A collected edition of the extended versions of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit on Blu-Ray certainly sounds like a reasonable idea. This October, just such a collection will be released. Some of the official description:
– The Limited Collector’s Edition includes 30 discs featuring all six Middle-earth films in their extended edition forms, housed in six stunning faux leather books and a collectible Hobbit-style wood shelf. The one-of-a-kind wood shelf is crafted from solid wood with design selected by Peter Jackson.
– In addition to the extended edition release of every film, the collection also includes all previously released bonus content from both the theatrical and extended editions.
– Exclusive premiums designed for the collection include: · Spectacular 100-page sketch-style book with replica The Red Book of Westmarch, filled with original film sketches and new artwork · Original reproductions of exquisite watercolor paintings by acclaimed conceptual artists Alan Lee and John Howe, framable and wall-ready
So… as far as the actual movies and extras, it’s nothing new, same stuff as already released. But it comes with some kinda spiffy physical extras. So that’s cool. But there is one minor problem:
Ummm. How about no.
Apparently Peter Jackson wanted to create a bunch of new documentaries for this collected edition, but the studio shot that idea down. If you can explain why this is actually worth $800, congrats… you’re doing better than me.