Blu-ray Movie Reviews

In case you've been in a coma for the past 10 years, Peter Jackson adapted the popular J.R.R. Tolkien novel with amazing results. Arguably, it's one of the greatest movie accomplishments of all time with 15 Academy Awards, over $1 billion in US box-office receipts, and nearly $3 billion worldwide.

Many fans are angry that Warner decided to release the theatrical versions last year instead of the these extended director cuts, but Peter Jackson has stated publicly that the theatrical releases are the definitive versions of the films, not the extended cuts, but the fans want to see every minute of filmed footage come hell or high water.

The theatrical versions were mired in controversy due to the digital noise reduction (DNR) used on Fellowship of the Ring and while it didn't look as good as the sequels, it was the best it had looked. Not to be outdone, the online forums are burning up due to a color timing change on Fellowship that looks different than the previous home video releases. Much like the previous controversy, it's much ado about nothing. Yes it does look different, but not in a bad way with the exception of a couple of minutes out of a three-plus hour movie.

Video Highlights

The Fellowship of the Ring

• AVC/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Improved detail over theatrical Blu-ray release
• Facial textures not as waxy as theatrical BD release
• Strong black level
• Excellent shadow detail
• Improved color saturation
• A couple of troublesome scenes with cyan/green tint

The Two Towers

• AVC/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Excellent detail
• Strong black level
• Revealing shadows
• Almost dull compared to Fellowship's improved colors

The Return of the King

• AVC/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Best looking film of the three
• Amazing detail in both close-ups and wide camera shots
• Strong black level
• Excellent shadow detail

There's a vast improvement in the look of Fellowship< although there are a couple of scenes that look out of place (when the fellowship is ascending the mountain pass). The entire color palette is improved with striking greens and reds and I'm willing to take the good with the bad. The last two films look outstanding and despite the change from VC-1 to AVC, I couldn't find any glaring flaws with the video transfers.

Audio Highlights

• DTS-HD MA 6.1 soundtracks
• Enveloping track s
• Pinpoint discrete effects from every direction
• Chest-pounding bass
• Intelligible dialog

The audio tracks on all three movies rock. The DTS-HD MA 6.1 soundtracks will test the prowess of your system with deep bass, pinpoint discrete effects, and encompassing sound design.

Bonus Materials
Disc 1 (Blu-ray):

• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition Part 1
• (HD)The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - The Untold Story Trailer
• Commentary with Peter Jackson & the writing team
• Commentary with the Design Team
• Commentary with the Production and Post Production team
• Commentary with the Cast
• BD-Live enabled

Disc 2 (Blu-ray):

• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition Part 2
• Commentary with Peter Jackson & the writing team
• Commentary with the Design Team
• Commentary with the Production and Post Production team
• Commentary with the Cast
• BD-Live enabled

Disc 3 (DVD):

• The Appendices Part 1 From Book to Vision
• Peter Jackson Introduction
• JRR Tolkien: Creator of Middle-Earth
• From Book To Script
• Visualizing the Story
• Designing and Building Middle-Earth
• Middle-Earth Atlas
• New Zealand as Middle-Earth

Disc 4 (DVD):

• The Appendices Part Two - From Vision to Reality
• Elijah Wood Introduction
• Filming The Fellowship of the Ring
• Visual Effects
• Post Production: Putting It All Together
• Digital Grading
• Sound and Music
• The Road Goes Ever On…

Disc 5 (DVD):

• Behind-the-Scenes Documentary Created by Filmmaker
• Costa Botes during filming of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – 85 minutes

Disc 6 (Blu-ray):

• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition Part 1
• (HD)The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - The Untold Story Trailer
• Commentary with Peter Jackson & the writing team
• Commentary with the Design Team
• Commentary with the Production and Post Production team
• Commentary with the Cast
• BD-Live enabled

Disc 7 (Blu-ray):

• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition Part 2
• Commentary with Peter Jackson & the writing team
• Commentary with the Design Team
• Commentary with the Production and Post Production team
• Commentary with the Cast
• BD-Live enabled

Disc 8 (DVD):

• The Appendices Part 3: The Journey Continues
• Peter Jackson Introduction
• JRR Tolkien: Origin of Middle-Earth
• From Book to Script: Finding the Story
• Designing and Building Middle-Earth
• Gollum
• Middle-Earth Atlas - Interactive feature
• New Zealand as Middle-Earth

Disc 9 (DVD):

• The Appendices Part 4: The Battle for Middle-Earth
• Elijah Wood Introduction
• Filming The Two Towers
• Visual Effects – 54 minutes
• Editorial: Refining the Story
• Music and Sound
• The Battle for Helm's Deep is Over…

Disc 10 (DVD):

• Behind-the-Scenes Documentary Created by Filmmaker Costa Botes during filming of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Disc 11 (Blu-ray):

• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition Part 1
• (HD)The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - The Untold Story Trailer
• Commentary with Peter Jackson & the writing team
• Commentary with the Design Team
• Commentary with the Production and Post Production team
• Commentary with the Cast
• BD-Live enabled

Disc 12 (Blu-ray):

• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition Part 2
• Commentary with Peter Jackson & the writing team
• Commentary with the Design Team
• Commentary with the Production and Post Production team
• Commentary with the Cast
• BD-Live enabled

Disc 13 (DVD):

• The Appendices Part 5: The War of the Ring
• Peter Jackson Introduction
• JRR Tolkien: The Legacy of Middle-Earth
• From Book to Script
• Designing and Building Middle-Earth
• Home of the Horse Lords
• Middle-Earth Atlas
• New Zealand as Middle-Earth

Disc 14 (DVD):

• The Appendices Part 6: The Passing of an Age
• Introduction
• Filming The Return of the King
• Visual Effects
• Post-Production: Journey’s End
• The Passing of an Age
• Cameron Duncan: The Inspiration for Into the West

Disc 15 (DVD):

• Behind-the-Scenes Documentary Created by Filmmaker Costa Botes during filming of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – 113 minutes
• Digital Copy: Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, Return of the King

Some may lament that the films were each spread over two discs, but I applaud the decision by Warner to do this. This provides enough head room to have outstanding video encodes and to include each of the commentaries without sacrificing audio/video quality. I go back and forth on which version of the films I like and am happy to have both in my collection. Hopefully we'll see both versions in one set someday utilizing seamless branching and have all of the supplements in HD. Highly recommended.

Release Date: June 28, 2011
Studio: New Line/Warner

The Fellowship of the Ring
Movie: 9/10
Picture: 8.5/10
Sound: 10/10

The Two Towers
Movie: 9/10
Picture: 9.5/10
Sound: 10/10

The Return of the King
Movie: 10/10
Picture: 9.5/10
Sound: 10/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Integra DTC-80.2 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PVA-PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics