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It’s the 20th anniversary of the Lord of the Rings films, and Warner Bros. is celebrating with a new box set. The Middle-earth Ultimate Collector’s Edition includes 31 Blu-ray discs’ worth of content, including 4K HDR versions of all six films, their theatrical cuts, and their extended editions. Warner Bros. will release the box set on Oct. 26 and it’ll run fans $249.99.
In addition to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the box features new bonus content. There’s also a “Puzzle Box” collectible, as well as a booklet featuring various art, notes, and photos from production. The box will also offer new art cards, travel posters, and more.
The 4K HDR discs feature Dolby Vision HDR that “dramatically expands the color palette and contrast range and uses dynamic metadata to automatically optimize the picture for every screen, frame by frame,” Warner Bros. said in a news release, and a Dolby Atmos soundtrack “remixed specifically for the home theater environment to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead.”
Director Peter Jackson explained last year that he attempted to address visual inconsistency in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies with the 4K HDR Blu-ray sets released by Warner Bros. in 2020. He says 4K HDR remastering successfully delivered that consistency.
The collection also comes with bonus video content not seen in other box sets, including footage from a cast reunion from Alamo Drafthouse and the original presentation reel from Cannes.
The Middle-earth Ultimate Collector’s Edition special features are as follows:
- Cannes Film Festival Presentation Reel
- Alamo Drafthouse Cast Reunion
- “The Fellowship of the Ring” - RT: 39:38 (with Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Sean Astin and Elijah Wood)
- “The Two Towers” - RT: 32:24 (with Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Liv Tyler and Viggo Mortensen)
- “The Return of the King” - RT: 29:48 (with Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, and Peter Jackson)
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