[proposal] 007 Purist Redux

[nirbateman]

I can't be too sure about color grading, as there isn't much difference in the grading itself between the digital editions.
The LD's though show some difference between editions, especially for the early films.

I only saw the LD's for the first 3, and there are some differences that can be explained by the difference in film prints, and I think that someone who has some can answer that question better.

[captainsolo]

The simple answer is, that outside of having definite references there is no way to determine the accuracy of Lowry work and/or the BDs. Several BDs have either gone back to older masters (GE), used different sources without the Lowry tinkering (TB, YOLT, OHMSS, DAF) or been an entirely new scan for a previously video sourced film (TSWLM).

Technically they are the best available.

From a purist standpoint they aren't necessarily the best. Despite the warts of the format, the LDs are still my go-to and as evidenced from the Tech IB Dr. No print from 007 Dossier, the closest match is the Criterion LD (and MGM disc using the same print). Additionally the LDs feature the untouched original soundmixes, some of which are either remixed ore somewhat neutered in their lossy presentation on BD.

Here's a quick rundown to summarize, much like the purist Disney list:
DN: Criterion CAV LD for best color, MGM letterboxed LD (Connery collection or 1994 single reissue) for slightly better transfer quality and best source for the original mono. BD good but not like original color exactly, and evidence has been suggested of degraining and fake grain. This also goes for FRWL and GF.
FRWL: MGM letterboxed LD. Criterion uses different and more damaged print so it is useful for a more vintage look.
GF: 1995 CAV box for best color and sound. However the Criterion's different color is likely a possible IB print and it remains the only release to have the opening song in the film mix as mono PCM. Also the Criterion has a few frames snipped out of every successive release for damage.
TB: 1989 letterboxed Laserdisc best overall despite having a touch too much red in skin tones. 1995 CAV box for alternate sound mix and slightly remastered image. BD quite good but color isn't exactly right, and it shows infrequent damage marks/lines.
YOLT: 1989/1992 letterboxed LDs for better color as the BD still does not quite look as colorful as it should be. Older masters have yellow and reds but these may not be correct. SE DVD took this to an extreme. LD for sound hands down.
CR: letterbox LD for mono PCM, SE DVD for better presentation of same transfer and exclusive extras. BD for HD master, but the 5.1 is a remix of the mono with the stereo score inserted.
OHMSS: LD is perfect and uncut. BD too bright and could use some of the LD color I think. LD sound absolutely.
DAF: Same as above. Too bright, could use some color from the LD. LD sound.
LALD: reissued 1993 LD is gorgeous with the best sound presentation. BD fixes UE issues and is pretty good but I don't think they got all the color tones quite right.
TMWTGG: again, BD has great detail but looks as if were colored with modern tendencies. letterboxed LD is a must with mono PCM and a great transfer. To me this one has always been as if it were actually photographed with a golden cast.
TSWLM: BD to the rescue, but there is some teal and the coloring is not perfect. 1991 letterbox LD needed for original matrix audio mix. The reissue LD remixed the track so it is different for both PCM and 5.1. All successive tracks utilize this remixed 5.1, save for the UE which inserts the soundtrack version of the title song. The reissue LD and its DVD port boost the color a bit so I prefer the look of the old LD despite the age.
MR: sound is the same as TSWLM, original letterbox LD is original 35mm mix which was remixed for the reissue THX LD. Image is also like TSWLM, where I prefer the older disc despite it's inferior quality. BD is very good but has completely wrong color grading including teal.
FYEO: LD for audio hands down. Good image as well, BD is good and is merely an HD render of the UE. Thus it is not as good as it should be but it works. Color like the rest seems a bit off here and there but since it is based on an old video master it actually comes across better. Day for night in Loque's cliff hangout is off though.
OP: LD for audio. BD good but like UE has teal and incorrect color in places. LD a winner all around and has correct day for night tints.
AVTAK: UE and BD cropped for opening sequence and has incorrect color in places. LD despite age is still a winner and has the best audio track which a pretty staggering Dolby surround track for 1985.
TLD: LD for audio. But it seems to be far more colorful than any other release, so judging by: print samples, trailers and the old pan and scan LD, the BD color timing may be mostly accurate. But it is video sourced and new work could look far better.
LTK: same as TLD for the BD quality, but the BD video quality seems more noticeably improved for some reason. Old masters all seem to have been overly processed for some reason so there is no clear winner. The old letterbox Fox disc is too contrasty and rot prone. The MGM letterbox reissue is stunning and has the best sound of any release despite being the US edit. The BD is the best for video but is colored wrongly in places so if it could be retimed to the MGM LD and be synced with that audio PCM track it should be good to go. And the 5.1 remix loses many effects from the 2.0 matrix so it is likely to have been done by the same people who messed up 2.0 to 5.1 mixes at MGM in the late 90's.
GE: LD is the best overall transfer due to its perfect contrast and black levels. Coloring is perfect and it actually looks better than the SE DVD on a good system. The hot LFE Dolby mix is on LD and SE DVD. The DTS LD is nearly identical to the Bluray HDMA audio, but the DTS seems slightly superior somehow to my ears. The best image technically is the HDTV 1080 cap of the Lowry master with visible grain but it has wrong colors and is heavily cropped on all sides.
TND: UE master reused for BD with little differences. Very good but not what a modern scan of a 1997 film would look like. It does handle color better than the older transfers but the LD is a marvel of the format for picture quality and has a different look presumably from the composite format. Audio seems the same across the board, but the UE DVD audio was boosted in lvels. This seems corrected for the Bd but again my ears seem to prefer the DTS LD.
TWINE: Here's where the BDs seem to win out. The new transfer is good but loses color from the SE DVD (and presumably LD). A modern scan is needed. The audio should decode for Dolby EX but no track is hardcoded as such.
DAD: UE and BD are identical, but BD also should be replaced by a modern scan. SE DVD has exclusive extras and it's audio tracks are coded for Dolby EX/DTS ES and no others replicate this. Dolby EX track is better than the DTS, and seems largely identical to the BD audio.

NSNA: new HD master seems to lose vintage color and appears on the drab side, but this has always been a rather drab looking film. 5.1 remix is a waste and inferior to the 2.0 matrix to my ears. The LD has different studio opening logos and is slightly more colorful but clearly all are from the same source. DVD is the LD master as well.

[captainsolo]

Also note:
DN-TMWTGG and MR are the Lowry 4K titles, the rest were video masters until Fox had TSWLM done for 4K. There are reports of the new 4K DCPs featuring new work, and it is presumable TSWLM is one of these and was put on BD as there was no HD master ever made before of that particular film.

[spoRv]

Thanks for your extensive notes, captainsolo!

Reading them, it seems that BD image quality is usually very good, but often (always) off, color wise; LD audio seems the winner, probably because the most use original, untouched mixes.

[nafroe]

Thought some followers of this thread might find this interesting.

Stumbled onto this on Ebay... Not suggesting someone purchase this, but here are several 35mm film strips from GoldenEye... Might give a rough idea of what the film looked like in cinemas.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/James-Bond-Golde...2LM2mB_0Xw

[Koopa Luath]

I've got a Hexagon logo for Goldfinger, courtesy of jonno (the Hexagon, it's been strongly indicated elsewhere, did not originally appear on Dr. No, From Russia with Love, or Thunderball). As soon as I have it upscaled to 1080p via NNEDI3 and spline, I'll have it up here.

[nafroe]

I've got a Hexagon logo for Goldfinger, courtesy of jonno (the Hexagon, it's been strongly indicated elsewhere, did not originally appear on Dr. No, From Russia with Love, or Thunderball). As soon as I have it upscaled to 1080p via NNEDI3 and spline, I'll have it up here.

I'm not familiar with the Hexagon logo for Goldfinger... So this will be cool to see!

[Koopa Luath]

I'm actually planning to restore the Hexagon to certain versions of my own Dollars Trilogy restorations. Speaking of which, I've got the US Blu-ray now for Fistful, and I'll be pulling the Spanish (Latino) audio track and inspecting the network prologue as soon as I can.

But back to Bond. I'm also planning to supply logos from other Blu-rays and even my own laser videodiscs and DVDs for the purposes of restoring the original UA logos. Course, I gotta make sure I got the best ones available, but still! In any case, I'll be perfectly willing to help out with the restoration of the original logos. If I can find good-quality MPAA rating screens, that would also be a plus. (For the M rating screen originally found on OHMSS, I know it appeared on my old VHS of The Only Game in Town. Did it also appear on Twilight Time's Blu-ray thereof?)

[Stamper]

Captain, would you fancy adding french mono and stereo tracks from the early DVDs SE on your project? I can help with that.
As the french, like the original tracks, are replaced on most films by remixes.

[Koopa Luath]

In regards to films with the Transamerica T, I can confirm both that the logo faded out originally on OHMSS (per a scanned film print opening that found its way to YouTube) and that it didn't fade out on DAF (per a CED opening that's also on YouTube). I'm not entirely sure whether or not the T was to the right or in the lower-left corner originally for TMWTGG, though.