduction to Tolkien with it... as a more textured, mystical, and quintessential version, to my mind, does Not Exist!!

I have always thought this was an excellent film. This was also my first introduction to the world that Tolkien created. The DVD is of excellent quality. It took me back to that first experience and I appreciated it as much as the first time.