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James Bond on Blu-ray/4K

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  • StamperStamper
    Posts: 387
    Isn't it still viewable on Apple TV?
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,551
    Not in Canada, at least.
  • RyanRyan Canada
    Posts: 692
    It was on an Amazon Prime add-on in Canada briefly but nevertheless it will be nice to have a permanent copy.
  • Scaramanga1974Scaramanga1974
    Posts: 728
    Extras look pretty rubbish on blu ray release. No commentary or Dan Craig doc. Shame on you EON.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    edited November 2021 Posts: 8,188
    DraxCucumberSandwich wrote: »
    Sorry if this has been asked before on this thread

    Does anyone have an opinion on the 4k versions of the older movies available on Apple? Are they in anyway an improvement on the Blu rays? Were they all mastered into 4K just for Apple? That would seem extraordinary if they were. And do they have any HDR ..:?
    If the pre-Craig movies do get released on 4k disc, I’m guessing they’ll all have a new bespoke mastering, with all the bells and whistles - Dolby Vision, Atmos etc

    They’re also available on Amazon Prime and Vudu. The old films don’t have HDR yet. That might not happen until a physical release happens as it did with the Craig films.

    Overall, I think they are an improvement over the blu-rays.

    Dr. No (1962)
    From Russia with Love (1963)
    Goldfinger (1964)
    Thunderball (1965)
    You Only Live Twice (1967)
    On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
    Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
    Live and Let Die (1971)
    The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
    The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
    Moonraker (1979)
    For Your Eyes Only (1981)
    Octopussy (1983)
    A View to a Kill (1985)
    The Living Daylights (1987)
    Licence to Kill
    GoldenEye (1995)
    Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
    The World is Not Enough (1999)
    Die Another Day (2002)
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    MakeshiftPython wrote: »

    They’re also available on Amazon Prime and Vudu. The old films don’t have HDR yet. That might not happen until a physical release happens as it did with the Craig films.

    Overall, I think they are an improvement over the blu-rays.

    Thanks for this. Those screen grabs are really fascinating. The extra fidelity on the 4k vs blu-rays is definitely pretty clear. I still think I’ll hold off on watching 4k until the physical versions with HDR are available however.

    The difference in colour grading / tinting (not sure the correct technical term here) is an eye opener. What is going on with the laserdisc’s? They have some surreal colour filters going on. Look how red faced Bernard Lee is in the Dr No laserdisc lol.
  • ShakenNotStirredShakenNotStirred
    Posts: 1,398
    Stamper wrote: »
    Isn't it still viewable on Apple TV?

    I recently purchased the whole digital 4K set from Apple TV and you can still rent NTTD from there in Canada.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    The laserdiscs were based off of actual film prints, so those are supposed to be the color timing of the films. Or at least the best that the films could look on that format.
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    That’s really interesting . So they have effectively changed the look of the old films for all the subsequent media releases. I mean, generally, based on those screen caps, it looks like the right thing to have done. But is it controversial among film buffs?
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    edited November 2021 Posts: 8,188
    Every film that’s remastered from the original negatives (which inherently has the best picture quality compared to prints) is essentially a new color timing. As long as the remastering is done in a way that looks mostly truthful to the original look I think everyone is fine with it. The worst examples I can think of are the original blu-ray/DVDs of the Star Wars trilogy where Lucas fiddled with the colors so badly in the remastering process. When time came to make new 4K prints, he made sure the colors looked closer to the originals. And thank goodness too, because I could never watch those special editions with the garish colors.
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    I’ve not yet picked Jon the 4k Star Wars discs. Maybe for Christmas, but I keep holding out with hope that the original theatrical releases will one day come out. It’s Holy Grail stuff at this stage…
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    They’ll probably never be released. J.J. Abrams even asked if they ever would and it was no. My guess is that Lucas blocked Disney from releasing the theatrical cuts.

    Thankfully, there are fans out there doing excellent jobs putting out 4K copies of the theatrical cuts. That’s probably the best we’ll ever get.

  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,551
    DraxCucumberSandwich wrote: »
    I’ve not yet picked Jon the 4k Star Wars discs. Maybe for Christmas, but I keep holding out with hope that the original theatrical releases will one day come out. It’s Holy Grail stuff at this stage…

    There was a DVD box set that came out years ago with the theatrical releases on them, but they're very small on the screen (can't remember the proper term for it).

    Nice to have that, at least.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    Yeah those were the 2006 DVDs. The theatrical cuts were presented as “bonus features”.
  • ShakenNotStirredShakenNotStirred
    Posts: 1,398
    NickTwentyTwo wrote: »
    DraxCucumberSandwich wrote: »
    I’ve not yet picked Jon the 4k Star Wars discs. Maybe for Christmas, but I keep holding out with hope that the original theatrical releases will one day come out. It’s Holy Grail stuff at this stage…

    There was a DVD box set that came out years ago with the theatrical releases on them, but they're very small on the screen (can't remember the proper term for it).

    Nice to have that, at least.

    Non-anamorphic, I believe.
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    I have those DVD’s (or had rather, I’ve lost ROTJ).

    I recall it’s a really long thin squished picture
  • StamperStamper
    Posts: 387
    The 4K versions are great, the only problem is they are not in sync with the Blu-ray due to the different MGM logo at the beginning, and they miss the original opening distributors logo.
    Some of those like OHMSS are a little hot, some may need to be redone before going HDR/DV, we'll see how it happens when they plan 4K releases.
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    I just had a quick scoosh on Amazon, and it seems that here in the U.K. it’s only the normal HD versions of the movies available, even the Craig ones.
    Strange, especially considering Amazon are getting their clutches into Bond.

    Maybe Apple have some kind of exclusivity deal in the U.K. , or maybe it’s just a simple oversight by Amazon, or they can’t be bothered to put them up.
    Or maybe they are deliberately keeping them off their streaming service until the new masters are done for the discs. That would be odd to be U.K. only though, and wouldn’t explain the absence of the Craig movies in 4k
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    MGM does have some current deal with Apple. That’s why they had Being James Bond exclusively.

    Likely to let expire so that Amazon gets full rights in the near future.
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    That makes sense. Even more reason to hold out until the discs are available.
    I do have Apple TV on my PS5 but not sure how good the quality is for movies .I get the impression it’s not as good as my TV inbuilt apps for Prime and Netflix.. Dolby Vision on Netflix is insanely good.
    The newer movies on Prime, especially 4k ones, are phenomenal, so I’m looking forward to catching NTTD again in a few days. The problem is some slightly older movies. They are advertised as HD but you put them on and there can be all sorts of picture cropping to make it fix the screen. Saving Private Ryan and Minority Report looked like old TV broadcasts
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    Those two movies are super grainy by design.
  • RyanRyan Canada
    Posts: 692
    My understanding is that 4K in general can make grain more noticeable because of the increased detail. I gather that this is not in error but is in fact more faithful to the original film prints whereas 1080p transfers often got completely cleaned up. It probably varies by film.
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    I know they are grainy by design. Minority Report looks like it was filmed with Vaseline over the lense….
    What I mean is that I don’t think I was getting the correct aspect ratio, and some of the picture seemed was cropped. Assuming they are widescreen movies: I had no black bars and the picture, which seemed more pulled than I remember, was filling the entire screen
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    SAVING PRIVATE RYAN is 1.85, but MINORITY REPORT is supposed to be 2.39 so it should be widescreen. Which streaming service cropped it?
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    Amazon Prime (U.K.)
    I’ve just checked to make sure I wasn’t misremembering and nope, it’s definitely cropped.
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    (But it seems I stand corrected on Saving Private Ryan)
  • StamperStamper
    Posts: 387
    Isn't it open matte? No crop, extended image top and bottom.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    I’d have to compare to find out. That’s how it’s done sometimes. BEVERLY HILLS COP 2 was open matte on HBO Max last time I watched.

    I checked out MINORITY REPORT on Paramount+, it’s in its original 2.39 AR.
  • DraxCucumberSandwichDraxCucumberSandwich United Kingdom
    Posts: 208
    Open matte means you’d get more image on the TV than in the theatre right? That seems a strange way to go about things
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    edited November 2021 Posts: 8,188
    DraxCucumberSandwich wrote: »
    Open matte means you’d get more image on the TV than in the theatre right? That seems a strange way to go about things

    The bonus is that the image isn’t cropped but open. That’s why Stanley Kubrick opted for open matte for his films on home media so that there was no cropping business (as he learned from his experience with 2001 being cropped on televisions).

    Still not sure if that’s what’s going on with MINORITY REPORT, but the film was shot via Super 35, so it’s possible there’s an open matte version.
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