We don’t think it’s too controversial (or too nerdy) to say that The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy is essential to any physical media collection. They’re universally beloved, they swept all kinds of awards ceremonies when they were released, and they have remained the gold standard for high fantasy on film for more than 20 years. But you’re here reading this, so it’s safe to assume that maybe you don’t have your own copies yet. Maybe you’re here because you have the (admittedly very pretty) DVDs and are looking to upgrade your collection. Or maybe you asked your friends which versions to buy and they all gave you different answers. Or maybe you just want to finally fill that Lord of the Rings Blu-ray-shaped hole on your shelf. Here’s everything you need to know about how and where to buy the LOTR Blu-ray film collection of your dreams.
Which Lord of the Rings Blu-ray Set Should You Buy?
The thing about getting your hands on your own copies of The Lord of the Rings trilogy is, depending on what you end up with, some versions will have things that others don’t. The 4K releases have incredible picture quality, but they sadly don’t come with all that juicy extra stuff that the DVDs and Blu-rays do.
The Blu-rays, in contrast, are plenty of bang for your buck, but, somewhat controversially, the Blu-ray version of The Fellowship of the Ring has a weird green tint. (Neither of the other two movies have it, and the DVDs and 4Ks don’t either.) If you don’t mind a tint (it kind of makes all that New Zealand greenery look even greener), and if you love extra scenes and bonus material, you can’t go wrong with The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition boxed set, which comes with two discs per movie, three discs each of Appendices, three booklets per movie, and a map of Middle Earth on the inside cover. Yes! The extended editions! We’re completists!
Every LoTR Blu-ray You Can Buy
Because we love to give our readers variety, here’s a rundown of everything Lord of the Rings that is currently available on Blu-ray: boxed sets, extended editions, theatrical editions, and individual discs in case you’re only in the market for one or two. Weirdly, the individual Blu-rays of the theatrical cuts are sometimes hard to find, but we’ve done our best to locate them:
LoTR Trilogy and The Hobbit Trilogy Blu-ray sets
If you’re looking to get all three movies, you’d be best served by buying them all in a set. As mentioned, the boxed collection of all three extended versions is the best way to go, but there are other options available if you don’t think you can sit that long. If you want to sit even longer, there are a couple sets with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies, for those who want the complete Middle Earth experience.
Individual LoTR movie Blu-rays
How Different are the Extended Editions from the Originals?
The theatrical vs. extended debate has raged endlessly ever since The Lord of the Rings movies have been available on home video. Because New Line Cinema couldn’t expect your average audience to sit in their seats for more than three hours three Decembers in row, the movies were trimmed a tad, and now exist as the official theatrical cuts. There’s nothing wrong with these versions of the movies; they’re just a little shorter (they’re all still well over two hours), and some would argue that they’re tighter paced and more action-driven than the meandering extended versions.
But the extended versions have much more stuff, adding scenes here and there, elongating a few other ones, and offering context you wouldn’t necessarily get (or know you needed) if you were watching the shortened versions. The main difference is length: The Fellowship of the Ring extended runs about 30 minutes longer, The Two Towers about 45, and The Return of the King has nearly an hour of extra footage you don’t see in the theatrical cut. Sure, they’re a lot longer, but if you get to spend even more time in Middle Earth, can you really complain?
Emma Stefansky is a freelance culture writer covering movies, TV, and books across a variety of publications including The Atlantic, Esquire, IGN, IndieWire, The Ringer, and Vanity Fair.
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