Tag Archives: Martin Freeman

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 Hobbit: Motion Picture Trilogy on 4K December

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Well, it’s official, if you haven’t already heard by now that Peter Jackson‘s “The Hobbit: The Motion Picture Trilogy“ on 4K UHD Blu-ray is coming on December 1st. The three films here include “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” (2012), “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (2013), and “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” (2014). The motion pictures featured a cast of Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, William Kircher, Stephen Hunter, Dean O’Gorman, James Nesbitt, and John Callen.

Just like “The Lord of the Rings“ films, these films have all received new 4K remasters that were “overseen by [the director] Peter Jackson” himself. Again, as with The Lord of the Rings films, you will get both the Theatrical and Extended versions of the films included here, each on their own discs here for these films. That means you’ll see it be a 6-disc set that features a 4K UHD Blu-ray disc for each version of the film. That means no Blu-ray counterparts included, and in turn no bonus materials that I’ve been told of. Warner provided me the PRESS RELEASE to the announcement of these films officially coming out earlier today, and it has zero mention of extras coming (this year) for the release. First though, here’s a glimpse at the contents of this set below.So, I’ll get to the point here. There is actually a release planned for 2021 called the 6-Film “Middle-Earth” (Ultimate Collector’s Edition) on 4K UHD Blu-ray. That release will feature both trilogies in 4K, with both versions of each film, and the Blu-ray counterparts (remastered) and containing the previously released bonus materials — as well as some new exclusive extras. But, don’t get confused here. That’s for a future 2021 release on 4K of the two trilogies bundled together. Let me take some quotes regarding that from the press release to hopefully clarify that fully.

“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.”

So, again, as I said before, take a deep breath. Here’s even more on that, via the announcement 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”

So, that’s a thing. There’s an upcoming bundle with extras if you want that, but if you already own the previous Blu-ray versions of these films with extras (bonus materials) then the only thing you’ll be missing out on will be the new extras and perhaps the digital copy? Speaking of which, this release will come with a digital code (copy) of each film in the trilogy and I will assume also both versions of each film.

For this upcoming 2020 release, the tech specs include a 2160p presentation in HDR10 and Dolby Vision forms of high dynamic range and Dolby Atmos sound. You can find a bit of info regarding (confirming) this and details about Peter Jackson’s involvement with these upcoming releases below, taken from the press release.

“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.”

Now, you can find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available for preorder over at Amazon [commissions earned] and at retailer Best Buy. It’s totally worth noting that there will also be an exclusive 4K UHD Blu-ray SteelBook release available of the trilogy only over at retailer Best Buy (pictured below), which is now up for preorder.

Finally, further below, after the break, you can find the full announcement regarding this trilogy and The Lord of the Rings trilogy both coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray.

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Edgar Wright’s “Cornetto Trilogy” comes to 4K

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Director Edgar Wright‘s “The Cornetto Trilogy“ is coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray in a box set on September 10th via Universal. The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy includes the films “Shaun of the Dead” (2004), “Hot Fuzz” (2007), and “The World’s End” (2013). This info came yesterday across all three of the films’ social media accounts (maintained by the studio) on Facebook. There were no further details about the release aside from the date and cover art (pictured above). UPDATE: The 4K UHD Blu-ray set is now available for pre-order over at Amazon. Tech specs for the films on 4K include HDR10 and HDR10+ forms of High Dynamic Range with DTS:X sound.

It should, of course, be stated that all three of these films star Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Lastly, we can tell from the artwork that the release will come as a “combo pack” with the original Blu-ray Disc releases also included.

BBC Has Plans to Bring “Sherlock Season One” to 4K UHD Blu-ray in November

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In an early alert to retailers BBC Studios has made it apparent they plan to bring the popular series “Sherlock: Season One” to 4K UHD Blu-ray on November 6th. The British show, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, premiered on the BBC back in 2010, and has run off-and-on for a total of four seasons (so far). With that being said, hopefully we’ll see more seasons of this show come to 4K next year. No tech specs yet, details on bonus materials or such, but stay tuned for an update, once BBC decides to officially announce the title. In the meantime, the PRE-ORDER is available over at Amazon now.