I will be getting this set - it doesn't worry me if I have to change a disc half way through if I get the best quality possible.
Although it 'almost' feels like New Line just simply kept the masters they had for the DVDs and simply transferred them to BD...

Bring on the 100GB Blurays! That will fix it!
Or you could always get 2 BD drives in your computer and sync them to play one disc after the other....

Dizagaox wrote: Should have just released this one first. They really frakked up releasing the theatrical cuts, no wonder they're selling for just £5 ($8) in the UK, nobody wants them even for that little.

What they should have done is combined these BluRay releases.  Have the theatrical and extended cuts via seamless branching (keeping them split across two discs if necessary), and used BluRay  to combine all the standard definition special features across less discs.

Wilson Bros wrote: We wouldn't. Blu-Ray is supposed to be the current pinnacle of A/V technology and we wouldn't want to have the audio/video quality compromised over squeezing each film onto one disc.

The Wilson Bros
Agreed.

You guys that are whining about two discs for each movie need to take more than a few seconds to think about why. Given that the set is to include a DTS-HD Master Audio track and assuming the video is encoded at a nice bit rate, all it takes is some simple math to see that there is no way these particular 210, 220 and 250 minute films would fit on one dual-layer disc without a large drop in the quality that most consumers have come to expect from Blu-ray, and that isn't even taking high definition menus, other audio tracks and subtitles into consideration.

Intergalactic Ponce: I wonder if they'll do something similar to the Alien box set in that if you eject the disc (after part 1) a screensaver(y) film related/themed screen will appear, disappear when part 2 is inserted and go straight into back into the film.
That would be a really nice touch. Next to Star Trek:TOS, that Alien set is my favorite thing on Blu-ray.

Agreed. The extras are/were SD and they could/should have put them onto BD's (at SD) to reduce the amount of discs. 15 discs is too much.
You might argue that if the extras are in SD, why bother including them (or the commentaries) in this BD set at all as any fan will already have them.
Or produce a cheaper, movie only box set of the EE's.

I wonder if they'll do something similar to the Alien box set in that if you eject the disc (after part 1) a screensaver(y) film related/themed screen will appear, disappear when part 2 is inserted and go straight into back into the film.

I've stopped wondering about that now.

There are practical people who prefer the movie crammed in 1 disc by sacrificing the AV quality, and there are those who prioritize the quality and don't mind the movie-in-two-discs thing.
It is what it is. Y'all don't have to waste time arguing 'bout it. It's like people arguing which is better, man or woman. It's no use.

My only complain is: if the bonus features are gonna be in SD, WHY they still split it over 2(or 3?) discs? I can understand if the feature-discs are DVDs, but if they are BDs, I can't accept that.

C'mon, Gabe - you know why they're spreading out the extras onto several SD discs; it's to make it look as impressive as possible to punters who don't know any better.

As long as they have a good-looking transfer of Fellowship, then we'll buy them.

The Wilson Bros

State wrote: The theatrical editions are for people who enjoy movies, the extended editions are for people that don't care for movies and are more interested in content (regardless of whether it wrecks the movie or not).

The extended editions lack pace, momentum and tend to grind to a halt at times, they are not Oscar-worthy, but the original theatrical editions are.

Exactly. I'm not saying that the scenes put into the extended editions are bad scenes. They just mess with the pacing and flow of the movies. They are best as deleted scenes ; not put in the movie it's self. The movies as they are, tend to be slow, especially the first movie. But that fits with the storytelling. Extending them with even slower scenes wasn't a wise decision.

I agree that that long of a movie couldn't be on one dvd, but it should be able to fit on a blu-ray. They can hold about 9 hours of video. I have a 3 hour movie that's on one dvd, and it looks almost perfect. But I can imagine that a 4 hour movie would have artifacts.

Croweyes1121 wrote: If they DIDN'T put the films on two discs each and the quality suffered EVEN SLIGHTLY, these same people would still be complaining.  ::eye roll::

i wouldnt because apparently i'm not as picky and i have a magic tv. i cant count how often i read reviews stating the picture of a blu movie isnt that good or its even bad and then i see it and it looks good if not amazing.

with the billion hours of extras on this collection, the commentaries are just wasting space and pointless and without them, the movies would all fit onto 1 disc.

It's just New Line wanting to milk us out of as much money as they possibly can. But they didn't think of one thing. Most of the real dvd/blu-ray/movie fans are getting smarter. New Line doesn't realize that because we're getting smarter and getting to know what is and isn't possible with compression and what can fit on a certain kind of disc and what can't. Like Nick said, the ultimate cut of Watchmen is longer than the first LOTR movie, yet it fit just fine on ONE DISC. Sorry, New Line. We're not falling for it.

Amazon has them to preorder right now for less then $85, so I might just get them even though this would be my 4th different time to purchase these films...

Weee wants it!

pingas wrote: I have to admit I've never seen the extended versions of the films, only the theatrical versions. Of course, they're awesome. If I were to possibly buy this set, which has nice artwork, I'd have to see the extended versions first. The only thing I'm really curious about is Saruman's fate. I don't even know why that was left out.

Then you're in for a real treat! I envy you in a way...once I saw the extended editions, I can't go back to the originals, even though PJ himself said they were "the" definitive cut.  The extended editions were created to flesh out the story and add stuff, which, altogether, makes it an even more amazing experience - especially with The Two Towers.
I do agree with you that the fate of saruman should have been left in the theatrical cut.  That was, I felt, the one real mistake PJ made.

The extended editions completely ruin the pacing of the films. It is so stupid that they are still splitting the movies across discs. There is no way that they couldn't have put the whole thing on one disc. Extended AND split over multiple discs.....sorry, New Line. No sale.

Croweyes1121 wrote: If they DIDN'T put the films on two discs each and the quality suffered EVEN SLIGHTLY, these same people would still be complaining.  ::eye roll::

Well, it's a 15-disc set with excellent packaging. Us consumers need SOMETHING to complain about!

If they DIDN'T put the films on two discs each and the quality suffered EVEN SLIGHTLY, these same people would still be complaining.  ::eye roll::

I know, right? I can't believe they don't expect people to sit down for a full four hours, thrice. Providing some type of "intermission so I don't freaking become physically infused with my chair." Those b*****ds!

Still, though: I'm gonna buy the theatrical Blu-Rays and wait for the Extended's to go down in price, as the theatrical versions are better movies. The extended ones are amazing, don't get me wrong, they provide fantastic insight and are generally awesome, but the theatrical versions are technically better, particularly in the pacing department.

And as for the look of the theatrical Blu release--yes, it's not nearly as good as it could be, but in all honesty, it is noticably better than the DVD.

Another site has already stated that the bonus discs are the original DVDs from the first round of extended cuts.  

I got the theatrical Blu set on Black Friday thanks to a MAJOR flub on Target's part.  The individual releases were supposed to be $7.99 each but they pictured the trilogy box set instead.  They honored it, and I was glad for it.  

As far as this goes, it's such a beautiful package.  I just wish they could've fit each film on one disc each.  I seem to recall back in the day when Blu-ray launched that one of the mentioned perks of the storage capacity on a Blu-ray disc would allow each extended cut of these films to be pressed onto one disc each.  It's dumb on New Line's part for putting extras on the Blu-ray discs along with the films.  

Having said that, I agree with Bouncy.  Each film on two discs is a deal-breaker for me.  Release these in a 3-disc box set or individually, and I will gladly scrounge up the cash to buy.  For now, I'm content with my $8.00 theatrical box set.

I've got the theatrical editions on blu-ray as I wanted the original versions that got everyone talking.  Still want the extended editions as they're definitely superior, but for me I'm happy to have both versions.  In terms of releasing both versions on one disc, yes that's possible, but not if all the extras are in hi-def too.

Read an interesting interview regarding the split release of the theatrical and extended editions with Peter Jackson.  He basically disowned the decision, stating it was a poor move on New Line's part.  I don't mind a theatrical set and an extended set, but there was no reason not to release them on the same date, possibly with an option to have the lot together in an ultimate 21-disc package.

My main hope with this set though is that unlike the theatrical package, the bonus discs are not just the original DVDs.

Marcus1138 wrote: So much for the power of Blu-ray then? Still splitting the movies?

i hear ya and the sad thing is, its not entirely the fault of blu...its all those freakin commentaries. seriously, 67 for each movie is a little much. had it only been 1 or 2 or even none, i'm sure the movies would fit nicely onto one disc.

i may give in one day when they are real cheap but thats a deal breaker for me. maybe they'll release movie only editions down the road and they'll be on one disc but i doubt it. lol

all that said, its a very pretty collection. nice package work!