Dedicated Hobbit fans last night sat through a nine-hour cinema marathon as they got to see the entire trilogy from start to finish.

Max Geater, who lives in the Norwich Road area of Ipswich, was among those eager to take his seat at 6pm last night and see the full trilogy he had been waiting three years to watch.

He said: “When the first Hobbit film, An Unexpected Journey, came on I felt like it was a daunting task; however I was also gripped with excitement that I would be able to see the entire story from start to finish before anyone else.”

Many of the fans dressed up for the occasion, said Max, who had only seen each of the first two films once before the special screening.

“I was reliving all of the excitement I felt back in 2012 when An Unexpected Journey came out.”

Max added: “The Desolation of Smaug was a spectacle to behold, to see Smaug in IMAX 3D and having your seat tremble really made him feel powerful. The environments were all breath taking and went hand in hand with the genius musical score.

“The Battle of the Five Armies came on at midnight, having to follow in the footsteps of Return of the King, I was gripped and fully enjoying it into the early hours of Friday. It was a spectacular way to sign off the trilogy.

“This was an experience I won’t soon be forgetting. I may have to do this with the Lord of the Rings films myself.”

Were you at the screening? Could you manage a nine-hour cinema-athon?