Search - Thunderball on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Violence, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1965 DVD Release: 10/19/1999 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Special Collection Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 10 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 1 Genres: Spy Film, Action, Action Thriller, Glamorized Spy Film See Also: Thunderball [Widescreen], Thunderball [Widescreen] [Ultimate Edition], Thunderball [Widescreen] [Ultimate Edition] [Blu-ray]

Thunderball finds James Bond matching wits with the sinister espionage organization S.P.E.C.T.R.E, (which stands for Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion). This time, S.P.E.C.T.R.E. hijacks a NATO nuclear bomber, hiding the bombs under the ocean depths and threatening to detonate the weapons unless a ransom of 100,000,000 pounds is paid. The mastermind behind this scheme is international business executive Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), who maintains a pool full of sharks for the purpose of eliminating enemies and those henchmen who fail to come up to standard. Dispatched to the Bahamas, lucky Mr. Bond enjoys the attentions of three nubile ladies: Largo's mistress Domino Derval (Claudine Auger), British spy Paula Caplan (Martine Beswick, previously seen as a gypsy girl in the 1962 Bond epic From Russia With Love) and enemy agent Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sean Connery - James Bond
Claudine Auger - Domino Derval
Adolfo Celi - Emilio Largo
Luciana Paluzzi - Fiona Volpe
Rick van Nutter - Felix Leiter

Released as part of the first wave of James Bond Special Edition DVDs, =Thunderball is comprised mostly of supplements that appeared on the film's 30th anniversary laserdisc, with the exception of a newly created anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen master and a new stereo audio track. The first Bond film shot in the "scope" aspect ratio, the widescreen transfer pays off by restoring the film's wide framing and revitalizing the once-murky underwater scenes. The two audio commentaries are not screen-specific, but are rather interviews and comments edited together and hosted by a narrator. The constantly changing perspective allows both tracks to sustain interest longer than a simple director's track, but each occasionally meanders into useless anecdotes and actors' film biographies. The two documentaries are extremely well produced and informative, the first dedicating itself to the making of the film and the second to the marketing phenomenon that surrounded the film's international release (although a menu error leads the viewer to the opposite documentary for both). The only newly produced featurette is a short reel titled "Inside Thunderball." Thunderball is infamous for its alternate versions and edits and the reel collects them together in one space. Finally, a large assortment of photos, trailers, and television and radio spots chronicle the promotional history of the film. Presented in a way to hold even the casual viewer's interest, =Thunderball is one of the essential releases in the Bond DVD series. ~ Oliver Thornton, All Movie Guide