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

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by HonestJohn

Is the de-gamma-rayed FOTR Extended / standard Blu-ray only available in this set or can it also be bought separately? Just want to make sure before opening my Remastered set.

There’s no individual release yet that I’m aware of.

[ck105]

The discs are part of that massive new MIDDLE-EARTH 31-DISC ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION.

A review from thedigitalbits.com:

https://thedigitalbits.com/item/midd...-4k-uhd-bd-box

"But compared to the previous Blu-ray editions, the new Blu-ray Discs exhibit cleaner and tighter detail, with less visible noise, and better encoding and compression. Contrast is also improved, with deeper, more detailed shadows and slightly bolder highlights, as well as more natural and nuanced colors. The grade is certainly different in places, sometimes a little brighter and bolder. The original Blu-rays actually look oversaturated in comparison in some scenes, and in others the lack of depth and detail in the shadows makes the original Blu-ray image look duller. I challenge the notion that there’s less detail in the new-remastered versions. In fact, to my eyes, quite the reverse is often true (again, it varies a little bit from scene to scene). And here’s something that surprised me today, because I didn’t realize it before: For the scenes in which DNR is visible in the 4K remaster, it’s also visible on the original Blu-rays. (Perhaps it was always there, and the HDR simply makes it appear a little more noticeable?) In any case, I much prefer the new Blu-rays to the previous ones—the improvements in contrast, color accuracy, and encoding make a real difference. If you’re used to the previous Blu-rays, however, the color and contrast differences in the new ones might be a little jarring. My suggestion is to keep an open mind."

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by ck105

The discs are part of that massive new MIDDLE-EARTH 31-DISC ULTIMATE COLLECTOR’S EDITION.

A review from thedigitalbits.com:

https://thedigitalbits.com/item/midd...-4k-uhd-bd-box

"But compared to the previous Blu-ray editions, the new Blu-ray Discs exhibit cleaner and tighter detail, with less visible noise, and better encoding and compression. Contrast is also improved, with deeper, more detailed shadows and slightly bolder highlights, as well as more natural and nuanced colors. The grade is certainly different in places, sometimes a little brighter and bolder. The original Blu-rays actually look oversaturated in comparison in some scenes, and in others the lack of depth and detail in the shadows makes the original Blu-ray image look duller. I challenge the notion that there’s less detail in the new-remastered versions. In fact, to my eyes, quite the reverse is often true (again, it varies a little bit from scene to scene). And here’s something that surprised me today, because I didn’t realize it before: For the scenes in which DNR is visible in the 4K remaster, it’s also visible on the original Blu-rays. (Perhaps it was always there, and the HDR simply makes it appear a little more noticeable?) In any case, I much prefer the new Blu-rays to the previous ones—the improvements in contrast, color accuracy, and encoding make a real difference. If you’re used to the previous Blu-rays, however, the color and contrast differences in the new ones might be a little jarring. My suggestion is to keep an open mind."

I can't agree with most of this.

[Captain Keen]

I don't want to get into the back and forth here, and for now I'm only planning on getting the theatrical editions (they're under $20) and I'll be keeping my old sets as well. If I really like the new transfers then I'll spring for the extended editions maybe, or just get the 4K pack.

With all of that said... have any of you watched the old disks recently? Most of them are, uh, not good.

From my POV (and again, this is MY opinion and my opinion only):

Fellowship theatrical is the worst of the bunch. It's barely an upscaled DVD. By 2021 standards it nearly looks standard def, and is an ancient master. It's really not good.

Fellowship extended is 1000 times better in regards to detail, and is probably the best of all the disks... except for that damn green tint, which makes it nearly unwatchable. I'm not even one of those people who is super sensitive to new grades, and sometimes I even prefer the new grades of older films. However, this is one of the worst, along with that yellow The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. It's just... it's just terrible. What made anyone think that was a good look for the film??

Two Towers theatrical is fine, but dated. The film has a lot DNR and waxiness baked in, so it kinda is what it is without extensive re-working. It's actually my favorite film of the trilogy, so I'm not hating here, but visually it's the ugliest one of the bunch.

Two Towers extended is a little better with the bitrate but basically the same thing. Fine blu-rays, but dated by 2021 standards.

ROTK theatrical sucks. I'm surprised more people haven't pointed this out, but it's just cramming too much data onto a single disk, and it looks grainy and a little fuzzy, like there's just too much for one disk to handle.

ROTK extended, meanwhile, looks incredible and is by far (imo) the best of the original disks. It's nearly a night and day difference from the theatrical cut for me, as the film has space to breathe, and the images are much cleaner, for lack of a better word. Seriously, throw in the disks and compare them, and it's like a layer of crud has been wiped from the lens from the theatrical disk to the extended. Otherwise they're the same, same grade and all that, but it shows how much compression and bitrate can matter. Checking the big PF battle, the rate difference was 10-12 mbs for some shots. It's a significant upgrade being spread across two disks.

Anyway, TL;DR, I very much welcome the new disks, Fellowship is bad on both counts, Two Towers is fine but not amazing, and ROTK has a bad theatrical disk but a fantastic extended set. I'm hoping modern compression standards can help the ROTK theatrical disk, that Fellowship is just better all around, and Two Towers could go either way.

I don't have a physical 4K player so all of my 4K disks are basically future proofing. In other words, remastered blu-rays still have value to me, and I know I'm not alone. I'm glad they are re-releasing these. I can't speak on the DNR without seeing the disks myself, but some of that is baked in, especially on Two Towers.

EDIT: FYI I saw all three films on opening day in 35mm (saw FOTR twice, and TTT and ROTK 3 times), and I will say, the original theatrical disks are close to what the films looked like on film in regards to color and all of that. On a pure "as it was" level those disks will probably remain your favorite if that's all that matters to you. The waxy look, especially in TTT, was there even on the 35mm exhibition prints.

[Mr Gitz]

Has anyone bought the new 300 dollar set? If so, there’s a bonus feature that shows the Cannes footage Newline showcased to garner hype in May 2001. I’m wondering how it compares to the finished film? I remembering hearing back in the day from people who saw the Cannes footage that there were bits and pieces not included in the finished film. I don’t know if that meant both theatrical and extended or just theatrical. There’s also a special intro by Peter Jackson and Gandalf in Hobbiton that started the Cannes footage. I’d love to see it but not at that price point

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Mr Gitz

Has anyone bought the new 300 dollar set? If so, there’s a bonus feature that shows the Cannes footage Newline showcased to garner hype in May 2001. I’m wondering how it compares to the finished film? I remembering hearing back in the day from people who saw the Cannes footage that there were bits and pieces not included in the finished film. I don’t know if that meant both theatrical and extended or just theatrical. There’s also a special intro by Peter Jackson and Gandalf in Hobbiton that started the Cannes footage. I’d love to see it but not at that price point

There's footage that's not in either the theatrical or extended cuts. Off the top of my head, all I can remember is that shot of the elves frolicking in Rivendell.

[Randy Miller III]

Originally Posted by Mr Gitz

Has anyone bought the new 300 dollar set? If so, there’s a bonus feature that shows the Cannes footage Newline showcased to garner hype in May 2001. I’m wondering how it compares to the finished film? I remembering hearing back in the day from people who saw the Cannes footage that there were bits and pieces not included in the finished film. I don’t know if that meant both theatrical and extended or just theatrical. There’s also a special intro by Peter Jackson and Gandalf in Hobbiton that started the Cannes footage. I’d love to see it but not at that price point

I have the set and will be finishing up a review tomorrow hopefully. I'll probably also create mini-reviews later this week for the sole purpose of lightly overviewing the new theatrical/extended Blu-ray sets (just so people know what they include) but these will mostly just point back to the Middle Earth collection.

FYI, the Cannes footage reel runs 26:55 is pretty cool. I don't know all three LOTR movies inside and out, but some of the footage is not color graded, a few shots did indeed look new to my eyes, and other scenes had alternate music cues. Nothing earth shattering but interesting nonetheless, and the Peter Jackson / Ian McKellan intro (less than 2 minutes) is a lot of fun.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Randy Miller III

I have the set and will be finishing up a review tomorrow hopefully. I'll probably also create mini-reviews later this week for the sole purpose of lightly overviewing the new theatrical/extended Blu-ray sets (just so people know what they include) but these will mostly just point back to the Middle Earth collection.

FYI, the Cannes footage reel runs 26:55 is pretty cool. I don't know all three LOTR movies inside and out, but some of the footage is not color graded, a few shots did indeed look new to my eyes, and other scenes had alternate music cues. Nothing earth shattering but interesting nonetheless, and the Peter Jackson / Ian McKellan intro (less than 2 minutes) is a lot of fun.

Awesome. Can't wait for your review.

[jomama7366]

Does anyone know if the new extended "Remastered" version of Fellowship on Blu-ray still has that terrible green tint?

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-L...ay/300130/?e=1

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by jomama7366

Does anyone know if the new extended "Remastered" version of Fellowship on Blu-ray still has that terrible green tint?

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-L...ay/300130/?e=1

No. It’s gone.

[jomama7366]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

No. It’s gone.

Interesting. Thanks. But I am kind of pissed, and feel ripped off, having bought the box set of the extended versions when they came out. Grr....

Are there any other changes in the Remastered versions?

[Friginator]

Originally Posted by jomama7366

Interesting. Thanks. But I am kind of pissed, and feel ripped off, having bought the box set of the extended versions when they came out. Grr....

Are there any other changes in the Remastered versions?

Yes, quite a few. The remastered versions have entirely different color grading and the film grain has been almost completely removed.

Overall, the older versions are closer to the way the films looked in theaters, even if the extended version of Fellowship has the green tint.

[EinCB128]

Apologies if this has been answered, but does the newer set have any extras? Thanks.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Friginator

Yes, quite a few. The remastered versions have entirely different color grading and the film grain has been almost completely removed.

Overall, the older versions are closer to the way the films looked in theaters, even if the extended version of Fellowship has the green tint.

Exactly, the lack of green tint is the only reason to purchase any of the new BDs.

[jomama7366]

Originally Posted by Friginator

Yes, quite a few. The remastered versions have entirely different color grading and the film grain has been almost completely removed.

Overall, the older versions are closer to the way the films looked in theaters, even if the extended version of Fellowship has the green tint.

I like the Blu ray extended versions I have of the second two films. Is there any way to get a Blu ray copy of Fellowship that doesn't have the green tint without buying yet another set of all three movies for over $40? I mean, this is ridiculous. I can't believe more people aren't pissed off about this...

[Goh78]

If I own the original Bluray extended sets, is it really worth the upgrade? I'm even looking into purchasing a digital code, but am wondering if that is worth it.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by jomama7366

I like the Blu ray extended versions I have of the second two films. Is there any way to get a Blu ray copy of Fellowship that doesn't have the green tint without buying yet another set of all three movies for over $40? I mean, this is ridiculous. I can't believe more people aren't pissed off about this...

Not currently, but keep an eye on eBay.

[Friginator]

Yeah, there’s probably going to be a few people online trying to get rid of the remastered Blu-rays from the new Middle Earth set in the coming months. A lot of people didn’t like that those sets included the 2K remasters.

[jomama7366]

Originally Posted by Friginator

Yeah, there’s probably going to be a few people online trying to get rid of the remastered Blu-rays from the new Middle Earth set in the coming months. A lot of people didn’t like that those sets included the 2K remasters.

Sorry, not sure what you're talking about here...?

[svenge]

Originally Posted by jomama7366

Sorry, not sure what you're talking about here...?

I'd assume that the inference is that buyers of the 31-disc set bought it primarily to get the films in 4K, and as such didn't care for paying extra for the bundled 1080p discs with the exact same content. From there, they would look to recoup some of the cost by selling the 1080p discs on eBay.

The thing is that the packaging for the 31-disc set has one standard multi-disc case for each film (as illustrated in this unboxing) when means that those 1080p discs will have to be sold "loose".