The Corner Penthouse

Warner Brothers recently released the James Bond: Sean Connery 6-Film Collection (1962-1971) 4K UHD. Read on to find out more about it...

[ SYNOPSIS ]

• Dr. No (1962) - James Bond, a resourceful British government agent, seeks answers in the disappearance of a fellow spy and a plot to disrupt an American space program.

• From Russia With Love (1963) - James Bond willingly falls into an assassination plot involving a naive Russian beauty in order to retrieve a Soviet encryption device that was stolen by the organization Spectre.

• Goldfinger (1964) - While investigating a gold magnate's smuggling, James Bond uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve.

• Thunderball (1965) - James Bond heads to the Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E. agent Emilio Largo in an international extortion scheme.

• You Only Live Twice (1967) - James Bond and the Japanese Secret Service must find and stop the true culprit of a series of space hijackings, before war is provoked between Russia and the United States.

• Diamonds Are Forever (1971) - A diamond smuggling investigation leads James Bond to Las Vegas where he uncovers an evil plot involving a rich business tycoon.

[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

In terms of aspect ratios and runtimes... Dr. No is 1.75:1 running 1:49:48, From Russia With Love is 1.75:1 running 1:55:16, Goldfinger is 1.75:1 running 1:50:08, Thunderball is 2.35:1 running 2:10:28, You Only Live Twice is 2.35:1 running 1:57:03, and Diamonds are Forever is 2.39:1 running 2:00:12.

All movies were rated PG in 1994, as per the MPA's site: Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, and Diamonds Are Forever.

For all movies, audio languages include English (Remastered), English (Original Theatrical), French, and Spanish. For all movies, subtitle languages include English SDH, French, and Spanish.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

All of the content listed below can be found on the noted 4K UHD discs. Disc 1 is Dr. No, Disc 2 is From Russia With Love, Disc 3 is Goldfinger, Disc 4 is Thunderball, Disc 5 is You Only Live Twice, and Disc 6 is Diamonds Are Forever. Most everything from previous Blu-ray and DVD releases has been ported over, aside from all of the photo galleries and a few other minor things.

• DISC 1: Audio Commentary - with director Terence Young and members of the cast and crew.
• DISC 1: The Guns of James Bond (5:07) - Footage from the Goldfinger era looking at some of the guns used in that film.
• DISC 1: Premiere Bond: Opening Nights (13:08) - A look back at some of the Bond film premieres including red carpet footage of the stars arriving to the theaters.
• DISC 1: Exotic Locations (2:36) - A retrospective about the locations used in the film narrated by Maud Adams.
• DISC 1: Inside Dr. No (42:08) - A documentary on the history of the film's production back at United Artists, including prospective directors.
• DISC 1: Terrence Young: Bond Vivant (17:56) - Looking at Dr. No's director.
• DISC 1: Dr. No 1963 Featurette (8:41) - Newsreel-style presentation about casting Connery, and bringing Ian Fleming's story to the screen, featuring black and white production footage.
• DISC 1: Theatrical Archive (10:58) - Four theatrical trailers.
• DISC 1: TV Broadcasts (1:24) - Two TV spots.
• DISC 1: Radio Communication (6:33) - Six radio spots (and possibly audio interviews).
• DISC 2: Audio Commentary - with director Terence Young and members of the cast and crew.
• DISC 2: Ian Fleming: The CBC Interview (7:43) - Talking with the writer at his Goldeneye compound.
• DISC 2: Ian Fleming and Raymond Chandler (5:12) - An audio conversation between the two pulp titans about the contrast between American and British thrillers set over photos of both.
• DISC 2: Ian Fleming on Desert Island Discs (5:11) - An audio conversation over photos, with Fleming talking about his life and career.
• DISC 2: Animated Storyboard Sequence (1:28) - The original storyboards for the film's boat chase sequence.
• DISC 2: Exotic Locations (3:14) - A retrospective about the locations used in the film narrated by Maud Adams.
• DISC 2: Inside From Russia With Love (33:45) - Narrated by Patrick Macnee, this feature looks at some of the troubles behind the production.
• DISC 2: Harry Saltzman: Showman (26:43) - Considering the producer of the first nine Bond films.
• DISC 2: Theatrical Archive (7:41) - Three theatrical trailers.
• DISC 2: TV Broadcasts (1:36) - Three TV spots.
• DISC 2: Radio Communication (1:34) - Three radio spots (and possibly audio interviews).
• DISC 3: Audio Commentary - with director Guy Hamilton.
• DISC 3: Audio Commentary - with members of the cast and crew.
• DISC 3: Sean Connery From the Set of Goldfinger (3:11) - Footage and an interview with Connery on-set.
• DISC 3: Theodore Bikel Screen Test (5:38) - The filmmakers look for their villain in this screen test.
• DISC 3: Tito Vandis Screen Test (4:12) - Another actor takes a stab at the villain's role.
• DISC 3: On Tour With the Astin Martin DB5 (11:42) - A celebration of the car by the brand's European sales manager.
• DISC 3: Honor Blackman Open-Ended Interview (3:58) - Prepared interview responses sent out to local outlets, allowing interviewers to fake an interview with the actress.
• DISC 3: Exotic Locations (3:15) - A retrospective about the locations used in the film narrated by Maud Adams.
• DISC 3: The Making of Goldfinger (26:05) - A narrated look back at the film, from the book to the screen.
• DISC 3: The Goldfinger Phenomenon (29:13) - A vintage featurette with a consideration of some of the more iconic elements of the film.
• DISC 3: Theatrical Archive (3:08) - One theatrical trailer.
• DISC 3: TV Broadcasts (1:46) - Three TV spots.
• DISC 3: Radio Communication (30:42) - Thirty-two radio spots and audio interviews.
• DISC 4: Audio Commentary - with director Terence Young.
• DISC 4: Audio Commentary - with editor Peter Hunt, screenwriter John Hopkins, and more.
• DISC 4: The Incredible World of James Bond - Original 1965 NBC Televison Special (50:55) - A network-produced special looking at the series as a phenomenon along with the particulars of each movie like the stunts, characters, etc.
• DISC 4: A Child's Guide to Blowing Up a Motor Car - 1965 Ford Promo Film (17:10) - A Ford production on some of the car stunts narrated by a character taking his young son to the set of Thunderball.
• DISC 4: On Location With Ken Adam (13:09) - The film's production designer presents scouting film from some of the movie's locations.
• DISC 4: Bill Suitor: The Rocket Man Movies (3:57) - A look at the rocket belt featured in the film and background on its inventor who wanted it to be used by the Army.
• DISC 4: Thunderball Boat Show Reel (2:50) - Publicity stills and clips from an alternate version of the movie's undersea scene used for promos.
• DISC 4: Selling Bonds - Original 1965 Television Commercials (2:09) - Three TV spots featuring Bond-branded fashion and toys.
• DISC 4: Exotic Locations (3:18) - A retrospective about the locations used in the film narrated by Maud Adams.
• DISC 4: The Making of Thunderball (27:32) - Patrick Macnee narrating the history of the film series, from its initial book sales failure to the big screen.
• DISC 4: The Thunderball Phenomenon (31:01) - History of the series, and translating Fleming's writing to the screen via Thunderball.
• DISC 4: The Secret History of Thunderball (3:54) - A collection of factoids about the movie.
• DISC 4: Theatrical Archive (8:37) - Three theatrical trailers.
• DISC 4: TV Broadcasts (3:38) - Five TV spots.
• DISC 4: Radio Communication (5:17) - Eleven radio spots (and possibly audio interviews).
• DISC 5: Audio Commentary - with director Lewis Gilbert and members of the cast and crew.
• DISC 5: Welcome to Japan Mr. Bond (52:22) - Two ladies from the MI6 secretarial pool talk about Mr. Bond's exploits leading up to You Only Live Twice.
• DISC 5: Whicker's World - Highlights From 1967 BBC Documentary (5:21) - The BBC journalist gets some behind-the-scenes footage from the film.
• DISC 5: On Location With Ken Adam (13:58) - Location details narrated by the production designer.
• DISC 5: Inside You Only Live Twice (30:22) - A book to screen piece.
• DISC 5: Silhouettes: The James Bond Titles (23:23) - A look at the opening sequences, from their origins in Dr. No and their accidental beginnings.
• DISC 5: Plane Crash: Animated Storyboard Sequence (1:37) - Two alternate versions of this sequence from the original storyboards.
• DISC 5: Exotic Locations (4:05) - A retrospective about the locations used in the film narrated by Maud Adams.
• DISC 5: Theatrical Archive (9:00) - Three theatrical trailers.
• DISC 5: TV Broadcasts (0:58) - One TV spot.
• DISC 5: Radio Communication (5:42) - Seven radio spots (and possibly audio interviews).
• DISC 6: Audio Commentary - with director Guy Hamilton and members of the cast and crew.
• DISC 6: Sean Connery 1971: The BBC Interview (5:13) - Connery chats about being Bond and is fairly candid about his reasons for returning, including his contract negotiations.
• DISC 6: Lesson #007: Close Quarter Combat (4:36) - A look back at one of the film's fights.
• DISC 6: Oil Rig Attack (2:23) - A look back at an excised sequence involving a frogman assault on Blofeld's oil rig.
• DISC 6: Satellite Test Reel (1:55) - Behind Wally Veever's special effects for the satellite sequence.
• DISC 6: Explosion Tests (1:54) - Behind the visual effects for the explosion at the end of the film.
• DISC 6: Alternate and Expanded Angles (33:24) - Various scenes played from different alternate angles. Originally this used the angle feature on DVD, but here all of the angles are shown back-to-back.
• DISC 6: Deleted Scenes (7:40) - A total of six scenes.
• DISC 6: Inside Diamonds Are Forever (30:40) - A "making of" featurette about some changes to the script to bring the film to the screen and making the character more American.
• DISC 6: Cubby Broccoli The Man Behind Bond (41:23) - Celebrating the producer.
• DISC 6: Exotic Locations (4:24) - A retrospective about the locations used in the film narrated by Maud Adams.
• DISC 6: Theatrical Archive (0:56) - One Christmas teaser.
• DISC 6: TV Broadcasts (3:09) - Four TV spots.
• DISC 6: Radio Communication (2:04) - Three radio spots (and possibly audio interviews).

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

A digital copy code voucher is included inside the slightly thick six-disc black 4K UHD case. A slipcover is also included.

[ NOTES ]

James Bond: Sean Connery 6-Film Collection (1962-1971) is available on 4K UHD and 4K UHD 6-Case Steelbook Box Set. This collection presents 6 of the first 7 films in the James Bond franchise, skipping over 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service when George Lazenby briefly took over for Connery. Had that film been included, this could have been called "James Bond, Volume 1". If MGM and Warner Brothers continues with actor-themed 4K collections, there are going to be issues with actors who weren't in enough films to warrant a "full" collection, such as George Lazenby (one film) and Timothy Dalton (two films). Roger Moore was in seven films, and Pierce Brosnan was in four films, so that's fine. I guess MGM/WB could always add the Lazenby and Dalton films to the Brosnan set, making it a seven film set to match Moore's, but the Lazenby film will be seriously anachronistic paired with the films of the late 1980s and 1990s/2000s.

A 5-Film Daniel Craig 4K UHD set already exists, so that's not an issue. If you want all of the films in between the Connery and Craig eras, and you don't want to wait for future 4K collections, your only option at the moment is to buy the 24-Film Blu-ray box set, which includes all of the official films from Dr. No to Spectre. (It's missing No Time to Die, but that film is in the Daniel Craig 4K set previously mentioned.)

There are also three unofficial Bond films: Casino Royale (1954) (as a bonus feature on the original orange/green cover Casino Royale '67 DVD), Casino Royale (1967), and Never Say Never Again (1983) (Sean Connery's last film as Bond). A nice supplement to the films is the Icons Unearthed: James Bond Blu-ray (reviewed here).

Finally, five years ago, when I "upgraded" my James Bond DVD collection to Blu-ray, I scanned in all of the DVD liner booklets so that I could preserve them for myself, and anyone else who may want them. So, go download those PDF eBooks.

This item has been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.