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32 of 34 found the following review helpful:
 007 returns to DVD, and in top form. Nov 24, 2006
By Barry Robinson
Volume 3 of the recently released Bond DVD sets is without a doubt the best of the 4. Each film in this set ranks among the better to best Bond pictures ever. No lame duds such as Die Another Die or Moonraker are included, just very solid installments. GoldenEye is the crown jewel of the set for me personally, as it was the first one I saw as a child, thus becoming my favorite. From Russia With Love is my second favorite Bond film, not just in this set, but period. Connery never bettered his preformance in this film and Robert Shaw as Red Grant is simply one of the greatest Bond villians ever. The plots of both these films push them to the head of the pack as they are interesting, exciting, and actually make sense, unlike say The World is not Enough. Live and Let Die marked Roger Moore's debut as Bond and I believe this to be his second best turn in the role. The Spy Who Loved Me (not included in this set, would be his best I believe) However, Live and Let Die as well as For Your Eyes Only are stellar Moore films. He was best in these earlier additions. His last two just didnt cut it for me, the man was too old. However in these two he is in top form, just like the films themselves. And finally, On Her Majesty's Secret Service is another grand achievment in the Bond universe. It shows a side of Bond that was not shown again until this year's Casino Royale. Bond is in love, and actually becomes a married man. Its a very realistic and exciting film with Telly Savalis as the infamous Blofeld. George Lazenby delivers a respectable preformance as Bond. Its actually suprising that he didn't do a second film because he does very well in the role. I cant say enough good about this particular set. Its just simply great and the extra material goes a long way in supporting that. It may be awhile before I own all the sets, but I'm in no rush at all as I enjoy Volume 3. 10 out of 10 for this set.
21 of 21 found the following review helpful:
Best Bond Set Of The Four Oct 28, 2006
By Jonathan Seamans
This set is easily the best of the Bond sets to be released. First there's Goldeneye, which is almost univerally accepted as Brosnan's best Bond film. Not only did it revitalize the series and set up Bond for his post-Cold War adventures, but it also proved that the generic Bond formula could be reworked to great effect. Plus, it introduced Dame Judi Dench as M. Live and Let Die, For Your Eyes Only, and From Russia With Love are all fine Bond fare, but the other bookend of this set is another gem. On Her Majesty's Secret Service is well known for many things, but perhaps it is most loved for being George Lazenby's only go at the iconic figure. Some love it simply because they hate Lazenby's portrayal and they are grateful that his first Bond film was also his last. I, along with many other fans, love it because Lazenby is actually a rather good Bond, and the movie itself is quite entertaining regardless of who plays the title character (it's definitely one of the most serious Bond films ever made). All in all, this set is probably the most balanced of the four releases, as each film is an important entry in the Bond universe to some extent.
16 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Perhaps the Best Volume Oct 31, 2006
By The JuRK
I've also reviewed the first two volumes but I honestly believe that Volume Three is the best. I plan on getting them all and have the entire series for the first time in my life but, if I had to pick a single best volume, it would be this one.
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE has the most solid Cold War story of all the films and everyone is firing on all pistons. Connery IS Bond in this one, making the character his own, and Robert Shaw and Lotte Lenya as the villians are among the best.
ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE is George Lazenby's only film and it remains a controversial entry in the series. Myself, I loved it. Diana Rigg is awesome, the photography and editing are great, and the story feels like it has more meat on its bones than any other film.
(These first two films probably come closest to the Ian Fleming novels).
LIVE AND LET DIE is Moore's first appearance as Bond. It has a hit Paul McCartney & Wings song and a 19-year-old Jane Seymour, along with a very charismatic villian in Yaphet Kotto. The boat chase is still thrilling and Sheriff J.W. Pepper is still hilarious.
GOLDENEYE is Brosnan's first appearance as Bond and remains his best film. Wonderful use of Russian locales, particularly the "graveyard" of Communist statues, and the deadliest Bond girl since Pussy Galore.
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY was an attempt to get back to better stories after the overblown epics of the Seventies.
So, as far as I'm concerned, there isn't a bad one in the lot. Like I said, I plan on getting them all--but this one looks like the best.
Enjoy!
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
I Was VERY Skeptical Of This Collection But... Mar 15, 2007
By D. Taney
Before buying this collection, I was very skeptical. Being a long time James Bond fan, I invested plenty of money in the best VHS version of all these films. When DVD came out, I re-bought about half of the collection again. I must admit that the DVD releases of these films are some of the most disappointing DVDs in my collection.
My major complaints about the ORIGINAL DVD RELEASES were:
1.) Audio Mix -- The first release of the Bond DVDs featured only the original 2 channel audio mixes. The result was a disaster. The spoken dialog was BURIED under the soundtrack... resulting in me having to dive for the remote every five minutes. On top of the poor dialog / score mixing, the audio lacked definition and served as a constant distraction from watching the movie. There were no distinct lows, or distinct highs, just a lot of bland sounding audio.
2.) Picture Quality -- I suppose I couldn't complain too too much about this one. Given the age of many of these movies, I accepted the washed-out, often grainy image as nothing more than a symptom of the era the movie was made.
All in all, poor audio and poor picture makes for a pretty crappy experience. After having been disappointed by the first couple Bond DVDs I bought, I gave up on the collection. It was with this in mind that the announcement of the newly remastered series left me very skeptical.
The major criticism of this DVD set is that it is another ploy by MGM/UA to drain more money from every Bond fan's wallet. In the past, I had avoided these pathetic attempts at getting me to constantly upgrade versions of things I already owned.
However, let me tell you, this collection DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. The talk about the upgraded audio and video is NOT hype. Painstaking efforts were taken to re-scan the original prints of each film frame-by-frame. Once scanned, the image was digitally enhanced from the original prints. I was amazed at the richness and depth of color this process produced. During most parts, these movies look like they could have been filmed last year. Different color pigments are more noticeable, skin color and tone looks more lifelike, and the special effects look sharper. All in all, one couldn't ask for anything more from the picture quality of these versions. I have yet to a scene where I felt it could have been retouched better.
If the image quality isn't enough to make this collection worth buying, the new 5.1 DTS mixes seal the deal. Gone are the days of me fidgeting with volume during every other scene! The balance between dialog, ambient sounds, and score is perfect. I never would have imagined that movies made in the 60's and 70's could sound so good. Unlike the previous DVDs, these Ultimate Edition DVDs utilize my home theater to its maximum potential. Explosions rumble through my sub and the dialog comes clearly through my center channel; every word is audible. I own other DVDs from films made over the last couple of years that wish they could sound this good! Utilizing the DTS is a MUST!
Finally, while I consider myself fairly discriminating when it comes to audio and video clarity, I am by no means an audio or videophile. So, I don't think you need a $25,000 home theater setup to enjoy the enhancements these DVDs offer. I wrote this review based off of the following hardware:
32" Winbook 720p LCD HDTV
Up-converting Samsung DVD Player (connected via DVI)
Sony 7.1 (7x100w) Surround Receiver
Matching 5.1 MTX Surround Sound Speaker System
Hopefully, this will help clear up some confusion or doubt as to the value this collection offers.
7 of 8 found the following review helpful:
SHOCKING, POSITIVELY SHOCKING ! Dec 30, 2006
By G.V.
"Gerry"
Just got my hands on the first 2 sets of this release, I had high hopes but this is ridiculous: you get music you didn't know existed , sounds you'd never heard before (was there a creak in M's door on FRWL before ?). It's hard to believe they didn't re-record the complete soundtracks. Even the new films look greatly improved which I just didn't expect.
You can't call yourself a Bond fan and stick to your old DVD set. Double-dipping has never been this good !
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