The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
Fantasy, Adventure, Action • 2h 41m
Overview
The Dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf have successfully escaped the Misty Mountains, and Bilbo has gained the One Ring. They all continue their journey to get their gold back from the Dragon, Smaug.
Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Stephen Fry, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, Mikael Persbrandt, Sylvester McCoy, Aidan Turner, Dean O'Gorman, Graham McTavish, Peter Hambleton, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, William Kircher, Stephen Hunter, Ryan Gage, John Bell, Manu Bennett, Lawrence Makoare, Peggy Nesbitt, Mary Nesbitt, Cate Blanchett, Ben Mitchell, Stephen Ure, Craig Hall, Robin Kerr, Eli Kent, Simon London, Brian Sergent, Peter Vere-Jones, Mark Mitchinson, Kelly Kilgour, Sarah Peirse, Nick Blake, Dallas Barnett, Katie Jackson, Richard Whiteside, Greg Ellis, Ray Henwood, Tim Gordon, Jabez Olssen, Stephen Colbert, Evelyn McGee-Colbert, Peter Colbert, John Colbert, Norman Kali, Carter Nixon, Zane Weiner, Allan Smith, Jack Binding, Terry Binding, Frank Edwards, Peter Jackson, Terry Notary, Emma Smith, Phoebe Gittins, Alaina Wilks
Director: Peter Jackson
Director: Peter Jackson
Director: Peter Jackson
Arrow 4K Blu-ray teased for many years, will come out once Turbine's exclusivity rights expire
Director: Peter Jackson
Arrow 4K Blu-ray teased for many years, will come out once Turbine's exclusivity rights expire
WB 4K Blu-ray, caveat: mostly great video but the 4K Blu-rays have had additional DNR applied in some scenes on top of the DNR that had been applied in post-production and was already present on the DVDs & Blu-rays
The 2020 Blu-ray may be better than the 4K Blu-ray?
New Line Blu-ray have the original 6.1 mixes
4K Blu-ray set is missing extras from the old Blu-ray/DVD releases
WB 4K Blu-ray, caveat: mostly great video but the 4K Blu-rays have had additional DNR applied in some scenes on top of the DNR that had been applied in post-production and was already present on the DVDs & Blu-rays
The 2020 Blu-ray may be better than the 4K Blu-ray?
New Line Blu-ray have the original 6.1 mixes
4K Blu-ray set is missing extras from the old Blu-ray/DVD releases
WB 4K Blu-ray, caveat: mostly great video but the 4K Blu-rays have had additional DNR applied in some scenes on top of the DNR that had been applied in post-production and was already present on the DVDs & Blu-rays
The 2020 Blu-ray (the one without the green tint) may be better than the 4K Blu-ray?
New Line Blu-ray have the original 6.1 mixes
4K Blu-ray set is missing extras from the old Blu-ray/DVD releases
The 2011 Blu-ray notoriously had a green tint, the 2020 one removes it.
WB 4K Blu-ray, caveat: mostly great video but the 4K Blu-rays have had additional DNR applied in some scenes on top of the DNR that had been applied in post-production and was already present on the DVDs & Blu-rays
The 2020 Blu-ray (the one without the green tint) may be better than the 4K Blu-ray?
New Line Blu-ray have the original 6.1 mixes
4K Blu-ray set is missing extras from the old Blu-ray/DVD releases
The 2011 Blu-ray notoriously had a green tint, the 2020 one removes it.
4K Blu-ray caveat: mostly great video but the 4K Blu-rays have had additional DNR applied in some scenes on top of the DNR that had been applied in post-production and was already present on the DVDs & Blu-rays
The 2020 Blu-ray may be better than the 4K Blu-ray?
New Line Blu-ray have the original 6.1 mixes
4K Blu-ray set is missing extras from the old Blu-ray/DVD releases
4K Blu-ray caveat: mostly great video but the 4K Blu-rays have had additional DNR applied in some scenes on top of the DNR that had been applied in post-production and was already present on the DVDs & Blu-rays
The 2020 Blu-ray may be better than the 4K Blu-ray?
New Line Blu-ray have the original 6.1 mixes
4K Blu-ray set is missing extras from the old Blu-ray/DVD releases
WB 4K Blu-ray is significant upgrades compared to the BDs, but has noticeable artificial sharpening
WB 4K Blu-ray is significant upgrades compared to the BDs, but has noticeable artificial sharpening
WB 4K Blu-ray is significant upgrades compared to the BDs, but has noticeable artificial sharpening
WB 4K Blu-ray is significant upgrades compared to the BDs, but has noticeable artificial sharpening
Director: Paul King
Director: Paul King
Director: F. Gary Gray
Director: F. Gary Gray
Director: Peter Farrelly
Director: Peter Farrelly
Director: William Dieterle
Director: William Dieterle
Director: Griffin Dunne
Director: Griffin Dunne
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Director: George Sidney
Director: George Sidney
More Fantasy on Blu-ray
Directors: Frank Oz & Jim Henson
Directors: Frank Oz & Jim Henson
Director: Jim Henson
Shout! Factory replacement 4K Blu-ray
Shout! Factory replacement 4K Blu-ray, Shout! Factory doesn't have the low-pass filter that's on the Sony US 4K Blu-ray from 2021 with Dolby Vision (or the worse HDR10 only release from 2016). Shout! Factory retains more high-frequency grain and detail.
Embassy Home Entertainment JPN LaserDisc or 1999 Sony US DVD 2.0
Director: Jim Henson
Shout! Factory replacement 4K Blu-ray
Shout! Factory replacement 4K Blu-ray, Shout! Factory doesn't have the low-pass filter that's on the Sony US 4K Blu-ray from 2021 with Dolby Vision (or the worse HDR10 only release from 2016). Shout! Factory retains more high-frequency grain and detail.
Embassy Home Entertainment JPN LaserDisc or 1999 Sony US DVD 2.0
Director: Lou Breslow
Kino Lorber Blu-ray 2K restoration
Director: Lou Breslow
Kino Lorber Blu-ray 2K restoration
Director: Boots Riley
Director: Boots Riley
Director: Domee Shi
Director: Domee Shi
Directors: Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson
2011 Blu-ray (4K Blu-ray is upscaled; former PDI animator Jonathan Gibbs confirms the film was originally rendered at 1828 pixels wide to save space)
Universal 25th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray with Dolby Vision and Atmos
2011 Blu-ray (4K Blu-ray is upscaled; former PDI animator Jonathan Gibbs confirms the film was originally rendered at 1828 pixels wide to save space)
The old 2 disc DVD has extras missing from 4K Blu-ray
Directors: Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson
2011 Blu-ray (4K Blu-ray is upscaled; former PDI animator Jonathan Gibbs confirms the film was originally rendered at 1828 pixels wide to save space)
Universal 25th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray with Dolby Vision and Atmos
2011 Blu-ray (4K Blu-ray is upscaled; former PDI animator Jonathan Gibbs confirms the film was originally rendered at 1828 pixels wide to save space)
The old 2 disc DVD has extras missing from 4K Blu-ray
2001 DVD for uncensored cut with rock and extras
Disney Blu-ray; 4K Blu-ray only has an Atmos remix with a phasing issue
2001 DVD for uncensored cut with rock and extras
Disney Blu-ray; 4K Blu-ray only has an Atmos remix with a phasing issue
Director: George Pal
Warner Archive Blu-ray 4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Warner Bros NTSC DVD
The old DVD's track has significantly better detail compared to BD, especially on the score. The BD has some extra detail on dialogue, but also exhibits strange artifacting (e.g. sample 3, 0:20) which suggests possible AI "enhancement" or some other form of aggressive filtering. In contrast, DVD appears to be completely unfiltered and sounds good throughout. Samples
As the BD is significantly rolled off, a lot of the detail (real or fabricated) is buried in the mix and not audible during normal playback.
Director: George Pal
Warner Archive Blu-ray 4K restoration from Original Camera Negative
Warner Bros NTSC DVD
The old DVD's track has significantly better detail compared to BD, especially on the score. The BD has some extra detail on dialogue, but also exhibits strange artifacting (e.g. sample 3, 0:20) which suggests possible AI "enhancement" or some other form of aggressive filtering. In contrast, DVD appears to be completely unfiltered and sounds good throughout. Samples
As the BD is significantly rolled off, a lot of the detail (real or fabricated) is buried in the mix and not audible during normal playback.
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