JAMES BOND ULTIMATE COLLECTION (1 Viewer)

[Corey3rd]

I couldn't deal with the single releases. The bonus features are amazing. I held out for those boxsets to come down in price.

 

[Geoff_D]

I'm sick of waiting for OHMSS and DAD to arrive on single-disc R1, so the Japanese versions will do nicely. Dave, what are the other audio options on your OHMSS disc? Are the menus in English or Japanese? The menus aren't an issue for me to use, but they may hamper my efforts to sell the DVD on (for when the inevitable Blu version comes out ).

 

[John H Ross]

Are the single disc editions of Moonraker and Octopussy less stuttery than the 2-disc editions or are they just the exact same masters without the second discs?

I've tried several copies of both and they stutter in the same places (once in the case of Moonraker, about 1 minute before the layer change and several times in Octopussy, particular when Octopussy/Bond discuss her "life in crime") on both of my Denon machines (a 2900 and a 2930).

 

[DaveRU]

Menus are Japanese only unfortunately, OHMSS (in addition to the mono track) has DTS, DD5.1 tracks in English, a Japanese DD5.1 and the commentary track.

 

[Geoff_D]

Thanks Dave.

The only question I have left is whether the Jap version of DAD uses the better transfer seen on the R1 Ultimate Edition. I ask because Fox have simply recycled the original transfer for the UK version, which is plagued by edge halos and doesn't have burnt-in subtitles. Anyone?

 

[Lyle_JP]

My U.S. Die Another Day UE has burnt-in subs.

 

[Geoff_D]

I know, Lyle. That's why I was asking about the Japanese UE.

 

[Osato]

I know this is a very long thread, but I did find some information on the 4K mastering that I had not seen posted here.

At the conclusion of each Ultimate Edition Bond film, I noticed that there are credits for the Lowry remastering after the End Credits finish.

I noticed that for the first 9 films a 4K restorer is listed. However there is not a 4K restorer listed for the rest of the films.

This would mean that Dr. No - The Man With the Golden Gun were scanned at 4K and the rest of the films at 2K?

Found it very interesting. I'm curious if they will do any further work for blu ray?

Thanks!

 

[brioni]

They need to. It seems bizarre to leave the film in between (Spy) sitting at 2k and as it happens in bad need of a decent restore without the EE.

 

[Will*B]

Have already posted this on the Bond HD thread, but it seems relevant here also.

I think that 'Spy' has also undergone a 4k transfer:

JAMES BOND 007 MAGAZINE | The Spy Who Loved Me - Restored and Back in Action!

Will be able to report on the restoration after I attend next week.

 

[Osato]

Interesting Will B...

Is this a new 4K restoration that was not done for the UE DVD of Spy?

Brioni -Thanks for the note about Moonraker. I am curious if that one is 4K. It seems the first 2 Moore movies are breathtaking visually. However the others are decent too, but not quite as detailed as the first 2.

My guess was that the first 9 were 4K and not the rest. I'm not sure though.

I was glad to find the Lowry credits last week though.

Big fan of the Moore Bonds. I hope they are all done at 4K for blu Ray.

 

[Will*B]

Not sure yet Tim. I'm very familiar with the UE transfer, so will hopefully be able to tell if it's the same source. The Moores have always been my favourites, and am really looking forward to finally seeing one on the big screen! Hopefully, the BDs won't be far behind...

 

[brioni]

Yeah I wish i could make it to the screening as it is the digital version they are showing. If it is the same source it’ll be interesting to know if the edge enhancement makes it to the big screen or if that turned out to be some kind of bi-product from the dvd authoring. For me, the scene on board the sub with the admirals dressed in black is totally ruined by the halos. It’s so blatant even watching on a normal 32” CRT.

 

[Osato]

I also cofirmed Brioni's findings on the DVD's....

Moonraker has a 4K scanning credit. Golden Gun and Spy do not have these listed. Instead they have Video Masters listed. The first 8 films (Dr. No- Live and Let Die) also have 4K scanning credits. The remaining films list a Video Masters credit.

The Lowry credits appear at the conclusion of each films End Credits.

Can anyone confirm what Brioni has found?

Am I correct that the films listed with 4K Scanning credits were done at 4K while the other films have only Video Masters credits meaning they were not scanned at 4K?

Could this be a possible explanation of the haloing and EE on The Spy Who Loved Me? Or is it another reason, possibly the DVD authoring?

Lastly, would the films not scanned at 4K need to be redone for a Blu Ray release?

It would have been nice to have ALL films receive the same treatment.

Overall I am very very happy with the UE DVD's. I'm really looking forward to Blu Ray. I am now wondering though if a Blu Ray release is another year away? 2009 maybe?

Thanks for posting!

 

[Osato]

I was watching On Her Majesty's Secret Service on Friday. I believe MGM should look at this film again. The audio mix on DTS and DD is not right during the scene in Burn at Gumbolt's office. This is the scene where Bond breaks into Gumbolt's safe. The music on previous versions and the mono track also included on the UE DVD slowly builds and builds building the tension of the scene. For some reason they have muted the music during this seen. I can only wonder what John Barry would think of this decision!!! Anyway, I was watching it with my wife, who hasn't seen the film and it was kind of a bummer to stop it and go back and compare the audio when trying to watch the film. It was really distracting for me, as it's one of my favorite scenes and pieces of music in the film. The scene is pretty subdued as a result of the down mix of the soundtrack on the DTS and DD tracks.

Overall I am very happy with the UE DVD's, but this really needs to be addressed for Blu Ray, IMO.

Here's a review from DVD Times commenting on the same problem:

DVD Times - On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Ultimate Edition)

Audio
Not the strongest part of the disk. There’s no original mono soundtrack and of the new mixes there have been some questionable decisions made. The most notable of these is the toning down of Barry’s music across quite a lot of the movie, noticeable especially in the scene when Bond breaks into the office. In the past the music has enlivened a scene which, as the main review notes, isn’t as tense as it should be otherwise. Gunshots also sound odd and I also have the problem I had with YOLT in that the clarity of dialogue now somehow underlines the dubbing. That said, in other aspects the remix is really nice, especially in setting up atmosphere and immersing one in the mayhem resulting in a transfer that is at times excellent and other times clueless.

 

[MielR]

What region DVD do you have? If I'm not mistaken, the region-1 DVD contains the original mono mix of the film.

 

[Richard--W]

I stopped by Walmart on my way home this morning and saw some of the single-disc Ultimate Editions have been inserted into lenticular 3-D slipcovers. Goldfinger, Thunderball, Spy Who Loved Me, and one of the Brosnans in 3-D slipcovers. Price $9.

 

[Osato]

Miel R - I have the region 1 disc. It has the mono, DD and DTS tracks. Huge difference between the mono and new DD and DTS tracks.

Mi Casa dropped the ball on this one. Hope they get it fixed for blu ray.

 

[Eric Gripp]

Hello Everyone,

I have read this entire thread (wow, it's long) and there are a lot of people here who know the 007 movies REALLY well. So hopefully I'm not taking nitpicking to a whole new level here, but I think somebody here might be able to answer my questions about the Region 1 007 Ultimate DVD Box.

I have noticed some missing frames in the first four films. Either Peter Hunt had a good reason or they're flaws in the DVD's.

DR. NO - At 00:24:11 Bond is holding a framed picture and asks "Who is the man with Strangways?"

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE - 00:35:30 Right as Bond is getting out of the rowboat and 00:49:18 When Bond is assembling the rifle.

GOLDFINGER - 00:13:09 As Bond turns to the binoculars after saying "Nod your head if you agree" and 01:17:09 As Oddjob's car is turning the corner.

THUNDERBALL - 01:57:16 As Bond is activating his scuba missile.

Four of them could be for moving the shot along faster. Two of them seem like flaws. Are these frames missing in every print/VHS/Laserdisc/DVD or just these Ultimate Editions?

 

[Jay Pennington]

I recall a discussion about Oddjob's car, and comparisons were made to older video releases and the ABC airings, and there was always print damage and perhaps a splice at that point--so, apparently, the source material was in poor enough shape to justify the excision of problematic frames (in the DVD producers' eyes, anyway).