James Bond Blu-ray Collection Three-Pack Vol. 2 Review by Brandon A. DuHamel on BigPictureBigSound

Blu-ray Disc and DVD : Blu-ray Disc Reviews

Published: 2008-10-20 - 23:02:28

James Bond Blu-ray Collection Three-Pack Vol. 2 Review

By Brandon A. DuHamel

The Films

Portions of this review were previously published.

James Bondhas become an icon of popular culture and the longest running franchise in film history. The series may have had its ups and downs over the years, but there is no denying that when it comes to action films, Bond, James Bond reigns supreme. So, while the debate may rage on for years yet over which 007 is the best, Sean Connery, Roger Moore, et. al., this Blu-ray Three-Pack will offer you a taste of the the two most well known 007s and the two who helped define the franchise in people's minds.

From Russia with Love is truly classic James Bond. Hopping from one location to the next, From Russia with Love plays like an action/adventure travelogue of beautiful locales such as Istanbul, Venice, and the Scottish moorlands. In From Russia with Love, 007 (Sean Connery) is sent to Istanbul to steal a highly classified decoding machine from the Russian embassy. British intelligence, however, is aware that he is being sent into a trap and the lure is, who else? The beautiful Russian cipher clerk Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi) who believes she is working for the KGB, but is really working for SPECTRE, an international crime syndicate.

Thunderball is seen by many as the film that set the tone for all Bond films to come for decades. With a typically slight plot and witticisms aplenty from everyone's favorite debonair British secret agent, Thunderball for the first time introduced the over-the-top special effects and gadgetry that is first in people's minds when they think of Agent 007. From a jetpack escape and tricked-out Aston Martin DB5 that fires cannons from the rear, to underwater fight sequences and stolen atomic bombs, it is difficult for any James Bond production to escape the themes and plot devices set forth in Thunderball.

In Thunderball, James Bond (Sean Connery) comes up against adversary Emilio Largo, SPECTRE #2 (Adolfo Celi), who has stolen a NATO atomic bomb by causing the Vulcan aircraft it was aboard to crash and sink into the Atlantic near Nassau. Naturally, Bond must head to the Bahamas to stop Largo and the ever-increasing web of villains and attractive villainesses and recover the weapons in order to foil Largo's plans for detonating the bombs in Miami Beach.

Over the course of the film, Bond is attacked from the air by a helicopter, has a high-speed boat chase in which he blows up several tanks of gasoline to make his escape and has a brutal hand-to-hand fight to the death on the Orient Express. What more could one ask for from a James Bond film?

In the 12th outing for the 007 franchise based on two short stories, "Risico" and "For Your Eyes Only" by Ian Flemming, Roger Moore is in the lead role as the globetrotting MI6 secret agent. Coming after 1979's Moonraker, a nearly outrageous space adventure of a Bond film, producers decided it was time to reign the series in, giving it a reboot and, in their own words, bring Bond back down to Earth.

What they ended up with is, although one of Roger Moore's stronger Bond outings, nothing more than a facsimile of Sean Connery's groundbreaking and tone setting turn in Thunderball. For Your Eyes Only runs through every previously well established plot device in the 007 legacy to form a film that feels more like a patchwork of 007-themed vignettes than one cohesive storyline. For instance, the film opens with Bond at his wife's gravesite where he is picked up by a helicopter. The helicopter is then taken over remotely by a bald villain in a wheelchair who we are to presume is Blofeld. Bond eventually recovers control of the chopper, snags Blofeld on the helicopter's landing gear and drops him down a smokestack. What's the problem? The problem is this scene is in no way related to the rest of the film and is never mentioned again.

For Your Eyes Only finds Bond trolling the globe with his typically beautiful companion, Bong girl Carole Bouquet as Melina Havelock as he tries to obtain a device known as the ATAC that can control British nuclear submarines. The device has been sunk in the Ionian Sea. This situation leads to the most obvious references to Thunderball as For Your Eyes Only's underwater sequences are a blatant allusion to the former film's groundbreaking underwater camera work.

The Picture

Each film in this James Bond Blu-ray Collection Three-Pack has been scanned from its original camera negative at 4K (4000 x 3000) resolution and digitally restored by the folks at Lowry Digital, giving a clean yet detailed and film like look to each transfer.

From Russia with Love arrives on Blu-ray in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66:1 with an AVC/MPEG-4 1080p/24 encoding from MGM. The film was the beneficiary of a recent painstaking frame-by-frame restoration by Lowry Digital Images where they cleaned up the original negative and scanned each frame in at 4K resolution (4000X3000 pixels). Showing neither signs of any compression artifacts whatsoever, nor any sorts of processing misdeeds like edge enhancement the Blu-ray transfer perfectly captures the newly restored source for From Russia with Love.

The grain structure is natural and consistent throughout brighter and darker scenes showing good amounts of shadow details with deep blacks and good contrast levels as well. Detail softens ever so slightly on backgrounds, but it is hardly worth a demerit. This is a fine transfer of this 45-year-old film. It doesn't look like it was made yesterday, which means it hasn't been over processed, but detrimental evidence of its age have all been wiped away leaving an unsullied image with wonderful film-like qualities.

Thunderball arrives on Blu-ray disc in a marvelous 2.35:1 AVC/MPEG-4 1080p/24 high definition encoding that shows the true care that MGM and Lowry Digital gave to bringing these films into the high definition realm. The end result is an image that is clean, yet still sharp and film like showing a good amount of grain structure. The blacks are deep with an amazing amount of shadow detail that does not crush and contrast never tends to bloom. The colors are slightly less than accurate, but they still look good within the context of the film. Sean Connery's famous tan looks impeccable and the turquoise waters of the Caribbean are truly breathtaking.

The transfer is free from all compression and processing artifacts, which allows its newly cleaned up source to shine through with fine detail. This is a superbly done transfer of a catalog release that is now aged over 43 years. It looks truly splendid.

In comparison to From Russia with Love and Thunderball, For Your Eyes Only has a completely different look. Utilizing a more realistic color palette, For You Eyes Only has the look of a typical late 70's production. Colors are flat, flesh tones a bit pale, though natural, and black levels are slightly washed out. In essence, nothing about For Your Eyes Only's production is eye catching. Even the exotic locales, such as The Bahamas, don't look that vibrant.

Production values aside, however, this is still another excellently handled rendering of the original source. For Your Eyes Only's grain structure and detail remain intact. The 2.35:1 AVC/MPEG-4 1080p/24 high definition encoding offered on this Blu-ray Disc shows off that newly restored master in an impeccable transfer unhindered by any compression artifacts, edge enhancement, motion jaggies or any other nuisances. In other words, For Your Eyes Only has never looked this good before and probably exceeds the quality it was being projected at in theaters.

The Sound

MGM have done a wonderful job bringing the soundtracks of these classic films to Blu-ray Disc as well. Offering up newly remixed DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless options for each film in addition to the original theatrical mixes, the sound on each release sounds better than ever and those seeking authenticity will definitely be plesed by the origianl mixes. With that being said, you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to at least checko out the new 5.1 mixes that offer an expaned soundfield with much clearer detail and wider dynamic range.

From Russia with Love has had its soundtrack remixed into 5.1 and is offered on this disc in a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless option. Purists can breathe a sigh of relief, however, as the original English Mono (Dolby 2.0) is offered as well as French Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish Mono dubbed versions.

Truth be told, the 5.1 mix is certainly nowhere near as discrete and encompassing as mixes of material today, but it does expand the soundfield allowing dialogue and sound effects to breathe lending a sense of depth and clarity that is not quite apparent in the English Mono mix. The surround channels are used mainly for ambient effects, but there are some occasional discrete sounds that "escape" to the rear channels. The mix works well for the material, offering clear dialogue and solid mid to lower range frequencies aided by the subtle use of the LFE. I don't think these classic 007 films have ever sounded as good as they do now and From Russia with Love offers a perfect example of that.

MGM have offered a new lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix for Thunderball, but they've provided the original English Mono (Dolby 2.0) mix in addition to French Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish Mono mixes. The 5.1 mix is obviously less discrete than many of the surround mixes we are accustomed to today for action films, but it does open up the soundfield with good amounts of ambience in the rear channels and some nice directional use of the front left and right channels to follow some of the onscreen action. Dialogue is surprisingly full and clear for such an old sound recording, and there are decent dynamics and moderate use of the LFE to add some weight.

Switching to the original English Mono, things obvious collapse a tad, and it is also mastered at a slightly louder level than the 5.1 mix, but it still offers an amazingly full sound for its dialogue, though the sound effects did sound much more harsh and a bit thinner. Still, for an authentic experience it is good to have this version available as an option.

For Your Eyes Only comes to Blu-ray with an all-new English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless mix in addition to English Dolby Surround 2.0, French Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish Mono versions. The new lossless 5.1 mix opens up the soundfield adding a sense of depth and energy that is not apparent in the 2.0 surround mix. Only slightly more discrete, the surround channels are utilized to good effect for ambient effects and to boost the effectiveness of sound effects from explosions to gunshots with subtle yet useful assistance from the LFE. Dialogue is intelligible, though limited to the center channel, and the front left and right channels see a fair amount of directional activity following the onscreen action. It may not reach the standards of what people have come to expect from an action film's soundtrack today, but I guarantee you've never heard From Your Eyes Only sound this good.

The Extras

Each release is loaded with plenty of extra footage and information to keep a Bond fan busy for hours. There's much trivia and insight to be gained from the many featurettes and archival news reports offered here, including interviews with ian Flemming and an audio commentary by Roger Moore.

For this Blu-ray Disc release of From Russia with Love, MGM offers a heavy dose of background information and archival footage relating to the film and the history of James Bond and creator/author Ian Flemming. Some of the information overlaps from one feature to the next, but it is still a boon for fans of James Bond. Much of the information offered in the documentary-style audio commentaries - which are really cobbled together interviews of the parties involved - can be gleaned from the disc's video supplements, so viewers who do not want the distraction of listening to an audio commentaries whilst watching the film can just skip the commentaries and watch the extras instead.

The extras available on this release are:

Commentary by director Terence Young and members of the cast and crew.
Declassified: MI6 Vault:

Ian Flemming: The CBC Interview (4:3/standard definition)
Ian Flemming & Raymond Chandler -- radio interview
Ian Flemming on Desert Island Discs -- In this radio interview, Flemming discusses how he came to develop the James Bond character in an effort to calm his nerves on the eve of his first marriage at the age of 44.
Animated Storyboard Sequence (4:3/standard definition) -- This is a montage of the original storyboard sketches for the Bond & Tatiana boat chase scene from the film, which was originally planned as a night scene as these sketches reveal.
Credits -- Credits for the Declassified: MI6 Vault supplemental materials.

007 Mission Control (1.66:1/high definition) -- This offers a selection of scenes that spotlight the film's various characters and it is divided into these categories: 007, Women, Allies, and Villains.
Mission Combat Manual -- A selection of the film's action sequences
Q Branch -- This offers a selection of scenes that highlight 007's gadgets
Exotic Locations (1.66:1/high definition) -- Bond girl Maud Adams narrates this sequence that highlights the exotic locales featured in From Russia with Love. Playing like a travelogue, she offers some interesting trivia on the various locations and anecdotes on how they relate to the film.
Mission Dossier:

Inside From Russia with Love (1.78:1/high definition) -- This is a making of featurette that is narrated and plays like a documentary and is actually quite interesting and informative. One fact that is revealed, which some Bond aficionados may already be aware of, is that actor Pedro Armendariz who played Bond's ally Ali Kerim Bey developed inoperable cancer during the film's production. Work on his sequences was prioritized so that he could finish the film before the cancer took his life. Sadly, shortly after his work on From Russia with Love was completed, Armendariz took his own life rather than suffer through the slow, painful death that he was facing.
Harry Saltzman: Showman -- This is a bio on 007 co-producer Harry Saltzman.

Ministry of Propaganda:

Theatrical Archive (4:3/standard definition) -- Original theatrical trailers for From Russia with Love:

Original Theatrical Trailer -- S.P.E.C.T.R.E.
Bond: Back to Back
The Biggest Bond Sale Ever
TV Broadcasts (4:3/standard definition) -- Original TV spots
Sean Connery is Bond
Bond All Over
More Thrills Per Minute

Radio Communication -- The original radio spots for From Russia with Love

Fantastic Bond Sale
Famous Named Villains
Sean Connery Is…

Image Database -- Dozens of stills from the production and promotion of From Russia with Love

The Filmmakers
Ian Flemming
Portraits
Pinewood
Dressed to Kill
Lovely…Lovely
Tatiana Meets Rosa Klebb
Istanbul
The Gypsy Camp
The Orient Express
Scotland
Rats!
Back Projection
Smoke on the Water
The Lost Scene
Around the World with 007

There is a sizable amount of extras offered on this release of Thunderball that will offer fans of the 007 franchise loads of background information, trivia and anecdotes on both the film, the character's creator and author of the novels Ian Flemming, as well as the actors and producers.

The extras available on this release are:

MI6 Commentary:

By editor Peter Hunt, screenwriter John Hopkins and others
Director Terrence Young and others

Declassified: MI6 Vault:

The Incredible World of James Bond (4:3/standard definition) -- This 1965 NBC television special profiles the fictional character and his creator, Ian Flemming.
A Child's Guide to Blowing Up a Motor Car -- 1965 Ford Promotional Film (4:3/standard definition) -- This tongue-in-cheek promotional video from Ford purports to follow a man and his young son as they go to the production set of Thunderball, meanwhile there is a clear emphasis on the Ford Fairlane they are driving in. It does offer some fine behind-the-scenes footage of the filming of Thunderball and explanations of the various technical
On Location with Ken Adam (4:3/standard definition) -- Thunderball's production designer narrates this featurette, which offers some archival footage of the production crew location scouting for the film and designing the sets for Thunderball.
Bill Suitor: The Rocket Man Movies (4:3/standard definition) -- This featurette details the jetpack that was used in the film, which was an actual working model and the stunt man who was used to double for Sean Connery.
Thunderball Boat Show Reel (2.35:1/standard definition) -- This film features footage from Thunderball's underwater sequences and was used as promotional material during boat shows.
Selling Bonds (4:3/standard definition) -- Original 1965 TV commercials advertising 007 merchandise:

007 Raincoat
007 Slacks
007 Action Pack Toys

Credits -- credits for the Declassified: MI6 supplements
007 Mission Control -- This offers direct access to selected scenes from the film featuring its many characters, divided into the categories 007, Women, Allies, Villains.
Mission Combat Manual -- A selection of scenes featuring the film's action sequences
Q Branch -- This offers a selection of scenes featuring 007's various gadgets
Exotic Locations (2.35:1/high definition) -- Classic "Bond girl" Maud Adams narrates and offers trivia on the films various locales as scenes from the film meander by.

Mission Dossier:

The Making of Thunderball (1.78:1/high definition) -- This making-of featurette is narrated in a BBC-like documentary style and offers an informative, in depth look at the evolution and production of Thunderball.
The Thunderball Phenomenon (1.78:1/high definition) -- A look at the worldwide commercial phenomenon of 007 that was heralded by the 1965 release of Thunderball.
The Secret History of Thunderball (2.35:1/high definition) -- This feature shows the different versions of Thunderball that have played in the theatres and made it to home video over the years. Among the differences are differing dialogue and the underwater sequences which have up until now only ever been available on home video without the underlying musical score.

Ministry of Propaganda:
Theatrical Archive (4:3/standard definition) -- Original theatrical trailers:

Get the Point
What an Operator
Two Biggest Bonds -- Trailer for Thunderball/You Only Live Twice double feature

TV Broadcasts (4:3/standard definition) -- Original TV Spots:

Strikes like Thunderball
Look Up, Look Down, Look Out
Two for One Bonds -- Thunderball/From Russia with Love double feature
Bond Sale -- Thunderball/From Russia with Love double feature
Radio Communication -- Original Radio Spots:
Introduction
The Biggest Bond of All
See Sean Connery in Thunderball
Look Up, Look Down, Look Out
James Bond Does it Everywhere
Sean Connery in Thunderball
Here Comes the Biggest Bond of All
One Motion Picture
Thunderball and You Only Live Twice
Sean Connery is James Bond

Image Database -- Dozens of portraits and production stills from the making of Thunderball:

Portraits
The Aston Martin
Chateau D'Anet
Pinder's Shop
Searching for the Vulcan
Romance Between the Waves
Underwater Action
The Final Fight
The Pinewood Tank
"Thunderball" Around the Globe
Merchandising

For Your Eyes Only comes with plenty of behind-the-scenes footage and featurettes that offer up plenty of Bond trivia that 007 fans should be quite happy and occupied for a good amount of time. There is a bit of overlap with the information, so skipping the audio commentaries won't be a bad thing, with the sole exception of the commentary by Sir Roger Moore himself, which is a pleasant surprise, Moore serves up some interesting tidbits on the film as he reminisces while the film progresses.

The extras available on this release are:

MI6 Commentary

Commentary by Sir Roger Moore
Commentary by Michael G. Wilson and crew
Commentary by director John Glen and members of the cast

Declassified: MI6 Vault
Deleted Scenes and Expanded Angles (2.35:1/high definition)

Deleted Scenes with intro and commentary by the director

Hockey 007 Style
Joining Forces

Expanded Angles

Death of Locque -- This comparison between the final sequence and the expanded angle can be toggled between using the remote's red button for a view of the original, expanded, or multi-angle comparison. The final sequence with the tighter angle was eventually used because it was felt that the dummy used in the wide-angle shot looked too unrealistic.

Bond in Greece (4:3/standard definition) -- With commentary by producer Michael Wilson, this featurette focuses on the location shooting in Corfu where the crew painted the entire town white to make it resemble a Spanish village,
Bond in Cortina (4:3/standard definition) -- Producer Michael Wilson once again offers the commentary for this behind-the-scenes look at the on-location filming in Cortina. Wilson offers up the information that the film's use of the many winter sports such as skiing, ice hockey and figure skating was inspired by growing interest in the sports due to the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Neptune's Journey (4:3/standard definition) -- This piece puts the spotlight on the film's underwater film unit in the Bahamas and the prop submarine The Neptune. Led by Al Giddings of The Deep fame, the crew's work is a major part of For Your Eyes Only. After filming, The Neptune was used by UA for promotion of the film and was even paraded across the Brooklyn Bridge.
Credits -- credits for the Declassified: MI6 Vault supplemental materials.
007 Mission Control -- This section offers access to selected scenes from the film that highlights the many characters that populate the world of 007. It is divided into the categories 007, Women, Allies, and Villains.
Mission Combat Manual -- A selection of action scenes from For Your Eyes Only
Q Branch -- A selection of scenes highlighting 007's gadgets.
Exotic Locations (2.35:1/high definition) -- Bond girl Maud Adams narrates this segment offering anecdotes and trivia on For Your Eyes Only's many international locations, such as England, The Bahamas, Greece and Italy as scenes from the film go by.
Mission Dossier

Inside For Your Eyes Only (2.35:1/high definition) -- The filmmakers discuss adapting the film from two Ian Flemming short stories, "Risico" and "For Your Eyes Only" and offer up anecdotes on the production of the film, such as the difficulties filming the rock climbing sequences due to Roger Moore's fear of heights.
Animated Storyboard Sequence -- Snowmobile Chase --This is a montage of the storyboard sketches for a snowmobile chase that was later changed to having the villains chasing Bond on mortorcycles for the film.
Animated Storyboard Sequence -- Underwater -- Montage of storyboards for the film's underwater sequences.
Sheena Easton Music Video (4:3/windowboxed/standard definition) -- "For Your Eyes Only" music video.

Ministry of Propaganda

Theatrical Archive

Theatrical Trailer (2.35:1)

TV Broadcasts (4:3/standard definition):

For Your Eyes Only TV trailer
For Your Eyes Only Second TV Trailer
TV Teaser Trailer

Radio Communication

"Bond, James Bond"
"When it Comes to Action…"

Image Database -- A gallery of dozens of production and promotional stills from For Your Eyes Only:

The Filmmakers
Portraits
The Pre-Credits Helicopter Sequence
Music and Titles
Gonzales' Villa/Deux Chevaux Chase
Cortina & Ski Action
Willy Bogner's Ski Action Unit
Corfu
The "Underwater" scenes
Michael Wilson's Cameo
Meteora
007 Meets the Prime Minister
Donai O'Connor Visits the Set
Doubling 007
Around the World

Where to Buy

James Bond Blu-ray Collection Three-Pack, Vol.2 (For Your Eyes Only / From Russia with Love / Thunderball)

Also available in the following boxed set:

James Bond Blu-ray Collection Six-Pack, (Amazon.com exclusive!)

Final Thoughts

Lowry Digital's fine restoration process has yielded superb transfers on these classic James Bond films. This Three-pack offers a sampling of the franchise's strongest films with its two most well known 007s. For any longtime fan or newcomer to James Bond, this collection offers the perfect introduction into the world of 007 on Blu-ray Disc.

Compatibility Issues:

Some people are reporting playback problems with certain Bond titles on Blu-ray. Specifically the Samsung BDP-1500 player and LG BH200 players have problems playing some of these new Bond Discs. Please check the Bond Blu-ray Player Compatibility thread in our forum for more details and to report your results.

Product Details

Actors: Roger Moore, Sean Connery
Format: Box set
Language: English, Greek, Italian, Russian, Turkish
Region: A
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number of discs: 3
Rating:PG
Studio: MGM
Blu-ray Disc Release Date: October 21, 2008
Run Time: 364 minutes
List Price: $89.98
Extras:

From Russia With Love

Audio Commentary with Director Terrence Young and members of the Cast and Crew
Ian Flemming: The CBC Interview
Ian Flemming and Raymond Chandler Featurette
Ian Flemming on Desert Island Discs Featurette
Animated Storyboard Sequence
007 Mission Control Interactive Guide into the World of From Russia with Love
Inside From Russia with Love
Harry Saltzman: Showman Featurette
Image Database
Theatrical Trailers, TV, and Radio Spots

Thunderball

Audio Commentary with Director Terrence Young and Others
Image Database
Audio Commentary with Editor Peter Hunt and Co-Screenwriter John Hopkins and Others
Selling Bonds Original 1965 Television Commercials
On Location with Production Designer Ken Adam
A child's Guide to Blowing Up a Motor Car 1965 Ford Promotional Film
Bill Suitor: The Rocket Man Movies Featurette
The Secret History of Thunderball Featurette
Thunderball Boat Show Reel
The Making of Thunderball Featurette
The Thunderball Phenomenon
007 Mission Control Interactive Guode into the world of Thunderball
The Incredible World of James Bond Original 1965 NBC-TV Special
Theatrical Trailers, TV, and Radio Spots