by Matt Marshall
Following in the footsteps of his Lord of the Rings films, director Peter Jackson has released a longer version of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. This 182-minute Extended Edition makes it way to home media just in time for the second chapter of the trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug. In addition to The Hobbit, White House Down, Grown Ups 2 and Twilight Forever are also available on Blu-ray this week.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey covers the first third of Bilbo Baggins’ (Sherlock’s Martin Freeman) trek across Middle-earth with 13 dwarves who seek to take back their mountain home from a fire-breathing dragon. This new three-hour version splices in 13 minutes of new and extended scenes not seen in the theatrical cut. The majority of the additions are during the company’s stay in Rivendell. This is also a brand new Goblin King song and prologue expansion.
Warner Home Entertainment is releasing several variations of The Hobbit: Extended Edition for purchase. The standard version available is a Blu-ray, Digital Copy, UltraViolet combo pack. A 3D version with the same features is also available, but breaks the film in half over two discs. Unlike the extended cuts for The Lord of the Rings, 2D feature of The Hobbit is limited to one disc.
However, the Best Buy exclusive 3D steelbook does divide the film over two discs. This four-disc set only includes a 3D version of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Amazon is offering 2D and 3D exclusives each including a statue of the “Riddles in the Dark” sequence with Bilbo and Gollum.
In addition to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Sony Pictures is releasing White House Down and Grown Ups 2 this Tuesday on Blu-ray. In White House Down, a D.C. officer (Channing Tatum) teams up with the President of the United States (Jamie Foxx) during a terrorist siege of the White House. White House Down comes in a Blu-ray, DVD, UltraViolet combo pack.
In Grown Ups 2, Adam Sandler and his family leave the big city for a quiet life in the suburbs. But the antics haven’t stopped as Sandler reunites with his buddies and go to war with a fraternity. Grown Ups 2 arrives in a Blu-ray, DVD, UltraViolet combo pack with less than 30 minutes on bonus material.
Arriving in time for the fifth anniversary of first film, Twilight Forever bundles all five films of the vampire saga in one boxset. The 10-disc set from Summit Entertainment features two hours of never-before-seen footage and an exclusive photo album. Digital UltraViolet copies all five Twilight films are packaged with the set. Twilight is based on the Stephenie Meyer novels and star Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Matt Marshall is a YouTube movie reviewer who hosts MNMreviews. He has a B.A. in Communications/Journalism from St. John Fisher College and resides in Rochester, NY.
