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nobofthepony
Menegroth
Feb 1 2014, 8:05pm
Post #1 of 57
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Why I think the Dwarves VS. Smaug sequence was VERY well done, good adaptation and generally under-rated...
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Ok, it seems like the least well-received part of DOS is the final confrontation between the dwarves and Smaug.
It took me a couple of viewings myself to warm up to it, but once I did, I noticed a few things that really won me over to it.
Is it just "padding" to stretch out the story? I don't think so. When adapting this story to film, there are certain things that don't work if you are trying to make the characters empathetic. To have the dwarves huddling for protection and not even trying to help Bilbo wouldn't have worked visually. The only way it works is if you are trying to make the dwarves unlike-able. So the decision was made to have some sort of confrontation between the dwarves and Smaug; but it could have went a few ways...
It could have been a big stupid action sequence where they use weapons...bows, axes, spears, etc. Like the sequence with the trolls. Thankfully, it was more of a game of wits between the dwarves and Smaug, with the dwarves using their knowledge of the mountain and the actual functions of its diverse parts. Using the dragonfire against Smaug to light the forges was a good choice, and once the machinery starts up, Smaug is seriously challenged as he continues his cat-and-mouse game.
To me, these is a great way to frame the confrontation: those who love the mountain vs. the one who has no respect for it. And the actual fight is fought by the knowledge of the mountain itself. I thought this was a great way to do it.
The final scene with the golden statue, again, was great symbolism. The dragon's greed is used against him and the image of the dwarven king staring down at the dragon was very well thought out. Seeing Smaug foiled by his own gold lust was priceless.
In the end, the overall story wasn't changed, Smaug still angrily flies off the Laketown, but the dwarves remain empathetic characters who used their wits and stood up against an unassailable foe. There will be more of an understanding and investment in their side of the story which will pay off in the Bo5A. If they were shown to be cowards, they would be little more than comic villians in the last movie.
And as for the one part I agree is a little hokey: Thorin riding the wheel-barrow on the river of gold...hey, if dwarves can make mithril-vests that can take a troll jab to the chest, maybe they can make molten-gold-proof wheel-barrows. I can suspend my disbelief.
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Eleniel
Dor-Lomin
Feb 1 2014, 8:31pm
Post #2 of 57
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To have the dwarves huddling for protection and not even trying to help Bilbo wouldn't have worked visually. The only way it works is if you are trying to make the dwarves unlike-able. So the decision was made to have some sort of confrontation between the dwarves and Smaug; but it could have went a few ways...
Bilbo didn't need help until Thorin came rushing in maddened and barred him from leaving the Hall. If PJ had given us Bilbo returning to the surface with the stolen cup we could still have had a confrontation on the doorstep as per the book, but expanded with a face to face for Thorin if necessary. In the book Bombur and Bofur are left down in base camp, so there is the tension of getting them up to safety with the dragon on the rampage. That could have worked really well, with Bilbo involved in helping them whilst Thorin & co face off with Smaug. The cliffhanger could still have been Smaug revealing his iintention to go to Laketown, etc, with him smashing the secret door and trapping everyone inside the mountain with the realization of "What have we done?"
"Choosing Trust over Doubt gets me burned once in a while, but I'd rather be singed than hardened."
Ż Victoria Monfort
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utku
Ossiriand
Feb 1 2014, 8:43pm
Post #3 of 57
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I love how dwarves are re-imagined as fighters in these movies, I think it's one of the most underrated aspects of the trilogy, the depiction of their fights. There is a beautiful contrast between how races fight: Elves fight elegantly and in harmony (that famous sword flip in FotR prologue comes to mind). Men fight, well as you would expect them to fight in the real world, quite normal. Orcs are more like berserker and not uniform. Prior to the Hobbit, I expected Dwarves to be in the same vein with orcs but this last mountain scene made it clear that they are a very different type of fighters.
Dwarves make great halls inside the mountains and their craftsmanship are enhanced by their incredible equipment, built by exceptional engineering. That's what dwarves are basically: great engineers. For this reason they make a great use of their surroundings during a fight. They use everything they can find on a battlefield to get help. This was most apparent in the Goblin Town chase in the first movie. They cut ropes and sticks to their advantage when they were highly outnumbered. Now in this movie they are again using their setting and inherent engineering skills to make it an agony for Smaug to chase them.
Because when dwarves go on full rage mode, they are not succeeding (Azanulbizar, Trollshaw). Battles work for them when they fight in harmony with their surroundings.
I can see why some people think this is like a theme-ride servicebut I think a great deal of thought went into these sequences and why they would work. I remember John Howe saying PJ intends to change the perception of dwarves in the public mind as a more serious fantasy race just like Tolkien did with Elves and I can already see this happening on my perception. I mostly perceived dwarves as rude, blunt, thick warriors but now it's really changed (well they still are really rude but incredibly clever as well). It may not completely fit with the canon but at this point, what really does?
Now back to the point, I think Dwarves vs Smaug scene will work better after TaBA since I expect some consequences of the fight to affect how Smaug meets his fate. This would hopefully change the minds of those who think the scene is useless since Smaug is unharmed by the end. But even if this isn't fulfilled by the next movie, the sequence still works as a way to make our company matter. Overall I too think the end fight is clever, fun and filled with fitting symbolisms and motives. One of my favourite scenes of DoS as well. I would expect Bo5A to be more serious but I hope the same witty fights occur in the battle-field.
(This post was edited by utku on Feb 1 2014, 8:48pm)
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book Gandalf
Nargothrond
Feb 1 2014, 9:10pm
Post #4 of 57
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but the end sequence is the exact opposite of what that scene should be!
the whole reason bilbo is there is because you CANNOT FIGHT A DRAGON. and what is brilliant about book bilbo vs smaug is that its the little hobbit versus the giant monster and he wins,sprt of!
for me the film ending destroys all the ideas and themes tolkien wrote the story about.
it works by itself, fine for a typical action film, but its nowhere near as interesting as it could and should have been.
This is a serious journey, not a hobbit walking-party.
(This post was edited by book Gandalf on Feb 1 2014, 9:11pm)
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Retro315
Ossiriand
Feb 1 2014, 9:31pm
Post #5 of 57
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I'm a little more okay with the liberties taken, though it did strain credulity at first. But ultimately I do like how the dwarves ATTEMPT to use their knowledge of the mountain to be big heroes and slay the dragon.
But they fail miserably.
But there was one big element I noticed that I don't think I've seen anyone anywhere mention, and that's when Thorin has them blow open the sluices with the water - and we see water seriously messes Smaug up, giving us foreshadowing that indeed, water is a weakness for a fire-drake.
Not that it isn't the black arrow that kills him, but there was mention in the books that Lake-town was built on the water for dragon-defense, and we know when his hot body hits the water, big doomy fantastical things happen, steams, vapors, bones, accursed lake-beds.
(Similarly, the place where the toxic Fell Beast blood of the Witch-king is slaughtered on the Field of Pelennor becomes accursed and never really grows plant life afterward.)
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Noria
Hithlum
Feb 1 2014, 9:48pm
Post #6 of 57
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I like the idea of a battle of wits and the dwarves using their engineering skills and knowledge of Erebor against the dragon. They fail to slay Smaug but they survive.
Despite a few over-the-top bits, I really like this climatic sequence as well. It could have been done in many different ways but it wasn't.
IMO one of the best decisions that PJ etc. made in filming The Hobbit was to make the dwarves less buffoonish, petty and cowardly, to make them all fearless and formidable fighters, albeit rough and uncouth. They are more interesting (and amusing) and as was said above, more sympathetic.
This is no longer just Bilbo’s story, one of an ordinary little guy learning and growing as he faces the wide world outside his books and maps, ultimately becoming a hero. Like it or not the movies are also about Thorin and Gandalf/Sauron. IMO Thorin’s is the story the Return of the King Under the Mountain. Thorin is no longer just Grumpy Garden Gnome # 1 and a secondary character but is a king in waiting and the protagonist of his own story. That story has to be served.
As for the forges, well to my mind a race that can make magical maps with moon runes that lead to magically sealed doors might have a little mining and refining magic too.
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Barbarb
Lindon
Feb 1 2014, 10:32pm
Post #7 of 57
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This scene was one of my favourites. There was something very poignant about the dwarves getting the machinery of their city to work again after all those years of disuse.
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Annatar598
Nargothrond
Feb 1 2014, 10:35pm
Post #8 of 57
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But that is the point! *Spoilers*
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In the end the Dwarves FAIL. They fail miserably in fact. Their actions result in terrible consequences.
The movie confrontation has more depth than the book's rather simple conclusion to the Bilbo vs. Smaug scene. It not only depicts the Dwarves as extremely desperate and reckless but also very determined. These are a people who have lost their home. They were kicked out by an evil dragon and thrown into the dust to perish.
The movie's "anti-climax" in that the dwarves fail at killing Smaug works on so many levels. It also shows how powerful Smaug is and the ultimate irony that he is killed by one black arrow
It's hard to watch this scene and realize the motivations of the dwarves and what these motivations ultimately lead to (their selfishness leads to the potential massacre of many) because it's a noisy scene. Theres things flying around, loud dragon roars and heavy machinery working. It's all very sensory that it doesn't allow the mind to fully see the futility of the Dwarves' actions.
I think this ending is very faithful to the depth that Tolkien is famous for. It certainly doesn't "destroy" the themes he made - it embellishes and deeps them.
And let's not forget the BOFA. This quite underrated and undeservedly hated ending to DOS builds upon the politics involved in TABA. It will make the audience question whether or not the dwarves did the right thing in waking the dragon. After all; by the end of DOS we know Bard was right.
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Thranderz
Nargothrond
Feb 1 2014, 10:40pm
Post #9 of 57
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I really don't agree with your generalisations
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You say it destroys ALL themes and ideas? I completely disagree. The chief theme is greed and the sequence certainly doesn't destroy that theme, if anything it solidifies it. The fact that they risk their lives for gold shows it, and so does the fact that they build a massive statue literally out of their wealth.
I simply walked into Mordor.
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TheSexyBeard
Menegroth
Feb 1 2014, 11:27pm
Post #10 of 57
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I'm torn between the statue scene. I felt it might have been more effective for Smaug to just fly off after Bilbo stands up to him and Thorin challenges him but some might find that extremily anit-climatic. However at the same time, despite the scene being totally fabricated, it felt very Tolkien to me with the way Smaug's greed was almost his downfall and the it highlighted how badly Thror had been affected by his dragon sickness; to the point of ordering a giant gold statue in his image to be made. Perhaps I'll have a better idea when the DVD comes out (only seen the film once), but I can undertsand why Jackson felt a confrontation between Smaug and the Dwarves was nessecary.
Yes, my username is terrible.
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dormouse
Gondolin
Feb 1 2014, 11:52pm
Post #11 of 57
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Agreed - I think it's excellent
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As is your post!
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Glorfindela
Doriath
Feb 2 2014, 12:08am
Post #12 of 57
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I don't have any great problem with it, especially because I love watching Smaug and his antics and expressions.
And it certainly isn't the 'least well-received part of DoS' – there are at least two other parts that have been received less well…
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Bladerunner
Mithlond
Feb 2 2014, 1:07am
Post #13 of 57
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To the extent that the first two films have emphasized Thorin's more heroic qualities
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I'm suspecting that in the final film we will be witnessing a dramatic descent into the darker less endearing "forges" of his character.
It wouldn't surprise me if Fili and Kili challenge him against his strong position against the Elven-king and Lake-town, to the point that he feels betrayed by those closest to him, is alienated by them and casts them aside. (This would also be consistent with that whole Kili/Tauriel storyline).
Not that I would agree with any of those changes, but nonetheless Thorin is being set up for the "Mad King Lear" treatment.
If the film is going down this path, then it would have made more sense during the hidden door scene, if instead of giving up so easily, Thorin would have decided in his despair to openly challenge Smaug with a frontal suicide attack, only to be called back from the brink when Bilbo discovers the key-hole.
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Bard'sBlackArrow
Menegroth
Feb 2 2014, 1:11am
Post #14 of 57
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I love how dwarves are re-imagined as fighters in these movies, I think it's one of the most underrated aspects of the trilogy, the depiction of their fights. There is a beautiful contrast between how races fight: Elves fight elegantly and in harmony (that famous sword flip in FotR prologue comes to mind). Men fight, well as you would expect them to fight in the real world, quite normal. Orcs are more like berserker and not uniform. Prior to the Hobbit, I expected Dwarves to be in the same vein with orcs but this last mountain scene made it clear that they are a very different type of fighters.
Dwarves make great halls inside the mountains and their craftsmanship are enhanced by their incredible equipment, built by exceptional engineering. That's what dwarves are basically: great engineers. For this reason they make a great use of their surroundings during a fight. They use everything they can find on a battlefield to get help. This was most apparent in the Goblin Town chase in the first movie. They cut ropes and sticks to their advantage when they were highly outnumbered. Now in this movie they are again using their setting and inherent engineering skills to make it an agony for Smaug to chase them.
Because when dwarves go on full rage mode, they are not succeeding (Azanulbizar, Trollshaw). Battles work for them when they fight in harmony with their surroundings.
I can see why some people think this is like a theme-ride servicebut I think a great deal of thought went into these sequences and why they would work. I remember John Howe saying PJ intends to change the perception of dwarves in the public mind as a more serious fantasy race just like Tolkien did with Elves and I can already see this happening on my perception. I mostly perceived dwarves as rude, blunt, thick warriors but now it's really changed (well they still are really rude but incredibly clever as well). It may not completely fit with the canon but at this point, what really does?
Now back to the point, I think Dwarves vs Smaug scene will work better after TaBA since I expect some consequences of the fight to affect how Smaug meets his fate. This would hopefully change the minds of those who think the scene is useless since Smaug is unharmed by the end. But even if this isn't fulfilled by the next movie, the sequence still works as a way to make our company matter. Overall I too think the end fight is clever, fun and filled with fitting symbolisms and motives. One of my favourite scenes of DoS as well. I would expect Bo5A to be more serious but I hope the same witty fights occur in the battle-field.
I really love this sequence for the reasons you elaborate on. I like the fact that we see them rise up and use the resources of their home. It also shows what roles/jobs they had in dwarven society (miners, chemists (one of Balin's many skills ;)) etc.)
Anything that fleshes out dwarven culture is a good thing to me.
Thanks for your post and to the OP for bringing this up.
... on the other side of tomorrow...
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wonderinglinguist
Menegroth
Feb 2 2014, 1:18am
Post #15 of 57
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I don't mind that the dwarves had a confrontation with Smaug. I actually think it's more satisfying, considering the history, for Thorin, Balin, etc to face the enemy that destroyed their homeland. I like how you said it's a like a fight between "those who love the mountain vs. the one who has no respect for it". That's a great way to look at it and I thank you for mentioning it! 
Concerning the sequence, I just didn't like the OTT parts--though I don't like OTT in any non-cartoon movie!-- I prefer a sense of realism, so things like Thorin standing on Smaug's nose (snout?) was too much. It also went on just a little too long, for me. By the last 5 minutes or so of it I was getting bored and kept thinking, when is he going to fly away already? 
After seeing the movie, one of the first things my husband said was that Smaug was good, but should have been more cunning. Others have alluded to the same and I have to agree. For me, Smaug looses a bit of his intimidation when a few dwarves are able to avoid him so easily.
So, the idea of them facing off I really like and is a change I don't mind, indeed even welcome. It's just the execution/presentation that didn't 100% work for me.
keep smiling
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Dame Ioreth
Dor-Lomin
Feb 2 2014, 1:46am
Post #16 of 57
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I thought this scene gave the stodgy, greedy dwarf character of the book depth. It showed that they had talents and courage. Their motivations are flawed and that was shown too. To me, that *is* Tolkien. Dwarves were flawed form the very beginning, being created sort of on the sly without proper permission. Their very nature is "have at them" but with this scene we got to see that they have other positive qualities. It made me feel for them even more because they really can't win for trying. Their natures will always betray them.
Where there's life there's hope, and need of vittles.
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
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iduna
Ossiriand
Feb 2 2014, 2:39am
Post #17 of 57
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I thought the sequence was very exciting and a good way to bring that part of the story to the screen. Having the dwarves enter the mountain and battle Smaug is much more interesting cinematically. Also, if the dwarves take action, then they are responsible for the consequences of those actions. It's more interesting to watch characters who make things happen, rather than characters to whom things happen at random.
The point about the dwarves using their knowledge of the mountain and its resources is well-taken. I assume that melting great quantities of gold takes at least a little time, so I could see why the dwarves would have to spend some time ducking and dodging to get away from Smaug before they could bring him face-to-face with what they hoped would be his doom. And the final sequence with the gold statue was great symbolism, I agree -- attempting to use a giant representation of dwarven greed to destroy Smaug, the embodiment of greed, was a great touch.
Once the dwarves decided to enter the mountain, they had to fight against the dragon. They were trapped, as they discovered when they got to the guard room and found the mummified remains of the dwarf families. Then Thorin and company did their best to destroy Smaug -- and I think they thought they were going to die in the process. They didn't expect the result they got, which brought the whole sequence back to the story-line that exists in the book.
And yeah, I'd say that in a series of movies where the viewer has already accepted wizards, dragons, and a giant flaming eyeball of evil, it's not such a stretch to accept wheelbarrow-surfing on a river of gold.
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Silverlode
Forum Admin
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Feb 2 2014, 3:40am
Post #18 of 57
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I think it made sense that they would want to have the dwarves confront the dragon, rather than make such a big deal of fighting him and reclaiming the Mountain from him and then never actually see him. And I liked how they chose to do it, especially the fact that they've established that though thousands of tons of molten metal can't harm him, he doesn't like water at all. That's nice foreshadowing that wasn't made too obvious. I also liked the symbolism of the giant statue as the representation of the greed and hubris that epitomizes the "dragon-sickness", so much that the dragon itself is entranced. And in the end, the biggest plan the dwarves could come up with completely failed - or rather, succeeded only in sending an angry dragon to destroy Laketown.
Like you, the only thing I wish they'd cut was the wheelbarrow. That really didn't work for me, especially with how he was holding on to the edge and how close his hands were to the gold....If they'd left that out and given Thorin some other path to the Hall of Kings, I'd have nothing to complain about.
Silverlode
"Dark is the water of Kheled-zâram, and cold are the springs of Kibil-nâla, and fair were the many-pillared halls of Khazad-dűm in Elder Days before the fall of mighty kings beneath the stone."
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GiantMushroomBear
Nevrast
Feb 2 2014, 4:42am
Post #19 of 57
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The sequence could have been really improved if they'd kept it in the dark
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I actually really like the idea of the dwarves using their engineering skills to best the dragon. But the fact that they were able to do all this with Smaug on their tail was pretty inconceivable. They could have fixed this by keeping the focus on Bilbo, and having the dwarves do their plan while Smaug taunts Bilbo so it's be more realistic (no thorin on smaug's snout) and shorter.
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MorgolKing
Ossiriand
Feb 2 2014, 5:03am
Post #20 of 57
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That's way too many mental hurdles you're jumping to just enjoy a scene -- that should tell you something.
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N/T
Ok, it seems like the least well-received part of DOS is the final confrontation between the dwarves and Smaug.
It took me a couple of viewings myself to warm up to it, but once I did, I noticed a few things that really won me over to it.
Is it just "padding" to stretch out the story? I don't think so. When adapting this story to film, there are certain things that don't work if you are trying to make the characters empathetic. To have the dwarves huddling for protection and not even trying to help Bilbo wouldn't have worked visually. The only way it works is if you are trying to make the dwarves unlike-able. So the decision was made to have some sort of confrontation between the dwarves and Smaug; but it could have went a few ways...
It could have been a big stupid action sequence where they use weapons...bows, axes, spears, etc. Like the sequence with the trolls. Thankfully, it was more of a game of wits between the dwarves and Smaug, with the dwarves using their knowledge of the mountain and the actual functions of its diverse parts. Using the dragonfire against Smaug to light the forges was a good choice, and once the machinery starts up, Smaug is seriously challenged as he continues his cat-and-mouse game.
To me, these is a great way to frame the confrontation: those who love the mountain vs. the one who has no respect for it. And the actual fight is fought by the knowledge of the mountain itself. I thought this was a great way to do it.
The final scene with the golden statue, again, was great symbolism. The dragon's greed is used against him and the image of the dwarven king staring down at the dragon was very well thought out. Seeing Smaug foiled by his own gold lust was priceless.
In the end, the overall story wasn't changed, Smaug still angrily flies off the Laketown, but the dwarves remain empathetic characters who used their wits and stood up against an unassailable foe. There will be more of an understanding and investment in their side of the story which will pay off in the Bo5A. If they were shown to be cowards, they would be little more than comic villians in the last movie.
And as for the one part I agree is a little hokey: Thorin riding the wheel-barrow on the river of gold...hey, if dwarves can make mithril-vests that can take a troll jab to the chest, maybe they can make molten-gold-proof wheel-barrows. I can suspend my disbelief.
(This post was edited by MorgolKing on Feb 2 2014, 5:04am)
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arithmancer
Hithlum
Feb 2 2014, 5:09am
Post #21 of 57
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...seem to find this necessary when dealing with scenes that are "not in the book". (Whcih some posters consider in an of itself a lack of quality but I certainly disagree! Some of my favorite scenes in both films are "not in the book"). And then can appreciate them for what they are, for their role in the story, for their visuals and character moments, etc.
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DemoElite
Ossiriand
Feb 2 2014, 5:13am
Post #22 of 57
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I hated the scene but now you've made me reconsider. As far as the wheel barrow goes, he isn't in it as long as you think and he does sit a little high on it, bracing for a hot temperature. It isn't that ridiculous. I have seen worse movie magic. Smaug could have taken them all out if he wanted .
I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve!
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Swingcatpdx
Lindon
Feb 2 2014, 5:45am
Post #23 of 57
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I've been to see DOS 3 times now. The first time the whole thing kinda went by in a blur. However, after repeated viewings I've been able to observe and appreciate the complexity and realism of the operation of the furnace machinery, Bomber on the bellows, Bilbo releasing the water to operate water wheels driving gears and linkage and machinery assemblys, melting of gold in vats started by Smaugs fire heat, overhead buckets and pulleys and the dwarves use of a casting mold and removal of its sections. All this in a smoothly operating sequence that made the seen easy to follow and believable. With each viewing more details become appparent. PJ and crew certainly did thier homework on how a forge/steel mill would operate to recreate such a sequence.
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Kilidoescartwheels
Doriath
Feb 2 2014, 6:45am
Post #24 of 57
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I LIKED the fact that Thorin rallied the dwarves and led an attempt against Smaug. My big problem with DOS was how Thorin was portrayed in AUJ - a strong leader and defender of his men, the first one to attack the Trolls (behind reckless Kili), the last one to flee the Wargs, rescuing Bilbo, etc. I had a hard time believing a man like that would stand back like book Thorin and send a single burglar into the mountain - surely HE would be the first one through the door! So the movie explained that beautifully. And IF the dwarves had succeeded in killing Smaug, that would have been such a major deviation from the book I don't think it would have held up. The whole reason Bard felt entitled to one twelfth of the gold is because the dwarves woke the dragon, who then destroyed their town (and that's not even including movie Thorin's promise that "all would share" the gold).
BUT the attack itself was a little too far-fetched. Yes, I get the symbolism of the Gold statue, and actually the look on Thorin's face when he sees it is almost horror - the realization that his grandfather was that consumed by the gold sickness, and that he's next! But honestly, how did they get the gold to melt so fast? Why didn't it melt the wheelbarrow? And Thorin landing on Smaug's nose? Makes me think of that hilarious "How DOS should have ended" skit. I think it would have been better if they'd tried to drop the heavy gold (unmelted) statue on Smaug, to try and kill him that way. And many people have wondered why Smaug would just abandon his gold to attack Lake-town after the attempted killing? That's one area where the book explains things better than the movie does. I liked the movie quite well, but that scene just has too many problems for me.
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Silverlode
Forum Admin
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Feb 2 2014, 8:34am
Post #25 of 57
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Thorin on Smaug's snout and the problems of monocular vision
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I was just thinking about this and I realized that I haven't seen any discussion of the problems of reptile vision in connection with this scene. Smaug has monocular vision. Because his eyes are on opposite sides of his head, he sees different things with each one. This increases his peripheral vision on the one hand, so it's hard to sneak up on him from the side or behind, but it is a handicap in other ways. It's the overlap of the visual field of both our eyes which gives us (and other animals with forward-facing eyes) the depth perception and 3D vision that I think we're unconsciously assuming Smaug also has. But his eyes aren't set like ours. This means that Smaug cannot:
- see the tip of his nose
- see in 3D except in a very narrow portion of his vision
- accurately judge distance or position, especially when in motion
Here is a diagram to illustrate what I'm talking about.
Smaug has largely monocular vision, like the fish in the diagram. He can likely see down the sides of his snout, but not the actual tip of it or for a little distance in front of it. Thorin is narrower than the edges of his snout and is therefore standing directly in his blind spot. To simulate this for yourself, hold one hand flat against the tip of your nose to represent the width of Smaug's snout and then touch the back of it with a finger of the other hand. You can't see the finger that's behind the hand. That's where Thorin is standing in that scene.
Smaug could see Thorin very well as he was chasing him up the shaft - his eyes are set so that he has visual overlap a little distance in front of his nose - but he missed him when he snapped and once Thorin is standing on his snout he has essentially vanished just out of Smaug's field of vision. Now he can't cross his eyes hard enough to actually see him. Can he feel him there, considering how tiny Thorin is in comparison? Yes, perhaps. And even if not, he can probably tell where he must be. But to me it explains that momentary hesitation and pause for thought before he opens his mouth and tries to snap at the dwarf he knows is there but can't quite see.
This would actually explain a lot of the difficulties Smaug had in catching the dwarves throughout the chase. They are in constant motion, and he does not have good depth perception in most of his field of vision because he cannot track with both eyes at once except in that narrow overlapping field a little distance in front of him. If they're out of that forward-overlap visual zone, his depth perception and velocity-tracking ability is going to be much less.
I think there was quite a bit of lizard/reptile research that went into Smaug's design - they even gave him a nictitating membrane on his eyes for goodness' sake - so it wouldn't surprise me if they also considered the other qualities of reptile vision somewhere along the way. Like many things in these movies (see Dweller in Dales' entertaining Symposium papers on Hobbit physics for other examples), it's perhaps a little more realistic than it actually seems.
Silverlode
"Dark is the water of Kheled-zâram, and cold are the springs of Kibil-nâla, and fair were the many-pillared halls of Khazad-dűm in Elder Days before the fall of mighty kings beneath the stone."
(This post was edited by Silverlode on Feb 2 2014, 8:42am)
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