Something I am almost anticipating even more than the movie—the soundtrack , and, without a doubt, I will be purchasing the Special Edition.

Here's an awesome Hobbit Flight Safety Video from Air New Zealand:

http://youtu.be/cBlRbrB_Gnc

New Zealand if definitely taking advantage of The Hobbit

A few thoughts about different parts in this thread...

Hmm...in the scene with Galadriel, Gandalf does seem a little bit too careworn, compared to how I recall him in the book. Although other than the part with Galadriel where he says that Bilbo gives him hope, I have liked pretty much all of the other shots that we've seen him in so far. I think it is in one of the most recent TV spots where we see him riding along with Bilbo, and he says

Spoiler

that the Dwarves didn't think that Bilbo would show up. Bilbo asks, "What did you think?" And Gandalf says, "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second." At the same time as he says that, if I understand correctly, I think Gandalf is pocketing the money he won from his wager with the dwarves on whether Bilbo would show up.

Still, due to the back-story that the filmmakers have added, I wouldn't be surprised if Gandalf ends up appearing to be more worried and careworn than he was in the book. However, I hope that he is his more mischievous self with the Dwarves for a good deal of the time. I'm pretty sure that we don't ever see Gandalf really despair until the Return of the King.

johobbit, I am very much looking forward to the soundtrack too.
When I look at TheOneRing, there are threads appearing that announce things like 60-second previews of the soundtrack. I am doing my best to avoid hearing most of them because I want to be surprised. I think the soundtrack somewhat gives away the plot. Sometimes a lull in the music will signify a quiet spot in a scene, and if I know that the music gets loud and scary after that, I know that something bad is going to happen. I'd rather not know too much of what's going to happen before it happens (other than what's in the book and what's supposed to happen).

I did fall to the temptation of listening to "Radagast the Brown," though. While I don't understand what is going on with him at all in the movie, I definitely liked the music!

I have seen that Hobbit Flight Safety Video, and I really wasn't sure what to think. I would have to say that my favorite spot is

Speaking of the Witch-king, when I first saw him, I thought it was Sauron, but now I think it's the Witch-king. I can never remember how to tell their two helmets apart, for some reason!

Warrior 4 Jesus, I'm not sure what you mean by saying that you can live with Faramir's change, but Frodo sending Sam away and Aragorn falling off a cliff are unforgivable. It seems to me that on a scale of the book being changed, that Faramir's change would be worse than Aragorn falling off the cliff. Faramir's character was changed, but Aragorn's fall was just an added element to the battle for more tension. (Not that I like Aragorn falling off the cliff. It just seems to me that no matter what the characters think, he's too important a character to actually die--especially so abruptly.)

narnialuver, is that an actual shot from the movie in your signature? The Dwarves almost look like the ones in the movie, but the background looks like it's from a painting.

I have seen that Hobbit Flight Safety Video, and I really wasn't sure what to think. I would have to say that my favorite spot is

Spoiler

Peter Jackson's cameo/s. I knew he was going to appear, but I was expecting him to be disguised!

Although I think he might be disguised as the dwarf sitting right next to the Witch-king...

Speaking of the Witch-king, when I first saw him, I thought it was Sauron, but now I think it's the Witch-king. I can never remember how to tell their two helmets apart, for some reason!

There was definitely someone there wearing the same helmet as the Witch-king used in his fight with Eowyn later on.

I liked that safety video very much

Lady Galadriel, Faramir's change of character in the movie is very different to the book, yes, but it's well-written and better developed than Aargorn's fall off the cliff, which was just embarrassingly bad. I'm not sure why I've never had a problem with Faramir being changed for the movie. I read the book many years before the movies were released. I guess I just thought it was unrealistic that Faramir (a Man) could resist the temptation of the ring, when even Gandalf had struggles in that area. Maybe Tolkien was trying to say something with Faramir being a Christ-figure (I don't know) but it just makes the ring's influence seem fairly tame for a time and that's a death sentence for a good story. Hope that makes sense. I feel PJ and his writers thought similarly to myself.

Regarding the Ring' pull on almost everyone except Book-Faramir ...

Several actors, Andy Serkis in particular, have compared the Ring's pull to the rush of dangerous drugs, in particular how it only takes one exposure to get addicted.

Tolkien spoke of Frodo failing to toss the Ring into the volcano by his own strength as resulting from overwhelming "demonic" influence, Sauron being after all an evil spirit.

I think a third comparison would be to radiation exposure, even more so when we look at the films. Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond, and Aragron try to keep their distance from that Thing that Frodo carries. The more they spend with it, the weirder they get (to use a technical term). Boromir comes from a land where there's very little magic in daily life, and he repeatedly questions why this little Ring-thing is so dangerous. But the more exposure he has, the more it poisons him. In the films he even carries Frodo twice and (in the extended edition) is the only person who will sit with Frodo when the company is initially refused admittance into Lothlorien. Whatever mechanism the Ring uses to snare its victims -- addiction, oppression, or radiation; I prefer to think it's all three, as Sauron's a natural-born cheater -- Boromir succumbs quickly because he gets heavy exposure.

Book-Faramir has only two days of exposure to the Ring, much of it not continuous, and so escapes relatively intact. Film-Faramir inexplicably thinks keeping the Ring is a good idea, and so soaks up four or more days (I think) of whatever natural or supernatural poisons this thing exudes. He also is bitten by plot bunnies that multiply from the mutilation of his father Denethor's character in that Faramir does several outstandingly dumb things in a childish attempt to impress a cartoon villain.

[Band-name alert: "Bitten By Plot Bunnies."]

However I'll admit that there may be more to it than that. Neither book-Saruman nor film-Denethor ever laid eyes on the Ruling Ring, yet it destroyed both of them. (In the book, it is the crystal ball, the palantir, that destroys Denethor ... and the fact that he told Pippin that "the Enemy has found it [the Ring]" because Denethor knew Frodo had been captured. And in the film, Saruman never displays his true colors of being in this only for himself. Film-Saruman is very loyal to Sauron.)

As for the Aragorn-off-the-cliff scene, I never liked it, but for bigger reasons than just that it wasn't in the book. Firstly, it rewards plot padding which, we've noted, is clearly going to affect The Hobbit. Secondly, the actor almost died filming this invented and unnecessary scene. Thirdly, I felt obligated to try to like the scene because the poor actor almost died filming it, and that left me feeling annoyed and guilty at the same time. Fourthly, the other actors teased Sean Astin for being such a Lucy Van Pelt-styled fussbudget regarding safety. He felt that Wellywood's movie industry was not as experienced as Hollywood in terms of safety and so was constantly inspecting things that supposedly were not his area of concern. But would it have been so inconvenient for people to have listened? Come on, your actor almost died! Please be more careful. [/steps off soapbox]

So much to comment on—so little time—but I am popping on now to pass on something wonderful that Aravanna kindly linked me to: The Piano Guys' cover of some of The Lord of the Rings's musical themes by Shore. ♥

Copying and pasting the majority of my comment here:

Oh glory and splendour (as Samwise says)! And, as always, the video itself is very well done, with the scenery aptly representing the different parts of the tale. Thank you, Howard Shore; thank you, The Piano Guys. Thank you, *TOLKIEN*!

*listens carefully to the themes represented, reveling in the contrast beauty of each motif*

~the Shire moving into the Fellowship
~Arwen/the Elves
~Reclamation and the Ents, notably
~Rohan
~Isengard
~the Shire/Hobbits ♥
~a Fellowship re-statement
~Minas Tirith/Gondor

And I love that this is their most requested cover!

Also, for fun, and quite the contrast to the above, take a look at what the Ringwraiths were up to prior to Weathertop/Amon Sûl.

The Piano Guys' cover of some of The Lord of the Rings's musical themes by Shore. ♥

Copying and pasting the majority of my comment here:

Oh glory and splendour (as Samwise says)!

Glory and splendour indeed!
That's wonderful, johobbit!
*adds it to her favorites* ♥

So much to comment on—so little time—but I am popping on now to pass on something wonderful that Aravanna kindly linked me to: The Piano Guys' cover of some of The Lord of the Rings's musical themes by Shore. ♥

Lovely video johobbit, the Rohan Theme was my favorite.

So I have to ask...which of our lovely NarniaWebbers are going to the cinemas? I've already seen son coverage of TORn's costume party in Wellington, so exciting! Can't wait to watch the premiere. Hats off to Sir PJ.

In spite of my grumbles I'll probably go as soon as possible. Fresh, unspoiled audiences are the best indicators of a film's staying power. Now if they start grumbling that it's two hours of their life they'll never get back, we can let the rest know. I think that any part of the film in which they stick to canon will be good, though.

Any-one else watching the LIVE streaming of the premiere?

http://www.nowlive.com/thehobbitUSA

I'm just becoming a Lord of the Rings fan! I'm loving the Fellowship of the Ring... I can't put it down I didn't get into it when I was younger because I wanted to fully understand it. I have all three books in one volume.

I love the Piano Guys' video, johobbit. Thanks for linking to it. I keep listening to it over and over!

The Ringwraith video was funny too. I never imagined that to be what they were doing before Amon Sul. I don't know if I'll think of them the same way again while I am watching the movie. "Let's use the synchronized sword bit. They'll never see that one coming!"

There are some very interesting thoughts here about Aragorn's fall. I'm not really sure how much it adds to the movie anyways -- it seems like there is enough going on and things are intense enough without adding in Aragorn "dying". Of course I knew he didn't die because I'd read the book before seeing the movie. The scene struck me as odd, though. Too much depends on Aragorn--too much time has been spent investing into his storyline--for him to just suddenly die. And it was very sudden, I thought. It may just be me, but it seems that when a main character actually dies, a lot of time is spent on the heroism of their final moments. Aragorn's fall was just one more element of a battle--look away for a few minutes and you wouldn't see it happen!

Welcome to the Tolkien thread, Purpleotter! I have all three books in one volume too. The first time I read the Fellowship of the Ring, I was hooked from the first moment of Bilbo's disappearance. Then it crossed my mind that The Hobbit probably comes before Fellowship, and I had to force myself to put FotR down and read TH first. Not that I don't love The Hobbit now! These days, I am checking almost nonstop for new Hobbit TV spots.

Have you seen the movies then? Probably not, if you are just becoming a LotR fan?

Not yet. I'll probably finish and then watch the first movie. I know The Hobbit is supposed to be read before it, but I want to see what happens more in the storyline than how the ring was made. Or, I might read The Hobbit after I see the new movie. My sister and I want to see it. She's a fan of the movies, but she never read the books.

These days, I am checking almost nonstop for new Hobbit TV spots.

Have you seen all the reports on TORn ( http://www.theonering.net/torwp/ ) about a new TV spot with Smaug footage?

I've got my fingers crossed with Smaug. I'm not going to see the Hobbit, but I can't wait to catch a glimpse of him online. I have a theory with dragons in film: I always want them to be super scary and deadly. And I have to say, with Dragon Eustace in VDT - that was a bit of a letdown. He looked very cartoonish and......orange. When I read VDT, I thought he'd look so much better.

So, I'm hoping Smaug'll be good, especially after Peter Jackson's quote:

“I want to present the most venal, scary, decrepit, nasty dragon I possibly can.”