The Hobbit: The Art of War: The Battle of the Five Armies: Chronicles
Presented by Academy Award-winning director Sir Peter Jackson, the ultimate insider’s look at the conflicts and battles waged in The Hobbit movie trilogy: how they were devised, composed, designed, staged and more.
Smaug’s fiery attack on Lake-town, the White Council’s raid of Dol Guldur, the ferocious Battle of the Five Armies itself—all of the conflicts waged in The Hobbit motion picture trilogy are examined in exquisite detail from the first skirmish to the ultimate conflagration in the trilogy’s dramatic conclusion.
The Hobbit: The Art of War brings together all of the special effects imagery in the Weta archives and unprecedented access to Sir Peter Jackson—the genius behind some of the world’s biggest motion-picture franchises, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit—who shares his expertise and encyclopedic knowledge with fans as never before.
The Hobbit: The Art of War takes fans inside this creative visionary’s mind and gives them an understanding of how he plotted each and every movement captured on film. Jackson offers in-depth discussions of the strategies of each army, the tactics they employed, and the significance of each collision between rival cultures. The cast members from the three films also share personal stories of how their characters’ tales are resolved.
Meet the armies of digitally generated creatures these heroes must overcome, delve into the world of Weta Digital and the Motion Capture Studio. Discover how the largely digital battles were achieved, from the design and creation of the battles’ creatures and the fight choreography, to the extended environments and visual effects necessary to make Tolkien’s world vividly real. The Hobbit: The Art of War is packed with lavish galleries showcasing the costumes, armor, weapons, and props integral to the battles, as well as the stories behind their creation.
With never-before-heard behind-the-scenes, on-the-set, and in-the-studio stories, and exclusive detailed content, The Hobbit: The Art of War is the ultimate Hobbit fan’s encyclopedia and a must have for all aficionados of the craft of filmmaking.
Reviews (45)
The Hobbit: The Art of War
Weta is an amazing company that does most of the design work on the "Hobbit" films. They do everything from practical effects (prosthetics and miniatures) to digital effects (CGI simulations and character animation). It's important to note that the people that work on these films are not only master technicians, but they are very creative artists as well. "The Art of War" is the final book in the Chronicles of the Hobbit trilogy. It contains art and designs from the final Hobbit film, "The Battle of the Five Armies". In particular, the focus is on the big battle that is the centerpiece of the movie - the characters and creatures involved; their weapons and armor; as well as discussions about fighting styles and battle formations. But it's not all about the battle: also included are several pages on Smaug's attack on Lake Town; as well as Bilbo's return to the Shire. As has been the case with all of these books, "The Art of War" is sure to cover every key item within the film - the Arkenstone, the black arrow, the white gems of Lasgalin, etc. Plus there are close-up pictures of the costumes of every major character in the film; as well as details on the armor of each army (the dwarves, the elves, the orcs). At the end of the book, there is a nice bonus: a fold-out battle map of the Siege of Erebor. Overall, this Hobbit Chronicles series is one of the greatest collections of books on my shelf. I'm happy to have them, and for those who love Middle Earth they are a must-own. Congrats to author Daniel Falconer and Harper Design for publishing such a fantastic collection.
The sixth and final installment.
The sixth and final Hobbit: Chronicles book also happens to be the most dense. The Art of War, just as it sounds delves into all the battles and major fights that occur in the film and as you can tell from the title, "The Battle of Five Armies" contains quite a few of them. As in the other books in the series the detail included here is quite impressive. It covers things like how they made the weapons and armor, the sets, the characters, all the digital techniques used and much more. You also get tons of commentary from the actors and artists. In the end, did The Hobbit films really need 6 books worth of behind the scenes and making of material? Probably not, but I'm glad it got them.
New stuff about the films and pictures I've not seen elsewhere
I thoroughly enjoyed this entry into Daniel Falconer's 6-volume documentary of the making of the Hobbit films. Of course, I am a serious fan of Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" movies, and always eager to see more of the settings, props, and costumes as well as learning how they made all the magic happen. Even though I've read several books and watched all the documentaries and interviews I can find, I still learned new things on nearly every page of "The Art of War." (Clever title, that. Look up Sun-Tzu.) I do wish many (perhaps all) of the pictures were larger. If Weta were to publish a DVD with high-resolution stills of all the photos from Daniel Falconer's books, I'm be in the front of the line to buy it.
If you're into SPX/FX, then this is the book for you.
I love this book (I have all of them) but this one is close to my heart--though I love the one on Smaug, too. WETA designs are awesome and so much goes into them it's beyond amazing. This is awesome for film collectors and (like me) collectors of film SPX/FX (huge Cinefex fan). I like how they involved the cast, as well.
Beautiful Book
I fell in love with The Hobbit movies and especially the character Thranduil so when I saw this book I decided to buy it and read about the behind the scenes on the last movie. This is an impressive book. Lovely photos of the costumes, armory, and behind the scenes. What I really like are the actors talking about their characters and how they collaborated at times with the costume department and Weta workshop who did the armory and other special props. There is also input from Art Department, Costume Department and Weta Workshop as they explain how they made decisions on the costumes and props. Beautiful embossed cover that makes this a great coffee table book and conversation piece. In the back of the book is a fold out map of the Siege of Erebor . Some art drawings are in the book too. I was so impressed I've started buying all the books in this series.
As Good As The Movies
We collected all the books in the series and without a doubt they enhanced the classic book as well as the movies. Our grandkids use the books when we watch the movies to dive deeper into the fantasy and to help them understand some aspects. The books will be passed down the family line child to child for generations to come.
but this book is awesome.
PJ overdid it with the CGI and goofiness in the movie, but this book is awesome.
Another Excellent Book
The only sad thing about this book is there won't be a sequel. Weta does such fine work, whether it is on the screen or on the page. I just hope that the continue to create such excellent work.
Five Stars
Get them all if you are a Hobbit fan!
Terrific book collection for Tolkien fans
If you're Tolkien fan, then you'll love this book. And if you're an artist, it's a great book for a reference for sketches. I wish they also had this style for the LOR series, too bad.
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