The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Extended Edition) (2001-2003)

[PRO-630HD]

Harry Knowles post:
"Earlier this month there was some hub-bub about some of the Blu Ray forums that the FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING EE Blu-Ray mastering was completely ****ed with an ugly green hint over everything, oblitering any real whites and messing up the entire gorgeous color palate of the film. I wrote Peter Jackson to alert him to the rumors. Peter had Andrew Lesnie look into it – you see… of the 3 films, FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING EE was the only film of the trilogy that did not go through the extensive and expensive Digital Color Grading process. They did that for this. Peter had seen the new mastering of FELLOWSHIP – in fact anyone that had seen it on HD broadcasts recently was looking at the gorgeous master sans any tinting. In Peter’s opinion the film has simply never looked better – including theatrically, because this new digital color grading was something that Peter wanted from the very beginning."

Me:
The new color grading doesn't match the look of the latter two films and seems out of place, unless the latter two were color graded the same as well. It is a typical recent Warner transfer where the orange and teal are in full effect and the transfer as a whole is darker which is par for the course of any recent Warner transfers compared to earlier masters they had used. My question is how can I get a copy of the non-tinted master made from the new scan?! so it looks consistent with the other two films? If it was on HD broadcast it obviously exists! This is essentially one big film so consistency is important.

[griezzel]

Originally Posted by Ken Brown

Quick question. If every time Frodo tosses on the One Ring, Sauron's eye sees him and scares him half to death, why is Bilbo so calm after slipping off the ring at the beginning of FOTR? Why doesn't he see the eye? Is it as simple as the Ringwraiths haven't been released yet, so Sauron isn't actively trying to find a Baggins wearing a ring? Maybe I'm just missing something. I'm surprised I haven't thought of it before.

I understand how the worn ring could be less menacing in 'The Hobbit' based on the text alone and Sauron's state of existence at that time. But in the world and timeline of Jackson's LOTR movie adaptations, I hadn't heard anyone talk about the differences between Bilbo and Frodo's experiences while wearing the ring. Thanks!

(Granted, it isn't as distracting as a recent Star Wars: Episode IV revelation I stumbled across. Don't click the spoiler tag unless you want to never see a key 'New Hope' scene the same way again.

[Show spoiler]Luke, distraught that Obi Wan has been killed, mopes around the Falcon. Keep in mind he barely knew Obi Wan. Leia consoles Luke and tends to him in his grief; the same Leia who just lost her entire world and everyone she ever knew and loved as a child. Um... shouldn't she be the one moping around the Falcon? Shouldn't everyone be tending to the victim of planetary genocide?

)

LOL! Don't get me started!
I hate trying to rationalize oddities like this, BUT....

Perhaps since Bilbo already had a relationship with The Ring, predating Sauron's re-ascendance?

The thing that has always driven me nuts concerning The Ring (and I'm hope this annoyance isn't highly contagious!) regards the chain. We never once see the chain being clasped or unclasped (does it even have a clasp?). The chain seems to magically appear and disappear. It's been many years since I viewed the films, so I can't reference a particular scene, but I recall that even within some scenes The Ring is on the chain and then it isn't (and/or vice versa).

Arrrrgh!

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by PRO-630HD

Harry Knowles post:
"Earlier this month there was some hub-bub about some of the Blu Ray forums that the FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING EE Blu-Ray mastering was completely ****ed with an ugly green hint over everything, oblitering any real whites and messing up the entire gorgeous color palate of the film. I wrote Peter Jackson to alert him to the rumors. Peter had Andrew Lesnie look into it – you see… of the 3 films, FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING EE was the only film of the trilogy that did not go through the extensive and expensive Digital Color Grading process. They did that for this. Peter had seen the new mastering of FELLOWSHIP – in fact anyone that had seen it on HD broadcasts recently was looking at the gorgeous master sans any tinting. In Peter’s opinion the film has simply never looked better – including theatrically, because this new digital color grading was something that Peter wanted from the very beginning."

Me:
The new color grading doesn't match the look of the latter two films and seems out of place, unless the latter two were color graded the same as well. It is a typical recent Warner transfer where the orange and teal are in full effect and the transfer as a whole is darker which is par for the course of any recent Warner transfers compared to earlier masters they had used. My question is how can I get a copy of the non-tinted master made from the new scan?! so it looks consistent with the other two films? If it was on HD broadcast it obviously exists! This is essentially one big film so consistency is important.

I think the new color grading and the green tint are two different things. If you find a copy of the non-tinted master made from the new scan, be sure and let me know where I can find it!

[gettodamoofies]

Does anyone own the Canadian release? I was wondering if the box and case is identical to the US release? I've searched the thread but couldn't find any info other than regarding the discs. I'm interested in if the slipbox has any French text on it and if the inserts in the cases are metallic or plain printing?

Thanks in advance.

[E_I]

Watching some of this last night (I saw no tint on my laptop and PowerDVD 11)...I noticed that there's a scene from the Hobbit in the beginning...but Bilbo is played by a different actor than the upcoming movies. How is Jackson going to work this out?

[OB1KNBE]

The freakin pages at the menu screen are freakin greenish.....

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by E_I

Watching some of this last night (I saw no tint on my laptop and PowerDVD 11)...I noticed that there's a scene from the Hobbit in the beginning...but Bilbo is played by a different actor than the upcoming movies. How is Jackson going to work this out?

Im confused as to what you are asking.

The Hobbit takes place before Lord of the Rings and therefore Bilbo would be much younger.

Bilbo is now played by Martin Freeman and if photos are any indication he is perfect for the role.

[El_Jay]

I am soooooooo conflicted about this release.

I've gone through so many stages with it.

At first, when all I had to work with were screenshots and screaming mobs with pitchforks and torches, I was apalled. How dare they eff with my beloved baby, the films I had intentionally held off on watching since 2006, when I bought my PS3 and knew that I would eventually own these on Blu-ray? Obviously a mistake has been made, so a la Sapphire Series BDs, I will wait for the inevitable exchange program and send mine away.

I bought the set about an hour after shops opened, got home and popped the disc in, expecting the worst...

Wait... what? What green? This looks incredible! I could definitely see a new hue that I hadn't seen before, the whole image "leaned" a lot more green (I don't know any technical terminology) but things certainly didn't "all look green". I didn't see green teeth, green snow, green skies, I saw a vibrant and varied color palette. Fleshtones have never looked better than in this movie. Fine detail was apparent everywhere.

What sort of skullduggery is this, I thought, who are these infidels sabotaging this release, who have posted such misleading screen shots and Youtube comparison videos? This is an outrage!

So I viewed the movie in it's entirety, and while yes, the green tint is undeniably there, I couldn't say that it bothered me in the slightest or negatively impacted my viewing experience. I was elated that after being prepared for the worst, it was actually a stunning Blu-ray that delivered on every front. The green is there, but it's just a tone, an overall hue that doesn't "make everything look green"

I watched TTT, and while I immediately noticed the difference in the color palette, it didn't feel jarring at all. Certain scenes in that movie "look red" or "look blue", just as many do in FOTR and are totally absent of even the slightest green hue (mines of Moria, especially Gandalf's close-ups, for example, have no discernible hint of green, to my eye), so I wasn't bothered.

However, the more I read of these threads and the more I think about it, the more I would like a new print with the green hue removed. It's not that it's displeasing to my eye, it's just that the OCD part of me wants color continuity between all three films. Would I even have noticed it without this uproar? Maybe not, but now that I have, I cannot un-notice it. It's all I can think about.

I've seen 2/3 of the new EE's, I absolutely loved them and still do not regret my purchase, but the green issue is lurking there like an itch I just can't scratch, and after being gloriously elated upon viewing them and finding it "not a big deal", I am 100% behind a disc exchange, if it comes to light that yes, PJ approved the master they made, but this master isn't the one that made it onto our Blu-rays. Barring that, I'd like the other 2 films to get the same green treatment as FOTR, for continuity that, hell, I may not even notice. It's just a peace of mind thing.

Honestly I wish I'd never read any of these threads. It's the curse of being an "enthusiast" of anything.

I dunno, I KNOW I am being unreasonable here, but there's a part of me that is just OCD enough to let this issue bug the ever-loving **** out of me... even after having viewed most of the set and being satisfied with it.

Anyone else in the same boat? IE put off more by the mere fact that something is amiss and affects continuity, than the end result actually displeasing you?

[JTStarkiller]

Originally Posted by merrick97

Im confused as to what you are asking.

The Hobbit takes place before Lord of the Rings and therefore Bilbo would be much younger.

Bilbo is now played by Martin Freeman and if photos are any indication he is perfect for the role.

Is he talking about the scene where Bilbo (Ian Holm) finds the ring in the prologue? I haven't read The Hobbit yet, so I'm not sure, but I thought the same thing too last night.

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by El_Jay

I am soooooooo conflicted about this release.

I've gone through so many stages with it.

Honestly I wish I'd never read any of these threads. It's the curse of being an "enthusiast" of anything.

Ignorance may be bliss, but bliss is never really all it's cracked up to be

[El_Jay]

Originally Posted by JTStarkiller

Is he talking about the scene where Bilbo (Ian Holm) finds the ring in the prologue? I haven't read The Hobbit yet, so I'm not sure, but I thought the same thing too last night.

Yeeeeesh. I hope they abandon any idea of having continuity between The Hobbit and LOTR whatsoever. Let them be their own thing unrelated to the LOTR trilogy and assume that viewers are smart enough to suspend disbelief where applicable.

I didn't watch X-Men First Class last week and go WAAAAAIT - that guy doesn't look like Ian McKellen! What a load! Give the viewer some credit, and above all, leave the LOTR films alone. The last thing we want is the equivalent of Hayden Christensen in the final scene of Return of the Jedi. :P

[gstriftos]

Wow,as this thread goes by reminds me of my earlier audiophile years

[El_Jay]

Originally Posted by Ken Brown

Ignorance may be bliss, but bliss is never really all it's cracked up to be

Oh don't I know it.

The thing is, am I wasting my breath hoping that a disc exchange will happen, since even I am happy with how LOTR looks on it's own merit? If anything, I found that the beginning of The Two Towers seemed sort of washed out and drab after the color explosion of FOTR... whether that had anything to do with the green hue is way beyond my pay grade, but aside from a couple of scenes, I thought FOTR looked infinitely better than the other two. More detail, more vibrancy, more of a "fantasy world" sort of feel to it.

My OCD side would be satisfied with FOTR being similarly washed out and drab if it meant that all 3 films would look the same.

As I said, I am supremely conflicted. :P

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by Ken Brown

Ignorance may be bliss, but bliss is never really all it's cracked up to be

Are you saying you would rather be informed, but disappointed?

[raygendreau]

Originally Posted by frogmort

When I put one of the LOTR EE BDs on, my blu-ray player only displays "DTS-HD MSTR Multi" and my receiver shows "DTS-HD MSTR [3/3.1]". So these are discrete or matrix? I thought it was disrete.

You are decoding in your player rather than your AVR. That's why you see the multi channel qualifier. If you decode in your AVR it will display DTS HD MA 6.1. It is Discrete. 3/3.1 is 6.1. Thats how Sony displays it on their AVR's.
I prefer to decode in my AVR, but thats just me.

Hey, has anyone listened to PJ's audio commentary? I'm betting there may be some insight into his reason for the color changes in there. I'm just going to enjoy the movie (FOTR) first. I just started watching it. First time for me watching the Extended Edition. I never owned or rented the DVDs.

[Lyle_JP]

Originally Posted by gstriftos

Wow,as this thread goes by reminds me of my earlier audiophile years

Maybe the tint will go away if we coat the disc with orange magic marker.

[El_Jay]

Originally Posted by raygendreau

You are decoding in your player rather than your AVR. That's why you see the multi channel qualifier. If you decode in your AVR it will display DTS HD MA 6.1. It is Discrete. 3/3.1 is 6.1. Thats how Sony displays it on their AVR's.
I prefer to decode in my AVR, but thats just me.

Hey, has anyone listened to PJ's audio commentary? I'm betting there may be some insight into his reason for the color changes in there. I'm just going to enjoy the movie (FOTR) first. I just started watching it. First time for me watching the Extended Edition. I never owned or rented the DVDs.

Are the commentaries new?? I hadn't heard anything about that, I figured they were the same commentaries from the extended DVDs, of which I heard most, if not all, of them.

[Gilrod]

Originally Posted by MEB

1) Certain scenes in FOTR are too dark.

2) There's an ugly green tint to many scenes throughout the movie. A tint that never existed in previous versions on disc.

This screen shot comparison is ACCURATE when viewed on my calibrated 70" display (directly from the EE Blu-ray and the TE Blu-ray).

Theatrical Blu-ray:


Extended edition Blu-ray:


My full report can be found here.

I know you only asked for the things that are pissing people off, but I'll also add this... When the image isn't too dark and when the green tint isn't noticeable, the image quality is AWESOME! Personally, I found about 30-35% of the movie to be annoyingly dark or annoyingly tinted. So, that's 65-70% of awesome image.

Mark

Call me crazy, but my copy doesn't look nearly as green as the bottom image. The snow is white. I'm sure there's still a green tint, but it is far, far from as horrific as that image. Mind you, I am not an expert at these things, but I'm happy with what I just bought. The digital copy definitely doesn't look like the green screen grab, either.

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by El_Jay

The thing is, am I wasting my breath hoping that a disc exchange will happen, since even I am happy with how LOTR looks on it's own merit?

I don't think Warner, Jackson or really any studio would create an exchange program to offer people a different version of a release unless there was an error. So, based on the official statement that was issued Monday, I highly doubt an exchange program is forthcoming. I know, I know. I wasn't saying that a week ago, but that was before the official statement arrived. Although, to be entirely frank, I've also been wrong 187 other times in the last three weeks, so I would quote someone other than me

The only thing I'm holding out hope for is a statement from Jackson (one that comes on his timetable, of course) that briefly explains why he and Lesnie added a slight tint to the film. And, just to be clear, the only reason I'm curious about that is because I'd like to discuss the merit/function of the tint in context with the filmmakers' as-yet-to-be-detailed intentions. Even if he addresses the purpose of the tint a year from now, I'll be happy. I love these films so much I just want to understand all of the various production decisions made, including the reason behind the intentional, albeit slight tint added to the newly color-graded film. That's why I've plowed through the Appendices multiple times over the years - I love watching the films with an understanding as to why every color, detail, design and choice appears on screen. Luckily, Jackson has always been eager to reveal every last morsel of information on his methods and decisions

Originally Posted by El_Jay

Are the commentaries new?? I hadn't heard anything about that, I figured they were the same commentaries from the extended DVDs, of which I heard most, if not all, of them.

Yep, they're all the same. No new commentaries are included.

[WhoIsTylerDurden]

Originally Posted by El_Jay

Are the commentaries new?? I hadn't heard anything about that, I figured they were the same commentaries from the extended DVDs, of which I heard most, if not all, of them.

The commentaries are the same ones from the original EE DVDs.