DVD Review HTF REVIEW: "Die Another Day" Special Edition (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) (with screenshots) (1 Viewer)

[Dharmesh C]

DAD, in my view, is a creative sell-out, from the silly CGI to the Christian Wagner stylized editing. Bond films are not suppose to be stylized!!!!!

The non-computer technical work is GRADE A, shame the film isn't as usual.


The DTS track is excellent and the extras are not too bad, but this Bond film is not staying in my collection.

Last decent Bond? Goldeneye
My favourite Bond? Dalton.

 

[Edwin-S]

Except the old ones actually had better stories.....and Sean Connery......who still kicks Brosnan and Moore's sad, sorry asses. B and M are buffoons compared to Connery's sauve portrayal of Bond.

DAD[/q] is just about the worst Brosnan effort yet. The only redeeming features in DAD were the opening sequence which seemed to signal something different was going to take place -which didn't happen- and the fencing match. The rest was competing to outcrap TripleZZZ..I mean X.

 

[Dharmesh C]

In the Inside DAD doc, Barbara and Michael quote their dad, Albert "Whatever you do, don't screw it up" I nearly fell off my chair.

Usually, when they screw up a Bond film, they go back to Ian Fleming for inspiration.

 

[Aaron Cohen]

I share Ron's opinion about EE now. I wish I had never looked for it. Because I went into that very thread and studied all that pictures, learned what it was, etc. and it now bothers me a lot when watching many of my dvd's. I've tried to just ignore it, and none of my friends notice it at all but it just sticks out to me now that I know exactly what it is.

If you don't know what it is and don't notice it I suggest you never try to notice it. But still, I have to ask, what do you view the dvd's on Ron? I have not viewed a dvd on a large rear-projection tv (I have the 34 inch Sony XBR Widescreen HDTV) but was thinking the EE would be far more pronounced on that though I have no idea.

 

[Thomas T]

I've been a Bond junkie for years and my first Bond was Goldfinger which I saw as a kid and was hooked from then on.

With the exception of Timothy Dalton who brought nothing to the party, all the Bond actors have brought their own individual contributions to the films with varying success.

The unsettling CGI effects and boytoy villains aside, I thought Die Another Day terrific first rate fun and I even like the Madonna title song which so many are fond of bashing.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Aaron,

I have a Toshiba 57HX81 RPTV.

The first two numbers of the model # denotes
the screen size.

 

[GarySchrock]

Hmm, that article seemed to imply that some sort of filtering is done on movies when they're put to dvd to avoid flicker. Given that, I'm not sure it's possible to avoid what is termed EE. It's a side effect of filtering (although it's more pronounced on high pass filtering, which is odd because they refer to low pass filtering in the article). If filtering is unavoidable, it seems likely that EE is also.

Now, I know nothing about making dvds, so treat my opinion with that in mind, but I have been dealing with filtered images in a research lab for a while. If you want to see it in action, open up a picture in photoshop, and use the high pass filter on it. Slide the slider around to adjust the frequency, and especially on some you'll really notice it.

 

[Derek Iverson]

I also have a Toshiba 57HX81 RPTV. I'm sure that I could see things like EE if I looked for it, but that would spoil the enjoyment of the movie. I just assume it’s better not to pay such close attention.

 

[Yumbo]

if you want to see EE without a doubt, check out the DADay trailer on Windtalkers DC (a shameless edition trying to standout).

unbelievable!

worse still is the DWWolves trailer.

anyone watching those 2 trailers CANNOT tell me they didn't see anomalies.

 

[Matt Goddard]

Perhaps if I saw the same problems they do, my reviews would garner a little more respect within this community.

Ron might have just been frustrated when he wrote the above, but I think Ron's reviews garner a lot of respect within this community. That should be evident from all the people who are lamenting an end to his reviews. I know that I will certainly miss them.

I loved DAD, but I'll also admit I love all things Bond. It would pretty tough to make a Bond film that I didn't think was fantastic. I'm a fool for the Bond name.

I think one of the problems with the recent Bond films is that they are no longer unique like they once were. Hollywood has copied so many ideas over the years that we're now on a third or fourth generation of James Bond wannabees. There are so many clones that it's become harder to find the original.

It's also tougher to impress audiences today. Connery's Bond ventured to exotic places that most Americans had never visited. That's no longer the case. Is the Caribbean exotic anymore? As the world grows smaller, it's hard for Bond to go places we don't already know.

I would like to see a Bond movie where 007 passes on most of the CGI and special effects. It would be a gamble, but I'd like to see Eon do a Bond movie that's an espionage thriller rather than an action movie. You could still have explosions, just tone it down a bit and add more suspense. That would be closer to Dr. No than DAD.

 

[Edwin-S]

What is this about Ron not doing any more reviews? When was this announced? Have I been sleeping under a rock somewhere?
I may not agree with him all the time, but his reviews were still worth reading because they are written from a fan's viewpoint.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Edwin,

I have explained everything here:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=139314

This is something that has been in the planning
for two months now. I am sure you must have seen
the announcement that was posted 4 weeks ago.

I would rather not discuss the reasons for leaving
or otherwise. Could you guys kindly keep this
thread on topic? Thanks.

 

[Michael Silla]

Great review Ron. I could care less about the edge enhancement. You won't find me spending countless hours looking for it either. I'll be picking this one up just for the opening train scene. Pure quality - when it was in the theaters it was one scene that I thought would look and sound incredible at home. I am soooo very glad there is a DTS track!

Michael.

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

It's a drag that MGM couldn't bother to keep the cover packaging consistent with the rest of the Bond series, though as I bought the box sets when they first came out 2-3 years ago, it sits outside them anyway.

 

[Edwin-S]

Okey Doke. Guess I was sleeping under a rock. Nuff said.

 

[Lyle_JP]

I'll be picking this one up just for the opening train scene. Pure quality - when it was in the theaters it was one scene that I thought would look and sound incredible at home. I am soooo very glad there is a DTS track!

Train scene? I remember surfing and a hovercraft chase through a minefield in the opening, but no trains. Maybe my memory is just bad.

-Lyle J.P.

 

[Jim-M]

Train scene? I remember surfing and a hovercraft chase through a minefield in the opening, but no trains. Maybe my memory is just bad.

Haha, I was thinking the exact same thing. I guess it will be like a completely fresh movie for me since I don't recall a train at all. I do remember a helicopter scene in the beginning.

 

[JeremySt]

I'll defenitly be picking this title up. Im a Bond junkie to the core. I seem to find myself in the minority, butI thought DAD was possibly one of the best Bond flicks ever. The only thing that bothers me is the use of CGI. To me, one of the things that made Bond great was the fact that many of the stunts were done for real. The final 20 minutes of DAD is the only weak part, and only because of the CGI.

Great review Ron. I notice EE, but your reviews are still a great resource, and they will be missed.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

UPDATE



Apparently, I may not have been correct about
the subtitle burn-ins.

Prior to writing this review I already had
received a few emails from members that wanted
me to check the subtitle burn-ins. One member
by the name of Matthew even broke them down
for me:

at 31 seconds

PUKCH'ONG COAST
NORTH KOREA

at 3:31

COLONEL TAN-SUN MOON'S HQ
DEMILITARIZED ZONE, NORTH KOREA

at 140:41

US COMMAND BUNKER
DEMILITARIZED ZONE, SOUTH KOREA


Well, as I reported in my review, the subtitles
ARE there. Case closed, end of story..right?

Apparently not. Reviewer Colin Jacobson just
contacted me to inform me that most of the
subtitles are player generated.

Well, the problem is, I always watch a film
with subtitles turned on. That might very well
explain the reason why I saw the subtitles as
they were supposed to appear.

I'm on my way out to work this morning, but if
Colin Jacobson doesn't have the chance to talk
more about this with all of you later today, I'll
take a look at the DVD again with the subtitles
turned off.

I apologize for the confusion this may have
caused some of you -- and trust me, this player
generated subtitle stuff is still kind of new
to me.

 

[John H Ross]

Ok, so lets look at the evidence:

REGION 1
Crappy player-generated captions (allegedly) Thanks MGM!

REGION 2
Crappy player-generated captions and horrid PAL speedup BUT 625 lines of resolution, 2 seconds of extra footage during the sex scene and an exclusive 53-minute documentary.

Hmmm no-brainer really, isn't it?! Yes, apparently Brosnan mentions on the commentary that the sex scene was trimmed by the MPAA and that the only place you will find the uncut scene is on the Region 2 DVD.

Right, I'm off to buy mine now!

John