Bond 50 Blu-Ray Collection Review - Mania.com



Bond 50 Blu-Ray Collection Review

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Info:

  • Rated: N/A
  • Starring: Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig
  • Written By: Created by Ian Fleming
  • Distributor: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
  • Original Year of Release: 2012 (the box set)
  • Extras: See Below
  • Series:

Bond 50 Blu-Ray Collection Review

All the Bond you will ever need!

By Tim Janson     October 10, 2012
Source: Mania.com


Celebrate 50 years of James Bond 007
© 20th Century Fox Entertainment 2012
My very first trip to a drive-in theater saw my mom packing my two older brothers and I into the family station wagon and heading to the Algiers Drive-in for a triple feature of Goldfinger, Dr. No, and From Russia With Love.  I only made it through about one and a half films before checking out for the night in the back of the station wagon but even at that young age I could tell this was something very cool.

Everyone has their favorite Bond whether it’s the original, Sean Connery or the latest, Daniel Craig (Ok so not many people said Roger Moore, I get that.) but whatever flavor of Bond you love you’ll find it in Bond 50, a new Blu-ray collection which features all 22 Bond films.  From Dr. No to Quantum of Solace all 22 films come packed in two hardcover flip books which fit into a slipcase.  There’s even a spot for the latest Bond film Skyfall once that is released on Blu-ray.

The six men who played superspy James Bond 007, each brought their own unique take to the character weather it was Connery’s swanky chic charm, Roger Moore’s tongue-in-cheek campiness, Timothy Dalton’s gritty angst, or Daniel Craig’s realistic portrayal for the 21st century.  The Bond films have long moved past being a franchise to being an institution.  Each film brings about interest in what new gadgets and toys Bond gets to play with, who is playing the new Bond Girl, and even in the film’s soundtracks as they have earned several Oscar nominations over the years for best original song. 

The key to this Blu-ray release is that nine of the films are making their Blu-ray debut:  You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Diamonds are Forever, Goldeneye, Octopussy, The Spy Who Loved Me, The Living Daylights, Tomorrow Never Dies and A View to a Kill.  This does present a bit of problem for those that might already own the other 13 films on Blu-ray already.  The special features are the same as already seen on the previous Blu-rays so if you decide to plunk down around $180 you’re basically only paying for the nine new films and one disc of new bonus material.  For those films appearing on Blu-ray for the first time, the special features from the various DVD Ultimate editions are carried over.  Thus, while there is over 120 hours of bonus content, most of it is not new.

Still, there is something to be said for having it all in one place and at around $8 per movie it’s not a bad bargain.  Each film, except oddly the two Daniel Craig efforts, has at least three hours of bonus content with Tomorrow Never Dies leading the way with over nine hours of extras.  

In terms of new content there is that bonus disc I mentioned and while it’s not in and of itself worth the price of the set it does offer some tantalizing goodies.

The World of Bond (1:20:00) this near feature length documentary is broken down into six topics: Title Sequences, Gadgets, Villains, Bond Girls, Locations, and Bond in Motion. It’s a whirlwind tour through 50 years of Bond history and also features pop-up trivia to challenge even the most devoted Bond fans.

Being Bond (3:15) takes a look at all the actors who have played Bond through vintage sound bites and comments.

Designing 007: 50 Years of Bond Style (4:00) A museum look at various bond gadgets, costumes, models, and sketches used in the series.

Skyfall Videoblogs (11:00) A series of seven brief promos for Skyfall that can be watched individually or all at once.

In the end I would definitely recommend upgrading to this set even if you own the others on Blu-ray. First off, it is the only way you can get the nine new films I mentioned and the difference between these and the DVD versions is night and day. The audio has been upgraded up to 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio for the nine new films and it seems to match perfectly with the sound on the rest of the collection.

Below is a rundown of all the bonus content by disc.

DISC ONE— Dr. No (Over 3 hours of content)
Commentary with Director Terence Young and cast and crew
6 Featurettes
Original Theatrical Trailer, TV and radio spots
Photo Galleries

DISC TWO— From Russia With Love (Over 3 hours of content)
Commentary with Director Terence Young and cast and crew
2 Featurettes
Animated Storyboard Sequence
Original Theatrical Trailer, TV and radio spots
Photo Galleries

DISC THREE—Goldfinger (Over 5 hours of content)
Commentary with Director Guy Hamilton
Commentary with the cast and crew
3 Featurettes
Original Screen Tests with Theodore Bikel and Tito Vandis
Original Theatrical Trailer, TV and radio spots
Original Publicity Featurette
Original Radio Interviews With Sean Connery
Photo Galleries

DISC FOUR—Thunderball (Over 6 hours of content)
Commentary with Director Terence Young
Commentary with Editor Peter Hunt and Screenwriter John Hopkins
4 Featurettes
Original Theatrical Trailer, TV and radio spots
Photo Galleries

DISC FIVE—You Only Live Twice (Over 4 hours of content)
Commentary with Director Lewis Gilbert and cast and crew
4 Featurettes
Animated Storyboard Sequence
Original Theatrical Trailer, TV and radio spots
Photo Galleries

DISC SIX—On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (Over 4 hours of content)
Commentary with Director Peter Hunt and cast and crew
4 Featurettes
Original Theatrical Trailer, TV and radio spots
Photo Galleries

DISC SEVEN—Diamonds Are Forever (Over 4 hours of content)
Commentary with Director Guy Hamilton and cast and crew
3 Featurettes
Deleted Scenes
Original Theatrical Trailer, TV and radio spots

DISC EIGHT—Live and Let Die (Over 7 hours of content)
Commentaries with Director Guy Hamilton, Roger Moore and Tom Mankiewicz
3 Featurettes
Original Theatrical Trailer, TV and radio spots
Photo Galleries

DISC NINE—The Man with the Golden Gun (Over 5 hours of content)
Commentary with Director Guy Hamilton and the cast and crew
Commentary with Roger Moore
2 Featurettes
Original Theatrical Trailer, TV and radio spots
Photo Galleries

DISC TEN—The Spy Who Loved Me (Over 5 hours of content)
Commentary with Director Lewis Gilbert and cast and crew
Commentary with Roger Moore
3 Featurettes
Original Theatrical Trailer, TV and radio spots

DISC ELEVEN—Moonraker (Over 5 hours of content)
Commentary with Director Lewis Gilbert and cast and crew
Commentary with Roger Moore
4 Featurettes
Original Theatrical Trailer
Photo Gallery

DISC TWELVE—For Your Eyes Only (Over 7 hours of content)
Commentary with Director John Glen and the cast and crew
Commentary with Roger Moore
Commentary with Producer Michael G. Wilson and crew
4 Featurettes
Animated Storyboard Sequences for Snowmobile Chase & Underwater
Music Video performed by Sheena Easton
Deleted Scenes and Expanded Angles
Original Theatrical Trailer, TV and radio spots
Photo Galleries

DISC THIRTEEN—Octopussy (Over 6 hours of content)
Commentary with Director John Glen
Commentary with Roger Moore
4 Featurettes
Original Screen Tests with James Brolin
"All Time High" Music Video
Original Theatrical Trailers

DISC FOURTEEN—A View to a Kill (Over 6 hours of content)
Commentary with Director John Glen and the cast and crew
Commentary with Roger Moore
4 Featurettes
A View to a Kill Music Video performed by Duran Duran
Original Theatrical Trailers and TV spots

DISC FIFTEEN—The Living Daylights (Over 5 hours of content)
Commentary with Director John Glen and cast and crew
3 Featurettes
Deleted scenes with introductions from Director John Glen
The Living Daylights Music Video performed by A-Ha
Original Theatrical Trailers

DISC SIXTEEN—Licence to Kill (Over 6 hours of content)
Commentary with Director John Glen and cast
Commentary with Producer Michael G. Wilson and crew
3 Featurettes
Licence to Kill Music Video performed by Gladys Knight
“If You Asked Me To” Music Video Performed by Patti LaBelle
Opening Titles Sequence
Original Theatrical Trailers
Photo Galleries

DISC SEVENTEEN—GoldenEye (Over 5 hours of content)
Commentary with Director Martin Campbell and Producer Michael G. Wilson
8 Featurettes
Deleted scenes
GoldenEye Music Video performed by Tina Turner

DISC EIGHTEEN—Tomorrow Never Dies (Over 9 hours of content)
Commentary with Director Roger Spottiswoode and Dan Petrie, Jr.
Commentary with Vic Armstrong and Producer Michael G. Wilson
2 Featurettes
Interview with Composer David Arnold
Deleted and Extended Scenes with introduction from Director Roger Spottiswoode
Tomorrow Never Dies Music Video performed by Sheryl Crow
The James Bond Theme (Moby's Re-Version)

DISC NINETEEN—The World Is Not Enough (Over 6 hours of content)
Commentary with Director Michael Apted
Commentary with Peter Lamont, David Arnold and Vic Armstrong
4 Featurettes
Opening Titles Sequence
The World Is Not Enough Music Video performed by Garbage
Deleted, Extended and Alternate Scene
Original Theatrical Trailer
Photo Galleries

DISC TWENTY—Die Another Day (Over 8 hours of content)
Commentary with Director Lee Tamahori and Producer Michael G. Wilson
Commentary with Pierce Brosnan and Rosamund Pike
5 Featurettes
MI6 Datastream Trivia Track with Branching Video
Opening Titles Sequence
Photo Galleries

DISC TWENTY ONE—Casino Royale (Over 1 hour of content)
Becoming Bond
James Bond: For Real
Chris Cornell Music Video

DISC TWENTY TWO—Quantum of Solace (Over 1 hour of content)
2 Featurettes
"Another Way to Die" Music Video
Original Theatrical Trailers

COMMENTS AND RESPONSES

Showing items 1 - 3 of 3
1 
7thGuest 10/11/2012 5:11:20 AM

I want this set. Unfortunately with Christmas coming up I'll have to save money, but once I get my income tax check in February or so then this set is mine. Well assuming I can still get this collection then.

almostunbiased 10/11/2012 1:32:50 PM

I just hope they release them individually.  Though I might not even buy them then.  I own every movie already and the DVDs look great on my Blu-ray Player already, so I can't imagine they would look much better.  I'm sure they would sound better though.  I'll probably get the individual ones someday.

 

doublec 10/11/2012 6:14:35 PM

 They were out individually last week when the box set came out but lots of stores are taking them out to make room as newer stuff comes in. Should be able to get them online no prob. The only one I'd have to have on Bluray is Goldfinger, cuz it's my favorite.

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