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List Price: $22.97 | | Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Salesrank: 34311
Released: October 21, 2008 |
| Our Price: $9.95 |
| Used Price: $1.95 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
A traitor is bent on world wide destruction and collapse and only one man stands in his, Bond, James Bond. Pierce Brosnan returns in the twentieth installment of this successful secret agent franchise. 2 Disc set.
Description of Die Another Day (James Bond Two-Disc Ultimate Edition):
The 20th James Bond adventure, Die Another Day succeeds on three important fronts: it avoids comparison to Austin Powers by keeping its cheesy humor in check, allows Halle Berry to be sexy and worthy of a spinoff franchise, and keeps pace with the technical wizardry that modern action films demand. Pierce Brosnan's got style and staying power as James Bond, now bearing little resemblance to Ian Fleming's original British super-spy, but able to hold his own at the box office. He's paired with American agent Jinx (Berry) in chasing a genetically altered North Korean villain (Rick Yune) armed with a satellite capable of destroying just about anything. John Cleese and Judi Dench reprise their recurring roles (as "Q" and "M," respectively); they're accompanied by weapons-laden sports cars, a hokey cameo by Madonna (who sings the techno-pulsed theme song), and enough double-entendres to keep Bond-philes adequately shaken and stirred. With clever nods to 007's cinematic legacy, Die Another Day makes you welcome the familiar end-credits promise: James Bond will return. --Jeff Shannon
Die Another Day (James Bond Two-Disc Ultimate Edition) Reviews:
Diamonds Are Forever 
2009-09-22 - I think this movie is basically a remake of the original
Sean Connery movie, Diamonds Are Forever, which is
difficult to find now. In this movie, as in that one, an
evil genius wants to collect a lot of diamonds with which
to make a laser weapon.
That said, this movie is far more watchable than the
original Sean Connery movie, which after the first
few minutes,...and then the rest is forgettable. The
scene that made that one famous was the interrogation
of a woman. He strangles her with her own brassiere
(or bathing suit top) until she agrees to tell him the
secret location of Blofeld's hideout. Once there, he
sees a double of himself; a plot involving cloning (or
disguising) is hinted at. He is found. And then this
guy reaches into Bond's pocket for a gun, but he finds
a deadly mouse trap instead. He screams in pain. Bond
pushes him away, and using surgical tools as weapons,
disables the others. Then he takes Blofeld and throws
him into what seems to be a hot lava pit, and says,
"Welcome to hell, Blofeld". And that was all in the first
few minutes. But the rest of that movie, I could not
recall. The movie was on television again, recently,
and it really is awful, boring. Die Another Day, may be
the only Bond movie that does not put me to sleep.
Now, when you watch this movie, Die Another Day, the
plot of the original, will seem all too familiar, but at the
same time, fresh, new, and better. In this one, he laces
up a woman from behind, until she tells him who he is
looking for. It is quite an improvement from the original.
Also, in the first few minutes of Die Another Day, he is
captured, and then subjected to torture by it seems a
beautiful woman, who seems to also be in charge of other
soldiers who beat him up, seemingly at her command.
Is she a voyeur, or is it concern for his well-being that
she is expressing? Anyway, a middle-aged male General
shows up and informs Bond that he does not approve of
"what they do there". Bond looks at him, and says, "I
suggest you take it up with the Concierge", referring to the
woman behind him, his torturer. He refuses to break, and
use abusive language towards a woman. They have not
conquered him, those sodomites. And that all happens
before the movie truly begins. This then, is the best Bond
ever.
Also, as the movie progresses, this evil doctor uses
awful language, giving vivid descriptions of surgical
procedures, and orphans, which makes you think, If
a doctor will not treat (cure) people for free, then he
cannot be trusted. She kills him, and you feel better,
because he has stopped talking.
Better off dead now (Blu-Ray review) 
2009-08-09 - As I've told numerous people asking me how my foray into the Blu-Ray Bond releases, I wish I could have skipped over Die Another Day. The minute I left theaters after seeing Pierce's last foray into Bond-dom, I knew that it was my least favorite of the entire franchise. Handily.
It wasn't my least favorite during the entire running time, though. As the 40th anniversary film, Die Another Day was almost a call back to the best moments from the previous Bonds, and featured elements of Moore, Connery, and Dalton. Sadly, somewhere along the line the film entered the dreaded Camp territory; not to the degree of Batman the Movie, but damned close.
Of all of Brosnan's Bond films, this is the one they decide to test the Blu-Ray waters with? The one with the glacial car chases, invisible car, DNA-altering space madman, and Halle Berry? (Okay, Halle Berry would be a damn good reason for high-def-but read on and you'll see why that isn't the case.) It's certainly the weakest Bond film since Moonraker, and fans were so put off by it that the next Bond film had to reboot the franchise.
But, like I said, it isn't ALL bad. The first 30 to 40 minutes are some of the most entertaining in any genre film; the rest of it, though... I wouldn't be surprised if someone like Peter Travers came out with the review snippet, "Die Another Day? Why can't I Die Now?"
Now, movie aside, you would think that when it comes to the six Bond films being released in high-def, this would have the best quality. Wrong. It's the worst. Somehow, someway, they managed to take the second newest Bond movie and put out a Blu-Ray transfer which actually looks worse than standard def on an HDTV. The film is grainy around just about all CGI aspects (of which there are plenty), and they didn't even try to clean up noise. (Except for shadows, which are unnaturally black compared to other portions of the screen.) On an HDTV the standard DVD release arguably looks better; on an SDTV it obviously looks better. The entire point of a Blu-Ray release is to bring the film to high-def, so why make it look worse?
At least the audio keeps the film on track. Once again we get a remastered 5.1 with lossless audio, and it sounds fantastic. From effects to dialogue to music, the movie has never sounded better-even in theaters.
So the movie is largely stale, the video transfer flopped, and the audio is fantastic. What about the extras? Shockingly, they too are worse than the other Bond films offered in this go-round. While the others are pretty much straight DVD-to-Blu-Ray ports of extras, Die Another Day actually loses one of its best featurettes (the Ministry of Propaganda) in this release.
The features which did make the cut are all solid, even if they aren't presented in HD and look it, but the highlight has to be the commentary by Pierce. It's the first time a Bond performed commentary on a scene-by-scene basis, and it's a real treat for fans. The other features range from boring to so-so, but the other star is most likely the trivia track. It's fun for Bond fans (although non-fans will hate you for playing it), and it does give some life to an otherwise sparse extras lineup.
If you're the type who has to own all of the Bond movies and want to make the jump to high-def, then you're going to get Die Another Day regardless of what I've said. If you were on the fence between picking this or any other Bond film from this set, however, keep in mind that the video transfer for DAD is one of the worst I've seen for a modern movie. If the film itself didn't already sway your decision, that certainly should.
I Know, I Know, There's an Invisible Car...
2009-07-18 - Up until the final third of Brosnan's last Bond, things are pretty solid, in fact the first hour is sensational. This may be the most consciously stylish directorial job of this period in the series. The two main villains (and the three actors who play them) are quite effective and there's a terrific score (not counting Madonna's theme.) The deliberately over-wrought fencing face-off displays the director's assured, unique tone. It was usually "personal" for Brosnan's Bond, and he may convey that best here. Then we get to Iceland and that darn car comes into play. Still worse, is Bond's Icelandic, surfing scene (which puts me in mind of those polar bear Coke ads) and the final two over-blown action set pieces that are so CGI-heavy it's impossible to suspend ever mounting disbelief. (Indeed, the Ice hotel car chase, like the earlier hovercraft chase are both kind of hard to follow.) Halle's hot, but her character could have used a little sense of danger as well -- she's almost too cute. (Plus it seems like many of her lines were re-recorded.) The film also has to have the lamest sexual badinage in the series.
The extras here include Brosnan's commentary and a good doc on the writers.
I am very pleased 
2009-05-12 - I am so pleased and I shall be happy to order more from you in the near future
decadent
2009-04-29 - All in all this episode is sad: graced by a beautiful Halle Berry who does well as a secret agent but seems rather unconvinced (and unconvincing) and by the skill of Toby Stephens who is a bit over a top (even for a Bond villain) but is impressive all the same, this Die Another Day failed to convince me.
This is the first film I can remember where the long opening sequence is tightily connected with the rest by a so to say "narrative" title sequence: usually we face a display of gorgeous naked women with guns essentially unrelated to the film if not in general atmosphere, here Bond is tortured exactly during this title sequence and the whole is vital for a correct understanding.
Whether this is good or bad, the viewer having no time to digest the opening sequence, I am not sure.
I loved Madonna's theme too: she probably went to far in blanching her own -not too beautiful- timbre to give an automated machine sound to it, but the song is meaningful to the film, extremely original and consequent. The great performers of past films usually made it clear it was a moment of vocal edonism: here the viewer gets repeatedly slapped.
By the way, Madonna's cameo was quite good: she is given short lines which are good for the plot and easy for her to say; her character is perfectly clear and sound which cannot be said for those of Zao and Miranda who add very little glamour to the product.
Brosnan is rather stockier here -still a good looking fellow but he has not aged well or perhaps he was tired- but he is not the problem (remember when Moore was there): the script and the direction are:
this Bond episode is a disjointed group of nice action scenes with lovely special effects that never come to life as a meaningful whole.
The rhythm is faulty, the suspence never there, the whole never convincing.
