April 6 is a day of celebration for the denizens of Middle Earth.
A remastered deluxe edition of Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings arrives this week on DVD and Blu-ray (Warner Bros., $19.99 DVD, $29.99 Blu-ray/DVD combo pack).
The deluxe edition of the film, originally released in 1978 and adapting the first half of J.R.R. Tolkein’s epic novel, features a new, 30-minute interview with Bakshi about the making of the film. The combo pack release includes a digital copy of the movie.
Here are a couple of clips from the release.
Also out this week is the first Blu-ray edition of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy Box Set (Warner Bros., $99.98). The box set includes the original theatrical cuts of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, as well as seven hours of bonus features and digital copies of all three movies on nine discs.
Other animated releases this week include Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Season 2, Part 1 (Bandai, $39.98 DVD, $44.98 special edition DVD), Naruto Shippuden, Vol. 8 (VIZ Media, $24.92) and My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Super Duper Super Sleuths (Disney, $26.99).
A number of popular VFX-heavy films are getting new releases in Blu-ray/DVD combo packs, including Tim Burton’s 2001 remake of The Planet of the Apes (Fox, $19.99), Robocop (MGM, $19.99) and Terminator (MGM, $19.99). Also new to Blu-ray this week is Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series (Universal, $299.99) and Battlestar Galactica: Season 2 (Universal, $89.98).
