The first part of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy will be available for Digital Download on March 12 and Blu-ray Combo Pack on March 19. But is it worth the purchase when more films and extended editions are on the way?

One aspect of Middle Earth fans’ collections is without a doubt some form of The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. Whether they have the regular or extended editions of the films, no fan can go without the occasional rewatch.

So naturally, the home release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is an important milestone for fans. Finally, there’s a new Middle Earth film to devour multiple times like multiple breakfasts.

The first film in The Hobbit trilogy offers up beefy Blu-ray Combo Packs: with your purchase of the 3D Combo Pack you’ll have the film in several formats: 3D Blu-ray (which requires 2 Blu-ray discs), Blu-ray, DVD, and UltraViolet (digital download). There’s also the Special Features (Blu-ray) disc. One of the best aspects of getting to watch the film at home, for us, was the pleasure of seeing it without 3D and the 48 fps rate we caught in theaters last year. At home, we saw the film in a new life; that is, we didn’t see the faster-looking motion which was distracting at the start of the film in 48 fps theaters. The 3D-less Combo Pack includes all of those discs noted above except for, obviously, the 3D discs.

Special Features

It’s difficult to put a value on the special features you’ll find on the Combo Pack. There are really only two. First there’s the full collection of Peter Jackson’s Production Videos which were released by Jackson himself throughout last year on YouTube for free. While an absolute thrill to watch and very insightful, the problem is that most Tolkien fans have already seen them before – and they’re still available on Jackson’s YouTube channel at the time of this writing. They are not special to the Combo Pack.

The second special feature is more enticing: the ability to watch a preview of The Desolation of Smaug, part two of The Hobbit trilogy, live with Jackson on March 24. You’ll be able to visit a specific website and enter a code (within your Combo Pack) in order to access the live stream. An edited version of this preview will be available to the public at a later date.

Worth the purchase?

Fans of Jackson know why this release is lacking unique special features like deleted scenes: the director has said that an Extended Version will be released later this year. For this reason, it may be hard to justify purchasing the Combo Pack when you know a better release is in the pipeline. There’s also the high chance Warner Bros. will release The Hobbit trilogy in a box set once all three films are out. That time, however, won’t arrive for a long while.

Those who loved The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will have an easier time justifying the purchase of a Digital Download through online retailers like Amazon or iTunes. But, if you have a Blu-ray player you’ll want to seriously consider purchasing the Combo Pack so that you can enjoy every small detail the film beautifully offers. The early look at The Desolation of Smaug is a nice bonus too. Just make sure you purchase it before March 24 so you can watch it live.

According to Warner Bros., select digital retailers will offer access codes to the Smaug preview upon purchase of the film.

Purchase from Amazon

From left to right: 3D Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, Digital Download


Watch our exclusive interview with Martin Freeman!

Read our review of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey film.