Quick note just to say this was fantastic, no complaints at all, many thanks for creating. TT theatrical will never look better most likely. Can’t wait for the EE version!
TLDR: If you want the absolute best version of FOTR visually, this is it I reckon and the best version to get overall if you’re not bothered about missing the extra content of the EE.
Watched the first half just now, and confirm this is probably the best that FOTR has ever looked, and likely ever will look for the foreseeable future!
The colors pop right out of the gate - it’s been so long since watching the theatrical cut that I didn’t actually remember a few of the small scene differences in the Shire, I only thought scenes had been cut, so it was a little jarring vs the Extended Edition and the film overall does feel a bit rushed 😃
Compared to the fantastic on-going work on DrDre’s 4k extended version (https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Lord-of-the-Rings-The-Fellowship-of-the-Ring-Extended-Edition-4K-Dremastered/id/101208/page/1) - this release definitely has noticeable further detail because of less black crush of the source Blu-Ray compared to the EE Blu-Ray, and I preferred the more original colour palette on this version for some scenes (e.g. Bree/Prancing Pony, escaping the top of Orthanc Tower)
It’s also still missing the perfect level of grain (not DrDre’s fault, a result of the Blu-Ray)
I thought I’d prefer the more original yellow colours and bloom/saturation of Rivendell in this one but actually I think it’s just too much overall and the other versions have a small edge for me on these scenes with the slight tone down of the colour palette/effects at the council.
Once the second half of DrDre’s 4k Fellowship extended is released, I’ll be interested to see how that compares to the second half of this version, I’ll be keeping an eye on the colour palette for Misty Mountains/Caradhras where Frodo drops the ring in the snow & Lothlórien when the Fellowship meet Galadriel - these scenes really stand out for me when the colours are not quite right!
This was brilliant, sad to see it finish at the end of the council, wanted to start the 2nd half straight away!
Nailed it from a colours point of view, much more closely to how I remembered it vs the official 4k release, worth the wait and lived up to my expectations - so better than the official 4k release for me!
On the audio side, worth mentioning that the file came with 6 separate audio tracks: a 6.1 DTS track, a 5.1 DTS track, and 4x Stereo Commentary tracks all from the older EE Blu-Rays I think - annoyingly for me, watching on an 2021 LG OLED 55A16LA using USB, it could play the video file but wouldn’t let me select the 5.1 or 6.1 tracks, only the 4x Commentary tracks - I tried using PS5 and wouldn’t play on that either.
So had to play on the laptop with VLC and an HDMI cable into the TV, and then that only played the 5.1 & 6.1 tracks in stereo instead of utilising the surround sound…if I was being majorly picky, I’d have preferred this version to have been encoded with the newer Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD tracks from the 4k Blu-Rays instead of the older DTS tracks from the older EE Blu-Rays just so I could watch and listen in full surround without an issue (might see if I do it manually myself potentially)
Anyway I’ll be interested to see PaulTelsall’s opinion vs the other versions, but regardless had a fantastic experience so far, many thanks DrDre.
Bring on Part 2!
Superb - well I know what I’ll be doing tomorrow night if I can download it in time!
DrDre, do you recolour and upscale separate parts and then join them back together?
Can imagine this would be an absolute mammoth task if you’re having to break in to small bits, do the work scene by scene and then rejoin - how long has it taken you personally working on this project so far do you think?
Ah I can’t wait, this will be the ultimate version of my favourite film! Wow amazing detail in those shots above, upscale looks fantastic!
Just didn’t get on with the official 4k release - when watching it just wasn’t how I remembered certain scenes looking, mainly with the saturation of scenes turned down (Shire) Rivendell/meeting of the council (not yellow enough) and Lothlorien (not blue enough/ too grey) Why did PJ have to tinker with the colour scheme - literally no one asked for the colours to be changed, very George Lucas esque imo
So I guess today is technically the first Sunday of the month so fingers crossed the release of the first half may drop today…right? Or is it just a fools hope 😅
Epic thankyou, can’t wait!!!
Interested to hear of the issues if you were able to elaborate?
What sort of file sizes are we talking for the various release resolutions, and will it just be a case of using Mkvmerge to eventually join together the 1st and 2nd half of the film if we wanted a seamless experience?
(In fairness I quite liked the break point on the original DVD/Blu Ray)
How long do you think it will take to release the 2nd half once the first half’s finished?
Thanks for the info Prodrummer and thanks for coming back so quick and for clarifying DrDre, really appreciated and very much looking forward to this! Final question from me - as well as the eventual main 4k release, would you consider also releasing a 1080p version for watching on the go e.g mobile phone screen, or am I just better sticking to the Dwalin / 44rh1n regrade for that?
Hi DrDre, I’d be interested to hear more detail if you were able to share on the specific processes as to exactly how you’re carrying out this work - to confirm, are you using AI (Topaz?) to upscale the original 1080p extended edition FOTR Blu-Ray to 4k and then recolouring the film or are you just recolouring the more recent 4k release of the film?
If it is the former, I’d be keen to understand specifically why you’d upscale the original Blu Ray version of the film and then recolour it as a pose to just recolouring the newer official 4k scans - on the face of it, sounds like it would be more work, so keen to understand the benefit.