James Bond Ultimate Edtions Surface in the uk (1 Viewer)

Well now im happy one last blast on sd-dvd for me and Mr bond it is then :

http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releas...-editions.html

Okay, very good to see these are finally getting the 2 disc treatment. I'll probably go in on them all sooner or later. And it's nice to see the comprehensive and in-depth docs from the original releases will be included.

But when are they coming out in R1? July isn't that far off for the R2 releases. I would've thought they would have been released in the fall with Casino Royale.

The James Bond series is presently running on the "Film Fest" HD channel available through Dish Network. I saw part of "Dr. No" last night. The festival runs through the month of June.

http://greenbriarpictureshows.blogspot.com/

WOW! They actually added more extras to each DVD. I also assume that these are new remasters and hopefully an improvement to the current collection. Pity that the two 'non-canon' Bonds Never Say Never Again and the '67 Casino Royale aren't included, though Eon Productions now owns both films. Not impressed by the cover graphics, though- too dark, looking more suitable for a horror film collection. Hopefully the US Region 1 versions (if they are done!) will have better-looking covers like the current versions.

Of course, this will mean one big financial nightmare for me- I already have all of the current MGM/UA DVDs, so I can only guess how much this will set me back! And I know I'm not the only Bond fan facing this problem!

I'm interested, but I probably won't buy these again till HD.

The old DVDs don't look that good, but they'll do for one more viewing and I only watch stuff about every two years.

Already have them pre-ordered! Can't wait to get my hands on them.

The fact that they have Roger Moore commentaries and are now uncut are reason enough to double dip for me, plus the transfers on the old discs are showing there age, I guess the old discs will become my back-up copies!

I'm almost through selling off the 'old' SE DVDs (I only started a week ago - they're going like crazy), the proceeds of which will go about halfway towards paying for the Ultimate Edition attache case. Gonna have myself one big Bond-fest, come July.

The Bond films are, without doubt, my favorite film series of all time. I've bought them SO many times: VHS p&s, VHS widescreen (twice - don't ask), and all the R1 DVD's.

I'm so tempted to pick these up.... but with HD just around the corner, I'm not sure it's worth it.

I'll probably pick up some real favorites (OHMSS, Diamonds, Live & Let Die, Octopussy) and then wait for the inevitable HD release to get the others.

Im just gald they are all now uncut including Licence to kill and all have dts !

Terrible cover art, they should have used the original poster art for "ultimate" editions.

I'd have to see some screenshots of the new transfers to decide whether I am prepared to spend another few hundred dollars re-buying these in Region 1.

Licence to Kill never was cut in the UK to my knowledge. Trims were made to the film prior to release in both the UK and US (to earn a "15" and PG-13, respectively), and that version, identical in both countries, has been the only version ever seen on screen. It's also the same version being released yet again on DVD.

It was felt at the time that the "15" certificate had hurt the film's box office potential considerably, so both Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies were censored in the UK to earn the coveted "12" certificate. The cuts to Goldeneye were mild, but Tomorrow Never Dies was cut considerably. They were left alone (as PG-13 films) in the US. It is these two films now being released uncut (with "15" certificates) in the UK.

-Lyle J.P.

I hate all region 2 covers. Not the art so much but the stupid rating system. They put these big ugly numbers right on the front cover spine and back which makes it look terrible. I like how my region 1 covers only have a really tiny number (which is more sleek looking too) on the back of the covers.

If they release this region 1 I wont be buying it. I already own the 3 james bond box sets (the newer ones). I am a big bond fan but I dont care about extras and commentaries, just movies. The only complaint I have with my current bond set is half the movies are 5.1 suoorund sound while some are 2.0 and the rest are mono. I would prefer to have all my bond movies in 5.1 surround, but would never re-buy them to get it. I also bought seperatly casino royale (with the B&W TV version) and never say never again. Ill purchase all bond movies from now on stand-alone. Hopefully they can hurry up and make this new bond film casino royale.

I think you all better go out and buy a region free player-I have a hunch that SONY is saving the Leones and the Bonds (and others) to jump start Blu ray;
Stoopid of them, I know-but when has anyone accused SONY of being run by logical, thinking people. I could be wrong; But I have the complete R2 Leone Trilogy, and the Bonds being nearly a month away-im buying screw SONY

How are you screwing Sony? They get your money if you buy their UK disc or their US disc. And actually, if you really wanted to screw Sony, you'd wait for the US discs, since they will probably be distributed by Fox by then.

-Lyle J.P.

Like DB, I'm hoping the Fox transition will allow the rest of the Leone SEs to drop in R1.

As far as Bond goes, to what extent are these being cleaned up and will they only be sold in that suitcase?

Lowry Digital (or whatever they're called now that DTS bought them)

Almost - Licence To Kill was cut by the MPAA by ten seconds to achieve a PG-13 in the US. In the UK, the uncut version was submitted, but even more extenisve cuts were "requested" by the BBFC than in the USA, resulting in some really quite damaging edits. It is this version that had always circulated in the UK until the previous DVD release, when the film was resubmitted in the PG-13 rated version. This was passed without any further cuts with a "15" rating, but, of course, was still missing the 10 second's worth of footage removed by the MPAA to gain that PG-13.

To this day, the only places those all important 10 seconds could be seen were on a Brazilian VHS released many, many years ago (along with some other foreign countries), and the occasional UK TV broadcast, which sometimes also included them.

However, Sony submitted, and the BBFC passed, a fully uncut version, inlcuding those missing shots, late last year, and the only logical conclusion is that it was re-submitted ready for the Ultimate Edition releases this year (there would, after all, be no other reason to have it re-classified). So it is hoped that the forthcoming release will be the first time anywhere in the world has seen a fully uncut version of the film, in its correct ratio.

With regards to the re-mastering for these new releases and the extras contained, from davisdvd.com:

"Each of the twenty films in the perennial series has been remastered and restored by Lowry Digital - nine with 4K scanning, the others in high definition - recapturing the crystal clear detail and rich colors of the original films. For the first time ever, all twenty Bond films will also sport Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS Surround tracks.

Bonus materials on the two-disc sets will include all-new interactive features, including commentary tracks with Sir Roger Moore for all of his entries, previously unreleased and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage from the Bond vaults, "Top Secret Files" on the Bond women and exotic locations and more. Stay tuned for individualized specs soon! The films will be available separately priced at £15.99 apiece, or available together in a limited and exclusive sleek attache case with embossed 007 logo."

Since the MGM catalog is now shifting from Sony to Fox, my guess is these releases might get delayed a bit in R1 land. Just my speculation, though. Since the new DVDs come from HD masters, the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray versions can't be more than a year away I would imagine.

Thank you for your clarifications, Richard. Since the previous UK DVD was identical to the US PG-13 cut, I had assumed that this was the same cut always available in the UK. Since the cover of the new Licence to Kill DVD does not contain the word "uncut", where have you heard that this LTK will be more uncut than before? I'm not doubting you (you seem quite well informed), just curious on your source.

Also, does anyone know for sure if the original documentaries from the first round of Special Edition DVDs will be making it to these new discs in their entirety? I seem to recall some flap about Sam Neill being unhappy with his screen test being on the View to a Kill (or was it Octopussy?) DVD.

Also folks, I did the math, and if you're living in the states, this Attache set (if bought from Amazon.uk) is quite reasonable. After you subtract the VAT you don't have to pay and add in shipping, the cost of each of these packed 2-disc special editions is $17.10. Seeing as how I paid $39.99 each for bare-bones letterboxed laserdiscs a decade ago, this seems like an absolute steal!

-Lyle J.P.

While we're talking about things that should be fixed, isn't there a framing issue with FRWL (film was shot at 1.66 but is cropped to 1.85 on DVD)?

This jumped out at me the first time I watched it and the print is also dirty as hell.