The James Bond DVDs again? (1 Viewer)

[rich_d]

Richard,

Your points are well taken, but the two key elements are price and video appearance. If the reissues are terrific looking (in the category of the best that Lowry has done) and the price is right - many of us are lambs to the slaughter regardless of the rest of your list.

If I were marketing the Bond DVDs (and trying to maximize profits) - I'd sell them individually this time thus eliminating backlash as well as tempting those that can be tempted to double-dip.

Then, I'd release them again in High-def and force early adopters to buy them in boxsets again (or price individual titles so high that the boxsets become a plausible alternative). The thing about boxsets is that it is guaranteed additional free publicity over single releases. Look at us with all of our 'what will the new boxsets be' threads over the years - plus boxsets get much better exposure in the general press. Box sets are also big gift items and it is often Mrs. Consumer that buys the gifts. Mrs. Consumer may not know everything we like but she knows that we like Bond doesn't she? It also allows $ony to keep moving the dogs of the series as well. Therefore, I doubt that boxsets will be leaving the Bond franchise any time soon.

 

[RichardCrowther]

I can certainly understand that for the US market but here in good ol' England, we've never had a Bond boxset (well, OK, we have, but it was a massive great metal limited edition thing, and it didn't even come out until all the films had been released and even then was really expensive, so that doesn't count) and we have always had individual releases of these films. I expect many other coutnries are the same. We've all been lucky enough to be able to pick and choose which ones we want, whereas those in America seem to have always had the unfortunate task of collecting three of four big boxes with a bunch of seemingly random films in them. So, from an international point of view, constraining us to buying either a boxset or nothing is not going to go down too well. It laso limits the number of units a shop can carry, considering the amount of space it will take up, which won't please retailers.

Here's to hoping that MGM really do go out on a limb for the fans and casual buyers alike and try to please everyone.

 

[Chris Atkins]

Speaking of CASINO ROYALE, when is MGM going to get off their butts and do a proper adaptation of this for the big screen (a serious version, mind you). Sure, the plot as it appears in the book wouldn't be the most exciting action movie, but it would be easy to spruce it up and still retain the core of the plot.

Heck, an extended card playing sequence, where the stakes are much higher than just a night of fun, placed in the middle of the movie could be fairly exciting.

 

[Frank@N]

Not to be a crank, but is there any hard evidence that the Bond movies will be re-issued on R1 DVDs again?

I'm also missing a few titles and all this talk is making me reconsider picking them up.

As you know, Thunderball is going for $30 on Ebay.

Is all this re-issue talk just speculation?

 

[Mike Wadkins]

tarantino wants to but its up 2 eon

 

[Dan Hitchman]

I don't know how this will affect the restoration efforts of the Bond franchise and subsequent re-release, but Sony now owns MGM and whatever library Warner Brothers/Turner did not aquire. Columbia/TriStar/MGM/Sony Classics will now be known as Sony Pictures.

The next time you see Bond may very well be on Blu-Ray as it is scheduled to launch late next year if Sony and their followers have their way.

Dan

 

[Kramer Lowry]

 

[Sam Favate]

Wasn't there talk of a rerelease for Never Say Never Again? I seem to remember that the NSNA DVD was somehow edited and wasn't complete. I have it but haven't watched it yet, so I can't say. Who put this disc out? Was it Warner or MGM? The disc and package give no indication.

Also, how much of the ending of the TV Casino Royale is missing from the MGM DVD? I think MGM did a nice job with the Casino disc, including the movie, a 20 min documentary, the trailer, and the TV version from the 1950s.

 

[Ryan Belfast]

What has been cut from the region 1 versions?

 

[DaveRU]

Actually footage is missing from all regions:

OHMSS is missing:
- the shot of the shadow of a cable car moving across a cliff side when Bond's helper is climbing a cliff
- right after Telly Savalas delivers the line, "Tracy, don't be so proud. Your father's own business is not entirely within the law," it cuts to Bond and Draco in the helicopter, completely cutting the line "His brotherhood also have exotic ways of keeping it a closed shop"
- after the stock car race, when Tracy says "We didn't even stop for the prize," Bond's line "I told you that crowd would discourage them" has also been cut.

Licence to Kill is missing various extra shots of gore, when Felix gets thrown to the shark and when the guy explodes in the pressure chamber. Apparently TV showings here in England have shown extra bits.

 

[Dave Farley]

Dave, isn't 'Licence to Kill' also missing some of the violence from the beginning when Sanchez takes care of the guy that he finds with Lupe? I remember it having more gore when they cut his heart out and it seems like they edited some of the screams. Is my memory playing tricks on me or is that footage missing?

 

[Dave Farley]

MGM puts out NSNA but it's not marked. They actually did re-release a fixed version. You could send in the disc with the missing footage for exchange or buy a new one from the store. The re-release will have three asterisks on either side of the words Never Say Never Again on the white label on the top of the case. The old version will have no asterisks.

The missing footage from the Casino Royale television episode is available on the VHS version. You can find it on Ebay or www.spyguise.com may still have it.

 

[DaveRU]

There's many versions of this film that have been released but found this:

Jump to the bit about 'Cuts'

and this:

http://www.deadkenny.co.uk/bondcuts.htm

 

[Dave Farley]

Thanks for the links, Dave. Good information.

 

[RichardCrowther]

I can confirm that Dave's second link above (i.e. http://www.deadkenny.co.uk/bondcuts.htm ) gives the most accurate information for OHMSS and especially LTK.

The cuts to OHMSS are as follows ( the cuts apply to all regions, sadly):


It's pretty much as Dave says -

- the shot of the shadow of a cable car moving across a cliff side when Bond's helper is climbing a cliff

- right after Telly Savalas delivers the line, "Tracy, don't be so proud. Your father's own business is not entirely within the law," it cuts to Bond and Draco in the helicopter, completely cutting the line "His brotherhood also have exotic ways of keeping it a closed shop"

- after the stock car race, when Tracy says "We didn't even stop for the prize," Bond's line "I told you that crowd would discourage them" is now over an exterior shot of the car, not of Bond and Tracey, as originally seen (the shot of Bond and Tracey is lost as a consequence).


The cuts to LTK as follows (again these cuts apply to all regions ):

1) There is an extra shot seen from under the water which conifrms that Felix has lost one of his legs to the shark. The bloody stump is seen, as is what is left of the leg.

2) Krest's head is seen to expand still further then explode during the decompression sequence.

3)As Dario is slowly dragged into the grinder, more gore can be seen shooting out through the blades and his death throes are also more graphic.

4)As we watch Sanchez burn to death, he falls to his knees, flailing and screaming, then collapses.

It is strange how these four shots significantly change the tone of the film as a whole. Change it for the better in my opinion - violence is clearly seen to have consequences here and even the villains now gain our sympathy before they die. This is important for us, since it better enables us to understand just how far Bond has been pushed and also how he is able to turn off his emotions at will. I would ask MGM to seriously consider reinserting this footage.

 

[Osato]

I am really, really looking forward to the new dvd's. The rumored date is October of 2005. They will have new video transfers for all of the films. In addition the audio on Dr. No through The Man With The Golden Gun will be new 5.1. The original audio tracks will also be included.

It seems that the original extras will be included. There will also be new extras on the discs as well.

The following article link has info and several related articles to this project.


http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/articl...ons.php3?t=&s=

Hope this helps!!

 

[John H Ross]

Trouble is, these new versions were intended to tie in with the release of the new film. But that's now not going to happen until late in 2006 so will these discs still be out next year?

5.1 remixes are not necessarily a good thing. The 5.1 track on Moonraker, for example, is awful. You have to crank it right up to hear the finer details and then the dialogue is distorted. I much prefer the raw, vibrant original tracks.

DTS, on the other hand, now that would be something!

Count me in with those that want to see Licence To Kill uncut.

John

 

[Dan Hitchman]

Remember guys that Sony bought the MGM library and studio holdings so it may be that their ideas for the Bond franchise will be different.

I wouldn't put it past them to release these new High Def. restorations and remixes on Blu-Ray in 2006 with better than DTS audio... Blu-Ray can do uncompressed LPCM at 24/96 and above.

Dan

 

[Mark Anthony]

The reason Moonraker may sound bad is the 5.1 track dates from the circa 1997 Laserdisc re-issue, at a time when 5.1 remixes were still in their infancy.

The other possibility is that it's a direct transfer of the original 70mm 6 track elements (I believe Moonraker was also the first Bond in Dolby Stereo - Spy who loved me was just stereo), in which case any disappointment with the audio quality lies with the original mix and is therefore as original, raw and vibrant as it gets!

In all honesty I don't think any of the pre-goldeneye bonds sound very good - or as good as they should in terms of fidelity. Spy who loved me through to Licence to Kill should be remixed from original elements by Mi Casa for the truly ultimate edition - in addition to their original 2.0 tracks.

I'd also be interested to see what happens with Octopussy as this was in 70mm 6 track as well and yet was the only post-spy who loved me Bond not too have a 5.1 mix - just plain Dolby Surround.

M

 

[rich_d]

Agreed. Goldeneye is the first of the Bond films to really showcase the abilities of DD 5.1. Goldeneye does a good job of balancing the fine line between using the surrounds and abusing the surrounds. For example, the sounds of the swirling winter winds above the underground Russian monitoring station in Goldeneye is an audio pleasure.