Nico21000

I managed to get these 4K releases and they are incredibly good, but I have to aknowledge that I was very sceptical at first!

The official 4K remastered releases have an excessive DNR, and the following post from DrDre is the best depiction of what I mean: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1504039
Of course, the official 1080p remastered ‘regular’ blurays inherited this flaw but it was minimized as they are basically just downscaled versions with SDR color conversion.

So, taking these ones as source and applying the effects depicted in OP sounded really odd and awkward (4K AI upscale, grain filter addition & subtle color correction). However, the result totally blew my expectations!

The AI upscale filter preserved most details without blurring the image too much, the artificial grain addition brings back some ‘texture’ absent from the original material, and the color correction (while still not 100% faithful to the original one from theatre releases) looks much more ‘acceptable’ and close to the original 2000s feeling intended back in time.

Everyone’s taste may vary. There are still unavoidable flaws: background Shadowfax floating ghost ears when reaching Minas Tirith palace terrace, almost B&W dream sequences (this decision from the studio pisses me off and is totally unacceptable IMO), but indeed MJBenito made the best 4K EE remastered versions available, WAY better than the official ones!

MJBenito, this post and review is a huge THANK YOU for your work and your dedication to this project! I managed to ‘rebuild’ proper FRENCH SRT subtitles (both forced and complete), along with proper named FRENCH chapters. Feel free to contact me if you are interested, and want to implement them in an eventual future update.

Once again, thank you so much. You rock!

SHM said:

Edelmann said:

What did you use to upscale the Open Matte scenes? Were they ever released in anything better than 720p?

Amazon released a open matte version in 1080p.

Talking about image quality, these Amazon open matte releases are not the best material available. I have specific scenes in mind where you can clearly see original film strip artifacts: dust, hairs. There was (at best) poor restoration treatment during the digitalizing process.

Whole open Matte movies are quite new experiences for me. My comparison list (regular vs open matte versions) is actually limited to Blade Runner 2049 and the whole Harry Potter Series. The feeling is quite different: you feel much more immersed in the movie.

It’s intentionally used by some directors in certain parts only for a few movies. The examples I have in mind are TRON: Legacy, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Top Gun: Maverick. It’s a mean to trigger a substantial ‘wake-up’ for the spectator during specific depicted events.

Concerning whole open matte movies I have a different feeling: I love both versions, but the ‘regular’ pan/scan ratio makes it much more ‘cinematographic’ and enjoyable in my opinion.

I’d be curious to hear about various debates on this topic, both technical and emotional.

bobie306 said:

Anyone who has the FOTR Dremaster, go to 2:20:25. Does the treeline jiggle for anyone else? Or is it my playbacker? I’m stumped.

At this timestamp Frodo sees visions from the mirror of Galadriel. There’s no treeline to check…

bernardcozier said:

Ok, I was able to find a link to FOTR Dremastered theatrical but I am wondering if anyone else sees some pixelation corruption for about 2 seconds at 2:40:30 this is after Boromir got shot with three arrows and the orcs took the two hobbits.

This is a minor issue considering the whole remainder of the Dremastered FOTR theatrical movie plays fine. I re-downloaded to a fast SSD drive and exactly the same issue same spot. Can anyone else confirm if this minor corruption is also in their downloaded Dremastered FOTR theatrical version? It is unmistakable, can’t miss it if it is present. I also tried different video players MPC and VLC on PC and pixelation corruption issue still there.

Please respond if you can clear up this observation for me.

I have this issue too, when the uruk-hai run in front of Boromir kneeling, pierced by many arrows.

MJBenito said:

[snip] Starting with the untouched remastered blurays [snip]

[snip] I decided to start fresh from the remastered blurays [snip]

@MJBenito As I understand this, you used the ‘regular’ 1080p remastered bluray discs as base material, am I right? These bluray discs are in fact downscaled versions of the 4K remaster processed in late 2019. Please correct me if I’m wrong, otherwise the following will be totally out-of-topic…

I own these bluray discs, and while their colour grading is way better than the original 2011 release they are suffering the same flaws as their 4K masters. Among them: excessive DNR (while much less visible, I agree), a few undesired artifacts (background Shadowfax loose floating ears when Gandalf & Pippin enter Minas Tirith palace), almost black & white flashback scenes and so on… Nearly everything was described in the now famous YT video titled “Can The Lord of the Rings Ever be Remastered?” from Jesse Tribble.

I’m really interested in seeing your work (please check your PM), but I have to mention that while the 2011 release had A LOT of flaws it is a better source material for specific scenes concerning sharpness and details.

I managed to watch this Dremastered 4k release and it’s incredibly better than what we got from the original studio IMO.

I saw the theatrical edition in theaters when released in 2001. I aged a lot, so it may seem hazardous to say that the Dremastered release is the most faithful version concerning the colour grading, but that’s clearly the feeling I had: no exagerated or oversaturated colours, no ‘smelly’ CGI feedback, soft and respectful grain. It just looks… incredibly real… while I have to admit it is very subjective when we are talking about a fantasy universe.

I also saw TTT & RotK and they seem to be a little bit sharper, but that doesn’t minimize the fact that this version of FotR is simply the best version I’ve ever seen at home up to now.

Thanks DrDre! And thanks to the kind people who considered sharing the download links (beware, they are HUGE files! From 80 to 90+ GB each).

Hi everyone!
Nico here, born in the 70s.
Everyone should be able to re-enjoy a movie as he saw it in theatres on release. Some subsequent alterations from studios or directors are sometimes questionable.
Fan edits became possible and accessible with computers and digital medias. I just discovered this whole new hobby for ones, and eden for others.
I hope we’ll have a lot of enjoyment together!

Every official Bluray/4k release had various flaws. I understand corporations have protocols, but I over all also praise skilled fans for bringing full glory back to these movies without constraints/boundaries (costs and deadlines to handle). Thank you!