Anyone who’s seen Peter Jackson’s remarkable extended cuts of his ambitious Lord of the Rings trilogy will tell you that they are vastly superior to the theatrical cuts. As good as the theatrical cuts are, the extended editions do a much better job of bridging together the films’ major sequences while providing countless character moments that the already-lengthy theatrical cuts just didn’t have time for.

When the Lord of the Rings trilogy was released on Blu-ray last year, there was with no small of amount of disappointment amongst fans that we would have to wait longer still for the extended editions. Well, the wait is over. And oh my was it worth it.

Peter Jackson’s vision of Middle Earth has never looked (or sounded) better than it does on these glorious new Blu-ray Discs. The Fellowship of the Ring in particular looks astounding, as it was recently given a complete remastering in preparation of this new box set. Spectacular contrast and shadow delineation combine with lush colors and spectacular levels of fine detail to make this a reference quality presentation if ever there was one.

As for bonus material, ALL of the previous DVD goodies have made their way to this new edition and you’ll even find a bunch of new Blu-ray exclusives. Give yourself some time though, because Warner Bros. has crammed more stuff on disc than you’ll realistically have time for in just one sitting.

These definitive cuts of the trilogy, finally available in high definition, cannot be more highly recommended. And knowing that Peter Jackson is now filming The Hobbit, and that we haven’t seen the last of this world, makes these new Blu-rays all the more exciting.

LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY: EXTENDED EDITION
Warner | Blu-ray | 682 mins
List Price: $119.98