12 replies to this topic

[Lotman]

I've tried to wade through various long threads on the internet, but I never found a comprehensive and detailed listing. Could someone perhaps give an overview of all the issues that the Bond blu-rays have, and more specifically:

 

- Which previous issues have been corrected and which have not been?

(I'm thinking about the UE DVD problems with color, e.g. the swimming pool in Thunderball or the day/night scene in OHMSS, the framing/zooming issues like on GoldenEye, but also about the burnt-in vs subtitled vs missing captions.)

 

- What are the differences between the US and European (and French, UK) blu-rays - which should I buy? I'm in Europe so I prefer to buy them here, but if I understand correctly, some of the US blu-rays contain the original audio, for instance. Which of the European releases have removed the original audio?

 

- I suspect, regarding censorship, everything has been solved?

Only Casino Royale is problematic? Does the new UK blu-ray solve all problems, or should I be on the look-out for any older 3-disc French or Dutch release?

 

etc.

 

Thanks very much in advance!

[Lotman]

Anyone, please?

[SecretAgentFan]

I believe the Blu Ray-box set is hugely enjoyable and that you can´t find better versions at this point.

[Rufus Ffolkes]

The swimming pool scene in Thunderball has been corrected. The opening beach scene in OHMSS has been changed, though some critics argue that it still isn't red enough. Goldeneye is no longer zoomed, though the blu appears to be taken from an older master with a bit too much digital noise reduction. Subtitles on all the films are correct now. The one film I'm aware of that still has issues is AVTAK - the picture is a bit zoomed/cropped and the earthquake shot has been mistakenly stabilized.

 

The North American discs all have the original mono or stereo audio, in addition to the remixes. I believe the European sets don't - at least not on all titles.

 

Despite a few issues, the blu-rays are overall far and above any other video versions.

[glidrose]

How about too much red in LALD's credits?

 

One reissue of MR had too much yellow in the print so that it looked faded.

 

And there were a number of problems with TB suggesting that a master was not used but a poor quality, scratchy print.

 

I assume the muted color timing on YOLT has been fixed.

 

And to the original poster, thanks for starting this thread. I was about to start one myself.

[wakeup37]

The swimming pool scene in Thunderball has been corrected. The opening beach scene in OHMSS has been changed, though some critics argue that it still isn't red enough. Goldeneye is no longer zoomed, though the blu appears to be taken from an older master with a bit too much digital noise reduction. Subtitles on all the films are correct now. The one film I'm aware of that still has issues is AVTAK - the picture is a bit zoomed/cropped and the earthquake shot has been mistakenly stabilized.

 

The North American discs all have the original mono or stereo audio, in addition to the remixes. I believe the European sets don't - at least not on all titles.

 

Despite a few issues, the blu-rays are overall far and above any other video versions.

 

The earthquake shot has been mistakenly stabilized? That's hilarious, if somewhat unfortunate!

[Bond... Raybond]

Casino Royale in the UK is now uncut, joining LTK, GE and TND in their entirety.

[Gav]

GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies still contain BBFC and MPAA cuts made during the post-production process; changes which were incorporated into the final theatrical release print. This footage is not restored in any of the DVDs and Blu-rays and never will be. But they are as uncut as you are going to get.

[Rufus Ffolkes]

How about too much red in LALD's credits?

 

One reissue of MR had too much yellow in the print so that it looked faded.

 

And there were a number of problems with TB suggesting that a master was not used but a poor quality, scratchy print.

 

I assume the muted color timing on YOLT has been fixed.

 

And to the original poster, thanks for starting this thread. I was about to start one myself.

 

LALD credits have been fixed. MR looks very good. TB is odd - there is some film damage that isn't present on the remastered DVD, but it still looks very good. YOLT is muted, but if you search around the internet, you'll find someone has gone to the trouble of colour-correcting the release and creating a "technicolour" version.

[Lotman]

Many, many thanks for all the replies!

 

Subtitles on all the films are correct now.

 

So, I hope you mean, all the captions are now burnt-in as they were originally? (And not replaced by subtitles anymore.)

 

The North American discs all have the original mono or stereo audio, in addition to the remixes. I believe the European sets don't - at least not on all titles.

 

Am I correct in assuming this affects all releases up to and including Licence to Kill? So from GoldenEye onwards, the European BRs have the original audio, too, I assume.

[Rufus Ffolkes]

So, I hope you mean, all the captions are now burnt-in as they were originally? (And not replaced by subtitles anymore.)

 

They're either burnt-in, or they've been carefully recreated to match the original look. They no longer have that ugly, player-generated look. At least with respect to the English versions.

 

Am I correct in assuming this affects all releases up to and including Licence to Kill? So from GoldenEye onwards, the European BRs have the original audio, too, I assume.

 

On the North American discs, yes. The original mono or stereo tracks are there from DR to LTK. Everything post GE was already 5.1. But the European sets do not have original tracks for all titles:

 

http://www.007magazi...nd50_review.htm

 

Not all the films have their original soundtrack available as an option..If you buy the UK BOND 50 set you cannot hear the original soundtracks for Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, Live And Let Die, The Man With The Golden Gun, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only and Licence To Kill. The titles new to Blu-ray in the BOND 50 set do have the option to choose between a fake DTS 5.1 remix or the original soundtrack as released theatrically.

Edited by Rufus Ffolkes, 20 March 2014 - 06:46 PM.

[Gav]

So, I hope you mean, all the captions are now burnt-in as they were originally? (And not replaced by subtitles anymore.)

They're either burnt-in, or they've been carefully recreated to match the original look. At least with respect to the English versions.

I'm sorry, but unless they've got the exact font and colour and managed to fade in/fade out the captions, the original look has not been carefully recreated, as far as I am aware. I can check the discs on Region A but the UK discs may be different. I know the UE DVDs had some player generated/missing subtitles, but not sure if this is corrected on all of the Blu-rays in every territory.

[Lotman]

Am I correct in assuming this affects all releases up to and including Licence to Kill? So from GoldenEye onwards, the European BRs have the original audio, too, I assume.

 

On the North American discs, yes. The original mono or stereo tracks are there from DR to LTK. Everything post GE was already 5.1. But the European sets do not have original tracks for all titles:

 

http://www.007magazi...nd50_review.htm

 

Not all the films have their original soundtrack available as an option..If you buy the UK BOND 50 set you cannot hear the original soundtracks for Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, Live And Let Die, The Man With The Golden Gun, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only and Licence To Kill. The titles new to Blu-ray in the BOND 50 set do have the option to choose between a fake DTS 5.1 remix or the original soundtrack as released theatrically.

 

 

This is very helpful, thanks very much for posting that link and list!