Peter Jackson’s epic fantasy masterpiece of the J. R. R. Tolkien classic, “The Lord of the Rings” is finally on BluRay and from many reports, it looks bloody amazing. Heck it looks bloody amazing already from the trailer for this Blu-Ray box set (see trailer below)! Not only is it immediately apparent how much work was put into the conversion to BluRay high definition quality, but it sounds like the world of Middle Earth is suddenly more real than ever. The added depth and detail lends a richness to every dimension an already visually-stunning trilogy of films.

While all this is fantastic, there’s a fly in this soup – die-hard fans of the trilogy are not so thrilled. Why? This release contains the three theatrical releases of the “Fellowship of the Ring”, “Two Towers”, and “Return of the King” along with the same special features that came with those DVD sets. Over two thousand fans on Amazon.com voiced their opinions that they want the extended versions of the films and extras on BluRay.

[The Shakedown]

As for if you should buy “LOTR: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Theatrical Editions)” on Blu-Ray or not is a matter of what kind of fan you are. If you’re a casual fan of the trilogy and want an upgrade to high def quality and aren’t so troubled by which extra features you get, this is a buy.

If you are a die-hard fan, I would recommend waiting for the extended version to come out. I, for one, enjoy every second of the hours upon hours of extras and additional footage of the extended versions so I will be waiting for that version to come out.

Seriously, it’s a simple question of what your needs are in this case! To help you decide, below is the trailer for “The Lord of the Rings” on Blu-Ray and a disc-by-disc description of what is on all nine discs of this theatrical edition of the LOTR trilogy.

LOTR: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Theatrical Editions) Blu-Ray – Trailer

Breakdown of what’s on each of the fellowship of 9 discs:

Disc 1 The Fellowship of the Ring Feature
Trailers: “The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest” Game Trailer, “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy Supertrailer
Disc 2 Welcome to Middle-Earth: Houghton Mifflin In-Store Special
Quest for the Ring: FOX TV Special
A Passage to Middle-Earth: SCI-FI Channel Special
Finding Hobbiton
Hobbiton Comes Alive
Believing the World of Bree
Ringwraiths: The Fallen Kings
Rivendell: The Elven Refuge
Languages of Middle-Earth
Two Wizards
Music of Middle-Earth
Enya “May it Be” Music Video
Special Extended DVD Edition Preview
Behind the Scenes Preview of “The Two Towers”
Disc 3 The Two Towers Feature
Trailers; “The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest” Game Trailer, “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy Supertrailer
Disc 4 On the Set “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” – Starz Encore Special
Return to Middle-Earth: WB Special
“The Long and Short of It” A Short Film Directed by Sean Astin
The Making of “The Long and Short of It”
Forces of Darkness
Designing the Sounds of Middle-Earth
Edoras: The Rohan Capital
Creatures of Middle-Earth
Gandalf the White
Arms and Armor
The Battle of Helm’s Deep
Emiliana Torrini “Gollum’s Song” Music Video
Special Extended DVD Edition Preview
Behind the Scenes Preview of “The Return of the King”
Disc 5 The Return of the King Feature
Trailers: “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy Supertrailer, “The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest” Game Trailer
Disc 6 The Quest Fulfilled: A Director’s Vision
A Filmaker’s journey: Making “The Return of the King”
National Geographic Special – “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Aragorn’s Destiny, Minas Tirith: Captial of Gondor
The Battle of Pelennor Fields, Samwise the Brave
Eowyn: White Lady of Rohan, Digital Horse Doubles
Heart/Frodo, Every Path, Test, Aragorn, Time, Every Step, Sword, Decided
Special Extended DVD Edition Preview
Discs 7-9: Digital Copies of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King

Buy “LOTR: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Theatrical Editions)” here.

[Source] Amazon