James Bond has returned for more adventures on Blu-ray! Volume 3 of the James Bond Blu-ray collection is now available and it features 3 new to Blu-ray films: Goldfinger, Moonraker, and The World Is Not Enough. These films feature three fan favorite actors in the roles that made them famous.
Goldfinger
I don't expect you to talk Mr. Bond…I expect you to DIE!
Undeniably the best of the James Bond series, Goldfinger easily defined the Bond franchise. Sean Connery was at his best and gave the performance of a lifetime. Oddjob makes his first appearance in this film along with Pussy Galore. Other moments such as Jill Mastersons death scene and the final battle aboard Goldfinger's plane stand out as obvious highlights of the film. Goldfinger looks better than ever on Blu-ray and sounds just as great. The team involved in restoring these films has done a fantastic job with the Bond series and continues to impress with each release. Another interesting note about this film is that Goldfinger is considered the first blockbuster of the Bond film series as it made a killing at the box office. It was also the first of the Bond films to use a pop-singer for the theme.
Goldfinger. He's the man, the man with the midas touch.
Goldfinger Special Features
-Audio Commentary Featuring Director Guy Hamilton
-Audio Commentary Featuring Members of the Cast and Crew
Declassified: MI6 Vault
-Sean Connery From the Set of Goldfinger
-Theodore Bikel Screen Test
-Tito Vandis Screen Test
-On Tour With the Aston Martin DB5
-Honor Blackman Open-Ended Interview
-“007 Mission Control” – Interactive Guide Into the World of Goldfinger
-Exotic Locations featurette
Mission Dossier
-The Making of Goldfinger
-The Goldfinger Phenomenon
-Original Publicity Featurette
-Ministry of Propaganda
Theatrical Archive
-Original Theatrical Trailer
-TV Broadcast
-“Stop Look He’s Looking For Trouble – 007 It Spells Bond”
-“Miss Honey & Miss Galore”
-“Miss Honey & Miss Galore Have James Bond Back For More”
– Radio Communication
-Original Radio Interviews with Sean Connery and other radio spots
-Image Database Galleries
Moonraker
"Look after Mr. Bond. See that some harm comes to him."
For those of you who haven't seen Moonraker, here is the premise: James Bond…(wait for it) in SPAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCEEEEEE! (The actual tagline for this film is "Outerspace now belongs to 007"). For the first time in the history of the franchise, James Bond had taken a heavily Science Fiction approach. Bond (played by Roger Moore) must stop Hugo Drax, the owner of Drax Industries, from killing everyone on Earth from his orbitting space station. Drax has brought several men and women from difference races up on to the space station and is planning to repopulate with a group of people who he claims to be genetically perfect. James must work with Holly Goodhead (great name huh?) to stop Drax from accomplishing his goal. The final battle of the film has lasers. Lots of em. Moonraker actually received an Academy Awards Nomination for Best Special Effects. This film also sees the return of Richard Kiel as the menacing Jaws! The over the top script and space sequences make this a different type of Bond Film.
Side note: If you are a fan of the Austin Powers series of films you might recognize many of the elements of Moonraker present in the Mike Myers sequel "The Spy Who Shagged Me".
Moonraker Special Features
-Audio Commentary featuring Sir Roger Moore
-Audio Commentary featuring Director Lewis Gilbert and members of the cast and crew
Declassified MI6 Vault
-007 in Rio- the Original 1979 Production Featurette
-Bond 79
-Ken Adam's Production Films
-Learning to Freefall- Sky Diving Test Footage
-Sky Diving Storyboards
-Circus Footage
-Cable Car Alternative Storyboards 1 and 2
-"007 Mission Control" – Interactive guide into the World of Moonraker
-Exotic Locations Featurette
Mission Dossier
-Inside Moonraker- An Original Documentary
-The Men Behind the Mayhem- Special Effects Documentary
Ministry fo Propaganda
-Release Trailer
-Image Database Galleries
The World Is Not Enough
Revenge is not hard to fathom for a man who believes in nothing.
The 19th Bond Film (and the third of the Pierce Brosnan series) put our hero up against actor Robert Carlyle as the Terrorist Renard (a former KGB member). Renard has targeted the King family due to the fact that they are constructing a massive oil pipeline. Bond is assigned to protect Elektra King (Sophie Marceau) after her father is murdered by Renard. During a surprise attack on the pipeline, M is kidnapped! We soon learn that things aren't as clear as they seem and that Elektra is in league with Renard. Now, with the help of Dr. Christmas Jones (as played by Denise Richards) the two must stop Elektra from creating a monopoly on oil in the region AND stop Renard from using stolen Plutonium!
The World Is Not Enough Special Features
-Audio Commentary with Director Michael Apted
-Audio Commentary with Peter Lamont, David Arnold and Vic Armstrong
Declassified: MI6 Vault
-Deleted and extended scenes with introduction by Director Michael Apted
-Deleted Scenes: Meeting with Renard, Bond Tries to Stop King, DB5 at King's Funeral, The Things We Do For England, Static Charge, Oil and Blood
-Alternate Scene: Trouble in the Pipeline
The Boat Chase
-Introduction with Director Michael Apted
-Extended Scene: The Thames Boat Chase
-Expanded Angle View
-Alternate Angle View
-James Bond Down River- Original 1999 Featurette
-Creating an Icon: Making the Teaser Trailer
-Hong Kong Press Conference
"007 Mission Control"- Interactive Guide into the World of the World is Not Enough
-Exotic Locations Featurette
Mission Dossier
-The Making of The World Is Not Enough
-Bond Cocktail
-Tribute to Desmond Llewelyn
-Music Video by Garbage
-The Secrets of 007- Alternate Video Option
Ministry of Propaganda
-Release Trailer
-Image Database Gallery
Overall
James Bond Volume 3 continues to set the bar high for movies being released on Blu-ray for the first time. A majority of releases don't live up to expectations but each of the Bond movies look better than they ever have. Getting to watch a restored version of Goldfinger in high definition is a sight to see. If you don't own these classic films, this is definitely the way to go. The casing for the set is nice as well, as it comes with a nice protective case containing the three films.
ComicsOnline gives James Bond Volume Three – 5 out of 5 classic films.
