James Bond Ultimate Ed Framing Issues

Re: James Bond Ultimate Ed Framing Issues

When i first saw the R1 special Edition of Licence to Kill i was shocked when we didn't see Milton Krests head explode in the pressurechamber, a scene that is present in all TV-airings i have seen and the VHS i own. So it is present on this DVD then.

But it's sad that they lefit the mono-tracks of. i would rather have them than the Dolby Digital-track

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Have just bought the R2 UE of 'OHMSS', 'Diamonds are Forever' and 'Licence to Kill'.

Maybe it's me being stupid but I can't find the '007 - Licence to Restore' documentary on any of the discs.... Is it an Easter egg? Help would be appreciated!

Re: James Bond Ultimate Ed Framing Issues

Will, that feature is only availible on the Dr. No Ultimate Edition DVD.

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Thanks for the reply Dale - I have a feeling I'll be getting them all eventually anyway. I'm very impressed with the three I have so far....

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No problem Will.

I watched Dr. No this afternoon and was blown away by the colours & the blemish free transfer -- very happy with the set. The positives far out weigh the negatives for me personally.

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The framing and colour balance issues make this set about as attractive as having severe root canal surgery.

What on earth were they thinking?

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Richard Crowther, i thought the whipping scene pictured was also cut from all regions

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*Post removed by author*

Re: James Bond Ultimate Ed Framing Issues

So there shouldn't be any framing issues with the US releases?

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Has it been confirmed that the R1 U.S. release will have the DTS tracks? It seems like so many releases offer DTS in the UK/elsewhere, but no DTS for the U.S. so that they can fit more bonus material and multiple languages (French, English, Spanish). Without DTS, there certainly would be room to include the original mono soundtracks. Hmmmmm....

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You mean the R1 editions will have the original burned-in captions and mono soundtracks? Is this absolutely definite? It'd certainly be AMAZING news if true. What's your source?

What about the Goldeneye framing/picture issues noted here and elsewhere?

John

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I would be sold on the R1 set if the framing issues and iffy colour balance was addressed.

Any info would be welcome!

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The Ultimate Bond Collection trailer specifically mentions DTS. There's no reason to question it.

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Gosh, this would be quite a big deal. It'd be the first time DIE ANOTHER DAY has been released ANYWHERE exactly the way it was shown in cinemas. And that pretty much goes for TOMORROW NEVER DIES too (only the "HMS Devonshire" card previously survived its journey to DVD).

I hope you're right.

John

Re: James Bond Ultimate Ed Framing Issues

A quick note here - I've just watched the 'Diamonds are Forever' UE discs, and they really are amazing. The DTS soundtrack is stunning without being overbearing, the picture is superb, and - best of all - there are even more deleted scenes than on the SE disc. We now get to see the wonderful scene of Wint and Kidd murdering Shady Tree, as well as an extended cut of the scene of Bond and Case inside the Whyte House bridal suite. Fantastic, and well worth £12.99!!

Re: James Bond Ultimate Ed Framing Issues

This information was recently posted at The Digital Bits site:

We've mentioned it before, but you Bond fans will be excited to know that MGM is preparing to release new Ultimate Editions of all 20 of 007's big screen adventures, timed to coincide with the theatrical and DVD release of the latest film, Casino Royale. The new DVDs will be released as 2-disc sets, and each of the films will include both Dolby Digital and DTS audio. Lowry Digital has apparently given the films a frame by frame digital polishing, and it's likely that they'll be released both in standard DVD and high-definition Blu-ray Disc format as well. The DVD versions have already been released in the U.K. and they're announced for release in Australia on 8/16 (click here to see pictures and details from the EzyDVD online store). We expect U.S. announcements very soon.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa124.html#frup

Re: James Bond Ultimate Ed Framing Issues

So is there anything missing from the previous Special Editions? Did all the important stuff get ported over?

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I wouldn't be surprised if the SOB's at Sony remove every single theatrical trailer from all 20 movies for the R1 release.

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I know Sony has had some bad history with releases at times, but this is Bond were talking about. That means the Wilson/Broccoli family worked with Lowry DTS and MGM to put the DVDs together. Whether Sony or Fox, they're simply the distributor. Think Star Wars, Lucasfilm and Fox. No one is blaming Fox for the upcoming non-anamorphic Star Wars DVDs and is correctly laying the blame at Lucasfilm. Likewise, issues with color timing, framing etc. of these films is an Eon Productions/Danjaq issue and not Sony or Fox.

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Thats good to hear. I'm still keeping my old Goldeneye Special Edition since this new version looks severely cropped.

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Indeed, but, frustratingly, that hasn't stopped the PAL releases being decidedly lacklustre in a depressing number of ways (cropped films, squashed title sequence for TWINE, no original mono mixes, missing captions, player-generated subtitles, etc.). I'm not entirely sure why one market should be seen to be more important than another. If one region is getting "perfect" Ultimate Editions, I can't see why the same quality and care shouldn't have been mandatory for all.



Not on the DVD. The original UK theatrical prints and the VHS releases were edited to remove part of this footage, but that was not the case with the DVD release AFAIK. All that happens (and all that has ever happened, IIRC), is that Sanchez bends her over, and starts cracking away at her back, at which point we cut to a close-up of Lupe crying.




The scenes are yes, but remember, we are only talking about single shots, not whole scenes. And that is the vital difference. The amount of difference between the old US PG-13/UK 15 rated cut and the new UK cut is about 10 seconds at most, and that's spread between those four shots. If there is any additional footage on top of those four shots, then it amounts to frames at best. For further inofrmation about exactly what the extra footage contains, read my post (which was compiled via a direct comparison of the PG-13 rated cut and the uncut version, as accidentally (?) broadcast on UK televsion at least twice) here:

http://www.zetaminor.com/roobarb/sho...7&postcount=73


Without wishing to confuse the issue, there used to be a lot more cut from the old UK VHS and theatrical cuts - the whipping scene, the shooting of the Japanese female spy, and a variety of "impact" sounds were all shortened/removed/lessened, but this was only in the UK, and only on releases prior to the first DVD release. But we can forget about those edits now, lest more rumours spark up about missing footage, because they no longer apply.

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Messed up and missing subtitles notwithstanding, I am fairly happy with the MGM releases, so until a more definitive set emerges - free from the issues that the MGM set has - in HD in a few years, I will be content to watch those. The MGM DVDs are the 3rd set of Bond films I own, the first two being CED and VHS copies. (Best old-time extra: Pink Panther cartoons on the MGM VHS tapes.)

Re: James Bond Ultimate Ed Framing Issues

There are new UE reviews at DVDTimes for anyone whose interested. They may squash any rumors or questions. The reading should tide one over for the R1 release.

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Good grief - the new UE of GoldenEye looks downright mutilated. Fairly severe cropping, low contrast, very different color timing... I can't imagine they could have ruined it any more. The SE had (intentionally or not) a pleasing gold-ish hue to it, while the UE is blue-grey and drab looking. The only positive I can see, judging from the screenshots, is that it has a smoother, more film-like look to it. But then it could be argued that there's less detail. Yikes, what a mess.

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It does look like a mixed bag. Dr. No looks like it is opened up where the prior version looks cropped. Image quality looks promising.

Goldeneye. Looks significantly cropped and some screen posts I've seen, the image quality looks puzzling (to say the least) , particularly in a film of recent vintage.

Was someone's nephew allowed to work on Goldeneye?

Re: James Bond Ultimate Ed Framing Issues

Well, technically, most people guys are someone's nephew. Unless both of their parents are single children, that is.

EDIT: That'll teach me to try and be smart.

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Most women I know are NOT someone's nephew.

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I too would like to hear the new 5.1 mixes that Mi Casa did from the original sound and music stems. Supposedly, Live and Let Die has a new 5.1 surround mix for Wing's opening musical number! Most, if not all of the music scores and songs were recorded in the studio as stereo, not mono for the classic Bonds.

That's why I'm very pissed at Fox for not releasing a true 5.1 mix for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The classic Burt Bacharach music alone would have sounded spectacular in stereo! Instead they released a fake stereo track. Look at what Sony did for Easy Rider... the music is now from the original multi-track recordings and really improves the movie. Properly done remixes can much improve older films. Although, there are exceptions like the very end of Spielberg's Duel. The new remix misses the all important monster roar (also used in Jaws, but not missing on the new 5.1 track) when the truck plummets off the cliff, the rest is well done. Luckily, the mono track is still present.

Also, for European release many of the older Bonds had alternate, more sexed up shots that were toned down or eliminated for the U.S. releases. Like in Goldfinger, the dead painted lady on the bed is nude in the European version and wearing a gold colored thong in the U.S. version. Are the classic films now in their uncut/uncensored forms, not just the more recent films?

As for the subtitles, the HD versions (hopefully BD-50's using a new video codec with awesome high resolution lossless sound by the time they're released) should have high resolution TrueType fonts that can be placed anywhere you want. They updated the Atari like fonts used in the DVD format for the HD formats so they could look like they were burned in quality-wise. That was done because of many complaints.

GoldenEye looks horrid! They really need to re-do that one! I still only have my DTS laserdisc of this title. The soundtrack is bitchin', however.

Dan

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Any evidence for this? That Goldfinger scene is exactly the same in the UK as the US version.

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Indeed, and, if I recall correctly, the film actually goes out of its way to not show the poor girl's backside at all, putting a bit of furniture in front of her midriff, so as to obscure the fact that she probably is wearing panties, despite supposedly not doing, as evidenced by the screen grabs in this review:

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=62152

I doubt a family film at that time would have allowed the sight of a woman's bare arse without the censors going mental, even in the UK. Hence the cushion.