I admit it. My Bond experience consisted of Daniel Craig movies. It's not that I have anything against the other 007's. I just never quite got around to watching them. Outside of the franchise relaunch, I'm a Bond virgin. They've just released six of them on Blu-ray: Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, Live and Let Die, For Your Eyes Only and Die Another Day, so I figured it was time to dive in.
First off we have 1962's Dr. No starring Sean Connery, the first Bond film. I hope my friends are prepared for the constant Connery impressions I'm about to annoy them with. I wasn't really expecting to like this. I usually find films this old to be far too slow. I'm a snob, I know. I was pleasantly surprised and pretty stunned to see the film quality here. I had no idea you could restore something this old to this level. The crazy 60's technicolor graphics were certainly clear. The sound of the gunshots were laughable and the DTS HD sound quality probably made it a bit more noticeable. It was kind of fun to see how far we've come. My Bond-watching buddy (who saw them all on DVD) said that seeing it this way was like watching a new film. A few things I picked up...the Blu-ray makes Connery's orange lipgloss and the crazy backdrop paintings stand out like a sore thumb. And the driving in front of a screen. Gotta say, I think that makes it more enjoyable. Yeah, I'm one of those people who look up historical inaccuracies and inconsistencies and love a film more for it.
In 1963's From Russia With Love, again with Connery, I learned where Austin Powers got the character of "Dr. Evil" and his cat. I suppose I should have watched them the other way around. This one was a lot racier, with girl fights, a glimpse of butt and "Q" with his fancy gadgets. Now I get what everyone's saying about missing him in the Daniel Craig films. Again, it's a much crisper picture than the last one and the sound is clear as a bell. (A pet peeve of mine when watching older films. I can't make out half the conversation.) In 1965's Thunderball we see the famous jet pack. Sigh. I think the Bond films are silly, but I have to admit, I'm hooked. The underwater sequences were pretty amazing for that time and from the research I did, it appears that the critics though so too. My companion who had seen the regular version told me that the scuba scenes were much clearer, and that sometimes it was difficult to get what was happening underwater on the regular DVD.
I know there are purists out there who don't want to see old films restored. But I'm pretty amazed with the clarity and the sound. The special feature on the painstaking restoration process by Lowry Digital Images was really interesting. There film grain that we're all used to in older films is virtually gone. And the DTS HD audio was impressive. (The person I watched with is an audiophile, so I got a running commentary on the sound.) Onto the next three...I've grown fond of Connery and his orange lipgloss. Not sure how I'll feel about Roger Moore.
Ok, fine. I like Roger Moore. Can't help it. Any man who shaves while sitting in a tub with a gold mirror has to be very comfortable with his sexuality. In 1973's Live and Let Die, a film that borrows a bit heavily from blaxploitation films of that era, Moore's Bond is off to the island of San Monique to seduce a virginal Jane Seymour, battle drug lords and get called a honky. The film looks great, if you can stand 1970's wallpaper and nasty curtains. He's got some crazy-ass gadgets, though the magnetic watch was disproved by Mythbusters. Only Bond could use it to pull down a woman's zipper. I mean, really, the man is so cool that he smokes while hang gliding. Sure, the story is goofy and you could never film something so wildly politically incorrect now, but he certainly has suave down pat. On to For Your Eyes Only. The more modern these films get, the more you can see the difference with Blu-ray. The quality increases exponentially in the eight years between films. It's darker and my friend tells me that the black levels are much deeper than they are on the DVD. As an added bonus, you can see all the lines in Moore's face, poor chap. And the sound...you can't beat the rockin' 80's synthesizer music, now can you? You know, seeing how car chases have progressed from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace (look for our review on it's release day, November 14), I'm bit in awe of the advances in special effects and stunt driving. And computers. The black and green identograph is laughable now, but it was super cool in 1981.
Finally we have Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day, 2002. This one has a trivia feature that you can play during the film. And Judi Dench as "M". She makes you forget there was ever anyone else. Halle Berry doesn't do it for me, but I'm sure you all loved the bathing suit. Me? I'll stick with Daniel Craig's blue trunks. Die Another Day has CGI, which certainly marks it as modern, but you can see the difference that the past 6 years have made. The HD makes it a bit more apparent. I know this isn't a popular opinion, but I kind of like the less polished, slightly tortured Bond that Pierce gives us. Hell, maybe it's just because he's so pretty.
I think I've been seduced by James Bond. I'm in good company, right? Now that I have officially watched 8 Bond films, I might as well watch them all! I can't imagine going down in quality and watching them on regular DVD though. Anyone know when the rest are coming out?
