CinemaCon’s 10 Minute ‘Hobbit’ Preview: Details Revealed

Ten minutes of footage from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was shown today at CinemaCon 2012.

Let’s start with a breakdown of the scenes that were shown before we delve into the reactions of the audience.

SPOILERS BELOW! You have been warned.

From BadAssDigest.com:

There was a lot of the helicopter shots you expect in a Lord of the Rings movie. Lots of shots of the dwarves trudging over mountains (again, this stuff looked spectacular). There was some of the business we saw in the trailer, with the introduction of the company of dwarves. There were also some quick shots – the company floating down a river in barrels, Gandalf running through a dungeon, being jumped on by a wild man of some sort, Legolas sliding in front of spider-webbed dwarves and knocking an arrow, warning he would kill them. There were also a handful of longer scenes that we saw.

We saw Bilbo’s meeting with the three trolls. One positive aspect of the 48fps is that since everything looks so video, the digital creatures look more like they’re on the set. The tone of the scene is very playfully threatening, with the trolls having dim reactions. The scene ends with the dwarves coming to Bilbo’s rescue in a  big battle against the trolls.

(L to R) William Kircher (Bifur), Graham McTavish (Dwalin), Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins), James Nesbitt (Bofur) and John Callen (Oin)

We also saw Gandalf investigating the rising darkness. In one scene he is at a table with Elrond, Galadriel and Saruman, talking about ancient tombs that have been opened – ancient tombs with such strong binding spells no one should have been able to get in. Then there’s a scene of Gandalf investigating the open tomb, where he runs into a very silly Radagast the Brown, who has some birds under his hat (we also saw a shot of his sled being pulled by bunnies). It turns out the opened tombs belong the nine Ring Wraiths.

The biggest scene was Bilbo meeting Gollum. Despite being told what we were seeing were unfinished effects, Gollum looked great (and again, the 48fps gave him more of a sense of being actually there). The scene was cut a little slackly; I imagine the final version will be tighter. But it was good.

I can only hope that some version of this will be released by Peter Jackson and Warner Brothers so the rest of us can get a look. Let’s be honest; I’d be happy even if the footage were leaked. I’m really excited to get a glimpse of Radagast, played by Sylvester McCoy, the White Council, and the trolls.

The big story is that The Hobbit footage was shown at 48 frames per second, a departure from the usual 24 frames per second of blockbuster films. And the reaction has been mixed. Devin, who wrote the summary above, stated, “The 48fps footage I saw looked terrible. It looked completely non-cinematic.” He insisted, “Walking out of the theater I didn’t hear a single positive remark.”

Others felt like Rebecca Murray, who said in her article, “You can not get a more genuine, realistic viewing experience than this unless you are watching a performance live.” She quoted Jackson’s introduction to the footage. He maintained, “As a filmmaker, I always want to create a strong sense of reality, to allow the audience to lose themselves in whatever the cinematic story is that I’m presenting. Shooting and projecting at 48 fps gives you the illusion that a hole has been cut in the wall of the cinema, and you’re watching the story unfold with a heightened sense of reality. It’s terrific for 3D; I’ve looked at the 48 fps dailies for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 3D for over a year now, and with the reduction in strobing and flicker, it is a much more gentle experience on your eyes. 48 fps is not just limited to 3D. A film shot in 48 fps looks fantastic when projected in 2D, and converts well to 24 fps as well.”

It is unlikely that many of us will be able to see The Hobbit in 48 fps since there are very few cinemas worldwide with the necessary projectors. So for now, I’m not going to let it worry me. I will just cross my fingers, hoping that we get a chance to see this footage sooner than December 14.

Other reviews available:

Ain’t it Cool News

Cinema Blend

Collider (VIDEO review included)

E! Online

First Showing

Hollywood Elsewhere

IGN Movies

MovieFanatic

TheOneRing.net