Paul Brian McCoy">
Psycho Drive-In logo
Search
  • PDI Press
    Featured
    • ON SALE NOW! NOIRLATHOTEP 2: MORE TALES OF LOVECRAFTIAN CRIME!!

      Paul Brian McCoy
      December 31, 2018
      News, PDI Press, PDI Press Catalog
    Recent
    • ON SALE NOW! NOIRLATHOTEP 2: MORE TALES OF LOVECRAFTIAN CRIME!!

      psychodr
      December 31, 2018
    • VOICES FROM THE NIGHT: The Living Dead Tell Their Stories

      John E. Meredith
      October 31, 2018
    • American Carnage: Tales of Trumpian Dystopia

      psychodr
      March 24, 2018
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-S
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
  • Columns U-Z
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    Featured
    • Promising Young Woman (2020)

      Paul Brian McCoy
      January 1, 2021
      Movies, Reviews
    Recent
    • Promising Young Woman (2020)

      Nate Zoebl
      January 1, 2021
    • Possessor: Uncut (2020)

      Paul Brian McCoy
      December 31, 2020
    • Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

      Nate Zoebl
      December 24, 2020
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
    Featured
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 13, 2018
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      Dory Hoffman
      July 13, 2018
    • David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible

      Dan Lee
      March 7, 2017
    • Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip

      Andre Lamar
      September 29, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke

      Jason Sacks
      July 28, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy’s Van Helsing

      Dave Hearn, Paul Brian McCoy
      July 27, 2016
    • Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien

      Gary Richardson, Laura Akers
      April 16, 2016
  • News
    Featured
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 30, 2019
      DVD/Blu-ray, News
    Recent
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      psychodr
      July 30, 2019
    • X-Men: Dark Phoenix arrives on Digital 9/3 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD 9/17

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 16, 2019
    • Avengers: Endgame arrives on Digital 7/30 and Blu-ray 8/13

      psychodr
      July 16, 2019
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Breaking
  • Promising Young Woman (2020)
  • Possessor: Uncut (2020)
  • Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
  • Tenet (2020)
  • I’m Your Woman (2020)
  • Westworld Season 3: The New World Blu-ray
  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Who We Be
  • Contact
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-S
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
  • Columns U-Z
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Home
DVD/Blu-ray

The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Box Set

Paul Brian McCoy
November 19, 2013
DVD/Blu-ray, Movies, Reviews

We here at Comics Bulletin have a long, love/hate relationship with Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. We were pretty fond of Batman Begins right from the beginning, and I even had nice things to say about it later in my Building the Bat: Batman Begins column. The Dark Knight blew almost all of us away, and I also found it to be the best in the series in Building the Bat: The Dark Knight. However, The Dark Knight Rises was a decidedly mixed bag and I disliked it so much I couldn’t even be bothered to write about it (let’s just say I found it tedious and self-important with Bale’s Batman voice becoming self-parody, and be done with it).

Please check out the above links for individual reviews and commentary on all the films.

DKT_UCE

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get on to why we’re all here. On September 24, Warner Bros. released The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-ray box set and great googly moogly is it a doozy. The set is loaded with extras and retails for $99.97 ($80.49 via Amazon). Whether or not that’s a deal is going to depend on what you already own and how desperate you are to get your grubby mitts on the extras.

The films are the exact same Blu-ray releases that are already on your shelf, and comprise the first five of this six-disc set. Batman Begins is the single disc release (with all the extras), The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises are both the two-disc sets (with the second discs being extras). These films are all pretty affordable (as you can see from the included links), with all three totaling less than $30 bucks.

Which means you need to decide if a sixth disc of extras, original Mondo art prints featuring illustrations of Scarecrow, Joker, Bane, Harvey Dent, and Ra’s al Ghul by the amazing Jock, a 48-page hardcover book The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy (which is a pared down in size and page-count version of the 300+ page coffee table book we reviewed glowingly here), and a set of three Hot Wheels vehicles (The Batmobile, the Batpod, and the Tumbler) are worth the additional $50 odd dollars.

I have to admit to being torn on the matter. With the original art book clocking in at under $30 bucks, I kind of fell ripped off with the abbreviated version included here. The toys are cute, but I’m not into them. The art prints by Jock are beautiful and sincerely up the value of this box set, and the extras disc has a couple of nice bits.

Basically the sixth disc is broken down into the feature-length documentary The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy, Christopher Nolan & Richard Donner: A Conversation, and the IMAX sequences from The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises in their original aspect ratios.

I don’t know about you, but the IMAX scenes don’t hold a lot of interest for me. And while the Nolan and Donner discussion is entertaining, there aren’t a lot of surprises there — plus it clocks in at just around a half hour, so it’s not a lot of bang for your buck. The Fire Rises, however, is worth your time.

It’s a comprehensive (mostly) look at the creation of the trilogy and its impact on the genre. It takes a look at the screenwriting process and the marketing, examining how Nolan chose to “fix” the franchise after the abysmal Batman & Robin (1997) nearly murdered the entire superhero genre. His decision to approach the material as though they were not necessarily based on a comic book, but as already established film genres (Batman Begins was a heroic quest film, The Dark Knight was a crime film, and The Dark Knight Rises was a disaster film), allowed for a fresh take that was both realistic and familiar at the same time.

The Casting chapter is the longest chapter and is a highlight of the documentary, with plenty of great information and stories, but it is surprisingly short on Heath Ledger. What’s included is insightful, but it’s kind of disappointing to not get more about the iconic performance. As far as the rest of the documentary, there’s a who’s who of genre filmmaking interviews, including Guillermo Del Toro, Damon Lindelof, Zack Snyder, and others.

So as far as quality goes, this is an amazing set — if you don’t already own the Blu-ray releases of the films. If you’ve managed to hold out this long on dropping some coin on what has become the biggest superhero film franchise in history (although Iron Man gives it a run for its money), then you should probably go ahead and take the plunge.

For the rest of you, it’s really going to depend on how much you want that documentary, Jock’s fantastic art prints, the miniaturized book, and the toys. I’d be hard pressed to justify the investment except maybe to buy and stash away for resale somewhere in the future. These things are limited editions after all, with each set numbered out of 141,500.

(Visited 28 times, 1 visits today)
The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-ray Box Set
4.5Overall Score

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Blu-rayChristopher NolanDark Knight

The Originals 1.07 “Bloodletting”
Almost Human 1.01 “Pilot” & 1.02 “Skin”

About The Author

monsterid
Paul Brian McCoy
Co-Founder / Editor-in-Chief / Dreamweaver

Paul Brian McCoy is the Editor-in-Chief of Psycho Drive-In. His first novel, The Unraveling: Damaged Inc. Book One is available at Amazon US & UK, along with his collection of short stories, Coffee, Sex, & Creation (US & UK). He recently contributed the 1989 chapter to The American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s (US & UK). He also kicked off Comics Bulletin Books with Mondo Marvel Volumes One (US & UK) and Two (US & UK) and PDI Press with Marvel at the Movies: 1977-1998 (US & UK), Marvel at the Movies: Marvel Studios (US & UK), and Spoiler Warning: Hannibal Season 1 - An Unauthorized Critical Guide (US & UK). Paul is also unnaturally preoccupied with zombie films and sci-fi television. He can be found babbling on Twitter at @PBMcCoy.

FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK

Daily Top Ten

  • The Man in the High Castle 1.04 “Revelations”The Man in the High Castle 1.04 “Revelations” by Jose San Mateo
  • Sick Flix: Cannibal Holocaust (1980)Sick Flix: Cannibal Holocaust (1980) by Corin Totin
  • Women in Horror: The Soska Sisters (and Katharine Isabelle)Women in Horror: The Soska Sisters (and Katharine Isabelle) by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Sick Flix: Guinea Pig 6 – Mermaid in a Manhole (1988)Sick Flix: Guinea Pig 6 – Mermaid in a Manhole (1988) by Corin Totin
  • Women in Horror: Australia Represents with Murderdrome and WyrmwoodWomen in Horror: Australia Represents with… by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Supergirl (1984)Supergirl (1984) by John Clark
  • EZMM 2018 Day 5: Wyrmwood – Road of the Dead (2014)EZMM 2018 Day 5: Wyrmwood – Road of the Dead (2014) by Paul Brian McCoy
  • BLADE RUNNER 2049: The Sad and Lonely World of the ImaginationBLADE RUNNER 2049: The Sad and Lonely World of the… by Psychodr
  • Sick Flix: Guinea Pig - Devil’s Experiment (1985)Sick Flix: Guinea Pig – Devil’s Experiment (1985) by Corin Totin
  • The Blacklist 1.07 "Frederick Barnes"The Blacklist 1.07 “Frederick Barnes” by Natalie Amato

PDI Press Bestsellers

Entertainment Earth

Weekly Top Ten

  • Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! – Apocalypse MaleFaster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! – Apocalypse Male by Paul Brian McCoy
  • If It Ain't Funk He Don't Feel It: Howard the Duck (1986)If It Ain’t Funk He Don’t Feel It:… by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Drive-In Saturday: Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)Drive-In Saturday: Heavy Metal 2000 (2000) by Alex Wolfe
  • Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012)Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012) by Brooke Brewer
  • Nice Guys Finish First: The Death of Masculinity in Friday the 13th (2009)Nice Guys Finish First: The Death of Masculinity in… by The Final Girl
  • Sick Flix: Guinea Pig 6 – Mermaid in a Manhole (1988)Sick Flix: Guinea Pig 6 – Mermaid in a Manhole (1988) by Corin Totin
  • Scream 4: Sidney’s Final KillScream 4: Sidney’s Final Kill by The Final Girl
  • Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) by Corin Totin
Entertainment Earth

Latest Reviews

  • Promising Young Woman (2020)

    Nate Zoebl
    January 1, 2021
  • Possessor: Uncut (2020)

    Paul Brian McCoy
    December 31, 2020
  • Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

    Nate Zoebl
    December 24, 2020

Latest Columns

  • Lost in Translation 371: Spitting Image

    Scott Delahunt
    January 15, 2021
  • Anything Joes: Unboxing: Symbiote Studios 12″ G.I. Joe Plush Cobra Commander & Snake Eyes

    Greg Engle
    January 13, 2021
  • Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! – Apocalypse Male

    Paul Brian McCoy
    January 9, 2021

INSTAGRAM

psychodrivein

Psycho Drive-In
Today at http://psychodrivein.com In Memoriam: Si Today at http://psychodrivein.com

In Memoriam: Sir Sean Connery (1930-2020)

But without further ado, here are some of our favorite performances by the late, great Sir Sean Connery.
---
Read more of our tribute at the link in our profile!

#Marnie #RobinAndMarian #Outland #TimeBandits #TheUntouchables #IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade #FindingForrester #SeanConnery #JamesBond #SirSeanConnery #Zardoz
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transla Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 362: Remaking Airwolf

The pilot could be used with the same beats, with String holding Airwolf as collateral to force the Firm to find St-John. 
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #Airwolf
Today at http://psychodrivein.com In Memoriam: Al Today at http://psychodrivein.com

In Memoriam: Alex Trebek

Trebek seemed to have a good sense of humor and did not shy away from poking fun at himself. 
---
Read more of Jessica's tribute to Trebek at the link in our profile!

#AlexTrebek #Jeopardy #PepperAnn #Rugrats #FamilyGuy #MamasFamily #TheGoldenGirls #TheXFiles
Today at http://psychodrivein.com The Best of The Today at http://psychodrivein.com

The Best of The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror Episodes

The Simpsons’ Halloween Specials/Treehouse of Horror episodes are some of the best episodes of the show.
---
Read more of Jessica's list at the link in our profile!

#TheSimpsons #TheSimpsonsHalloweenSpecial #TreehouseOfHorror #31DaysOfHalloween #31DaysOfHalloween2020
Today at http://psychodrivein.com The Psycho Driv Today at http://psychodrivein.com

The Psycho Drive-In Halloween Party Playlist

For your Halloween enjoyment, here are 161 songs - around 10 hours of music for you - cultivated by the Psychos here at the Drive-In!
---
Listen to the Psycho Drive-In Halloween Party Playlist at the link in our profile!

#Halloween #HalloweenPartyPlaylist #Playlist #Music #Spotify
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Lost in Transla Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Lost in Translation 361: Bean the Movie

The plot is simple enough; Mr. Bean has to accompany the painting, Whistler’s Mother, from the Royal National Gallery in London to its new home at the Grierson Art Gallery. 
---
Read more of Scott's article at the link in our profile!

#LostInTranslation #BeanTheMovie #MrBean #RowanAtkinson #PeterMacNicol
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Pegg and Frost Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Pegg and Frost Return in Time for Halloween: Truth Seekers

It is an unexpected treat this Halloween season that Frost is in Truth Seekers, a Prime series dropping a first season of eight episodes on October 30.
---
Read more of Mike's article at the link in our profile!

#TruthSeekers #SimonPegg #NickFrost #SusanWokoma #JulianBarrett #MalcolmMcDowell
Today at http://psychodrivein.com The Existential Today at http://psychodrivein.com

The Existential Horror of Charles Burns’ Last Look Trilogy 

Last Look tells the story of pretentious art school loser and punk rock scene hanger-on, Doug, as we weave our way through his memories and dreams.
---
Read more of Paul's recommendation at the link in our profile!

#CharlesBurns #LastLook #XedOut #TheHive #SugarSkull #BlackHole #GraphicNovel #31DaysOfHorror #31DaysOfHorror2020 #Halloween
Today at http://psychodrivein.com How That Thing Today at http://psychodrivein.com

How That Thing Ended Up on my Porch: Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated

Underneath all the monsters and mayhem in Mystery Incorporated, the core of the show is the sometimes irrational love we have for the animals in our lives.
---
Read more of Mike's article at the link in our profile!

#ScoobyDoo #ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated #MysteryIncorporated #UdoKier #HarlanEllison #JeffreyCombs #31DaysOfHalloween #31DaysOfHalloween2020 #Halloween
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Nosferatu (1979 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Nosferatu (1979)

With Nosferatu, Herzog isn’t interested in crafting a horror film with easy scares. 
---
Read more of Peterson's article at the link in our profile!

#Nosferatu #Nosferatu1979 #WernerHerzog #KlausKinski #IsabelleAdjani #31DaysOfHalloween #31DaysOfHalloween2020 #Halloween #Vampire
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Terrifies, Horr Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Terrifies, Horrifies, Forever Scares—Roky Erickson and the Return of the Living Dead

Like many others, possibly even you, I first heard Roky Erickson’s music in Return of the Living Dead (1985). 
---
Read more of Fred's article at the link in our profile!

#RokyErickson #BurnTheFlames #ReturnOfTheLivingDead #31DaysOfHalloween #31DaysOfHalloween2020 #Halloween #TwoHeadedDog #2HeadedDog
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Stay Alive (200 Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Stay Alive (2006)

Being listed as “Disney’s only slasher film,” my interest in Stay Alive was definitely piqued.
---
Read more of Jessica's review at the link in our profile!

#StayAlive #31DaysOfHalloween #31DaysOfHalloween2020 #Halloween #JimmiSimpson #FrankieMuniz #JonFoster #SamaireArmstrong #CountessElizabethBathory #VideoGame #Slasher #Disney
Follow on Instagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. New posts will not be retrieved.

Log in as an administrator and view the Instagram Feed settings page for more details.

TWITTER

My Tweets

Look Who's Talking

Amari Wolfe
Amari Wolfe - 12/11/2020
Popcorn Cinema: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
Don't know why, but the mention of Whammo Air Blasters made me laugh until it hurt. Very nicely...
mega leo
mega leo - 12/5/2020
Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
To torture someone takes a cold kind of sadism. One that exceeds rage or revenge. One that shows a...
Dignan
Dignan - 10/29/2020
Nosferatu (1979)
Thanks for that, I can never seem to nail down that movie!
RSSTwitterFacebookinstagramtumblr

Archives

Large_rectangle_336X280
All work on this site is Copyright © each individual writer.
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-S
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
  • Columns U-Z
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
%d bloggers like this: