DVD reviews: Lord of the Rings Trilogy Blu-ray

Almost 10 long years have passed since Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trudged into cinemas and single-handedly established New Zealand as the world capital of nerd tourism.

Perhaps you recall, LOTR was a wild success with fans. Even curmudgeonly critics conceded the thing was at the very least an impressive filmmaking achievement.

At the risk of alienating that one reader who hasn’t seen it, I’m gambling that I don’t need to offer a plot summary (Andy Serkis offers a helpful one-sentence synopsis: “Frustrated boy loses ring.”)

It might not seem so long ago, but both filmmaking and viewing technology have mutated rapidly since the film’s release. In 2001, some video stores even stocked videos. The infestation the HD TV has occasioned the Blu-ray re-release of everything ever committed to film, while allowing cinephiles to see the classics almost exactly as their creators intended.

The Lord of the Rings Blu-ray version is an interesting test case, because it’s an opportunity to get perspective on medium-term technological change. Does Lord of the Rings stand up in high definition?

For a start, The Fellowship of the Ring has got camper over time. Thankfully the hugging and wistful glances are over in only three short hours and we can all move on to enjoy some six hours of fierce fantasy chopping (rounded off with a good half hour of hugging).

The trilogy’s cinematography is still exquisite. New Zealanders are always proud of their homeland’s performance as Middle Earth, and rightly so. Sweeping across grasslands up over the snowy ranges always invoked a shiver, but only Blu-ray really does the exceptional camerawork justice.

Jackson does so much in the trilogy. Its sheer size gave him ample opportunity to play with a range of colours and moods.  Much of the time Jackson plays with a relatively straight bat, preferring coherent storytelling over stylistic experimentation.

At the time, Lord of the Rings set the bar higher in terms of special effects, but it’s a fickle area that’s quick to become outdated.
When we first met him, Gollum was shockingly lifelike, the first truly realistic computer-generated actor. Being reintroduced to him on Blu-ray in no way diminishes WETA’s achievement, but demonstrates how far technology has come since then.
He’s certainly still as expressive as you might remember him, but in 1080p the way Gollum is superimposed on the real-life action becomes more obvious.

The fine divide between the film grain and the computer-generated is laid bare. There’s also a slightly slick, flat plasticity to his skin that you might not have noticed on ancient DVD.

Other beasties come off better, particularly the terrifying Sheelob in Return of the King, who bears graphic levels of gory detail (I’d never noticed she was covered in sore-looking cancers).

Elves, dwarves and especially Orcs, on the other hand, look absolutely amazing. It’s testament to the quality of costume and make-up design that Blu-ray significantly improves the experience. The attention to detail on every grungy extra is astounding, which you’ll probably only notice for the first time with HD.

All three films are transferred in their native 2.40:1 aspect ratios, but the quality of Blu-ray transfers varies from film to film.

Coincidentally, the first instalment is both the weakest film and the poorest Blu-ray transfer. The garish tones of the Shire really sting the eyes in 1080p, and what appear to be different film gradients from different sources pop up throughout.

The discerning eye will probably pick up on some elements of noise reduction treatments, scrubbing detail and depth out of the image.

Parts two and three are measurably improved. Digital noise reduction isn’t quite as obvious, and the colour cast isn’t as intrusive. Fine details and edges on objects like hair and clothing are sharper, and blacks are, well, black, which is really what you’re after. However, there are still times when the film quality drops into either soft or noisy territory.

While there might be a couple of gripes with the transfer, there’s absolutely nothing to whinge about with the DTS-HD Master Audio 6.1 soundtrack on all three films. Dialogue is always totally clear and centred, while the action fizzes all around with piercing high-pitched shrieks and shuddering, bulging bass.

Sadly, there’s not much in the way of extras on offer; this latest release is certainly the meat-and-potatoes version of LOTR. That’s not an entirely bad thing, as it means the disc is primarily used by audio and video data. But you can bet your bottom Balrog that this time next year, we’ll be getting the extended editions in a shiny new hi-def package. It’s an opportunity for studios to double-dip, as hardcore Rings fanboys are likely to shell out for both. Given the fact they’re actually an improvement on the theatrical releases, there’s probably an argument for holding off for the long(er) version. TG