Bad news for The Hobbit fans. The trilogy directed by Peter Jackson will leave the Netflix catalog on September 30. So we rewatch it and test our knowledge.
The Lord of the Rings universe is more relevant than ever with the broadcast of the Rings of Power, a spin-off series that takes place thousands of years before. But no need to go back as far with the Hobbit trilogy as subscribers can (still) discover before it leaves the platform at the end of the month.
Still directed by Peter Jackson from the writings of JRR Tolkien and filmed in New Zealand, this saga consists of the Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies. It is the British Martin Freeman (Sherlock) who slips into the skin of the hero. We find some well-known faces or names from the Lord of the Rings such as Gandalf, Legolas, Elrond, Galadriel or even Saruman. Andy Serkis even resumes his role as Gollum.
On the technical side, Peter Jackson had used in his previous trilogy a process of “forced perspective” in order to give the illusion that certain characters were larger than others (useful when you have dwarfs and hobbits!). For this saga which was offered in 3D, this was not necessary. The production had to use doubles, but also “Slave Motion Control”.
This consists of building two sets where the action takes place: the first sized for the main actors, and the second created on a green background for smaller or taller characters appearing in the same scene. The actors can thus play the sequence in the two sets simultaneously, while the cameras film each set in a perfectly synchronized way. Exciting, isn’t it?