6 replies to this topic

[[dark]]

Hi everyone,

 

So I’ve thus far held off on buying the Bond films on Blu-ray, but I’m currently tempted to pick up them up on iTunes (they’re on sale as a bundle this week).

 

I’ve been off the forums for a little while, so my question is this: is there any reason why I should avoid buying them on iTunes? Aside from the fact Blu-ray is slightly better quality…

 

(For instance, I remember when the Bond films were remastered years back there were some issues with the presentation of the title sequences… anyone know if these were subsequently fixed?)

 

Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

[bond_azoozbond]

Those iTunes bonds are similar to the 50 years collection. I downloaded them because I traveled and left all my bond collection back home .. I started watching my bond marathon on my iPad.. Yah they also updated them recently with extras , so the content now is exactly similar to the Bluray ones ..

[larrythefatcat]

Do iTunes movie releases include commentaries? Maybe I'm in the minority, but I *love* to listen to the filmmakers, other crew and actors talk about their experiences and their intentions while I'm doing other things.

 

The best Bond commentaries (from the Criterion LDs) aren't officially available, but the other ones have their moments. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed all of the Roger Moore solo commentaries when I listened to them just shy of 9 years ago... it's been THAT long!?

[[dark]]

Yep, there are commentaries for Dr No through Die Another Day on iTunes. The extras for those films appear to be the same as the current Blu-ray releases. The iTunes extras for the Craig films are lighter on, though, with no commentaries and only brief featurettes (except for the Bond Girls are Forever documentary with Casino Royale).

[larrythefatcat]

Yep, there are commentaries for Dr No through Die Another Day on iTunes. The extras for those films appear to be the same as the current Blu-ray releases. The iTunes extras for the Craig films are lighter on, though, with no commentaries and only brief featurettes (except for the Bond Girls are Forever documentary with Casino Royale).

 

There were commentaries for 'Casino Royale' (including a "Visual Commentary") and 'Skyfall' (and I'm still patiently waiting for Marc Forster's MIA 'Quantum' Commentary to rear its head)... so, unsurprisingly, I'll stick with the "Ultimate" Blu-ray collection + the "Collector's Edition" 'Casino Royale' release and the 'Die Another Day' DVD release for having as many extras as possible.

 

The only extra I think is cool that isn't included in the "Ultimate" set would be the "Textless Title Sequences" that were included with the "Ultimate Edition" DVD releases and the first Blu-ray releases... not a total dealbreaker, but still disappointing that they weren't included from "Bond 50" on.

 

I forgot there was an updated version of "Bond Girls Are Forever" for 'Casino Royale' (after doing some research, I see it was included with the initial DVD/Blu-ray releases of 'Casino Royale')... I still have the DVD of the original 2002 version that was packed with 'Die Another Day' at some retailers.

Edited by larrythefatcat, 24 October 2015 - 03:50 AM.

[[dark]]

 

Yep, there are commentaries for Dr No through Die Another Day on iTunes. The extras for those films appear to be the same as the current Blu-ray releases. The iTunes extras for the Craig films are lighter on, though, with no commentaries and only brief featurettes (except for the Bond Girls are Forever documentary with Casino Royale).

 

There were commentaries for 'Casino Royale' (including a "Visual Commentary") and 'Skyfall' (and I'm still patiently waiting for Marc Forster's MIA 'Quantum' Commentary to rear its head)... so, unsurprisingly, I'll stick with the "Ultimate" Blu-ray collection + the "Collector's Edition" 'Casino Royale' release and the 'Die Another Day' DVD release for having as many extras as possible.

 

It’s a shame the Inside Die Another Day documentary has been absent ever since the original DVD release; for my money, it’s the best Making-Of documentary for any Bond film since Licence to Kill (the last of the Bonds to get the Patrick Macnee-narrated Inside… treatment).

[han4bond]

To answer the OP, the title sequences on the Bond 50 Blu-rays are slightly squeezed (2.20:1 rather than 2.35:1 for most movies), and I think the iTunes versions are likely to be the same.  However, it just adds a little black space to the left and right of the picture, and I personally don't find it very noticeable.