Customer Reviews

The James Bond Collection, Volume Two: Dr. No. / On Her Majesty's Secret Service / The Man with the Golden Gun / The Spy Who Loved Me / Moonraker [VHS]

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Contrary to a previous post, The World is Not Enough will not be included in the 3rd gift set. Rather, this 2nd gift set will include an empty space for The World is Not Enough DVD, which will only be sold seperately.

An explanation: In sales numbers, studios can't count units sold in sets (in this case, The World is Not Enough) as sales. So, in order to keep the sales numbers for TWINE as high possible, it will only be available seperately, and not as part of any set.

James Bond once again returns to the DVD format in some of his best movies. This collection will finish out all of the introduction of the Bond actors. I was amazed at the first wave of James BondDVD's, and am anxious to see this wave of 007 on DVD. Personally, I think DVD enhances the movie for the modern era. If you ever watch the old Bond's on VHS, you can tell how old the movie is. With DVD, you will only be able to appreciate the beauty of the movie, as it was first presented in the theater.

Icluded in this collection #2 is my all time favorite "On Her Majesty's Secret Serivce." Followed by that is "Dr. No," "Moonraker," "The Man With The Golden Gun," and finally "The Spy Who Loved Me." Also what is included in the collection is most of Roger Moore's productions of Bond. I thought Roger Moore did an excellent job as Bond, as though he was skeptical in "Live and Let Die." I think that the reviewer below is right about "The World Is Not Enough." I think there will be a slot for "The World Is Not Enough" for you to place once you order it. It makes sense though. Why would MGM release all of the Bond movies on DVD at the time of "The World Is Not Enough" release and not a spot to put "TWINE?"

The DVD extras will be neat to watch and you are able to learn more about the movie. Along with the documentaries, you have the audio commentary tracks available on all of the Bond DVD's. If they are anything like the original giftset, which I think they will, James Bond fans like myself are in for a real treat.

This is a must for Bond fans who are looking to complete their 007 DVD collection. This is a special gift set for the Bond collector and enthusiast.

MGM has been doing a fantastic job with the Bond DVDs. The previous set has gotten fantastic reviews from every DVD review site and they were. Great video, great audio and the extras are always interesting. Documentaries, mutiple audio commentaries, ads, and trailers. As for the movies: Dr. No - The first, and very entertaining. Not to mention it takes place in one of my favorite places, Jamaica; On Her Majesty's Secret Service - One of the best Bond movies, Lazenby does a good job. Handles the emotional impact of the end that I think Connery couldn't; The Man With The Golden Gun - Good, definitely not great. And Goodnight is such an annoying ditz; The Spy Who Loved Me - Another great one, has a great henchman Jaws, Bond girl Anya (Agent XXX, yeah, I know...); Moonraker - Blatant TSLWM ripoff to capitilize on Star Wars but still good.

If you like Bond, don't miss out on this great bargain!

I got this a while ago, but for some reason, never wrote a review on it until the third and final set came out.

For me, this is not as good as the first collection. First of all you have the films.

Obviously, you cannot beat the original, DR. NO. Apart from being the first Bond film, this is also the only Sean Connery film in this set. I feel that there is too much Moore and that it would have been better if they would have swapped a Moore film from Set #2 with a Connery film from set #3. That way, things would have been more evened out.

Then there is ON HERE MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE- This is one of the most underrated Bond films in my opinion. Superb locations, a brilliant performance by Diana Rigg, a good job By George Lazenby(I wish that he got to do more than one Bond film...He had the potential), a pre-Kojak Telly Savalas as Blofeld, and one of the best stories written. Plus there's my favorite Bond song of all, -by John Barry(naturally), put to also the best Bond title sequence- obviously by Maurice Binder

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN is the campy Bond film, in my opinion. The only thing that really sparks it up for me, is Christopher Lee. I have long been a fan of the Hammer Horror films, and he plays a brilliant Scaramanga. The film is lightened(maybe too much?)by Herve Villechaize as Nick Nack.

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME has to be Roger Moore's best outing as 007. It definitely is a great film- from start to finish. It has one of the best Bond songs- Carly Simon's "Nobody Does it Better", Barbara Bach puts in a good performance as his lover/opposition, great gadgets- the Lotus submarine, and of course, terrific adversaries- in this case, Jaws.

Finally, there is what must be the "black sheep" of the Bond films: MOONRAKER. Trying to capitalize on the Star Wars momentum, they tried to make a space-orientated film. The gamble failed(if you ask the majority of people)

As for the regular DVD features on all the films: Three out the five films are mono, while MOONRAKER and THE SPY WHO LOVED ME are Dolby Digital 5.1, which is a bit of disappointment- as is only two of the films having English subtitles(yet again, THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, and DR. NO), compared to the first set where all the films had English subtitles. I find these a necessity because I'm a fan of the commentaries, and while the people are talking, it is good to know what the actors are saying. But unlike the first set, all the films only have one commentary, whereas six out of seven had two commentaries in each DVD.

You also get the regular stuff: A documentary on the film on each DVD about the film telling how the film was made, then there are special documentaries on each film specializing on a specific topic:

Terence Young

Q's gadgets/A tribute to Desmond Llewelyn

Stuntmen

Designing Bond

Special Effects

Plus there are also the movie trailers, TV and radio spots, photo galleries, and mini booklets that come with each DVD. So you are definitely going to be watching for a long time. And as usual, all have great menus with tremendous graphics and interesting one-liners.

All that being said, I would say that if you were NOT to get one of the Bond sets, it would be this one. Three of the five films are good- the other two.... But one thing I did appreciate about this set, was the extra space for THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH. Thanks!

MGM's James Bond Collection #2 provides the Bond fan the an assortment of the "middle" Bond movies (On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Man with the Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Moonraker, along with the first Bond movie, Dr. No), with an assortment of the extra accompliments that DVD lovers have come to expect in the the format: audio commentary, a documentary "Making of" or "Inside," along with original ads and trailers.

For action, Dr. No and Her Majesty's Secret Service are two of the best of the series. The Spy Who Loved Me and The Man with the Golden Gun offer two of the most stylish of the series, with lavish sets and larger than life villians.

This set would have received five stars had it not included "Moonraker," one of the two weak Moore movies (the other being "A View to A Kill") and the Bond producers response to "Star Wars;" however, since "For Your Eyes Only" had been issued on the previous set, that was not possible.

At Amazon's price, this set is a must for Bond, and other action, lovers, and I'd recommend it.

The groundbreaking DR. NO is one of the best James Bond films of the series. Sean Connery's performance is that of the no-nonsense dedicated civil servant entrusted with a "licence-to-kill" when he chooses, where he chooses and whom he chooses. His screen presence alone conveys the physical, intellectual and moral conviction of the character. Connery's portrayal in this film directed by Terence Young seems closer to the literary James Bond created by Ian Fleming. Many elements that distinguish the James Bond series were introduced in this film. The opening gun barrel trademark, "The James Bond Theme," M played by Bernard Lee, Miss Moneypenny played by Lois Maxwell, Ken Adam's distinctive melding of modern and futuristic production designs, Maurice Binder's unique main titles, the "Martinis shaken not stirred," exotic locales, just to name a few are all here. Bond is sent to Jamaica, land of the Undertakers Wind, to investigate the elimination of British field agents and strange signals that have been interfering with the American space program. Joseph Wiseman as DR. NO is one of the best villains of the series. His steel mono-toned performance is eerily unsettling. Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder leaves the most indelible image of the series as she emerges erotically from the blue waters of the Caribbean clad in her white bikini. Along with Felix Leiter and Quarrel, Bond must uncover the trail that all leads to DR. NO's mysterious Crab Key. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE is the one film closest to any of Ian Fleming's Bond novels. George Lazenby, possessing the physique and physical attributes that fit the role, gives a visually striking and straightforward performance in his only appearance as James Bond. The combined efforts of all the filmmakers and Lazenby's performance of a James Bond with conviction, assuredness and determination make this the definitive James Bond film. The film has a sense of undeniable drive behind it accentuated by Lazenby's no-nonsense approach and the urgency of John Barry's instrumental theme used repeatedly to never let up the pace. If James Bond was ever the dedicated civil servant it is ever so evident in this film. There are intensely choreographed fights of great ferocity, exciting and incredible ski chases, car chases, an alpine battle atop an ice-capped peak and an extraordinary thrilling bobsled chase. There is more action, suspense and emotion packed into this film than any other in the series and Lazenby's hard edged performance, Peter Hunt's direction and John Barry's driving score make it all work. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE is possibly the best film of the series. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN contains one of Roger Moore's best performances as James Bond as he injects Bond's virility, worldliness and sardonic wit back into the character in his second appearance as Bond. Christopher Lee's performance as the enigmatic Scaramanga is refreshingly energetic giving the assassin an amiable quality on the surface hiding a darker side beneath. An often-overlooked asset to this film is Maud Adams' performance as Andrea, Scaramanga's beautiful mistress. She brings genuine compassion to the role as the tormented individual who can not escape her master. There is also great location cinematography in this film. We see Bond at the gambling tables at the Casino de Macaoand and witness his solo flight through the uprooted rock formations near Phuket, Thailand to Scaramanga's island. One bit of innovation combing location filming, miniatures and set design was the use of the half-submerged Queen Elizabeth, its hull at a 30-degree angle, scorched and rusted at rest in Hong Kong harbor. Hidden in the bowels of the sunken ship is the headquarters for the Hong Kong station of the British Secret Service. "It's the only place in Hong Kong where you can't be bugged" says a naval officer to Bond. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN contains martial arts sequences, an imaginative car chase and some very witty dialogue. The music soundtrack by John Barry was re-mastered in stereo. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME is a big-budgeted opulent film with effective screenplay and editing delivering one of the most succinctly structured films of the series. Roger Moore clearly redefined his approach to the role as the good-natured British agent. His Bond is suave, debonair, never condescending and resorts to seriousness only when confronted with malevolence. That was the way he played it for the rest of the series. The globetrotting THE SPY WHO LOVED ME featured a gadget laden Lotus Esprit as its centerpiece and a maniacal villain Stromberg whose immense wealth featured an aquatic empire aimed at global domination. Great action sequences and chases abound. MOONRAKER is one of the biggest films of the entire series. Once again Bond is on the trail of another maniacal villain, Hugo Drax, whose immense wealth has financed the research and production of the space shuttle program. This is also another globetrotting epic that features gorgeous location work in Venice and Rio de Janeiro bringing out the of essence of these exquisite cities. Following his work on THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, production designer Ken Adam returned with some sets reminiscent of the earlier Bond films as well as some completely innovative sets for Drax's space empire. MOONRAKER plays like a compendium of the entire series running the gamut from the serious to the fanciful. MOONRAKER contains many elements to please the diverse tastes of the millions of Bond fans. That is the magic of MOONRAKER. There is incredible action in this film. The free-fall sequence is one of the best pre-title sequences of the series. The boat chase in the South American jungle is truly thrilling. Bond's fight in the Venetian glass museum is a classic. John Barry's score is exquisite and moving, one of his most unique. The dialogue by Christopher Wood is witty and intelligent. MOONRAKER has it all. This Volume demonstrates the versatility and diversity of the world of James Bond.

Like the first James Bond gift set, I enjoyed the features of the DVD's in this, the second gift set. However, there was one problem I ran into that turned out to be more of a headache than it should have been. In the DVD "The Man With The Golden Gun", it seems that tracks 21 and 22 will not play on certain DVD players (of which mine is one of them). I didn't find this out until I had tried three different sets. Kudos go to Amazon's customer service department for supplying me with multiple sets to try and fix the problem. Unfortunately, they weren't able to, but it seems that MGM has come up with a solution. If you have a problem viewing "The Man with the Golden Gun", you should contact MGM Customer Service at 1-877-MGM-4YOU for assistance. Other than that, the set is great!

The second DVD James Bond Gift Set is even more oddly made up than the first set. Perhaps one more Connery entry would have filled the bill (at least the third set will have all John Barry scores!). And why Pierce Brosnan's photo is on the box is a mystery - not one of his 3 films are included here, although as others have mentioned there is a space to put THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH in the box. The audio commentaries for THE SPY WHO LOVED ME and especially MOONRAKER are very disappointing (didn't some of the first set films have 2 audio commentaryes?), but I cannot praise enough the John Cork produced commentaries and little documentaries included. Many Bond fans (myself included) consider ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE the best film in the series, and it is nice to see it here. I hope newer fans who have never seen it give it a chance. And as for all those other reviewers - well, everybody has their own opnion, and several people have come to Bond at different times. Try not to say something is bad, but rather that you didn't care for it. Wouldn't that be more realistic? After all - we're all fans.

Not a bad collection of Bond material, however, this is a mix of various Bond movies with a variety of leading Bond actors. I recommend looking into the 1996 Collections that have the videos in chronological order and primarily by actor. JAMES BOND 007 Collector's Set, Vol. 1 includes all six Broccoli-produced Sean Connery Bond films, to include a 1995 documentary video. JAMES BOND 007 Collector's Set, Vol. 2 includes all seven Roger Moore films and Timothy Dalton's first film. Although these sets are out-of-print, they are still available as used and collector's sets through Amazon.com's Marketplace. If you're like most fans, you'd prefer to have the movies that include your own favorite "leading-Bond-man"!

This isn't released yet, but anyone who has seen any of the Volume 1 giftset knows what to expect. MGM has done a great job on these 007 DVD, and they demonstrate why DVD is worth owning. The extra features are great, and it shows that MGM spent the necesarry time to make a product for the fans. I am especially glad "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is included in this volume. One word of caution: although "The World is Not Enough" is being released as Special Edition, it will most likely be part of the Volume 3 giftset...