The Edit of the Lonely Mountain is not the first Hobbit-edit out there, but it does do things a little differently by leaving most of the first film, An Unexpected Journey, in tact. Therefore, the majority of this edit’s efforts are to found in the second film, The Desolation of Smaug, which, being a merger of the final two films of the original trilogy, also features the climactic Battle of Five Armies.

This approach was taken in an effort to present the most cohesive narrative possible, allowing the first film to focus on Bilbo’s effort to find his place amongst Thorin and Company, while letting the second film deal with the discovery of the Lonely Mountain and its fiery aftermath.

For the creation of this edit I’ve incorporated the material of two other edits: those being The Ironfoot edition by Dr. Fontane and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit by Dustin Lee – two amazing projects that you should definitely check out if you’re still unfamiliar with them! Originally, this edit started out as a personal effort to merge my favourite parts of both these edits together into one. However, three years, several iterations, and over 120 fine-tuned transitions later, The Edit of the Lonely Mountain has grown to become something quite different compared to the two fan edits it is originally based on.

The first film, An Unexpected Journey, remains largely unchanged, with most edits focusing on skipping unnecessary action sequences and removing the White Council subplot. It has a runtime of 2 hours and 18 minutes and features around 20 transitions between the original film and the edits of Dr. Fontane and Dustin Lee.

• Removed Frodo from the prologue, using bits and pieces of Dr. Fontane’s version of the prologue (see clip below)
• Removed the scene of Azog on Weathertop
• Removed the Rabbit-warg-chase sequence
• Reworked Rivendell, partly using some transitions made by both Dr. Fontane and Dustin Lee
• Included some of Lee’s saturation rework in Rivendell
• Removed most of the White Council scene in Rivendell, still keeping the introduction and daybreak conversation between Gandalf and Galadriel
• Reworked the transition out of Rivendell, including the removal of the Storm giants, using the edits of Dr. Fontane
• Shortened action sequence in Goblin Town, as originally edited by Lee
• Rescored Thorin’s charge towards Azog, replacing the motif of the Ringwraiths with the Sons of Durin track (see clip below)

The Desolation of Smaug now serves as the second and final film of The Hobbit saga, with 1,5 hours from the The Battle of Five Armies serving as its third act. Overall changes can be ascribed to reworked action sequences, as well as the removal of various storylines: the infamous love triangle, the White Council’s dealings in Dol Goldur, and Alfrid’s struggles after the burning of Lake-town. The film has a runtime of 3 hours and 33 minutes and features over 100 transitions between the two original films, and the edits of Dr. Fontane and Dustin Lee.

• At various moments throughout the film, the Song of the Lonely Mountain can be heard, as either implemented by Dr. Fontane or Dustin Lee
• Slightly shortened interaction between Azog and Bolg in front of Beorn’s house (see clip below)
• Removed the entire Dol Guldur subplot
• Used Dr. Fontane’s sequence of The Company’s departure from Beorn
• Shortened Gandalf’s scene at the borders of Mirkwood
• Gandalf leaves the Company behind only to return at the eve of the Battle of Five Armies
• Removed all the scenes in Mirkwood with Tauriel. Now, she only has a short cameo as the Company escapes the dungeons
• Legolas is still present in Mirkwood, but his role is heavily reduced to a couple of cameos
• Used Lee’s handling of the barrel riding scene, removing a lot of the over-the-top action moments
• Kili is still injured by Bolg, but the poison is never mentioned, so we can assume that his wound heals over time
• Removed some (but not all) scenes with Alfrid and the Master of Lake-town
• It is implied that Fili, Kili, Dori and Bofur join the journey to Erebor. I’ve included a couple of great shots by Lee that even show the entire Company travelling towards Erebor
• Used Lee’s edit of the Company discovering the keyhole, with less Hollywood drama
• Slightly reworked the confrontation between Smaug and Bilbo to accommodate certain transitions
• Reworked the fight between Smaug and the Dwarves in some minor aspects (no gold-surfing by Thorin), but keeping most of it in tact (see clip below)
• Reworked the shots of frightened Lakemen responding to the approach of Smaug
• Included Lee’s shot of a burning Wind lance
• Reworked the scene on the shores of Lake-town, combining the edits of Dr. Fontane and Lee, and putting in some extra effort to remove Alfrid (where he went, nobody knows, but we can assume he is probably halfway down the Celduin or something)
• Using Lee’s edit, removed Gandalf’s forced mentions of the Shire, Gondor and Lothlorien, followed by the arrival of Azog and his forces with costum subtitles as implemented by Lee
• Mixed theatrical and extended footage of Dain’s arrival. The war chariots are added to his troops, but the Elves and Dwarves don’t start any fight
• Heavily reworked the Battle of Five Armies, mixing footage of the original films and the works of Dr. Fontane and Dustin Lee. The main focus is placed on removing as much over-the-top fluff as possible, whilst still conveying the progress and movements around the battlefield, and letting the narrative move along to the core of the fight: the rally of Thorin and Company
• Reworked the scene with the Dwarven War Chariot from the extended footage (see clip below)
• Used Dr. Fontane’s scene of Fili’s and Kili’s defeat – a very well edited sequence
• Used Lee’s edited shot of the Eagles arriving without a certain wizard on their back
• Used Lee’s version of the funeral scene, including Gandalf’s poem