The Middle Earth Collection [The Lord Of The Rings / The Hobbit] [Extended Edition] [Blu-ray] [2014] [2016]

This is actually 4.5 stars, it loses half a mark for the flimsy box it comes in and the fact the Lord of the Rings trilogy extra discs are only on DVD.So, as a massive fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and having enjoyed the Hobbit trilogy but not loving it, I was still keen to finally get my hands on this boxset. I previously owned the original Lord of the Rings extended edition trilogy on DVD, however I had literally been waiting years for a complete boxset on Blu-ray of the extended editions of all six films once I found out the Hobbit was to be finally turned into a film(s).As for the quality of the Lord of the RIngs films, this is a rare case where the additional material improved on already amazing films. The Blu-ray transfer is excellent, and although the visual and special effects look a bit ropy in places (these films are 13-15 years old now) I think they still stand-up even with the added clarity of the Blu-ray transfer, although there is some graining in a handful of scenes. However, this did not bother me at all. Also, the big furor over the green filter on the Blu-ray editions of the trilogy is not something that bothers me in the slightest. The sound quality was excellent through my Yamaha sound bar. All of the additional extras are unfortunately not on Blu-ray, it looks like they have just repackaged the DVD discs from the DVD release (I haven't been through the extras, I've only watched the films). Another niggle is that each film is still on two discs despite the added storage capacity of Blu-ray, although it is quite nice having an enforced intermission on such long films when you have to get up to change discs. Also, having each film boxset in just a single Blu-ray case is far more preferable to the cardboard case the DVD release came in.As for the Hobbit trilogy, I had only seen the theatrical versions in IMAX 3D at 48fps. It was pretty jarring and really took me out of the films at times. This Blu-ray release (in 2D) is a vast improvement over that. The picture transfer is excellent, the standard 24fps makes it look far better, as does the 2D image! As for the additional scenes, well personally I feel they improved the films immensely. Yes, I know it's ridiculous turning such a slender volume into three films, never mind then turning those three films into 3+ hour epics. However, if you look at them as just films rather than book adaptations, I think the extra footage is a worthy addition to the theatrical releases. It improved the films for me (as did the 24fps and 2D picture). Sound quality was also excellent. The extras are all on Blu-ray, although again I haven't watched them. The Hobbit films are all on one disc each unlike the Lord of the Rings films.Overall, I'm really happy I purchased the upgrade to Blu-ray for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and glad to have the Hobbit extended editions included in the set. This boxset certainly is epic at 30 discs, and certainly worth a punt. Recommended.

I have a bit of a ritual that I go through once a year, and the ritual involves me taking a few days off, slobbing in front of the telly and watching the Lord of the Rings movies - the extended editions - in their glorious entirety. When it came to the last time I was going to watch them, I'd got far too used to watching movies in Hi-Def so my lovely DVD copies looked fuzzy and frankly rather horrible on my big-screen TV, so I decided that there was really only one solution - I was going to have to purchase a Blu-Ray set of them.I was, however, rather puzzled that a nice boxed set of them was difficult to find at a sensible price, so I gritted my teeth (and possibly said a naughty word or three) and took the plunge on this set, which also includes the so-so Hobbit trilogy - which I suppose is acceptable from a completionist's point of view. Thanks to Amazon Prime, the set arrived the next day and after watching 'The Fellowship of the Ring' on DVD, the jump in quality from that to 'The Two Towers' on Blu-Ray was absolutely breathtaking in every respect.The most obvious thing was the improvement in picture quality from the paltry DVD resolution of 720x480 to the Full-HD resolution of 1920x1080, which made the images so much more sharp and defined. There was also a big jump-up in terms of the quality of how the colours looked and, of course, there was a notable difference in the audio quality, which sounded absolutely amazing coming through my soundbar.It would be wrong to write a review of the LotR saga without saying a little something about the films themselves - and I don't really know where to start. I mean, it was always going to be difficult to translate a much-loved fantasy saga (heck, THE fantasy saga) to the big screen, but Peter Jackson somehow pulled it off. The tone, the characters, the locations and everything is absolutely mind-blowing and the actors he chose to play the various roles are perfect. If you've not seen them, I would recommend that you buy this set, get yourself comfy on your sofa (mind to get some munchies and some tissues) and get yourself engrossed in these.As I said however, this set also includes the Hobbit movies, which are essentially not awful - but why they made the decision to turn a very thin book into a trilogy (thereby adding a good deal of padding) after making three very thick books also into a trilogy (thereby having to cut some bits out), so I would have much rather seen just the one Hobbit movie.It doesn't stop there, of course - once you've finished watching through the movies, you've got the absolute cornucopia of additional material to work through - this set contains (count 'em) 30 discs, including the movies themselves, which represents hours and hours of 'making of' documentaries, commentaries, concept art, special effects wizardry and the likes. It's actually quite mind-boggling and goes a long way to show how much work was put into these movies.All in all however, this is without doubt the finest boxed-set of the Middle Earth on-screen saga you're likely to get - and is definitely a worthy successor if you still only have the DVD set.

While very happy with the films just a little issue that needs to be highlighted. Whilst all the films are on blu ray and the extras for the hobbit trilogy are also blu ray, Warner brothers are being a little cheeky by including the extras for the Lord of the rings trilogy on dvd from the original extended dvd collection released from years ago, so while the collection is good value for money, I feel that by claiming this is the blu ray version but adding dvds in the collection is slightly misleading.Don't get me wrong this does not detract from the fact this is a great product for lovers of the film series. Bring on the Amazon series in 2022.

This is the best present anyone could receive as Lord of the rings fans. I love the design and only real fans appreciate the extended editions. The films are amazing in every way and to see the full edits are even more rewarding. To see all the discs laid out is magical.

Great films love this series

Picked this up during a lightning xmas event, having been after it for years. I previously had the first gen dvd LOTR boxset (before the Hobbit) and the picture on this blows that release out of the water. I am not a huge fan of the franchise, but wanted the most complete boxset (apart from the bookcase collectors edition) for a good price point. This is the 30 disc boxset with the extended editions. A huge amount of extras to boot gives you a boxset worth booking a few day off work to enjoy.. will be saving mine till the winter and doing that! Down side (as mentioned by others) is a flimsy cardboard box sleeve to hold everything which is the only letdown in this great package.