The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: 4K UHD Review
Arriving this week on 4K UHD is Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I want to start off by saying that there was a very limited amount of time for me to review this release so my comments will be based on the theatrical cut of the first film, The Fellowship of the Rings. This set, along with The Hobbit arrived only a few days ago.
New Line Cinema took a very risky movie in the early 2000’s when they decided to film all three L.O.T.R. films back-to-back. Yes, the J.R.R. Tolkien novels are some of the most famous books ever written, but that did not mean that the latest film adaptation of the novels would produce a hit film, much less thee films. It was a gamble that would pay off royally for the director, cast and of course the studio. Not to mention the 17 Academy Awards the trilogy took home.
The trilogy begins with the young hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) being tasked by Gandalf the Wizard (Ian McKellen) to take the One Ring across Middle-Earth to Mount Doom where is was created and destroy it. The ring contains absolute power and could be used as a dangerous weapon if it fell into the hands of the dark lord Sauron. Along with his friend Sam (Sean Astin) the pair of hobbits begin their quest, having no clue about the dangers that await them.
The trilogy features an outstanding cast that includes Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Viggo Mortensen, Hugo Weaving and the stop-motion king himself, Andy Serkis as Gollum. Now, truth-be-told, I was never much of a fan of this series. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the prequel trilogy that followed, The Hobbit much more. This surprises many who know me, but I have watched both the theatrical cuts and the seemingly-neverending extended cuts (both included in this set in glorious 4K), but I find myself utterly bored by the first two films with slightly more interest in the final film.
Having revisited The Fellowship of The Ring, my feelings on the film itself haven’t shifted, but I will say that when it comes to the video and sound of this release, you would be hard-pressed to find one as beautifully done as this. The HDR colors here are deep and stunning and the Dolby Atmos is truly stellar. Based on the first disk (out of a nine-disk set), I would say that The Lord of the Rings Trilogy 4K UHD is a must-own for anyone who loves this series and has a 4K setup. I should note that there are no bonus features included and Warner Bros. announced that in the summer of 2021 they will be releasing a 4K Ultimate Collection of theatrical and extended cuts of all six films, along with new bonus content. You may want to decide if you want to jump on the 4K now or wait until later next year.
By: Marc Ferman