James Bond: The Ultimate Collection (1962-2012) + Volume Collections

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by captainsolo

Whoa! That's the first time I've ever seen anyone confirm some of the rumored 70mm blowups. You weren't around two years earlier for Moonraker by chance were you?

I was around but I missed Moonraker in the theater. Busy year 1979 - moved from CA to NY.

Only movies I caught in 70MM were The Muppet Movie, and seeing Superman: The Movie again in NYC (we took a trip in Feb 1979 as a "scouting" mission for our move later in the year).

[larrythefatcat]

Originally Posted by adamclark83

What i don't understand is why they changed the ending music in Thunderball when Bond and Domino are lifted up out of the inflatable? It was great how it was.

I'm just now learning (as far as I can remember) about this different music; although I knew about the abrupt cut at the end being due to the credits originally saying "James Bond will return in On Her Majesty's Secret Service" but that snow-related production difficulties forced OHMSS to be pushed back in favor of an adaptation of You Only Live Twice, so editor Peter Hunt suggested (and implemented) a quick fade right as the Monty Norman credit scrolls into view.

I'm finding some varying sources saying slightly different things, but supposedly (according to some schmoe who uploaded some "trivia" on IMDb) the original John Barry music was used on international release prints and the UK widescreen VHS release, but that the "James Bond Theme" replacement was how the original UK (well, at least British) prints were during initial theatrical release... along with older US VHS releases. There's also at least one laserdisc with the original Barry music at the end, but without the "Chateau Flight" track during an underwater fight... just Foley effects. I know the '92 US VHS didn't have the underwater scoring, but I don't know which music was at the end of that tape. EDIT: It looks like YouTube user DevTheMan uploaded the ending and it also has the Barry music.

I went back to the (Region 1) Ultimate Edition DVD of Thunderball with the "original English mono" track and it sure enough has the James Bond theme at the end, so I guess that's how the original theatrical audio must have been... or at least what EON Productions wants everyone to think.

[DavidRoylance]

I believe it was rights issues that forced You Only Live Twice up into the next place. Which explains the anomaly that Blofeld does not recognise Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service because it was always meant to be the first meeting between Bond and Blofeld.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by DavidRoylance

I believe it was rights issues that forced You Only Live Twice up into the next place. Which explains the anomaly that Blofeld does not recognise Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service because it was always meant to be the first meeting between Bond and Blofeld.

There were no rights issues vis-a-vis You Only Live Twice. OHMSS just kept getting pushed back because of the logistics involved in finding the right locations for the snow sequences and Blofeld's lair.

That anomaly came about because the OHMSS book came before YOLT and the film version of the former was much more faithful to the book than the latter as they had different screenwriters.

[cgwaters]

Originally Posted by DavidRoylance

I believe it was rights issues that forced You Only Live Twice up into the next place. Which explains the anomaly that Blofeld does not recognise Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service because it was always meant to be the first meeting between Bond and Blofeld.

On a somewhat related note, DAF starts with Bond hunting down Blofeld. Too bad it didn't make reference to Bond avenging Tracy's death. I wonder if Telly Savalas was offered the Blofeld role again? He played a great one in OHMSS.

[koberulz]

That's just a random bald bloke in a wheelchair. EON no longer had the rights to Blofeld/SPECTRE, so it couldn't have been him.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by larrythefatcat

I'm just now learning (as far as I can remember) about this different music; although I knew about the abrupt cut at the end being due to the credits originally saying "James Bond will return in On Her Majesty's Secret Service" but that snow-related production difficulties forced OHMSS to be pushed back in favor of an adaptation of You Only Live Twice, so editor Peter Hunt suggested (and implemented) a quick fade right as the Monty Norman credit scrolls into view.

Just funny that they were so eager to cash in on Star Wars/Close Encounters mania that they seemed to forget they promised For Your Eyes Only as the next Bond after The Spy Who Loved Me.

[d3nt0n]

Has there ever been any footage/confirmation of the "James Bond will return in On Her Majesty's Secret Service" credits? The way I've always heard it told made it seem like an unconfirmed rumor.

[DavidRoylance]

You are correct that Eon no longer had the Spectre rights during the Roger Moore era. The previous poster is referring to the pre-credits of Diamonds Are Forever which is about finding and killing Blofeld but never mentions Tracy.

Originally Posted by koberulz

That's just a random bald bloke in a wheelchair. EON no longer had the rights to Blofeld/SPECTRE, so it couldn't have been him.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by cgwaters

On a somewhat related note, DAF starts with Bond hunting down Blofeld. Too bad it didn't make reference to Bond avenging Tracy's death. I wonder if Telly Savalas was offered the Blofeld role again? He played a great one in OHMSS.

There was a deliberate attempt to downplay OHMSS at the time particularly with Connery's return. Although some people interpret Bond hunting down Blofeld as a means to avenge Tracy's death (which is fine) there's a reason why the first shot of the PTS is in Japan.

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Just funny that they were so eager to cash in on Star Wars/Close Encounters mania that they seemed to forget they promised For Your Eyes Only as the next Bond after The Spy Who Loved Me.

They didn't forget. They just realized the opportunity was too good to pass up to jump on that bandwagon. At one point they would have altered the titles, but by the late-70s I don't think they cared anymore.

Originally Posted by koberulz

That's just a random bald bloke in a wheelchair. EON no longer had the rights to Blofeld/SPECTRE, so it couldn't have been him.

If you're referring to FYEO, of course it was Blofeld. Saying it was just a random villain in a wheelchair was a coy move to keep McClory's lawyers off their back. There's a reason he has a bald head and they don't show his face, because those were character tropes associated with the character introduced by Eon.

[koberulz]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

If you're referring to FYEO, of course it was Blofeld. Saying it was just a random villain in a wheelchair was a coy move to keep McClory's lawyers off their back. There's a reason he has a bald head and they don't show his face, because those were character tropes associated with the character introduced by Eon.

Of course, but any specific mentions of Tracy would have got lawyers involved right quick.

But as has been pointed out above, I was thinking of the wrong film.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by koberulz

Of course, but any specific mentions of Tracy would have got lawyers involved right quick.

Not Tracy, just Blofeld. Tracy's grave (as Teresa Bond) is seen during the same sequence of FYEO.

[captainsolo]

Originally Posted by adamclark83

What i don't understand is why they changed the ending music in Thunderball when Bond and Domino are lifted up out of the inflatable? It was great how it was.

It’s one of the changes made in the second mix presumably by Peter Hunt who loved slipping in the original JB theme where possible much to Barry’s consternation. No one knows why this was done but I can only guess as it is for the seemingly second US/International mono mix that it was for running better under the altered end credits roll that removed the OHMSS mention.
I was so used the the JB theme ending that the Thunderball instrumental threw me the first time I heard it. Now it is the definite proper conclusion to my ears. Barry also did a Goldfinger instrumental end credits piece heard on the soundtrack that was replaced by a reprise of the theme song.

Originally Posted by larrythefatcat

I'm just now learning (as far as I can remember) about this different music; although I knew about the abrupt cut at the end being due to the credits originally saying "James Bond will return in On Her Majesty's Secret Service" but that snow-related production difficulties forced OHMSS to be pushed back in favor of an adaptation of You Only Live Twice, so editor Peter Hunt suggested (and implemented) a quick fade right as the Monty Norman credit scrolls into view.
I'm finding some varying sources saying slightly different things, but supposedly (according to some schmoe who uploaded some "trivia" on IMDb) the original John Barry music was used on international release prints and the UK widescreen VHS release, but that the "James Bond Theme" replacement was how the original UK (well, at least British) prints were during initial theatrical release... along with older US VHS releases. There's also at least one laserdisc with the original Barry music at the end, but without the "Chateau Flight" track during an underwater fight... just Foley effects. I know the '92 US VHS didn't have the underwater scoring, but I don't know which music was at the end of that tape. EDIT: It looks like YouTube user DevTheMan uploaded the ending and it also has the Barry music.
I went back to the (Region 1) Ultimate Edition DVD of Thunderball with the "original English mono" track and it sure enough has the James Bond theme at the end, so I guess that's how the original theatrical audio must have been... or at least what EON Productions wants everyone to think.

OHMSS was planned a few times. Some initial prints of Goldfinger were rumored to have the credit as well. Unfortunately the Thunderball end credits have never been restored and still remain abrupt.
There were two mono mixes done in 1965 for some reason. They contain a number of differences like the end music and a few more bits not shown in the official clip John Cork made. I’ve tried to pin this down for years but the best I can surmise is that due to the extreme post production rush that it was decided at some point to have a tweaked mix for the wider international release.
Every video release used the first mono mix A ending in the Thunderball theme in some form until the 1995 Laserdisc boxset with a stereo remix. This MGM remix became the basis for everything else save the 2006 Ultimate Edition DVD. They slipped Barry’s stereo score into the audio stems but apparently were working from Mix B that ended in the JB theme. The end result was the 2.0 surround and later 5.1 upmix of this expanded stereo of Mix B.

The 2006 UE is a weird beast. The 5.1 is a new remix that uses incorrect Barry cues in places and the mono seems to be a new transfer mixing together elements from both Mix A and B. It’s a real head scratcher why this occurred.
The Blu-ray seems to revert to the MGM stereo remix in 5.1 but the “mono” labeled track isn’t the proper mono it seems to be a downmix of the stereo remix.

[captainsolo]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

Not Tracy, just Blofeld. Tracy's grave (as Teresa Bond) is seen during the same sequence of FYEO.

Exactly. McClory only had rights to the Thunderball story, SPECTRE and Blofeld. Which wasn’t really fair as Jack Wittingham got nothing and the best sections in the book were Fleming original material.

This got EON into trouble when McClory started announcing the various Warhead projects in starting in 1975. Any possible mention of Spectre-ish things would send McClory into legal claims. TSWLM was originally all about SPECTRE and had to be changed from Blofeld to Stromberg.
(Maibaum had a brilliant idea for a very politically prescient Spectre story on Spy that would have been amazing but sadly was never to be.)

[BrickWaters]

Originally Posted by captainsolo

Exactly. McClory only had rights to the Thunderball story, SPECTRE and Blofeld. Which wasn’t really fair as Jack Wittingham got nothing and the best sections in the book were Fleming original material.

This got EON into trouble when McClory started announcing the various Warhead projects in starting in 1975. Any possible mention of Spectre-ish things would send McClory into legal claims. TSWLM was originally all about SPECTRE and had to be changed from Blofeld to Stromberg.
(Maibaum had a brilliant idea for a very politically prescient Spectre story on Spy that would have been amazing but sadly was never to be.)

McClory was threatening to make a rival James Bond series with his Thunderball rights but wouldn't every Bond movie he made have to be a remake of Thunderball? He had the screenrights to Bond, but only from TB, he had the rights to SPECTRE and Blofeld but only from TB. He couldn't take those characters into other stories which would make a series rather pointless.

[captainsolo]

Originally Posted by BrickWaters

McClory was threatening to make a rival James Bond series with his Thunderball rights but wouldn't every Bond movie he made have to be a remake of Thunderball? He had the screenrights to Bond, but only from TB, he had the rights to SPECTRE and Blofeld but only from TB. He couldn't take those characters into other stories which would make a series rather pointless.

That is correct. He would've been remaking iterations of the Thunderball story over and over. That was his plan if any of the Warhead scripts had been shot.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by captainsolo

OHMSS was planned a few times. Some initial prints of Goldfinger were rumored to have the credit as well.

Not a rumour. The original UK release of Goldfinger in September of ‘64 announced OHMSS as the next film. It was changed for the US release in December that year.

Originally Posted by BrickWaters

McClory was threatening to make a rival James Bond series with his Thunderball rights but wouldn't every Bond movie he made have to be a remake of Thunderball? He had the screenrights to Bond, but only from TB, he had the rights to SPECTRE and Blofeld but only from TB. He couldn't take those characters into other stories which would make a series rather pointless.

Yes. Exactly. Didn’t stop McClory from trying though, at one point even going so far as to claim that making movies featuring James Bond was his idea first so he should have all the rights. That’s what prompted the lawsuits, Eon were keeping him in check.

[adamclark83]

While listening to La La Land Record's new complete score of Tomorrow Never Dies last night, it made me notice things:

1. How did Elliot Carver manage to ring Bond on his mobile after the printing press fight?
2. When Bond returns to his hotel and finds Paris dead, no one searches him so he could have simply pocketed the encoder in his coat instead of leaving it in the car which would've made Carver's men trying in vain to gain entry to it even funnier and futile.

[david_blu]

Originally Posted by adamclark83

While listening to La La Land Record's new complete score of Tomorrow Never Dies last night, it made me notice things:

1. How did Elliot Carver manage to ring Bond on his mobile after the printing press fight?
2. When Bond returns to his hotel and finds Paris dead, no one searches him so he could have simply pocketed the encoder in his coat instead of leaving it in the car which would've made Carver's men trying in vain to gain entry to it even funnier and futile.

I do like that soundtrack but have both versions of the TND soundtrack cd, one with the bike chase music and one with the David Arnold interview.
Now if LaLa went back to the beginning and started with Dr. No then they would have my attention. I have the MGM SE cds for all the films up to Goldeneye but they are a bit dated and not particularly clean.

I wonder what Giles Martin's instrument separation software could do with the James Bond Theme. Could we now finally get a stereo version of the Monty Norman version?

On the questions, I like the second idea, would be funny if after all the messing with the car, JB just shows the guy in the hotel room, look I have it here you nitwits.

[BigShotCritic]

Does anyone here know why several Bond movies got 2015 individual releases but not 2020 individual releases? FRWL, Goldfinger, DAF, TMWTGG, GoldenEye, TWINE, and DAD. And now some of those 2015/2020 style releases with the white bottoms are hard to find new, which is annoying for me, who has started collecting the pre-Craig Bonds and I prefer that style very much.

It can't be a demand problem, because Goldfinger and GoldenEye are two of the more popular Bonds. Is it something to do with MGM ditching Fox as their home video distributor? Thanks for any help, and Merry Christmas!