MGM Press Release: 007 on Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Joe Karlosi]

I think you make a good point, and I think you're right, in theory. But almost none of us will be watching 35mm in our living rooms.

 

[Brandon Conway]

Correct. I should have said that MGM has an exclusive distribution deal with MGM, while ultimately EON has complete control.

 

[Douglas Monce]

On opening night you should see little to no dirt and dust. And frankly I haven't see cue marks on a print in years. They are almost unnecessary today with the use of platter systems. I'm not even sure they are still marking the prints with them.

In a quality theater with a good projectionist your viewing experience should exceed a blu-ray viewing by leaps and bounds. Of course if you goto the Dollar Theater where the print has 3 months of showings warn into it, you aren't going to have a "first run" experience.

As to standard def DVD, it is NEVER going to even come close to the quality of even a Dollar Theater unless the projection is THAT bad. In that case you should ask for your money back!

Doug

 

[AlexCosmo]

I believe in the Patton thread, there's a still comparison showing Karl Malden's face has less detail on the blu-ray than the dvd. It's like he's been covered in makeup. And how does Saving Private Ryan or Minority Report factor into this sweeping no-grain preference?

 

[TonyD]

one of the things i noticed in the movie patton was maldon's nose, specifically the lack of being able to see the crease in the middle of the front of his nose.

 

[Mark Oates]

The issue of grain seems to be something of an obsession on these High Def forums, and on most of them there seems to be a lot of confusion about what is and isn't a manifestation of film grain or the lack of it. Terms like "low grain" get bandied about instead of "fine grain", and noise reduction technologies (designed specifically for deblobbing, not grain elimination) is treated with the same disdain as colorization or the proverbial digestive episode in a spacesuit.

I think we need the input of industry figures who know what they're talking about - either in the handling of film materials or the authoring of home video - as at the moment, all of this talk is both confusing and confused.

Oh, and Joe, if you're reading this - do you have a copy of the Close Encounters Blu-ray? In my personal experience, CE3K has always been one of the key movies of the 1970s which suffered from abnormally noticeable grain (due to so much being shot on Eastman low-light stock - which is inherently more grainy). However the CE3K BR looks absolutely magnificently sharp and I don't feel it has been sandblasted with DVNR.

 

[John Hermes]

If a cinema has a well maintained platter and is using the Filmguard system, a print could still look new after months of playing. Filmguard keeps the print clean and fills in in any minor scratches so they do not appear on the screen.

I had a 35mm projector, xenon lamphouse, and 20-foot screen for about ten years. Blu-ray images are nice and come from virtually perfect prints, but do not compare with some of the film prints I had. Eastman color and B&W film prints made in the 1960s were made from the original negative, before the advent of dupe negatives and such.

I had a B&W print of "In Cold Blood", which had way better contrast and gray scale than any video projection I have seen. I had many IB tech films which were a world away from Blu-ray. I remember the last thing we ran was John Wayne's "The War Wagon", an IB Tech/Panavision film. It was an old print and had some lines and scratches but, my god, the color and contrast was unbelievable. I have fun with my Blu-ray and front projector, but the image is nowhere near what it was with a good print on my 35mm projector.

 

[troy evans]

Wow! I didn't think this discussion of grain would go so far into derailing this thread. You guys do remember this is the Bond on Blu-ray thread right. We all should get back on topic before the thread gets closed. Please.

 

[Jesper Hall]

Hello Mr. Lauzirika. Sorry for the misunderstanding, and thank you for your answer.

Darn - wishfull thinking on my part I suppose. I must have confused your work on Die Another Day with a mention of the box set. Anyway - I still say you ought to

I love John Corks work as well, but that doesn't mean, that there isn't room for new material. If I have one problem with Mr Corks documentaries, it is that they are to short.

No matter what, I'm very much looking forward to Bond on Bluray. Overall I like the UE DVD's, so it's a nobrainer. Grain or no grain.

 

[Osato]

I'm looking forward to the films on blu ray too!
any news on specs and extras?
Hopefully this thread can return to talking about the films coming to Blu ray. I was disappointed to see 3 pages talking about film grain..

 

[Douglas Monce]

Well as there has only been an announcement, and not much else to talk about, so the conversation drifted that way. Frankly film grain is the new letterboxing issue, so I would imagine you will see lots of talk of film grain in the HD areas.

Doug

 

[Dale MA]

Out of those first titles I would love to pick-up:

DR. NO
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
LIVE AND LET DIE
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

With a view (to a kill ) that I'll eventually upgrade every Bond title to Blu but they're my "must haves" from that list.

However, I'm waiting for reviews until I purchase ANY of these titles, I bought the Special Editions and later purchased the Ultimate Editions and after the widely discussed problems with THOSE discs, I'm a little reluctant to repurchase these films again.

I want Bond on Blu-ray to be the last time I have to buy these films.

 

[Will*B]

I'm really looking forward to these discs (minus the Brosnans...), but I agree that I hope some of the Lowry 'improvements' have been corrected, especially the framing issues on A View to a Kill. I'd also like to see the 'missing' OHMSS trailer ("Bigger, better, different!") that wasn't on any DVD, but was on the UK WS VHS release from '95.

I also hope that they include original burnt-in subtitles and location cards, and not multi-national player-generated ones. In this day and age of worldwide multi-region BD releases, I'm not too hopeful...


I agree! After P&S VHS, WS VHS (x2), LD, SE DVD and UE DVD, I really hope the BDs will be 'definitive'. At least until the next format comes out...

 

[Jim_K]

Pre-orders are up at Amazon.

MSRP is $34.98 each which brings it to under $25 a pop. Could be $5 lower but seeing as how this if Fox/MGM it's better than their standard pricing of $39.99. Hopefully this lower pricing continues with MGM at least.

Also 3-packs are available for $62.95

 

[TonyD]

Amazon.com: James Bond Blu-ray Collection Three-Pack, Vol. 1 (Dr. No / Die Another Day / Live and Let Die)

Amazon.com: James Bond Blu-ray Collection Three-Pack, Vol.2 (For Your Eyes Only / From Russia with Love / Thunderball)

the rest are here....
$23.95 each.
Amazon.com: The James Bond Movies Series

 

[Brandon Conway]

Honestly, that's much less than I expected them for.

 

[TravisR]

Big thumbs up to MGM for making these available individually rather than 'forcing' people to buy all of them.

 

[MattFini]

Is it that unreasonable to ask for the old school poster art to grace these Blu-Ray disc covers?

The art they've chosen is horrible. Does MGM not have the rights to the wonderful old poster art, or is it simply considered 'too old' for the Blu Ray format?

For such a flagship series, the box art only gets worse and worse with each release.

That said, I will preorder these discs without a moment's hesitation. I want them all.

 

[Peter Neski]

If they don't include the extras ,forget it

 

[Ed St. Clair]

I know that some of you will rebuy "all" of these on BD.
For like the fourth time on 5" silver discs (not even counting other video formats).
I'll buy at least one. I'd like too have a Bond title from all three SD DVD's & the upcoming HDM. Can't afford four versions of one movie, still it would be fun to 'see' the differances between menu's, audio choices/quality, video quality, extra's & all.
I have an old "Thunderball" & two "UE" titles; need a Blu & "SE".