18 days short of the 19th anniversary of the release of The Fellowship of the Ring–and for the first time ever–both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are now available in 4k!

We all know that nothing can replace the high def visions we have when reading Tolkien’s masterpieces, but having this as a handy backup will be a welcome addition, right?

Better than the Blu-ray

It’s pretty widely known that the 2010 Blu-ray releases looked awful.  There was a waxiness and blandness to the movies; no crispness, no detail… it seemed that some of the life had been stripped from the visuals we’d grown to love in theaters.

This release, though, is getting great reviews!  Certainly looks like the team in New Zealand has done a great job of improving on the previous releases, and brought much of the original charm, vibrancy, and details lacking in the blu-ray releases.

Read a Thorough Review

If you’re looking for a thorough review from folks who really know their 4k remasters, check out this review at High-Def Watch — they really break into the details nicely!

Here are a few shots from the 4k release (they’re not in full 4k quality here, so remember that when examining them!).

Get them in 4k!