 | |
List Price: $59.98 | | Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Salesrank: 1238
Released: November 7, 2006 |
| Our Price: $26.75 |
| Used Price: $22.46 |
|
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
Disc 1: *Thunderball (1965) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Terence Young and Others
Disc 2: **Thunderball Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT The Incredible World of James Bond - Original 1965 NBC Television Special A Child's Guide to Blowing Up a Motor Car - 1965 Ford Promotional Film On Location With Ken Adam Bill Suitor: The Rocket Man Movies Thunderball Boat Show Reel Selling Bonds - Original 1965 Television Advertisements 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Thunderball Audio Commentary Featuring Peter Hunt, John Hopkins and Others The Making of Thunderball The Thunderball Phenomenon The Secret History of Thunderball MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications
Disc 3: *Die Another Day (2002) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Lee Tamahori and Producer Michael G. Wilson & Pierce Brosnan
Disc 4: **Die Another Day Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT From Script to Screen Shaken and Stirred on Ice Just Another Day The British Touch: Bond Arrives in London On Location With Peter Lamont 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Die Another Day Audio Commentary Featuring Pierce Brosnan and Rosamund Pike MI6 DataStream Additional DVD-ROM Features Available! Madonna 'Die Another Day' Music Video MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Photo gallery
Disc 5: *The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) **The Spy Who Loved Me Bonus Disc Newly Recorded Audio Commentary Featuring Sir Roger Moore THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Lewis Gilbert, Production Designer Ken Adam, Co-Writer Christopher Wood and Michael G Wilson
Disc 6: DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT 007 in Egypt Roger Moore: My Word Is My Bond On Location With Ken Adam 007 Stage Dedication Original 1977 Featurette Escape From Atlantis: Storyboard Sequence 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of The Spy Who Loved Me Inside The Spy Who Loved Me Ken Adam: Designing Bond MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications
Disc 7: *A View To A Kill (1985) **A View To A Kill Bonus Disc Newly Recorded Audio Commentary Featuring Sir Roger Moore THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director John Glen and Members of the Cast and Crew
Disc 8: DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Film '85 BBC Report Float Like A Butterfly Test Footage Deleted Scenes & Expanded Angles with Introductions by Director John Glen 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of A View to a Kill Inside A View to a Kill The Music of James Bond Duran Duran 'A View to a Kill' Music Video MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots & Photo Gallery
Disc 9: *License To Kill (1989) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director John Glen and Members of the Cast Audio Commentary Featuring Michael G Wilson and Members of the Crew
Disc 10: **License To Kill Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Deleted Scenes With Director John Glen Introductions Bond '89 On the Set With John Glen On Location With Peter Lamont Ground Check With Corkey Fornof 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Licence to Kill Inside Licence to Kill Production Featurette "Behind the Scenes" Kenworth Trucks Featurette Gladys Knight 'Licence to Kill' Music Video Patti LaBelle 'If You Asked Me To' Music Video MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers & Photo Gallery
James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 2 (A View to a Kill / Thunderball / Die Another Day / The Spy Who Loved Me / Licence to Kill) Reviews:
Movies 
2009-10-26 - My son loves these movies and I can always go to Amazon and they have them...Easy to purchase THANKS
4 out of 5 Movies Aren't Bad but Still 5 stars
2009-07-29 - Thunderball- The longest out of Connery's films. The film can feel sluggish at times but there is plenty of action. The only real slow parts of the film are when the characters are underwater, even though the climax is an exciting underwater battle. This is the last of the novels (until OHMSS and not including the short stories) to be 80-90% faithfully adapted and you can clearly tell that the producers and writers were starting to bring gadgetry to the forefront. A tactic I really don't like because it seems that after big gadget adventures (this one and YOLT then TSWLM and MR then TWINE and DAD) are followed by more story driven adventures (OHMSS, FYEO and CR). Even though those more story driven do not perform as greatly at the box office over the bigger and louder films, they are considered the better films out of the franchise. But that's a slight complaint. Claudine Auger is stunning and plays Domino perfectly, especially when she's vulnerable after Bond tells her about her brother. Adolpho Celi is ruthless and intimidating as Largo (though I do like the psychotic side that's shown in the 1983 remake, which I'll review later). Luciana Paluzzi, like Honor Blackman, plays Fiona Volpe with cunning and, unlike Blackman, does not go to "the side of right and virtue" after Bond makes love to her. With this film, John Barry really let's loose with the music, especially the bombastic theme, sung with great gusto by Tom Jones. 4 stars.
The Spy Who Loved Me- Next to FYEO, this Moore at his finest. In the first "original" story (nothing but the title of the book could be used though Jaws is based off of a character from the novel), it cleverly executed compared to the original stories that followed (DAD and QOS). Barbara Bach is definately an upgrade from Britt Ekland. She is the first opposite agent that 007 teams with and, next to Holly Goodhead and Wai Lin, is the better of his opposite numbers. Anya gradually falls for Bond but then turns on him the minute she finds out that he's the one who killed her lover in the pre-title sequence. Curt Jurgens, a good actor though his villain isn't one of the more memorable ones. His plan is a good one but he doesn't have that intimidating prescence that Joseph Wiseman, Robert Shaw, Telly Savalas and Christpher Lee had. And Richard Kiel as Jaws is definately the best of the henchmen. You can see him as a legitimate threat but he has a comedic side to him as well. The action sequences are some of the best in the franchise with the opening ski sequence, the Lotus Esprit chase and the attack in the Liparus. The title song by Carly Simon is one of the best that's come out (if not the best). Alas, the score for this, though good, seems dated, like its predecessor LALD. The disco element is prevalent in this score. Though the updated theme is great and has a danceable beat to it, when Hamlisch uses it when the parachute is deployed and when Bond is attaching the bomb, the horns sound a little off and it does grate on the ears a little. If only Barry had done this one, it would've rated high on the list next to OHMSS and AVTAK. 5 stars.
A View To A Kill- While many (including Roger Moore) consider this to be the worst of the Bond films, I like it and this is one of my favorite Bonds. Sure, some of the plot points are similar to Goldfinger but when you're involved in the longest running film franchise in history, you're bound to repeat yourself occasionally. Moore can still handle the action even in his old age (no one was complaining about Shatner being to old in the later Star Trek films or Harrison Ford in the latest Indiana Jones). Tanya Roberts, though she does scream a lot and not as self assured as the women in the past four films, is more believeable as a geologist than Denise Richards was as a nuclear physicist. Grace Jones is definately scary as May Day and is one of the more memorable henchmen but her line deliveries are flat sometimes (still better than Richards though). Its always a plus when an actor from The Avengers stars in a Bond film and Patrick Macnee is no exception. Though I wish he wasn't regulated to comic relief and his part should've been bigger, when else are you gonna get John Steed and Simon Templar/James Bond together on the same screen? And Christopher Walken. He just seems to relish in the villainous roles (Batman Returns comes to mind). Zorin looks like he's having too much fun when he's shooting up his minions in the mines and he must be purely psychotic if he's laughing in the face of his own death. One of my favorite lines from him is when he disposes of one of his cohorts from his blimp and he casually asks:
"Anyone else want to drop out?"
Like I stated before, the story is similar to Goldfinger but is updated for the 80s. Instead of radiating Fort Knox, Zorin plans to eliminate Silicon Valley. Even the elimination of one of his own men from his blimp is reminiscent of Mr. Solo's crushing engagement. But for those who haven't seen Goldfinger or just don't really care, this is one to watch. John Barry gives one of his best scores since OHMSS, reusing some of the main theme of that movie as the driving rhythm of the action music in this one. And Duran Duran's theme is one of the best in the canon and is actually put to good use as a romantic theme between Bond and Stacey. This is also the last film to feature Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny. 5 stars.
Licence to Kill- Well, Timothy Dalton didn't last long. In his final outing, Bond is out for revenge against drug lord Sanchez. So many problems plagued this film, its sad that this movie wasn't as successful as its predecessors because its really very good. First, filming was done in Mexico because tax laws had went up in England around 1988-89 when production started. Then there was the writer's strike around the same time, which prevented long-time Bond veteren writer Richard Maibaum from finishing the script with Michael Wilson. Then they started promoting the movie in America when it was called Licence Revoked. Apparently, American audiences are too stupid, because most of us here in the grand ol' USA thought Bond's driver's licence was being taken away. How dense can we get anyway? Thus the title change (I actually think it was for the better though, Licence to Kill sounds more of a Fleming title). The two girls in the film are good. Carey Lowell is ready to fight and romance Bond as Pam Bouvier. Talisa Soto plays Lupe with innocence and you can tell that she's scared when it comes to Bond's welfare but I find it hard to believe that she falls for Bond at the drop of a hat. Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) is a nice change of pace instead of a megalomaniac or Russian. He can be a charming man towards Bond but is ruthless when it comes to loyalty in his organization. Desmond Llewelyn gets more to do as Q (actually, since Roger Moore's second Bond film, we've been seeing more of the character, especially in Octopussy). Again, the story is an original one, with Leiter's shark attack being lifted from the novel version of Live and Let Die. Michael Kamen picks up the music department in this outing and he does an admirable job. While George Martin, Marvin Hamlisch and, to a lesser extent Bill Conti, Kamen's score doesn't seem dated. Instead, the guitar riff of the Bond theme gets a Mexican touch to match the setting of the film. Gladys Knight's title song, shortened in the opening credits, is one the longest songs for the Bond canon but is one of the best. 5 stars.
Die Another Day- Possibly my least favorite of Brosnan's and the Bond franchise and its so unfortunate that this was Brosnan's final Bond and such a weak entry to go out on 'cuz after this he was (I think) fired from the role, making him the first Bond actor to have that "honor". Also, as of now, this also the last Bond film to feature Q and Miss Moneypenny. The twentieth film released in 2002 also marked the 40th anniversary of the cinema's longest running franchise, so many references were made to the previous nineteen. Almost all of them were referenced except, from what I could see; You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough. Pretty much all Brosnan does is spout one-liners and have sex in this one. Oh, I guess he fights a lot and eventually saves South Korea too. Halle Berry eats up too much screen time but I will give her credit that she's a better actress than Denise Richards. They tried to make her character Jinx the female James Bond, almost getting her own film, but there were plenty of women who came before Berry who played better female agents (Barabara Bach, Lois Chiles, Carey Lowell and Michelle Yeoh) yet didn't try to steal the spotlight of the main character. Gustav Graves is the worst villain of the series, Toby Stephens playing him like a whining brat (especially during the sword fight sequence, instead of like the previous villains who always, no matter how bad Bond humiliated them, still acted "civil" but made clear to Bond that they'll deal with him later). I wish they picked a better director as those slow motion scenes are really annoying (I blame The Matrix for Hollywood's fixation on them, especially in action films). The action sequences are OK but there's too much use of CGI instead of the traditional stunt work that the Bond films have been famous for. I guess the car chase in Iceland is good but the climatic showdown is too long and tedious (probably due to those stupid slow motion bits). David Arnold's score is loud and obnoxious in this, and I dislike at how much he needs to play the Bond Theme. Out of all the other composers, he's the one who's played it the most (until now in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace where I'm practically begging him to play the theme as it hardly shows up anymore, making those two Bond films [Casino Royale to a lesser extent] feel, to me anyway, like regular action films instead of a REAL Bond film like Goldfinger or On Her Majesty's Secret Service). 3 stars.
James Bond Ultimate Collection Vol # 2 
2009-05-18 - Just bought the James Bond Ultimate Collection Volume 2. got the best price and it shipped out quickly.
007 Digital
2009-05-14 - I tried to rent "A View to A Kill" because Patrick McNee (John Steed, Avengers) was in it along with Sir Roger Moore,(who by my estimation is every bit as great as Connery or Brosnon, etc.), and ended up buying this set which replaced some of my old VHS tapes...Each actor brings something unique to the role of Bond and if you have read Ian Flemings' books, Bond was definitely a product of his time--1950s-1960s. Great vintage Bond with Moore, Connery, Brosnon, and sorry I forgot his name...this digital remastered set is crisp...a good investment for all 007 lovers.
The Blue Set
2009-04-15 -
James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 2 (A View to a Kill / Thunderball / Die Another Day / The Spy Who Loved Me / Licence to Kill). As a whole, the collection is wonderful mostly because of the bonus features. You get behind the scenes, interviews, tributes to various Bond family, documentaries, audio commentary from directors, cast and sometimes Bond (Roger Moore), music videos and much more!!
As wonderful as this collection is, it's a mixed bag because of the quality of some of these films. The best film of this collection is Thunderball (which is Sean's last best Bond effort). The Spy Who Loved Me is Roger Moore's second or third best Bond outing and is one of the best in the whole series. Licence To Kill is good, but wasn't as successful at the box office. A View to a Kill is gross to look at because Roger looks OLD in this film and is either the worst or second worst Bond film. Die Another Day is awful to the core.
Get this volume to complete your collection, but I think this is the collection you will collect but not view.
