Yep, the cinematic incarnation of James Bond is indeed turning 50 this year, as we celebrate the 1962 release of the very first feature film, Dr. No. The magnitude of the half-century mark is not lost on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment as they have announced plans for BOND 50, a collectible box-set featuring all 22 James Bond films on Blu-ray Disc together for the first time in one complete offering. Fans may already know that some of the movies have already been released in waves. This upcoming collection will mark the debut of nine films previously unavailable on HD disc.
Although a specific release date has not been revealed, a fall 2012 release is expected, both to coincide with the release of Skyfall (the 23rd Bond film, shooting now) and to be positioned for holiday gift-giving. List price is $299.99, although online retailer Amazon.com is offering a large discount.
At the Panasonic booth at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Bond directors John Glen (For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill), Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, Casino Royale) and Michael Apted (The World Is Not Enough) were joined by actresses Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) and Caterina Murino (Casino Royale) to commemorate the Blu-ray announcement.
BOND 50 represents all 22 feature films from Dr. No through Quantum of Solace, porting some 130 hours of bonus content across the series while also bringing some new and exclusive bonus material.
Press in attendance at the event were able to view clips from the directors' films along with them, and each offered insight of the creation of that scenes, much like a live, after-the-fact commentary track. Glen, Campbell and Apted each also took the time to discuss his approach to the series, his trepidations as taking the reins of the wildly successful and enduring film franchise, and the traits of stars Roger Moore, Piece Brosnan and Daniel Craig that made them so so winning in the iconic role.
The boxed set is available now for pre-order at Amazon.com, with the assurance of their Pre-Order Price Guarantee that assures the lowest price at the time the item ships.
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