Lord
Of The Rings Trilogy 4K
(2001 - 2003) + The Hobbit
Trilogy 4K (2012 -
2014/Warner 4K Ultra HD Motion
Picture Collection
Blu-ray Sets)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A Sound: A Extras: D Films:
A-/A-/A- A-/B+/B+
J.R.R.
Tolkien's The
Hobbit
(2012 - 2014) and Lord
of the Rings
Trilogies (2001-2003) are available finally on the 4K UHD format and
are demo disc worthy to say the least. These films have been
massively improved here in terms of presentation and are truly a
giant achievement in filmmaking for Director Peter Jackson and his
team at WETA. It's hard to believe that as of this writing it's been
20 years since The
Fellowship of the Ring
hit theaters!
Available
as two separate 4K UHD trilogy sets, The
Hobbit
and Lord
of the Rings 4K
editions feature the theatrical and extended versions of each film on
their each respectable 4K UHD disc with no Blu-ray copies or any of
the bonus material that was available on previous editions. In other
words, fans will still want to hold onto their previous extended
edition sets for the extras alone. This edition does NOT contain the
3D versions of The
Hobbit
films either, which were reviewed on this site previously in the
Blu-ray 3D format.
These
Oscar winning films are simply a landmark achievement in genre
filmmaking and will always be remembered as such. Although The
Hobbit
trilogy certainly didn't get as much love as The
Lord of the Rings
trilogy did, mainly because a lot of things were added to The
Hobbit
story that originally weren't in the books, seeing them all together
in this way makes them feel more complete.
The
Battle of Middle Earth is told as good versus evil in one of the most
famous franchises of all time, Tolkien's The
Lord of the Rings
and its prequel, The
Hobbit.
Ultimately telling the story of good vs evil - Sauron - a dark lord
who crafted a ring that welds within it great power over all of the
races and realms within Middle Earth.
Films
include...
The
Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
(2012)
The
Hobbit
is a tale of an unassuming Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who was
conformable in his life in the Shire - a beautiful and green
woodland. He spent his days reading, eating, and generally enjoying
life as time passed by; but all of that was soon to change for Bilbo
as he was cast into an adventure bigger than any Hobbit could have
ever expected. Gandalf the wizard (Sir Ian McKellen) arrives with a
band of dwarves who are looking to take back their homeland (and
gold) from a nasty, fire breathing dragon named Smaug. It has taken
years for the dwarves to amass a crew brave enough to take on the
fearless dragon; and even at that they are outmatched. So why Bilbo
Baggins? A Hobbit with seemingly no special powers or abilities, yet
Gandolf names him essential to the journey. Bilbo, having done
little wrong in his life, is said to be their 'thief'; someone small
enough and unassuming enough to slip in and out unnoticed. The
dwarves are hesitant and less than impressed, but on Gandolf's word
accept him into the crew.
The
Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
(2013)
Gandalf
starts to piece together that the nine Ring Wraiths have been
summoned and thinks that the necromancer is to blame. Meanwhile,
Bilbo, Thorin, and the rest of the dwarf party meet a mysterious
character named Bard the Bowman who hides them into entry onto the
floating Lake-Town which proves to be an unpleasant stay. They have
to hide in barrels full of stinky fish and murky toilets to sneak by
unnoticed at first - being that the town has such a tight knit
community that doesn't smile upon newcomers. The sense of hiding and
feeling unsafe is really evident in these scenes and at times pits
you on the edge of your seat in anticipation! Once Thorin faces The
Master of Lake-Town himself, he requests aide in an attempt to
reclaim his title of King of the Mountain and face off with Smaug for
the Arken Stone once and for all.
The
journey to the lair of Smaug at the Lonely Mountain is not easy.
After crossing the waters, the group finds themselves on a desperate
search for a hidden door. Thorin has a key but must wait for the
last light of Doren's day to shine upon the keyhole in order for them
to pass through. Once the moon passes over, the group is granted
access to the lost Dwarf city where deep inside is the hidden Arken
Stone, the artifact that Bilbo must steal and will prove or disprove
his worth of master burglar.
Meanwhile,
Gandalf finds himself on enemy territory and comes to see the origin
of the dastardly work of Sauron. He learns that the Orcs have formed
a union with the dark lord and a spectacular sequence pits Gandalf in
a desperate face to face battle with a mystical entity of Sauron that
he battles with magic. When you know the context of what happens in
the Fellowship of the Ring with the Orcs working in huge armies, you
understand the importance of this scene as a precursor when Gandalf
sees only a few of them starting to work and fight.
Bilbo
searches deep within an unlimited stash of jewels and gold to find
the sacred Arkan stone only to find it protected by the dragon SMAUG.
The reveal for the dragon is epic in scope when you realize that he
is massive - the entire length of the huge treasure room Bilbo has
found himself in. Smaug himself is an incredible achievement and by
far the most realistic and memorable dragon put to film to date.
Though I will always have fond memories of Dragonheart).
Voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, Smaug is a menacing and towering
force of pure evil.
The
Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies
(2014)
Having
reclaimed Erebor and vast treasure from the dragon Smaug, Thorin
Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) sacrifices friendship and honor in
seeking the Arkenstone, despite Smaug's fiery wrath and desperate
attempts by the Bilbo (Martin Freeman) to make him see reason.
Meanwhile, Sauron sends legions of Orcs in a sneak attack upon the
Lonely Mountain. As the fate of Middle Earth hangs in the balance,
the races of Men, Elves and Dwarves must decide whether to unite and
prevail - or all die and end up food for the many Orc armies. Will
Bilbo find this way back to The Shire?
The
Hobbit Trilogy
stars Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott,
Graham McTavish, William Kircher, Christopher Lee, Andy Serkis,
Evangeline Lily, Lee Pace, Orlando Bloom, Luke Evans, Cate Blanchett,
John Callen, William Kircher, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm and many more.
The
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
stars Viggo Mortensen, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom,
Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Andy Serkis,
Liv Tyler, John Rhys-Davies, Karl Urban, Brad Dourif, Miranda Otto,
Dominic Monaghan, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham, and many others.
Lord
of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
(2001)
Bilbo's
nephew, Frodo (Elijah Wood) becomes responsible for the mystical
ring. When Gandalf discovers the Ring is in fact the One Ring of the
Dark Lord Sauron, Frodo must make an epic quest to the Cracks of Doom
in order to destroy it. However, he does not go alone. He is joined
by Legolas the elf, Gimli the Dwarf, Aragorn, Boromir, and his three
Hobbit friends Merry, Pippin, and Samwise. Through mountains, snow,
darkness, forests, rivers and plains, facing evil and danger at every
corner the Fellowship of the Ring must go. Their quest to destroy
the One Ring is the only hope for the end of the Dark Lords reign.
This is my personal favorite entry in the franchise.
Lord
of the Rings: The Two Towers
(2002)
As
the forces of evil in Mordor start to grow in power, the Fellowship
splits up and each faces their own adversaries. As Frodo and Sam end
up encountering the strange creature named Gollum (Serkis) - who has
a past connection and obsession with the One Ring. Aragon discovers
his true self while helping a struggling community, and Merry and
Pippin work together to speak to the Trees and the Woodland creatures
in an attempt to help. Many battles and fought and lives perished in
this stunning installment.
Lord
of the Rings: Return of the King
(2003)
The
story finally comes to a close as Frodo and Sam reach Mordor and must
finally destroy the One Ring before it falls into the hands of
Sauron. However, this won't be an easy task as countless numbers of
Orcs are ready for battle against lessening numbers of forces of
good. This epic conclusion won the Best Picture Academy Award along
with several other crowning achievements.
Both
Trilogies for The
Hobbit
and The
Lord of the Rings
are presented in an HEVC/H.265 (63.52 Mbps) codec with HDR (Dolby
Vision, HDR10) and a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1. In terms of
sound we have beautiful tracks in lossless Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD
7.1 (48kHz, 16-bit mixdowns for older systems). Jackson and his team
have went back through and re-color graded the features as well as
touch up some visual effects here and there. All of these films
simply love marvelous in this format which gives it that extra layer
of ultra high definition that makes the world pop as the money is on
the screen here. The lush New Zealand mountains are more crisp and
the soundtrack by Howard Shore kicks in even more powerful than
before too with this stunning new presentation that's a home run all
in all.
The
team at WETA Digital broke ground with these films and paved the way
for many franchises to make their way onto the big screen. The team
effort from every filmmaking department here is on full display and
captured with much more detail thanks to the 4K UHD format.
Costumes, characters, and props are now more defined and allows the
viewer to enjoy these films all over again.
There
are no extras and it is remarkably, the first time we ever covered
the Rings
feature films, but we have covered the older animated version and
several Hobbit
releases on Blu-ray. You can read more at the following links:
Rings
1978 Animated
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9825/The+Lord+Of+The+Rings:+Original+Animated+Clas
Hobbit:
An Unexpected Journey
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12113/The+Hobbit+%E2%80%93+An+Unexpected+Journ
Hobbit:
The Desolation Of Smaug - Extended
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13170/The+Hobbit:+The+Desolation+of+Smaug+-+Exten
Blu-ray
3D version
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12688/The+Hobbit+-+The+Desolation+of+Smaug+(2013
Regular
Theatrical Version
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12685/The+Hobbit:+The+Desolation+of+Smaug+(2013
Hobbit:
Battle Of The Five Armies - Extended
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13943/The+Hobbit:+The+Battle+of+Five+Armies+-+Exte
Regular
Theatrical Version
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13396/The+Hobbit:+The+Battle+of+Five+Armies+(2014
-
James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
