Search - The Spy Who Loved Me [Special Edition] on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children Movie Release: 1977 DVD Release: 10/22/2002 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 5 mins Studio: MGM Total Copies: 1 Genres: Spy Film, Action, Action Thriller, Romantic Adventure, Glamorized Spy Film See Also: The Spy Who Loved Me, The Spy Who Loved Me [Widescreen]

Though not Ian Fleming's most famous James Bond novel, 1962's The Spy Who Loved Me was distinguished by the unique device of telling the story from the heroine's point of view; in fact, Bond doesn't make an appearance until the book is two-thirds over. This would hardly work in the film world's Bond franchise, so the original austere plotline of the novel was eschewed altogether in favor of a labyrinthine story involving outer-space extortion. The leading lady, a "hard-luck kid" in the original, is now sexy Russian secret agent Barbara Bach, who joins forces with Bond (Roger Moore, making his third appearance as 007) to foil yet another megalomaniac villain (Curt Jurgens), who plans to threaten New York City with nuclear weaponry. Beyond the eye-popping opening ski-jump sequence, the film's best scenes involve seven-foot-two Richard Kiel as steel-toothed henchman Jaws. Fifteen scriptwriters worked on The Spy Who Loved Me; only two were credited, including Bond-film veteran Richard Maibaum. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Roger Moore - James Bond
Barbara Bach - Maj. Anya Amasova
Curd Jürgens - Stromberg
Richard Kiel - Jaws
Caroline Munro - Naomi

=The Spy Who Loved Me is one of the best discs in the Bond series. With a new digital, 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer and remastered Dolby Surround Audio, the film might look the best of any of its contemporaries from this period in the Bond franchise. In terms of supplements, the DVD is the only non-Brosnan Bond film to receive a screen-specific audio commentary. The track features a terrific feature-length commentary by director Lewis Gilbert, legendary production designer Ken Adam, co-writer Christopher Wood, and Bond guru Michael G. Wilson. While the edited commentary approach makes up for dry spots in a screen-specific track, the success of putting these four people together in a room to record the track leaves one wishing that the same would have been done for the other entries in the series. The typically extraordinary "Inside The Spy Who Loved Me" documentary has much to talk about, as The Spy Who Loved Me managed to rescue what was at the time a suddenly fledgling film series. A second well-made featurette, "Designing Bond," focuses on the career of designer Ken Adam. A still gallery, TV ads, radio spots, and trailers are also included. =The Spy Who Loved Me should have been the rule rather than the exception for the rest of the series on DVD. ~ Oliver Thornton, All Movie Guide