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

[suspiciouscoffee]

The fat cats just started adding zeroes to the check until the Broccoli’s said when. Not hard to imagine. I can’t even blame them, everyone has a price. When you’re dealing with a vampire like Bezos with more money than God, the game is over before it starts. That is unless a kid named Luigi interrupts the negotiations.

[koberulz]

Originally Posted by RegressiveScan

For this impasse to have been resolved so soon after, there must have been serious conditions placed on, and major concessions made by, Amazon.

The Broccolis are no longer involved, when the impasse was them trying to work together. There is no way it makes any sense for Amazon to have conceded anything in this scenario.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally posted by Pondosinatra in the Laserdisc thread:

Originally Posted by Pondosinatra

Came across this in my YouTube scrolling...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRY9rd_FQYc

And here's Part Two:

The BANNED James Bond LaserDisc Commentaries are SHOCKING! PART 2 - YouTube

Part Three:

The BANNED James Bond LaserDisc Commentaries are SHOCKING! PART 3 - YouTube

Part Four:

The BANNED James Bond LaserDisc Commentaries are SHOCKING! PART 4 - YouTube

Part Five:

The BANNED James Bond LaserDisc Commentaries are SHOCKING! PART 5 - YouTube

Part Six:

The BANNED James Bond LaserDisc Commentaries are SHOCKING! PART 6 - YouTube

This is easily a good 40-50% of the full commentaries, so I suggest you save these, especially if like me you're not fortunate enough to own the actual laserdiscs.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by suspiciouscoffee

The fat cats just started adding zeroes to the check until the Broccoli’s said when. Not hard to imagine. I can’t even blame them, everyone has a price. When you’re dealing with a vampire like Bezos with more money than God, the game is over before it starts.

It's funny that Amazon had the money to buy the Broccolis out of their stake in Bond, but not to do something with the thousands of other films MGM owns.

While there were some pretty bad Bond films over the years, as a whole the franchise has been solid, and I can't honestly say I've ever hated a Bond film, even the ones arguably considered the franchises nadirs (Moonraker, A View To A Kill, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day).

All I can say is that if the next Bond film really tanks ass, we'll know it was the Broccolis holding it together, and we'll know MGMazon is the ones who screwed it up.

Originally Posted by suspiciouscoffee

That is unless a kid named Luigi interrupts the negotiations.

[Marsupial Werewolf]

Wonder if this release is still forthcoming from Warner?

Part of me wishes Arrow would do these properly. Imagining a whole shelf of their big hardbox releases for these.

[Streamingsux]

On Her Majesty's Secret Service should really be included in this set. For a couple of reasons.

Really, it should be all the films from Dr.No to Die Another Day..

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by Marsupial Werewolf

Wonder if this release is still forthcoming from Warner?

Part of me wishes Arrow would do these properly. Imagining a whole shelf of their big hardbox releases for these.

I think this is the way to do it. One by one, so each film gets the attention they deserve. Jamming 20 films into one project was a bad idea. Jamming six into one project isn't much better. Anyone who's worked their way through the Blu-rays can verify this.

Besides, fully restored LEs of the Bond films on both formats can make way more money than multi-film sets, so I don't know why they don't do this.

Once again, MGM taking the quick, cheap route with what they consider to be their single greatest achievement. I just hope these are good, because I could write many an opus on the endless problems with the old Blu-rays. It would be a shame if those problems aren't solved, if old problems are solved but new problems are created, or even worse if the 4Ks are such a disaster that the Blu-rays are actually better. It's happened at least once before, where we had a good enough Blu-ray replaced by a horrible 4K, and there's always a chance a disaster like that could occur again.

[zakurowrath]

Originally Posted by Shane Rollins

I think this is the way to do it. One by one, so each film gets the attention they deserve. Jamming 20 films into one project was a bad idea. Jamming six into one project isn't much better. Anyone who's worked their way through the Blu-rays can verify this.

Besides, fully restored LEs of the Bond films on both formats can make way more money than multi-film sets, so I don't know why they don't do this.

Once again, MGM taking the quick, cheap route with what they consider to be their single greatest achievement. I just hope these are good, because I could write many an opus on the endless problems with the old Blu-rays. It would be a shame if those problems aren't solved, if old problems are solved but new problems are created, or even worse if the 4Ks are such a disaster that the Blu-rays are actually better. It's happened at least once before, where we had a good enough Blu-ray replaced by a horrible 4K, and there's always a chance a disaster like that could occur again.

This is something I wholeheartedly agree on, each film should get the time and effort for a proper 4K restoration one by one, nice rigid boxes with booklets containing artwork and scripts and more with bonus materials out the wazoo.

To this day I still have the special edition DVDs being I felt like MGM was giving them love and care on at the time the new DVD format, you had director commentaries, theater previews, radio programs, behind the scene documentaries and other extras, also the unique menus for each movie "please activate your navigation system now" I just loved them as a young Bond fan.

[Marsupial Werewolf]

Originally Posted by zakurowrath

This is something I wholeheartedly agree on, each film should get the time and effort for a proper 4K restoration one by one, nice rigid boxes with booklets containing artwork and scripts and more with bonus materials out the wazoo.

To this day I still have the special edition DVDs being I felt like MGM was giving them love and care on at the time the new DVD format, you had director commentaries, theater previews, radio programs, behind the scene documentaries and other extras, also the unique menus for each movie "please activate your navigation system now" I just loved them as a young Bond fan.

Those ultimate edition DVDs were wonderful for their day. I remember devouring all the extras back when I had all the time in the world (hardy har har).

I feel like the Bond movies haven't been given their due in the HD era. It's that weird thing that seems to always befall the valuable studio titles. Too valuable to be licensed to a boutique label and so you end up with wild scenarios where a movie like Staying Alive has an infinitely better 4K release than its predecessor, Saturday Night Fever.

But I digress. We're almost two months out from when these allegedly coming. Wonder if they're still on the docket or if they've somehow been licensed elsewhere.

[Driver78]

The Bond films will never be licensed. Moved around from distributor to distributor perhaps but never farmed out to a third party. I hope these supposedly upcoming sets will be worth picking up and aren't just repackagings but being that we still don't have concrete info on them yet, I'm not holding my breath this is even legit.

[Caprica_U-87]

with the rumor tweet of this sean connary 4k release being steel book only in a steel book case, my wallet is gonna hurt with this one.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Driver78

The Bond films will never be licensed. Moved around from distributor to distributor perhaps but never farmed out to a third party. I hope these supposedly upcoming sets will be worth picking up and aren't just repackagings but being that we still don't have concrete info on them yet, I'm not holding my breath this is even legit.

They've been licensed in the past, the first 3 were licensed to Criterion in 1991 for their laserdiscs.

I agree though, it's unlikely that would happen again.

That was in a period when the franchise was fallow, and declared dead by most.

[filmlover22]

Originally Posted by Caprica_U-87

with the rumor tweet of this sean connary 4k release being steel book only in a steel book case, my wallet is gonna hurt with this one.

The NOES 4k set is also a steel book only collection. What is with that? I know SOME people love steelbooks, but not everybody (personally, I loath them). And they also cost a lot more than standard blurays. I hope these studios will not gauge how well these sets are selling just based on the sales of steelbook editions. That would give a false impression of the demand in the market place, imho. I will wait until a non-steel book set comes out for any series.

[suspiciouscoffee]

I'm neutral on steelbooks, though I would imagine they could prevent the "off-gassing" seen in so many standard 4k cases. Otherwise, it makes them more money, simple as. Helps them recoup the losses they might otherwise face on, let's face it, a pretty niche collector's release.

I'll happily pay the steelbook tax if these are new restorations. If they're the old Lowry masters I'll probably pass. Either way, I hope we can learn for sure before the release date.

[Wonderfulworld]

Originally Posted by Streamingsux

On Her Majesty's Secret Service should really be included in this set. For a couple of reasons.

Really, it should be all the films from Dr.No to Die Another Day..

I'd be glad if I didn't have to pay for the ones after License to Kill in order to get the ones before that. I like most of the later ones too, but not so much that I'd want to pay for them again (I have all of them on blu, except the very last one by Craig which sucked). So dropping them this way, one boxset per Bond actor, is fine by me.

Her Majesty's should be included though, with the Connery or the (presumably upcoming) Moore set.

[Streamingsux]

Originally Posted by suspiciouscoffee

I'm neutral on steelbooks, though I would imagine they could prevent the "off-gassing" seen in so many standard 4k cases. Otherwise, it makes them more money, simple as. Helps them recoup the losses they might otherwise face on, let's face it, a pretty niche collector's release.

I'll happily pay the steelbook tax if these are new restorations. If they're the old Lowry masters I'll probably pass. Either way, I hope we can learn for sure before the release date.

I don't think they're the old Lowry masters. Pretty sure I heard that all of them were remastered a couple years ago..

[suspiciouscoffee]

Lots of people are pretty sure they have heard lots of things. My expectations are tempered for now.

[Marsupial Werewolf]

I've got the Superman set WB released in this style.

While the job WB did on those movies is debatable, the aesthetics of the set itself are lovely. Each steelbook has the original poster art, they look wonderful.

Hopefully WB can do that again (while nailing the tec specs, of course).

[Guydowood]

if WB is kind enough to use original key art on the Steels, then this will certainly move units based on the look. Of course specs are also key in if these will be fully restored or just the current remasters on the BDs. I think this collection will sell well regardless but begs the question about the remaining titles with Amazon owning the property now.

[Streamingsux]

Originally Posted by suspiciouscoffee

Lots of people are pretty sure they have heard lots of things. My expectations are tempered for now.

All of them are in 4K on iTunes. I haven't watched them but someone who I consider knowledgeable has and said that they are new (newer than the blu-ray transfers I mean....I think that they were done around 2021) and that that's the scans that will be on 4K disc. If you're able to check stuff out on iTunes you can look right now at what I've heard is going to be on the discs. I don't know how someone can point you to anything more substantial than that, presently. Maybe these are old news...maybe something has changed. But I don't understand why they'd continue to use the old Lowry masters when Dr.No thru Die Another Day have been remastered since then. If I'm mistaken, please correct me..