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As for the widescreen bits at the beginning: It was common among Fox tapes to present the credits in widescreen before hard cutting to P&S. I think they did that with the original Star Wars VHS, where after the opening crawl and the star destroyer pass it reverts to P&S with the blockade runner coming at the screen. However, TESB and ROTJ start with the crawl squeezed instead of widescreen, which was also a common practice on P&S.
This reminds me of a discussion on one of the Blu-ray review forums regarding the Coppola DRACULA. Fans were disappointed when the 2007 Blu-ray release was color timed radically different from the previous DVD and Laser-disc. In fact the darker contrast of the Blu-ray was much truer to the cinematic prints.
Back in the '90's new movies released on VHS were often timed much brighter than the release prints. I'd say GE received that treatment as well.
I'm very fascinated by the different video formats and transfers of the Bond films in comparison to the original release prints. Back in the days of VHS I'd collect the different editions and whenever a Bond film played at a local cinema, I'd immediately pop in those tapes and compare. I'd also adjust the settings on my television to match the film.
There was an odd THUNDERBALL VHS release that was missing the "Harry Saltzman and Albert R Broccoli present Sean Connery" credit. The sequence played without the lettering until the film's title appeared. That was part of the 1993/93 remastered edition series.
I should track down the CBS/Fox LTK and compare. I distinctly recall the film looking much more dirty in the cinema than the Blu-ray. The titles were timed differently as well. That tape omits the LARK label as Bond is planting the explosive under Sanchez's window. I tend to think MGM/UA Home Video used the same transfer for their 1995 pan and scan release. They looked quite close.
For some reason I distinctly remember TLD getting the same treatment with the titles rearranged, but have only seen it on TBS airings. I could never find a VHS copy that did that, as they all had the titles preserved in widescreen for DN-TLD for later editions.
I have the first LD copy of FYEO by FOX, and they simply squeezed the titles which made the images distorted, making the women look taller and thinner.
Only other LDs I have are the Criterion Collections of DN, FRWL, and GF (with the EON banned commentaries), the MGM TB and TLD. Might not collect more though.
I'm pretty sure the 1992 remastered edition VHS for TLD had pan and scan titles.
The CBS/Fox title sequences for TSWLM and AVTAK were widescreen with blue bars instead of black.
I remember the squeezed version of the FYEO titles. The Locque death scene looks different in the various transfers. The CBS/Fox version had a much brighter, early morning look whereas the Blu-ray had a darker blue hue. Wish I could recall what that scene looked like in the cinema.
The Nile river scene in SPY was color timed blue for the 1992 VHS tape. Other transfers had a golden sunset. That's one film I've caught in the cinema quite a few time now. I think the Blu-ray version might be closer to the theatrical prints than how it was remastered by Lowry for the UE DVD.
But yeah, the blu-ray remaster for TSWLM is not only truer to the theatrical presentation but it especially looks much more authentically 70s with the use of diffusion filter and creamy tones. The artificial sharpening and coloring of the UE DVD made it look more dated than it was, as if it came off of a 1950s print with its harsh look.
Some of the Blu-rays look great. Others I think are lacking. I saw a 35mm print of YOLT screened a few years ago and the colors were much closer to the CBS/Fox version and the MGM/UA Home Video "Connery Classics" tape from 1988.
The Blu-ray on that film looks a bit muted.
On the blu-ray, in the first clip of Bond driving with Aki you can see the black levels on the foreground not matching correctly with the composited background. It really bugged me when watching it for the first time because it only made the obvious bluescreen more obvious. Only way to fix that is lower the black levels on your TV setting, but that would cause crushing on anything else you watched. Also, the black levels overall on the film seem too high to the point the black bars look darker than the black area on the “Welcome to Tokyo” shot.
So of course that was the first thing I looked at on the 4K copy, and thankfully the black levels look much more natural, and the issue I mentioned on the bluescreen nighttime drive is no longer there.
I’ll have to compare the color timing between the blu-ray and 4K next.
Anyway, I think within the next three weeks you should be able to pre-order the 4K Ultra-HD Craig Collection on Amazon:
It's been awhile since I've listened to them, but it contains remarks by filmmakers regarding certain persons. I believe at one point it's Peter Hunt who once refers to Fleming as being a snob.
EDIT: Here's a link to Spy Command laying out some of the stuff said that Cubby may have not been too happy about being put out there. It's also worth looking into the comments on that page as they're written by notable Bondphiles like John Cork. They're very interesting in that they comment on how EON was extremely protective more so during the late 80s/early 90s.
https://hmssweblog.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/the-banned-007-commentaries-what-was-the-fuss/
Also you can download the commentary mp3 files here: http://www.the007dossier.com/post/2011/04/21/Banned-James-Bond-Commentaries
MGM DVD 2000
FOX BD 2012
iTunes 4K 2017
MGM DVD 2000
FOX BD 2012
iTunes 4K 2017
MGM DVD 2000
FOX BD 2012
iTunes 4K 2017
MGM DVD 2000
FOX BD 2012
iTunes 4K 2017
MGM DVD 2000
FOX BD 2012
iTunes 4K 2017
MGM DVD 2000
FOX BD 2012
iTunes 4K 2017
MGM DVD 2000
FOX BD 2012
iTunes 4K 2017
MGM DVD 2000
FOX BD 2012
iTunes 4K 2017
MGM DVD 2000
FOX BD 2012
iTunes 4K 2017
MGM DVD 2000
FOX BD 2012
iTunes 4K 2017
MGM DVD 2000
FOX BD 2012
iTunes 4K 2017
Generally speaking the color temperature on YOLT and some of the other Bonds are far more warm in the cinematic prints. The YOLT Blu-ray gives it a much cooler palette.
In addition, the PTS outer space effects are more believable in the film print, probably due to the contrast. Reminds me of the 35mm prints of SUPERMAN in which the effects are better obscured than, say the VHS or DVD releases. No wires in sight on film.
That makes sense. In certain flying shots Reeve wore a turquoise blue costume since for the blue screen effects. I remember the initial DVD color corrected those shots to the traditional blue uniform. In the cinema, the greenish hue wasn't quite so noticeable regardless. SUPERMAN IV on the other hand is a different story.
One of the first things I look for when viewing a Bond on film is how the gunbarrel looks. The shades of blood vary on the DVD and Blu-rays. IMO, none quite get the red exact.
It's getting better, though.
On film, Binder's blood looked rich and thick. Also the hue is uniform from film to film. Kind of difficult to describe, but with even the scratchiest, crummiest print of, say TB, the gunbarrel blood still looks good.
With the exception of GE, the newer films do tend to get the look right when released on DVD or Blu-ray. The blood in GE was much darker on 35mm than any VHS, DVD or Blu-ray release I've seen.
He tweaked the image a bit to suit each film. I especially love OHMSS and DAF. Some transfers of DAF give the gunbarrel a very bluish tint. I actually think the Blu-ray does justice to the image from my memory.
Anytime I've seen these films on the big screen, the blood looks more or less the same. When it encompasses the screen for those few seconds it's very impressive. It's a prefect shade of red: not too bright, not too bleeding. No hint of orange, maroon or any other color.
I saw a SPY and MR double feature a few years ago and the gunbarrel looked great on both films. Neither Blu-rays got the blood looking quite right to me.
Oddly, I think the hue of the SP gunbarrel blood looks a bit closer to the way Binder's blood looked on film, except just a tad more enhanced and thicker.
Apple TV user here, and no subscription fee is needed. I’ve been buying the Bond movies gradually on iTunes (since they rarely go on sale). It’s a terrific device and the quality of streaming 4K movies from the iTunes store is excellent. There are rumors of a new Apple TV being announced during Apple’s event in the next couple days, so I’d hold out until then just in case they’re about to launch a new unit.
That is very enlightening. Makes me want to compare my old DVD with the BR, to see if there´s really that much difference in the colours.
In any case, YOLT doesn´t seem to be that film that invites me to go for 4K.
But before I get to that, I'm gonna be posting screencaps from GOLDFINGER very soon. Sources will be: The 1991 Criterion LaserDisc, the 1999 SE DVD, the 2006 UE DVD, the 2008 Blu-ray, and of course the 2017 iTunes 4K digital.
You could say I'll be achieving a miracle in a new field of human endeavor!
You´ll be achieving a miracle in a new field of human endeavor, @MakeshiftPython!
______
@MakeshiftPython how did you take those iTunes screenshots? I've tried taking screenshots from iTunes on my Macbook, but all I get are these gray squares.
Mankind has achieved miracles in every field of human endeavor, EXCEPT CAPS!!!
It looks to me for the SE DVD (based off a new print that was made for the 30th anniversary, which was first made available on LaserDisc) that MGM cranked up the colors a bit, almost to give the film a more golden sheen to it (for this flick? Go figure!). For the UE Lowry then reverts the colors back to a more naturalistic appearance, though a bit on the dull side. 4K looks much more vibrant, no longer having the reddish skin tones of the BD.
And seriously, thank goodness we're at a time seeing proper aspect ratios, after the shifting seen in 90s home media.
1991 Criterion LD
1999 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1991 Criterion LD
1999 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1991 Criterion LD
1999 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1991 Criterion BD
1999 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1991 Criterion LD
1999 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1991 Criterion LD
1999 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
iTunes has a DMR restriction that won't let you take screencaps downloaded videos. However, they don't restrict you from taking screencaps while streaming videos, so that's how I was able to capture the images.