Bullets 'n' Babes

bradavon wrote:Wasn't Tomorrow Never Dies 12 before? -

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/HVF151352/

bradavon wrote:There's another BD coming?

Somebody screwed this one up. 'GoldenEye' is one of the worst-looking (if not the worst-looking) titles in the 'Bond 50' box set, and I think I know the reason why. When Lowry Digital remastered most of the Bond catalog for the Ultimate Edition DVD sets in 2006, fans complained that the 'GoldenEye' transfer appeared to be zoomed-in and missing picture information from all four sides of the frame. Rather than correct this error with a new transfer, MGM instead dusted off an even older high-def master, one presumably struck for the earliest DVD release. In support of this theory, 'GoldenEye' is the only (pre-'Casino Royale') movie in the box set that doesn't have a Lowry Digital credit screen after the movie's end credits.

The 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer has a very "processed" appearance, with blatant Edge Enhancement artifacts and Digital Noise Reduction filtering. The contrast has also been artificially boosted, which frequently crushes black levels and reduces visible shadow detail. Textures are often smoothed over, with mushy facial features. The DNR is so sloppily applied that numerous shots start off swamped in video noise (which is distinctly different than real film grain), until the filter kicks in a few seconds later and wipes that noise away (along with real picture detail) right before your eyes.

I wouldn't go so far as to call the disc unwatchable. The edge ringing tones down eventually and becomes less hard on the eyes (though never entirely goes away). Basically, the movie looks like a mediocre cable broadcast. It's a big disappointment, but I've suffered through worse on Blu-ray.

On the plus side, the 2.35:1 picture appears to be properly framed, without the cropping issues from the last DVD. I guess that counts for something.