The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie trilogy is coming to 4K Blu-ray for the first time this holiday season. All three early ’90s action films have been digitally restored by Arrow Films and will be bundled in two limited-edition box sets, both of which are available to preorder ahead of their December 16 release. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy 4K Limited Edition is available for $100, while the standard Blu-ray version is going for $95.
Like most Arrow Video releases, these prices are likely to drop before release day. If you preorder now, you’ll be eligible for any future discounts until Amazon ships your order. Keep in mind that Arrow Video Limited Editions are actually limited. The British distributor often reissues sold-out Blu-rays, but subsequent printings don’t have the fancy packaging and collectible inserts. At the time of writing, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy is the No. 1 best seller on Amazon’s movie and TV charts, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the 4K set sold out.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy: Limited Edition (4K Blu-ray)
$100 | Releases December 16
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
- TMNT II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)
The 4K Blu-ray edition of the original 1990 movie has been restored from the original 35mm camera negative. The second and third films in the trilogy were restored from the original 35mm interpositives.
Along with native 4K (2160p) resolution, each film supports Dolby Vision and HDR10. For enhanced audio, the original movie has Dolby Atmos surround sound support. The sequels don’t support Atmos, but surround sound is still offered with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Original lossless stereo audio is also available for all three movies.
The Limited Edition includes multiple collectibles and premium packaging. Inside the limited-edition display box, you’ll find a collector’s booklet with retrospectives by Simon Ward, John Torrani, and John Walsh. Each film is packaged individually in a case with a reversible sleeve. The sleeves have original artwork by Florey.
In terms of on-disc bonus content, so far we know there will be new director’s audio commentaries for all three films as well as interviews with at least 15 actors and seven crew members.
Arrow Video said the full list of extras will be unveiled on September 26, so the box set will have additional bonus features and possibly more collectibles.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy Features:
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
- 4K restoration from original 35mm negative
- Dolby Vision / HDR10
- Dolby Atmos / Lossless Stereo
- TMNT II (1991) & TMNT III (1993)
- 4K restorations from original 35mm interpositives
- Dolby Vision / HDR10
- DTS-HD MA 5.1 / Lossless Stereo
- Bound Collector’s Booklet with retrospectives
- Reversible sleeves with original artwork
- Limited Edition display box
- New director’s audio commentaries for each film
- New cast and crew interviews for each film
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trilogy: Limited Edition (Blu-ray)
$95 | Releases December 16
The 1080p version is made from the 4K restorations, so the films will almost certainly look and sound better than current Blu-ray editions. You’ll get all of the same extras and on-disc bonus content with the standard Blu-ray Limited Edition. You will be missing out on Dolby Vision and HDR10, though. With the price difference currently only five bucks, it doesn’t make much sense to buy this edition unless you don’t have a dedicated media player or game console capable of playing 4K Blu-rays.
35 years later, nothing quite compares to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The original movie is still an impressive showcase of practical effects, martial arts action, and it’s surprisingly dark in its execution of the source material. In fact, depending on who you ask, it might have been too dark, as its sequels were much more family-friendly in comparison. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze was more slapstick in nature, while Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Turtles in Time might have jumped the shark with its time-travel story that saw the gang transported to feudal Japan.
