James Bond on Blu-ray/4K

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Comments

  • Posts: 60
    ToTheRight wrote: »
    ToTheRight wrote: »
    So I am new to the Community. And this is a long thread. So this may have been brought up earlier in the thread. If so, I'm sorry for repeating it.

    But I have the Bond 50 blu ray box set. I purchased this in 2012 for the 50th Anniversay and it had the space in the book for "Skyfall".

    I already had all the DVD's. And so I wanted to upgrade to blu-ray and full 1080p.

    I was very happy with the set. Although removing the discs is always a cause for concern as there is always the fear you will damage the disc.

    But really I just wanted the crystal clear HD in 1080p. And the films all looked amazing.

    However, the extras and "The Mission Dossier: The Making of..." features (as narrated by Patrick MacNee) a few of them (I don't recall which, off the top of my head) have some sort of glitch. When you watch them some of them are just a little tiny square in the middle of the screen.

    I didn't notice this immediately as the Mission Dossier's were all on the DVD's. So I had watced them all. And the fact that they are like this wasn't enough for me to return it. Even though it was likely too late by the time I noticed.

    Has anyone else noticed this? Was there a batch with the glitch. Did they attempt to replace the discs? Is everyone copy like this or did they fix it on later releases?

    Welcome to the forums, @Universal_Exports83. I've got the Blu-ray set that was released around the time of SPECTRE.
    I believe a handful of those documentaries got an upgrade for the Blu-rays enchancing the images for 16:9 televisions. Some of them didn't and ended up in the old 4:3 format. Thus you get the bars on the sides (as well as the tops for scope clips).

    Thank you @ToTheRight

    Usually the 4:3 format has the side bars on 16:9. These ones do have the top bar as you described. So the picture is very small. I can't off the top of my head think of which ones were like this (I think, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and A View To A Kill). But not all of them are this way. Which made me think it was a glitch. I guess they just got bored upgrading them or ran out of time before the release?

    I'm glad they've corrected it. Although I just bought Spectre and No Time To Die on seperate blu-rays. I doubt I'll buy the blu ray set that was released around Spectre.

    Probably no point in double dipping, though I do love the 2015 Blu-ray set.
    A bit disappointing several of those INSIDE documentaries didn't get the upgrade. Might've been costly to redo all of them. I find special features done today a bit lacking. CR aside, the extras on the Craig era films aren't as lavish.

    I'm have mixed feelings about it. I love the package and outer box of that set. But I do prefer the look of the Bond 50 set. And the booklets they come in are really nice. The second one is much more compact though. And though the 2 books in the Bond 50 are really nice. The slots are really tight and card and there is always the fear removing and replacing the discs.
  • Posts: 60
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Yes, after a while it seems like the only reason to buy any new sets, past upgrading in format, is just for a cool looking case or cover art. I don't even double dip on steelbooks anymore, I just don't look at them enough to justify the extra purchase, but I did love a few of those Best Buy steelbooks years back enough that I had to pick some of them up.

    The steelbooks look great (from Zavvi here in the UK) but I just can't justify paying the price for them when the disc inside is exactly the same. And having them already on blu ray and DVD. And I already had a few of the blu ray releases before Bond 50 then I wouldn't pay for the steelbooks just for a duplicate copy. Even though the steelbooks look fantastic.
  • Posts: 15,785
    ToTheRight wrote: »
    ToTheRight wrote: »
    So I am new to the Community. And this is a long thread. So this may have been brought up earlier in the thread. If so, I'm sorry for repeating it.

    But I have the Bond 50 blu ray box set. I purchased this in 2012 for the 50th Anniversay and it had the space in the book for "Skyfall".

    I already had all the DVD's. And so I wanted to upgrade to blu-ray and full 1080p.

    I was very happy with the set. Although removing the discs is always a cause for concern as there is always the fear you will damage the disc.

    But really I just wanted the crystal clear HD in 1080p. And the films all looked amazing.

    However, the extras and "The Mission Dossier: The Making of..." features (as narrated by Patrick MacNee) a few of them (I don't recall which, off the top of my head) have some sort of glitch. When you watch them some of them are just a little tiny square in the middle of the screen.

    I didn't notice this immediately as the Mission Dossier's were all on the DVD's. So I had watced them all. And the fact that they are like this wasn't enough for me to return it. Even though it was likely too late by the time I noticed.

    Has anyone else noticed this? Was there a batch with the glitch. Did they attempt to replace the discs? Is everyone copy like this or did they fix it on later releases?

    Welcome to the forums, @Universal_Exports83. I've got the Blu-ray set that was released around the time of SPECTRE.
    I believe a handful of those documentaries got an upgrade for the Blu-rays enchancing the images for 16:9 televisions. Some of them didn't and ended up in the old 4:3 format. Thus you get the bars on the sides (as well as the tops for scope clips).

    Thank you @ToTheRight

    Usually the 4:3 format has the side bars on 16:9. These ones do have the top bar as you described. So the picture is very small. I can't off the top of my head think of which ones were like this (I think, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and A View To A Kill). But not all of them are this way. Which made me think it was a glitch. I guess they just got bored upgrading them or ran out of time before the release?

    I'm glad they've corrected it. Although I just bought Spectre and No Time To Die on seperate blu-rays. I doubt I'll buy the blu ray set that was released around Spectre.

    Probably no point in double dipping, though I do love the 2015 Blu-ray set.
    A bit disappointing several of those INSIDE documentaries didn't get the upgrade. Might've been costly to redo all of them. I find special features done today a bit lacking. CR aside, the extras on the Craig era films aren't as lavish.

    I'm have mixed feelings about it. I love the package and outer box of that set. But I do prefer the look of the Bond 50 set. And the booklets they come in are really nice. The second one is much more compact though. And though the 2 books in the Bond 50 are really nice. The slots are really tight and card and there is always the fear removing and replacing the discs.

    The artwork on on the Bond 50 was a bit nicer, IMO. There was a phase after that for Bond releases to use simple white cover art. Rather bland. Mine is a white cover art release.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Yes, after a while it seems like the only reason to buy any new sets, past upgrading in format, is just for a cool looking case or cover art. I don't even double dip on steelbooks anymore, I just don't look at them enough to justify the extra purchase, but I did love a few of those Best Buy steelbooks years back enough that I had to pick some of them up.

    The steelbooks look great (from Zavvi here in the UK) but I just can't justify paying the price for them when the disc inside is exactly the same. And having them already on blu ray and DVD. And I already had a few of the blu ray releases before Bond 50 then I wouldn't pay for the steelbooks just for a duplicate copy. Even though the steelbooks look fantastic.

    You and I both, absolutely. It's just not worth any price when it'll instantly go on my shelf and will be rarely appreciated as a result. I only double dip anymore for a really, really proper edition of a film, like that Midsommar 4K (the only copy you could get at the time and maybe even still) direct from A24. Worth every penny.
  • edited July 2022 Posts: 60
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Yes, after a while it seems like the only reason to buy any new sets, past upgrading in format, is just for a cool looking case or cover art. I don't even double dip on steelbooks anymore, I just don't look at them enough to justify the extra purchase, but I did love a few of those Best Buy steelbooks years back enough that I had to pick some of them up.

    The steelbooks look great (from Zavvi here in the UK) but I just can't justify paying the price for them when the disc inside is exactly the same. And having them already on blu ray and DVD. And I already had a few of the blu ray releases before Bond 50 then I wouldn't pay for the steelbooks just for a duplicate copy. Even though the steelbooks look fantastic.

    You and I both, absolutely. It's just not worth any price when it'll instantly go on my shelf and will be rarely appreciated as a result. I only double dip anymore for a really, really proper edition of a film, like that Midsommar 4K (the only copy you could get at the time and maybe even still) direct from A24. Worth every penny.

    As has been mentioned elsewhere on the thread. The difference in picture quality between DVD's and blu ray is night and day. Seeing the lush picture in full HD is something to behold. When DVD's first became available I purchased them voraciously. And I was kinda sceptical (and a bit bummed) about having to replace them with blu rays. But when I started buying blu ray's they were clearly vastly improved. And a much better viewing experience than a DVD. So while I didn't purchase them at the pace I did DVD's. I slowly built up my collection. But honestly, as has already been said. I don't notice much of a difference between the 4K UHD and blu ray's. Certainly not enough to double dip and/or replace my blu rays. And in fact I only own 2 4K UHD's. If something new comes out then yeah. But I don't think I'll be replacing my blu ray copies. Unless there is something else added to them besides cool cover art.
  • DwayneDwayne New York City
    Posts: 2,600
    Unless a new release really has something new to offer (i.e., picture quality, extras, enclosed essays, etc..), we have (IMO) reached the point of diminishing returns on new BOND DVDs/Blu-Rays. And while I’m willing to make an exception for a Criterion or “Criterion like” blu-ray/4K release of DN, at this point, I rather spend my limited funds on something else.
  • Posts: 60
    Dwayne wrote: »
    Unless a new release really has something new to offer (i.e., picture quality, extras, enclosed essays, etc..), we have (IMO) reached the point of diminishing returns on new BOND DVDs/Blu-Rays. And while I’m willing to make an exception for a Criterion or “Criterion like” blu-ray/4K release of DN, at this point, I rather spend my limited funds on something else.

    I don't really have anything else to add to this.

    Except to say "spot on". I completely agree 👍
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    I upgraded to 4K several years ago and will probably stop there. I'll never have the money for a really proper home theater or anything of the sort so I imagine this is as good as it's going to get. Even still, I don't upgrade everything I own on blu-ray, since it seems we're at the point where just because something's in 4K doesn't mean it's objectively the best version available, which is depressing because it was absolutely the case for DVD-to-BR transfers.
  • DwayneDwayne New York City
    Posts: 2,600
    @Creasy47 : An interesting take on the 4K vs. Blu-Ray debate.

    TVs Are Too Good Now Why does Home Alone look better than the latest Marvel fare on the most advanced displays?

    https://www.vulture.com/2022/07/4k-tv-cgi-review.html
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    Dwayne wrote: »
    @Creasy47 : An interesting take on the 4K vs. Blu-Ray debate.

    TVs Are Too Good Now Why does Home Alone look better than the latest Marvel fare on the most advanced displays?

    https://www.vulture.com/2022/07/4k-tv-cgi-review.html

    Thanks for that article, it's an interesting read so far. I love Eggers' comments, how indies shockingly end up looking better than giant blockbusters that utilize a bunch of CGI (including how he was essentially forced to do so for The Northman and wants to close his eyes when those moments appear).
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,000

    However, the extras and "The Mission Dossier: The Making of..." features (as narrated by Patrick MacNee) a few of them (I don't recall which, off the top of my head) have some sort of glitch. When you watch them some of them are just a little tiny square in the middle of the screen.

    I didn't notice this immediately as the Mission Dossier's were all on the DVD's. So I had watced them all. And the fact that they are like this wasn't enough for me to return it. Even though it was likely too late by the time I noticed.

    Has anyone else noticed this? Was there a batch with the glitch. Did they attempt to replace the discs? Is everyone copy like this or did they fix it on later releases?

    I can clarify this. The Inside docs that were remastered in 1080p were for the titles that were released back in 2008/2009 in four volume packs. The following titles released were:

    Oct 2008:
    Vol. 1: DN, LALD, DAD
    Vol. 2 FRWL, TB, FYEO

    Mar 2009:
    Vol. 3 GF, MR, TWINE
    Vol. 4 TMWTGG, LTK, QOS

    By 2009, the US economy was taking a big hit and MGM ran into money trouble with massive debt that lead to them filing for bankruptcy. Any following volume packs, as well as a Collector’s Edition for QOS (which ultimately never saw the light of day) were unfortunately delayed for about three years. This is what also caused the delay of SF by four years.

    After MGM was saved, the remaining Bond films (YOLT, OHMSS, DAF, TSWLM, OP, AVTAK, TLD, GE, TND) would finally debut on blu-ray on September 2012. However, because the Inside Docs were not properly remastered for them, we only got the ports from the 1999/2000 Special Edition DVDs. Better than nothing, but it’s still too bad they never got their due.
  • brinkeguthriebrinkeguthrie Piz Gloria
    Posts: 1,400
    OK, dumb question here. This is going to be on Blu Ray. Do they ever do these cool things in regular DVDs?
    https://007store.com/collections/james-bond-new-arrivals/products/dr-no-60th-anniversary-special-edition-with-steelbook-blu-ray
  • Creasy47 wrote: »
    Dwayne wrote: »
    @Creasy47 : An interesting take on the 4K vs. Blu-Ray debate.

    TVs Are Too Good Now Why does Home Alone look better than the latest Marvel fare on the most advanced displays?

    https://www.vulture.com/2022/07/4k-tv-cgi-review.html

    Thanks for that article, it's an interesting read so far. I love Eggers' comments, how indies shockingly end up looking better than giant blockbusters that utilize a bunch of CGI (including how he was essentially forced to do so for The Northman and wants to close his eyes when those moments appear).

    This is a question that has always interested me: why CGI from decades ago can look better than some of the CGI you see today. The CGI in Jurassic Park, for instance, looks significantly better than a good deal of CGI in movies from the early 2000s (and even a fair amount of movies from today). The CGI in much of Marvel's Phase 4 looks noticeably shoddier than the CGI in Phases 1-3. Is it the quality of the talent involved? The budget? The amount of time they have?

    In Marvel's case, surely they have the budget more than covered at this point. Which makes me wonder if they just aren't allotting the proper amount of time to bring the CGI up to quality with how much content they're producing and how quickly. There were reports that Aquaman 2 was delayed by months for visual effects work. That says something about the amount of time quality CGI requires. I imagine going through a 2 to 3-hour film frame by frame to turn all the CGI blurs you see into finely detailed visuals would be a painstaking process, but I really have no idea how it all works.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    I do wonder if we'll ever see the day where CGI is completely indistinguishable from real life footage.

    @brinkeguthrie, I think most of these special editions, steelbooks and whatnot are typically blu-ray/4K exclusive. I rarely see them for DVD anymore.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,000
    There’s been a lot of controversy over how Marvel treats its CGI artists with tight deadlines. For example, demanding they redo climaxes at the last minute because the filmmakers changed their minds about something. So that’s a big factor in why the CGI in most recent Marvels, particularly since COVID.
  • Posts: 2,887
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    I do wonder if we'll ever see the day where CGI is completely indistinguishable from real life footage.

    I sincerely hope not.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,000
    I think we’ve already reached that point. However, that doesn’t mean every f/x group can pull that off.

    My favorite example of CGI in Bond is at the Skyfall lodge where it’s used to replace backgrounds or details of the lodge like moss. It’s the subtle touches like that which demonstrates what a good tool CGI can be. Contrast that with how they tried using it in DAD where it was in your face and subpar.
  • Posts: 440
    This may be an error of course, but it looks like NSNA has also gotten a 4K Upgrade.
    8cxpqtl.png

    Sadly Casino Royale has not, yet.
    eMeHqOd.png


  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,000
    Not an error. I rented it a few months ago and it’s very much a newer 4K print.
  • QsCatQsCat London
    Posts: 251
    So I am new to the Community. And this is a long thread. So this may have been brought up earlier in the thread. If so, I'm sorry for repeating it.

    But I have the Bond 50 blu ray box set. I purchased this in 2012 for the 50th Anniversay and it had the space in the book for "Skyfall".

    I already had all the DVD's. And so I wanted to upgrade to blu-ray and full 1080p.

    I was very happy with the set. Although removing the discs is always a cause for concern as there is always the fear you will damage the disc.

    But really I just wanted the crystal clear HD in 1080p. And the films all looked amazing.

    However, the extras and "The Mission Dossier: The Making of..." features (as narrated by Patrick MacNee) a few of them (I don't recall which, off the top of my head) have some sort of glitch. When you watch them some of them are just a little tiny square in the middle of the screen.

    I didn't notice this immediately as the Mission Dossier's were all on the DVD's. So I had watced them all. And the fact that they are like this wasn't enough for me to return it. Even though it was likely too late by the time I noticed.

    Has anyone else noticed this? Was there a batch with the glitch. Did they attempt to replace the discs? Is everyone copy like this or did they fix it on later releases?

    It’ll just be the settings of your player. When watching the content, open up the options bar/menu and you’ll have some display/aspect ratio settings. Just cycle through the options, ‘Fit to screen’ should be the best one, and should still retain the proper aspect ratio.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    I think we’ve already reached that point. However, that doesn’t mean every f/x group can pull that off.

    My favorite example of CGI in Bond is at the Skyfall lodge where it’s used to replace backgrounds or details of the lodge like moss. It’s the subtle touches like that which demonstrates what a good tool CGI can be. Contrast that with how they tried using it in DAD where it was in your face and subpar.

    This is when CGI is most effective and impressive to me.

    And I don't know if I'm the only one but I've always been very, very impressed with the MI6 explosion in SF too. It looks really fantastic and realistic.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    I think we’ve already reached that point. However, that doesn’t mean every f/x group can pull that off.

    My favorite example of CGI in Bond is at the Skyfall lodge where it’s used to replace backgrounds or details of the lodge like moss. It’s the subtle touches like that which demonstrates what a good tool CGI can be. Contrast that with how they tried using it in DAD where it was in your face and subpar.

    This is when CGI is most effective and impressive to me.

    And I don't know if I'm the only one but I've always been very, very impressed with the MI6 explosion in SF too. It looks really fantastic and realistic.

    They should have done it for real.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,372
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    I think we’ve already reached that point. However, that doesn’t mean every f/x group can pull that off.

    My favorite example of CGI in Bond is at the Skyfall lodge where it’s used to replace backgrounds or details of the lodge like moss. It’s the subtle touches like that which demonstrates what a good tool CGI can be. Contrast that with how they tried using it in DAD where it was in your face and subpar.

    This is when CGI is most effective and impressive to me.

    And I don't know if I'm the only one but I've always been very, very impressed with the MI6 explosion in SF too. It looks really fantastic and realistic.

    They should have done it for real.

    Just a liiiittle light explosion at MI6, nothing major.
  • Posts: 60
    However, the extras and "The Mission Dossier: The Making of..." features (as narrated by Patrick MacNee) a few of them (I don't recall which, off the top of my head) have some sort of glitch. When you watch them some of them are just a little tiny square in the middle of the screen.

    I didn't notice this immediately as the Mission Dossier's were all on the DVD's. So I had watced them all. And the fact that they are like this wasn't enough for me to return it. Even though it was likely too late by the time I noticed.

    Has anyone else noticed this? Was there a batch with the glitch. Did they attempt to replace the discs? Is everyone copy like this or did they fix it on later releases?

    I can clarify this. The Inside docs that were remastered in 1080p were for the titles that were released back in 2008/2009 in four volume packs. The following titles released were:

    Oct 2008:
    Vol. 1: DN, LALD, DAD
    Vol. 2 FRWL, TB, FYEO

    Mar 2009:
    Vol. 3 GF, MR, TWINE
    Vol. 4 TMWTGG, LTK, QOS

    By 2009, the US economy was taking a big hit and MGM ran into money trouble with massive debt that lead to them filing for bankruptcy. Any following volume packs, as well as a Collector’s Edition for QOS (which ultimately never saw the light of day) were unfortunately delayed for about three years. This is what also caused the delay of SF by four years.

    After MGM was saved, the remaining Bond films (YOLT, OHMSS, DAF, TSWLM, OP, AVTAK, TLD, GE, TND) would finally debut on blu-ray on September 2012. However, because the Inside Docs were not properly remastered for them, we only got the ports from the 1999/2000 Special Edition DVDs. Better than nothing, but it’s still too bad they never got their due.

    Thank you @MakeshiftPython this makes some sense. Rather than it being a glitch. It's happened to me before with another box set. This time of the CD variety. But it was The Beatles Capitol Records Vol. 2. And the glitch was on "Rubber Soul". Where all early copies of the box set had fold down mono of the stereo album and not the true mono mixes. Which is of course the one I had. Sometimes it doesn't pay to pre-order and buy things immediately.

    I got sidetracked a little there. But thank you for letting me know. The fact that it's only the inside docs means I would be unlikely to buy a newer version just to get the inside docs in better quality. I probably couldn't be bothered with going through the hassle of posting them in for replacement copies if they were going to do that (obviously unlikely. That's the kind of thing they do if there is a glitch and it's spotted immediately. Not something that happens 10 years after the fact.)
  • gumboltgumbolt Now with in-office photocopier
    Posts: 153
    Hi, Can someone tell me if the current BluRay boxset sold in UK shops (DN to SP) contains any extras? Its a cheap set and I am worried that it will just be the movies. I own the Ultimate Edition DVDs from 2002 and have been meaning to upgrade the BluRay for ages. But I don't want to have films without extras, especially the "Inside" or making of documentaries. Can anyone tell me if the current UK box set would be suitable?
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 23,105
    In the UK we still don't get Bond 4K on Prime, I am jealous.
  • DCisaredDCisared Liverpool
    Posts: 1,329
    gumbolt wrote: »
    Hi, Can someone tell me if the current BluRay boxset sold in UK shops (DN to SP) contains any extras? Its a cheap set and I am worried that it will just be the movies. I own the Ultimate Edition DVDs from 2002 and have been meaning to upgrade the BluRay for ages. But I don't want to have films without extras, especially the "Inside" or making of documentaries. Can anyone tell me if the current UK box set would be suitable?

    There are two UK sets. One without and one with all the extras. The more pricey one has the same extras the bond 50 box set had (possibly more) and has black packaging rather than the cheaper white one.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited July 2022 Posts: 13,350
    If you've held out 7 years to complete your steelbook collection, you're in luck!

    Well, except Live And Let Die and Die Another Day.

  • Posts: 12,243
    Hopefully this means more news for more collections in the near future.
  • Posts: 60
    Samuel001 wrote: »
    If you've held out 7 years to complete your steelbook collection, you're in luck!

    Well, except Live And Let Die and Die Another Day.


    Those steelbooks from Zavvi look fantastic.
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