I wanted to get that, but $50 seemed a little steep. I may do it if the other two are ever released. But there's been no indication of that, and I'm not interested in the extended score to just the first film. Rather have the limited editions of the single-disc versions.

--THX

Posters at Home Theater Forum have said the same. To me, the transfer does look cleaner. Detail is slightly compromised, but just slightly. The lack of ringing in the sky makes for a very pleasant picture.

--THX

I really was planning on taking the plunge for these... but b/c the discs are flippers, it basically ruins the advantage of having both cuts of the film on one disc. I still might pick them up later if the price drops a lot, just for the art and the documentary.

Looks like I'll be waiting for these to hit the GameStop/EB 3 for $10 bin. I've already got the theatrical cuts and the EEs. I just want the added documentaries.

My 8 year old son loves this trilogy and I do as well. He does a really great Gollum by the way. So good it scares me sometimes. Anyway, we have the Theatrical Releases and I've been eye-balling the already available extended editions ever since the prices dropped on them. Just haven't pulled the trigger yet. So, thanks for the info, just getting ready to buy these new ones at Amazon. And if any of you are by any chance doing the same, here's a hint.

If you buy the 3 New Extended Cut/Theatrical Release LOTR Movies seperately, it comes to only $50.94. If you buy the 3 Movies in the Boxed Set, it comes to $60.99. Same material is in the box set. Don't ask me why it $10.00 cheaper.

I was just thinking about it and I don't even think I will upgrade for the inevitable HD version.

Unless my collection is burgled, lost in a fire, or blown away in a tornado. Then I'll do it.

Yech.

Judging from that screencap, the old transfer is much superior. The leaves and grass show better definition, the bird house(?) has more detail, and the texture on the edge of the stone near the bottom of the frame clearly has more texture.

I wasn't planning on getting these before, and I'm certainly not now. Even the new documentaries sound lame.

ok, the cover pictures are nice, but how can people say they prefer that style over the book style of the extended editions? that book style is awesome, and very fitting.

now, these covers are MUCH better then the theatrical release dvds. i'll give you that.

My R2 PAL EE discs have much better resolution and PQ than both the old and the new R1's...

Haven't really seen too many reviews on the new discs yet, but here's a few I stumbled across:

CHUD's Review: http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=dvd&id=7328

IGN's Review: http://dvd.ign.com/articles/727/727063p1.html

HT Spot Review: http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsth...?sequence=1500


Pretty much across the board concerning the audio/video reviews. One consistent is that the packaging is very nice and the quality is still stellar, but difficult to discern as superior/inferior to the previous releases.

Why would they be different? They're the same transfers, aren't they?

The only difference might be the compression quality, and I doubt that would make much of a difference. The original discs weren't that old, encoding-wise. It's not like taking a 1997 release and re-encoding it years later (like some Superbits).

Am I alone in thinking the packaging for these new sets seems relatively cheap, especially compared to the 4-disc "books"? I hadn't intended to triple-dip on these anyway, but any inclination that I might have had went away when I looked one over at Best Buy. Plus I hate DVD-18s -- they're nothing but trouble.

I know that this is an old argument, but personally I can't stand that Return of the King is begging to have a red case, especially with fiery Mount Doom as the cover. And The Two Towers could easily endure a bluish tint over it's current red. I feel it's much more fitting for the films, and have found some nice fanart to appeal to my wishes...

I thought the packaging looked and felt pretty sharp. Not sure on how the digipack set is inside in regards to durability, but I was surprisingly impressed on how great these things appeared.

Something I found strange at Best Buy was that each of these were marked $19.99 on the dvd (though they were on sale for $17.99), and the 3-pack of all three in a half-case was marked $71.99, or $12 more than buying them separately. Usually dvds cost less, or at least the same if you buy them in a pack, never more... what gives?

It's because the cardboard holder around the 3 LEs cost around $10-15 to make. Duh.

I was kinda baffled with this as well. Seems kinda odd that you might have to take the ad in to one of the B&Ms and price match the three DVD in the set just to get the little holder - if that's at all possible.

I noticed this, too. Anyone remember, when the boxed set of the extended cuts was released alongside The Return of the King, what the difference in cost was between that set and the extended cuts by themselves?

The quality of the individual releases did not impress me. They looked cheap. Nothing like what I envisioned when I heard they were digipak. Figured they would be solidly designed, like the first two Harry Potter DVDs. All three purchased separately would be $54--or $72 for the three-pack, which is what I typically prefer to get. I can't justify that kind of expense for just the documentary content. Too much else I want to get.

--THX

Amazon is another example of this weird price discrepancy. The MSRP on the individuals and the 3-pack is equal ($29 x 3 = $87), but Amazon gives a 41% discount on the indivdual ones, and a 29% discount on the 3-pack. I will never understand retail pricing.

I've got the EEs and won't be double-dipping on these. I'm fed up with re-releases, "extended editions", "let's get our revenue up before the fiscal quarter ends" releases, and "studio executive pension plan" releases. I have a hard rule for almost two years now: I don't buy any DVD unless I am convinced that I can be satisfied with the version I am buying FOREVER. So there are many recent films that I loved but don't own because I feel certain multiple DVD editions are on the way (Kill Bill 1&2, Syriana, V for Vendetta...).

I feel that the EEs should have contained the theatrical cuts also, perhaps with the deletion of some of the superfluous special features to keep it a 4-disc set. That would have made the perfect set. I would like to have the theatrical cuts of TTT and ROTK (I have the original FoTR 2-disker), and the original 2-disc versions will probably wind up in the $5.50 Wal-Mart bin after this new release, and I might pick them up there. I have no interest in the new documentary. The cover art does look nice, but I too was disappointed and felt they looked a little cheap when I saw them in person. I also despise notoriously unreliable DVD-18 flippers. But in any case, no way do I get raped for $50 or more for nice cover art.

Casual fan, don't have any of the dvds yet, seen part of the 1st and last movies. So I figured I would ask the experts where to start now with another release.

So, I followed this thread in the beginning and looks like no dts and just a step down on video/audio quality with the LE releases.

So is this a good release to get everything in one shot? Is the theatrical release worth having also, or should I just get the EE box? Is there any place where the 6 pack box is cheaper than buying them separately? If you didn't have any discs, which would you get LE box or EE box?

Wanted to find out from the people that really know LOTR. Any help appreciated.

and... ?? has anyone watched the new documentaries? thoughts?

Maybe noone bought them.

I'm curious to see what the inner case is like, as well as the quality of the transfers.

Anyone? We're all waiting for the flood of feedback on these bad boys.

As a rabid and enthusiastic LOTR geekboy, I was on the fence about these releases. (I own the EEs and the nifty slipcase, but not the theatrical cuts.) But when I learned that I'd be reviewing TTT and ROTK for this very website, well, I just had to go out and buy the new FOTR package. (Sir William Gibron will be reviewing Fellowship for DVDTalk.)

I'm about 25 minutes into the first doco, and I think it's pretty darn excellent. It's just a lot of on-set footage and impromptu "interview" segments, but I think the lack of 'production value' is a refreshing change from the EE supplements. Those pieces are fantastic, of course, but this is more of a "fly-on-the-wall" piece than anything else. I think it's pretty great.

Do I think the whole set is worthy of another 50-dollar investment, based only on the new doco stuff? No, probably not. But I'm a completist when it comes to the stuff I love, so these sets give me a chance to own the theatrical cuts and Costa Botes' mega-doco.

I cannot compare the A/V quality, as I've not watched disc 1 yet, but from what I'm reading, the transfers are pretty solid.

And the flipper discs don't bother me. If I gotta get up to put "disc 2" in, what's the difference if I'm just flipping "disc 1" instead?

Ultimately, I can totally understand why fans might want to skip these releases, but I'd have bought 'em sooner or later!

Because, moron, lots of people have multi-disc players.