Lord of the Rings Trilogy (4k, Extended and Theatrical Cut)

Product detailed description

Contains 9 discs

Extended editions (6x 4k Ultra HD Blu-ray)

• Movies in 4k Ultra HD (3840 x 2160)
• HDR (HDR-10 + Dolby Vision)
• Aspect ratio 2.39:1
• Original audio in Dolby Atmos
• 6x BD-100 (triple-layer UHDBD)

Theatrical editions (3x 4k Ultra HD Blu-ray)

• Movies in 4k Ultra HD (3840 x 2160)
• HDR (HDR-10 + Dolby Vision)
• Aspect ratio 2.39:1
• Original audio in Dolby Atmos
• 3x BD-100 (triple-layer UHDBD)

Do I get native 4k Ultra HD?

Yes.

First, a little history lesson: all three films in the Lord of the Rings trilogy were shot on conventional 35mm film, with VFX shots rendered in 2k and then exposed onto film. So each of the films was originally mastered and therefore distributed in 2k. Thus, at the time of the premiere, The Lord of the Rings was screened from distribution materials that came from a 2k transitional digital print (even though these were projections from a filmstrip).

For the purposes of the 4k Ultra HD Blu-ray release, however, the studio reverted to the original negatives and scanned both the untouched 35mm roughs and the first-generation 35mm transfers of the VFX footage in 4k. In the process, a new 4k master was created, with New Zealand's WETA Digital working on it. This 4k master not only offers a higher resolution than prints at the time of theatrical release (and thus, of course, than at the time of Blu-ray release), but also, in addition to the increase in clarity, a new colour grading that can take advantage of WCG and HDR on UHDBD, i.e. an expansion of both colour and brightness.

As this is a full-fledged and all-new 4k remaster, it's safe to say that The Lord of the Rings has never looked this good in any of its previous forms, either theatrically or on Blu-ray. Not only that - as is often the case with such remasterings, it's safe to say that the individual films in the trilogy won't look any better, making this Ultra HD Blu-ray the definitive version of the trilogy.