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LOTR on Blu-ray

#1
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5/25/08 at 8:31am
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From a Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro's HOBBIT webchat:

icaroz. Will the Ring trilogy get a blu-ray release around the time of Hobbit? or sooner?
Peter Jackson. Hi Icaroz - We are working on a blu ray version of the LOTR trilogy with Warner Bros at the moment, not sure when it is due for release. It certainly won't be this year.


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#2
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5/25/08 at 8:40am
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Re: LOR on Blu-ray

appreciate the info but "LOR"
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#3
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5/25/08 at 9:11am
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Re: LOR on Blu-ray

The $1,000,000 question is will they bend us over with a theatrical cut only release or will they do the right thing and give us the EE's or even better "both cuts".
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#4
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5/25/08 at 9:30am
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Re: LOR on Blu-ray

Quote:
Originally Posted by JackKay
"Peter Jackson:We are working on a blu ray version of the LOTR trilogy with Warner Bros at the moment, not sure when it is due for release. It certainly won't be this year.

This is one awesome news! We all knew that it´s coming at some point, but this is that "confirmation" what we all waited (that it´s actually "in progress" and PJ is involved).

It has been some time when I watched the trilogy last time and I´ve been kinda waiting for the BD-release(s) to watch it next time. Well, next year!

I hope that both "Theatrical" and "Extended"-versions are included and all the extras from the previous releases (then again, quite a lot of those if you also count that 106-min doc from the "Limited Editions", so..). Perhaps we see those "deleted scenes" and bloopers this time around (I believe PJ has mentioned those in some interview).

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#5
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5/26/08 at 2:33pm
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Re: LOR on Blu-ray

Yes, someone might want to amend the thread title to "LOTR on Blu-Ray."

I'd like to say I'll boycott the release if they don't give us the EEs right off the bat, but FOTR is my favorite film, so I doubt I'll have the resolve.

My personal wish would be for New Line to essentially release the limited edition DVD discs on blu--EEs and theatricals available via seamless branching, with the new(ish) documentaries included, which I have never seen. I don't have much desire for all the EE extras to be ported over, thus jacking up the price for material most of us probably already have.

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#6
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5/26/08 at 2:38pm
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

Quote:
Yes, someone might want to amend the thread title to "LOTR on Blu-Ray."
I agree.


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#7
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5/26/08 at 2:40pm
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

Considering that they'll probably wait for a couple years to release this so it can tie in to The Hobbit's theatrical release, there's no excuse for not having everything (and maybe even more) from the DVDs on it.
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#8
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5/26/08 at 5:28pm
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cees Alons
I agree.


Cees




i would buy these instantly if they have all that has come before, and probaly if they were movie only.
but no purchase if not long version.
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#9
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5/27/08 at 1:44am
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

I hope we don't have to wait too long. Personally, I'd be fine w/ just keeping my existing DVD sets for most of the extras, if they provide both the EE and theatrical cuts together (via seamless branching) along w/ the commentary tracks and great HD PQ/AQ. I don't really need stuff like the full, extra lengthy documentaries that were on the original EE sets. I suppose it could be nice to have some amount of PiP commentary (w/ that stuff and maybe others) though considering how much they put into those full docs.

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#10
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5/27/08 at 9:27am
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

Personally, and I may be asking too much here, but I would like them to put out 2 different sets.

The first one is the movies only. Of course, both the theatrical and EE on the same discs.

The 2nd one is a mega-set with the aforementioned movies plus extra discs with all the special features, and I mean all of them.

That way everyone can be happy and choose what they really want. Some people might not care about the extras as they have most of them already anyway. Some, like me, would want everything out there in one set.

I don't know how cost prohibitive that would be for the studio, but I am fairly certain they would recoup whatever they invest into this release and then some.
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#11
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5/27/08 at 2:12pm
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Raber
I don't know how cost prohibitive that would be for the studio, but I am fairly certain they would recoup whatever they invest into this release and then some.

That will likely depend on when exactly they release them since the BD market is still very small right now.

For what you're suggesting, they're probably best off releasing a full blown version in the near future (for most of us early-ish adopters who'd care) to be followed by a stripped down version *later* (for the average consumers who probably wouldn't care much about extras or even owning 2 different cuts).

The current market probably doesn't justify them doing 2 different simultaneous releases.

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#12
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5/27/08 at 3:42pm
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

I don't know Man-Fai. That sounds like it punishes anyone who hasn't already jumped on board. Of course, according to what we hear from Peter Jackson this isn't happening until next year anyway so maybe punishing is not the right word. That said I can't really see them releasing the whole ball of wax right off the bat and then a bare bones release a few months later.

They released two versions of Blade Runner recently, 3 if you count the Ultimate Edition which I would certainly expect some type of super special Ultimate Edition for LOTR as well. The bare bones Blade Runner was released first followed by the Ultra Edition. I didn't like that when they did it, because I knew going in that I was only interested in the Ultimate Edition, but I'm sure there were people who grabbed that up and then the Ultimate set 3-4 months later.

IF, and that's still a total unknown at this point, they do more than 1 release (bare bones and ultimate set), then I just hope they release them concurrently. I really don't want them thinking they can gouge us by releasing a bare bones set of just the movies and then the following year release the whole thing. I know there will be a lot of people willing to buy the set twice, but I am not one of them.
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#13
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5/27/08 at 4:12pm
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

I don't know the limitations of Blu-ray. Could they fit the 4-hour 11-min version of ROTK on one disc? They probably could, but quality might suffer. Whatever they decide to do, they could probably include all of the extras on one Blu-ray disc depending on whether they decide to do them in HD as well.

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#14
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5/27/08 at 4:54pm
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Raber
I don't know Man-Fai. That sounds like it punishes anyone who hasn't already jumped on board.

Huh? I don't get it. How can it punish "anyone who hasn't already jumped on board"?? If they haven't jumped on board w/ Blu-ray, then how can they be punished?? Well, I can understand if we're talking barebones first followed by a fully loaded double-dip a year later, but that's the opposite of what I suggested though.

OR did you mean my suggestion would deter/discourage folks who don't care about extras at all? I gotta think that's an extremely small minority who would love LotR all that much and yet not be ok w/ buying the fully loaded version right off the bat, particularly when one considers who might actually make the jump into Blu-ray in the near future. Sure, there might be some who'd shrug at extras either way, but it's not like the studios would really want to sell a barebones version for a lot less than their norm (for Blu-ray), especially w/ the very small market right now. I guess if Warner really believes that they'll see a tidal wave of new adopters arrive to market to snap up all the barebones versions to justify it all, then they'd probably do so. But I don't see that being realistic at all.

Quote:
That said I can't really see them releasing the whole ball of wax right off the bat and then a bare bones release a few months later.

Well, some studios kinda do that here and there to some degree anyway though none of them do it as a matter of rule of thumb or anything like that. And anyway, if they release the barebones *after* the fully loaded for the reasons I'm thinking, then I'd think the barebones will be more like a year or so afterward, not just a few months.

Quote:
They released two versions of Blade Runner recently, 3 if you count the Ultimate Edition which I would certainly expect some type of super special Ultimate Edition for LOTR as well. The bare bones Blade Runner was released first followed by the Ultra Edition. I didn't like that when they did it, because I knew going in that I was only interested in the Ultimate Edition, but I'm sure there were people who grabbed that up and then the Ultimate set 3-4 months later.

What barebones Blade Runner on Blu-ray are you talking about? If you're talking about DVD, well, *all* the recent releases are basically double-dips.

FWIW, I jumped into Blu-ray when I did (in late Dec) largely because of the Blade Runner release -- and the fact I wanted the Work Print version included w/out having to buy the briefcase edition.

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#15
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5/27/08 at 5:55pm
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

Quote:
I don't know the limitations of Blu-ray. Could they fit the 4-hour 11-min version of ROTK on one disc?

I certainly hope they can do it. It would be great to have the whole films uninterrupted by a disc change.

Nevertheless, I'll be first in line when these come out.

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#16
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5/27/08 at 6:14pm
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

The file size of longer movies is usually closer to 20 gigs than 30 (POTC for instance). I think it highly unlikely they wouldn't keep the LOTR films to a single disc.

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#17
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5/28/08 at 12:44pm
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

How would everyone feel if all of the extras from the previous three releases were included but in standard definition on a blu-ray disc? I'm sure you could fit everything on one disc (per film) and it would help keep the cost of the set down. You might even have space left over to include deleted scenes and trailers in 720p/1080p. Personally I would be fine with that solution. I don't need talking heads in HD and I didn't mind that the extras Blade Runner set were in SD.
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#18
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5/28/08 at 1:24pm
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

I doubt that any of the extras were even produced in HD, though it's slightly possible given the extreme effort put forth.

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#19
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5/28/08 at 8:54pm
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

Yeah, in general, I think most extras do not need to be in HD, *but* if there are worthwhile deleted scenes and such, I'd want them to be in HD (though it wouldn't be any kind of dealbreaker of course).

Personally, for some titles, I don't even mind just keeping my old DVDs for most of the extras (and the ability to view those films on any old regular DVD player). Offhand, only extras I can think of that probably *need* to be ported are feature-length commentary tracks (or similar) that would run alongside the film, instead of separately from the film.

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#20
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5/28/08 at 9:12pm
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

I would definantly prefer the EE as well as they are the version of the movie I watch instead of the theatrical. But I want these movies bad so lets see if I am week or not.

At least we know that they are working on it at this point which is alot more than we know about other titles like Raiders, BTTF, JP or SW to mention a few others that I am dying to own.

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#21
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5/28/08 at 9:13pm
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

I don't mind the extras being in SD either. Of course, trailers/deleted scenes should be in HD when possible.

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#22
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5/29/08 at 5:00pm
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Re: LOTR on Blu-ray

I agree Ray I do not mind if the extras are in SD either but other things I would like in HD when ever possilbe as well. And I would hope that they would offer both versions of LOTR via seemless branching for the Blu-ray release. And from what I understand and from what I have heard it should be a DTS-HD MA release, that is if the information I read was correct. In the end I do not care if it is Dolby True HD , DTS-HD MA or LPCM, just as long as it is a really good lossless track. But I am still a supporter of DTS by default but lossless now seems to be lossless. Will find out once I actually can decoded full boar DTS-HD MA around the end of the year. That is when I should have a new receiver with all the decoding toys and I will add a Panasonic BD30 to the mix.

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#23
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7/24/09 at 11:46am
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some new blu ray news for lotr ee.. stroll down a bit to find it.

Jacob

http://www.collider.com/2009/07/24/peter-jackson-news-the-hobbit-blu-ray-lord-of-the-rings-district-9-the-lovely-bones/

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#24
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7/24/09 at 1:15pm
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Hmmm...  So according to that site, it's now only going to be about an extra year's wait for the EEs, not the original thinking of another 2 years (to coincide w/ the theatrical boxoffice opening of The Hobbit)?

BTW, I also hadn't realized that The Hobbit will be a 2-part-er coming to theaters in consecutive years.  Maybe that means each part will be 2-to-2.5 hours long instead of one huge 4-to-5-hour marathon.

Anyway, thanks much for the link, Jacob.

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#25
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7/24/09 at 5:56pm
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sure.. no problem.

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#26
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7/27/09 at 1:29am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Man-Fai Wong View Post

Hmmm...  So according to that site, it's now only going to be about an extra year's wait for the EEs, not the original thinking of another 2 years (to coincide w/ the theatrical boxoffice opening of The Hobbit)?

BTW, I also hadn't realized that The Hobbit will be a 2-part-er coming to theaters in consecutive years.  Maybe that means each part will be 2-to-2.5 hours long instead of one huge 4-to-5-hour marathon.

Anyway, thanks much for the link, Jacob.

_Man_


 

Last I had heard,  Hobbit wasn't going to be two parts.  The first movie would be The Hobbit,  the second movie would be bridge the gap between Hobbit and LotR,  with material drawn from that compendium book JR wrote.

It may have changed since I'd heard,  But I thought that was the intention.
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#27
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7/27/09 at 11:50am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan-G View Post




Last I had heard,  Hobbit wasn't going to be two parts.  The first movie would be The Hobbit,  the second movie would be bridge the gap between Hobbit and LotR,  with material drawn from that compendium book JR wrote.

It may have changed since I'd heard,  But I thought that was the intention.

Yeah, it was changed. They found that there wasn't that much material to fill a 'filler' movie, basically. Also, they were afraid they'd have to do too much altering to fit the Hobbit into one movie, so it's going to be split across two films with additional material drawn from the appendices/simply made up.

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#28
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7/27/09 at 1:33pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Borst View Post




Yeah, it was changed. They found that there wasn't that much material to fill a 'filler' movie, basically. Also, they were afraid they'd have to do too much altering to fit the Hobbit into one movie, so it's going to be split across two films with additional material drawn from the appendices/simply made up.
 

Yes, apparently that thing about a third Hobbit movie was supposedly an April Fools joke. If you search the net you can find some info about it.

As far as the LOTR Extended Editions coming in just a year, if true, that's good news indeed. I was going to wait anyways, and this eases the pain just a bit.

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#29
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8/14/09 at 4:03pm
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I will wait for the EE cuts to hit Bluray, I am not interested in the theatrical cuts at all.  I have both theatrical and EE on SD-DVD and I honestly do not even watch the theatrical cuts on DVD, so why would I want them on Bluray.  

If I sell off some SD-DVD's here in the near future the LOTR's theatrical cuts will most likely be one of the first to go.  I wonder if the Bluray is still going to sport the DTS-HD MA track? 

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