Widescreen: Hobbits, vampire hunters and Eddie's big hits make their 4K debuts

This week is a big one for the movie fans - and audio- and videophiles - on your holiday shopping list. Some towering titles made their Ultra HD debut this week for owners of 4K TVs and 4K Blu-ray players:

• "The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy" (2001-2003), list price $89.99. This collection of Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's books contains both the theatrical and extended versions of each movie and a digital copy code for each, but no extra features. That's a shame - the "Appendices" on past releases of the "LOTR" extended trilogy are the finest documentaries ever created specifically for a home video release. (Seriously, it's like attending film school from your couch.) You can get the standard Blu-ray release with all the bells and whistles for about $60.

• "The Hobbit: The Motion Picture Trilogy" (2012-2014), list price $89.99. Same deal as above, only with vastly inferior movies that too often look like Xbox 360 games. At least they cast the perfect Bilbo in Martin Freeman.

• "Blade" (1998), list price $24.99. Wesley Snipes' R-rated Marvel monster mash comes with a standard Blu-ray and a digital copy, in addition to audio commentary and behind-the-scenes extras. I'd advise against ice-skating uphill to get it, wink-wink.

• Two favorites from Eddie Murphy and Paramount Pictures: "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984), list price $25.99; and "Coming to America" (1987), list price $25.99. Both include multiple behind-the-scenes featurettes, but the former adds audio commentary from director Martin Brest and an isolated audio track of Harold Faltermeyer's synthesized score. "Beverly Hills Cop" also includes an extra, standard Blu-ray copy of the film.

• Sean Stangland is an assistant news editor who is trying to re-embrace physical media in the age of streaming services.