James Bond Ultimate Collection - Vol. 1

By: Walter Ball

Tuesday December 12, 2006

MGM offers new editions of Bond films in time for the holidays. Do they offer any merit over the regular releases?
If he were still alive, I wonder how Ian Fleming would respond to the iconic status his character has achieved over the past 40 years. Honestly, he probably would've beaten up those responsible for all of the dramatic licenses taken on Moonraker and would've dropped dead after watching The World is Not Enough. Either way, if there is a single person in this civilized society who has never heard of James Bond then chances are that person has been held captive in some loon's basement since birth.

One of the big rules of home video distribution is that whenever a franchise film is released, the studio has to reissue all of that franchise's previous films on DVD, even if they already put them out. Its been done with Batman, Lord of the Rings, Superman and the James Bond franchises. The Bond franchise, all 20 films (not including the newest edition Casino Royale, the 1967 spoof of the same name and the 1983 Warner Bros. Bond film Never Say Never Again), has been given the triple dip. The "Ultimate Edition" set is the third consecutive release.

Even the most enthusiastic Bond fan has to agree that although Goldfinger, the third film in the series, may not be the best Bond film (its up there, but that claim is usually reserved for From Russia With Love or On Her Majesty's Secret Service), it is certainly the film that made 007 a household name. It laid out the blueprints and character standards for future Bond films. It also was the first in the series to take home an Oscar (Best Sound Editing) and the first to be aired on American television. Lets not forget that it also contains the most eye-catching name in film history (and I'm not talking about Goldfinger). Whenever Bond is brought up in discussion, Goldfinger almost always finds its way in.

The plot of the film is laid out with Bond (Sean Connery) investigating the actions of Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe), a tycoon who has been recently acquiring an ample amount of bouillon. After some investigating and smooth womanizing, Bond learns of "Operating: Grand Slam", Goldfinger's scheme to raid Fort Knox and eradicate the world's economy. Bond has his work cut out to for him. If he wants to get to Goldfinger, he has to get past the Korean bodyguard Oddjob (Harold Sakata), a plethora of stupid but menacing henchmen and of course, Goldfinger's super sexy personal pilot, Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman).

Goldfinger represents a major change in the franchise. It is the first to focus on the array of hi-tech gadgets that the super spy utilizes. It doesn't possess many of the adrenaline-charged action sequences found in later films but it compensates with Connery's blend of charisma and ruggedness, a memorable bad guy who has been emulated many times over, a Bond girl who is as callous as she is desirable and most of all, an atmosphere that totally oozes with cool (much thanks to its snazzy John Barry-penned score and Shirley Bassey theme song).

Disc one of this 2-disc edition contains two audio commentary tracks; one with director Guy Hamilton along with Connery, Desmond Llewelyn, Honor Blackman and several other cast members, the other track is with composer John Barry and a host of stuntman and crew members. Both commentaries are featured on the previous DVD release and they are both insightful and entertaining. "The Making of Goldfinger" is a 30-minute feature that goes into much detail. "The Goldfinger Phenomenon" focuses on the film's publicity scheme and its influence on the series and the spy genre in general. You also get the original promotional segment from 1964 and a load of trailers and Radio/TV spots! The new content includes "Sean Connery on the Set of Goldfinger", "On Tour With The Aston Martin DB-5", several screen tests, a quick open-ended interview with Honor Blacman and an interactive guide through the world of Bond. The guide presents clips of the different aspects that the films are known for, "007", "Women", "Villains", "Allies", "Mission Combat Manual", "Q Branch" and "Exotic Locations". None of the segments go into any sort of detail, as no narration or write-ups are included. It is just a nice visual touch.

Despite all of the positive raves about the film, this DVD is pretty much unnecessary to owners of the previous editions. Most of the features are recycled and the new stuff doesn't exactly warrant one to shell out the extra money. With that, it is definitely worth it to those who have yet to start or complete their Bond collection.

Die Another Day is the twentieth film in the James Bond franchise. It is also noteworthy for being Pierce Brosnan's fourth and final film as agent 007 (his official final appearance as Bond was in the 2004 video game "Everything Or Nothing"). It is also the first Bond movie with a Bond girl played by an Academy Award winning actress. Sadly, it also contains the musical and visual presence of Madonna, who just flat out irks me.

007 begins his adventure in North Korea, where he infiltrates the organization of a corrupt and mad Korean Colonel. Things go sour fast as an unknown mole betrays Bond, revealing his identity and inciting a shootout that ends with the Colonel dead and Bond being held captive by the Korean military. After nearly a year and a half of torture, Bond is released. With the help of a fellow MI6 agent (Rosamund Pike) and a zesty NSA spy (Halle Berry), Bond seeks out the insider who nearly had him killed. Along the way, he has to deal with the deadly henchman Zao (Rick Yune) and Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens), a billionaire entrepreneur with a shady past.

Die Another Day features all of the standard ingredients found in the Bond series but its overabundance of everything leads to its mediocrity. I'm sorry but I never felt that Brosnan was an adequate Bond. Sure, he has good looks and elegant charm but he lacks that hardnosed essence of machismo. This "wussiness" is highlighted in a scene where he is degraded and ridiculed by M (Judi Dench). The gadgetry is completely in our face with an array of outrageous and stupid Bond knick-knacks that are oh so complimented with outrageous and stupid CGI effects. Oh, and Madonna's involvement (the recording of the godawful title song and her brief in-film appearance) doesn't help matters much either. It seems that they wanted to rush through the film and end Brosnan's contract.

However, there is one redeeming factor that makes Die Another Day worth a view or two. Being the 20th Bond film, MGM and EON Productions felt it necessary for the film to serve as a tribute to every previous installment. With a keen eye, the viewer can identify every reference. The most obvious of these "tributes" is Halle Berry's introductory "bikini" scene, which is reminiscent to Ursula Andres's memorable scene in Dr. No. The other references are reserved only for the most diehard Bond fan.

Extras included are the standards found on the other Bond films. There are two commentary tracks; one with Brosnan and Pike and the other with producer Michael G. Wilson and Director Lee Tamahori. Their about as basic as commentaries can get. Since this is one of the few Bond films I could care less about, I found it hard to focus on the handful of documentaries. Again, they seemed very ordinary. We also get an interactive guide to the film, laying out all the allies, villains, etc. There is a good amount of stuff here. It is just that my lack of enthusiasm for this film prevents me from full appreciation.

Although it is not as abysmal as The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day seems more like a Bond tribute rather than a straightforward Bond film. While all of the references stir up some great nostalgia, they are a good indication that those behind Bond had run out of ideas and it was time for a clean slate. Enter Casino Royale.

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