James Bond Blu-ray Collection Three-Pack, Vol. 4?? - Page 6

I was just thinking about this and I think that maybe everyone should lay off on buying the Blu-rays. at least the original films before Daniel Craig  took over the role. While Sony releases the newer films, beginning with Casino Royale, if the James Bond library goes to another studio, besides Fox, you might see all of the films released to Blu-ray with different packaging and maybe upgraded footage on the video side as well as new bonus features.

I think it unlikely another studio would commission new bonus materials, especially when so much work has already gone into the bonus materials. I'd also wager that the unreleased films have their bonus materials ready to go, and in the same vein as the released titles.

I think its likely that when MGM goes under, the Bond library will just revert to Sony. After all Sony is the new home of the Bond films. All future EON productions will be released through them. It would be nice for Bond to have a stable home for a change.

Doug

Actually, the Bond rights are very much up in the air. The MGM/Sony arrangement was a temporary agreement which expired after Quantum of Solace.

The film rights to Bond are evenly split between EON and MGM, which is why production on the next Bond film has stalled until the MGM situation is resolved.

http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/articles/bond_23_report_jan10.php3

Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli gave a brief update to Total Film magazine in the UK (February issue). Asked what the current status of the project is, Wilson said: "Well, our timeline's a little up in the air what with the situation at MGM, so we have to be flexible. We just don't know enough about the situation to comment, but we know it's uncertain."

Only tangenitaly related but if anyone is interested, I was just at BestBuy and all the James Bond Blu-rays are on sale for $12.99 each. Finally low enough where I felt okay about picking up 'Man with the Golden Gun' but still couldn't bring myself to buy 'Moonraker'...

Yeah, I picked up Man With the Golden Gun which I've never seen, and License to Kill.  So, except for Never Say Never Again, I have all of the blu released Bond films.  (Including Moonraker, it came with the 10 disc set so I was forced.)

Thanks! Awesome deal!

Online there is also an offer for 2 of the films, Quantum of Solace and The World Is Not Enough. If you buy these 2 blu ray titles together online you will also receive a $10 BB gift card!! 

Nice. I love The Man With the Golden Gun. The blu ray was like seeing and hearing the film for the first time!!

I actually really like Moonraker! To be honest, I thought Moonrakers transfer and new DTS HD Master Audio track has been one of the top releases of the Bond films on blu ray. 

Maybe you'll give it another go? : ) 

I love it when people praise MAN WITH THE

GOLDEN GUN.

It is one of the most underappreciated Bond
films, but it ranks my favorite tied with THE

SPY WHO LOVED ME. 

 Moonraker is the only released Bond Blu film I don't have. I have seriously bad memories of it, and I was just a kid when I saw it. All I seem to remember is that awful Smokey Bandit sheriff (who was in a few of the Roger Moore flicks) and that Jaws fell in love and became a good guy. I mean, I have 'For Your Eyes Only' and that's pretty silly,but at least you can say it's not as bad as Moonraker. Holly Goodhead? I mean, seriously.

Am I being too hard on it, do you think? Is it actually better than I remember it or is it one of those 'So bad it's good' things?  

Yep, agreed - Man with the Golden Gun is the lost gem of the Moore films - probably the film of his that is most faithful to the book. I'm looking forward to watching 'License to Kill' also - I don't remember anything about it or Timothy Dalton's reign as Bond. 

Moonraker had a frick'n laser gun fight in space, I don't think you're being too hard on it.  It was one of my favs as a kid, but I just watched it a couple of weeks ago and couldn't believe my eyes. 

John Cork (the author of a number of books about Bond's film history, and a producer of many documentaries created for the films' Special Edition DVD releases), claim that Broccoli purchased the 50% stake of Danjaq back from UA in the mid-1980s.

 

If that is true, and I think it likely, then the hold up is the distribution deal with MGM, not any rights issues with the films themselves. If MGM can't keep its end of the contract, then they may forfeit the right to distribute the films.

 

Doug

I don't claim to know the exact details of the business arrangement, but MGM/UA finances the films and is listed as a copyright holder on all of the titles, including Quantum of Solace, so I think the studio's role is much greater than that of distributor.

At any rate, the producers and MGM seem to be stuck with one another, and the next Bond film appears to be in limbo, until the studio's financial difficulties are resolved.

So Daniel Craig could be in a situation like Timothy Dalton. After 2 films, the legal or financial issues hold up the next film and Dalton, or Craig's current deal will move on. (Or whatever reason it was that Dalton decided not to return.) It will be interesting to see if the hold up this time is not as long as 6 years.

I don't think we'll see another six year gap, but I also doubt that the next Bond film will come out in 2011, as seemed to be the original plan.

There do seem to be some similarities with the Dalton era - a third Dalton film did reach the scripting and pre-production phase in the early-90s, only to permanently stall - but the situation is a little different this time around. Back then, EON and MGM were on opposing sides of a lawsuit over international television sales of the Bond catalogue. By the time the legal issues were resolved, six years had passed and Dalton stepped down (or was pushed out, depending on whom you believe). At least now they're not suing each other.

And Bond is a much hotter property now than it was in the early-90s - the box-office take and profits had slid steadily throughout the 80s and Cubby Broccoli reportedly considered selling the rights to Joel Silver. Given that the Craig pictures both racked up half a billion dollars worldwide, I'd imagine that everyone is interested in getting another one made as quickly as possible.

Also, United Artitsts was in a similar situation in the early-80s, when it faced bankruptcy after the disaster of Heaven's Gate and was absorbed by MGM - and that had little impact on the production of For Your Eyes Only. So who knows what will happen.

Speaking of Dalton, I was wondering why they selected License to Kill over The Living Daylights to be released first on Blu ray. There are elements of The Living Daylights that are traditional cinematic Bond. There are elements of License to Kill that are straight out of the books, the scene with Felix and the shark. Of the two, I tend to like The Living Daylgihts, though it seems a tad overlong and confusing. I didn't care for Moneypenny.

In License to Kill, the worst part for me is how it starts with the parachuting down to catch Sanchez's plane. And then the wheelie with the trucks at the end was so over the top.

And re: Moonraker. I agree with those that mention the weaker parts of that film, Jaws, the laser gun fight and the goofy gondola. It was okay in The Spy Who Loved Me when the Lotus drove out of the water, but they takes these bits too far in the next film with the gondola.

So For Your Eyes Only was a really nice return to form.

I love Moonraker precisely because of it's crazy parts. When that totally insane space laser fight starts, it's just as cool to me as ninja's sliding down ropes into a volcano, it's nuts! It's so nuts it transcends it's nuttiness and becomes classic. Some work better then others, space laser battle...love it,  wheelie popping big rigs...hate it.

The thing that's great about the Bond films is there is one for whatever mood your in. Serious espionage, or over the top Camp.

That's why I've always re-bought and upgraded if I was able to.

Although I'm pretty happy with these blu-rays! I don't know what would make me upgrade from this.

From what I've been able to uncover, Daniel Craig had originally been holding up the film because he was working on a pair of films and that filming was to start at the end of 2010. However, other rumors had indicated that this was false. Then, the MGM thing happened and nobody knows what's going to happen. Until MGM sorts out its problems, nobody knows what the future holds for the James Bond series on Blu-ray nor the future for the series for new films.

Daniel Craig is contracted for five films and Quantum of Solace was his second film.

I do know that a script was completed and that Judi Densch and Daniel Craig were both confirmed for Bond 23.

I broke down and bought Moonraker - It didnt make sense to have the whole damn series but for one lousy film. I'm steeling myself to watch it now. Just hope the rest of the films get the BLU treatment...

Well, I'm planning on picking up Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace on Blu-ray because they're the only two I don't have, the rest I have via those Ultimate DVD boxed sets. I just wish MGM, Fox or someone would hurry up and place the rest of the films on the release schedule because it's preventing me from purchasing them at this current time. 

 Casino Royale was the first Blu-ray I ever bought. It's still reference quality in my opinion, one of the first films I haul out to show people what Blu can be like - that first scene with the crazy Parkour (sp?) chase. Man that is something to see. 

Thanks for clearing up the part about the long gap between Licence to Kill and Goldeneye - I just assumed that after making a Bond movie every other year since 1962 that they were just tired of making the films and/or ran out of ideas. I'm curious what kind of Bond film, thematically,  we could've had if one had been made in 1991.

That six year gap is probably one of the best things to happen to the Bond films. The aborted third Dalton film sounds like it would have been a real disaster and might have permanently killed the series.

http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/articles/bond_17_intro.php3

Thanks Nick, I had not read that posting on MI6's site, or I had, and I forgotten it. It's been some time!

One thing about the history of Bond 17 is that it sounded like they were potentially going into the kind of path that A View To A Kill did. I mean considering using too many known American actors, Whoopie Goldberg.

I think one of the things that made the Brosnan debut film work so well was the use of unknown European actors for many of the roles. Especially the women. Teri Hatcher was actually okay in Tomorrow Never Dies, she was known, but not as much then. Michelle Yeoh off-set the balance and worked well with Brosnan. And for some reason, I was okay with Halle Berry. Though she could have been a disaster by being too American. And in some scenes, I think she was too American. Like "Your Momma!" line.

It's also amazing that Richard Maibaum was considered old hat by Variety at the time of the third Dalton film was in development. He was one element responsible for the success of the Connery films. 

For whatever reason, the better Bond films generally steer clear of America and Americans, especially when it comes to the women. Hatcher was okay, but I seem to remember Brosnan lobbying for Monica Bellucci, who would have been more interesting.

And why on Earth they cast Denise Richards just as Catherine Zeta Jones was becoming a rising star is beyond comprehension.

 Oh, I forgot about Christmas Jones! Perhaps it was deliberate.

I agree, Monica Bellucci and Catherine Zeta Jones would have been terrific.

I think that one of the things about Bond is that it is a British character and many of the stories occur in Europe. Some did in America as was in the books. Using non-American actors helps to maintain that sense that you're in a different world, the world of Bond.

Amazon has matched Bestbuy's all time low of $12.99 for License to Kill and Goldfinger. Amazon has no tax (unless you're in one of those states that get taxed).

Moonraker, Golden Gun, World hasn't been pricematched, it might next Tuesday when the Bond prices will be officially advertised (maybe, just my speculation).

for many of us Bond Blu-Ray collectors, this will close the gap as to what's currently available now.

JediFonger, only a select few. Most of the James Bond films are $17.99 and $19.99. I believe there are only two or three movies that are priced via Best Buy. 

I think that the ones that were reduced to $12.99 were due to low inventory except for Die Another Day which may be due to low demand. I just bought The Man with the Golden Gun from Best Buy and it looks the best I have ever seen it plus its one of my favorites despite it being not as well liked as other Bond films.

I noticed that Fox/MGM distributed Quantum of Solace and not Sony, which I assumed they released.

Please, MGM and Fox, hurry up and schedule the rest of the James Bond movies for Blu-ray release.