Thunderball (1965)

Casino Royale is in theatres next week which means that MGM has another James Bond DVD box set. This is the third release of the Bond films on DVD. Yesterday I picked up James Bond Ultimate Edition: Volume 1 and James Bond Ultimate Edition: Volume 2 on DVD.

So why did MGM release yet another version of the Bond films on DVD? For the last three years Lowry Digital Images has been restoring every frame of the 20 Bond films — 42 miles of film. Using more than 600 Macintosh G5 computers Lowry Digital has been removing dirt, scratches, and colour inconsistencies from each frame of film in the Bond films.

Each of the films now has a DTS soundtrack that sounds impressive. DTS (Digital Theatre Systems) purchased Lowry Digital Images for $11 million last year which could mean that all of the films they restore will get new DTS soundtracks.

Last night I watched Thunderball (1965) from the new Ultimate Edition and can say that the film looks and sounds amazing. I’m glad I waited until now to add the Bond films to my library. Once the dust settles between HD DVD and Bluray, MGM will probably release the Complete Comprehensive Ultimate Special Edition of the films again. Oh well, you have to jump in somewhere.

I forgot how much of this film was spoofed my Michael Myers in his Austin Powers films. I found myself laughing in all the wrong places. Still there is nothing better than a Bond film and I’m looking forward to watching them again.

I’ve been watching too many obscure foreign films, documentaries and art films lately. A dozen Bond films should put some balance back into to my cinematic universe.

For a comprehensive review of this DVD release have a look at DVD Talk.

Posted in DVD Reviews at 4:23 PM