Worst of all, each set's $90 price tag includes three films and nothing more. No documentaries, no behind-the-scenes footage, not even any commentaries. $30 per film isn't an unreasonable price in the 4K Blu-ray universe, but having to swallow the entire trilogy cost in one purchase makes the lack of extras a bit tougher to bear; those will have to wait for another special edition version of the 4K trilogies, coming "Summer 2021." These sets will somehow include more "previously unreleased" footage, even after dozens of hours of extra content in previous special editions. Like, what else do they have left to give fans? Hobbiton cooking classes?
Bottom line: Get it
That's really the only asterisk at this point. It's not a matter of if you should get your hands on the LOTR 4K trilogy, but when. If you've worn out the films' supplementary featurettes and documentaries over the years, or if you typically skip extra features and simply want each film's theatrical and extended cuts to watch on your 4K-iest TV, don't hesitate to snap this up. If you'd prefer to have One True 4K Blu-ray Set, with commentary tracks and other features combined as a "final, seriously" version to buy for your shelves, you should probably save the $90 for now (or find someone to buy your copy of this year's set you once you upgrade in about eight months).
I'm glad I read this. If I had bought the first release in December, and then only later discovered that there was going to be new material, I would have been seriously annoyed.
Will the 20th Anniversary editions have the long-speculated-on extra deleted scenes? (Asking as speculation; I know we don't know yet.)
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
I don't expect this to actually happen, but I'd rather see a shorter "de-extended" cut of RotK that is longer than the theatrical but removes some of the more egregious EE material like the cartoon stuff with the Dead and Aragorn beheading the Mouth. And as long as I'm wishlisting, maybe even trim down the ending scene where Frodo wakes up and recolor the undead to a greyer shade for somewhat-less-silly bubbles.
Include the various unused scenes as separate extras. Considering some of the junk that made it into RotK's EE already (alongside some very good scenes, yes) I don't really want them adding what they didn't think was worthy of inclusion.
kzer_za wrote:I don't expect this to actually happen, but I'd rather see a shorter "de-extended" cut of RotK that is longer than the theatrical but removes some of the more egregious EE material like the cartoon stuff with the Dead and Aragorn beheading the Mouth.
I would pay some seriously good money to be able to create my own perfect LOTR cut, as each EE added stuff both good and bad, even if on balance I think they're mostly good. Maybe one day when I'm a billionaire I can hire some professionals to make that happen for me!
I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
yovargas wrote:
I would pay some seriously good money to be able to create my own perfect LOTR cut, as each EE added stuff both good and bad, even if on balance I think they're mostly good. Maybe one day when I'm a billionaire I can hire some professionals to make that happen for me!
There are already some fan edits done by regular folk like you and me. Maybe all you need is the right software and a day spent researching how to use it?
I'd like to see your version, when it becomes available.
kzer_za wrote:I don't expect this to actually happen, but I'd rather see a shorter "de-extended" cut of RotK that is longer than the theatrical but removes some of the more egregious EE material like the cartoon stuff with the Dead and Aragorn beheading the Mouth.
I would pay some seriously good money to be able to create my own perfect LOTR cut, as each EE added stuff both good and bad, even if on balance I think they're mostly good. Maybe one day when I'm a billionaire I can hire some professionals to make that happen for me!
Isn't that what the fast forward button is for?
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
yovargas wrote:
I would pay some seriously good money to be able to create my own perfect LOTR cut, as each EE added stuff both good and bad, even if on balance I think they're mostly good. Maybe one day when I'm a billionaire I can hire some professionals to make that happen for me!
There are already some fan edits done by regular folk like you and me. Maybe all you need is the right software and a day spent researching how to use it?
I'd like to see your version, when it becomes available.
I find fan edits fascinating and have watched some (including a couple for The Hobbit), but no matter how good, you can't really do it justice without getting some professionals involved. Music and sound is probably the biggest hurdle since you get awkward cuts and transitions doing it yourself. It never feels like a proper "professional" cut of the movie.
I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
yovargas wrote:There are rumors/expectations that the LOTR films will get a fancy 4K home release next year, and I'm hoping to have a fancy new 4K TV by next year as well. So I'm kinda holding out for that before rewatching it again.
The unexpected release of LOTR this year has certainly made me very very tempted to make the jump, but I'm still sticking to my plan of waiting for next year. IMO the really good TVs are more expensive than they are worth to me so I'm waiting for those prices to come down a good bit.
I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
I realize this may be a personal question for a public forum, but just out of curiosity, am I the only one that has the necessary equipment to watch this?
The only reason I have a 4k DVD player is that my old one stopped working. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten one for at least several months.
Still wondering whether to wait for the summer release, or just to get it right now. Hmm...
