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

[Markgway]

[stonesfan129]

[Shim]

I've been working my way through these for a few weeks now & just watched Tomorrow Never Dies.

James Bond? Should be called James Bonk! Only in movie land has this man not caught an STD.

I laughed my way through the Roger Moore films, maybe because I'm an ageing Brit but maybe they're genuinely funny?! I tried to add comedy to the genre of 2 of them but was denied.

Jaws is my favourite villain. Absolutely hilarious & terrifying at the same time.

[Hammerlover]

Originally Posted by nico87

Not the worst indeed, I want to say it looks atrocious when compared to the 4K version which of course it would

I really hope we get an update from Shane!

Ever see the lad's postings in the CLOCKWORK ORANGE 4K thread? I'll just leave it there.

[SpaceBlackKnight]

I can confirm the 2015 reprint BD of Goldeneye (borrowed from a library interloan) uses a different master than the 2012 disc used in some earlier sets. The 2012 BD is based on the uncropped UE DVD/Lowry HD master (which was grain scrubbed, processed, and heavily cropped for the UE DVD and TV airings), while the 2nd reprint BD and some HD streaming versions at places like Amazon, Vudu, and Google Play/YT, appear to use a master that went back to the raw scans from before the Lowry processing. The reprint BD is grainy and resembles an older HD master like the one used for the 1997/2000 DVDs in terms of color and framing.

MGM did 4k remasters of most the 007s incld Goldeneye back in 2012-13 (sans the first 4 Connerys and TSWLM which had native 4k masters completed prior). These were first only used for screenings until 2017 when MGM decided to drop them all on digital retailers. All but the Daniel Craig's were finished SDR, so they'd have to redo 'em in HDR for any eventual (and mostly fuss free) 4k disc release.

Also, the reason why MGM refuses to licence the 007s to anyone is because Danjaq/Eon Productions strictly prohibits any 3rd party from producing new behind the scenes/retrospective materials and audio commentaries (all mainly due to the Criterion Laserdiscs with "banned commentaries" that made MGM and Eon pull their licences quickly).

[Geoff D]

Good lord. The 2012 Blu HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE LOWRY VERSION, "uncropped" or otherwise. The Lowry version seemed to use some sort of TV safe print as the titles had been reformatted, but the titles are back to how they should be on the Blu. The geometry is also verr different, not merely "uncropped" but with quite a pronounced vertical stretch. It's a completely different transfer to the Lowry UE DVD, it's just wasn't a new one at the time either.

There is no reprinted version of GoldenEye on Blu. There's the 2012, which has ALWAYS used that alternative master to avoid the botched Lowry attempt, and that's it. Anything else is dribble from overactive imaginations, but then I'm not surprised given the latest correspondent.

[dallywhitty]

The frustrating thing about all this is that GoldenEye does have a 4K master, it's just that it still hasn't made it to home video. C'mon, MGM, sort it out!

[Shane Rollins]

Jeez. The venom is strong with this one.

While admittedly I don’t have ripping software, what I did was look at the caps and play the first several minutes, and even pause the disc and move through the shots frame by frame. (When I have the time to do the whole movie, I will.) The transfer on the disc I have is different than the transfer on the original disc.

As for the original disc, it looks like ass. There’s no debate there. The original disc looks nothing like a 4K scan of a negative. (Unless it’s a James Cameron joint, in which case it looks exactly like a 4K scan of a negative.) There had to be a remaster, but if the Lowry transfer never made it to Blu, when was this transfer done and where did it come from?

It’s certainly a “good by comparison” transfer, but I make no bones about it, you guys getting the proper Blu-ray is really a bandaid for the real problem, which is it’s time for a proper restoration of this and the other Bond movies.

And as for the whole Fox/WB debate, I put every detail I could in the description since I wanted the set to be as identifiable as possible. I knew as soon as I saw the new WB logo next to the 2015 and 2016 dates that this set came from much later. So the remaster had to occur when Bond was still being released by Fox, since for all intents and purposes this is a Fox disc.

While I know that WB has been doing Bond and other MGM releases for several years now, I’m honestly not sure how much of this is WB. At the very least, they didn’t do the remaster or the layout or authoring. That’s not up for debate. What I honestly wonder is whether WB manufactured the discs or not, since this is basically a Fox disc in a WB case.

[Markgway]

Originally Posted by Shane Rollins

While admittedly I don’t have ripping software, what I did was look at the caps and play the first several minutes, and even pause the disc and move through the shots frame by frame.

You don't need ripping software to take caps.

Any media player will do it.

[nico87]

Originally Posted by Shane Rollins

Jeez. The venom is strong with this one.

The anti-venom (and I'm taking a wild guess here), could be that you would present actual image evidence of the original disc versus the one you have?

I'd certainly be apologizing profusely (for real) if there were indeed 2 masters released on Blu-ray.

But surely you can see that you are offering *zero* material evidence to back up your claim, therefore many of us here, me included, think you are talking nonsense.

[david_blu]

Originally Posted by Shane Rollins

Jeez. The venom is strong with this one.

While admittedly I don’t have ripping software, what I did was look at the caps and play the first several minutes, and even pause the disc and move through the shots frame by frame. (When I have the time to do the whole movie, I will.) The transfer on the disc I have is different than the transfer on the original disc.

As for the original disc, it looks like ass. There’s no debate there. The original disc looks nothing like a 4K scan of a negative. (Unless it’s a James Cameron joint, in which case it looks exactly like a 4K scan of a negative.) There had to be a remaster, but if the Lowry transfer never made it to Blu, when was this transfer done and where did it come from?

It’s certainly a “good by comparison” transfer, but I make no bones about it, you guys getting the proper Blu-ray is really a bandaid for the real problem, which is it’s time for a proper restoration of this and the other Bond movies.

And as for the whole Fox/WB debate, I put every detail I could in the description since I wanted the set to be as identifiable as possible. I knew as soon as I saw the new WB logo next to the 2015 and 2016 dates that this set came from much later. So the remaster had to occur when Bond was still being released by Fox, since for all intents and purposes this is a Fox disc.

While I know that WB has been doing Bond and other MGM releases for several years now, I’m honestly not sure how much of this is WB. At the very least, they didn’t do the remaster or the layout or authoring. That’s not up for debate. What I honestly wonder is whether WB manufactured the discs or not, since this is basically a Fox disc in a WB case.

Take a camera shot of the TV showing the same scene would be a great start to help illustrate your point. Once we can see a difference someone will pick it up and do all the ripping stuff. Just give us a breadcrumb to start this off.

[Fat Phil]

Originally Posted by david_blu

Take a camera shot of the TV showing the same scene would be a great start to help illustrate your point. Once we can see a difference someone will pick it up and do all the ripping stuff. Just give us a breadcrumb to start this off.

I'm betting that breadcrumb is already moldy. And getting moldier by the minute.

[JohnCarpenterFan]

I find this all very hard to believe. So a remastered or significantly improved Blu-ray of GoldenEye has been out in the wild for years and people are only just finding out?

I assume it's this release from 2020 that's being discussed:



If you click on the Amazon link for the above, it states that the studio is WB. I would have assumed that it would be the exact same content-wise as the release below albeit with WB being mentioned on the packaging or stickers.

[mjjckc]

Ok I'll bite. Bought the collection with the WB branding last year. GoldenEye in my laptop drive says authored in 2012.

[stonesfan129]

Received the "Pierce Brosnan Collection" Blu-ray box. This is from 2020, distributed by WB. The Blu-ray of GoldenEye in here looks 100% exactly the same as the one in my Bond Blu-ray box from 2015 (the one shown above). This does not appear to be any different than the original disc from 2012. Well luckily I am still within the Amazon return window.

[JudgeJuryExecutioner]

I just got my James Bond Collection from Amazon (sale). My box nor outer wrap did not have the red sticker:






Goldeneye: 20th Century Fox upon startup.

[Flexicon9]

When the MGM HD Channel still existed in its original incarnation on cable television, they actually broadcast an alternate transfer of On Her Majesty's Secret Service in HD. This was not the Lowry version you see on the Blu-ray. You know that one because of the odd color-timing and sub par remixed audio. This was several years ago now, and that channel went away. MGM+ took over Epix and MGM HD Channel.. so certain cable systems still carry MGM+ but it's all very different now. Anyway, fans of OHMSS realize the Blu-ray has many problems. The sunrise vs. sunset shots were screwed up with the weird colors and the blown out whites are way too hot. The film was not presented this way back when the SE DVD first arrived in those original DVD box sets. So when MGM HD Channel happened to broadcast an HD version of the film, I dvr'd it. The MGM logo appeared in the lower corner of the widescreen HD presentation. I had noted this at the time on another forum...
"MGM HD Channel is airing On Her Majesty’s Secret Service this month… here’s what’s interesting though… It’s not the Lowry master they are using. There’s a small amount of dirt on the transfer and the opening credit sequence is NOT window boxed. I’ve never seen this print shown anywhere except MGM HD. Most importantly, the contrast isn’t blown out like the Blu-ray. The whites are not clipping and hot on this broadcast. This transfer appears to be sourced from the same master as the SE DVD and seems identical but in high definition. The original audio sounds intact and not remixed…"
Now I don't know why the MGM HD Channel broadcast this alternate HD presentation of OHMSS, but it did happen. It was not pristine, as you could see the speckles and dirt just as they appeared on the SE DVD. I assume the source was the same. The audio did not appear to my ears to be poorly mixed, but I'm not sure what the origins of this transfer were. Perhaps MGM had it sitting in a vault somewhere, completely separate from anything Lowry did later. The presentations were night and day (compared to the incorrect Blu-ray) and any fan could see the colors were just like the SE DVD and the sound was not sub par.. at least to my ears. The beautiful shadows the cinematographer intended were still present in the MGM presentation vs. the Blu-ray which makes the whole film way too bright. That Lowry transfer is just not my cup of tea. Hopefully a restoration for UHD is on the horizon but I guess that's hoping for too much. I was lucky enough to have that MGM broadcast on a dvr for many years, but my understanding is that some fan restorations have been done with the laserdisc audio, etc..

[stonesfan129]

Why won't MGM just remaster these for 4K Blu-ray properly? Give it to Kino Lorber or Arrow.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by stonesfan129

Why won't MGM just remaster these for 4K Blu-ray properly? Give it to Kino Lorber or Arrow.

Because they don't have complete control over the movies. The Broccoli family owns half of James Bond, and MGM owns the other half.

[Shane Rollins]

This is bizarre.

While I admittedly have pretty shitty technology on my end (phone that barely works, no disc drive), this still doesn't explain how this happened. My disc looks nothing like the caps. Everyone's getting this set and saying it's the same disc.

I don't get it.

If I truly do have the original disc (which I still think they're different), how is it that it looks so wildly different on my TV than it does on everyone else's?