I was given products in this post for the purpose of review. I was not paid to write this review.
I don't want to brag, but..... I am so much cooler than my hubby. Okay I know you need some evidence. When we first started dating we had a "lazy Sunday" date. Each of us had a different idea as to what we were going to do. We both agreed def. pizza and snacks, but that was were the agreements stopped. He wanted to sit in my parents living room watching Sunday Football. I wanted to have an all day marathon of Lord of the Rings. After a great debate we ended up splitting the day up. 1 game and than a movie. I want to say I made my hubby a true fan, but he just wasn't cool enough to really enjoy the movies. Now 16 years later and many views later he still doesn't like the movie as much as I do. No matter though both my kids are fan and that is good enough for me. We were super excited when we saw there was a Middle Earth Ultimate Collectors Edition being released on 4k Ultra HD
Celebrate 20 years of adventure and friendship as Warner Bros. releases the Middle-Earth Ultimate Collector’s Edition, timed to the 20th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The 31-disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth saga contains new special features along with the theatrical and extended versions of all six films in 4K Ultra HD and on Blu-ray discs remastered from the 4K master. The Ultimate Collector’s Edition will be released on November 16th.
The Ultimate Collector’s Edition includes the theatrical and extended versions of the six films from New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures in 4K UHD with HDR - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Ultimate Collector’s Edition comes in unique “Puzzle Box” collectible packaging and includes a 64-page booklet featuring costumes, photography and production notes from the film, and art cards featuring travel posters and images from iconic locations throughout Middle-earth including The Shire, Lake-Town, Erebor, Anduin, Rohan, Minas Trith, and Rivendell.
Also included are the original Cannes Film Festival presentation reel, and footage from the recent Alamo Drafthouse cast reunion featuring director Peter Jackson along with cast members Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellan, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortenson, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, and Elijah Wood.
4K Ultra HD showcases 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range (HDR) and a wider color spectrum, offering consumers brighter, deeper, and more lifelike colors for a home entertainment viewing experience like never before.
The 4K remastering process was overseen by Peter Jackson.
The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will feature Dolby VisionTM HDR that dramatically expands the color palette and contrast range and uses dynamic metadata to automatically optimize the picture for every screen, frame by frame. The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs will also feature a Dolby Atmos® soundtrack remixed specifically for the home theater environment to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead. To experience Dolby Atmos at home, a Dolby Atmos enabled AV receiver and additional speakers are required, or a Dolby Atmos enabled sound bar. Dolby Atmos soundtracks are also fully backward compatible with traditional audio configurations and legacy home entertainment equipment.
Middle-Earth Ultimate Collector’s Edition contains the following special features:
Cannes Film Festival Presentation Reel Alamo Drafthouse Cast Reunion “The Fellowship of the Ring" - RT: 39:38 (with Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Sean Astin and Elijah Wood)
“The Two Towers" - RT: 32:24 (with Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Liv Tyler and Viggo Mortenson)
"The Return of the King" - RT: 29:48 (with Ian McKellan, Andy Serkis, and Peter Jackson)
My review:
The packaging alone make this set a must have for collectors. So I know you are trying to figure out why there is so many discs? Well each movie comes with a 4k Ultra theatrical and extended edition. For those unable to enjoy the movie in 4k Ultra there is also a Blu-ray copy of the theatrical and extended edition. My favorite disc was the special features discs. These included several cast reunions, I enjoyed seeing my favorite characters reunited! Also this amazing set includes the booklet mentioned above giving details about the species of middle earth and also fun costume sketches. As if that wasn't enough there is a deck of poster cards that feature the places of Middle Earth and offer details on each. This deck features beautiful photos.
If that still wasn't enough you also get a digital copy of each movie! So you can watch anywhere you go.
As a fan I'm excited to own this set and even more excited, because I think the 4k Ultra HD quality may finally make my hubby a fan??!?!?! Most likely not, I fear he is a lost cause. But at least my boys and I can enjoy one of our favorite series in a whole new way