UHD James Bond films in Ultra HD blu Ray? (1 Viewer)

[Mikey1969]

I'm not sure if that's true. The older master (used as late as the Ultimate Edition DVD) had a framing issue that was rectified for the Blu-Ray.

That may be, but nonetheless, the existing GoldenEye Blu-ray is sourced from an ancient master created around 1998. It's very noisy with poor detail, lots of smeariness, and edge enhancement. It has plenty of room for improvement.

 

[Osato]

I loved Golden Gun when I was a kid, but it hasn't aged well for me. Last time I watched it 2 or 3 years ago, I could barely finish it. The only Roger Moore films I really like anymore are For Your Eyes Only (great), The Spy Who Loved Me (solid) and Octopussy (meh).

There’s something about it for me. Love Roger as Bond.
I think I may start back with dr. No and go in order. The first 2 films are hard for me to stay engaged with.

 

[Worth]

I'm not sure if that's true. The older master (used as late as the Ultimate Edition DVD) had a framing issue that was rectified for the Blu-Ray.

The Ultimate Edition DVD used the Lowry restoration, which wasn't used for the blu-ray because of the cropping issue. The blu may have used the same master as the very first DVD issue, or possibly a later transfer done for television.

 

[Osato]

Maybe Moonraker! Always a good one!!

https://hmssweblog.wordpress.com/20...bout-moonraker/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

 

[brioni]

The Ultimate Edition DVD used the Lowry restoration, which wasn't used for the blu-ray because of the cropping issue. The blu may have used the same master as the very first DVD issue, or possibly a later transfer done for television.

Exactly.

And all these releases have been superseded anyway with a very nice 4K (minus the fade!) that has spot on framing, minimal to no DNR or EE.

The film looks great IMO, take the Aston v Ferrari scene...still pops as it did in the cinema in '95.
How anyone can criticise it after the Kodak disaster of Licence to Kill, I don't know.
They still used some of the same Eastman stock 4 years later on TWINE

 

[Chewbabka]

I watched the From Russia With Love 4k Prime listing on my 32" 1080p LCD last night. Looked really good considering. I really want these to hit UHD discs before I upgrade to 4K early next year... would love to have a January marathon while the weather still sucks.

 

[JoshZ]

I'm not sure if that's true. The older master (used as late as the Ultimate Edition DVD) had a framing issue that was rectified for the Blu-Ray.

The Ultimate Edition framing issue was "rectified" by going back to an even older master created for the original DVD. GoldenEye and The Spy Who Loved Me are the only films in the Bond 50 Blu-ray set that don't have a Lowry Digital title card after the end credits. Spy Who Loved Me was granted a new 4k master for Blu-ray, but you can tell from looking at it that GoldenEye is a much older, lower-resolution scan.

The Ultimate Edition DVD used the Lowry restoration, which wasn't used for the blu-ray because of the cropping issue. The blu may have used the same master as the very first DVD issue, or possibly a later transfer done for television.

I'm confident that it was the master from the first DVD. I believe all the HD broadcast masters for the movie at that time were cropped to 16:9.

 

[Mikey1969]

That may well be the case, but one wonders why MGM/Fox chose to fully re-do TWSLM (which they did beautifully, far better than Lowry did with it) but chose to pull an ancient and sub-par master from the shelf for Goldeneye.
I also wonder if MGM/Fox should have a go at re-doing some of the lesser Lowry efforts like Thunderball, YOLT, and DAF.

The Ultimate Edition framing issue was "rectified" by going back to an even older master created for the original DVD. GoldenEye and The Spy Who Loved Me are the only films in the Bond 50 Blu-ray set that don't have a Lowry Digital title card after the end credits. Spy Who Loved Me was granted a new 4k master for Blu-ray, but you can tell from looking at it that GoldenEye is a much older, lower-resolution scan.



I'm confident that it was the master from the first DVD. I believe all the HD broadcast masters for the movie at that time were cropped to 16:9.

The Ultimate Edition framing issue was "rectified" by going back to an even older master created for the original DVD. GoldenEye and The Spy Who Loved Me are the only films in the Bond 50 Blu-ray set that don't have a Lowry Digital title card after the end credits. Spy Who Loved Me was granted a new 4k master for Blu-ray, but you can tell from looking at it that GoldenEye is a much older, lower-resolution scan.



I'm confident that it was the master from the first DVD. I believe all the HD broadcast masters for the movie at that time were cropped to 16:9.

 

[Mikey1969]

Duplicate post

 

[JoshZ]

That may well be the case, but one wonders why MGM/Fox chose to fully re-do TWSLM (which they did beautifully, far better than Lowry did with it) but chose to pull an ancient and sub-par master from the shelf for Goldeneye.

I think it all came down to budget and scheduling. I bet that the studio originally planned to use the Lowry master for GoldenEye until someone called it out for the framing issue. By that point, rather than spend more money or delay the release, they just pulled an older master off the shelf.

I also wonder if MGM/Fox should have a go at re-doing some of the lesser Lowry efforts like Thunderball, YOLT, and DAF.

I haven't had a chance to look at the 4k versions on streaming in any detail. Are those confirmed to be the Lowry masters? One thing I really hate about those Blu-rays is the squeezed opening title sequences. I just cued up Thunderball on Amazon Prime (downconverted to 1080p on a smallish TV, because that's all I have time for right now), and that issue at least appears to be corrected. I suppose they could have just fixed it with a little scaling. Image quality of the scene before the credits doesn't look great on this screen.

Edit: Nor does the scene after the title sequence. There's some pretty thick and ugly edge enhancement around Blofeld in the SPECTRE boardroom. Very disappointing.

 

[Chewbabka]

Clicked through a few of the 4Ks on prime on my laptop. Really disappointed at how they treated the opening logos. How hard could it be? Especially with the MGM/UA era where the proper logo is just an older version of the MGM Lion. The modern animated "eye of the tiger" logo really clashes with the aesthetics of the old, somewhat janky, optically composited gun barrel sequences. They even put the 2000s UA logo before On Her Majesty's Secret Service. It just doesn't work.

 

[Osato]

I watched the From Russia With Love 4k Prime listing on my 32" 1080p LCD last night. Looked really good considering. I really want these to hit UHD discs before I upgrade to 4K early next year... would love to have a January marathon while the weather still sucks.

you sound me like the past 2 years. Kept waiting and waiting. I bought the Craig UHd Blu Ray set and then just last week I broke down and bought the iTunes 4k versions of the others.

if there is a box set this year I’ll keep an eye on it but I feel like it’s taking too long for these to come out on UHd Blu ray.

 

[Worth]

?llI haven't had a chance to look at the 4k versions on streaming in any detail. Are those confirmed to be the Lowry masters?

I don't think it's been officially confirmed anywhere, but I've seen a number of them theatrically, and it looks to me like they used the Lowry masters for those that were originally done at 4K, maybe with some minor tweaks. The films finished at 2K all have new masters.

 

[Worth]

Clicked through a few of the 4Ks on prime on my laptop. Really disappointed at how they treated the opening logos. How hard could it be? Especially with the MGM/UA era where the proper logo is just an older version of the MGM Lion. The modern animated "eye of the tiger" logo really clashes with the aesthetics of the old, somewhat janky, optically composited gun barrel sequences. They even put the 2000s UA logo before On Her Majesty's Secret Service. It just doesn't work.

Maybe Criterion will do a Bond set one of these days, with original logos, sound mixes and colour timing.

 

[Mikey1969]

I doubt that EON would authorize it, and even if they did, they would want full control of the content. When Criterion released the first three films, LaserDisc was a tiny market compared to VHS and I'm sure EON learned their lesson after that commentary debacle.

Maybe Criterion will do a Bond set one of these days, with original logos, sound mixes and colour timing.[/QUOTE

 

[Worth]

I doubt that EON would authorize it, and even if they did, they would want full control of the content. When Criterion released the first three films, LaserDisc was a tiny market compared to VHS and I'm sure EON learned their lesson after that commentary debacle.

Yeah, I'm not expecting it. I had those laserdiscs and listened to those commentaries, but don't remember anything even remotely controversial about them.

 

[JoshZ]

Yeah, I'm not expecting it. I had those laserdiscs and listened to those commentaries, but don't remember anything even remotely controversial about them.

It's been a while, but as I recall, the participants made some comments about Sean Connery's womanizing behavior that painted him in a very bad light from a modern perspective. That said, I think the real crux of the issue were some anecdotes that made Harry Saltzman sound like a major a-hole. He or his representatives threatened to sue, so Criterion recalled the discs.

 

[Osato]

Yeah, I'm not expecting it. I had those laserdiscs and listened to those commentaries, but don't remember anything even remotely controversial about them.

https://www.the007dossier.com/2011/04/21/banned-james-bond-commentaries/

 

[brioni]

I don't think it's been officially confirmed anywhere, but I've seen a number of them theatrically, and it looks to me like they used the Lowry masters for those that were originally done at 4K, maybe with some minor tweaks. The films finished at 2K all have new masters.

Exactly.
And those that are new to this thread...a few of us went over the 4K's last year, page 31 onwards
https://www.hometheaterforum.com/co...bond-films-in-ultra-hd-blu-ray.338122/page-31

 

[Osato]

Not loving this new forum update....