Customer Reviews

James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 4 (Dr. No / You Only Live Twice / Octopussy / Tomorrow Never Dies / Moonraker)

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've owned these films on tape, laserdisc, and DVD, and yes, it was definitely worth shelling out the bucks to buy all 20 films again on these spectacularly remastered sets.

The earlier films show the most difference, of course. The Connery Bonds and the first three or four Moores show the most improvement. Rich, vivid, colors, a sharp, crisp image, beautifully remastered 5.1 surround sound (the DTS tracks are utterly delightful) --- I'm sure there will be another repackaging of these movies before too long, but as far as I'm concerned, this is a close to an "ultimate collection" as it gets.

(I'm referring to all four sets, basically, and these comments apply to the technical aspects of the discs, rather than dealing with my opinions of each movie.)

The discs will be released individually starting in March of 2007, BUT (and it's a big but) they will be single-disc releases without any of the special features. All of the films in these boxed sets have a second disc with extras (most of them ported over from the original DVD releases). So, you'll be able to buy, say, "Dr. No" and leave "Moonraker" on the shelf, if that's your pleasure ... but you won't get any extras.

Hopefully the studio will rethink this before too long. Good marketing usually means making your customers happy.

Hi all you Bond fans!...

I don't understand what all the big disappointment is with the order of the films in these sets!!! Sure, it'd be nice if everything was in chronological order, but who are we to decide that?

The amount of hard work that went into the making of these sets, and the quality of the sets themselves, are nothing to disregard! I don't understand how anybody could put chronological order over the quality of something itself... If you really wanted what was in these sets, then how can you argue over the order of the DVD's in them???

To me, the makers did a fantastic job of ordering them, because then the not-so-popular movies get somewhere to live too! How would you feel if you had to release sets in an order that not so many people would buy a certain volume of, just because less people liked what was in it? You have to respect the makers' wishes, and go for it.

I, myself, am profoundly interested in these sets, and to me... they are a MUST to have! I can see how people who have already bought the previous DVD sets would be upset, but I think these sets justify re-buying them 100%. (Too bad these North American releases aren't in the attache case, though!)

As another reviewer (Eric D. Zdrojewski "Lockport Eric") said, you can sell your other DVD sets (if you wanted to), and you'd have a decent amount to go for these sets.

... and as another reviewer on here (The JuRK) said... I'm definitely getting these for Christmas this year too!!! :-D

Thanks,
Mike Sorge

Before buying this collection, I was very skeptical. Being a long time James Bond fan, I invested plenty of money in the best VHS version of all these films. When DVD came out, I re-bought about half of the collection again. I must admit that the DVD releases of these films are some of the most disappointing DVDs in my collection.

My major complaints about the ORIGINAL DVD RELEASES were:
1.) Audio Mix -- The first release of the Bond DVDs featured only the original 2 channel audio mixes. The result was a disaster. The spoken dialog was BURIED under the soundtrack... resulting in me having to dive for the remote every five minutes. On top of the poor dialog / score mixing, the audio lacked definition and served as a constant distraction from watching the movie. There were no distinct lows, or distinct highs, just a lot of bland sounding audio.

2.) Picture Quality -- I suppose I couldn't complain too too much about this one. Given the age of many of these movies, I accepted the washed-out, often grainy image as nothing more than a symptom of the era the movie was made.

All in all, poor audio and poor picture makes for a pretty crappy experience. After having been disappointed by the first couple Bond DVDs I bought, I gave up on the collection. It was with this in mind that the announcement of the newly remastered series left me very skeptical.

The major criticism of this DVD set is that it is another ploy by MGM/UA to drain more money from every Bond fan's wallet. In the past, I had avoided these pathetic attempts at getting me to constantly upgrade versions of things I already owned.

However, let me tell you, this collection DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. The talk about the upgraded audio and video is NOT hype. Painstaking efforts were taken to re-scan the original prints of each film frame-by-frame. Once scanned, the image was digitally enhanced from the original prints. I was amazed at the richness and depth of color this process produced. During most parts, these movies look like they could have been filmed last year. Different color pigments are more noticeable, skin color and tone looks more lifelike, and the special effects look sharper. All in all, one couldn't ask for anything more from the picture quality of these versions. I have yet to a scene where I felt it could have been retouched better.

If the image quality isn't enough to make this collection worth buying, the new 5.1 DTS mixes seal the deal. Gone are the days of me fidgeting with volume during every other scene! The balance between dialog, ambient sounds, and score is perfect. I never would have imagined that movies made in the 60's and 70's could sound so good. Unlike the previous DVDs, these Ultimate Edition DVDs utilize my home theater to its maximum potential. Explosions rumble through my sub and the dialog comes clearly through my center channel; every word is audible. I own other DVDs from films made over the last couple of years that wish they could sound this good! Utilizing the DTS is a MUST!

Finally, while I consider myself fairly discriminating when it comes to audio and video clarity, I am by no means an audio or videophile. So, I don't think you need a $25,000 home theater setup to enjoy the enhancements these DVDs offer. I wrote this review based off of the following hardware:
32" Winbook 720p LCD HDTV
Up-converting Samsung DVD Player (connected via DVI)
Sony 7.1 (7x100w) Surround Receiver
Matching 5.1 MTX Surround Sound Speaker System

Hopefully, this will help clear up some confusion or doubt as to the value this collection offers.

I, for one, have no objection to this new packaging of the beautifully remastered films and their lavish extras. This series is like the old joke about pizza (and sex)--even when it's not-so-good, it's still pretty good. These films are such a big, big part of our culture--all of them. All the actors playing Bond. The whole shebang. I appreciate that there are those out there who only want certain titles--and they should be available that way--but I say, "Bring 'em all on!" I'm loving this collection!

DR. NO is the first and freshest, with Connery the first (and best) Bond and Andress the first (and best) girl. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE has that marvelous volcano and that lovely song, possibly the best song in the series. MOONRAKER is just plain silly, but kind of fun. OCTOPUSSY is big and colorful. TOMORROW NEVER DIES is kind of blah, but it has Michelle Yeoh, who is not blah, and those stunts, which are anything but blah.

This collection includes various Bond movies from three of the actors that have played James Bond in the "official" Bond movies, which excludes "Never Say Never Again." I have a couple of complaints about the four collections, balanced by some significant positives.

My two biggest complaints are that the movies are not in order, which continues the tradition begun with the previous James Bond Collections, and these movies are so good when compared to the originals that fan of the James Bond movies will want to have these, which means you have to shell out a lot of money to buy these movies over again.

The most significant positives about these movies are the improved sound and picture quality, and the second disk that comes with each movie that includes material uncollected in the original James Bond Collections. If you have the previous James Bond Collections and you have watched them only once, then you can probably pass this collection over. If you watched the previous James Bond Collections and you thought the picture and sound could have been improved, and you wished for more extras, then you may want to shell out the big bucks and buy these four sets.

Two of Sean Connery and two of Roger Moore's films are in this fourth set. The first Connery film is "Dr. No." "Dr. No" launched the Bond franchise. Sean Connery set the tone for Bond; suave, debonair, and terminally cool. He drove nice cars and had a penchant for dry one-liners. Ursula Andress set the tone for future Bond women, and Dr. No was coolly ruthless. Ken Adam's sets were artistic and artfully filmed by Terence Young, who also provided the stylistic role model for Connery's Bond. In the extras you learn that Connery was mentored by Young and acquired expensive tastes and hobbies in the process.

The second Connery film was the fifth Bond film. "You Only Live Twice" had more gadgets, more exotic locations, and more jokes than previous Bond films. Someone is hijacking Soviet and American spacecraft and no one knows why. After one of the best opening credits where Nancy Sinatra sings the title song, we enter one of the weaker entries in the Bond series. There is too much reliance on gadgets and women and too little reliance on a serious plot. I also struggled to believe Donald Pleasance as the evil Dr. Blofeld.

Roger Moore's first film in this collection is another of the weaker films in the Bond series. "Moonraker" was intended to capitalize on the public's interest in science fiction movies sparked by "Star Wars." However, this movie is not close to "Star Wars," and the spaceship effects are relatively cheesy. However, the space station is reasonably well done. This time madman Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) plans to park his chosen people on a space station while he eliminates all people on earth. His chosen people will then repopulate the earth with their perfection. Drax is a suitable madman for Bond. The popular character Jaws (Richard Kiel) appears again in this movie. Unfortunately, Moore appears generally bored with this one and this movie just never sparks.

Moore's second film in this collection is "Octopussy." When agent 009 turns up stabbed with a valuable jeweled egg, James Bond is on the case. His investigation leads him to India, where he learns that Kamal Khan is involved in a number of activities, some of them apparently involving Octopussy, a female smuggler who makes her home on an island where there are only women. As the movie unfolds we learn that General Orlov has been plotting with Kamal Khan to use the military superiority of the Soviet Union to show the world that the Soviet Union remains a potent world power. Kamal Khan's interest is money, however, and he cares little for Orlov's activities other than how he can benefit from them.

The final film in this collection is 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies." The supporting cast this time is phenomenal, with the great actor Jonathan Pryce as Elliot Carver, Teri Hatcher as his wife Paris Carver, and Michelle Yeoh as Chinese agent Wei Lin, among numerous others. Jonathan Pryce steals nearly every scene he is in, reminiscent of some other great Bond villains. The locations are ever more incredible, digital effects abound, and the stunts are even more thrilling. That motorcycle jump was really performed! Cheryl Crow does a great job on the title song, and the excellent video is included.

Because of all the extras these DVDs require hours to watch. The value of the extras varies, but watching them gives a fan much more information about the difficulties of making each movie, and how many of the stunts were performed. I consider these movies to be among the gems of my DVD collection. I recommend this set very highly if you are just starting to collect Bond movies, are looking to replace your VHS versions, or you must have the best versions available.

Enjoy!

ULTIMATE EDITION INTRO (applies to all 4 Volumes)
I think fans need to accept that James Bond 007 won't be divided into chronological DVD sets, anymore. Because these movies are drastically different from each other in terms of style, plot, background, and audiences' & critics' reception... the most sensible move is to divide them up. Thankfully, all of the special features from older DVDs, plus some new bonus content, are on these Ultimate Edition sets.

VOLUME 4
With the exception of the first "official" James Bond movie on this set, I think this 4th volume represents the more action-packed side of 007. Bond becomes Japanese and trains with ninjas. Bond gets a sidekick who kicks even more ass than he does. Bond goes to space, for crying out loud! I suppose after reviewing the other 3 volumes, I've run out of things to say about this franchise. But each movie on this set is worth a look.

DR. NO (1962 - Movie #1)
---Ah, the first time that James Bond was "officially" brought to world-wide audiences (that 1950s TV play of "Casino Royale" doesn't count). I feel I should warn newcomers who haven't watched this movie yet, because while the character will be instantly familiar, this is the most low-key, modest picture in the entire franchise. After all, how could anyone know "Dr. No" would be successful enough to spawn a franchise anyway? James Bond is introduced to us when we see his hands playing baccarat, and his voice flirting with his opponent. The first time we see his face is when he gives that immortal introduction, "Bond...James Bond." When Sean Connery speaks those words, he commands our attention immediately. Agent 007 is sent to Jamaica after an agent has disappeared. The movie is more of a mystery than an adventure. Shady characters turn out to be allies. Lovely locals turn out to be dangerous. What separates James Bond from any other detective though is his confidence and willingness to get his hands dirty. Watch the way he dispenses his first henchman, and then casually carries on after the bad guy kills himself. Much has been made about Honey Ryder, the iconic beauty played by Ursula Andress, but I think this character is badly overrated. She's hot and interesting, but nothing legendary. Come to think of it, I prefer the slower first half to the second half when Bond goes to a remote island, finds the villain's lair, with a beautiful woman tagging along. I know the second half is what most Bond movies are known for, but it feels more dated that it did 10 years ago when I first saw it. But for the most part, "Dr. No" is a solid mystery, and the elusive villain is intriguing. (7.0 / 10)

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967 - Movie #5)
---Aside from a really dumb introduction to James Bond (he fakes his death so that his worldwide enemies won't look for him), this movie finds a fun story and runs with it. An American shuttle is stolen in space, and the USA & Russia are on the brink of war. The leads point to Japan, where James Bond's investigation leads to one of the most action-packed entries in the 007 series. The fight scenes are intense and exciting, and the final battle between the villain's army and ally Tanaka's ninjas is simply awesome. The whole Japanese setting is just pleasing to the eye. I love Nancy Sinatra's song and John Barry's music score. There are some pretty odd plot points, though. A sexy henchwoman captures Bond, makes love with him rather than kill him, and then tries to kill him in the very next scene! Also, the plan to make Bond blend in with his Japanese ally by becoming Japanese makes no sense when several assassins try to take him out while he's training. But I quickly forgot about the plot stumbles because the movie moves at such a nice pace and has such great style & action that I quickly forgave those missteps. (7.5 / 10)

MOONRAKER (1979 - Movie #11)
---I have very mixed feelings about this Roger Moore movie. It's basically a hybrid of director Lewis Gilbert's "You Only Live Twice" and "The Spy Who Loved Me", with some silly comedy thrown in. The good news is that this mostly-engaging movie is incredible when it works. The villain, Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale), is delightfully egomaniacal, and is one of the few bad guys whose elaborate deathplans for 007 actually fit the character. The action is very exciting (except for a dumb Venice boat chase). And when the story goes to space (sorry if I spoiled that), "Moonraker" somehow makes it all work and becomes a terrific entertainment. The problem I have is that when "Moonraker" tries to be funny, it often comes at the wrong time. Bond literally shoots a tree-perched assassin right in front of Drax's eyes, and trusts that Drax's driver will still take him to the airport. Every time fan-favorite Jaws shows up, his attempts to kill 007 are filled with some comedic punchline. He can't kill Bond because a bunch of Rio partiers get in the way, and he can't kill Bond because he breaks his own parachute strap. I missed the combination of sinister and humor in Jaws from "The Spy Who Loved Me". And what's with Jaws' goldilocks girlfriend, anyway? Never mind. "Moonraker" is a Bond movie that isn't afraid to try anything. For the most part, it worked for me, especially in its final act. (7.0 / 10)

OCTOPUSSY (1983 - Movie #13)
---This one of the toughest Roger Moore movies to talk about, because its greatest qualities come at some costly prices, just like "Moonraker" felt to me. I think every Bond movie has some give-and-take involved; the difference with fans is whether you gain more than you are asked to forgive. In the case of "Octopussy", I like it overall, but was annoyed by some aspects of it. The plot involves Bond tracing a forged Faberge egg to a prince named Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan, whose speech mannerisms are always captivating). Bond's encounters with Kamal Khan and his henchmen are mostly entertaining, but then when 007 is captured, it takes a while to find out just what the heck is going on. When Bond discovers that a mysterious smuggler named Octopussy (Maud Adams in her 2nd 007 appearance) is involved, I was initially confused how she fit into the whole plot. When I figured out how the Russian General Orlov (Steven Berkoff) was going to bring his plans of global domination into the mix, I still didn't understand how he related to the other two. This sense of mystery is both a great delight and a bit frustrating. The questions are all answered, but I think the movie needed better pacing to let me know when I was supposed to be in on it. "Octopussy" uses the Eastern Europe and India locations very well, but each of its exciting action sequences has something to distract me from it. For example, an exciting jungle hunt for 007 includes our hero letting out a Tarzan yell as he dangles from vine to vine. I must say that the stuntwork in "Octopussy" is top-notch, like when Roger Moore's stunt doubles climb a speeding train or hang onto an airborne plane for dear life. Overall, I think "Octopussy" is a solid movie, but when the plot took its mysterious twists and turns, I wished the movie would've focused more on the dramatic stakes than its carefree sense of fun. (6.5 / 10)

TOMORROW NEVER DIES (1997 - Movie #18)
---What a novel concept we have here. A man attempts to control the world through mass-media manipulation. Don't be mad at me if I spoiled that for you, because when Elliot Carver (a scene-chewing Jonathan Pryce) holds the movie's first meeting with his cohorts, you know exactly what he's capable of. This adventure takes this fascinating plot point, and pits James Bond against the media baron's schemes. After a pointless-but-fun pre-title sequence, Bond is tasked to use a former flame (now Carver's wife) to get closer. Along the way, Bond runs into a Chinese agent named Wei Lin, who's played by Asian action star Michelle Yeoh. Their combination of skills and witty banter is one of the movie's best aspects. Yet, I can't say why I'm not giving this movie a stronger recommendation. I think that's because "Tomorrow Never Dies" features a lot of action, with less emphasis on the spy elements of James Bond. I love the chase sequences and hand-to-hand combat, but some of the shootouts are a bit outrageous. In other words, as well-crafted as the movie is, I was constantly aware that most Bond movies tend to have similar moments. "Tomorrow Never Dies" does it better than most 007 movies, but it didn't do it first. If you're looking for originality beyond Elliot Carver's dastardly plans, then you might be a tad disappointed. But if you want bigger, badder, and better, then Pierce Brosnan's sophomore appearance doesn't slump. (7.5 / 10)

VOLUME 4 RECAP
Although this is my least favorite collection of James Bond 007 movies, I wouldn't call this a throwaway. After all, I do like every movie that's included on this set. But if there's one Volume of the Ultimate Edition collection that I'd get last, it'd be this 4th one.

7.0 > Dr. No (1962)
7.5 > You Only Live Twice (1967)
7.0 > Moonraker (1979)
6.5 > Octopussy (1983)
7.5 > Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

I ordered all 4 of these box sets recently from Amazon during one of their sales. There's nothing wrong with these discs if you get a good copy. But two of my sets were tainted with a defective disc - movie disc (haven't watched any of the bonus discs). I guess I should have done "20 Days of 007" like TBS used to do years back when there was only 14 or so movies. Bottom line is that if you order these, watch them quickly to be sure you don't have any defective discs and miss Amazon's short no-charge return window. I'm giving Amazon 3 stars, not the movies. I'd give the movies 5 stars.

After waiting for a very long time to acquire the Bond Ultimate Edition sets at a reasonable price, I finally ditched my Special Editions in favor of the new ones. I, perhaps like many others, was always reluctant to give up my Special Editions because frankly I spent a lot of time and money putting the original, Special Edition set together.

After watching the Special Edition and Ultimate Edition of "Dr.No", I finally realized how "ultimate" the new discs are. Gone are the film scratches, imperfections and faded colors that plagued most of the Bond early films such as the Connery & some of the Moore films. The new Dolby & DTS 5.1 surround sound are fantastic! The 1962 "Dr. No" looks like it was filmed yesterday. The special features on "Dr. No" includes a segment on the outstanding work put into the frame by frame restoration. A truly tremendous effort and much appreciated!

I like the slim-line cases for the new sets. My entire Bond collection now only takes up less than half the space on my shelves than it did before. Although I tend to agree with other reviewers that it's kind of cheesy how the booklets for each film are stored in the box and not the individual cases, the overall quality of the DVD's negate any negatives. I spend more time watching the films than browsing the booklets. Forget buying any of the Ultimate Editions individually which are single discs because the DVD's in the Ultimate Edition box sets are double-disc sets. One disc for the feature film for optimized quality and one disc for the special features.

I'm not bothered in the fact that all films in all four volumes are not packaged chronologically, since I went through the same process when I purchased the Special Edition box sets. I understand the studio's logic for "mixing it up", since a chronological DVD order would mean more popular sales for the Connery sets and lower sales for the Moore/Dalton sets. I'm a fan of all the Bond films as I appreciate all of the different actors from Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Bronson to Craig and for what each one of them has contributed to the Bond Legacy. Many thanks to Daniel Craig for resurrecting this franchise with his outstanding debut in "Casino Royale". Looking forward to "Quantum of Solace" later this year.

VOLUME 4; This is my third favorite volume, but "Dr. No" (the Bond & Connery debut film) is a classic containing one of the most, iconic moments in Bond film history. Ursalla Andress in the white bikini walking in the beach from the ocean. Somehow I never get tired of that scene? Connery's other effort "You Only Live Twice" features some exotic Japan locations. Love that volcano base set! "Moonraker" is one of the most campiest Bond films for Moore, but having Jaws in it entertains. "Octupussy" should have been Moore's last film and I think it would have been a great send off film for Moore because it was quite good. "Tomorrow Never Dies" is a decent effort for Bronson featuring the acrobatic, martial arts, superstar Michelle Yeoh.

I actually also have the previous dvd special editions collections.
I bought all 4 ultimate collection volumes, because I am a bond fan period. This ultimate collection is well worth the money because of the effort spent by Lowry to restore the video and audio to pristine condition. Also if you have bought the previous collection releases, you will realize that the ultimate collection is still slightly cheaper. I actually prefer Connery & Brosnan over the other actors playing Bond, but I wouldn't split up this set because of the different lead actor; as the movies are a complete set to me. All the Connery's Bond movies are restored to superb condition, and is a pure joy to watch. If you have all 4 volumes, don't complain who is a better bond and better actor - just enjoy the 20 bond movies made over a period of 40 years, with currently the best video and audio possible and watch 007 at his best.
And thanks to Amazon for sending the 4 vol.s in a nice package and on time to me.

These Bond movie collections are every collector's reference standard. The sheer quality of the re mastering, the quantity of all of the extras will surely give any enthusiast more than what they expect. The material will certainly show even the most knowledgeable a thing or two. It's just too bad they could not have included "Casino Royale" too!