The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Extended Edition) [Blu-ray] [2001]

Product Information

In the middle chapter of this historic movie trilogy, the Fellowship is broken, but its quest to destroy the One Ring continues. With the help of a courageous Fellowship of friends and allies, Frodo embarks on a perilous mission to destroy the legendary One Ring. This is NOT the review of the movies. I am solely reviewing the facts that what EXTRA you get in this set than the previous editions. I will start with very basic facts for those who are baffled by so many editions being out there.

However, if you do not own the DVD versions, then this is a must buy as this includes almost everything that you can think of (HD movies, extra features, behind the scenes, plus digital copies).

Video (Color Range)

The Mines of Moria. When the Fellowship enters the mines of Moria we are taken deep into caverns and tunnels where the dwarves constructed incredible mazes and halls, the depths of which have been revealed much clearer on 4k TVs. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 4k Digital Still Audio Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Gandalf’s Fall Into Darkness. The color range improvement is clearly evident when Gandalf battles the Balrog and the two fall into darkness. Not only is the imagery deep with color, it’s also sharp, making almost every frame a work of art. The visual effects of Balrog hold up wonderfully even after 20 years. Designing and Building Middle-earth” offers “Designing Middle-earth” (41 min.) gives props to the creative team behind the look of the film, while “Weta Workshop” (43 min.) gives the make-up and effects guys their due, and “Costume Design” (12 min.) highlights the self-evident. There are also two still galleries for design, broken into numerous subsections covering the people and the realms, with some of the stills coming with commentary.

The Maps in LOTR of Middle Earth never looked so sharp, and neither have the shots of the ‘One Ring’ with carved inscriptions that are incredibly detailed, beautifully luminous, and perfectly legible (if you could read Elvish tengwar – if not, Galadriel provides the translation). On 4k Blu-ray there are some shots that are about as good as you could ever expect. The color is vibrant, details crisp, and the range of contrast impressive. In other shots the transfer quality doesn’t quite hit the same high marks, but that may have to do more with the way certain scenes are presented. For example, Galadriel and Arwen are always given a softer focus than other characters. There are also some shots you can find quips about, for example some of the forced perspective (used to make the Hobbit actors look smaller than other characters) does look a bit odd in today’s standards. Extended versions of the movies have humongous amount of extra film footage added to the theatrical editions (approx. 30, 40 and 50 additional minutes for movie 1, 2 and 3 respectively). So, go for the extended editions only if you are a die hard fan of the movies. If you are not, the review ends here. Buy whichever movie you like in your preferred format and enjoy. Thanks. Video and Audio significantly improved. Excellent blu ray transfer. I have not noticed any 'darker' colors as mentioned by some other viewers. It’s not a story of heroes or superheroes,” he says. “It’s a story of regular people who set out to save their world.”There are 15 discs in this set, five per film (two for the extended cuts and three for bonus features), plus 26 hours of bonus material. Just about the only thing it doesn't include are the original theatrical versions. If you prefer those over the extra-long extended editions, you might want to hold on to your previous set. But be aware that the versions on this set aren't just the same prints with the extra footage added in. They've been remastered, so this really is the best the three films are going to get on Blu-ray. Another audio moment is when the Fellowship attempts to take the Pass of Caradhras over the Misty Mountains but are ambushed by Saruman. The sounds of lightning, winds, and snow avalanches provide a good Atmos experience, especially in the subwoofer range.