Perhaps everyone on the planet witnessed the spectacle which was and is the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, which has long been out in numerous formats and releases in the DVD marketplace. Tuesday, April 6, the film made its debut on blu-ray and for the first time is available from iTunes. (The almost forgotten Ralph Bakshi 1978 animated version also came out on blu-ray the same day.)
There is no need to review the films again here – more bandwidth and print has been spent discussing and dissecting these films than perhaps any other. Suffice to say they are great films and even if you do not like the genre they are must haves simply for the technical achievement involved. No, the 1978 version (which covers only roughly the first half of the trilogy, isn’t great. Merely a good attempt.)
I haven’t gotten the blu-ray myself but the download from iTunes is as expected easy to use and relatively painless. Be advised these releases of the newer entries (the Peter Jackson efforts) are the theatrical releases only. Surely the extended versions which many have will be released on this format soon…just not today.
The image and sound are, as is expected, exemplary. These are highly recommended for anyone breathing air.
And for those who, like myself, have manually transferred their DVD features to mp4 format this is most likely an upgrade in terms of quality as well. I compared them to mine and was surprised at the difference. Only Fellowship has any softness to it, surely reflecting the slightly lower production values, since New Line at that point was still surely not entirely sold on the Trilogy’s success.
Extremely highly recommended. Even though the Extended Editions are the preferred versions, these are more than enough to tide fans over until their ultimate release.
As an added bonus, we have from our friends at Warner Brothers a pretty extensive gift set to offer one lucky reader which includes:
· The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Original Theatrical Poster)
· LOTR Playing Cards
· LOTR Bookmarks
· LOTR Necklace
· LOTR Jade necklace from New Zealand
The first person to correctly answer all three of the below questions will get the set.
1. Which actor of the Trilogy just released a metal concept album entitled Charlemagne?
2. Which classic star served in the military in Special Ops and reportedly has several kills to his credit?
3. Which actor has two tie ins to the James Bond franchise, being not only a step-cousin to author Ian Fleming but also playing Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun?
WE HAVE A WINNER – “JESSICA E.” Jessica spotted our trick and knew that the answer to all three questions is the same…..Christopher Lee!
Please send your answers to me via email at orson@classicfilmfreak.com. Stay tuned for our announcement of the winner. Good Luck!