The Lord of the Rings might just be the best movie binge you can go on, but there are a lot of ways to go about it. Thankfully, these days it’s easy to track down all the films on a whim and customize your experience in Middle-earth. Whether you’re a serial re-watcher, a new fan or a friend of a prospective new fan, read on for where to find each Lord of the Rings movie right now and the best order to watch them in. With now seven movies technically within the film franchise, it could be confusing which way to enter The Lord of the Rings, but there is one way to rule them all.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Let’s kick things off with a hot take: in most cases, a Middle-earth marathon should start with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, not The Hobbit trilogy. This is not the case with J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels, as he wrote The Hobbit first and they work better in this format. However, the movies were made out of order, and it shows. The Hobbit movies are full of visual and thematic references to the original trilogy, and they work better as a prequel viewed after the fact. On top of that, the LOTR trilogy is simply better, so if you lose steam and stop early, at least you’ll have gotten through the best the series has to offer.
You can find The Fellowship of the Ring streaming now on Max, and it’s important to note that the streamer has both the theatrical version and the extended cut. In most situations, you’ll want to opt for the extended cut. If you don’t want to commit to a subscription, you can also buy or rent the movie on most major PVOD services, including Prime Video, Apple TV and YouTube. These services also have the extended editions, but only for purchase, not rental.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Two Towers comes next, and once again you’ll be able to find it on Max and on most major PVOD services. Keep in mind that if you’re taking my advice and sticking to the extended editions, you shouldn’t plan on breezing through these movies. For example, the theatrical cut of Two Towers has a runtime of 2 hours, 52 minutes, while the extended edition is 3 hours, 55 minutes. Watching the whole trilogy on a lazy winter Sunday is certainly possible, but it’s a commitment of about 12 hours of screentime.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Return of the King is also on Max and the same PVOD stores as tis predecessors. Here, I’ll take a moment to mention the physical media options. This trilogy has gotten some fantastic releases on DVD and Blu-ray, with some of the most lauded bonus content in movie history. If they’re not already on your shelf, they’re a must-have. However, to find these bonus-packed releases you’ll need to look at secondhand markets. Warner Bros. is currently selling a DVD box set that only includes the theatrical versions of the films.
For Blu-ray collectors, it’s more straightforward. The 4K Ultra HD collection features both the theatrical and extended cuts of all three movies, along with many of the most popular bonus features from throughout the years. Sadly, the six-film collection released at the same time does not include extended editions — either on Blu-ray or DVD.
The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim
To get controversial again, I’d recommend pausing here to watch the latest movie, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. It’s not just because we’re going in qualitative order — although that’s a part of it — this movie will make the most sense to you here, with the politics of Rohan and Gondor fresh in your mind. This prequel is set 183 years before Frodo receives the One Ring, and it is narrated by Miranda Otto reprising her role as Eowyn. The War of the Rohirrim is still playing in many theaters right now, but it is also available to watch at home via most major PVOD services.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
From here, we’ll dive into The Hobbit trilogy, which you’ve likely heard has a mixed reputation within the fandom. Although the novel is shorter than any of the installments of The Lord of the Rings, it was still stretched out into three movies. Most fans will agree that either the first one or the second one is the strongest of the three, but one way or another you probably won’t enjoy this as much as the original trilogy.
For a repeat binge-watchers, you know the drill — The Hobbit trilogy comes last on this list because you don’t necessarily watch it every time. If you get through the extended cuts of the original trilogy and you still haven’t gotten your fill of Middle Earth, you may turn this one on for another dose, but it’s not necessary. I’d recommend the same for new fans, and if you’re trying to get a friend or loved one obsessed with this series, I’d encourage you to take a break before The Hobbit and consider whether you want to go this far at all. For a newcomer, it might be better to get a few LOTR binges under their belt first before even touching this one, unless they’re super enthusiastic about it.
As for where to watch, there’s actually a bit of quirk with this one. For some reason, at the time of this writing Max does not have the extended edition of An Unexpected Journey. You can stream the theatrical cut there or find the extended cut on a PVOD store — or on a disc. In this case, the extended edition is only 13 minutes longer, so the difference is not nearly as drastic.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Desolation of Smaug is also streaming on Max and PVOD stores in both theatrical and extended versions. This movie is arguably the high point of the prequel trilogy thanks to Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance as the dragon. If you can get your hands on the bonus content, I’d highly recommend watching his behind-the-scenes featurette when you’re finished. The actor really gave his all to this role, short-lived as it may be.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Finally, we finish with The Battle of the Five Armies, available on max and PVOD stores in two different lengths. It’s not a strong ending for this experience, but with new movies on the way, hopefully that will change soon. Alternatively, you could branch out to TV from here and check out The Rings of Power on Prime Video, or simply circle back to Fellowship for another cycle.
