The mythical tale of a Thracian who became the divining heroic rebel against Rome's social injustices has since entered the realm of global folklore - thanks in part to director Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus (1960); a somewhat problematic thinking man’s epic that follows the man's exploits from copper mine slave to gladiator in training, and later, defiant freedom fighter.
After hamstringing a Roman guard for attempting to beat him into submission, Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) is chained to a God forsaken rock where he presumably will starve to death. He is spared this fate by Senator Lentulus Batiatus (Peter Ustinov) who takes pleasure in training gladiators for the games in the Circus Maximus. Impressed with Spartacus’ musculature, Lentulus sends his new protégée to school – a sort of primitive ‘fight club’ for brutes destined to wind up as ground meat in the Roman forums.
The school is run by a merciless taskmaster, Marcellus (Charles McGraw) a gladiator who has earned his freedom through deed and who uses every opportunity to taunt Spartacus – particularly after he refuses to fight him. Spartacus endures further humiliation from Marcellus after he is given a woman, Varinia (Jean Simmons) - presumably to build stamina - but refuses to simply abuse her for his own sexual gratification.
When visiting senator, Marcus Licinius Crassus (Lawrence Olivier) arrives at Lentulus’ home, requesting his own private gladiator game to the death, Spartacus is pitted against Ethiopian Draba (Woody Strode). And although Draba defeats Spartacus in the arena, he refuses to kill him - instead launching into an attack against his captors that ends with Crassus slitting Draba's throat. Varinia is sold to Crassus with Lentulus promising to deliver her the next time he is in Rome.
Meanwhile, Spartacus attacks and murders Marcellus. The gladiators revolt against the school, breaking out and setting about the countryside to form an army of rebels against the Empire. Crassus is given a male slave, Antoninus (Tony Curtis) as his house boy. Interestingly, there are subtle hints that Crassus intends to procure Antoninus as his concubine. However, before this can occur, Antoninus steals into the night and joins Spartacus' forces.
The rebels enjoy early successes against the Roman Army, liberating more slaves in the process who ultimately join their growing legions. This, of course, infuriates Crassus immensely but very much works in service to Senator Sempronius Gracchus (Charles Laughton) plans to install Julius Caesar (John Gavin) to the throne. A misguided alliance with the Cilicians cripples Spartacus' chances for victory after Crassus buys their loyalty. Realizing the hopelessness of their situation, the Cilician's envoy (Herbert Lom) offers safe passage to Asia for Spartacus and Varinia. Spartacus refuses, opting to remain with the men who have pledged their allegiance to him.
As Crassus' armed forces decimate the rebellion, Spartacus is captured along with his surviving army. Crassus declares that he will spare their lives if they reveal Spartacus' identity to him. In the film's best remembered, and most poignantly scripted moment, the soldiers refuse, flanking Spartacus and standing up, one by one - each declaring that they are Spartacus. Crassus edict sentences Spartacus and his legions to crucifixion - a fate spared Varinia and Spartacus' young son when Lentulus masks their identities as his wife and child. In the final scene, Varinia is briefly reunited with Spartacus, who hangs on his crucifix, dying but with the knowledge that Varinia and his child will endure as free members of a new society.
The backstage politics during Spartacus' preproduction is almost as fascinating as what emerges on the screen. For its time, Spartacus was a new hybrid of the time honoured Roman epic - void of any direct references to Christianity or Jesus as was the forte usually ascribed this type of film. Blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo replaced Howard Fast under the pseudonym Sam Jackson; a move overturned by Kirk Douglas insistence that Trumbo be given screen credit under his own name.
For his part, Stanley Kubrick was rather dissatisfied with the final outcome, despite being given a $12 million budget and 10,500 extras to command; put off by the fact that his hero had no perceivable character flaws and emerged from the tale as a deified patron saint of freedom.
Viewed today, Spartacus exemplifies a certain style in film making wholly absent from our contemporary cinematic landscape. Exteriors were shot outside of Madrid, Spain with the Spanish army subbing in for the Romans during the epic battle sequences. Yet, it must be said that the footage shot in Hollywood belies the shift from one continent to the other. There is an artifice and an artificiality to the sound stage footage - ironically, that Kubrick preferred - but that completely stifles the more visceral and dramatic footage shot in Spain. The juxtaposition of these stylistic polar opposites is, at times jarring to contemporary eyes.
Nevertheless, Spartacus remains impressive to behold. Impressive is also a fairly accurate way to describe Universal's Blu-Ray offering. Although flesh tones are arguably too red on this outing, the higher bit rate in mastering this film has resulted in a level of clarity and fine detail never before witnessed on home video - not even on Criterion's 2-disc SE DVD.
Craggy rock formations and wrinkles in actor's faces jump forth from the screen. Film grain is less evident on this outing and restoration expert Robert A. Harris has given this disc a failing grade, but this reviewer could not help but be impressed by the image quality in general - despite its color correction and possible DNR shortcomings. For the novice collector as well as the more ardent film fan, this edition of Spartacus will probably not disappoint.
The lossless audio is more pronounced, with a more aggressive bass than on the DVD. Where Universal has dropped the ball on this anniversary edition is in its extras. Virtually all of the Criterion extras, including audio commentaries and newly recorded interviews and a featurette on the making of the film have been dropped from this Blu-ray. The only extras we get are a few very brief vintage interviews from Ustinov and Simmons as well as a brief selection of deleted scenes. Those who own the previously issued Criterion set will not want to part with it just yet!
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 4 VIDEO/AUDIO 4 EXTRAS 2
John Ford’s Stagecoach (1939) is often billed as the first ‘adult western’ and for good reason; coming, as it had on the heels of a decade’s worth in low budget two reel quickies that were little more than Saturday matinee filler for the kiddy set. Ford’s revision of the Hollywood western is quite something different – if not new. The script by Dudley Nichols and an unaccredited Ben Hecht weaves a hypnotic narrative of lives intertwined within the confines of a carriage racing toward the open plains.
The story begins in earnest with woman of ill repute, Dallas (Claire Trevor) and a disgraced alcoholic, Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell, in his Oscar-winning role) being run out of town.Together with card shark, Hatfield (John Carradine in a thinly veiled impersonation of Doc Holliday), pregnant newlywed Lucy Mallory (Louise Platt) – eager to be reunited with her husband serving in the cavalry, and the modest henpecked traveling salesman, Samuel Peacock (Donald Meek) the stagecoach hits the open road, driven with wild aplomb by the irrepressible Buck (Andy Devine). On the outskirts of town, the stage stops to pick up bank manager, Henry Gatewood (Berton Churchill) who has just absconded with the bank's $50,000 payroll. But danger is near. Buck and Marshall Curly Wilcox (George Bancroft) have received word that Geronimo’s tribe is on the move.
Under the cover of a cavalry escort (led by a very young Tim Holt), the stage makes its way across Monument Valley's desolate landscape, meeting up with The Ringo Kid (John Wayne) – a good natured desperado with a reputation who has just broken out of the penitentiary and is on the hunt to avenge his brother's killer, Luke Plummer (Tom Tyler).
The rest of the film is basically a series of vignettes tracing the intersecting lives and social hypocrisies of these men and women from varying strata, forced to occupy the same limited space. Louise refuses to eat at the same table as Dallas. She is sheltered by Hatfield who presents himself as a gentleman. Ringo befriends Dallas – and later proposes marriage. Doc Boone reclaims his profession and his dignity by delivering Louise’s baby. Henry is exposed as a thief. But all of these narrative threads are mere back story for the film’s raison d’etre; a harrowing race against Geronimo that threatens to put a period to all concerned.
In a chase/action sequence with few equals – Ford took many artistic liberties, broke editing rules, employed a litany of stuntmen and sacrificed several horses: the result - one of the truly outstanding highlights of any western film yet made – a high stakes/no holds barred and bare knuckle trek across the baron wasteland. Impressive too, is Ford’s meticulous attention to every detail in staging and set design. In the final analysis, Stagecoach is a film of stark intelligent beauty and very intimate portraits of life.
Criterion's Blu-Ray disc bests Warner Home Video’s 2 disc DVD offering from a few years back. Still, the results are far from stellar. One really cannot fault Criterion for the lack lustre image quality. Stagecoach is, regrettably, one of those many exemplars from the early part of Hollywood's golden age for which no original camera negative or even a remotely salvageable first generation print survives. Hence, Criterion is working from substandard materials. The linear notes suggest that many hours were spent removing hundreds of anomalies from the image. If that's the case, the original film stock must have been in exhaustively terrible shape.
That said, as they appear on this Blu-Ray, the B&W elements are often hanging on by a thread. Dissolves and fades between scenes suffer the most with excessive and distracting grain. Long shots are plagued by a barrage of age related scratches, tears, nicks and chips that are quite distracting. Close ups are the most stable and exhibit a goodly amount of fine detail. Contrast levels have been brought back in line on this Blu-Ray, as opposed to Warner's DVD that shows signs of boosting and considerable DNR manipulation. Bottom line: if you purchase this disc be forewarned that it's not to show off the reference quality reproduction of the Blu-Ray format.
The Blu-Ray audio is mono as originally recorded, but more subtly nuanced than the audio on Warner's 2 disc DVD. The biggest regret herein remains in the extras. None of Warner's special features survive this upgrade. Lost is an audio commentary and two informative and comprehensive documentaries; one on the making of the film, the other of John Wayne and John Ford’s tempestuous relationship over the course of their respective careers.
In place, Criterion has included an early western silent feature shot by Ford in 1917, a brief opinion piece by Peter Bogdanovich, an overview of stuntman Yakima Canutt's career, some vintage promotional junkets including a lengthy interview with Ford, a new audio commentary that falls short of expectations and the film's original theatrical trailer - in even worse shape than the feature itself.
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 5 VIDEO/AUDIO 2.5 EXTRAS 3
Based on the immortal novel by Gaston Leroux, director Joel Schumacher’s The Phantom of the Opera (2004) is more obviously a direct descendent of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera of the same title – a sprawling, musical-packed extravaganza that only occasionally catches the sublime fire and charm of the stage show, despite having been imbued with an impeccable cast and stellar production values. Webber and the director have collaborated on this 'show of shows' but the results are not comprehensively engrossing.
The major setback that Schumacher has in directing this film is, ironically, also its greatest asset; the Lloyd Webber roots that made Phantom such a colossal hit in the first place. Pop-opera is edifying on the stage. It’s larger than life. It breathes forth a palpable energy that can only be released through the art of live performance. Yet, on the big screen such grandeur has almost the opposite effect. The gaudy excess and luscious trappings are somehow dwarfed and almost submarine the intimacy of this tragic love story.
Still, there is plenty to appreciate and recommend in this film; not the least of which is Emmy Rossum, cast as the epically winsome and tragic embodiment of Lloyd Webber's heroine, Christine Daae. Rossum has an intangible freshness that bodes well with her ingénue alter ego and her voice is pure gold. She elevates Webber's 'Think of Me Fondly' into musical art of the first magnitude and her ode in a frosty graveyard to Webber's ‘Wishing You Were Somehow Here’ is undoubtedly the film’s dramatic and musical highlight.
Far more problematic for the film is its casting choice of Gerard Butler as the Phantom – capable and chilling as the mad spook, yet rather soulless and entirely lacking in any sort of empathy or compassion so essential for the audience to be able to relate to the phantom as anything more than a sadistic ghoul. This Phantom doesn't menacingly skulk around the bowels of the Paris opera house so much as he slinks with effeminate disdain for the elegant creatures of his artistic melange that he can never possess. In the end, the assets of the film narrowly outweigh these liabilities.
The film opens with an aged Raoul (Patrick Wilson) purchasing an ornate music box that once belonged to the late Paris Opera House chanteuse, Christine Daae (Rossum). An orphan, living under the watchful eyes of her caregiver, Madame Giry (Miranda Richardson) and a mysterious benefactor, the Phantom (Gerard Butler), Christine is promoted to the lead of the opera’s latest show after its resident diva, Carlotta (Minnie Driver) is first sabotaged, then outwardly threatened with death by the Phantom. Christine debuts at the opera is a smashing sensation.
However, the Phantom has more intimate plans for his young protégé. Seducing her through song, he lures Christine into the bowels of the Paris Opera, exposing his lair and bearing his soul to her. Sadly, Christine loves Raoul and the Phantom – spurned by that revelation, with a loathsome contempt for his own hideous disfigurement – is driven to total madness and self destruction.
In the film's climactic moment, the Phantom seizes Christine on stage, dropping them both through a trap door to his watery lair while distracting the authorities by releasing the theatre's grand chandelier from its ceiling moor. The great orb of glass and candlelit swings into the stage, setting the opera house ablaze and sending extras scurrying to save their own lives. Raoul makes chase and confronts the Phantom in a dual.
At the last moment, Christine and Raoul are spared certain death by the arrival of a torch carrying mob, but the Phantom has vanished once more into the night - presumably never to surface again. The narrative jumps forward to the present with the aged Raoul clutching Christine's music box - a broken man with only bittersweet memories as his accompaniment into a very uncertain and dark future.
Warner Home Video’s Blu-Ray offering bests its 2 disc Special Edition. Yet, the image doesn't quite contain that 'wow' factor associated with the best Blu-Ray discs on the market. Yes, the palette is both rich and fully saturated. Yes, reds are velvety and deep. But flesh tones, though appearing quite natural, seem at the same time to suffer from a loss of fine detail except in close up. The image is sharp, but not outstandingly so. Contrast levels also appear slightly weaker than expected, especially when comparing the Blu-Ray directly to the 2 disc DVD.
Warner has opted to carry over its 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack instead of providing a true HD lossless track. Extras are all direct imports from the 2 disc DVD and include a thorough back story divided into several documentaries that cover all of the filmic versions and the impetus of the stage show essentials – plus an additional scene left on the cutting room floor and the film’s original theatrical trailer.
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 3.5 VIDEO/AUDIO 3.5 EXTRAS 3
The last Bond film to bear Pierce Brosnan’s imprint is Lee Tamahori’s Die Another Day (2002); a glossy retread on premises and plot elements previously addressed in Diamonds Are Forever and The Man With The Golden Gun with just a dash of danger a la Ian Fleming's Casino Royale tossed in for good measure. At best, however, the screenplay by Neal Purvis and Rodger Wade treads heavily on the Bond legacy - occasionally veering dangerously close to lampoon and on the whole not terribly representative of the best in the Bond franchise.
As the tale begins, Bond has been assigned to a rendezvous with North Korea’s Colonel Tan-Sun Moon (Will Yun Lee). Bond's goal is to put a period to Moon's demented dreams of world domination and capture his arms supplier, the terrorist, Zhao (Rick Yune). But Bond’s mission has been compromised by a rogue informant.
After a glittering pyrotechnics display of mass destruction that seemingly ends with Moon's death over a steep falls, Bond is captured and taken prisoner by Red Chinese forces. For 14 months he is severely tortured, then traded to MI6 for Zao (who had been captured). Suspected of having broken under pressure and revealed secret intelligence, Bond is relieved of his duties and blamed for the leaked information.
M (Judi Dench) confides that she can no longer trust Bond, who shortly thereafter escapes his confined quarters in sick bay, first to Hong Kong, then Cuba. There, Bond teams with sexy covert agent, Jinx (Halle Berry) who believes that the key to Zhao’s whereabouts lies with the sudden emergence of mysterious British billionaire Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens).
Bond confronts Graves at his fencing club in Britain where the psychotic escalates the stakes in their fencing lesson to an all out assault that ends only after Graves' private secretary, Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike) steps in to break up their fight. Earlier, fencing instructor, Verity (Madonna in an unexpected, but most welcomed cameo) had attempted as much, telling Bond "I don't like cock fights!"
From here, the plot digresses into fantastic plastic surgeries that have made Moon and Graves one in the same, thanks to a genetic conversion that is both painful and short lived. Borrowing heavily on the doomsday device first introduced in Diamonds Are Forever and The Man With The Golden Gun, Graves has harnessed the power of the sun as a destructive intergalactic ray gun - Icarus - that can be pointed at any target in the world. Frost reveals to Bond that she is MI6 intelligence working under Graves' radar but fails to tell Bond that she is actually the moll responsible for his capture in North Korea.
Improbability seems to be the order of the day in this Bond film as everyone arrives in Iceland for a display of Graves' weaponry. In everything from having a posh palace and hotel constructed entirely out of ice, where guests cavort in skimpy attire and sleep on cold slabs of ice for beds, yet are somehow never cold, to Graves employing his doomsday device to melt an ice cap, but not the frozen palace built on it – at least not the room where Jinx has been entombed, this Bond film asks audiences to throw caution and logic to the wind and just go along for the ride. Bond drives an invisible Astin Martin – another impossibility made possible only through ILM’s digital movie making.
Eventually, Bond and Jinx stow away on Graves cargo plane. In the drawn out showdown that concludes this film, Jinx kills Miranda and Bond and Graves do battle as the plane, having flown through Icarus' heat seeking beam, is vaporized. Thus ends, Die Another Day, with too much CGI and implausible scenarios to maintain an audience's attentions for sustained utter disbelief. It should be noted that Die Another Day is not as flawed as some of the other Bond adventure films in the canon, but it does tend to end Brosnon's tenure in the franchise on a decidedly sour note.
MGM/Fox's Blu-Ray easily bests anything we've seen before. Thanks to the technological wizardry of Lowry Digital Restorations, Bond has never looked better. Stunning new frame-by-frame digital clean ups from Lowry – a cutting edge leader in film preservation – have yielded exception image clarity and fidelity faithful to the original theatrical presentation. Color is bold, stunning and accurately balanced. Blacks are jet black. Whites are pristine, but never blooming. Better still, Die Another Day has received a stunning new DTS sound mix that delivers exceptional spatial fidelity.
Extras include all of the documentaries MGM/UA Home Video previously produced and released on their lacklustre single disc incarnation back in the late 1990s early 2000s but with an added kick. Virtually all of that previously issued footage (which ranged from moderate to poor in image quality) has been given a serious upgrade. While source materials in these docs varies, their enhanced presentation herein makes them at long last worthy viewable addendums. This is Bond done right!
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 3 VIDEO/AUDIO 5 EXTRAS 3.5
From its harrowing boat/hot air balloon chase that opens the film on a distinctive note of high octane, to the hand-to-hand fight finale between Bond and the villain in a confined submarine, director Michael Apted’s The World Is Not Enough (1999) is an impressively mounted super-production mired by problematic story-telling – at least insofar as a Bond film is concerned. Rules are rules and the rules of a Bond film should never be tampered with. First: that the villain will always be male. Second, that the Bond girl - usually scantily clad - is an appendage to Bond, not a sidekick. Third, that James Bond is ultimately the hero of the day.
Yet, what occurs on this outing is a subversion of these time honoured principles, perhaps because the screenplay patched together by Neal Purvis, Roger Wade and Bruce Feirstein has no original material to fall back on. All of Ian Fleming’s original masterworks have been used up. Instead, Bond (Pierce Brosnon) becomes a hapless fop in the diabolical machinations of Elektra King (Sophie Marceau). Unbeknownst to Bond, Elektra’s prior kidnapping by rogue nationalist, Renard (Robert Carlyle) has brainwashed her into becoming his loyal accomplice and lover.
In the pre-title sequence, Bond retrieves a large sum of money for Sir Robert King (David Calder) from a group of crooked Swiss bankers in Bilbao, Spain. The money is returned to MI6 Headquarters in London, but it has been tainted with a powerful explosive that is triggered by a hidden detonator in Sir Robert's lapel pin. After a nail-biting boat race down the Thames in pursuit of King's assassin (Maria Grazia Cucinotta), that ends when she decides to kill herself and, presumably Bond aboard a hot air balloon by blowing them both up, Bond is assigned to protect King's daughter, Elektra from a similar fate.
King's recovered funds are traced by M and Bond to Renard - a KGB operative who is slowly dying of a bullet lodged in his brain, but with the rare side effect that it has made Renard impervious to pain. Bond flies to Azerbaijan where he and Elektra are attacked by a hit squad. Assuming that the Russians are behind the hit, Bond confronts his sometimes friend, Valentin Zukovksy (Robbie Coltrane) and quickly learns that Elektra's head of security, Davidov (Ulrich Thomsen) is in league with Renard.
Killing Davidov, Bond next poses as Mikhail Arkov - a nuclear physicist working with weapons grade plutonium in a mine in Kazakhstan, where he meets his match in American scientist, Christmas Jones (Denise Richards). Recognizing that Bond is not Arkov, Christmas blows his cover and Renard manages to make off with enough plutonium to destroy half the world. Bond discloses to M that Elektra may not be as innocent as she seems, a suspicion delayed rather than confirmed when Elektra stages a faux attack on her own pipeline to diffuse Bond's curiosity. M is taken hostage by Elektra to Turkey and Bond and Christmas find themselves in a race against time to confront Renard aboard the submarine he plans to use.
The script, an interesting series of action-based vignettes that hark back to the best in Bond tradition, clings together barely - and mostly because of its exotic locales and thought numbing special effects. Most stunts are full scale live action, superbly photographed without the aid of distracting CGI.
The first half of the film's narrative is impeccable cloak and dagger nonsense - clever and distracting. However, the latter half – when Elektra's full wrath is exposed - plays more like Greek revenge tragedy (no pun intended). Through it all, Bond is, regrettably, just along for the ride. He is first made Elektra’s complicit dupe; then second string to an all too savvy/less than sexy Bond girl, and finally, made the victim of torture that ends only after Zukovsky barges in, is killed by Elektra, but manages to shoot loose the handcuffs that have prevented Bond from his escape.
With all its flaws, The World is Not Enough still remains ambitious entertainment. At the time of its release it emerged as a $361 million blockbuster. Today, it's still a worthy contender in the Bond canon of classic adventures.
It should be noted that there is a considerable gap in the James Bond Blu-Ray franchise that needs to be corrected by the good people at MGM/Fox. After releasing three box sets and two stand alone discs, MGM/FOX has seemingly lost interest in the Bond franchise on Blu-Ray. Financial woes and restructuring aside, we are missing two Bond classics between the Blu-Ray release of Licence to Kill and The World Is Not Enough: Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies.
MGM/Fox's Blu-Ray easily bests anything we've seen before. Thanks to the technological wizardry of Lowry Digital Restorations, Bond has never looked better. Stunning new frame-by-frame digital clean ups from Lowry – a cutting edge leader in film preservation – have yielded exception image clarity and fidelity faithful to the original theatrical presentation. Color is bold, stunning and accurately balanced. Blacks are jet black. Whites are pristine, but never blooming. Better still, The World Is Not Enough has received a stunning new DTS sound mix that delivers exceptional spatial fidelity.
Extras include all of the documentaries MGM/UA Home Video previously produced and released on their lacklustre single disc incarnation back in the late 1990s early 2000s but with an added kick. Virtually all of that previously issued footage (which ranged from moderate to poor in image quality) has been given a serious upgrade. While source materials in these docs varies, their enhanced presentation herein makes them at long last worthy viewable addendums. This is Bond done right!
There are also audio commentary tracks, a wealth of vintage stock footage, tests, trailers and television spots and stills to wade through. Recommended!
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 3.5 VIDEO/AUDIO 5 EXTRAS 3.5
John Glen’s Licence To Kill (1989) is a film that has no middle ground amongst James Bond fans – one either judges it as a superior departure from the formulaic Bond excursions a la Roger Moore or dismisses it completely as Bond-esque tripe. In the opinion of this reviewer, it is an inanely dismal instalment to the franchise best forgotten.
Timothy Dalton makes his second and final appearance as Bond, this time transformed from light-hearted savvy adventurer/spy into a brutish avenging desperado that is more aligned with the villain of the piece, Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) than with the legacy of Ian Fleming.
After aiding FBI man Felix Leiter (David Hedison) in a drug bust, and standing up as best man at his wedding, Bond returns hours later to discover Felix’s wife, Della Churchill (Priscilla Barnes) murdered and Felix barely clinging to life after being fed to, and half eaten by, a shark. In an awkward plot entanglement that suggests James has outlived his usefulness, Bond’s license to kill is revoked by the British government. Now a-wall, Bond pursues Sanchez for personal revenge in Mexico City.
On this quest, Bond finds himself paired with Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell), an undercover FBI agent assigned to pick up where Felix left off. Together they prowl the backstreets of Mexico City, doing battle with Sanchez’s psychotic henchman, Dario (a very young, Benicio Del Toro) while Bond attempts to bleed the kingpin’s maul, Lupe Lamore (Talisa Soto) for vital information.
What is particularly disappointing about Licence to Kill is its absence of fundamental elements that audiences have come to expect from a Bond movie; scantily clad women, witty one liners, memorable action sequences – and above all else – a certain amount of seriousness on the part of the actors to suspend the audience in the art of make-believe.
For example: there is nothing even remotely engaging about a misguided vignette that has Wayne Newton cast as Prof. Joe Butcher - charlatan leader of a religious cult. Nor are there any memorable action sequences to fill up a story that concentrates solely on Sanchez sneering and plotting, as other men shoot it out with Bond and Bouvier. Instead, we are fed an endless barrage of pyrotechnics that become tiresome long before the final fade out.
Licence to Kill premiered at an impressive $156 million, a sizeable financial profit that, in hindsight, accumulated its box office more from audience expectations rather than satisfaction guaranteed. In general, critics were far more dismissive of the film. Timothy Dalton – who had entered the franchise with high hopes, was undoubtedly unnerved by the publicity associated with playing the part. Despite rumours that he was fired, Dalton respectfully resigned from the series by mutual consent, leaving Broccoli once again in search of a mere mortal to fill Bond’s godlike shoes.
It should be noted that there is a considerable gap in the James Bond Blu-Ray franchise that needs to be corrected by the good people at MGM/Fox. After releasing three box sets and two stand alone discs, MGM/FOX has seemingly lost interest in the Bond franchise on Blu-Ray. Financial woes and restructuring aside, we are missing three Bond classics between the Blu-Ray release of For Your Eyes Only and Licence to Kill:Octopussy, A View To A Kill and The Living Daylights.
MGM/Fox's Blu-Ray easily bests anything we've seen before. Thanks to the technological wizardry of Lowry Digital Restorations, Bond has never looked better. Stunning new frame-by-frame digital clean ups from Lowry – a cutting edge leader in film preservation – have yielded exception image clarity and fidelity faithful to the original theatrical presentation. Color is bold, stunning and accurately balanced. Blacks are jet black. Whites are pristine, but never blooming. Better still, Licence to Kill has received a stunning new DTS sound mix that delivers exceptional spatial fidelity.
Extras include all of the documentaries MGM/UA Home Video previously produced and released on their lacklustre single disc incarnation back in the late 1990s early 2000s but with an added kick. Virtually all of that previously issued footage (which ranged from moderate to poor in image quality) has been given a serious upgrade. While source materials in these docs varies, their enhanced presentation herein makes them at long last worthy viewable addendums. This is Bond done right!
There are also audio commentary tracks, a wealth of vintage stock footage, tests, trailers and television spots and stills to wade through.
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 2.5 VIDEO/AUDIO 5 EXTRAS 4
With For Your Eyes Only (1981) producer Albert R. Broccoli made every attempt to return Bond to his more ‘realistic’ Ian Fleming based roots. In everything from the film’s opening sequence (that has Bond placing flowers on the grave of his late wife, Tracy - (whom he married in On Her Majesty's Secret Service) to the staging of its action sequences, (right up to and including the climactic near drowning of James and his Bond girl, Melina Havelok (Carole Bouquet), there is a sense that the events occurring in this film, above all other Bonds, are quite plausible.
The fact that Bond does not save the world but merely aids in the preservation of its currency, in retrospect foreshadows the present downgrading in Bond’s status from super human, to just an action guy with really cool gadgets.
Bond is deployed to recover the A-Tac; a decoding device from the British sea vessel, St. Georges, that has sunk somewhere off the coast of Greece. At the same time, Melina Havelok (Carole Bouquet) is on a mission to avenge the murders of her mother and father who were attempting to salvage the wreck. Inevitably these two destinies collide when it is discovered that a man named Aris Kristatos (Julian Glover) is responsible for both the sinking and the killings.
At first, Kristatos presents himself as an ally to Bond. He is a cultured patron of the arts and devoted sponsor to Olympic hopeful, Bibi Dahl (Lynn-Holly Johnson in a camp performance as an underaged/oversexed skater, setting her cap for Bond, and Kristatos stooge, Erich Kriegler – John Wyman). However, very shortly these alliances shift as Bond learns that his true compatriot in Greek smuggler, Milos Columbo (Topol).
In retrospect, the film is notable for the appearance of the late first wife of future Bond alumni, Pierce Brosnon; Cassandra Harris as the Countess Lisl. Aesthetically, For Your Eyes Only also marks a 'first' in Bond films by featuring the transparent ghost of Sheena Easton singing against the main title sequence; the only musical artist to be showcased in person during a main title sequence.
At $195 million, the receipts on For Your Eyes Only may not have been as impressive as those accrued by the previous Moore/Bond flick, Moonraker, but they were respectable enough to convince Broccoli that his revised interpretation of Bond had been the correct one all along.
MGM/Fox Blu-Ray transfer is state-of-the-art, thanks to the technological wizardry of Lowry Digital Restorations. Bond has never looked better. Image quality takes a quantum leap forward in all departments - most noticeably in achieving more consistent and accurate color fidelity and a fine details throughout. Stunning new frame-by-frame digital clean ups from Lowry – a cutting edge leader in film preservation – have yielded exception image clarity and fidelity faithful to the original theatrical presentation.
Better still, For Your Eyes Only has received a stunning new DTS sound mix. Extras include all of the documentaries MGM/UA Home Video previously produced and released on their lacklustre single disc incarnation back in the late 1990s early 2000s but with an added kick. Virtually all of that previously issued footage (which ranged from moderate to poor in image quality) has been given a serious upgrade. While source materials in these docs varies, their enhanced presentation herein makes them at long last worthy viewable addendums. This is Bond done right!
There are also audio commentary tracks, a wealth of vintage stock footage, tests, trailers and television spots and stills to wade through. Highly recommended!
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 5 VIDEO/AUDIO 5 EXTRAS 5
Lewis Gilbert’s Moonraker (1979) is perhaps the most lavishly bizarre of the James Bond adventures. In capitalizing on the obsession with the space program and the absolute runaway success of George Lucas' Star Wars (1977) the film's screenplay by Christopher Wood retained only threadbare elements from the Ian Fleming novel in which megalomaniac industrialist, Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) hijacks his own space shuttle for a rendezvous with a secret space station. In an age of intergalactic pipe dreams – this one must have seemed like an implausible lulu, though the creation of Russia’s space laboratory - MIR has since afforded at least part of Drax’s diabolical dream a curious legitimacy.
After the stunning audience ovation received for The Spy Who Loved Me Richard Kiel reluctantly agreed to reprise his role as Jaws in Moonraker. In truth, Kiel did not mind the part so much as he detested the awkward metal fangs he was forced to wear. The stainless steel could only be inserted into his mouth for short periods and brief takes because it made him gag.
Determined that every penny should show on the screen, producer Albert Broccoli moved his production from England to France to escape oppressive British tax laws. Instead, Broccoli and his team took over France’s two studios; Éclair in Paris and Studio de Boulogne in Epinay where Production Designer Ken Adam’s toiled on a series of extravagant sets – the largest ever built at either studio. However, Pinewood remained Bond’s home for Derek Meddings’ impressive array of miniature special effects which earned him and the film its’ only Oscar nomination and win.
Although Moonraker had, and continues to have, its list of detractors, Christopher Wood’s screenplay is, for the most part, an exercise in total fusion of all the elements that made previous Bond films such an unqualified success: bold original stunt work and marvellously integrated action sequences; a diabolically effective villain, a peppering of light humour a la Moore, and an engaging Bond girl; Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles).
Bond and Goodhead first meet at Drax’s California production facility where his space shuttle – the ‘Moonraker’ is built. Bond believes that Goodhead is Drax’s girl. In fact, she is CIA masquerading as NASA intelligence to get to the bottom of Drax’s dream project. It seems the maniacal industrialist is hell bent on killing the world population with a deadly toxin derived from a rare orchid found in the Andes Mountains. Afterward he will repopulate the earth with a chosen assortment of physically superior human specimens already sent into seclusion at his space station.
As Bond becomes determined to rid the world of another obsessive madman, the production globe-trots from Rio to Argentina to outer space with impressively nimble speed that never once seemed contrived or out of place. As farfetched as fantasy goes - Moonraker delivers on every level, its’ $203 million worldwide gross an unsurpassed fiscal achievement for the franchise until 1995’s Goldeneye. Although Moonraker was financially successful, producer Broccoli shared a concern and sentiment echoed by die-hard fans of the franchise that the film’s lack of reverence for the more serious side of Bond would eventually be the series undoing.
It should be noted that there is a gap in the James Bond Blu-Ray franchise that needs to be corrected by the good people at MGM/Fox. After releasing three box sets and two stand alone discs, MGM/FOX has seemingly lost interest in the Bond franchise on Blu-Ray. Financial woes and restructuring aside, we are missing Roger Moore's Bond classic The Spy Who Loved Me between the Blu-Ray release of The Man With The Golden Gun and this title.
MGM/Fox Blu-Ray transfer is state-of-the-art, thanks to the technological wizardry of Lowry Digital Restorations. Bond has never looked better. Image quality takes a quantum leap forward in all departments - most noticeably in achieving more consistent and accurate color fidelity and a fine details throughout. Stunning new frame-by-frame digital clean ups from Lowry – a cutting edge leader in film preservation – have yielded exception image clarity and fidelity faithful to the original theatrical presentation. There remains a very minute amount of edge enhancement present during the scenes taking place at the Drax estate, but this is a minor quibble on an otherwise flawless visual presentation.
Better still, Moonraker has received a stunning new DTS sound mix. Extras include all of the documentaries MGM/UA Home Video previously produced and released on their lacklustre single disc incarnation back in the late 1990s early 2000s but with an added kick. Virtually all of that previously issued footage (which ranged from moderate to poor in image quality) has been given a serious upgrade. While source materials in these docs varies, their enhanced presentation herein makes them at long last worthy viewable addendums. This is Bond done right!
There are also audio commentary tracks, a wealth of vintage stock footage, tests, trailers and television spots and stills to wade through. Highly recommended!
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 4 VIDEO/AUDIO 4.5 EXTRAS 5
Given that writers Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz had managed a minor coup with Roger Moore’s first outing as Bond, his second Bond adventure, Guy Hamilton’s The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) proved an absurdly comedic entrée that threatened to push James Bond into the realm of extreme slapstick once again.
Apparently suffering from a distinct note of ennui, the plot became a minor mishmash of elements seen elsewhere and to better effect in the franchise with Bond becoming embroiled in yet another assassination plot against his person.
After receiving a golden bullet marked with his double-o insignia, Bond is relieved of all duties and asked by his superior, M (Bernard Lee) to disappear for a while. Instead, Bond plots to stake out Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) – the man with the golden gun. Unbeknownst to Bond, Scaramanga doesn’t really want him dead. The bullet was actually sent by the hit man’s girlfriend, Andrea Anders (Maude Adams, in her first appearance in a Bond movie). Unfortunately, Bond realizes that Scaramanga’s intentions are to annihilate the world through the harnessing of a destructive solar device engineered from his remote island retreat nestled in Red China seas.
Though many critics consider this film a garish hiccup: too coy to be taken seriously and too extreme to be believable, in retrospect, mood and deportment The Man With The Golden Gun foreshadows other pending Bond mega hits, like Moonraker (1979) and Octopussy (1983). And then, of course there is Christopher Lee. As Scaramanga, Lee is perhaps the second greatest Bond nemesis to ever appear in the franchise, sandwiched between Auric Goldfinger and Hugo Drax.
Justly famous too are the several fantastic action set pieces, including a three-sixty mid-air roll stunt over open water, two funhouse sequences, and, the climactic showdown on Scaramanga’s island in which a miniature model of the doomsday device - appearing remarkably convincing even under today’s scrutiny in special effects – is destroyed in a glittering ball of flame. Also noteworthy for comedic relief is the inclusion of pint size Bond villain, Nick Nack (Herve Villechaize, of Tattoo fame on television’s Fantasy Island) as Scaramanga’s hench-midget.
However, in Bond girl Mary Goodnight (Britt Ekland), a vapid flaxen-haired bubblehead the film has an insurmountable obstacle that cannot be overcome. In every way, Goodnight is the female equivalent of a village idiot – placing herself in one precarious circumstance after the next and becoming completely ineffectual as a woman to whom Bond would ever consider sharing his bed, let alone his adventures.
Tepid box office response to The Man With The Golden Gun (it only grossed $98 million) presented producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman with the very real prospect that this would be the last Bond adventure. For Saltzman, the prophecy came true. Forced into personal debt that threatened to bankrupt EON Productions, Broccoli had no choice but to dissolve their partnership in order to save his company from financial ruin.
MGM/Fox Blu-Ray transfer is state-of-the-art, thanks to the technological wizardry of Lowry Digital Restorations. Bond has never looked better. Image quality takes a quantum leap forward in all departments - most noticeably in achieving more consistent and accurate color fidelity and a fine details throughout. Stunning new frame-by-frame digital clean ups from Lowry – a cutting edge leader in film preservation – have yielded exception image clarity and fidelity faithful to the original theatrical presentation.
Better still, The Man With The Golden Gun has received a stunning new DTS sound mix. Extras include all of the documentaries MGM/UA Home Video previously produced and released on their lacklustre single disc incarnation back in the late 1990s early 2000s but with an added kick. Virtually all of that previously issued footage (which ranged from moderate to poor in image quality) has been given a serious upgrade. While source materials in these docs varies, their enhanced presentation herein makes them at long last worthy viewable addendums. This is Bond done right!
There are also audio commentary tracks, a wealth of vintage stock footage, tests, trailers and television spots and stills to wade through. Highly recommended!
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 3.5 VIDEO/AUDIO 5 EXTRAS 5
After Diamonds Are Forever, Sean Connery once again announced his retirement from the James Bond series – and meant it this time…well sort of (Connery would appear as Bond one more time in an unofficial remake of Thunderball entitled, Never Say Never Again 1983). However, in 1972 producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were prepared with a replacement.
After a rather inauspicious start as leading man in MGM’s waning years, Roger Moore had made a name for himself as Simon Templer in television’s wildly popular series, The Saint. With his debut in Guy Hamilton’s Live and Let Die (1973) Moore managed to realign the persona of 007 with more contemporary cinematic trends – no small feat of accomplishment, considering how rabidly popular Connery’s stoic and brooding Bond had been just a few short years before.
Yet, unlike Connery – who had detested the glitz, glam and endless hounding for autographs and interviews from the press and his fans, almost from the moment he had essayed into the role– Moore relished every moment in the process of becoming Bond and proved to be a great raconteur, both on and off the set.
Redesigning Bond to suit Moore’s personality meant the loss of that harder edge Connery had infused into the character. As screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz would later explain, Connery’s personality allowed for the option of writing a scene in which Bond could either kiss or kill the girl. Moore, however, would appear thuggish and ill at ease with the latter option. Hence, Live and Let Die has plenty of threatening menace – but most of it is delivered by Moore as total quip.
Ironically, at the time of the film’s release, critics perceived Moore’s nonchalance as having a ‘softening’ effect on the character. They also criticized the inclusion of J.W. Pepper (Clifton James), a sublimely over-the-top caricature of the Southern bigot that nevertheless won laughs and popularity from the audience. If any singular unforgivable sin can be ascribed to Live and Let Die it derives from the absence of resident gadget master “Q” (Desmond Llewelyn) from the proceedings; an omission never satisfactorily explained away.
Today, Live and Let Die is perhaps more heavily dated than most Bonds – certainly more than any of the other Roger Moore classics. Its focus on Harlem hoods, thugs and a drug cartel run by San Monique politician Dr. Kananga/Mr. Big (Yaphet Kotto) simply reeks of blacksploitation that readily flooded the cinematic marketplace then, but is now acknowledged and almost universally panned as racial tripe a la films like Shaft (1971), Blacula (1972) or Foxy Brown (1974).
Live and Let Die’s plot begins with the murder of three undercover British operatives – all investigating the spurious business concerns of Mr. Big. Bond is assigned to get to the bottom of things and quickly comes into conflict with United Nation’s diplomat, Dr. Kananga, who employs clairvoyant, Solitaire (Jane Seymour) to predict his future. The other devout member of Kananga’s entourage is Tee Hee (Julius Harris) a one armed man whose other appendage is a metal hook.
When Bond arrives in San Monique he is accompanied by double agent, Rosie Carver (Gloria Hendry) who is actually working for Mr. Big to get rid of Bond. Initially, Bond believes Rosie is just inept. Eventually, however, he learns the truth, necessitating Rosie’s untimely liquidation. After Bond seduces Solitaire, the two flee Big’s stronghold to the relative safety of Louisiana during Mardi Gras, an escape that results in some rather hilarious manoeuvres with a biplane that never quite seems to get off the ground. Eventually, Bond and Solitaire find themselves at Mr. Big’s mercy on the isle of San Monique once more, with Bond detonating Big’s drug fields before escaping on a train to England.
Viewed today, Live and Let Die is rather impressively mounted - its most iconic moment a harrowing boat chase through the bayous of Louisiana where Bond, pursued by Big's men, interrupts a young couple's wedding by jumping his speed boat on land and through their reception tent - toppling spirits, beverages and the wedding cake. The other memorable moment in the film involves Bond skipping to safety atop the heads of a series of live alligators in the Florida marshes. Stunt man Bob Fitzsimmons performed this latter bit of light stepping in Moore's stead and almost lost a foot for his efforts.
While filming Live and Let Die’s opium sequences in the tropics, Moore attended a Tarot card ‘reading’ that uncannily predicted with accuracy he would have a son and become a humanitarian for UNICEF. The heady concern that Moore would not be accepted as Bond by the public was counterbalanced by an impressive media blitz in publicity that included everything from a round of interviews to oddities like commercial tie-ins with Evinrude Motors and Glastron Boats, and even a commercial in which Moore trades vodka martinis to promote milk consumption. These campaigns proved successful. Upon its release, Live and Let Die became the most profitable Bond yet, raking in $161 million worldwide. Broccoli, Saltzman and Moore could at last breathe a sigh of relief.
It should be noted that there is a considerable gap in the James Bond Blu-Ray franchise that needs to be corrected by the good people at MGM/Fox. After releasing three box sets and two stand alone discs, MGM/FOX has seemingly lost interest in the Bond franchise on Blu-Ray. Financial woes and restructuring aside, we are missing three Bond classics between the Blu-Ray release of Thunderball and Live and Let Die: You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Diamonds Are Forever.
MGM/Fox's Blu-Ray easily bests anything we've seen before. Thanks to the technological wizardry of Lowry Digital Restorations, Bond has never looked better. Stunning new frame-by-frame digital clean ups from Lowry – a cutting edge leader in film preservation – have yielded exception image clarity and fidelity faithful to the original theatrical presentation. Color is bold, stunning and accurately balanced. Blacks are jet black. Whites are pristine, but never blooming. Better still, Live and Let Die has received a stunning new DTS sound mix that is more refined.
Extras include all of the documentaries MGM/UA Home Video previously produced and released on their lacklustre single disc incarnation back in the late 1990s early 2000s but with an added kick. Virtually all of that previously issued footage (which ranged from moderate to poor in image quality) has been given a serious upgrade. While source materials in these docs varies, their enhanced presentation herein makes them at long last worthy viewable addendums. This is Bond done right!
There are also audio commentary tracks, a wealth of vintage stock footage, tests, trailers and television spots and stills to wade through. Highly recommended!
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 4 VIDEO/AUDIO 5 EXTRAS 5
Financially speaking, Goldfinger tipped box office scales with a meteoric return on its investment: $125 million worldwide – a record in the Guinness Book. So, it stood to reason that any follow up adventure in the Bond series had to be bigger, bolder and better than its predecessor. By then, James Bond had developed a legion of fans that expected as much and would certainly tolerate nothing less.
Hence, from this point on in the franchise, producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were faced with a minor dilemma; Bond had to top himself in each subsequent adventure – often with mixed reviews and most definitely with a considerable sacrifice to his character development re-shaped by an increasing emphasis on stunt work and gadgetry.
These forfeits to the stylistic integrity of the early Bond adventures that had more or less remained truer to author Ian Fleming’s roots first become apparent in Terence Young’s Thunderball (1965) – an outlandish $5.6 million thriller/epic shot in expansive Panavision.
Former collaborators Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham created a minor sensation even before production on Thunderball began by suing Ian Fleming during the publication of his novel. They claimed that Fleming had lifted whole portions of his story from a manuscript they had written but were unsuccessful at marketing to prospective film producers. In order to diffuse the situation, Broccoli and Saltzman agreed to a truce, whereby they relinquished producer credit on Thunderball to McClory.
As an artefact of the mid-1960s, Thunderball is perhaps no more resplendent or lengthy a film than many from this period. The manic quest to develop properties deriving more style than substance (spawned by 1954’s induction of Cinemascope) had reached a level of saturation in stories almost entirely dependent on widescreen for their box office draw. By 1965, even plots that arguably would have functioned better on a more succinct budget and smaller scale were erroneously blown out of proportion.
However, as a Bond adventure, Thunderball does tend to lag, particularly during its underwater sequences – the most ambitiously undertaken for any film to date. During production, director Young had expressed as much concern over the film’s running time – nearly two and a half hours. Regardless, Thunderball premiered at that length and almost overnight became the sort of overnight sensation few directors even dare dream about. Impressively weighing in its worldwide revenue at $141 million – in terms of the number of paid admissions, Thunderball breaks many records set by more contemporary blockbusters.
The plot concerns Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi); an agent working for Bond’s arch nemesis, the counter intelligence spy agency SPECTRE. Largo holds NATO forces captive by threatening to explode two atomic bombs he has hijacked from a Vulcan bomber. To avert total world disaster, Bond (Sean Connery) travels to the tropics where he discovers a crucial link in the chain of events: Largo’s kept woman; the elegant, though innocent Domino (Claudine Auger) who quickly redeems herself by becoming Bond’s lover and ally.
Viewed today, what is particularly rewarding about Thunderball is its inclusion of Italian actress Lucianna Paluzzi as Fiona Volpe, Largo’s femme fatale - as ruthless, powerful and deadly as Largo himself. She is a Bond girl, but one who remains a force to be reckoned with. After murdering Domino’s brother, Major Francois Derval (Paul Stassino), Fiona systematically plots Bond’s demise by seducing him into a trap at the Kiss-Kiss Club – an outdoor nightclub where she is accidentally murdered by one of Largo’s henchmen who is aiming at Bond instead.
Following the chart topping success of Goldfinger’s title track, sung by Shirley Bassey, Thunderball’s main title from Tom Jones became an overnight winner. However, the original soundtrack album released several months before the film contained only orchestral cues from the first half of the movie. Composer John Barry hadn’t the time to write the rest of the score before the soundtrack went into mass distribution! In the final analysis, Thunderball was an enormous success – solidifying Bond’s supremacy as the undisputed super sleuth of the movies. That supremacy would soon be tested.
MGM/Fox's Blu-Ray disc is state-of-the-art, thanks to the technological wizardry of Lowry Digital Restorations. Stunning new frame-by-frame digital clean ups from Lowry – a cutting edge leader in film preservation – have yielded exception image clarity and fidelity faithful to the original theatrical presentation. Yet, unlike other discs mastered on Blu-Ray, Thunderball seems to fall a tad short of expectations.
Yes, colors are bright and fine detail is astonishing; yet neither seems all together up to par as on the transfers of Goldfinger, Dr. No or From Russia With Love. True, Thunderball was not shot on the same Technicolor film stock so perhaps this accounts for its slightly less than altogether brilliant look on Blu-Ray. Nevertheless, this Blu-Ray will surely NOT disappoint. Thunderball has received a stunning new 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS sound mixes that are powerful and engaging while remaining faithful to the original 6-track sound elements.
Extras include all of the documentaries MGM/UA Home Video previously produced and released on their lacklustre single disc incarnation back in the late 1990s early 2000s but with an added kick. Virtually all of that previously issued footage (which ranged from moderate to poor in image quality) has been given a serious upgrade. While source materials in these docs varies, their enhanced presentation herein makes them at long last worthy viewable addendums. This is Bond done right!
There are also audio commentary tracks, a wealth of vintage stock footage, tests, trailers and television spots and stills to wade through. Highly recommended!
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 4.5 VIDEO/AUDIO 4 EXTRAS 5
Although it ranks as number three in chronology, Guy Hamilton’s Goldfinger (1964) is arguably the most perfectly realized of the early Bond adventures. Without question, it is Bond's most popular and enduring action/adventure. A grandly amusing compendium of implausible gadgetry, death-defying stunts and sultry women with absurdly sexualized names, it can be effectively stated that the cinematic Bond had his final departure from Ian Fleming’s original concept for Bond on this cinematic outing.
After a rollicking pre-title sequence that has Bond blowing up a heroin manufacturing plant in Cuba, before electrocuting a would-be assassin in his bathtub, the real story (scripted, as were the first two movies by Richard Maibaum) of pursuing billionaire, Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe) begins. Determined, perhaps not to repeat the atmospheric noir feel on From Russia With Love, director Hamilton lightens the mood wherever and whenever possible.
Auric Goldfinger’s above board trading and business practices are merely a front for his rabid fascination to monopolize the world market on gold reserves. To this end, Goldfinger employs flight instructor, Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman, as the most inspired choice for the ultimate Bond girl) to train a troop of perky ‘sex kitten’ female pilots. Their job; fly over Fort Knox and disperse a highly lethal nerve gas over the surrounding military bases so that Goldfinger can detonate a nuclear device inside Knox's vaults, thereby rendering the U.S. gold reserve radioactive for hundreds of years.
What is particularly appealing about the film today is its inventive sets by art director Ken Adams– including Goldfinger’s laser beam laboratory (in which Bond’s livelihood is almost cut in two), the rumpus room at Goldfinger’s stud ranch (with its moving floors, shifting furniture and sliding door and window panels), and the impressively massive fantasy interpretation of Fort Knox, complete with functioning elevators and endless rows of bullion, improbably stacked several stories high from floor to ceiling. National security precluded Adams and his designers from getting a glimpse inside the real Fort Knox – leaving his imagination on this latter set to run wild.
Honor Blackman is the most sinfully purr-fect of the Bond girls – a no nonsense, panther-like, shoot-from-the-hip - and ask questions later - gal that is quite unlike Fleming’s originally penned introvert with lesbian tendencies. But the moment that truly sets Goldfinger apart from any Bond adventure before or since arrives early in the story; when Bond awakens in his Miami hotel suite, after being knocked unconscious by Goldfinger’s henchman, Oddjob (Harold Sakata), to discover that his playmate of the evening, Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) has been skin suffocated with gold paint; a truly iconic and defining moments in the series. On all accounts then, Goldfinger is a 24kt hit.
MGM/Fox's Blu-Ray easily bests anything we've seen before. Thanks to the technological wizardry of Lowry Digital Restorations, Bond has never looked better. Stunning new frame-by-frame digital clean ups from Lowry – a cutting edge leader in film preservation – have yielded exception image clarity and fidelity faithful to the original theatrical presentation. Color is bold, stunning and accurately balanced. Blacks are jet black. Whites are pristine, but never blooming. Better still, Goldfinger has received a stunning new DTS sound mix that is more refined.
Extras include all of the documentaries MGM/UA Home Video previously produced and released on their lacklustre single disc incarnation back in the late 1990s early 2000s but with an added kick. Virtually all of that previously issued footage (which ranged from moderate to poor in image quality) has been given a serious upgrade. While source materials in these docs varies, their enhanced presentation herein makes them at long last worthy viewable addendums. This is Bond done right!
There are also audio commentary tracks, a wealth of vintage stock footage, tests, trailers and television spots and stills to wade through. Highly recommended!
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 5+ VIDEO/AUDIO 5 EXTRAS 5
Sean Connery’s second outing as 007, Terence Young’s From Russia With Love (1963) is a brilliant cold war thriller set in Istanbul and Venice. As then U.S. President John Kennedy had made it publicly known in an interview that From Russia With Love was his favourite Ian Fleming thriller, and its cold war theme was ideally suited for that decade in real life espionage between the Russians and ‘Camelot,’ producer’s Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman decided to exploit the novel as their follow-up to Dr. No.
In point of fact, Broccoli and Saltzman would have preferred From Russia With Love as Bond’s cinematic entrée. However, its weighty plot and shifting locales were prohibitive to the budget they had been allotted by United Artists for Dr. No. At the behest of the studio, Broccoli and Saltzman reluctantly agreed to change the name of Bond’s arch nemesis from SMERSH, the Russian based espionage ring, to SPECTRE an independent underworld organization, thereby diffusing whatever Cold War animosities the film might have otherwise incurred.
Although From Russia With Love has some marvellous vignettes, the best of these being the two lavishly staged fight sequences; the first in a gypsy camp, the latter between Bond and SPECTRE assassin, Donovan Red Grant (Robert Shaw), as a whole the film seems more dated and problematic than either its forerunner or subsequent adventure, Goldfinger.The plot begins in earnest with a pre-title sequence where a Bond look-a-like is assassinated by SPECTRE’s resident psychopath in training, Red Grant.
From here, the story kicks into high gear with Russian defector, Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) secretly engaging loyal comrade, Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi) to lure Bond to his death as a service to the state – actually in service to SPECTRE. Some subversive lesbian badinage between Klebb and her protégée leaves Tatiana cold, though she quickly warms to Bond’s sinful allure. The two become lovers and Bianchi helps Bond steal a decoding device from the Russian consulate in Istanbul with the aid of Ali Kerim Bey (Pedro Armanderiz); a black market double agent working for the British.
All, however, does not go smoothly. On the Orient Express, Kerim is murdered by Grant, who poses as Bond’s British contact, drugs Tatiana then attempts to assassinate Bond. Narrowly escaping capture, Bond and Tatiana arrive in Venice, only to discover Klebb posing as a hotel maid and awaiting their arrival.The helicopter assault sequence sandwiched between Bond's train escape and hotel rendezvous in the film, in which Bond is attacked from the air as he races across a stark hillside, has decided and obvious shades of Alfred Hitchcock’s penultimate wrong man classic, North by Northwest (1959), in which Cary Grant as Roger O. Thornhill is similarly assaulted by rapid fire from a biplane. Incidentally, Cary Grant was briefly considered by Broccoli and Saltzman as their first choice for Bond prior to the casting of Connery.
With a budget twice that of its predecessor, From Russia With Love began its shoot as an expensive project destined to be promoted as more ‘an event’ than a movie. But spirits on the set dampened when actor Pedro Armendariz was diagnosed with a fatal form of cancer. Working around Armendariz’s condition – and eventually restructuring the schedule to accommodate his deteriorating condition, the pall of his subsequent death before completion of the rest of the film, seems to have impacted the mood of the film as a whole.
From Russia With Love remains a sombre entrée in the Bond franchise – darker, more sinister and ultimately less effective than Dr. No. Even Connery appears ill at ease as he strikes Romanova after suspecting she is double crossing him; a woman he has just finished making love to. At $78 million in worldwide box office returns, From Russia With Love was a valiant financial successor to Dr. No – yet, like James Cameron’s Titanic (1997), it is only in terms of revenue perhaps that this film should ultimately be considered a great success.
MGM/Fox Blu-Ray transfer is state-of-the-art, thanks to the technological wizardry of Lowry Digital Restorations. Bond has never looked better. Image quality takes a quantum leap forward in all departments - most noticeably in achieving more consistent and accurate color fidelity and a fine details throughout. Stunning new frame-by-frame digital clean ups from Lowry – a cutting edge leader in film preservation – have yielded exception image clarity and fidelity faithful to the original theatrical presentation.
Better still, From Russia With Love has received a stunning new DTS sound mix. Extras include all of the documentaries MGM/UA Home Video previously produced and released on their lack luster single disc incarnation back in the late 1990s early 2000s.
Extras include all of the documentaries MGM/UA Home Video previously produced and released on their lacklustre single disc incarnation back in the late 1990s early 2000s but with an added kick. Virtually all of that previously issued footage (which ranged from moderate to poor in image quality) has been given a serious upgrade. While source materials in these docs varies, their enhanced presentation herein makes them at long last worthy viewable addendums. This is Bond done right!
There are also audio commentary tracks, a wealth of vintage stock footage, tests, trailers and television spots and stills to wade through. Highly recommended!
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 3.5 VIDEO/AUDIO 5 EXTRAS 5
It was a 60 million dollar mega hit upon its general release in 1962 – a success by most artistic and all box office standards. Today however, Terence Young’s Dr. No appears more the quaint relic of sixties pastiche than that foray into cutting edge film-making.
In truth, the movie that introduced Ian Fleming's James Bond to American audiences was fraught with preproduction difficulties, not the least of which was the proposed budget did not match the epic quality that producers Albert R. Broccoli and partner, Harry Saltzman envisioned.Prior to obtaining the go-ahead from United Artists, neither producer could find a studio willing to commit to their project. To secure their own position within the franchise, Broccoli and Saltzman wisely co-founded EON Productions.
Although Saltzman would periodically tire of both Bond and his partner – producing films away from the franchise with considerable speed and mixed popularity – for Broccoli, the focus ultimately became one of keeping his most lucrative investment fresh and growing. Neither Bond nor the movies would ever be the same again.
Director Terence Young is justly credited for re-shaping the on screen persona of a rough hewn Sean Connery into the epitome of male chic: 007 – suave, sophisticate killing machine. However, it was visionary film and animation pioneer, Walt Disney who first discovered the Scottish born actor; a former bodybuilder then and virtual unknown in films, whom Disney cast in his Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959).
In this, his first outing as Britain’s most amiable super spy, Connery manages to cut a dramatic swath and imbue the character of Bond with his own iconography. Almost from the moment he steps before the camera to utter the immortal tagline, “Bond, James Bond” Connery relished the role, though he quickly developed a natural distaste for the mob-mentality that made him a groupie magnet around the world. His later career would be spent making futile attempts to escape the pigeon-hole popularity of Bond – the iconic superman he had helped to create.
To those weaned on contemporary Bond adventures, Dr. No is tame. Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate the brutal murder of a British covert operator, John Strangways (Tim Moxon). Bond is first threatened, then kidnapped by the formidably dangerous, Dr. No (Joseph Wise), a Eurasian mastermind with no hands, who has developed a radar toppling system directed against American missiles launched from Nassau.
The formula of latter day Bond films is understandably absent here, with a refreshing lack of high tech gadgetry and special effects. As Honey Ryder – the girl that set the trend for all subsequent ‘Bond girls’ that followed, Ursula Andreas still cuts a shockingly handsome figure in her white bikini, an indelible image that Die Another Day (2000) attempted to recreate with actress Holly Berry slinking in from the surf.
After rising from the sea in search of sea shells, Ryder is startled by Bond’s presence on the beach. She innocently asks “Are you looking for shells?”
“No,” says Bond, “I’m just looking.”
This overt sexuality and the aggressiveness infused by Connery into the role led to a condemnation from the Vatican – a move which helped generate public interest in the film and transform the modestly budgeted thriller into a $60 million dollar super hit.
MGM/Fox Blu-Ray transfer easily bests the quality of anything we've seen Bond like on home video. Its state-of-the-art digital picture and sound are thanks to the technological wizardry at Lowry Digital Restorations. Too long have the Connery classics been subjected to poorly contrasted, muddy colored and blurry video and DVD transfers with a barrage of age related and digitized artefacts for viewers to contend with. At last, we get what should have been ours to cherish all along.
Bond has never looked better. Stunning new frame-by-frame digital clean ups from Lowry – a cutting edge leader in film preservation – have yielded exception image clarity and fidelity faithful to the original theatrical presentation. Color is bold, stunning and accurately balanced. Blacks are jet black. Whites are pristine, but never blooming. The image is sharp without appearing harsh or digitally enhanced. Better still, Dr. No has received a stunning new DTS sound mix that is powerful and engaging while remaining faithful to the original mono sound elements. Music and effects are the beneficiary here.
Extras include all of the documentaries MGM/UA Home Video previously produced and released on their lacklustre single disc incarnation back in the late 1990s early 2000s but with an added kick. Virtually all of that previously issued footage (which ranged from moderate to poor in image quality) has been given a serious upgrade. While source materials in these docs varies, their enhanced presentation herein makes them at long last worthy viewable addendums. This is Bond done right!
There are also audio commentary tracks, a wealth of vintage stock footage, tests, trailers and television spots and stills to wade through. Highly recommended!
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 4 VIDEO/AUDIO 5 EXTRAS 5
Very loosely adapted from the immortal novel by Alexandre Dumas, director Randall Wallace’s The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) is the captivating adventure yarn that rarely takes itself seriously. This is all to the good, as far as this reviewer is concerned. Liberally borrowing characters and plot elements from Dumas' D'Artagnan romances as well as The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Wallace's revisionist celebration of Dumas heralds back to a time honoured tradition in American movies that treats both world history and literary masterworks with more gentile glamour than reverence for accuracy.
In this latter pursuit, Wallace is most blessed with having the French court of Louis XIV as his luminous backdrop. Candle lit to sumptuous perfection and glowingly photographed by Peter Suschzitsky, The Man In The Iron Mask never falters in its own mythology. As such, the screenplay by Wallace quickly escalates into one heck of a good roller coaster ride, its clipping pace and marvellous acting elevating the exercise to grand entertainment.
The film stars Leonardo Di Caprio in the dual role as King Louis XIV and his twin brother, Philippe. In the original novel the King is at first represented as unsympathetic, but then gradually evolves into the noble monarch that his loyalists would want him to be. In the celebrated 1929 film, Philippe is depicted as the pawn in a sinister plot to destroy the crown. However, in Randall's revisionist take, King Louis is both unscrupulous and without moral ethics - a ruler destined for his own fall.
Separated at birth by their mother, Queen Anne (Anne Parillaud), Philippe has long been imprisoned in an isolated fortress and made to wear a horrifically confining iron mask to conceal his uncanny resemblance to the king. Anne harbours a dark secret from both her sons and her lover, D'Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne); that he - not the former King is their father.
Meanwhile, in another part of France, Athos (John Malkovich) is a retired musketeer whose son, Raoul (Peter Sarsgaard) is courting the fair, Christine (Judith Godreche). However, when Louis decides to have Christine for himself, he deliberately sends Raoul to the front line of battle, knowing that he will be killed.Enraged by this obvious treachery and the loss of his only son, Athos confides the secret of Phillipe’s birthright to his fellow musketeers, Porthos (Gerard Depardieu) and Arimus (Jeremy Irons).
Together, these three comrades rescue Philippe from the prison, free him of the mask and begin a rigorous training in the mannerisms at court. The plan is to kidnap Louis – whom they realize is a danger and a threat to the nation, and replace him with Philippe, who is humble, kind-hearted and pure of spirit and faith. If they succeed, France will be to the good. If they fail, their lives will be at stake.
Of course, the fly in this ointment is D'Artagnan who long ago seduced the Queen to produce these two rival heirs, but who knows nothing of his own complicity or Philippe's survival all these years. At a lavish ball, Porthos, Arimus and Athos taunt the King with fleeting images of the iron mask that eventually wreak havoc on the King's sanity. He retires in a sweat to his bed chamber where the Musketeers await to carry out the next length of their well laid plan.
Unfortunately, D'Artagnan has found his former colleagues out. In the ensuing confrontation, and epic swordplay Philippe is ordered back to his prison by Louis. Athos, Arimus and Porthos break into Philippe's cell and charge the Musketeer army that has been standing guard. The King is defeated and forced into exile, but not before he kills D'Artagnan who is finally told that both the King and Philippe are his sons. Teeming with lusty full-blooded melancholy and stellar examples of masterful swordplay, The Man In The Iron Mask harks back to the best of Errol Flynn swashbucklers, while offering a refreshing take on the old cliché ‘all for one and one for all.’ I can recall going to the theatre to see this movie with trepidation in 1998, since Leonardo DiCaprio was then, and to large degree remains in my estimation, hardly my kind of actor. Having come from the overriding - and arguably undeserved accolades afforded James Cameron's Titanic, DiCaprio seemed to me all hype and zero substance. Therefore, my expectation for this film were more aligned with the overall arc of storytelling rather than centered on individual performance.
So, it is saying much that I found and continue to find DiCaprio's dual starring role in this movie one of its most compelling features. True, the supporting cast continue to outrank him; most notably Byrnes, Malkovich and Irons - but DiCaprio holds his own with these titans and is most convincing throughout the story.
MGM/Fox Home Video's Blu-Ray disc rectifies the considerable sins committed by MGM Home Entertainment's standard DVD release of this film that inexplicably toggled back and forth between a progressive and an interlaced transfer. Colors that were bold on the DVD are much more so on the Blu-Ray with fine detail taking a quantum leap forward on the Blu-Ray for an image that is visually resplendent. Flesh tones are infinitely more natural on the Blu-Ray while color in general just seems to pop. Truly, there's nothing to complain about.
The audio has been given its upgrade to a DTS lossless master with predictable sonic improvements. Extras include a director’s audio commentary, a making of featurette, alternate mask prototypes and the film’s original theatrical trailer. Fox has also included MGM's original flipper DVD as part of their packaging. Highly recommended.
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 4 VIDEO/AUDIO 4 EXTRAS 3
With its nail-biting intensity and breathtaking views of the craggy mountain turrets in Cortina d’Ampezzo Italy subbing in for the Rockies, Renny Harlin’s Cliffhanger (1993) is a high-octane alpine thriller with more gusto than guts; more filler than fantasy, but ever so slickly packaged to make us forget how threadbare and superficial it all is. The plot, rumoured to be the subject of a heated lawsuit between three writers eventually settled out of court, casts muscleman Sly Stallone as a careworn climber doing his best to remain the cynical moralist after an improbable heist goes horribly awry.
In the film’s prologue, rescue climber Gabe Walker (Sylvester Stallone) flies to a precarious peak where pals, Hal Tucker (Michael Rooker), Jessie Deighan (Janine Turner) and his girlfriend Sarah Collins (Michelle Joyner) are trapped. While attempting a dramatic plane-to-perch rescue, Sarah’s harness snaps, leaving her flailing over a deep chasm. Though Gabe is within reach, Sarah plummets to her death leaving Gabe shell-shocked and emotionally wounded.
Flash forward a few months later: Gabe has decided to bow out of the tiny town for parts unknown. Hal, who has blamed Gabe’s grandstanding for Sarah’s death from the beginning, receives a frantic CB call for help at their rescue outpost. Jessie encourages Gabe to go along and aid in the expedition. However, once atop the mountain, tempers flare and Hal narrowly stops himself from tossing Gabe over the side of a cliff.
Unfortunately for all concerned the frantic call turns out to be rouse. Gabe and Hal are taken prisoner by the psychotic Eric Qualen (John Lithgow) and his accomplice, Richard Travers (Rex Linn); a pair of thieves searching for their three $100 million dollar US Treasury suitcases that went down with a plane somewhere in the mountains after a botched skyjacking.
Locating the first suitcase with a beacon transmitter, Qualen orders Gabe to scale a steep wall and retrieve it. However, once hidden from view, Gabe loosens his tether as a means of escape. Qualen opens fire, causing an avalanche that kills one of his own men and is presumed to have buried Gabe beneath a deadly pile of heavy snow.From here on, the screenplay by Michael France and Stallone develops along the lines of a very improbable and dangerous game of cat and mouse with Gabe just a few nimble steps ahead of Qualen and his gang.
Gabe and Jessie are reunited inside an abandoned log cabin and together they recover the second case. When Qualen and his men arrive they find the case empty – save a $1,000 bill with the words ‘Want to trade?’ scribbled on the back. In the meantime, Qualen and Travers use Hal as their homing pigeon in a race against time to recover the third case. In an absurd moment in the film, Jessie and Gabe burn the money from the second case as a means to keep warm while Qualen and his mercenaries spend the night at the abandoned cabin.
The following morning, Qualen hijacks a rescue chopper as Hal leads Travers and the rest of Qualen’s men to the location of the third case. Jessie, who has signaled the helicopter to rescue her and Gabe is instead taken hostage by Qualen and his men.Using Jessie’s two way radio, Qualen makes a deal with Gabe to spare Jessie’s life if Gabe hands over the monies recovered from the third case. Instead, Gabe tosses the bag into the chopper’s rotors, dispersing the loot into the winds and the precipices of the mountain.
The helicopter crashes with Gabe and Qualen dangling from its wreckage – Gabe disentangling himself at the last moment as Qualen plunges to his death. The film ends with Gabe, Hal and Jessie reunited but trapped atop that narrow peak, awaiting rescue by federal agents.
Cliffhanger is barbarically simplistic entertainment, barely conscious of the factual information it attempts to fictitiously utilize. As example: Qualen’s men have supposedly absconded from the Denver Mint with three cases of paper money. One problem: the Denver ‘mint’ only manufactures coin currency. $300 million in coin would weigh a prohibitive 2500 tons!
Though largely panned by both film critics and rock climbing enthusiasts – particularly for its inaccuracies regarding a ‘bolt gun’ that shoots support hooks into the rocky terrain (no such devise exists) – the film was, and remains, a big hit with movie goers and went on to earn an utterly impressive $250 million at the box office.This critic has always been remiss at being able to understand the enduring appeal of Sly Stallone.
True, Stallone generated a minor coup with 1976’s Oscar winner, Rocky. But by the mid-1980s, the filmic exploitation of the ‘muscle head’ had been successfully usurped by former Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger. Stallone had Rambo then, but those films were pale ghosts to the elephantine blockbusters Hollywood was embracing with Arnold as their lead.
In Cliffhanger, Stallone is a ripened physical specimen cut from inferior posing trunks. Despite the fact that most of the film takes place in frigid alpine climates, Stallone is stripped down for most of the action, flexing his artificially enhanced biceps and pecs amidst snowy backdrops – diversionary eye-candy for any Junior Miss or couch potato with a predilection for the old cliché of ‘size matters’.
In retrospect, Cliffhanger retains much of its heart-palpating appeal, though it’s hardly memorable entertainment; rather a stellar filmic example of style entirely triumphant over substance.
Sony Home Entertainment’s Blu-Ray delivers an appealing visual presentation with solidly contrasted images, bright colors and a fair amount of fine detail evident throughout. Yet, the image doesn't seem to pop as it should. There's just something missing. Contrast appears a tad weaker than expected and that's probably part of the problem. Fine details are often not as sharp as we expect, leaving a rather waxen impression to the image that is passable but hardly stellar.
The audio is a lossless DTS master and marked by an aggressive sonic spread across all channels with effects and music being the real beneficiaries here. Extras include deleted scenes and featurettes on the special effects, and the making of the movie. There is also a personal introduction by Harlin, an audio commentary by director and star Stallone, storyboard comparisons, a photo gallery and theatrical trailer to wade through. For the most part, the extras do not enhance an appreciation for the film as much as they merely present a lot more of the same.
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best) 3.5 VIDEO/AUDIO 3 EXTRAS 2
Nick Zegarac is a freelance writer/editor and graphics artist. He holds a Masters in Communications and an Honors B.A in Creative Lit from the University of Windsor.
He is currently a freelance writer and has been a contributing editor for Black Moss Press. He's also has had two screenplays under consideration in Hollywood and is a regular contributing writer for various online publications, including Subtletea and Banks of the Little Miami.
Presently, he's searching for an agent to represent him. Contact Nick via email at movieman@sympatico.ca
The mythical tale of a Thracian who became the divining heroic rebel against Rome's social injustices has since entered the realm of global folklore - thanks in part to director Stanley Kubrick’s Spartacus (1960); a somewhat problematic thinking man’s epic that follows the man's exploits from copper mine slave to gladiator in training, and later, defiant freedom fighter.
