I still don’t think there’s a more riveting piece of filmmaking than the Battle of Pelennor Fields. Amazing work. And I like all the endings! The endings are short. Could have used more.
As far as the 4K Blu-ray goes, this one is a clear winner over the 1080p disc that preceded it. Vibrant colours abound, many of which live clearly in the P3 HDR realm. HDR is done very well here, and brings new life to Mordor in particular (as well as the Shire). This was always the best looking of the 3, and that continues here.
Interestingly, the noise reduction I’ve complained about for two reviews is less problematic here. Maybe it’s because so much of the film is spent in motion on the battle field, but film grain is consistently visible from the beginning of Pelennor until the return to Rivendell. Once the fellowship is re-united, though, the problem appears again and faces suddenly look waxy.
But for a little while, it’s amazing how good everything looks. I was just immersed for two straight hours. An incredible experience book-ended by waxy faces and unfortunate DNR artefacts.
5/5 for the movie. 3⁄5 for the 4K presentation. (5÷5 for the audio too, obviously — if there are better sounding films for a home theatre, I haven’t heard them.)