The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit 4K Blu-ray box sets are featured in Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale[1]. Both trilogy collections include theatrical and extended editions of Peter Jackson’s film adaptations. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy[2] is discounted to $50 (was $90) and is eligible for Amazon’s Buy Two, Get One Free[3] Blu-ray sale. The Hobbit Trilogy[4] on 4K isn’t included in the B2G1 promotion, unfortunately, but it is available for the very low price of $34.49 (was $90).
Amazon also has standard Blu-ray editions of both trilogies for cheap, and these are eligible for B2G1 free, too. Alternatively, the Middle-earth 6-Film Theatrical Collection on Blu-ray is only $25 during the sale. The other notable Lord of the Rings movie deal is The War of the Rohirrim anime[5] on Blu-ray for only $12.
The Lord of the Rings Movie Deals: Amazon Prime Big Deal Days[6]
$50 (was $90)[7]
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy’s move to 4K UHD resolution is fittingly marvelous. Middle Earth’s sprawling fields, rolling hills, and scenic vistas come alive with the help of HDR and modern surround sound tech. All three films support Dolby Vision and HDR10 along with Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround sound.
If you haven’t watched the extended cuts, you’re in for a treat. The extended trilogy is a full two hours longer than the theatrical versions, which is impressive considering the trilogy already eclipsed nine hours in theaters. The Fellowship of the Ring’s extended cut is 30 minutes longer, The Two Towers is 44 minutes longer, and The Return of the King is 51 minutes longer. Return of the King’s extended version is one of the rare movies that eclipses four hours.
This is a 9-disc box set, because each film’s extended cut is spread across two discs, while the theatrical cuts get one disc each. Here’s the total runtime of the theatrical and extended versions of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (excluding the credits):
The Lord of the Rings Theatrical Cuts
- The Fellowship of the Ring – 2 hours 58 minutes
- The Two Towers – 2 hours 59 minutes
- The Return of the King – 3 hours 21 minutes
Total runtime: 9 hours and 18 minutes
The Lord of the Rings Extended Cuts
- The Fellowship of the Ring – 3 hours 28 minutes
- The Two Towers – 3 hours 43 minutes
- The Return of the King – 4 hours 12 minutes
Total runtime: 11 hours and 23 minutes
$34.49 (was $90)[8]
The Hobbit Trilogy, though not nearly as highly regarded as Jackson’s LOTR Trilogy, looks and sounds fantastic on 4K Blu-ray. It supports the same audio and visual enhancements as The Lord of the Rings: Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround sound, and Dolby Vision as well as HDR10.
The extended editions of The Hobbit Trilogy don’t add as many minutes to the runtime, but it’s still an extra hour compared to the theatrical releases. Each edition is on one disc, so The Hobbit Trilogy is a 6-disc 4K box set. Here’s the breakdown for each movie:
The Hobbit Theatrical Editions
- An Unexpected Journey – 2 hours 49 minutes
- A Desolation of Smaug – 2 hours 41 minutes
- The Battle of the Five Armies – 2 hours 24 minutes
Total runtime: 7 hours and 54 minutes
The Hobbit Extended Editions
- An Unexpected Journey – 3 hours 2 minutes
- A Desolation of Smaug – 3 hours 6 minutes
- The Battle of the Five Armies – 2 hours 44 minutes
Total runtime: 8 hours and 52 minutes
The only downsides to these 4K trilogy box sets is that they don’t come with digital or 1080p Blu-ray editions. And since the standard Blu-rays have the extended edition commentary tracks, you are missing out on those here. That said, these prices beat paying $137.33 for the Middle-earth 6-Film Collection[9] that launched earlier this year.
More Lord of the Rings Deals
It’s worth noting that all three Lord of the Rings adaptations received standalone 4K Blu-ray editions with steelbook cases this year. The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers are available now for $30 (was $35) each, and The Return of the King releases next week–you can preorder it for $30, too. Unlike the trilogy box set, these editions include digital copies.
J.R.R. Tolkien Book Deals
The deals on Tolkien’s original novels and other Middle-earth stories are arguably even more compelling than the 4K Blu-ray promotion. Check out GameSpot’s coverage of collectible editions of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and more at the links below:
References
- ^ Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale (amzn.to)
- ^ The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (www.amazon.com)
- ^ Buy Two, Get One Free (amzn.to)
- ^ The Hobbit Trilogy (www.amazon.com)
- ^ The War of the Rohirrim anime (www.amazon.com)
- ^ The Lord of the Rings Movie Deals: Amazon Prime Big Deal Days (www.amazon.com)
- ^ $50 (was $90) (www.amazon.com)
- ^ $34.49 (was $90) (www.amazon.com)
- ^ $137.33 for the Middle-earth 6-Film Collection (www.amazon.com)