The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

The Lord of the Rings arrives on 4K UHD for the first-time.

The Lord of the Rings is one of the most ambitious projects in Hollywood history. Adapting the beloved novels of J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson turned the fantasy novels in to one of the most entertaining fantasy epics of all time. A must-see film series that rivals the original Star Wars trilogy.

The story begins with The Fellowship of the Ring, continues in The Two Towers, and concludes with the Academy Award winning finale: The Return of the King. Each production resulted in two separate cuts: theatrical and extended. Each cut is presented on 4K UHD for the film time in this collection. (A mega “Middle Earth” set including every film in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit series is to follow in 2021.)

One steelbook set to rule them all.

For more information on the feature-films, please refer to the original reviews by Blu-ray.com writer Kenneth Brown:

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Review

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Review

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Review

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For more information on the picture-quality please refer to the review by my Blu-ray.com colleague Randy Miller III.

Please Note: A different opinion regarding the presentations is shared in the final thoughts section of the review. The 4K disc video-quality rating listed indicates the rating given to the collection by my colleague, Randy Miller III and does not reflect my own thoughts regarding the technical merits.

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For more information on the audio-quality please refer to the review by my Blu-ray.com colleague Randy Miller III.

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no on-disc supplements included with the 4K collection. The Best Buy exclusive edition features collectible steelbook packaging. The art work on the steelbooks is quite intriguing and is certainly to make an impression. Each feature-film showcases art that fits alongside the other steelbooks. Each film in the trilogy showcases the same color-coordinated design that has been successfully utilized throughout formats (going back to DVD): green for Fellowship of the Ring, red for The Two Towers, and blue for The Return of the King. For the steelbook editions, each steelbook is tinted as such on the outer art (and inner art as well).

Unfortunately, the inner art work is a little uninspired. The images chosen for each film are far from iconic compared to the other options available and the color-tinting on the inner art-work is similarly bland in appearance. While the outer art impresses, there is also a sense of these steelbooks being mass-produced and quickly: each has average-at-best print quality. The matte print steelbooks feel cheap in hand and are not as "premium" as high gloss, spot gloss, or high-print-quality matte steelbooks. One can notice subtle paint streaks on the art and the cases feel rough in hand. This is a rather disappointing development (especially as some other recent Warner Bros. Steelbooks, such as Blade 4K, received high-gloss premium print quality).

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Lord of the Rings is one of the greatest cinematic achievements in the history of the medium. To view these films in any format (or version) is a joy on some level: the films speak for themselves. A brilliant, entertaining, and heart-felt trilogy that brilliantly adapts the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien. The Best Buy exclusive steelbook set, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. The print quality was low compared to other exclusives and seems to have been rushed to meet the holiday demands of the season.

As for the discs: Blu-ray.com colleague Randy Miller III was impressed with each presentation in the collection and highly recommends the 4K discs. Randy Miller III noted that there was some DNR and edge enhancement but found it to never be distracting from his experience. I had a different reaction to the post-processing applied to these transfers. The DNR and edge enhancement seems overbearing at times (especially on my OLED display) and the video-quality suffers greatly. Some fans might prefer the original Extended Edition Blu-ray discs. The one big positive to the 4K's is the green tint from The Fellowship of the Ring is gone. Even with the green tint on the extended edition Fellowship of the Ring Blu-ray transfer, some may prefer the Blu-ray and its naturally filmic image to the overly-processed 4K. In comparing the 4K discs to the Extended Edition Blu-ray releases, I noticed more detail in the Blu-ray presentations – and the transfers appeared more naturally filmic (with fine film grain intact).

Peter Jackson stated he aimed to make the 4K's bridge the filming of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. This creative decision seems to have been founded on the idea of making the films appear as though they were filmed yesterday. The end result is each film seems digital now (rather than film based) in regards to the cinematography. The excessive post-processing makes the image significantly less sharp – sometimes DVD quality – and there are details lost in the image. This approach feels revisionist and it also seems to go against the idea of 4K as a format: to increase resolution and detail in the image.

Though the HDR impresses, the lack of fine detail – less than on the extended edition Blu-ray releases – makes it seem like the 4K debut is a bit of a missed opportunity. The color timing on portions of the films has also been changed – most notably during The Two Towers. The 4K release of The Lord of the Rings may be one of the most divisive the format has seen to date – as reflected in the varying opinions from myself and my friend and colleague, Randy Miller III. One can only hope this release will not be the last word on The Lord of the Rings on home media.