Search - James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 1 (The Man with the Golden Gun / Goldfinger / The World Is Not Enough / Diamonds Are Forever / The Living Daylights) on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 5/6/2022...

Goldfinger and Diamonds are Forever - Classic Sean Connery 007 Bond, James Bond! Shaken, not stirred!

Russ B. (Happyfeet) from BENSALEM, PA
Reviewed on 3/4/2021...

These Bond movies are much better than the most recent Bond stories.

4 of 5 member(s) found this review helpful.

THEY DON'T LEAVE YOU MUCH CHOICE BUT TO BUY THEM.

G.V. | Mexico City, Mexico | 09/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having purchased all Bond DVDs years ago, to my own consternation I find myself shelling out even more money to buy this new editions.
I always thought they did a fairly good job with the old DVDs, the "Making of" documentaries were excelent and the overall presentation rather good. Why buy these new ones then ? The answers are rather simple:
1) 5.1 DTS sound on all movies. For years I've opted to turn off my sound equipment when watching the Connery films. It just didn't make that much of a difference from listening to them on regular TV's speakers. Some of the later ones (OCTOPUSSY) should also benefit greatly from this addition.
2) FRAME BY FRAME RESTORATION: Specially important in the Connery ones even though the earlier Moores left a lot to be desired too. It is my understanding that the three earlier movies which were cropped at the top and bottom in order to fit them into 16:9 sets will be presented in their entirety. And this isn't just any restoration we're taling about but one done by Lowry Digital. If you've watched the Indiana Jones and King Kong (1933) you'll know how absolutely perfect their work is.
3) EVEN MORE EXTRAS: and real good ones at that: Deleted Scenes, TV Specials, screen tests, varying angles for action scenes, etc.
In summary, if you are a regular Bond fan, the old edition should be more than enough. If you're a die-hard, just bite the bullet and enjoy these films as if they were brand new once again."

A revelation in sight and sound...

Gary Vidmar | Colorado Springs | 09/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sony pictures has taken over the MGM/UA film library and now offers new editions of the Bond films (the gem of that acquisition) in time for the holidays (early November); and not merely to annoy those who've purchased them previously. These films have been re-mastered (via the truly revolutionary Lowry System) and the results are stupendous, both visually and aurally. I've seen the PAL versions and they are truly, opening-night pristine, and the DTS mixes are astonishing - not just souped up or boosted versions of the original sound mixes, but re-actualized using the original sound stems with discrete directional remixes. It's probably not an option for many to re-purchase all 20 of these ultimate editions, but you'll be doing yourself a fan's disservice if you don't at least replace the Connery originals (mostly monaural) with these new editions. DR. NO, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and GOLDFINGER are must-haves. My own personal favorite was the new version of ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE - revived for me by this new ultimate edition. I don't see the attache-case limited edition that was offered overseas being offered in the US - and that's a real pity for NTSC collectors!"

A marked improvement over the Special Editions

M. Fitzpatrick | Boston | 10/31/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Bond DVD collection was last available individually in 1999/2000, and as a 3-box, 'Special Edition' version a year or two ago. As noted elsewhere, these `Ultimate' Editions are suppose to be an incredible upgrade in sound and picture quality, completed by Lowry Digital, which is the platinum standard in film restoration. For this Bond effort, over 42 miles of film were scanned, and restored frame-by-frame (each frame was stored as a 45 megabyte image).

It makes sense to get this set if you are not planning to go to high definition DVD in the next few years. These, I expect, will be as bright and clean as standard DVDs can possibly be, so why not get them now. I'll get them just to see and hear the older films in this as-new condition.

For HD fans, it's interesting to note that the Lowry scanning occurred at a resolution of 4,000 x 3,000 pixels, in contrast with the 720 x 576 pixel resolution of standard DVDs. This means that the films were restored to greater-than DVD quality, AND greater-than High Def quality. So the Lowry restored films can already take full advantage of High Def DVD capabilities (they'll be Blu-Ray, as Sony owns both Blu-Ray and part of MGM). Blu-Ray DVDs have a 1080 by 1920 pixel resolution, nearly twice as sharp as a standard DVD. This will give these old films an almost 3D appearance.

Sony has been silent on when Bond will go to Blu-Ray (almost certainly available individually), but some say it can't be too long. There's no upside to waiting once the holiday season is over.
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