Customer Reviews
Bond, James Bond - By: Matthew Mercy, 30 Aug 2008 
Collecting the six `official' movies featuring Bond number one, Sean Connery:
Dr No: James Bond's cinematic debut is an exotic mystery with a few classic moments along the way; Sean Connery's introduction & the shot of Ursula Andress walking out of the sea have passed into cinematic legend, whilst the film itself is an involving adventure, & a close adaptation of the original novel. Joseph Wiseman's Dr No is a fine villain, & Jack Lord's Felix Leiter was never bettered either.
From Russia With Love: Simply put, the finest of the Bond series; this movie provided the benchmark by which all future Bond films would be judged. A well-plotted cold war thriller, it features career-best performances from Connery & Pedro Armendariz, & a chilling turn by Robert Shaw as the SPECTRE killer. With great action scenes involving brutal hand-to-hand combat, a lack of gadgets & puns, & a frank attitude towards sex, the movie has morein common with films like The Ipcress File & The Quiller Memorandum than with the overblown fantasies that followedin it the Bond canon. One of the best films of the 1960s.
Goldfinger: The previous moviein the series is ever so slightly the better film, but the one that set the template for all the Bond movies to come was Goldfinger, an iconic piece of sixties culture that saw Connery & the entire Bond team at the top of their creative game. Full of iconic moments, great lines, superb performances, & well-handled action, it is a Bank Holiday TV perennial; if From Russia With Love is the critics' favourite, Goldfinger is the fans' favourite.
Thunderball: Connery's first dudin the Bond series was also the first `event' Bond movie, going out to prove that bigger was better, &in this case, failing. Connery's thinning hair will raise a smile, & Luciana Paluzzi's nymphomaniac villainess will raise something else, but the film itself is a smug, uninvolving piece of formulaic movie-making; the underwater climax is overlong to the point of being dull, & the editing is all over the place. Good theme song from Tom Jones, though.
You Only Live Twice: Connery was irritated by the Bond role by this point, & wears his frustration on his facein many scenes, but You Only Live Twice is still an exciting, enjoyably daft Bond adventure, with the great Donald Pleasance excelling as a memorably evil Blofeld. The set design for the hollowed-out volcano is awesome, too.
Diamonds Are Forever: Connery was paid over a million dollars to return to the role of James Bondin this flabby comedy-thriller; it is so differentin tone from On Her Majesty's Secret Service, & pays so little attention to the previous filmin terms of plot, that one can only conclude that it was designed solely to purge all memories of George Lazenby's Bond from the public consciousness. However, this film, with its nonsensical storyline, torrent of gay jokes, weak climax, & disinterested performance from the leading man, is heavy going indeed. Jill St John is very sexy & Charles Gray camps up his Blofeld to entertaining effect, but overall this is easily Connery's worst (official) Bond outing.
bazzer brushem - By: Barry, 30 Jun 2008 
i agree with all of the bond reviews brilliant only one regret cheap taky boxes no booklets for any of the films got rid of my editions with nice booklets also thin outer boxin my opinion should have been a bit more substantial & every dvdin box edge scratches on all discs the distributors only interestedin your money not quality but picture & sound cannot fault thats why 5 stars recommended but check discs take em back if scratched .
About time too! - By: S. Chippendale, 24 May 2007 For years I have complained about VHS & DVD box sets professing to be 'complete' James Bond. As they are continuing to make 007 films, these expensive boxed sets are only going to be 'complete' until the next one comes out. I have been praying for Sean Connery & Roger Moore 007 DVD boxed sets for some time, not being a fan of Dalton or Brosnan, so this latest release suits me down to the ground - my favourite Bondsin boxed sets that won't be obseletein twelve months' time. One thing though - even when you have all the boxed sets, you still won't have all the films, you'd still have to buy George Lazenby's On Her Majesty's Secret Service & Sean Connery's 'unofficial' Never Say Never Again separately. Here's hoping they release a Daniel Craig boxed set to match the collection when he eventually retires from the role.
The Best DVD's of the best Bond - By: Crazy Bald Heid, 07 Feb 2007 I always maintained that Connery was Bond. He looked like he could do some damage & was almost plausibly smooth. Nice then to get a box set of the films I like from the most successful & enduring film franchise ever. You will no doubt be familiar with the films themselves so lets take that as read................
How about this version - is it really that good? In a word yes.
The previous versions of the DVD were perfectly passable, but this is probably the best restoration of print, colour & sound, setting a new benchmarkin DVD production. The only analogy I can think of - it's like a painstakingly remastered CDin its revealing detail & enhanced enjoyment. Apart from the pre greenscreen backgroundsin carsin boats these films look & sound fantastic. The colours are most noticeable also gone are the niggling cue dots & scratches are gone along with unatural skin tones.
Bond is now oficially timeless. Just get beer, popcorn, relax & enjoy.
The best and original James Bond - By: SJ SMART, 17 Dec 2006 I grew up with the Sean Connery Bond films & so he will always be Bond to me, miles better than Roger Moore who just couldnt act. The recent Bonds; Brosnan, Dalton & Craig have been very good too but Connery isin a league of his own.
This collection is superb all of Connery's 007 films. Great performances & great stories. My favourites are Goldfinger & the superby You Only Live Twice. Definitly something for every Connery fans wish list/ Christmas list!
