Product Details

• Actors: Urbano Barberini, Crispin Bonham Carter, Tom Chadbon, John Chancer, Jesper Christensen
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: French (Unknown), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• DVD Release Date: March 13, 2007
• Run Time: 144 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1,154 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000MNP2K8
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,938 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #5 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > James Bond > Daniel Craig
  #5 in	Movies & TV > Drama > By Genre > Action & Adventure
  #34 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Espionage

• This is item 21 in The James Bond Movies Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The most successful invigoration of a cinematic franchise since Batman Begins, Casino Royale offers a new Bond identity. Based on the Ian Fleming novel that introduced Agent 007 into a Cold War world, Casino Royale is the most brutal and viscerally exciting James Bond film since Sean Connery left Her Majesty's Secret Service. Meet the new Bond; not the same as the old Bond. Daniel Craig gives a galvanizing performance as the freshly minted double-0 agent. Suave, yes, but also a "blunt instrument," reckless, and possessed with an ego that compromises his judgment during his first mission to root out the mastermind behind an operation that funds international terrorists. In classic Bond film tradition, his global itinerary takes him to far-flung locales, including Uganda, Madagascar, the Bahamas (that's more like it), and Montenegro, where he is pitted against his nemesis in a poker game, with hundreds of millions in the pot. The stakes get even higher when Bond lets down his "armor" and falls in love with Vesper (Eva Green), the ravishing banker's representative fronting him the money.

For longtime fans of the franchise, Casino Royale offers some retro kicks. Bond wins his iconic Astin-Martin at the gaming table, and when a bartender asks if he wants his martini "shaken or stirred," he disdainfully replies, "Do I look like I give a damn?" There's no Moneypenny or "Q," but Dame Judi Dench is back as the exasperated M, who one senses, admires Bond's "bloody cheek." A Bond film is only as good as its villain, and Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre, who weeps blood, is a sinister dandy. From its punishing violence and virtuoso action sequences to its romance, Casino Royale is a Bond film that, in the words of one character, makes you feel it, particularly during an excruciating torture sequence. Double-0s, Bond observes early on, "have a short life expectancy." But with Craig, there is new life in the old franchise yet, as well as genuine anticipation for the next one when, at last, the signature James Bond theme kicks in following the best last line ever in any Bond film. To quote Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin, now I know what I've been faking all these years. --Donald Liebenson

Stills from Casino Royale (click for larger image)

Beyond Casino Royale on Amazon.com

On Blu-ray	CD Soundtrack	Why We Love Daniel Craig
The Amazon.com James Bond Store	Where Have I Seen Daniel Craig?	Bond on Set: Filming Casino Royale Book

Product Description
Casino Royale introduces James Bond before he holds his license to kill. But Bond is no less dangerous, and with two professional assassinations in quick succession, he is elevated to "00" status. "M" (Judi Dench), head of the British Secret Service, sends the newly-promoted 007 on his first mission that takes him to Madagascar, the Bahamas and eventually leads him to Montenegro to face Le Chiffre, a ruthless financier under threat from his terrorist clientele, who is attempting to restore his funds in a high-stakes poker game at the Casino Royale. "M" places Bond under the watchful eye of the Treasury official Vesper Lynd. At first skeptical of what value Vesper can provide, Bond's interest in her deepens as they brave danger together. Le Chiffre's cunning and cruelty come to bear on them both in a way Bond could never imagine, and he learns his most important lesson: Trust no one.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

96 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back with a vengeance, December 12, 2006

By	James Ferguson (Vilnius, Lithuania) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I was beginning to wonder if James Bond was dead, but along comes Daniel Craig to breathe new life into the role, giving us a lean, mean 007 that blows previous Bonds away. Martin Campbell went back to the basics, retooling Bond and giving him a much more physical presence, reminiscent of Sean Connery. From the opening sequence we see we are in for a real treat, as Campbell takes nothing for granted. He knows he has to earn the audience's respect, and he does with a thrilling chase scene in the chaotic urban center of an African republic.

Bond really comes across as a rogue agent in Casino Royale, stealing his way into M's apartment to leave her coded messages, taking risks that threaten painstaking operations and getting himself into jams that require MI6 to bail him out. This is a young impetuous Bond, overanxious and thrilling to watch as Craig fills his role with the energy of a stage actor.

There is also one of the best villains in recent years with Mads Mikkelsen as the cold blooded Le Chiffre. He heads an international cartel not so much bent on world destruction as on taking advantage of the chaos in which we live. He is a much more believable villain than Spectre and relies on much simpler methods of getting his piece of flesh from someone.

It is also refreshing to see Bond have a real love interest in Eva Green, not the usual banter that rings hollow. Bond is not afraid to expose himself in this movie, revealing a much more vulnerable figure than we have seen before.

MI6 also finds itself as a much more porous organization, capable of being infiltrated so that Bond doesn't know who to trust in key moments. All he has is the support of M, played to deadpan perfection by Judi Dench.

Everything about this movie is fresh and clean, including the opening credits. Bond hasn't looked this good since the early films in the series with Sean Connery. There is even an amusing scene where Bond wins a 1964 Aston Martin in a poker game, a tip of the hat to Goldfinger.

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reboot is remarkable! , September 23, 2008

By	Robert Owsley (Chicago) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Casino Royale (Two-Disc Collector's Edition + BD Live) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

I loved the first Blu-Ray edition. I have not seen the Collector's Edition yet, but they have added so much more to this. I got this from the BluRay.com website....

*Bonus View Picture-in-Picture visual commentary with Director Martin Campbell and Producer Michael G. Wilson (BD Exclusive)
*"Know Your Double-O" - the Ultimate James Bond Trivia Quiz, a BD-Live enabled multi-skill level, multi-player trivia game (BD Exclusive)
Documentaries
*Ian Fleming's Incredible Creation - A remarkable look at the birth and continued success of James Bond, including never-before-revealed information about Bond's creator and the origins of 007.
*The Road to Casino Royale - The story of why it took over 50 years for the Bond filmmakers to bring Ian Fleming's first 007 novel to the big screen, featuring the amazing behind-the-scenes stories of the many attempts to make the film.
*James Bond in the Bahamas - A fascinating examination of the links between the the cinematic Bond and the Bahamas, with never-before-told behind-the-scenes stories from Casino Royale, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, For Your Eyes Only and The World Is Not Enough.
*Ian Fleming: The Secret Road to Paradise - A revealing exploration of the world of James Bond's creator. In this documentary, discover why Ian Fleming was drawn to the Bahamas, and learn the cinematic Casino Royale's unique link to an important chapter in 007's secret history.
*Death in Venice - A break down of one of the key scenes in the film.
*Becoming Bond - An intimate look at how Daniel Craig stepped into the role of James Bond.
*James Bond: For Real - A behind-the-scenes look at the ground-breaking action and the stunts in Casino Royale.
*Bond Girls Are Forever - An extended version of the 2002 AMC television special, with new footage and interviews of the new Bond Girls.

---Featurettes---
*The Art of Freerunning - An in-depth look at the freerunning chase and the freerunning technique with the sport's founder, Sebastien Foucan.

---Filmmaker Profiles: in-depth conversations with key creative forces behind Casino Royale, including never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage:
*Martin Campbell, Director
*Chris Corbould, Special Effects
*Phil Meheux, Director of Photography
*Gary Powell, Stunt Coordinator
*Alexander Witt, Second Unit Director
*David Arnold, Composer

---Deleted/Extended Scenes---
"Rescue & Recovery"
"Squandering Government Funds"
"Cricket Pavilion"
"Gettler Raises Bond's Suspicions"

---Storyboard Sequence---
Freerunning Chase -- Watch the storyboards presented in animatic form, or view them in comparison to the finished film sequence.

---Scene Deconstruction---
Catching a Plane: From Storyboard to Screen, featuring outtakes and never-before-seen footage.

---Music Video: Chris Cornell "You Know My Name"

---Crew Commentary: Audio Commentary with scene-specific comments and observations from many of Casino Royale's creative team.

193 of 245 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Daniel Craig is Bond, November 19, 2006

By	MICHAEL ACUNA (Southern California United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

There was never any doubt in my mind that Daniel Craig would make a sterling James Bond as I have seen most of his edgy, out of the box film roles in "Layer Cake," The Mother," Sylvia," "Munich," "Road to Perdition" to name several. Craig is and has always had weight, focus and importance on the screen. And as James Bond he brings all of these qualities to bear and "Casino Royale" is the better for it.
Many actors were rumored to have been considered for the re-inventing of James Bond and Daniel Craig was not a popular choice but his interpretation here should put all the naysayers at bay for Craig more than re-invents...he makes this part his own.
Martin Campbell ("Goldeneye," "Beyond Borders") stays clear of all the wham-bam, thank you M'am special effects of all the former James Bond films and concentrates on the things that make all films important: character, relationships and emotional commitment.
The James Bond of "Casino Royale" (it was the first in Ian Fleming's series of books on Bond) has just been given the so-called honor of the "007" impranteur and, though he has been an operative for a time, he is still considered the odd man out, the dangerous one, the one who will stop at nothing to solves his cases. On the surface this would seem like the ideal government spy but the operative word here is "government," the biggest block of bureaucracy there ever is or was and as such "it" requires Bond to follow procedure as M (Judi Dench) reminds him time and again.
The Bond of "Casino Royale"is physical, violent, without too much conscience, sexy, fit: more likely to kick you in the groin than serve you a glass of White Burgundy. But this Bond also has a heart and, though he has a couple of dalliances with women, he makes a real connection to one in particular, Eva Green as Vesper Lynd. Though I would have liked somone with a warmer, cushier screen presence than Green, this romance also sets up what is to become of Bond, romance-wise for the rest of the Bond series of novels and, I assume....films.
The action sequences are personal and physical (the kind that you never saw Brosnan do) as well as excitingly staged and produced. "Casino Royale" marks a change of direction and focus of the Bond franchise and from the evidence on the screen, I would have to say it looks like the producers have a winner in Daniel Craig and a homerun in their first outing with him.