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Comments
I think I prefer the SE DVD for this film. The newest transfer looks pretty decent as well.
Doing these screencaps really highlighted to me how much paler his complexion got as the movies moved forward, so of course the magenta tinting hits him hardest!
Can't see myself getting a 4K TV/player anytime soon though, so it will be a while.
I used to constantly tweak the tint on my old RCA television just to get Christopher Reeve's Superman cape to look right. Sometimes that would sacrifice the flesh tones and result in a more pinkish skin tone. Same with the gunbarrel blood.
What I'm most curious about comparing is TSWLM. Lowry remastered it for UE DVD (from a video master like TMWTGG), but that remaster was abandoned in favor of an in-house remaster by MGM on blu-ray. Luckily, screenmusings.com actually has UE caps, so I'll be able to include that transfer on the comparisons.
Going from DVD to 4K is a revelation. I never had the Batman Begins Bu-ray. I upgraded straight from the DVD to 4k. Holy hell, the sheer updraft in quality physically cast me back
That's the impression I get, and as a film fan it's something I'm curious about. But I'm a film fan on a budget, and a 4K "investment" is way more expensive that what I can afford to spend. Unfortunately…
The widescreen LaserDisc for TMWTGG is incredibly hard to find for sale online, so I wasn't able to obtain it for screencaps. Regretful, because I wanted to see how it looked compared to the SE DVD, as those old DVDs sometimes went overboard on color boosting and I wanted to see if that was the case for TMWTGG.
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
I didn't forget this point you made @ToTheRight , and you're correct! There's more blue on the LD transfer, with the SE DVD going for a more golden look overall, and the UE (Lowry using the same video master for their remaster). The MGM remaster for the blu-ray and 4K seem to go for a middle ground, looking the most natural with the sea carrying some blue while reflecting the golden hue of the sunset, and Sir Roger's white shirt remaining white.
This series of transfers is what I was most interested in. The SE DVD, like TMWTGG, seemed to have been artificially color boosted, and the contrast and brightness seem much duller compared to all the other transfers. You just have to look at the snow, it doesn't have that natural blue-white hue. Seems Lowry tried to fix the issues of the first DVD for their remaster and while they got closer they didn't quite succeed 100%. Then comes in blu-ray and looks like a revelation. That Ken Adam set with the subs looks GORGEOUS. Wallpaper material. Of course, as it seems to be for all these blu-ray titles so far, there's that magenta push. Looks like that wasn't just a Lowry thing but possibly MGM? However it got there, it's no longer present in the 4K, making it the best TSWLM ever looked on home video.
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2012 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2012 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2012 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2012 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2012 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2012 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2012 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2012 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2012 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2012 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2006 UE DVD
2012 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
I have the very first LD copy that was manufactured in 1982, and the scene is much brighter than the Lowry remaster. However, I'm also reminded of a very similar thing that happened with STAR WARS. On the early VHS and LD releases, the scene where R2 is being captured is set in broad daylight. When Lucas remastered the film in 1993 and put out the THX "Definitive Edition" LD and VHS copies, the scene was given a darker hue to appear as dusk. This was way before his more revisionist 1997 Special Edition and other changes made with each format.
It's also worth noting that the scene with Loque meeting his demise is supposed to be set right after the raid, which started off as dark in the early morning. So having a darker hue to make it look like dawn makes sense for continuity, but I'm not sure if that's what was in theaters and home video simply forgot to apply that filter, or if it was something done only by Lowry in their remaster. I just checked the 4K and it's identical to the blu-ray. This is something I think could only be answered by anyone that has recently seen a print screening. And yes, I'll even include the screencaps of that LD. It may be pan & scan, but it was the first brand new Bond first to come out on home video, and I believe the first ever on home video before the other films came along later that year and the following.
Interesting how the 1990 LD has the bluish sunset on the Nile. I recall the 1992 "remastered" VHS edition looking similar whereas the CBS FOX VHS copy had a golden sunrise and the 1988/89 "Moore Classics" MGM/UA Home Video version looked a bit pinkish. I'm actually feeling the Blu-ray more or less has the colors right going by my memory of seeing this on 35mm a few years ago.
For some reason I tend to be more drawn to the earliest video and LD transfers in terms of color. If I were to track down a VHS copy of STAR WARS, I'd probably want one of the earliest versions in spite of it being pan and scan. I remember being disappointed in the colors when the trilogy was re-issued in '97. Those versions looked very muted to me.
I seem to remember RETURN OF THE JEDI being very bright in the cinema back in '83.
The Special Edition from 97 was actually fairly close to the theatrical version color-wise, but starting with the 2004 DVD remaster it was given a more muted look overall and did not even bother referencing the original color timing. Supposedly by 2004 Lucas wanted to have his original trilogy match with the digital color timing of the prequels, which explains why they radically look different on DVD and Blu-ray. I didn't even bother getting the OT on blu-ray because it looked so wrong.
LD 1989
LD 1993
SE LD 1997
DVD 2004
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2009 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
Currently at work, but once I have the time I’ll post those samples and probably work backward at all other title sequences I never really took captures of.
Looking forward to this one. I'm curious what the Locque death scene looks like in the different versions.
This was another Bond film I got to see on the big screen some time back for a Bondathon.
I must note for the first cap I used VLC Media Player's aspect ratio adjustment feature to stretch image horizontally to 2:35, as the image was originally squeezed for 4:3 TVs to fit the entire sequence even though it makes everyone look anorexic thin.
So we have the first LD being very green. There's a shift in color with the second 1990 LD. The 1999 SE DVD seems to go way overboard with the color veering towards blue/purple, and then the Lowry remaster takes a step backward to bring back some of the green of the earlier releases, as if to serve as a middle-ground between the last LD and the first DVD. MGM's 4K remaster seems to stick with Lowry's coloring, though it looks a tad darker.
1982 20th Century Fox LD P&S
1990 MGM LD
1999 MGM SE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
Going by what I've seen of MGM's 4K remaster of TMWTGG and FYEO, it seems they used Lowry's video remaster for color reference, so color-wise they shouldn't look too different from the BDs. The biggest difference though is clarity. Coming from an actual 4K source, the later Bond titles look more filmic than they previously have due to the inherent limits of the old video masters. The films with Alan Hume as DP will still look soft as that's how they were shot, which I always suspected was a way to hide Moore's apparent aging.
Quite fascinating how different those titles look. Hard to believe how different the '99 SE DVD looks to the others. I wonder why that version was so blue/purple?
I actually do remember reading complaints back when the UE DVDs came out, of the colors in title sequences not looking right compared to the SE (as well for OHMSS and LTK). Will be interesting to look into those later.
I remember the title card shot for OHMSS with the purple background looking different in the various DVD and VHS versions. Some more purple and others more blue.
On the FYEO title card I'm surprised how green most versions are. I'd guess the LD might be the most accurate simple because Sheena's flesh tone looks more natural in that transfer. Hard to say, though. Been 20 years since I've seen that one on film.
1982 20th Century Fox LD
1990 MGM LD
1999 MGM SE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1982 20th Century Fox LD
1990 MGM LD
1999 MGM SE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1982 20th Century Fox LD
1990 MGM LD
1999 MGM SE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1982 20th Century Fox LD
1990 MGM LD
1999 MGM SE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1982 20th Century Fox LD
1990 MGM LD
1999 MGM SE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1982 20th Century Fox LD
1990 MGM LD
1999 MGM SE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1982 20th Century Fox LD
1990 MGM LD
1999 MGM SE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1982 20th Century Fox LD
1990 MGM LD
1999 MGM SE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
1982 20th Century Fox LD
1990 MGM LD
1999 MGM SE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
And to cap it all off, here's the last of our mysterious drinking man. If you look into the Kennedy assassination footage, he's supposedly among the crowd.
1982 20th Century Fox LD
1990 MGM LD
1999 MGM SE DVD
2008 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
Those are wonderful. I'm thinking in the cinema, Loque's death wasn't so darkly lit. The Blu ray and 4K are incredibly dark.
2012 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K
I should have a full comparison of OP coming very soon. I'm just waiting for an LD copy to be delivered today so I'll make caps out of that transfer.
On YouTube there's a brief clip from a 16mm copy of OP. The bit where Bond and Octopussy are strolling along at her palace. The colors are radically different to the DVDs and Blu-ray. The flesh tones are quite saturated and Octopussy's blue dress really pops. It then cuts to to the scene with Q and Vijay "We won't see him till dawn". The night shot of the palace is quite deep in contrast.
That's it!
Even the swimming pool looks more vibrant there than on the Blu-ray.
1990 MGM LD
2000 SE DVD
2012 FOX BD
2017 iTunes 4K