The Lord of the Rings is one of the most beloved film trilogies of all time, and though The Hobbit prequel trilogy didn't quite live up to those lofty expectations, it still has plenty of fans as well.
Now fans of the films can get the extended editions of both trilogies in one convenient package. Well, maybe convenient isn't the right word.
The Middle-earth Ultimate Collector's Edition, as it's called, retails for a massive $800. Yes, that's actually how much it costs. Why the huge price tag? The box set comes with a whopping 30 Blu-ray discs, with this edition including all of the various behind-the-scenes look and documentaries that past editions' theatrical and extended cuts of the films have included.
Each film also comes in its own faux leather book case. There's also a 100-page sketch book included made to resemble the Red Book of Westmarch, the book that Frodo and Bilbo "wrote" The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings stories in. Oh, and the entire set also comes with a literal bookshelf to display all of the films and art book on, a shelf (apparently) selected by franchise director Peter Jackson himself.
That's all pretty cool, but is it $800 cool? Probably not. Fans can already pick up the extended versions of the The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies separately for about $60 a piece. For the mathematically challenged, that's a total of about $120 compared to the collector's edition's $800. Sure, the normal extended versions of the trilogies don't come with quite as many behind-the-scene featurettes and documentaries or the cool art book. They also don't come with a bookshelf. But are all those extra bells and whistles really worth another $680? It's a pretty small bookshelf if we're being honest. It's probably not even worth $200.
For Lord of the Rings superfans, maybe it is worth it. Literally being able to have everything about the films collected in one place is certainly appealing. But for most regular human beings who simply enjoy the films? Not so much. The box set is set to arrive at retailers in November of this year, though Amazon will be selling the collection a month early on Oct. 4. Those who preorder the set will save $80 bucks on Amazon, bringing the total price down to around $720. Best start saving up now.
