Out of this world

In 1977 The Spy Who Loved Me, reinvigorated the James Bond franchise after the disappointing box-office returns for The Man with the Golden Gun. The next Bond movie was originally to be For Your Eyes Only, and indeed on the end credits of Spy Who Loved Me, it was stated that this would be the next film. However no one had anticipated the huge success of the original Star Wars, released the same summer as Spy Who Loved Me. With space and science fiction making a big comeback, Eon productions decided to instead make another unfilmed Ian Fleming novel Moonraker the next Bond movie. This was only remaining Fleming book with a space theme. Moonraker began filming in 1978, and would be competiting with numerous other space related films about to hit the cinema such as the original Star Trek film and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Although often regarded as one of Flemings best novels, the movie adaption of Moonraker would have little in common with the book. The name Drax is maintained for the main villain, but otherwise this movie is very futuristic in scope. Producer Albert R Broccoli once stated that Moonraker was based on science fact not fiction. But in fact is alongside Die Another Day, the most far fetched in the series. Space shuttles are faetured in the movie, although in reality the first launch was not until 1981. There is also a laser battle in the movie climax, which is set in outer space, with Drax's men fighting the US Military.
Whereas Spy Who Loved Me has a villain with an underwater base who wants to destroy the world and recreate in his own image, Moonraker's Drax plans to destroy the Earth as we know it from space. In essence then the plots of both films are very similar. Both also feature the henchman Jaws, and are both directed by Lewis Gilbert. John Barry returns after several years to give another music score. Roger Moore is by now, very comfortable in the role of Bond. Both girls are also memorable, although the death of one after she is mauled by dogs, is a dark sequence in an otherwise lighter Bond movie. Familar French actor Michael Lonsdale makes a great droll villain. This is one of the rare instances in which the movie scores over its predecessor, as he is much better than Stromberg.
The film can not be taken too seriously, and as with Casino Royale which followed Die Another Day, the producers elected to bring Bond right back to Earth for the next movie. The film is entertaining and this edition contains some great extras, including a commentary from Sir Roger Moore himself.





Although often regarded as one of Fleming's best Bond novels, the movie and book have little in common

Connery and Hamilton return with one of the better Bond movies

When George Lazenby turned down the offer to continue as James Bond, Sean Connery was brought back for one last movie before Roger Moore took over. They also brought back"Goldfinger" director Guy Hamilton."Diamonds Are Forever" is set mostly in Las Vegas and Bond once again fights Blofeld (this time played by Charles Gray). The running time is back at an even two hours, and it doesn't suffer from an uneven pace as"Thunderball" and"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" did. The story is good and the movie has two of the Bond series' best henchmen, Mr Kidd and Mr Wint. In my opinion, this is one of the best Bond movies after"Goldfinger" and before"The Spy who Loved Me".

Bond back on good form

After the disappointment of Tomorrow Never Days, it perhaps shouldn't have been too surprising that, as per the usual EON pattern of alternating good and bad Bond films, The World is Not Enough turned out rather well. It helps that it has a stronger plot this time round as well as some attempt at an element of mystery - along with For Your Eyes Only this is the only Bond where the identity of the real villain is withheld for the first half of the movie. It's also more character-based than usual, with some interesting dialogue that takes on a different dimension once you know who's on the side of the angels and who isn't. The Maguffin is an oil-based variation on Goldfinger's big scheme, but the execution is very different and rather more grounded. Brosnan has the best character writing of his tenure but isn't always up to it: the moments of ruthlessness convince but he's one of those actors who can't stand still and just be and always has to do something, making him seem somewhat ADDS in some scenes and leads to a couple of strange bits of gurning. Yet it can still lay claim to being his best performance in the role, and the presence of Sophie Marceau and Robert Carlyle helps raise the acting bar enough so that even Denise Richards' hot pant wearing nuclear scientist - in-joke casting at its finest - isn't quite as bad as she's been painted.

There's a slightly schizoid feel to Michael Apted's direction at times seeming a tad uncertain and stylistically very different from Vic Armstrong's action scenes. It's certainly not difficult to tell who shot what, and not just because Armstrong seems better at hiding the significant height difference between Brosnan and Carlyle. While still variable (the opening boat chase has a few too many sight gags and the helicopter/chainsaw sequence doesn't work as well as it should), the action scenes are much better handled this time round and much better integrated into the story. Despite some awful wisecracks, this feels less like an attempt to hang plenty of setpieces on a flimsy plot and more like the action is being dictated by the story. Definitely one of the better modern Bond outings.

There's not much new in the two-disc Ultimate Edition to justify an upgrade though. While the extras from the previous release have been carried over, there's only a Hong Kong press conference and a few deleted and alternate scenes. Of these - including Renard's very unimpressive original entrance, more tomfoolery in Q's lab and a line about madmen in hollowed out volcanoes filled with large breasted women threatening the world with nuclear war ("It only takes one") among them - only a visually striking scene in the abandoned oilfields seems good enough to have kept.

Brosnan's worst Bond

The history of the latter Bond films is one of false dawns, with sporadic good or near-great Bond films promptly followed by horribly disappointing ones. OHMSS was followed by the lazy Diamonds Are Forever, The Spy Who Loved Me by Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only by Octopussy, and sadly Pierce Brosnan's enjoyable Bond debut GoldenEye remained true to form in being followed by another clunker. Tomorrow Never Dies was a famously troubled shoot, with a constantly rewritten unfinished script the most visible of its many problems. It's that classic `inbetween good Bonds' film that just feels like its treading water while they recharge their creative batteries for the next one. The premise may sound absurd - Jonathan Pryce's media mogul tries to start a war in Asia to boost circulation and viewing figures in return for local TV concessions - but it's a scam that William Randolph Hearst pulled for real in the Spanish-American War with his infamous telegram to a reporter"You supply the pictures and I'll supply the war." True, he didn't use a Stealth Ship or a guided drill-torpedo to do it, but the film almost pulls it off as a framework for a Bond movie. The problem is that, aside from David Arnold's excellent score, not much else really works.

Pryce isn't exactly a threatening supervillain and his henchmen are a rather bland bunch with the exception of Vincent Schiavelli's master assassin, who opts for broad overacting rather than menace. It may be an inspired idea to cast Michelle Yeoh as the leading lady, but with only one brief fight it seems rather pointless hiring one of the best action stars in the world if she doesn't get to do much. Worse, the action scenes are distinctly hit-and-miss. The pretitle sequence is terrific and the remote-controlled car chase one of the more enjoyable gadget showcases, but somehow the motorbike vs. helicopter chase through the streets and rooftops of Saigon never works nearly as well as it should: the footage is good but there's something almost haphazard about the editing that robs it of much of its potential. The film's big finale is little short of disastrous. Reputedly intended to be on a larger scale but scaled down because the effects shots wouldn't be ready in time for the film's opening date, there's literally nothing at stake by this point - with WW3 safely averted, all that's left for a somewhat bored Bond to do is walk around a badly designed and unappealingly photographed set shooting extras like he was in a bad video game before killing an old man with glasses.

Throw in lazy plotting and some of the worst dialogue in the series history and even the few promising ideas thrown up along the way tend to get lost in the hurry to get something releasable in the can. While Die Another Day is most Bond fans' choice for Brosnan's worst Bond, that at least threw up some good ideas in the first half - this feels like a film where no-one had a decent idea between them but were contractually obliged to deliver a movie in time for Christmas anyway. Horribly disappointing.

There's not a great deal of in the way of new extras to justify an upgrade if you have the previous special edition - aside from the extras carried over from that, there's a featurette on Moby's Bond theme remix, some redundant clips from the movie and some weak deleted scenes. Among them is an extended briefing scene in M's car where everyone is drinking cocktails that is so clumsily executed (every shot ends with them raising a glass to their lips) that it looks like an outtake from the old Thunderbirds TV series, so the film could clearly have been even worse, but that's scant consolation. As per all of the Brosnan Bond DVDs, there's no proper making of documentary either, just the odd puff-piece from its first release. One for the bond completists only, really.

Connery and Moore on the same level

i loved this film it is my Second favorite Second only to goldfinger and i thought that this was a brilliant way for Roger Moore to end his time as James bond.
Roger Moore is often compared with Sean Connery which you cant do when talking about bond they bring two completley different styles.
as fo the film brilliant 5/5 great action sequences, great villans and Great bond, the music is good. Great for any fan of Moore, bond or just action films

Quick Reviews!

Roger Moore is always seen as the 'funny' or slapstick Bond, as his films featured even more preposterous situations than usual and the overall tone is not as serious as Connery or Dalton's. However, Moore's films are the one's I remember most vividly from childhood as they had the best gadgets and bad guys like Jaws and Baron Samedi. So it is strange then that this film should be one of my favourites, as it is low on gadgets and memorable bad guys.

After the space capering of Moonraker, this was advertised as Bond's return to earth, dealing with more serious subjects and is darker than usual. It takes us back to the early days and themes of Bond. Bond visits the grave of his dead wife during the start of the movie, setting the tone, but also showing us that the Secret Agent will always be haunted by the past, and will never be at peace. Aside from the main plot of Bond trying to race the Soviets to the possession of a powerful device capable of messing with submarines (i think), we have a joint revenge tale. Melina (played brilliantly by Carole Bouquet) is in search of those who killed her parents, the same people who want 'the device', while Bond is on a quest for the psychotic 'Dove' assassin who kills a fellow agent, and one of Bond's women-Lisle (played by Pierce Brosnan's wife at the time, Cassandra Harris). Harris would tragically die before Brosnan picked up the Walther. The scene in which Bond kills the Dove is dually one of the most ruthless and satisfying deaths in any Bond film, and Moore plays the scene with great skill.

Another reason for my enjoyment of the film, and ironically this is a central reason for why many dislike it, is the inclusion of Bibi Dahl. The character may be pointless, but Johnson plays it perfectly, making both Bond and the audience cringe. Plus she is one of the most attractive Bond girls...Topol is charismatic, the one-liners do not get in the way of the film or make us turn away in shame like those in Die another Day, and the stunts and car chases are simple but outstanding, refusing to resort to an over-abundance of gadgets. For Your Eyes Only then is the most Connery-like Moore film, is often bleak and full of anger, but because of the emotional content is one of the best Bond films for involving the audience.

The DVD as with the rest of the series has perfect sound and picture quality, contains all the extras from the special edition as well as new ones- deleted scenes, documentaries etc.

About time too!

For years I have complained about VHS and DVD box sets professing to be 'complete' James Bond. As they are continuing to make 007 films, these expensive boxed sets are only going to be 'complete' until the next one comes out. I have been praying for Sean Connery and Roger Moore 007 DVD boxed sets for some time, not being a fan of Dalton or Brosnan, so this latest release suits me down to the ground - my favourite Bonds in boxed sets that won't be obselete in twelve months' time. One thing though - even when you have all the boxed sets, you still won't have all the films, you'd still have to buy George Lazenby's On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Sean Connery's 'unofficial' Never Say Never Again separately. Here's hoping they release a Daniel Craig boxed set to match the collection when he eventually retires from the role.

The Real Casino Royale!!!

This is brilliant, entertaining stuff! Classic Bond for fans of all ages! It shows Bond in a totally new way and I think that is good. You need to see something different to the EON portrayals of Bond. You might be disappointed with the 1967 edition of Casino Royale, but not forgetting this was a spoof. It was funny, and enjoyable. The 2006 edition was good and before the Casino scene very action packed. The 2006 edition got a bit on the"not really Bond" side after the Casino scene, and the it portrayed Bond as a vulnerable young man. The 2006 edition also varied from the book, with a chase at the beginning with Bond becoming a"00" agent, and had a different Vesper Lynd death.

The 1954 Casino Royale, originally lost, is the most loyal adaption to Ian Fleming's 1952 book. However, there are numerous changes to the adaption, including Bond becoming American, Felix Leiter becoming Clarence Leiter, Vesper Lynd becoming Valerie Mathis and no car chase scene. But all in all it stays loyal to the book and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

It has a perfect story-telling recheme and keeps you gripped the whole movie. It's perfect fun, action and real Bond. It's nothing like the EON films, but it's the most loyal adaption of Fleming's first and as some people might say BEST Bond book.

The two rogue Bonds

For the Bond completists, this set includes the two non-EON Bond films, though the presentation is rather barebones.

Oh, the pain, the pain of the first 45 minutes and the last 25 of the 1967 epic spoof version of Casino Royale, which try too very hard to be wacky and with it and funny to be anything other than execrable. Two or three jokes sort of work, but probably only because you're desperate for something, anything to work - and then suddenly the Peter Sellers-Joanna Pettet sections kick in and suddenly the film seems almost good. It even starts to look like a real movie instead of an over-decorated Christmas tree, with a particularly stunning bit of slo-mo in the Look of Love scene, and some genuine wit in Q's scene, set in the basement of Harrods. It's a shame that Sellers walked off the picture, because the gaps are often all-too visible and horribly papered over. And then, after an hour of not bad, Sellers is gone and it suddenly goes straight back to overproduced Hell for a painful and redundant finale. Still, at least Burt Bacharach's score is a lot of fun and a joy to listen to: if only it graced a worthier film.

While the PAL UK DVD only includes a trailer and a teaser, the US NTSC disc includes the 1954 live TV version of Casino Royale, with an uncomfortable Barry Nelson as Jimmy Bond of the CIA, Michael Pate a wildly unconvincing Leiter of British Intelligence, don't ya know, and a very good Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre. The plot is boiled down to a 50-minute running time but it's not without interest and while it may spare Bond the carpet beater it doesn't completely cop out on the torture scene. However, it's worth noting that a special edition DVD with a new documentary on the 1967 version will be released in the future.


At once the victim of impossible expectations after years of false starts and rumors about Connery's return to Bondage and also a breath of fresh air as the Roger Moore Bond films increasingly floundered, Never Say Never Again was a welcome riposte to the worst excesses of the EON franchise in 1983, but time hasn't been that kind to it. There are certainly some horrible miscalculations, Carrera's cartoonish villainess Fatima Blush (like Faye Dunaway on steroids), Edward Fox's self-parody as M, Pamela Salem's moronic Moneypenny and an embarrassingly over-the-top Rowan Atkinson's horribly unfunny Nigel Small-Fawcett among them, not to mention that problematic and much-despised easy listening score from Michel Legrand.

A famously troubled production, with Cubby Broccoli frightening studios, investors and co-stars away through years of lawsuits and Connery taking against the film's inexperienced producer Jack Schwartzman so violently that he would reportedly hide whenever the actor came anywhere near his office, most of the scars aren't visible in the finished product. Thankfully the worst excesses of the legendary unfilmed but sadly rather silly and OTT script Connery and Len Deighton penned in the early 70s, Warhead (which climaxed with a hang-glider attack on the Statue of Liberty and boasted a villain with his own underwater lair), were also toned down, albeit largely for budget reasons. With only a watered-down version of their radio-controlled sharks remaining, this version is at least a little more grounded than the rampant silliness that had seen the Bonds stray unrecognisably far from their roots in Ian Fleming's novels. Despite uncredited co-writers Ian La Fresnais and Dick Clements pilfering their earlier movie spinoff of Porridge for some of the jokes, the more streamlined screenplay flows better than Thunderball, which was always the clunkiest of Bond scripts in its desperation to throw everything including the kitchen sink into the mix, but it's also less fun. Odder still is the very American feel to the film, with a clean, spare look that's uncomfortably at odds with Connery's previous outings.

On the plus side, Klaus Maria Brandauer is particularly good as Largo, Bernie Casey brings an easy familiarity to his role that makes him one of the best of the many Felix Leiters in Connery's tenure, and Alec McCowen and Max Von Sydow are fine in undemanding parts while Robert Rietty, who voiced Largo in Thunderball as well as numerous other Bond characters over the years, turns up briefly onscreen for a change. It's also thankfully light on the gadgets that got particularly out of control in the EON series during the 80s and the action scenes are for the most part well-handled, with an excellent fight with Pat Roach the standout despite a particularly lame gag ending.

Enjoyable but no enduring classic. Again, it's worth noting that a special edition of this title will also be released some time in the future.

THE NAMES BOND, JAMES BOND

MASTER PLAN: sabotage America's space program. Way back when, the wicked humor was already evident, indoctrinating us into a new style of mayhem and violence. Three blind mice, it sings over the credits, after the now-familiar gun-barrel opening shot. These are three blind men, or so it seems, tragically comical as they make their way along; but, we're in for a rude awakening - they are actually ruthless assassins. We're rarely prepared for such plot turns in a Bond thriller, even now, and back then, this being the first one, it must have been fairly shocking. Especially brutal is the murder of the female - this was no way to treat a lady back then. Of course, other ladies in this pic behaved somewhat differently than viewers were accustomed to back in the early sixties. Then Bond himself is introduced (on his home ground of England) - a classic for the ages, as if the filmmakers knew he would still be thrilling us on film four decades later. Maybe they did. Then the 1st appearances of M (male for the next 30 years or so) and Moneypenny, and we're off and running, for 45 years and counting. Even the Q dept. shows up in M's office, but he's not called Q, yet (M refers to him as 'Armourer'); and, a different actor would take over in the next 15 or so Bonders. The repartee here would be revisited in most of the subsequent films and is very enjoyable. Later, we and Bond meet Leiter, Bond's CIA liaison, even though this was redone in the new"Casino Royale" version in 2006.

Bond's first mission on film (not counting the TV"Casino Royale" back in '54) was to Jamaica, where a local agent and his secretary have disappeared. As such, this first one had less scope than the epic adventures dominating the later sixties and onward, where the formula always entailed about three different locations scattered across the globe; Bond stayed in the Jamaica area for this entire mission. And, for most of the film, he was engaged in almost pure detective work, a skill which many feel was subsumed under gadgetry and huge sets as the film series went on. I suppose this can be viewed as a trade off when the budgets became much bigger. But here, Connery as Bond had to command our attention through his powers of observation, training and natural cunning. Bond is a target as soon as he arrives at the new locale and must avoid such dangers as assassination attempts by being pro-active: he anticipates the bad guys, obviously due to years of experience. Connery proves to be the best Bond right off the bat: you can see him out-thinking the villains scene to scene and he's arrogant enough to allow himself some self-knowing smirking as he foils their lethal plans over & over, yet it's not over the top; in fact, it can be quite chilling - Bond proves to be just as ruthless as the villains, a type of hero audiences were not, again, used to (Dirty Harry copied this attitude in the States almost a decade later). But, we cheer him on, knowing that if he was any nicer, he'd probably be terminated halfway thru the story. And, the arrogance - some of this just makes us shake our heads: near the end, when Bond is captured, he's still issuing orders to his captors (check out that scene just before the decontamination). No wonder Bond wins at everything.

The epic, fantastic elements the film series is known for do not enter the picture here until the 2nd hour begins, involving such concepts as radioactivity and guidance rocket systems. Bond finally meets his main Bond girl, Ms. Ryder, coming out of the blue or out of the sea, take your pick. She is stunning, no doubt, and lends to this air of the unexpected, with some unusual character traits. The main villain of the title and his awesome lair are not shown until even later - such large elements were given more exposure in many of the later films. This is all calculated to string the audience along in terms of suspense (we do hear Dr.No's ominous voice in an earlier scene) and then, hopefully, fulfill their expectations with some grand reveals. Dr.No is the first of the wealthy, genius-level megalomaniacs to plague Bond in the film series, suitably larger-than-life and almost godlike (but serving dark gods). He's created his own world and seems serene in his near-omnipotence, which also may suggest over confidence. This may be why Bond's escape (via an air duct) to cause trouble in the final minutes appears to be a gross oversight for such a master villain. Well, Dr.No spells it out ('You are just a stupid policeman'): master villains tended to underestimate Bond in many of the films. Bond may also pique such villains curiosity - it may be reasonable to assume his ruthlessness is a trait they need to examine for a brief, crucial time. By the way, SPECTRE is first mentioned, being the organization Dr.No serves, so it does suggest a series of films from the get go. Bond would return in"From Russia With Love." Would Dr.No? Bond:10 Villain:9 Femme Fatales:9 Henchmen:6 Leiter:8 Fights:8 Stunts/Chases:7 Gadgets:5 Auto:6 Locations:8 Pace:9 overall:8

Almost perfect,,,

Everyone buying this boxset will almost certainly know most, if not all of the films included, so I'll be brief - they are fantastic. What I want to comment on is the packaging, as I could not figure why this particular set is cheaper than the other Sean Connery boxset, which looks almost identical.

What you get is a cardboard sleeve over an attractive metal tin, inside which is the normal Connery boxset (also available on amazon, £10 more at time of writing). Inside this box are the 6 films, two discs per film, inside slimline DVD cases. This truly is an excellent set.

I have only 2 problems with this item:

1 - The films do not come with the booklets which are included in the single film Ultimate Edition releases.

2 - The DVD's all have a ridiculously long intro, which is identical each time and cannot be skipped.

In brief, this is a 'must have' box for any Bond fan, and deserves to be on every film fans shelf.

SOLID ENTERTAINMENT

The main fault with this film is overlength and it shows in the unhappy middle section of the film. This aside, OHMSS is solid entertainment. Lazenby is better than most people think as OO7 and handles the demanding ending very well. The script is far deeper than usual and Diane Rigg is first rate as the Bond girl. Production design, photography and of course John Barry's outstanding score round of this high quality film.

Moore's Nadir

If you thought he looked past it in Octopussy, then two years later Moore proves that he really should have left dodge earlier than he did. If this was the most tightly plotted entry in the series with the best supporting characters and the greatest action scenes you'd be hard pressed to find any believability about Moore's Bond here. As this film is none of those things, this is as bad as it gets.

Storyline wise it perhaps is better than it's predeccesor Octopussy, but its just hard to take it seriously. Tanya Roberts' Stacey Sutton is perhaps the most useless Bond Girl in the series to date (and that covers a lot of ground I know) and seems to do nothing but scream very loudly when she messes something else up. And to be honest I would never want to see ANYONE having to bed Grace Jones, least of all Bond.

Yet there are definately plus points. Christopher Walken is a superb Bond villain, and for once a bit of ingenuity is used in the obilgatory chases (Bond in a Horse Race? Bond on the Eiffel Tower? Bond on a Fire Engine?).

It's by no means a complete disaster but it's definately a film too far for Moore.

The most"un-Bond" Bond of them all

After the disappointing Living Daylights, Timothy Dalton was already on thin ice here and this edgy, dark and serious movie as good as finished him off as Bond.

Which is a shame in some respects as it is a very decent movie indeed. There's no megalomaniac villain to contend with, a distinct lack of gadgets (although ironically this movies sees perhaps Q's biggest involvement) and none of the humour that characterised Bond for millions of film-goers.

And that's the problem. Anyone watching this as a"Bond" movie can't help but feel disorientated.

This wouldn't be a problem if it was an excellent film, but beacuse it falls short of that plateau the end result is an engaging, but periodically dull film that makes the cardinal sin of not appealing to the average Bond fan whilst never quite becoming good enough to excuse that judgement call. It's interesting to note that it was over 15 years before they attempted to take Bond down anywhere near this route again.

My Favourite Moore Bond

It's a little hard for me to be totally unbiased when reviewing this as this was the first Bond film I ever saw and is one of the reasons I became such an avid fan of the entire series.

But you know what, I can't help loving this film.

I know the list of complaints by others is a long one, but I think this is a fantastic film.

Roger Moore is no Sean Connery but he's clealy having the time of his life in the role of Bond. Yaphet Kotto is excellent as Kananga/Mr Big and Baron Samedi is another memorable villain. The opening funeral sequence has stuck with me for life and the Crocodile sequence is another great Bond moment.

I can certainly see the side of the argument that says this is a dated movie that hasn't aged well, but if I hadn't been so drawn to this film when I first saw it, I wouldn't be the Bond fan that I am today.

Bond Bond Bond

My absaloute favourite Bond Film..... this has got everything a action film should have- gadgets, explosions, A tank and beautiful bond girls. this is Brosnans first & best performance as 007 and its more than a match for Goldfinger , Dr No 7, live & let die etc.
The extras are great... The special docuemtnry with liz hurley is brilliant.. Plus she looks HOT HOT HOT!!!
Made in '95, luks even better in '06 for every Bond Fan its a must have
If your thinking of watching a bond for the first time its a mus have & if your looking for a great action fim this is a must have.