MGM Press Release: BOND 50 (Blu-ray) - Page 4

I wish I hadn't already bought all the currently available BD Bonds! There's no way I'm re-buying the BD Bonds I have already, but I'd love to have this set. Then again, with the series not going away any time soon, this set is already doomed to be obsolete! LOL So, waiting to get them individually isn't that big a deal.... I guess.

I'll wait too. Finally at least some resolution on the Bond Blu-Ray issue, but looks like we'll have to wait just a little longer if we've already bought the previous titles.

Just about (note I didn't say all) every other film franchise released as a box set has been split up on BD.  Both Star Trek sets (TOS and TNG movies) have started to get split up.  The Lion King box from last year is being split very soon.  Mission Impossible (I don't recall if there were new discs in the box set or not, though), The Matrix films, the original Batman anthology and so on. 

 

It would behoove MGM and Fox to get the singles out by the time Skyfall hits DVD in, what, March/April 2013 or so?

I'm really only interested in the Connery films, and a few select others. I'll probably wait for individual releases, or until someone breaks up their set and sells it off on ebay.

Doug

I was tempted to do the same. By adding in my ultimate DVD's as well as existing blu-rays i can get half way there, but I just couldn'y pull the trigger. Not yet at least.

I dont wish I didnt buy them. I own them and therefore have been able to watch them and enjoy them for the last couple years.

Exactly! This reminds me of a guy I knew in early 1981 when I purchased my first VHS player (before the first studio-issued tape of Dr. No -- $80+ in pan and scan!). I was making a pittance while he was raking in $100k a year at the time. A tightwad, his excuse for not getting on the bandwagon was his 'foresight' that home video would 'improve' with time, when he could show us how smart he was to wait. I wonder if he ever joined the human race, or if he's still waiting for the next 'improvement'. More than likely the latter, in the meantime continuing to occupy himself with counting how much he'll take to the grave!

I'm leaving my order just the way it is. $9 each is a pretty good price. Most are worth more than that to me.

Andrew, we've even seen people here on the Forum who have talked about never buying into laserdisc or DVD, as these were formats that were sure to be rendered obsolete.  And I have to ask the same question you did - just noting that sitting on the fence and ignoring all the releases tends to result in not getting to enjoy any of the benefits that these formats have offered us.

 

Thanks to VHS and laserdisc (and widescreen releases), I was able to see the Bond films in letterboxed format for the first time at home.  The first one for me like this was The Spy Who Loved Me, which was a quantum jump in picture from the Pan & Scan versions I had previously seen at home. 

 

Thanks to DVD, I was able to see some great editions of the Bond films, culminating with the Ultimate Edition sets, which happily included new commentaries by Roger Moore.  At that point, I had only purchased maybe four of the movies on disc, so the UE boxes were a quick way to catch up.  And I usually found them for sale at a pretty good discount.

 

Thanks to Blu-ray, I have been able to see several of my favorite Bond films presented in the best fashion I would have imagined for home viewing.  The Blu-ray of Goldfinger (which I reviewed here almost three years ago) is a wonder - when I showed the establishing shots of the Miami hotel to my brother, his jaw dropped at the clarity and the detail.  We both said that if it weren't for the period cars, you could swear this was something that just got shot.

 

I'm waiting to see what's actually in this box set before I make any decision.  Given the thoroughness of the prior sets, I have to wonder what they've been able to generate in terms of bonus materials.  I strongly doubt that Sean Connery decided to do commentaries, but I suppose it's possible that some deleted scenes may have been found in the vaults.  As it is, the existing documentaries and supplements are plenty for me.   I'm with Ron on the notion of waiting to see when the individual titles are broken out of the box, and whether there are any exclusives that only come if you eat the whole elephant.

I decided to sell my existing BD Bond discs. I am taking a loss, but I do want all the Bond films, so I'll grin and bare it. I am waiting to see if the UK release is region locked, though, before placing an order for the set. If the UK set ends up being region locked, I will wait for the US set to drop a little in price.

Thank you, Ron, for sending that letter stating the feelings of many of us who have purchased the other titles on Blu-ray and don't want to rebuy them. I'll be interested to see the reaction, if any, from them.

A official letter from the HTF should have considerable clout. Letting them know how we feel at this early stage could prompt them to make changes as I'm sure nothing has been set in stone yet. As I stated earlier I'm a sucker for box sets but thinking it over recently, that box looks like it's going to be very large. I'm trying to consolidate my current collection because of space issues so I don't want another big box cluttering things up.

I'd go for a box of the 9.

There is only 7 i want, that's On Her Majesty's Secret Service, You Only Live Twice, The Living Daylights, The Spy Who Loved Me, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies and the extended promised cut of Quantum Of Solace. ( bet that comes later and separate from the boxset )

 

Buying six of these separate would cost about the same as buying the entire boxset, that is assuming a £14.99 price tag and an £89.99 price for the boxset, thus even though i already own quite a few of the titles its probably best to get the boxset and sell a few of the separate releases i already own on Ebay.

 

Of course i can also wait and i bet that boxset price drops by 20% to 25%, no rush to buy as i have waited a long time already.

I have just purchased a HD TV but don't have a blue-ray player that will come in time. Are there any europeans who have a suggeston of mulri-region DVD and blue ray players.

 

I am lucky that all my JB are on DVD and don't have any BRs Also a question about the box - how are the BRs stoted in the box- are they in their own case (such as the OK Laurel & Hardy)-

 

I have also seen various James Bond docs on TV - I hope these all will be included in the BR box.

It can be expensive but i swear by Oppo, they make great blu ray players and are easily modified ( and bought from some sites that way ) for multiregion playback.

 

I would have thought this boxset would be region free though since it is likely going to be identical as far as contents go worldwide.

 

Another suggestion would be to buy a cheap European Playstation 3, that will get you playback from this region and you can use a cheap ( but quality ) USA player for playback of your other discs.

 

All the prior Bond blu-rays from the UK are region free. I bought them incredibly inexpensively from amazon.co.uk during some sale last year. Their prices are most often way way lower than amazon.com. And don't forget that all listed prices on amazon.co.uk have a VAT added to them of almost 20% . If you are signed in for one-click and you buy them, the VAT comes off and the price is much lower than listed. Even the postage charges are very reasonable. Most of my DVD and blu-ray purchases have been from amazon.co.uk (I have an all region Oppo DVD player, but a Region locked Sony blu).

So, I have most of the Bonds I want already in blu-ray: Connery and Dalton. The rest I could care less about. Roger Moore was a buffoon as Bond. All I need are four: You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Diamonds are Forever, and The Living Daylights. How incredibly greedy the folks at EON Productions and MGM are.

As has been mentioned, how many of us, how many tens of thousands of us, have already bought these on Beta (!), then laser disc, then DVD, and now on blu. I hate to feel the greedy corporate hand up my rear end.

Even at the price of 89 pounds (only 74 pounds once the VAT is removed--that's $114 US!) I'm not going to buy it. AND, we're just guessing that they'll be region free. No guarantee.

One of the basic rules of home video release has been termed as "How many times can they get you to buy Goldfinger?"   Pretty accurate rule, I think.

I'm about to trade in my Ultimate Edition boxsets on Amazon but a thought has occured to me: it wouldn't surprise me but I hope this boxset doesn't skimp on the Casino Royale disc 2 extras. Call me a cynic, but I can easily see them including the original Blu-Ray, sans commentary, deleted scenes, etc.

Scott, I have the ultimate set in a bundle that I bought from amazon and they are only giving about $35 for that and about fifty for the set in the case. 

I thin k I can get more than that on amazon marketplace. Which set do you have and have you thought about listing them instead?

Right now, I'm just trading them in for credit. The sets (in good condition) are worth $16.00, $11.95, $13.75, and $15.30, respectively.

Though now that you mention it, I might give eBay a shot.

Ditto.

I think there's an old Steve Martin standup that goes like that. "How I turned a million in real estate into 25 dollars in cash...." He says that very smug. Hilarious!

I wish they'd give the first couple of films as free rentals while we wait. *taps fingers on table*

On another topic, anyone know if these blu rays will differ from the last set and perhaps restore the UA logos at the start of the films as they appeared when the early films originally were released theatrically?

Original release prints of Dr No, Russia, Goldfinger, and Thunderball did not have UA logos (or any other logo) on them.

Of course, just to really kick up the dust here - they COULD throw in the great commentaries done for the Criterion laserdiscs of Dr. No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger.  Who wants to lay odds on that idea happening?  50 to 1, anyone?

What was so objectionable on those commentaries that they had to be pulled?