The Dwarves of Erebor have reclaimed their homeland, but face the consequences of unleashing Smaug. As five great armies go to war, Bilbo fights for his life, and the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must unite or be destroyed. Designing and Building Middle-earth” offers “Designing Middle-earth” (41 min.) gives props to the creative team behind the look of the film, while “Weta Workshop” (43 min.) gives the make-up and effects guys their due, and “Costume Design” (12 min.) highlights the self-evident. There are also two still galleries for design, broken into numerous subsections covering the people and the realms, with some of the stills coming with commentary. Overall though, there are rarely any films that have been given as good an upgrade as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Presented in 2160p resolution with High Dynamic Range compatible with both Dolby Vision and HDR10, this new 4k Blu-ray edition far surpasses all previous Blu-ray and DVD editions. And, with Dolby Atmos there has never been a better audio experience at home. This is reference quality through-and-through. Perhaps someday the upgraded films will make a run in the theaters again. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 4k Digital Still The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

release tests the waters as a nine-disc "movies only" edition, with each theatrical cut getting a triple-layer 100GB disc to itself and the extended cuts But please, before you watch LOTR in 4k or 4k with HDR, switch to movie or film mode on your Ultra HD TV. Why? There is no need for artificial enhancements with these discs. Perhaps equally as important, remove the smooth motion “soap opera” effect also in your TV’s settings. This is film, not “Days of Our Lives.” Scores Gandalf’s Fall Into Darkness. The color range improvement is clearly evident when Gandalf battles the Balrog and the two fall into darkness. Not only is the imagery deep with color, it’s also sharp, making almost every frame a work of art. The visual effects of Balrog hold up wonderfully even after 20 years. Another audio moment is when the Fellowship attempts to take the Pass of Caradhras over the Misty Mountains but are ambushed by Saruman. The sounds of lightning, winds, and snow avalanches provide a good Atmos experience, especially in the subwoofer range. releases. Although the new 4K editions of all six cuts are only available in this collection for now, it's possible that they'll be offered separately in theDisc Five offers Costa Botes' documentary on the making of Fellowship (85 min.) and it’s a way more playful look at the making of the film. The hobbits get to goof on each other, but work gets done. Here, the filmmakers discuss how they reworked the book into filming shape, and what didn't make the cut (even after filming stopped) especially a cut scene featuring Aragorn fighting Sauron — which was thought needed to give the final struggle to destroy the ring more drama, though proved unnecessary — and the absence of the long missed "Scowering of the Shire" sequence. There's also a frank discussion of the film's multiple endings. In this section one can also see the early animatics for the Sauron-Aragorn fight (5 min.). All 3 Extended Versions on newly remastered Blu-ray Discs. This 15-disc set included the original 9 special-features DVDs with over 26 hours of spellbinding behind-the-moviemaking material, including the Costa Botes documentaries. Here is the complete list of special features included on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Extended Edition Blu-ray:

The Mines of Moria. When the Fellowship enters the mines of Moria we are taken deep into caverns and tunnels where the dwarves constructed incredible mazes and halls, the depths of which have been revealed much clearer on 4k TVs. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 4k Digital Still Audio Dolby Atmos/Dolby TrueHD 7.1 The longest addition is the one that fans (and Christopher Lee) have been clamoring for since it was announced that it was snipped: the resolution of Saruman (Lee) and Grima Wormtounge (Brad Dourif). But in finally seeing the sequence, it's easy to see why it was excised; though it caps off two characters who were prominent in the last film, their fates don't really advance the plot that much and the movie already has too much to cover before the battle for Minis Tirith. But it's a welcome addition just the same. As of yet, there is no announced release date for these films individually, but it's sure to happen, just as it did for the Theatrical Editions on Blu-ray.The Maps in LOTR of Middle Earth never looked so sharp, and neither have the shots of the ‘One Ring’ with carved inscriptions that are incredibly detailed, beautifully luminous, and perfectly legible (if you could read Elvish tengwar – if not, Galadriel provides the translation).