Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Theatrical Versions) - April 6, 2010

[Early Memphis]

It's down to $12.96 now, but I've read horrible things here about the quality of the Theatrical transfers (and complaints about the recoloring of the Extended editions ). The Extended editions all have high PQ grades here, but I couldn't find ratings for the Theatricals. Any help/advice would be appreciated.

[HylianBowcaster]

I own both and to be honest I didn't think the Theatricals were that bad, rather I didn't think the Extended were that much better. I haven't watched them in a while, but as far as I remember I wasn't shocked at the difference.

[Roy Batty]

Originally Posted by Early Memphis

It's down to $12.96 now, but I've read horrible things here about the quality of the Theatrical transfers (and complaints about the recoloring of the Extended editions ). The Extended editions all have high PQ grades here, but I couldn't find ratings for the Theatricals. Any help/advice would be appreciated.

You can check the review for the boxset with all 3 theatrical releases here.

I guess the BDs on the 3-Film Collection going for $12.96 right now are the same.

As for theatrical vs. extended transfer quality, THE TWO TOWERS and THE RETURN OF THE KING are very, very similar; the extended cut transfer looks just a little bit more organic, less processed, while the theatrical cut shows just the slightiest sharpening.

The main culprit here would be, of course, THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. There's no denying that the theatrical cut transfer was the weakest of the 3 and looked most likely taken from some DVD master with obvious and quite ugly electronic sharpening, so there was a lot of room for improvement and that's why people were looking forward to the extended cut release as an opportunity for an improved remaster. But me, I can't stand the new color grading on the extended cut transfer, with that teal push sucking the light out of everything. And, no matter what you may hear, it is VERY noticeable. But there are also those who like it better, and it's true that if you are not comparing them side-by-side, your eye will adjust to the different color temperature while watching it. Then again, that doesn't deny it's a revisionist deviation from the original source, which to me is the main point thak makes it a no-no, no matter how you look at it.

But even leaving the teal push aside, it is a very weirdly inconsistent transfer regarding other aspects like fine detail and shadow delineation, mainly because of that blanket-green-tint, I guess, that has completely altered the light and contrast adjustment.

You can check the comparison for yourself here; just take a look at screencap #09, the famous shot with the ring on the snow, and you will see what I'm talking about.

And since you are there, you can also check the other two movies' comparison:

THE TWO TOWERS

THE RETURN OF THE KING

Anyway, it all comes down to whether you want the theatrical or the extended cuts; because, whatever you go for, you are out of options.

[The Fallen Deity]

Originally Posted by Early Memphis

It's down to $12.96 now, but I've read horrible things here about the quality of the Theatrical transfers (and complaints about the recoloring of the Extended editions ). The Extended editions all have high PQ grades here, but I couldn't find ratings for the Theatricals. Any help/advice would be appreciated.

The transfers for the theatrical versions of The Two Towers & The Return Of The King look great, they're barely any different to their extended counterparts in terms of picture quality.

The theatrical transfer for The Fellowship Of The Ring is DNR'ed and looks quite poor in comparison but it's not a total disaster. The original colour timing was retained for that transfer though.

Whilst the Extended Edition's transfer was re-coloured, the picture quality is excellent and it's a huge improvement on the theatrical transfer, it's not DNR'ed.

In all honesty I'm not too fussed about the colour timing on the extended BD, it's not the version that was released theatrically anyway so the colour changes don't bother me that much.

The major changes to the look of the film are that the colour palette has a heavy green & blue push which wasn't present in the original look of the film. Also image has also been darkened a bit as well.

I hope the info helps.

[PFrank]

"After Reading This Megathread, Will you still purchase LOTR?"

I just might if I'm not dead first.

[Early Memphis]

Originally Posted by Roy Batty

You can check the review for the boxset with all 3 theatrical releases here.

I guess the BDs on the 3-Film Collection going for $12.96 right now are the same.
As for theatrical vs. extended transfer quality, THE TWO TOWERS and THE RETURN OF THE KING are very, very similar; the extended cut transfer looks just a little bit more organic, less processed, while the theatrical cut shows just the slightiest sharpening.

The main culprit here would be, of course, THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. There's no denying that the theatrical cut transfer was the weakest of the 3 and looked most likely taken from some DVD master with obvious and quite ugly electronic sharpening, so there was a lot of room for improvement and that's why people were looking forward to the extended cut release as an opportunity for an improved remaster. But me, I can't stand the new color grading on the extended cut transfer, with that teal push sucking the light out of everything. And, no matter what you may hear, it is VERY noticeable. But there are also those who like it better, and it's true that if you are not comparing them side-by-side, your eye will adjust to the different color temperature while watching it. Then again, that doesn't deny it's a revisionist deviation from the original source, which to me is the main point thak makes it a no-no, no matter how you look at it.

But even leaving the teal push aside, it is a very weirdly inconsistent transfer regarding other aspects like fine detail and shadow delineation, mainly because of that blanket-green-tint, I guess, that has completely altered the light and contrast adjustment.

You can check the comparison for yourself here; just take a look at screencap #09, the famous shot with the ring on the snow, and you will see what I'm talking about.

And since you are there, you can also check the other two movies' comparison:

THE TWO TOWERS

THE RETURN OF THE KING

Anyway, it all comes down to whether you want the theatrical or the extended cuts; because, whatever you go for, you are out of options.

Roy! Long time, no see, dude! Thanks for all that info and all those links. Way above and beyond! And thanks also HylianBowcaster and Fallen Deity. Your opinions definitely helped me to take the plunge! I was supposed to get the extended set for Christmas this year but because of a family fight, Christmas was cancelled (obviously an extremely dysfunctional family ). Anyway, I think it's still tucked away somewhere and so I'd better not buy it because I'll probably get it next year - IF ... But for $13, this set looks like a sweet deal. Thanks again, guys!

[The Fallen Deity]

Originally Posted by Early Memphis

Roy! Long time, no see, dude! Thanks for all that info and all those links. Way above and beyond! And thanks also HylianBowcaster and Fallen Deity. Your opinions definitely helped me to take the plunge! I was supposed to get the extended set for Christmas this year but because of a family fight, Christmas was cancelled (obviously an extremely dysfunctional family ). Anyway, I think it's still tucked away somewhere and so I'd better not buy it because I'll probably get it next year - IF ... But for $13, this set looks like a sweet deal. Thanks again, guys!

No worries dude, it's definitley worth it.

You could always get the Theatrical Cuts on BD as well like I did, they're dirt cheap now.

[AVfile]

Originally Posted by Early Memphis

Roy! Long time, no see, dude! Thanks for all that info and all those links. Way above and beyond! And thanks also HylianBowcaster and Fallen Deity. Your opinions definitely helped me to take the plunge!

I agree, nice way to sum up about 1000 pages on the EE threads here and on AVS. If anyone hasn't already been sucked into that abyss of bickering, they should be very grateful for saving about a year of their life. You could spend the time watching every edition ever released on BD or waste the time reading those threads

[CinemaScope]

I've only ever seen the theatrical versions, & there're long enough for me. The other day (in London) I bought the one box/three disc set of the trilogy for £6!! That's £2 a movie, I think I paid £12 for just the first film on DVD.

[Blu-Superman]

I thought I'd share what I did with the "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy extended editions: I bought the 2-disc "Target Exclusive" extended editions for $10 each then I got the theatrical edition Steelbooks at Best Buy for $9.99 each. I put each pair of extended discs in the Steelbooks, put the Special Features DVD discs that already came in the Steelbooks in clear plastic sleeves and put those in each Steelbook. I also cut out the back of the Target Blu-Ray covers and glued them to the back of the Steelbook backcards. I sold the theatrical version Blu-Ray discs on Ebay for $10 total since I never plan on watching them. I know I am missing the extra "Appendices" DVD discs but I had them before when I owned the Extended Edition trilogy on DVD (which I also sold on Ebay years ago for $25) and had already watched them; I doubt I will ever watch them again anyway. All in all I spent about $50 putting together my own Extended Steelbook trilogy but I am rather proud of it. I really like the artwork on the Steelbooks and am glad I got them.

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[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Blu-Superman

I thought I'd share what I did with the "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy extended editions: I bought the 2-disc "Target Exclusive" extended editions for $10 each then I got the theatrical edition Steelbooks at Best Buy for $9.99 each. I put each pair of extended discs in the Steelbooks, put the Special Features DVD discs that already came in the Steelbooks in clear plastic sleeves and put those in each Steelbook. I also cut out the back of the Target Blu-Ray covers and glued them to the back of the Steelbook backcards. I sold the theatrical version Blu-Ray discs on Ebay for $10 total since I never plan on watching them. I know I am missing the extra "Appendices" DVD discs but I had them before when I owned the Extended Edition trilogy on DVD (which I also sold on Ebay years ago for $25) and had already watched them; I doubt I will ever watch them again anyway. All in all I spent about $50 putting together my own Extended Steelbook trilogy but I am rather proud of it. I really like the artwork on the Steelbooks and am glad I got them.

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You did this already in the appropriate thread.

[elliotroad]

So what, he's proud of it. No need to be a downer man.

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

You did this already in the appropriate thread.

[Blu-Superman]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

You did this already in the appropriate thread.

Oops.

[Early Memphis]

Originally Posted by elliotroad

So what, he's proud of it. No need to be a downer man.

Originally Posted by Blu-Superman

Oops.

He isn't being a "downer", he's trying to help (what is now) two newbies to understand how the site works. You two have a total of 135 posts between you, HD has over 22 thousand posts and runs a number of important threads - besides which, he's a nice guy with a lot of friends who was only trying to help. If you two want to become regular members on the site, try to learn how to behave like we all have to do in the beginning.

Let me add my two cents : not only should B-S not be replicating posts in order to drive up his/her post count, but using the bolded, color text thing for the entire post was unnecessary as well. There's no need to shout at people. Your words should convey weight, not your text. I was going to post something about the loud crayon work but decided not to since B-S is a newbie with less than 40 posts. So I let it slide. But that idiot eye-rolling video tells me that I was wrong. Very cute, what are you, 12? When a knowledgeable member tries to help, pay attention and try appreciating it instead of responding like a rude jerk.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Early Memphis

He isn't being a "downer", he's trying to help (what is now) two newbies to understand how the site works. You two have a total of 135 posts between you, HD has over 22 thousand posts and runs a number of important threads - besides which, he's a nice guy with a lot of friends who was only trying to help. If you two want to become regular members on the site, try to learn how to behave like we all have to do in the beginning.

Let me add my two cents : not only should B-S not be replicating posts in order to drive up his/her post count, but using the bolded, color text thing for the entire post was unnecessary as well. There's no need to shout at people. Your words should convey weight, not your text. I was going to post something about the loud crayon work but decided not to since B-S is a newbie with less than 40 posts. So I let it slide. But that idiot eye-rolling video tells me that I was wrong. Very cute, what are you, 12? When a knowledgeable member tries to help, pay attention and try appreciating it instead of responding like a rude jerk.

Thanks Memphis. I was going to get into all of that, but then decided it wasn't worth the effort since they are obviously immature. Plus, I bought a new vehicle yesterday and I am not letting anything spoil that.

[elliotroad]

Ok, sure thing Memphis. I am a "newbie" alright. I've been a member of this site longer than both you and Goofnut.

Because I don't post a lot, is that why I'm a newbie? Well, maybe its because I don't live on the internet like both of you.

The reason why I said Goofnut was a "downer" (which to me is not a jerk thing to say), is because I see most users on here constantly trying to one-up each other on this forum with snarky remarks. Oh no! The world is going to end, because this was posted in the wrong thread!!!

To my knowledge, Superman was just trying to show how he's displayed these movies. He appears to be proud of it. If you notice in his picture, he is using the theatrical cases, so this IS related.

Go ahead and keep nerding out my friend, it must feel great to constantly be "right".

Have a good life with that approach. And enjoy your car Goofnut, good for you.

Originally Posted by Early Memphis

He isn't being a "downer", he's trying to help (what is now) two newbies to understand how the site works. You two have a total of 135 posts between you, HD has over 22 thousand posts and runs a number of important threads - besides which, he's a nice guy with a lot of friends who was only trying to help. If you two want to become regular members on the site, try to learn how to behave like we all have to do in the beginning.

Let me add my two cents : not only should B-S not be replicating posts in order to drive up his/her post count, but using the bolded, color text thing for the entire post was unnecessary as well. There's no need to shout at people. Your words should convey weight, not your text. I was going to post something about the loud crayon work but decided not to since B-S is a newbie with less than 40 posts. So I let it slide. But that idiot eye-rolling video tells me that I was wrong. Very cute, what are you, 12? When a knowledgeable member tries to help, pay attention and try appreciating it instead of responding like a rude jerk.

[HD Goofnut]

[Early Memphis]

Obviously, no matter how long you've "been here", you don't read much if you don't know my posts any better than that. I make mistakes all the time - and when they're pointed out, or if I catch them, I apologize … a lot. They say you get better at whatever you practice - and 92 posts in five years won't get you better at posting, nor apparently, reading. Again, HD wasn't being a "downer", he was trying to help. I was being a downer. With all your reading and lurking I would think you'd be able pick up on the difference.

The way you handled your interjection didn't help B-S grow, as that dumb video showed, it apparently only empowered more immaturity. So, one can't be "proud" and post in the right place? And I don't see you posting in crayon. Anyway, it's unfair to B-S how this has been turned into a cause celeb so I'll drop it and hope some good was done here - even if it was too messy. Oh, and by the way, I don't know where you're from as in your vast experience of five years you have zero info posted about yerself, zero contributions and zero friends (a real big-time member - hey, maybe you should actually "join" the site ) : Anyway, all kidding aside, I live in Texas - which has access to many highways, including the information superhighway, but it isn't "on" the internet. What, pray tell, are you on?

[elliotroad]

Ok, points taken guys. BTW, I have enough fake friends on Facebook, why would I want more here?

I mainly use this site for Blu-Ray news, thus the sparse interaction. I rarely comment, unless I see incidents like this, which we know can be taken out of context, since none of us really know how to tell is someone is being helpful or snarky.

I appreciate the feedback and will now go back into my mode of lurking

Originally Posted by Early Memphis

Obviously, no matter how long you've "been here", you don't read much if you don't know my posts any better than that. I make mistakes all the time - and when they're pointed out, or if I catch them, I apologize … a lot. They say you get better at whatever you practice - and 92 posts in five years won't get you better at posting, nor apparently, reading. Again, HD wasn't being a "downer", he was trying to help. I was being a downer. With all your reading and lurking I would think you'd be able pick up on the difference.

The way you handled your interjection didn't help B-S grow, as that dumb video showed, it apparently only empowered more immaturity. So, one can't be "proud" and post in the right place? And I don't see you posting in crayon. Anyway, it's unfair to B-S how this has been turned into a cause celeb so I'll drop it and hope some good was done here - even if it was too messy. Oh, and by the way, I don't know where you're from as in your vast experience of five years you have zero info posted about yerself, zero contributions and zero friends (a real big-time member - hey, maybe you should actually "join" the site ) : Anyway, all kidding aside, I live in Texas - which has access to many highways, including the information superhighway, but it isn't "on" the internet. What, pray tell, are you on?

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by elliotroad

Ok, points taken guys. BTW, I have enough fake friends on Facebook, why would I want more here?

I mainly use this site for Blu-Ray news, thus the sparse interaction. I rarely comment, unless I see incidents like this, which we know can be taken out of context, since none of us really know how to tell is someone is being helpful or snarky.

I appreciate the feedback and will now go back into my mode of lurking