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Live and Let Die
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - MGM Home Entertainment/Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Pat Pilon (2nd December 2008). |
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The Film
 After a few years of actor shuffling, the Bond character was finally settled, with the role landing on capable actor Roger Moore, who carried on the role very nicely. He's suave, sexy, and never above giving out the traditional Bond one-line groaners. This time, Bond must travel to the small Caribbean nation of San Monique to find out why a few of his fellow agents have been killed. There, he must deal with voodoo priestesses (in the shape of Jane Seymour) and men with hooks for hands. As I've mentioned, Roger Moore does a nice job handling everything. I do have to note that people with sensitivity to lack of political correctness should steer clear of this particular Bond movie, as words like 'honky' and 'mutha' are never too far away, given the movie's location and subject matter. On a lighter note, the depiction of the Louisiana State Police by Clifton James is pretty funny, but just as much a caricature. The plot is pure Bond, and doesn't hide its illogicality. When people make fun of Bond movies, this is the one they should be looking at. A few moments away from Bond's potential death, the bad guy, Kananga (Yaphet Kotto), reveals his entire plan for no logical reason while Bond and his girl are on an unnecessarily slow dipping mechanism. It's all very silly, but Bond movies have generally always planted their tongue firmly in their cheek, so this criticism is not the most important part of the movie. In the documentaries in the other Bond releases, you learn that producer Harry Saltzman liked everything to be bigger than life. In 'Live and Let Die', this is particularly apparent. After a more mundane opening title sequence, the action gets particularly grandiose. Sticky situations with snakes, crocodiles and sharks abound. Car chases, helicopter chases, some impressive moves with a double-decker bus and a spectacular boat chase pepper the movie, giving fans the thrills they always expect from Bond movies. Indeed, the marketing was particularly geared towards the level of action found in this movie. Another thing to expect are the Bond girls, and the 'Live and Let Die' has those as well. This wasn't Jane Seymour's first movie (despite the 'and introducing' tag with her credit), but it was the movie that got her noticed. She plays the innocent priestess very well, though the role doesn’t really demand all that much. Bond also meets Rosie Carver (Gloria Hendry), who isn't as interesting, but helps keep the tone and style of the movie. The pace is fast, the action is big and the girls are pretty. I don't know anything else people want from a Bond movie. This is a fun ride, though there have been better Bond movies. It is, however, arguably the best James Bond movie that Roger Moore has made. After an unsure few movies, Bond is back with Roger Moore, and he was a good choice, as 'Live and Let Die' shows.
Video
2.35:1 widescreen, using the MPEG4/AVC codec. As with the other Bond movies released on Blu-ray, this movie looks spectacular. 'Live and Let Die' looks better than the Sean Connery Bond movies given their age. The picture is a bit smoother and more film-like. The grain is a bit more steady which makes the picture slightly more detailed. The colours are accurate with very nice contrast. Skin tones are spot on and black levels are good, and still show a nice amount of detail. The transfer is very well done, with no compression artifacts and no noise. Haloing and the like are never a problem. The only criticism that can be said is that the picture is slightly soft and the film looks a bit old, but this is only because of the film's age, some 35 years at the time of transfer. Otherwise, the picture is very good.
Audio
The disc includes a very nice lossless track, in the form of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 offering. The original English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono track is also here, as are a couple of dubs, one in French (Dolby Digital 5.1), the other in Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono). From the start, you'll know the DTS-HD track will be very good. The opening song by Paul McCartney and Wings is clear and booms out of all speakers. The score is accurate, as well, quietly seeping to all the speakers, or blasting out the Bond theme. The sound design is nice, and the track has nice use of side and rear speakers, giving the sound environment a natural feel. The only real weakness is the dialogue, which alternates between quite clear to, in a few scenes, kind of tinny. The dynamic range is adequate, but could be better. However, the upmixing of the original mono to this full-blown 5.1 track is very nicely done. English (HoH) and Spanish subtitles are also given.
Extras
First up on this disc are not one or two, but three audio commentary tracks. The first is by Sir Roger Moore. Mr. Moore has been in showiz since the 1940s and as such has tons and tons of anecdotes about the cast and crew. He talks about actors both in the movie and those tangentially related to the movie. He's very laid back but gives out very nice information throughout. He talks about the various actors and locations, using what's on screen as a spring board. His memory is very good for small incidents that happened on set. He has a very funny story about Yaphet Kotto and slow days on set. He shows his nice sense of humour throughout the track and is very nice to listen to. For those interested, this is a newer commentary track, recorded for the 2006 Special Edition release. The second track is by director Guy Hamilton and cast and crew. This track was originally done for the mid-1990s laserdisc release, and is a pastiche of various interview clips from the various participants, moderated by Ian Fleming Foundation president John Cort. Mr. Cort is, again, a fountain of terrific information. He fills in the gaps here and there between other participant comments. In fact, all the participants have great stories to tell. For example, actress Jane Seymour talks about being mugged on Bourbon Street at 4pm, and Yaphet Kotto talks about how being in the Bond movie influenced his life in a ridiculous way. Tidbits of information about the set, the locations and everything else are found in this track and fans of the movies need to hear this. The last one is by screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz. As with the two other commentaries, this is filled with tons of great information. As writer, he talks about the development of the script. For example, how the boat chase sequence was like in the first draft (2 lines) and how long it ended up being in the final draft (12 pages). He also has plenty of anecdotes from the locations, about not only the cast and crew, but also people had nothing to do with the movie. Again, a great listen. Following this is the Declassified: MI6 Vault which contains a few featurettes. First is Bond 1973: The Lost Documentary (21:41), which is a 1973 version of an EPK. It's kind of fluffy with no real information about the production. The filmmakers and actors talk about working on a Bond movie, picking the actors and locations, and filming the action sequences. That's about it. Next is something a lot more interesting. Roger Moore as James Bond, Circa 1964 (7:44) is a clip from Millicent Martin's comedy show, Mainly Millicent, in which she plays a Russian spy and Mr. Moore plays James Bond. They're spies on vacation, doing what normal people do. It's got some really funny gags throughout and is definitely worth watching. Some 'Live and Let Die' Conceptual Art (1:39) is next, and shows some of the posters they didn't go with. I think not going with these posters is a good thing. The Vault's Credits (1:46) finish out this section. Next up is 007 Mission Control, which is a fancy scene selection tool, based on various criteria. The criteria are: '007', 'Women', 'Allies', 'Villains', 'Mission Combat Manual', 'Q Branch' and 'Exotic Locations'. Mission Dossier follows and contains the featurettes from the Special Edition release. Inside 'Live and Let Die' (29:47) is a terrific documentary about the troubled production. (Watching through the sets' documentaries, it seems like every Bond movie has a troubled production, I just realised.) The doc goes through the making of the movie in the same way the others do, giving away tons of great information that fans will love. On Set with Roger Moore: The Funeral Parade (1:42) is Roger Moore during the funeral march giving away a story about Robert Dix. (By the way, he gives out the same information in his commentary track.) On Set with Roger Moore: Hang Gliding Lessons (3:58) should be retitled 'On Set with Bill Bennett', given Mr. Bennett narrates the featurette and explains hang gliding to the viewers. The Ministry of Propaganda has a Theatrical Archive with a couple of trailers 'Much More... Roger Moore' (2:52), 'Everything You Ever Loved in a Bond Film' (1:47), some TV Broadcasts with a few spots, 'UK Milk Board Commercial' (1:01), 'It's a Matter of Life, It's a Matter of Death' (1:00) and 'It's a Matter of Life and Death' (0:32) and Radio Communication with a couple of radio ads, 'Livelier, Deadlier' (0:33), 'All Against One Man' (1:01). The advertising focused on two things: Roger Moore, and the action. Lastly, there is an Image Database with extensive galleries:, 'The New 007', 'Portraits', 'The Filmmakers, 'Ross Kananga', 'Joie Chitwood's Driving Team', 'Mr. Big's Makeup', 'James Bond and His Gadgets', 'Marketing' and 'Around the World with 007'.
Overall
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