Product Details

• Actors: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen
• Directors: Peter Jackson
• Format: AC-3, Blu-ray, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French, English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 15
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: New Line Home Video
• DVD Release Date: June 28, 2011
• Run Time: 682 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,817 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0026L7H20
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,012 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #30 in Movies & TV > Blu-ray > Fantasy
• Learn more about "The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring / The Two Towers / The Return of the King Extended Editions) [Blu-ray]" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As the triumphant start of a trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring leaves you begging for more. By necessity, Peter Jackson's ambitious epic compresses J.R.R. Tolkien's classic The Lord of the Rings, but this robust adaptation maintains reverent allegiance to Tolkien's creation, instantly qualifying as one of the greatest fantasy films ever made. At 178 minutes, it's long enough to establish the myriad inhabitants of Middle-earth, the legendary Rings of Power, and the fellowship of hobbits, elves, dwarves, and humans--led by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the brave hobbit Frodo (Elijah Wood)--who must battle terrifying forces of evil on their perilous journey to destroy the One Ring in the land of Mordor. Superbly paced, the film is both epic and intimate, offering astonishing special effects and production design while emphasizing the emotional intensity of Frodo's adventure, and ends on a perfect note of heroic loyalty and rich anticipation.

After the breaking of the Fellowship, Frodo and Sam journey to Mordor with the creature Gollum as their guide in The Two Towers. Meanwhile, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) join in the defense of the people of Rohan, who are the first target in the eradication of the race of Men by the renegade wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee) and the dark lord Sauron. Fantastic creatures, astounding visual effects, and a climactic battle at the fortress of Helm's Deep make The Two Towers a worthy successor to The Fellowship of the Ring, grander in scale but retaining the story's emotional intimacy.

With The Return of the King, the greatest fantasy epic in film history draws to a grand and glorious conclusion. The trilogy could never fully satisfy those who remain exclusively loyal to Tolkien's expansive literature, but as a showcase for physical and technical craftsmanship it is unsurpassed in pure scale and ambition, setting milestone after cinematic milestone as Frodo and Sam continue their mission to Mordor to destroy the soul-corrupting One Ring. While the heir to the kingdom of Men, Aragorn, endures the massive battle at Minas Tirith with the allegiance of Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf, Frodo and Sam must survive the schizoid deceptions of Gollum, who remains utterly convincing as a hybrid of performance (by Andy Serkis) and subtly nuanced computer animation. Jackson and cowriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens have much ground to cover; that they do so with intense pacing and epic sweep is impressive enough, but by investing greater depth and consequence in the actions of fellow hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd), they ensure that The Return of the King maintains the trilogy's emphasis on intimate fellowship and remains faithful to Tolkien's overall vision. By ending the LOTR trilogy with noble integrity and faith in the power of imaginative storytelling, The Return of the King, like its predecessors, will stand as an adventure for the ages. --Jeff Shannon and David Horiuchi

Our Review of the Extended Edition on DVD (Dec. 14, 2004):

The extended editions of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings present the greatest trilogy in film history in the most ambitious sets in DVD history. In bringing J.R.R. Tolkien's nearly unfilmable work to the screen, Jackson benefited from extraordinary special effects, evocative New Zealand locales, and an exceptionally well-chosen cast, but most of all from his own adaptation with co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, preserving Tolkien's vision and often his very words, but also making logical changes to accommodate the medium of film. While purists complained about these changes and about characters and scenes left out of the films, the almost two additional hours of material in the extended editions (about 11 hours total) help appease them by delving more deeply into Tolkien's music, the characters, and loose ends that enrich the story, such as an explanation of the Faramir-Denethor relationship, and the appearance of the Mouth of Sauron at the gates of Mordor. In addition, the extended editions offer more bridge material between the films, further confirming that the trilogy is really one long film presented in three pieces (which is why it's the greatest trilogy ever--there's no weak link). The scene of Galadriel's gifts to the Fellowship added to the first film proves significant over the course of the story, while the new Faramir scene at the end of the second film helps set up the third and the new Saruman scene at the beginning of the third film helps conclude the plot of the second.

To top it all off, the extended editions offer four discs per film: two for the longer movie, plus four commentary tracks and stupendous DTS 6.1 ES sound; and two for the bonus material, which covers just about everything from script creation to special effects. The argument was that fans would need both versions because the bonus material is completely different, but the features on the theatrical releases are so vastly inferior that the only reason a fan would need them would be if they wanted to watch the shorter versions they saw in theaters (the last of which, The Return of the King, merely won 11 Oscars). The LOTR extended editions without exception have set the DVD standard by providing a richer film experience that pulls the three films together and further embraces Tolkien's world, a reference-quality home theater experience, and generous, intelligent, and engrossing bonus features. --David Horiuchi

Versions of Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy on Blu-ray and DVD

	Original Theatrical Edition	Platinum Series Special Extended Edition	Original Theatrical and Extended Limited Edition	Original Theatrical Edition [Blu-ray]	Extended Edition [Blu-ray]
Release Date	May 25, 2004	Dec. 14, 2004	Aug. 29, 2006	Apr. 16, 2010	TBA
Format/Disc #	Three DVDs	12 DVDs	Six DVDs	Three Blu-ray Discs, Three DVDs, Three Digital Copies	15 Discs Total: Films are on Blu-ray, with Special Features on DVDs
Digital Copies	No	No	No	Yes, on three discs (expired Apr. 4, 2011)	Yes, online (expires Jun. 26, 2012)
Extra footage	None	30 minutes added to Return of the King; 43 minutes added to The Two Towers; 50 minutes added to Return of the King	For all three films: Both the theatrical and extended edition on one disc	None	Same as extended-edition DVD
Commentaries	None	Commentary by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens; Commentary by the design team; Commentary by the production/post-production team; Commentary by the cast, including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, and Miranda Otto	None	None	Same commentaries as extended-edition DVD
Documentaries	Fellowship of the Ring: "Welcome to Middle-earth," "The Quest for the Ring," "A Passage to Middle-earth"; The Two Towers: "On the Set: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"; "Return to Middle- earth"Return of the King: Three documentaries: "The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision," "A Filmmaker's Journey: Making The Return of The King," "National Geographic Special: Beyond the Movie"	"From Book to Vision," "From Vision to Reality," "The Journey Continues...," Documentaries on J.R.R. Tolkein, "From Book to Script" documentaries, "Designing and Building Middle-earth," "Home of the Horse Lords," "Gollum," "Filming 'The Two Towers,'" "Visual Effects," "Editorial: Refining the Story," "Music and Sound," "The Battle for Helm's Deep is Over..."; "Filming The Return of the King," "Weta Digital," "Post-Production: Journey's End," "The Passing of an Age," "Cameron Duncan: The Inspiration for 'Into the West'"	Three behind-the-scenes documentaries by Costa Botes, the filmmaker director Peter Jackson personally hired	Same as theatrical-edition DVD	Same as extended-edition DVD, plus Costa Botes documentaries from the Original Theatrical & Extended Limited Edition
Featurettes	Fellowship of the Ring: 15 featurettes originally created for lordoftherings.net; The Two Towers: Eight featurettes originally created for lordoftherings.net; Return of the King: Six featurettes	None	None	Same as theatrical-edition DVD	None
Other Features	Exclusive 10-minute behind-the-scenes previews of The Two Towers and The Fellowship of the Ring; Enya "May It Be" music video; An inside look at the Special Extended DVD Edition of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy; Preview of Electronic Arts' video games; DVD-ROM features: Exclusive online content; Emiliana Torrini "Gollum Song" music video; "The Long and Short of It," a short film by Sean Astin; "The Lord of The Rings" Trilogy Supertrailer	Design Galleries; "Middle-earth Atlas: Tracing the Journeys of the Fellowship" interactive map; "New Zealand as Middle-earth" interactive map w/on-location footage; production photos; "The Mumakil Battle" demonstration / multi-angle interactive feature; "DFK6498" short film, "Strike Zone" short film, DVD-ROM access to exclusive online features	None	Same as theatrical-edition DVD	Same as extended edition DVDs; see above for complete special features

Product Description

The Quest Is Over: All three extended versions in dazzling 1080p and DTS HD-MA 5.1 Audio. Deluxe set includes over 26 Hours of spellbinding behind-the- moviemaking material, including the Rare Costa Botes documentaries, on 15 discs.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition: With the help of a courageous fellowship of friends and allies, Frodo embarks on a perilous mission to destroy the legendary One Ring.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition: In the middle chapter of this historic movie trilogy, the Fellowship is broken but its quest to destroy the One Ring continues.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition: The final battle for Middle-earth begins. Frodo and Sam, led by Gollum, continue their dangerous mission toward the fires of Mount Doom in order to destroy the One Ring.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

648 of 654 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Extended Blu ray: Do you need if you already own extended DVD editions? Review for both beginners and Die Hard LOTR fans November 24, 2011

By Amit

Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is NOT the review of the movies. I am solely reviewing the facts that what EXTRA you get in this set than the previous editions. I will start with very basic facts for those who are baffled by so many editions being out there.
The basic facts-
LOTR series has basically two types of movies- a) Theatrical and b) Extended, each edition are available in both-DVD and Blu ray format.
Extended versions of the movies have humongous amount of extra film footage added to the theatrical editions (approx. 30, 40 and 50 additional minutes for movie 1, 2 and 3 respectively). So, go for the extended editions only if you are a die hard fan of the movies. If you are not, the review ends here. Buy whichever movie you like in your preferred format and enjoy. Thanks.

FOR LOTR FANS-
Let's get straight to-the-point. Now, many of you may as well own the DVD versions of LOTR (Either Theatrical or Extended ot both), and if you are trying to make a decision whether to spend more money on this blu ray extended, here is the comparison-

Extended DVD set-
For each movie they have 4 discs (2 movie discs and 2 extra features); So total 12 discs. Sound is DTS ES 6.1, which is significantly better than regular dolby digital. This set is probably the most gorgeous I have ever seen for any DVD. Colorful and feature packed, it stands out in your entire collection.

Extended Blu ray set-
For each movie they have 5 discs (2 movie blu ray discs, 2 extra feature DVDs and 1 behind the scene DVD). So, total 15 discs. Audio is spine chilling DTS HD 6.1 and it has the all the betterments of blu ray (HD pic, HD sound, BD live). Also, blu ray set includes the Digital copy of the Extended Versions of all three movies (Standard definition, not HD). The set itself is a delight, with a sturdy golden cardboard package that is durable and beautiful. The remastering of these movies have been handled excellently and with respect to both picture and sound, this one is SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN THE DVD.

The GOOD (Blu ray set over DVD set):
1. Video and Audio significantly improved. Excellent blu ray transfer. I have not noticed any 'darker' colors as mentioned by some other viewers.
2. Blu ray set has THREE EXTRA DVDs (Behind the Scene for each movie) apart from the 2 extra feature DVDs.
3. Blu ray set has Digital copies of Extended versions of all three movies.
4. They did not waste a DVD for digital copy. You download them straight from the server.
5. Digital copies are great downloads and super easy. Together, it's almost 10 GB download, which was overwhelming for me.

The NOT-SO-GOOD:
1. Extra feature DVDs (2 for each movie) are the SAME as those of DVD editions. In fact, the DVDs are identical when I do head-to-head comparison. These DVDs are pulled straight from the older DVD editions, nothing new added there.
2. The overall appearence of the set is not as beautiful as the DVD sets. This one is excellently packed though, lacks the colours of the DVD set.
3. Extra feature discs are DVDs and not Blu rays.

FINAL VERDICT-
If you own the extended DVD set, then buy this only if you want to have a great improvement in pictutre and sound quality. The only extra features you get is 'behind the scenes' DVDs. All other extra feature DVDs (total 6 of them) will be a duplication of what you already own in Extended DVD set. Actually, I noticed that all the extra feature DVDs here are from the various older DVD editions. The two DVDs are from the Extended DVD set, and the one 'behind the scene' is probably pulled from the limited editions of LOTR (the double sided DVDs that New Line Cinema released sometimes back).
However, if you do not own the DVD versions, then this is a must buy as this includes almost everything that you can think of (HD movies, extra features, behind the scenes, plus digital copies).

UPDATE: Also check the images I uploaded which may help make the comparison.

3,299 of 3,412 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars LOTR - FAQ for the Blu-ray Extended Edition April 18, 2009

By A. Dent #1 HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase

Q - Is it worth it, especially if I already have the DVD edition?
A - To me it is because I like to watch movies at home on the biggest possible screen at the highest possible resolution. I still have the DVD editions - which I'm keeping because I like the artwork - and the quality gain on the Blu is significant.

Q - Could this edition be viewed as 'the gold standard'?
A - Yes. It has the extended cuts at the highest resolution with the best sound and the most extensive collection of special features.

Q - How many Blu-ray discs are in the box?
A - There are SIX Blu-ray discs. The additional 9 'extras' or 'bonus' discs are DVDs.

Q - Are the movies delivered on one disc each?
A - No. See above. Like the DVD extended edition, the movies are delivered on 2 discs each.

Q - Why aren't the movies delivered on one Blu-ray disc each?
A - Most Blu-ray players can only read single layer (25GB) and dual layer discs (50GB). Each of the Extended Edition movies require more than 50GB. Compressing them to 'under 50GB' would have degraded the quality of the picture and sound track.

Q - Is the audio superior to the DVD editions?
A - Yes, the movies sound track is DTS-HD 6.1 MA.

Q - Are there alternate soundtracks?
A - Yes. Each movie disc includes 4 additional commentary sound tracks: Director & Writers, the Design Team, the Production and Post Production Teams and Cast commentaries.

Q - Is BD-Live supported?
A - Yes, on the movie discs.

Q - Is the BD-Live content specific to LOTR?
A - No. It contains WB promotional material.

Q - Will the Extended Blu-ray edition allow us to play the Theatrical cut?
A - No.

Q - Is the Extended Blu-ray cut be in any way different from the Extended DVD cut?
A - No.

Q - Are the bonus discs in the Extended Blu-ray edition in any way different from the bonus discs found in the Extended DVD edition?
A - Yes. There is an additional 'Special Features' disc for each movie holding the Costa Botes documentaries from the Original Theatrical & Extended Limited Editions.

Q - Are the commentaries different from the Extended DVD Edition?
A - No.

Q - Are there subtitles?
A - Yes, subtitles are available in: English (for the hearing impaired), Spanish and Portuguese.

Q - What spoken languages are available?
A - English and Portuguese.

Q - Are the Digital Copies on disc?
A - No. The Extended Blu-ray Edition has access codes for downloadable Digital Copies.

Q - What are the Digital Copies for?
A - iTunes or Windows Media.

Q - Will the Digital Copies be available to download forever?
A - No. The Digital Copy offers expire on June 26, 2012.

Q - What is the resolution of the Digital Copy?
A - For iTunes, it's 853x352 (less than DVD).

Q - Will there be separate Extended Blu-ray editions for each of the three movies?
A - Yes.

Q - Why get the Extended Edition instead of the Theatrical Edition?
A - The Extended Edition adds about 2 hours to the Theatrical cut.

140 of 147 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Addressing the color correction in Fellowship July 1, 2011

By B. Mostafavi

Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase

There are other reviews, official and user, that scream about the amazing video and audio, special features, and how basically, you can get rid of your extended dvd copies of the films (and theatrical releases, if you have those, I guess. Why would you even have those?). I'm just here to address the concerns over the supposed flawed color correction in Fellowship.

First of all, I viewed the the films (DVD and Blu-Ray) on an LCD television, calibrated a few years ago using what is considered its ideal settings, taken from AVSForums. Nothing special beyond that, and those settings haven't changed since I first bought the television. I viewed Fellowship in its entirety on Blu-Ray, and then specific scenes that were known to be altered, between the DVD and Blu-Ray.

When watching Fellowship as a whole picture, and looking for anything odd in the picture, I must admit I noticed nothing. During the initial Hobbiton scenes, I noticed no green sky, no cyan grass, nothing like what was shown in the side-by-side comparison video that popped up not too long ago. Any changes that were made to the picture worked well enough that when viewed in context with the scenes before and after, worked perfectly. Even when trying to find anything that looked out of place, I was unable to do so (and keep in mind that having viewed the DVD of Fellowship many times, I had an idea in my head of how the film should have looked).

By the time I got to the infamous shot of the ring in the snow, and that entire scene, I had completely forgotten that I was supposed to be looking for color correction, and everything looked fine; nothing stood out to me. When I finally remembered that I was looking for color correction, I rewound to the beginning of that scene (The Ring goes south), and again watched for the color change. At this point, I did notice a difference, but there was no green sky, no green snow. If anything, there was a slight bluish sheen to the shot, but the snow was still white, and as with the Hobbiton scenes, the color grading fit so well in context to the shots before and after, that it fit perfectly in the scene, especially considering the emotional impact the scene was supposed to convey.

When comparing those specific scenes (and a few others) to the DVD version, there is a noticeable difference in the color. However, this is not a bad thing. As I understand it, Jackson and Lesnie changed the color grading in those scenes to make them fit better into the film as a whole, and this is accomplished. In fact, when watching The Ring goes south scene on the DVD after watching the Blu-Ray, the old color scheme created such a tonal shift for me that it made me squirm. The realism of the snow shots took me out of the fantastic world they were trying to create.

So, are the changes made noticeable? Only if you're doing a straight comparison of different versions of the film, which is pointless. Watching the scenes in context, not only are the color changes not really noticeable, they actually fit better than the original versions, just as Jackson and Lesnie intended. Those people who are complaining and saying that the color changes are horrible, or stick out like a sore thumb, are either EXTREMELY nitpicky, sore at having to buy another version of the films and complaining about anything except complete unaltered perfection (which come on, why would you have ever bought anything beyond the extended DVD's almost a decade ago?), or, having heard about the color changes, are looking for something that's not really there.

This version of the films are the definitive, comprehensive version, and can't get any better in terms of video, audio, or special features. Get rid of your previous versions, and enjoy. What we've been waiting for has finally arrived, and is as good as we've hoped.