Middle-earth Limited Collectors Edition BD Box Set

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Insert heavy breathing...


http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2016/08 ... et-coming/

For those of you that don't want to click the link

Ever since the final ‘Hobbit’ film was released, fans have been waiting for a box set of all 6 Peter Jackson films. Well, it looks like that’s finally happening! Amazon announced today that a Middle-earth Limited Collectors Edition Blu-ray Box set would be released on October 4th of this year. From their listing:



– The Limited Collector’s Edition includes 30 discs featuring all six Middle-earth films in their extended edition forms, housed in six stunning faux leather books and a collectible Hobbit-style wood shelf. The one-of-a-kind wood shelf is crafted from solid wood with design selected by Peter Jackson.
– In addition to the extended edition release of every film, the collection also includes all previously released bonus content from both the theatrical and extended editions.
– Exclusive premiums designed for the collection include: · Spectacular 100-page sketch-style book with replica The Red Book of Westmarch, filled with original film sketches and new artwork · Original reproductions of exquisite watercolor paintings by acclaimed conceptual artists Alan Lee and John Howe, framable and wall-ready.

Special features (doesn’t specify whether these are all from the existing dvd/blu-ray editions):

– The Hobbit Extended Edition Trilogy features almost one hour of additional footage that were carefully selected under the supervision of director Peter Jackson (THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES extended edition is rated R), and more than 34 hours of theatrical and extended bonus content. The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Trilogy features more than 2 hours of extended scenes, also selected by Jackson, and more than 33 hours of theatrical and extended bonus content. Bonus content from The Hobbit trilogy theatrical and extended editions will be included on Blu-ray disc. Bonus content from The Lord of the Rings trilogy theatrical and extended editions will be included on DVD disc. Additionally, digital copies of all films in their theatrical and extended edition forms will be included for download on Digital HD.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Re: Middle-earth Limited Collectors Edition BD Box Set

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Deep breath indeed, but c'mon... we all knew this was coming sooner or later.

I'll wait on a price before making a final decision. This is probably as definitive a set as we're ever likely to get, so a plunge off the deep end is likely in the cards for me when it comes out. The shelf is nice, as are all the other extras, and it will be cool to have all six movies in matching cases. For those of you that likely will never get the Red Book replica, the one in this set would be a fair compromise, even if what it contains is not the same as Indy's awesome work. I've always had decent luck selling off used stuff, so I'll probably have no problem selling my current Blurays of the six movies to friends. Heck, I still have the original LOTR EEs on DVD, but I kept those for sentimental reasons, and because they pair off with the statues they came with back in the day.
This Space for Rent

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Valkrist wrote:Deep breath indeed, but c'mon... we all knew this was coming sooner or later.

I'll wait on a price before making a final decision. This is probably as definitive a set as we're ever likely to get, so a plunge off the deep end is likely in the cards for me when it comes out. The shelf is nice, as are all the other extras, and it will be cool to have all six movies in matching cases. For those of you that likely will never get the Red Book replica, the one in this set would be a fair compromise, even if what it contains is not the same as Indy's awesome work. I've always had decent luck selling off used stuff, so I'll probably have no problem selling my current Blurays of the six movies to friends. Heck, I still have the original LOTR EEs on DVD, but I kept those for sentimental reasons, and because they pair off with the statues they came with back in the day.

You're not alone Val. I have the LOTR EEs on DVD, they are just a great piece. The leather book look to them.

I will definitely be checking the price first, but for someone who has bought LOTR on VHS, DVD, EE on DVD, TE on BD, EE on BD... followed by The Hobbit movies (all three) on TE and EE... what's one more set?? After this set, I'd be willing to sell everything but my LOTR EE on DVD (for sentimental reasons and aesthetics). Not to mention selling off all those sets would free up some DVD shelf space.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.

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Digital Bits posted about this. http://www.thedigitalbits.com/columns/m ... 81716_1215

Apparently NO new content, which makes it a non-starter for me, no matter how cool the set looks. And when you click that link and see the picture, you will weep for how cool the set looks. Anyway, you know there are going to be umpteen future releases of this, 4K/Atmos for starters, so why jump on this one?
"Olorin I was in the West that is forgotten...."

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BladeCollector wrote:Depending on the cost
When Amazon first posted it, they had it listed at $800, which had to be a mistake for $80.
Valkrist wrote:Because it's going to be a very long time before I ever get a 4k set. Besides, by the time I'm even thinking about one, there will be a new standard just around the corner. This is one game where no one wins except the tech companies.
The only way I'd ever get 4K is if I finished my basement and did a dedicated home theater. As it is now, even with a 65" TV, I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference. But you're right about the tech companies...what new gimmick can they come up with to sell more TVs....
"Olorin I was in the West that is forgotten...."

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That price tag is probably somewhat close to what the final price will be. The set is in the same style as their Harry Potter collection they released a few years back.

Not interested here. The only time I'll ever re-buy the hobbit extended editions is if PJ puts in the extra character moments in the BOTFA. The acorn scene, Gandalf reprimanding Thranduil for ignoring Legolas, etc. I want to see those in the movie. They're important. I would have happily cut out the troll and chariot chase sequence to make time for those scenes.

Also, I want the deleted scenes too, and more behind the scenes content. From what I understand, there's loads to pull from so it could be done. At the price point, and considering there's nothing new I'm passing.
"All those moments will be lost, in time... like tears, in the rain..."

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Hold onto your hats, because it really is $800. Or I guess I should say, hold on to your wallets. This is the Ultimate wallet grab in home entertainment history, at least so far is I've followed it. Click the link to read the digital bits rather amusing rant on the topic.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/columns/m ... 81816_1445

Now all we need is that poor septa from Game of Thrones chanting Shame!
"Olorin I was in the West that is forgotten...."

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It will be amusing to see how much of a bath WB takes on this greed grab.
It would also be interesting to know (and we will never know) if any of the suits that came up with this idea could even name the major characters in each story.
I think the guy in Digital Bits got it right....it's a kick in the cajones, poke in the eye insult to the collectors and fans.
Last edited by Deimos on Sat Aug 20, 2016 10:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

"Eternity is an awful long time, especially towards the end."

"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.
It also depends on what sort of person you are.” -- CSL

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I have to admit, I've been on the fence with this one. Initially, I thought "Okay, $800, maybe it's a really high quality wooden shelf and book and the cases are high quality, etc...."

But now that I've had time to sleep on it, this won't be happening for me. $800 is just too steep a price that could very easily buy more unique and worthwhile collectibles. I'll wait for the next ultimate collection that comes out in a year or two with its single extra deleted scene...

I can't really imagine who will be buying this apart from the extreme die-hard fan with no financial sense/responsibilities.

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When it was first posted, there was speculation that the price was a typo and was supposed to be $80, not $800. As soon as I saw there was no new content, I had no interest. Sure, it looks glorious, but I have all the media content already. And OCD person that I am, I would feel behooved to watch every minute of each of those 30 discs to make sure that there were no glitches or errors. So I wouldn't be buying a set with no new content, even at the very reasonable price of $80. So when I found out it was actually $800, not $80, I was dumbfounded but not grief-stricken.

TheOneRing.Net has a series of new articles today about the set. This one is well worth your read: http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2016/08 ... izes-fans/.

Cliff Notes version: Warner turned down doing an extra-content version. Studio types believe that those don't sell any better than sets with no added content. Given the drive to herd everyone into the dream (i.e., nightmare) new frontier of cloud-only media, it's a miracle that they put together this set at all. It's also, very sadly, unlikely we'll ever see what TORn dubs the "Unicorn Edition" (i.e., very special and probably doesn't exist!) in spite of PJ's professed desire to make it. You know, deleted scenes, outtakes, bloopers, etc.

Quickbeam (the author of the post) speculates about what could be in a Unicorn Edition version of the movies: Ian Holm replaced by Martin Freeman in the ring-finding scene of the FOTR prologue (I would not approve of that) and various other things. Something the writers mused about on one of the Hobbit commentaries regarding the alleged eventual future ultimate edition of LOTR is Thranduil digitally added to the Last Alliance in the FOTR prologue. I think that could be cool...but if memory serves, PJ nixed that right in the commentary track. He now views the LOTR movies as permanently fixed at their EE stage.

That's a very mixed bag for me. Truthfully, the movies don't need to be any longer. And it may be best to stay off the slippery slope of tinkering with your movies on video, lest you end up a laughing stock like George Lucas. At the same time, it would have been an opportunity for some real fixes.... some of the effects, which were borderline in the early 2000s, are beyond dodgy now. And there was always the pipe dream of an older, wiser PJ coming to his senses about some of the story-telling choices he made and tweaking a few scenes. In fact, before the Hobbit movies went into production, Michael Pellerin stated that they planned to shoot additional material for LOTR. Maybe he was smoking something good when he said it, or maybe he was referring to new documentary content, or who knows. In any event, I think we can write off the notion of any "improvements" to the existing movies (and yes, I realize many of you wouldn't change a thing anyway).

But getting back to the current new set, Warner is just trying to cash in again at the least possible expense to them...which is what studios do, I guess.
"Olorin I was in the West that is forgotten...."

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This whole thing is a bad joke.

Not to turn this into a Middle-earth nitpick session, but inserting Thranduil into the current prologue scenes would be erroneous and contrary to book lore. Not that that's ever stopped PJ, but we both know Thranduil and the rest of the Mirkwood elves retreated from the field and went home after his father, Oropher, was slain on the Dagorlad. Thranduil never made it into Mordor. If there was to be any tweaking of the prologue, it should be to add Gil-galad's scenes back in. More so than all that, I weep for Anarion.

On that topic, I find it funny that Quickbeam longs for a scene where Saruman finds a palantir in Dol Guldur when no such thing happened. Again, anyone daring to call himself a Tolkien fan knows that the palantir Saruman was using had always belonged to the tower of Orthanc. Not to say Sauron couldn't have kept the Morgul palantir with him at Dol Guldur while he was there, but can we please stop needlessly twisting the facts of this story? It has suffered enough indignities, with the Hobbit movies as a whole being the most egregious.
This Space for Rent

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PJ said on the commentary for an AUJ I think it was that he wouldn't add Thranduil to the LOTR prologue and didn't want to tinker with his movies.

I think he'll keep to his word. I can't see what makes this set worth so much. Maybe if they decide to throw in a limited edition Gutwine replica, that would add some value but that's just a dream :P
"All those moments will be lost, in time... like tears, in the rain..."

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Arwyniel wrote:As of this posting, Amazon has dropped it to $599. :crazy: :lol:
That is a heckuva price drop... but still I am still not budging A. because its still too much for me and B. the principle of it. having no new content. I am buying it solely to have a matching 6 movie set. MAYBE if it was $300... maybe. Like I've said before. I have owned LOTR on VHS, DVD, EE DVD, TE BD, EE BD, and Hobbit both on TE and EE. I should have some sort of frequent flyer miles or a punch card. The only reason I say maybe $300 is I could recoup some of the costs by selling my LOTR and Hobbit movies.

Buying the exact same thing I already own at that price, to me, I cannot justify. There are many other LOTR collectibles that I would love to buy which I could definitely buy, by not getting this set.


And to the Warner Bros execs who think that people would rather the same ol same ol, vs new content. I hope you choke on your morning bagels or muffins. :cursing_r
The more things change, the more they stay the same.

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Theres some public comments made over on TORN stating that it wont sell and the price will drop. I'm not expecting it to drop. People will buy this. The Harry Potter film set sold out pretty quickly and I dare say Middle Earth has a much bigger fan base. I still stand by my opinion and the opinions of others here that theres nothing to warrant buying these films again :rolleye:

Arwyniel made an interesting point. There seems to be a big push toward going fully digital, yet we're being given a brand new disc format. I find it ridiculous that for most new releases you can buy a dvd, a blu-ray, a blu-ray 3D or now a 4k ultra hd disc and also digital versions with different stores. Why wasn't DVD phased out years ago? I suspect most people will have upgraded to blu-ray players by now? so is it worth switching to 4K discs because blu-ray could still be here for quite some time if they're not going to phase them out. I don't like digital downloads personally. I hate things being fully digital. You also don't own it fully when its digital and of course you still pay the same price as buying the disc version. Lets hope the market doesnt go to only digital downloads, at least not in my lifetime :P
"All those moments will be lost, in time... like tears, in the rain..."

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I have a small collection of digital movies... when I get a digital copy when I buy a hard copy. Unless I stream something from say, Netflix, I don't stream anything when I watch. I will always want and prefer hard copies. My DVDS and BDs are part of my collections.

The only place digital has for me is if I have the digital copy and I watch it on an airplane or something like that.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.

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Part of a statement from PJ:

“In addition there was the added difficulty of Warners needing to access the original negative and scan the outtakes, bloopers, and additional sequences. They declined to do this, which made Michael Pellerin and my original plans for the comprehensive documentary we hoped to produce for this box set, impossible to produce. Neither Michael nor myself are therefore involved in this release. Maybe Warners will support our planned documentary for the 25th anniversary, because we would love to make it one day.”

Kinda pissed with Warner Brothers right now.
"All those moments will be lost, in time... like tears, in the rain..."

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I met with the WB guys at the Licensing Show back in June. I knew of this set at the time, and that there was no new content. I asked if they had a time frame for releasing the version PJ wants to do with all the unseen footage and bloopers included as extras, or if that would be held back for the 25th anniversary. I was told no, and there were no plans to do anything in the future.

I expected that, as this will cost millions to put together, and now really is not the best time to do it. That does not mean it will never happen. I expect it will, just a long time from now, and probably under different management. Studio personnel, studio heads, and studio ownerships change hands all the time.
Last edited by Nasnandos on Sun Aug 28, 2016 5:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
KRDS

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Bill Hunt of the digital bits and staffers from the one ring.net got together the other day for a webcast with Michael Pellerin, who produced the supplements for the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. There's a link within the page linked below. Webcast is about 2 1/2 hours, but it's worth watching.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/columns/m ... 83116_1215

They talked about the new box set and offered their thoughts on it, and they talked about all sorts of other things related to these movies. Pellerin was present during much of the production for both trilogies, as he was a documentarian for the project, and he had all sorts of tidbits about the making of movies. Needless to say they talked a great deal about the ultimate set that we really want, and whether and in what form it will ever come out. They're reasonably confident that it will happen at some point, although it may initially only be offered as streaming to save cost. However things that get streamed always end up getting put on disc, so they're sure that there would be discs at some point. When all this might happen, they weren't in a position to say; it will definitely be several years at a minimum. They repeated over and over again that people need to get on social media and demand this thing, because the studios do listen. In the meantime they dropped all sorts of tantalizing clues, like that there's at least an hours worth of bloopers for each movie, and not just your typical blooper of somebody flubbing a line, but also staged bits. They didn't mentioned this one explicitly, but I am remembering the bit on ROTK that where they made Ian McKellen up in a tall white wig with daisies in it, and he frolicked about gaily, going on how divine it was. That sort of thing. Anyway, they said that during the production of the movies and the previous video sets they intentionally held back some of the best things that people would want to see so that the ultimate set wouldn't just be a scraping the bottom of the barrel exercise. They said it will be a thing of wonder when ever it finally happens.
"Olorin I was in the West that is forgotten...."

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So finally got around to listening to this. I hope it happens, and I'd be down for buying one. I hope it doesnt come out as an uber expensive box set though, uber expensive box sets are too much for me. I'd happily pay for the extras just on their own though, even without movies. I suspect, going off what was discussed in the podcast, that we'll get something for the eventual 4K restoration, though I'm hearing rumours of 8K coming soon so maybe they'll just bypass 4K altogether. Please for the love of god though, don't go the Netflix route. Please. When I buy content I want to own it. I'm under no illusion that I own the movie, I respect that the copyright remains with the filmmakers and the studio and I respect that, but I want to own a physical copy when I pay out cash.

Listening to the podcast brought back memories from when I was younger. I'm afraid to return to watching LOTR because it hurts - not sure why, but I find it very difficult to go back though I want too. Now is not the best time though, as I'm wrapping up my final year at university. Maybe during the summer though I can go back.
"All those moments will be lost, in time... like tears, in the rain..."

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Lindir wrote: Thu May 04, 2017 6:04 amListening to the podcast brought back memories from when I was younger. I'm afraid to return to watching LOTR because it hurts - not sure why, but I find it very difficult to go back though I want too.
It's called nostalgia, my dear friend, an affliction that we all suffer from to one degree or another, and can be set off by a variety of triggers. Our thoughts are transported back to a time that we associate with personal happiness, and we long to recapture that feeling by immersing ourselves in memories of the past. I have a love/hate relationship with nostalgia myself. We can never go back again, and that realization is depressing at times.
This Space for Rent

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Valkrist wrote: Thu May 04, 2017 6:47 am It's called nostalgia, my dear friend, an affliction that we all suffer from to one degree or another, and can be set off by a variety of triggers. Our thoughts are transported back to a time that we associate with personal happiness, and we long to recapture that feeling by immersing ourselves in memories of the past. I have a love/hate relationship with nostalgia myself. We can never go back again, and that realization is depressing at times.
I've felt nostalgic before but this is so much more intense :P perhaps because the LOTR trilogy was such a huge part of my life when I was younger and had more of an impact on me that Star Wars or Harry Potter.

Anyhow, I'm down for this ultimate set whenever it is released. Fingers crossed it'll be within the next decade and fingers crossed for it to come out at a sensible price point :P
"All those moments will be lost, in time... like tears, in the rain..."
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