43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tripe Gets Released on DVD Daily, but STILL No "Man From U.N.C.L.E." Scheduled for DVD Release?!?, December 2, 2005
This review is from: The Man From U.N.C.L.E [Region 2 Import - Non USA Format] (DVD)
This series, groundbreaking & innovative in more ways than I can count, deserves -- nay, DEMANDS -- a fully restored DVD treatment!
Ted Turner made a halfhearted attempt to release the series on VHS & laserdisc during the late '80s, but the effort was spotty & disorganised; the entire series wasn't released, the episodes weren't in chronological order, & a lot of the less popular ones from the near-fatal 3rd season were amongst the ones that did get released.
While this series had it's share of less-than-stellar instalments (one can look at any of the "Star Trek" series to see this example), "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", overall, did more to popularise the spy genre than even 007 did. American actor Robert Vaughn as the hyper-cool & super-suave agent Napoleon Solo & Scottish-born David McCallum, cold as ice & tough as nails in his portrayal of agent Illya Nickovetch Kuryakin, had nearly insane success & fame in the mid-to-late '60s thanks to "MFU", easily on par with Sean Connery & The Beatles, thanks to this clever spy series, which set the bar for all that followed.
In light of the espionage series that have been released successfully to DVD (The Avengers, The Prisoner, The Saint, I Spy), & especially in light of some of the crap that's been released up 'til now, it's shocking & appalling that "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." languishes in a vault somewhere until someone gets his or her act together & realises that there is indeed a strong fanbase for this series out here in TV Land, & that means MONEY for all involved.
(In all fairness, 5 of the 8 "U.N.C.L.E." movies, mostly consolidated from 2-part episodes aimed at overseas theatrical release, are available in a DVD boxed set in the UK, but once again, "MFU" & its fans gets short shrifted; why not all 8 movies, & why only in the UK?!)
With only four seasons of "MFU", it wouldn't take an inordinate amount of prep work to have the series ready for release by next Christmas. Both stars, as well as series creator Norman Felton, are still alive & very willing to talk about the heady days of "MFU", as well as a good number of the guest stars (William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Martin Landau, Barbara Feldon), writers (Harlan Ellison), & directors (Richard Donner), all of whom could easily be tapped to talk about their memories of the series. The wealth of bonus material in one season alone would be worth the price of purchase!
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Five (5) Man From U.N.C.L.E. 1960s Feature Films Available from Amazon.co.uk!, January 26, 2006
This review is from: The Man From U.N.C.L.E [Region 2 Import - Non USA Format] (DVD)
LOVE The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and am SO disappointed that Warner Bros. has chosen not to release these classic episodes on DVD---just like everyone else!
However, if you have a DVD player that supports multi-region DVDs, or region 2 DVDs (United Kingdom) then at least you can whet your whistle on this UK release for now:
DVD Description
Three-disc set containing five U.N.C.L.E. movies:
The Spy with My Face
One Spy Too Many
The Karate Killers
The Helicopter Spies
How to Steal the World
You can purchase through Amazon's UK web site at this URL:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000AGVOE/202-0819351-9509439
By the way, you can use your same Amazon USA email and password at the UK site---I did!
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Great DVD Affair, April 13, 2006
This review is from: The Man From U.N.C.L.E [Region 2 Import - Non USA Format] (DVD)
Well I was glad to see the first season of this series was to finally to be released July 25th, 2006. Now I don't see the pre-order of the DVD for sale as I did a month ago. What am I to think of this studio? That they are clueless I believe sums it up nicely. Napolean Solo and Illya Kullyakin were not only entertainment, they were a boost to the whole industry. In the later Sixties this and Star Trek were the best thing going on TV. If you enjoy watching the Avengers, Secret Agent Man, or The Wild, Wild, West, you will want this set. A must have for any collector of good Sixties TV. Fans of Austin Powers movies will undoubtably enjoy this series. Although it takes itself fairly serious, the series is a little tongue-in-cheek. This series probably did more for spy show screenwriters and book authors than any other TV show, movie, or book. It helped bring about other spy series including the spin-off The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. which was not nearly as successful. I had pre-oredered mine at deepdiscountdvd.com since I don't see it available here yet but now I don't see my order. I am guessing the studio delayed the release date. I truly can't believe they actually think some of the other trash they are putting out on DVD will do better than "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.". Let's hope some smart studio exec convinces them soon, so they can make mega bucks selling this to all us baby boomers, not to mention all the fans of the Austin Powers movies since they are "groovy baby".
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