The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition DVD and Blu-ray hits shelves Tuesday and director Peter Jackson has created an incredibly magical Extended Edition set that rivals even his Lord of the Rings’ editions. Find out why this Extended Edition is a must buy.

Often times many Extended Edition DVDs or Blu-rays aren’t worth the purchase, as the die-hard fans may already have their theatrical version of the film, but that is certainly not the case with Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’s Extended Edition, which easily rivals any other film’s recent attempts.

The 3-disc Extended Edition includes the following: The first disc is for the film, while the other two discs are for the brilliantly shot behind-the-scenes footage.

If you’ve ever owned an Extended Edition for one of The Lord of The Ring’s films, then you will experience the same incredible quality of bonus features found in those films’ Extended Editions. No other director is capable of doing behind-the-scenes bonus features quite like Sir Peter Jackson, and this set is the proof.

There’s no doubt that a massively talented team is behind the camera and editing of this wonderful footage and we guarantee you’ll end up watching the bonus discs more often than the film itself. If you were a fan of the film, you’ll undoubtedly want this set in your collection.

Watching these characters come to life and seeing the familiar faces that we saw working so hard behind-the-scenes from The Lord of the Rings’ sets is heartwarming. After more than a decade, Peter still has many of the same set designers, assistants, and makeup artists on set.

Watching the bonus discs is like watching a Lord of the Rings’ family reunion, where everyone in New Zealand who works in the film industry gets back together to create another brilliant film franchise. There is truly something special about the bond that these people share and Peter Jackson’s feet are firmly planted in the center of this beautifully controlled chaos.

In the first bonus feature disc we get a little more detail concerning the departure of director Guillermo del Toro, who was set to direct The Hobbit films, but eventually left due to the film’s production being delayed. Del Toro went on to direct Pacific Rim, which gave Peter Jackson the chance to jump back into the directing chair for another three films in Middle Earth.

While Martin Freeman (Bilbo) is absent from quite a bit of the earlier bonus footage, we get a heavy dosage of the 13 dwarves and Gandalf. While the first bonus features’ disc includes loads of location filming and beards being attached to actors, the second disc is filled with interviews from Jackson, Freeman, and Philippa Boyens.

Peter and Philippa were producers and writers for the film, as well as Jackson’s partner (wife) Fran, and it’s very clear that these three are the driving force behind these films being made. It’s so interesting to listen to Peter discuss how An Unexpected Journey was created, and while there are still two more films to go, this first Extended Edition includes nine hours of footage.

As we mentioned before, there are Extended Editions that might be worth purchasing, and then there are Peter Jackson’s Extended Editions. There is simply no equal to the amount of high quality behind-the-scenes footage that this Extended Edition delivers to Hobbit fans.

Additional scenes

Now that we’ve gushed over how incredible the bonus features are, we’ll start with the 13 minutes of additional footage which are included in the film’s Extended Edition, and we’ll also list the time at which they start in bold so that fans may look out for the new scenes.

4:10 – Additional footage of Thranduil at Erebor is shown during Bilbo’s voice over about everyone paying homage to the dwarven king.

7:03 – More footage is shown of Smaug flying while he destroys the village.

9:38 – In this additional scene we get to see Peter Jackson’s daughter Katie as a hobbit, along with the film’s production designer Dan Hennah as Old Took. It’s also in this scene that we see a four-year old Bilbo playing with Gandalf as he releases his famous fireworks.

17:26 – In this additional scene we get to see Bilbo walking through Hobbiton and purchasing a piece of fish for dinner. Bilbo is stopped by Mr. Worrywort who shows him his wheelbarrow full of tubers and Bilbo asks him if he’s seen Gandalf around.

23:15 – When the dwarves arrive at Bag End, additional footage is revealed which shows them raiding the pantry as Bilbo continues to become more annoyed with the situation. He also tries to take a bottle of wine from Bifur. They also discuss the ax in Bifur’s head.

1:25:13 – After escaping from the Orcs, additional footage is shown of the company as they make their way to the secret passageway to Rivendell. Bilbo and Gandalf have a dialogue about “feeling” the magic nearby.

1:30:29 – During the eating scene at Rivendell, additional footage is shown of the dwarves eating and Kili is shown trying to get noticed by a beautiful elven harp player seen below.

1:32:48 – Additional footage and dialogue is included which features more of the conversation between Gandalf and Elrond, as they discuss the how Gandalf found the sword Glamdring. Near the end of this additional scene where Bofur jumps onto a plinth next to the table and sings a revised version of a song that Frodo sang in the Prancing Pony in the books.

1:39:03 – This scene shows Bilbo walking around the Last Homely House and also takes a peak at the shards of Narsil, which would later be reforged into the sword that Aragon uses in Return of the King.

1:42:07 – In this additional scene we see Bilbo walking by himself at night and he overhears the discussion that Elrond and Gandalf are having. Some additional dialogue has been added, which explains how Gandalf wants the dwarves to succeed so that it can strengthen their forces in the east. Elrond tells him that it’s dangerous, and Saruman says that there is “a strain of madness (that) runs deep in that family.”

1:45:10 – During the White Council meeting, an additional scene is used to explain the fact that of the seven dwarf rings, four were consumed by dragons, two were taken by Sauron before he died in Mordor. The final ring’s location is unknown, and is Thrain’s ring.

2:04:24 – After the dwarves are captured, Bilbo gets away by falling down the ravine and when the dwarves are taken to the Goblin King he starts singing an extended version of the song in the theatrical release.

2:06:55 – When the goblins are searching the dwarves, they empty out a bag of Elvish cutlery. The Goblin King takes notice as one of the golden candelabras has “Made in Rivendell” written on the back. He makes a remark about the 2nd age and throws it away. The camera pans to Nori and we see that it was he who stole the elvish belongings, and Oin gives him a dirty look.

‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ Extended Edition Set Prices

  • 5-disc Blu-ray 3D set ($54.98): Features the film in 3D and the Extended Edition.
  • 3-disc Blu-ray set ($35.99): Features the Extended Edition on Blu-ray.
  • 5-disc DVD set ($34.99): Features the Extended Edition on DVD.

    • UltraViolet editions available for download with all purchases

    Fans can purchase The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition on DVD/Blu-ray on November 5 through Warner Bros. official website.

    Fans can also purchase The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon. Purchase at the following links where the prices are $39.99 for the 5-disc Blu-ray 3D set, $24.99 for the 3-disc Blu-ray set, and $24.49 for the 5-disc DVD set.

    Related: Learn how to win the Extended Edition from Hypable!

    There is also an exclusive Extended Edition available on Amazon for $59.99, which includes a miniature Bilbo and Gollum statue and can be viewed in HD by clicking the above image.

    Fans of the first Hobbit film should be dying to get their hands on this first Extended Edition’s bonus features and it’s fair to say that while the trilogy will be packaged as an entire set once all the films have been released, this edition is certainly worth picking up now as we won’t see that trilogy set released until late 2015.

    The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug release date is set for December 13, 2013. It is the second film in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy based on the novels by revered author J.R.R Tolkien. The final movie in The Hobbit trilogy, There and Back Again, will hit theaters December 17, 2014.

    More great articles from Hypable