The Hobbit: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.5

The Hobbit: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 20, 2021

This six-disc U.K. UHD SteelBook collection includes all three of Director Peter Jackson's 'Hobbit' films: 'An Unexpected Journey,' 'The Desolation of Smaug,' and 'The Battle of the Five Armies.' The disc content and technical presentations appear to be identical to the counterpart U.S. wide release boxed set. See the 'Special Features and Extras' section of the review below for more on the SteelBook set's look and feel. Note that each disc is region-free and will play on U.S. UHD players.

For full film reviews, please click through the following links:

• An Unexpected Journey
• The Desolation of Smaug
• The Battle of the Five Armies

The Hobbit: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For full UHD video reviews, please click through the following links:

• An Unexpected Journey: Theatrical and Extended.
• The Desolation of Smaug: Theatrical and Extended.
• The Battle of the Five Armies: Theatrical and Extended.

The Hobbit: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For full UHD audio reviews, please click through the following links:

• An Unexpected Journey: Theatrical and Extended.
• The Desolation of Smaug: Theatrical and Extended.
• The Battle of the Five Armies: Theatrical and Extended.

The Hobbit: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Hobbit UHD trilogy collection ships in three SteelBooks. Each houses two discs, one disc for each film' theatrical cut and the other the extended cut. The discs are presented on the right in staggered-stacked formation.

The SteelBooks are housed in a a durable hard outer shell which is foam-lined. It's very similar to some of the premiere SteelBook collection sets in the U.S., including the Batman and Rambo collections. For The Hobbit, the outer shell measures approximately 7.5" high, 5.75" wide, and 3.9" deep. The foam padding inside allows each disc to slip into its own space. There is plenty of room to reach inside and grasp each case; there are even small cut-outs on the far right and left hand sides to reach a finger or thumb inside. The outer box includes some basic artwork: it's predominantly gold around the edges and top and bottom. On the front is a green and black logo with the franchise title center in golden letters. A decorative design lines the front edge. The rear panel and spine include the exact same image. Top and bottom are blank.

Rather than explore each SteelBook's particular proclivities, a few words on the common design characteristics they share (see the included photos for more individualized exploration). Each SteelBook is first introduced on the spines which share a common design aesthetic: a black background with the film's titles running down the center with the franchise name in gold and the individual film titles in gold, green, and blue, respectively. A Small Warner Brothers logo in a subtle gray appears at the bottom of each spine. The SteelBooks are matte with coloring and artwork similar to the outer case. Other common traits include a dark terrain on the bottom third and each film's title within in gold lettering. The rear panels are very similar, minus the terrain and titles and changing the image to a smaller one, center. Large, but unobtrusive, billing blocks appear at the bottom in a gray color. Each interior features full color two-panel spread images.

There are no on-disc extras on any of the nine discs in this collection.

The Hobbit: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

What a beautiful collection. It's a SteelBook set worthy of any SteelBook or film collection. The films are legendary and the UHD presentations are first-rate. Very highly recommended.