NEWS: LOTR and Hobbit trilogies coming to 4K UHD

According to a Warner Bros. Home Entertainment press release, The Lord of the Rings in particular will be released with a new 4K scan of each film’s original camera negatives, as well as a new 4K scan of the films’ VFX. The Hobbit is likewise getting a similar upgrade based off its original 5K digitally shot footage.

The hobbit although no where in the same league as the LOTR will look soooo good.
 
Yes please..... 20 years on and it's still amazing 👍
 
still thinking whether or not to pre-order. what's the new blu-ray remaster thats due next year?

are the ones included in this release are the existing masters (i.e same as the existing BR) and the ones new year will be based off the new 4k masters?
 
are the ones included in this release are the existing masters (i.e same as the existing BR) and the ones new year will be based off the new 4k masters?

There are no BD's with the November releases. Just 4k UHD. Theatrical and Extended.

For some reason, this release seems this seems to be causing a lot of confusion.
 
Interesting is that WB change their minds on this. Originally this was scheduled for summer 2020, then it was pushed to 2021 because of COVID and now we are back on for end of 2020 with not much notice. It's a smart move given the fact that WB and other studios are pushing almost all of their new releases to 2021 so they are going to need content this winter and I suspect 2021 is going to be packed with releases unless covid and other world forces makes 2021 bad.
 
Why would anyone want blu rays if they have 4k? I dont get it. I understand wanting collectors sets, but its like offering a dvd with 4k, its an old format that you wouldnt use when you have something superior
 
Would be interesting to know what the new bonus content will be. If it's just a small featurette or some new interviews, it wouldn't really be worth it.

Jackson has wanted to do brand new comprehensive feature length documentaries on the Trilogy for sometime (more in keeping with those on the Hobbit releases) but Warner wouldn’t cough up the money but perhaps they finally have in which case could be a fascinating watch.
 
Havnt seen the LOTR films since the original dvd releases. Still have the collectors sets somewhere that came with Book ends for FOTR, Golem statue for TWT and MinisTiris model for ROTK.
 
Havnt seen the LOTR films since the original dvd releases. Still have the collectors sets somewhere that came with Book ends for FOTR, Golem statue for TWT and MinisTiris model for ROTK.

Ah I remember getting those, not long after I discovered PAL speed up was a thing so sold my UK sets and imported the US releases, cost a pretty penny too and I’m not sure I ever watched them :rotfl:
 
Really looking forward to re-engaging with the ‘Lord of the Rings’ Extended versions on UHD Blu-ray. They are master pieces of film making.

The original releases on DVDs of the extended collectors edition were presented in very high quality ‘books’ with a huge amount of extras. Sadly the blu-rays were in very mediocre packaging.

In my opinion, The Hobbit films were very disappointing in comparison to LOTR. Way too long and drawn out with far too much unrealistic CGI. I’ve never watched the extended versions as the standard versions were already way too bloaty.

Shame they can’t take out all the excesses and do an edit of all three Hobbit movies into a single 2.5 hour film which more closely resembles the pacing of the book. They could call it the ‘There and Back Again Cut’.

Do we know if the UHD discs of the Hobbit are 24 FPS or HFR?

Regards,
James.
 
Really looking forward to re-engaging with the ‘Lord of the Rings’ Extended versions on UHD Blu-ray. They are master pieces of film making.

The original releases on DVDs of the extended collectors edition were presented in very high quality ‘books’ with a huge amount of extras. Sadly the blu-rays were in very mediocre packaging.

In my opinion, The Hobbit films were very disappointing in comparison to LOTR. Way too long and drawn out with far too much unrealistic CGI. I’ve never watched the extended versions as the standard versions were already way too bloaty.

Shame they can’t take out all the excesses and do an edit of all three Hobbit movies into a single 2.5 hour film which more closely resembles the pacing of the book. They could call it the ‘There and Back Again Cut’.

Do we know if the UHD discs of the Hobbit are 24 FPS or HFR?

Regards,
James.

The US DVD releases of the Extended Editions were very nicely presented in those rigid book like cases with embossed details, shame the UK releases opted for more flimsy cardboard and a simple glossy finish.

As for the Hobbit films they are bound to be 24fps as UHD doesn’t support the native 48fps they were shot at and converting them to 60fps would introduce other issues.
 
The US DVD releases of the Extended Editions were very nicely presented in those rigid book like cases with embossed details, shame the UK releases opted for more flimsy cardboard and a simple glossy finish.

As for the Hobbit films they are bound to be 24fps as UHD doesn’t support the native 48fps they were shot at and converting them to 60fps would introduce other issues.

Right, I’d completely forgotten the UK didn’t get those. I had the embossed American editions (I think I may still have them somewhere...).

I always used to purchase Region 1 ‘NTSC’ DVDs, as I couldn’t stand the audio pitch increase on PAL (25 FPS) discs.

Often the NTSC discs would look better than the PAL counter parts even though they only had 480 lines of resolutions and suffered with 3:2 pull-down (telecine) judder. In comparison the PAL discs had 576 lines and no judder. I often wondered if the NTSC discs looked better because it was more difficult to MPEG2 encode the higher resolution PAL discs?

Anyway, very much looking forward to the 4K UHD Discs, where none of this matters anymore 😃.

Regards,
James.
 
Yes please..... 20 years on and it's still amazing 👍

Are they though? .... must say I loved them when they came out but, apart from the first one, really struggle with the rest now. Not really convinced about 4k any more either (after owning 100 plus unfortunately) ... reckon its a minimal improvement in most cases TBH and not worth the extra expense.
 
Whether streaming is or isn't becoming the du jour, the facts of the matter are that you still get superior audio and video when buying titles on disc. I'm in no rush to replace every Blu-ray title in my collection with their 4K rereleases if and when they become available, but there are titles I'd like to update and know that I will rewatch them in the future. The LOTR trilogy is one of those titles. I'm also quite looking forward to the Atmos soundtrack and there are plenty of scenes that should benefit from this.

There was actually a resurgence of physical media during the lockdown. It seems as though not everyone was satisfied with what was on offer from the streaming services:
I've no interest in steel books and never have.
I appreciate that collectors want them and are willing to pay for them though.
It's not a right or wrong thing it's just personal choice that as much as I like 4ks i cant justify spending £25 for films that i already own or have owned on another format
I don't see that uhd's are worth the extra cost over blurays at the initial sale price, generally a film costing £25 for the uhd is only £15 for the blu.
Every year released data shows physical media sales are dwindling whilst streaming is on the increase and 4k disc sales are very niche and massively out sold by DVD! thd large price difference isnt doing the format any favours.
My local supermarket has stopped stocking them and I can only assume that's because they're not selling.

I agree with this. The future is deffo online owning and streaming. Ok the quality may or not be as good as physical media but I have come to the conclusion that I personally would rather enjoy the ease of watching the online version on multiple devices. Also, with the likes of Apple there is a good chance that the LOR movies in 4k will simply replace the current 1080p versions at some point at no extra cost.
 
I agree with this. The future is deffo online owning and streaming. Ok the quality may or not be as good as physical media but I have come to the conclusion that I personally would rather enjoy the ease of watching the online version on multiple devices. Also, with the likes of Apple there is a good chance that the LOR movies in 4k will simply replace the current 1080p versions at some point at no extra cost.
but there is still no all in one place for your digital media is there? isnt it dependent on each company? its a pain at the moment from what i was led to believe (not that i have a digital library)
 
Are they though? .... must say I loved them when they came out but, apart from the first one, really struggle with the rest now. Not really convinced about 4k any more either (after owning 100 plus unfortunately) ... reckon its a minimal improvement in most cases TBH and not worth the extra expense.

It’s always subjective, but I do think the LOTR trilogy is a master piece. Not all master pieces are good for frequent repeat viewing.

Personally, a really like owning the discs (I started with LaserDiscs back in 1993) - but I understand the convenience of streaming, and the quality is now very good.

Regards,
James.
 
Are they though? .... must say I loved them when they came out but, apart from the first one, really struggle with the rest now. Not really convinced about 4k any more either (after owning 100 plus unfortunately) ... reckon its a minimal improvement in most cases TBH and not worth the extra expense.


I easily think they are still amazing. The ambition and sheer scale of the world building is something we may never see again. They were made at the perfect time where digital effects were getting really good but films were still using practical effects which was perfect balance. Any attempt of this movie getting made again using too much CGI like the Hobbit and the fact is back then films hadn't yet been turned into this giant tentpole make or break industry we see plague movies today which is also why if this were made today it wouldn't be as good.

As far as upgrading....I mean i'd have to see what the 4k remasters are like. I'm sure nothing groundbreaking as it's not like they are restoring 50 year old movie but could be a nice upgrade and it's one of those movies so ambitious and large scale I can see myself upgrading it everytime to get the most out of it. With that said I do agree the benefits of upgrading collections is becoming less overtime. If you are in the game long enough you could have Blade Runner on VHS, Laserdisc, DVD, Bluray and UHD Bluray. Not too bad but try doing that with hundereds of movies and its a never ending battle if you keep large collections which is something I never had because of the issue with upgrading them all.
 
They are masterpieces for me. Untouchable. The scale, the grandeur, acting, fantasy, musical score. Utter perfection. I seriously can’t wait to watch them on physical media. 4K , Atmos all without online streaming restrictions/ problems.
 
Out of curiousity I watched much of the first disc of Fellowship of the ring last night in forced DV via a Sony X800M2. Nice looking and the HDR seemed natural and an improvement over the SDR I'd initially watched earlier. Audio was a good DTS-HD soundtrack upscaled to 7.x.4.

My point? I'm not too sure how much the UHD release is going to bring to the table and at the moment I'm thinking of waiting it out for a major price drop next year.
 
Out of curiousity I watched much of the first disc of Fellowship of the ring last night in forced DV via a Sony X800M2. Nice looking and the HDR seemed natural and an improvement over the SDR I'd initially watched earlier. Audio was a good DTS-HD soundtrack upscaled to 7.x.4.

My point? I'm not too sure how much the UHD release is going to bring to the table and at the moment I'm thinking of waiting it out for a major price drop next year.
I think you’ve probably answered your own question. Forced being the word. Can’t possibly compare to what is going to be released
 
I've been following the rumours for so long! So glad they decided to go ahead with this for the 20th anniversary. The extended editions are some of my favourite films by far and the soundtrack might be at the top of the list, too. I think I've only seen the theatrical versions once or twice, and the extended editions many many more times than that!

Here's hoping the LFE is still epic.


So for all intense purposes,

Just an FYI, the phrase is "for all intents and purposes"
 
I'm not too sure how much the UHD release is going to bring to the table and at the moment I'm thinking of waiting it out for a major price drop next year.

It will be interesting to find out but it more than likely has a new grade in a wider colour space/gamut and we'll likely see much higher detail thanks to it being shot on 35mm and re-scanned. Although, perhaps some of the 'cheaper' digital visual effects might look iffy but I imagine they'll be cleaned up nicely.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is Home Theater DEAD in 2024?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom