Danielle Solzman
The Hobbit Trilogy–brought to life from Oscar-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson–finally makes its arrival on 4K Ultra HD.
The three films include An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, and The Battle of the Five Armies. Both theatrical and extended movies are spread across six discs. You also get a digital copy. Unfortunately, the downside to this collection is the lack of bonus content. New bonus content is coming though. If you’re willing to wait until next year, that is. In any event, Peter Jackson oversaw the process of remastering the films in 4K.
If you’re in New Zealand and Peter Jackson didn’t thank you yet, I’m sorry. When it comes to this particular trilogy, I regret not seeing it on the big screen. My reasoning is that the films came out during a time in which 3D releases took up most screens in addition to Oscar contenders. Thus, the 2D screenings were very limited (I was also working, too!) and none of the showtimes worked with my schedule. This meant waiting for Netflix to send the DVDs by mail. Remember those days?
While many fans are likely to bring this set home, please allow me to caution you really quick. When Warner Bros. announced the film’s first arrival on 4K UHD, they also made another announcement. In honor of the film’s 20th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring, the studio will release the Middle-earth Ultimate Collector’s Edition next summer. The set will feature the theatrical and extended versions of each film. Also included will be the previously released Blu-ray discs of The Hobbit Trilogy and the remastered Blu-rays of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. This is where the catch comes in: the set will also include new bonus content. If you know you want to bring the set home with new content, I would advise you to wait. Otherwise, please go right ahead!
I’ll have in-depth film reviews running later this month as I simply ran out of time during the last week.
