James Bond on BD (1 Viewer)

[Sam Favate]

Here's the press release and a view of the box exterior:

http://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/articles/collecting_bond50_bluray_set_announced.php3?t=&s=&id=03055

Underwhelmed by the details.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Sam,

Late to the party. We already posted the press release and art here
more than an hour ago:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/t/317593/mgm-press-release-bond-50-blu-ray

Thanks, however!

 

[Will*B]

Amazon UK reporting that the set contains a bonus disc of never-before-seen content which runs 1 hour.

They also report an October 1st release date.

Still no word on whether or not the UE faults have been corrected.

 

There have been some great Bond tv specials, usually released when a new Bond film premiered. I don't know if those have ever been released.

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by Will*B /t/303278/james-bond-on-bd/60#post_3886354
Amazon UK reporting that the set contains a bonus disc of never-before-seen content which runs 1 hour.

They also report an October 1st release date.

Still no word on whether or not the UE faults have been corrected.

Hummmmmm - 50 years of Bond and only an hour of never-before-seen content.

 

[goteam007]

A few of them were on the ultimate edition dvds, but hopefully they find other archive programs.

 

[goteam007]

double post

 

[goteam007]

Hummmmmm - 50 years of Bond and only an hour of never-before-seen content. 
 

I hope that hour isn't a reel of spoofs like another film franchise had.

 

[brioni]

I suspect once more details are confirmed the new documentary EON are working on will run for more than an hour, after all there are 50 years and 23 films to cover and a ton of cast and crew to interview. Michael Wilson has also expressed a desire to get all 6 Bonds together which would be amazing but as usual I think it will be tough to get Connery to play ball and I’m not sure how Lazenby feels about Brosnan, who’s repeatedly slagged off his effort. Connery has been more prevalent in recent years- featuring in a video game of From Russia With Love, so you never know.
From past history its almost certain the films will be released individually- even though the box set is very well priced at the moment. It probably won’t happen immediately though. As well as the artwork, no doubt the menus will be revamped for Bond 50 so being able to make a complete matching set to the previous blu releases will never happen now. Fox could be smart here and do what Warner did in the UK with the first VHS release of Licence To Kill – they made a reversible sleeve to match the then current 25th anniversary releases.
My concerns for this set are once again the transfers. It’s now quite telling that some of the titles held back from a blu release were the most problematic on UE DVD and not just because of that formats limitations. It is encouraging that they went back and fixed some of the problems such as the overly bright start to Live and Let Die’s title sequence so I would expect OHMSS, YOLT, TSWLM, AVTAK and GoldenEye to be re-visited. Some of those squeezed title sequences also need a look at. The old thread that questioned the UE DVD’s must of helped Lowry a lot by the time the blu’s were up for release- it’s worth kicking up a fuss.
Presumably the titles that have already been released will just be the same versions in the new box set. The initial restorations starting in 2004 and you would think Lowry’s software has improved several times since then. Maybe if they could wind it back a few steps they could reintroduce the grain structure a bit more accurately? Even Universal are revisiting Out of Africa - only 2 years after the first release but I suspect this will be too costly and timely. Presumably also down to cost was the reason that the earlier films were scanned at 4K and The Spy Who Loved Me onwards (bar Moonraker, randomly) are at 2K. That’s too low nowadays for a digital master, this should really be revisited but I think their gonna get by on these as long as they can.
I would also like to think they would check over the remastered 5.1 mixes and remove some of the SFX library sounds they slapped over the top- see Thunderball. This was worse for UE Region 2 as we didn’t have the option of the original mono track. The indication is that once again, the track gets omitted for Region B blu as they have done with releases so far- why? There’s enough space on the disc surely!
So there is a lot that should be done and the awareness should be focused on the film preservation, they are not just for home viewing- the work done since 2004 becomes the negative of the film. If they get re-released in cinemas (which has been spoken about as a possibility) that is version that’s presented.
In terms of supplemental material, the first 3 Brosnan Bonds badly need a retrospective documentary as they are generally packed with the cheap promo ETK’s. You can’t really better the original documentaries done by John Cork which were done as those films started to appear on DVD so they got missed. They could do with revisiting Goldfinger and Thunderball as those docs were the early laserdisc efforts and a bit on the short side.
Hopefully the deleted scenes for Die Another Day that were pulled from the UE DVD at the last second will make an appearance and I’m sure there are a few other scenes tucked away in EON’s vaults as well.
As for new commentaries, realistically I think they would be able to coax Timothy Dalton into it if they actually bothered to ask him. He would offer a great insight into what he was trying to achieve with his interpretation. A sad as it is to say, commentaries by Connery would be a complete bore- have you seen him in interviews? They usually sit the actors alone- even Moore’s were a struggle at times. Lazenby’s would be instantly banned, much like the Criterion ones….now that’s an idea, bring back those 3 Criterion commentaries, far better than anything that’s been recorded since.

 

[Brian Dobbs]

How about Never Say Never Again?

Technically non-EON, but still Bond. It's $99 on Amazon! Are we due for a reissue?

 

[lukejosephchung]

How about Never Say Never Again?

Technically non-EON, but still Bond. It's $99 on Amazon! Are we due for a reissue?

You can get a region-free blu-ray from Amazon's UK website for just over US$17...it's the same mastering and available for a comparative song!!!

 

[Yorkshire]

You can get a region-free blu-ray from Amazon's UK website for just over US$17...it's the same mastering and available for a comparative song!!!

Yes, I bought this as soon as it appeared.

I'd previously bought the box and the '60s Casino Royale. For the first time in my life I have all the Bond films!



Steve W

 

[Osato]

On Twitter 007 they are celebrating the 40th anniversary of Live and Let Die.

https://twitter.com/007

It's great to finally have all of the films on blu ray. While I was reading the 007 Archives book I was trying to watch some of the films as well. I made it up to On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

For a 2K scanned film, Octopussy looks very good on blu ray.

 

[Osato]

Amazon has the Bond 50 blu ray set for $99 today.

http://www.amazon.com/Bond-50-Celebrating-Decades-Skyfall/dp/B00EK6RM92/ref=gb1h_tit_c-3_8022_068f1e3e?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=083TERXANG325XZCSG50&pf_rd_i=384082011&pf_rd_p=1673798022

Best Buy has many of the Bond titles available individually for $3.99.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/promo/3-99-blu-rays-black-friday-sale-2013?id=pcat17071&sp=&browsedCategory=&nrp=50&qp=&sp=

 

[cineMANIAC]

I still can't bring myself to buy that Bond set. Maybe it's because I really like the 4-volume DVD sets that were released a few years ago better than the awkwardly-packaged "Bond 50" box. Finding appropriate shelving units to display these things has become a real problem for me. I'm a sucker for collectible packaging but I always feel better when displaying them doesn't give me headaches

 

[Charles Smith]

Totally agree. Except I did finally suck it up and make the change.

The Ultimate Bond DVD boxes were a lesson in how to release a series. Loved everything about them. It broke my heart to make the tough decision to let them go in favor of the Blu-rays -- but the one thing I did know was that I'd only ever watch the Blu-rays thereafter. I gave up a thing of pride and beauty on the shelf, for something ill-designed and awkward to store and retrieve from.

And, in fact, just plain ugly when you compare the disc labeling itself from one set to the other. But I see that kind of thing constantly now, from just about every studio. Hell, look at the discs in the new Naked City complete series release, then go back to the earlier Image sets. Sad, sad, sad.

 

[Sumnernor]

I have the BR Bond set and don't like the packaging. Wish it was like the non-BR box. The BR comes in 2 book-like packages.

 

[cineMANIAC]

Totally agree. Except I did finally suck it up and make the change.

The Ultimate Bond DVD boxes were a lesson in how to release a series. Loved everything about them. It broke my heart to make the tough decision to let them go in favor of the Blu-rays -- but the one thing I did know was that I'd only ever watch the Blu-rays thereafter. I gave up a thing of pride and beauty on the shelf, for something ill-designed and awkward to store and retrieve from.

And, in fact, just plain ugly when you compare the disc labeling itself from one set to the other. But I see that kind of thing constantly now, from just about every studio. Hell, look at the discs in the new Naked City complete series release, then go back to the earlier Image sets. Sad, sad, sad.

Thankfully I kept those DVD boxes. I bought most of the individual Bond films as they were being released (some widely available, others through exclusive retailer deals) so I just swapped the DVDs for the Blu-ray counterparts. And there they sit on my shelf, looking perfect.

 

[David Weicker]

Thats the thing about complaining about a particular set's packaging. Once it is in your home, you don't have to keep or use the packaging.

There are dozens of alternatives - from re-using the DVD packaging, to purchasing BR cases in bulk and printing up your own covers.

There are a lot of websites devoted to custom cover art (and some absolutely insanely talented artists creating matching set covers). There is also a good thread here on HTF devoted to it.

So as long as the discs arrive unscratched, you don't have to deal with the studio's packaging or art department.

 

[Charles Smith]

All true!