Tag Archives: Christopher Lee

Middle-Earth Ultimate Collector’s Edition 4K November

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As promised, a “Middle-Earth Ultimate Collector’s Edition“ box set, now with a new release date, is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on November 16th, via Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. The 31-disc box set includes all six of the Peter Jackson-directed film adaptations of the J.R.R. Tolkein stories “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” via trilogies for each. The theatrical and extended versions of each of the six films will be included in this box set, and those films consist (chronologically) of the following:

  • “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001)
  • “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002)
  • “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003)
  • “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” (2012)
  • “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (2013)
  • “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” (2014)

MAJOR UPDATE: the original release date of late October (10/26 specifically) for this has now been pushed back to a new release date of November 16th.

The tech specs for the releases include 2160p video presentations for each film in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio with HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos sound. The theatrical versions of the film are on one BD-100 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc, while the Extended Cuts are presented on two BD-100 4K discs (as part 1 and part 2). This set will also come in the form of a “combo pack,” meaning that it will include the Blu-ray Disc counterparts (remastered in 1080p HD) for both trilogies and for both theatrical and extended cut for each. Then, there’s a bonus disc that I’ll discuss a bit further below, which makes this a 31-disc set. Also, you’ll get a digital code (copy) of each of the six films and of each version — compatible with Movies Anywhere.

You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray of the “Middle-Earth Ultimate Collector’s Edition“ available for preorder over at Amazon. The bonus materials set to be included with the release will feature all of the extras found on the previous Blu-ray (and DVD) releases as well as include an exclusive Bonus Disc. The contents of that disc are listed below.

  • Exclusive Blu-ray Bonus Disc includes:
    • Alamo Drafthouse: The Lord of the Rings Cast Reunions (hosted by Stephen Colbert)
      • “The Fellowship of the Ring” – RT: 39:38​ (with Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Sean Astin and Elijah Wood)
      • “The Two Towers” – RT: 32:24​ (with Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Liv Tyler and Viggo Mortenson)​
      • “The Return of the King” – RT: 29:48 (with Ian McKellan, Andy Serkis, and Peter Jackson)​
    • Festival De Cannes Presentation Reel

Also, as you’d expect, the audio commentary tracks will be included for each film, and (as mentioned) the extras will be physically included this time around as well. This set will contain a lot of physical extras and some rather impressive packaging that features the ability to change the slipcase into different configurations (as pictured below).

The physical extras included are detailed briefly below and further below I’ve included some further glimpses at the artwork and contents for this 4K set.

  • Exclusive Blu-ray Bonus Disc
  • 64-Page Booklet of Costume Sketches, Photography and Production Notes
  • 7 Travel Postcards

Lastly, I’ll remind you that this 4K set technically has yet to be officially announced by the studio [Warner], however, it’s obviously coming according to Amazon, but stay tuned for an update with confirmation and for further details.

UPDATE: This has been officially announced today [9/9] and you can find the full info regarding the release listed below.

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The Lord of the Rings Trilogy comes to 4K in December

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“The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy“ is officially coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on December 1st via Warner. Specifically, the trilogy is coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray in the form of a standard release on the format, a 4K UHD Blu-ray Giftset (pictured below), plus as a 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook exclusive to retailer Best Buy (also pictured, further below). The box set will include the films “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings” (2001), “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002), and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003) — all directed by Peter Jackson. The three films starred Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen, Sala Baker, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, John Bach, Brad Dourif, Marton Csokas, and Bernard Hill.

UPDATE #7: Alright. I have now received the official announcement directly from my contact at the studio (Warner) and I have the PRESS RELEASE which you will find at the very, very bottom of this already lengthy post. I’ll try to be condensing this and putting as much based on the final word of this announcement in the coming hours. So, without further ado! Alright, the tech specs for both trilogies (The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit) will both include 4K presentations in the HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of high dynamic range, along with Dolby Atmos sound. In fact, here’s a short bit (from the press release) regarding that.

“The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs of The Hobbit Trilogy and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy will feature Dolby VisionTM HDR that dramatically expands the color palette and contrast range and uses dynamic metadata to automatically optimize the picture for every screen, frame by frame. The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs of The Hobbit Trilogy and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy will also feature a Dolby Atmos® soundtrack remixed specifically for the home theater environment to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead.”

Next! The films as I can tell, from the hi-res images that Warner has provided me, will be like this in terms of the 4K UHD Blu-ray Discs included. And, yes, ONLY 4K discs will be included in these sets with no Blu-ray counterparts. The Lord of the Rings films will get 3 discs for each film in its trilogy, consisting of the first disc for each being the Theatrical version and the second & third discs being used for the Extended Cut split into two parts. Then, for The Hobbit films, it will be 2 discs for each film in that trilogy. It will consist of the first disc (for each) being used for that film’s Theatrical version and the second disc (for each) will be used for the Extended version (of that film). I know that’s a bit much to all take in at once. But, prepare for more.

Okay, so, it’s become apparent that there will not be any bonus materials included on these releases, likely because they didn’t have the Blu-ray counterparts for a purpose. That’s because they [Warner] actually plan to do a 2021 release of these films bundled together in what is being called the Six-film “Middle-Earth (Ultimate Collector’s Edition)” 4K UHD Blu-ray set. It will contain some specially created new extras and the original Blu-ray bonus materials on newly pressed remastered versions of the film included. The info regarding this can be found quoted below (from the press release).

“In addition, it was also announced that a 4K UHD “Middle-earth” Ultimate Collectors’ Edition featuring the theatrical and extended versions of all six films, along with new bonus content, previously released Blu-ray discs of The Hobbit Trilogy, and remastered Blu-ray discs of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy will be released in the summer of 2021. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy featuring remastered Blu-ray discs of the theatrical and extended versions of the 3 films will also be released in the fourth quarter 2021, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.”

Deep breath. Now more on that, via the press release headline.

“Six-film “Middle-earth” Ultimate Collectors’ Edition with new Bonus Content to be released in 4K UHD in Summer 2021 

 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Remastered Blu-ray™ to be released in 4K UHD in fourth Quarter 2021 to celebrate 20th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”

I know. I know. Okay, so moving on with what all I just learned from this official announcement. Some stuff I had previously reported, well all of it really, but namely this can still be used and I’ll leave it as-is.

According to the actor Sean Aston (in an announcement video seen below), it is known that “Peter Jackson oversaw the remastering” of all six of these films for the 4K releases, and they have all reportedly received a 4K DI (digital intermediate) new master for each. Meaning, it’s true 4K and was mastered in it for all of the films.

Now, finally, regarding the official info. It appears that no bonus materials will be included with these 2020 releases of the films. I’m trying to get a complete confirmation on that directly from Warner, but it sure seems that to be the case. Sorry to any fans this may upset, but this has been a hard year — I’m sure — to get physical media produced and projects finished like new extras, and so forth.

You can now find the standard 4K UHD Blu-ray version of the trilogy available for preorder over at Amazon. There will also be the aforementioned 4K UHD Blu-ray Giftset version of the trilogy, which is NOT exclusive to any retailer. It’s not only listed on Amazon but now is even listed over at retailer Best Buy!! And, there will be the 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook which is exclusive to Best Buy. That’s now back available for preorder and showing as in stock again. Below you can find the full glimpses at both the Giftset and the SteelBook versions of the 4K sets. Reminder, only one of these is an exclusive — despite all the confusion from earlier yesterday!!

4K UHD Blu-ray Giftset (above)
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Best Buy exclusive 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook (above)

And now, finally, as hinted at above, just sit back and enjoy Sean Astin announcing this all officially:

PLUS! As Sean mentions, “The Hobbit: The Motion Picture Trilogy“ is also set for a December 1st release on 4K UHD Blu-ray. What he doesn’t mention is that it will also come as a SteelBook exclusive and standard release. Its artwork can be found pictured below and the release is now available for preorder over at Amazon along with the SteelBook over at Best Buy (respectively in that order).

Finally, after the break, you can find the full PRESS RELEASE officially announcing these upcoming 4K UHD Blu-ray releases of the films.

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All “Star Wars” films come to 4K UHD Blu-ray March

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The remaining films in the “Star Wars” film franchise – so far – are all coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on March 31st it seems, via Disney, according to retailer listings. There will first be a very lavish, expensive box set available (seemingly exclusive) at retailer Best Buy called “The Skywalker Saga” (pictured above) which is now available for preorder. That Skywalker Saga set will include Episodes 1-9 of the films, as well as two Blu-ray Disc counterparts for each film, filled with bonus materials – yet to be detailed. Stay tuned for further details regarding this release as it develops.

Now, as of today, there also are most certainly individual releases for Episodes 1-7 coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on March 31st as well as the film “Rogue One – A Star Wars Story” (2016). It’s certainly worth noting that these titles are now all listed over at retailer Best Buy, individually. So, as you’d expect I’ll be listing the films coming out in theatrical chronological order with direct links to the Best Buy preorder listings – not yet functional but currently placeholder pages. UPDATED: I am now adding Amazon preorder listings to this post as they are getting listed.

NOTE: The final film in the Skywalker Saga (“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”) has been announced officially, as you can read HERE in my previous news post regarding it. This story regarding the individual releases is still developing, so once again, stay tuned.

Hammer film The Devil Rides Out on Blu-ray

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The 1968 Hammer film “The Devil Rides Out“ is coming to Blu-ray Disc on October 29th via Scream Factory. The film, directed by Terence Fisher, starred Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike Arrighi, Leon Greene, Patrick Mower, and Gwen Ffrangcon Davies. Tech specs for the release include 1080p HD video in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio with DTS-HD Master Audio Mono sound. The film is presented in a “NEW 2K scan of the 20th Century Fox interpositive” and also included is the Studio Canal restored master.” The title on Blu-ray is now available for preorder over at Amazon. Bonus materials set to be included on the release have just been revealed today and include the following.

  • NEW Audio Commentary with author/film historian Steve Haberman, filmmaker/film historian Constantine Nasr and author/screenwriter Richard Christian Matheson
  • NEW Satanic Shocks – author/film historian Kim Newman discusses THE DEVIL RIDES OUT
  • NEW Folk Horror Goes Haywire – author/film historian Jonathan Rigby discusses THE DEVIL RIDES OUT
  • Audio Commentary with actors Christopher Lee and Sarah Lawson
  • Black Magic: The Making of THE DEVIL RIDES OUT
  • Dennis Wheatley at Hammer
  • World of Hammer episode – HAMMER
  • Theatrical Trailers
  • Still Gallery

Further below, after the break, you can find the full details regarding this upcoming release.

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“Dracula: Prince of Darkness” with Christopher Lee on Blu-ray in December

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Hammer Films‘ 1966 horror classic “Dracula: Prince of Darkness” starring Christopher Lee is coming to Blu-ray Disc in a “Collector’s Edition” on December 18th via Scream Factory (Shout! Factory). Tech specs and bonus materials have not yet been fully detailed, but they have plans to in the coming months, as announced today on social media. It is confirmed that a new HD transfer is being done for the film, as you can read below (taken from a Facebook post).

• Release will come with a slipcover (guaranteed for three months after its original release date)

• The newly-commissioned artwork pictured comes to us from artist Mark Maddox. This art will be front-facing and the reverse side of the wrap will showcase the original theatrical poster art design.

• Extras are still underway and will be announced later in Nov. We are reconfirming today though that we have an all-new High-Def transfer in the works.

There’s no pre-order listing available yet for this release over at Amazon, however, you can pre-order directly from Shout! Factory – where you’ll get an added bonus in the form of 18″ X 24″ poster. Only 500 of those posters are being produced though, so act fast if you want that for free. More details as they come on this release. Stay tuned.