The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Extended Edition) [Blu-ray] [2001]

Don't be intimidated by the hundreds of negative reviews. They seem to be mostly for a different edition, so pay attention carefully before you order, as the editions reviewed here are a mixed lot, and this edition unjustifiably suffers from the resulting average rating. It seems that if a rating for this edition only was calculated, it would be much closer to 5-stars than the current 3.5.****** 14/2/2012 UPDATE - Beginning ***********************************************************I can now see that Amazon has wisely split the reviews and instead of the more than 1200 reviews for all versions - the reviews are now solely for the extended edition, so the opening paragraph is no more relevant.Well done Amazon! The previous mix-up really gave a distorted picture.***** 14/2/2012 UPDATE - END ******************************************************************The set contains 12 DVD's divided to three high quality boxes, designed to give it a look of a leather bound cover, all protected by an outer firm cardboard cover.Each of the movies is more than 3 hours long, and considering the very high quality of picture and audio, they had to divide it to two DVD's, with the other two DVD's dedicated to appendices containing many superb extras.It's obvious that Peter Jackson and all those involved with the production of this extended version box set made their utmost efforts to produce a polished, rich and gratifying product.Each of the 3 boxes has an inner sleeve that contains a nice booklet, that gives all the details you need about the special extended edition and the appendices, followed by two detailed stylish foldout diagrams that map the entire extras' menus.A list of all the scenes is given along with a notation which is extended and which is new, thus I could easily sum it up:Fellowship of the Ring: 200 minutes in 48 scenes, with 30 min. of 20 extended and 7 new scenes (6 + Fan Club Credits)The Two Towers: 214 min. in 68 scenes, with 42 min. of 19 extended and 16 new scenes (15 + FCC)The Return of the King: 240 min. in 78 scenes, with 48 min. of 24 extended and 15 new scenes (14 + FCC)4(!) different feature length prolific non-stop commentary tracks on each of the 3 films by:Director & WritersDesign TeamProduction/Post Production TeamThe CastWhile the commentaries are not subtitled, they are crystal clear ,easy to follow and highly interesting.This is a massively loaded set that will keep you busy for a long period of time...Money well spent!

I will presume that most people have seen these movies by now so this review is for the quality of the Blu-ray box set itself.Picture and AudioThere was a lot of controversy around the picture quality of the theatrical release of the Blu-Ray lord of the Rings and so I was nervous about buying this box set. But as a fan of both the Lord of the Rings and High Definition movies then I couldn't put it off any longer.I was therefore pleasantly surprised to see some of my favourite movies in their ultra-crisp glory upon my television.The picture quality simply doesn't live up to the modern standards of something filmed in IMAX or a more up to date camera system but the improvement over the DVD versions is instantly noticeable and vast. The picture quality really is excellent and does not at all stand in the way of the stunning visual effects or the great movies themselves.The worry over video quality was apparently over the colour cast of the movie. There have been complaints of a blue cast to the overall picture quality of the theatrical releases. Either that was fixed for these editions or it really isn't all that noticeable because to me the blu-rays were great and lived up to the epic quality of their content.As for the audio, when played through my 5.1 surround sound I noticed no problem what soever with the audio of these movies.Box SetHaving owned the extended edition DVD's this box set is a little bit of a let down. There isn't the same tactile feel to this box set but other than that there is nothing wrong with it. They still do look good upon the shelf and they come with the full range of movies and extras so there is nothing really to complain about.Overall VerdictOverall this is an excellent box set that does the movies justice and therefore can take pride of place in my Blu-Ray collection. For those who have seen and loved the movies they are a must get, for those who haven't even seen the theatrical releases then these movies can seem a little long, I do however, think they are far superior to the theatrical versions.