James Bond - Live and Let Die (Ultimate Edition 2 Disc Set) [1973]

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Editorial reviews

Special Features
THE ULTIMATE EDITION CONTAINS: NEVER BEFORE RELEASED ON DVD: Newly Recorded Audio Commentary Featuring Sir Roger Moore DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Bond 1973: The Lost Documentary Roger Moore as James Bond, Circa 1964 Live and Let Die Conceptual Art 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Live and Let Die THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Guy Hamilton Audio Commentary Featuring Tom Mankiewicz Inside Live and Let Die • On Set With Roger Moore

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Synopsis
In his first turn as James Bond, Roger Moore infiltrates a gang of narcotics smugglers in voodoo-infested Jamaica. His daring exploits lead him on a number of incredible chases. Digitally restored.

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Customer reviews

review by: Ax date: 2008-02-04 rating:
Too right!
Live And Let Die is my favourite Roger Moore episode. I like A View To A Kill (although many people don't), but this is by far my favourite Moore one. It has a strong cast with Jane Seymour and Yaphet Kotto, and features a bizarre but action-packed boat chase and an encounter with crocodiles and alligators at the hands (and metal claw) of Tee-Hee Johnson.

Jane Seymour plays the tarot reading Solitaire, and she makes a good Bond girl. She is unlike any other, who works for the enemy, but hasn't really matured. She isn't a woman yet, and that what makes this movie good. It's spooky and funny, not my favourite Bond, but my favourite Moore Bond.

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review by: date: 2008-01-07 rating:
Classic Bond, beautiful DVD
Bond meets Blaxploitation is one of the all-time great entries. Based half-heartedly on Fleming's novel of the same name, 'Live & Let Die' sees Bond travel to Harlem and the Caribbean to stop kingpin Mr Big from bringing a lifetime's supply of heroin to the US.

Largely considered to be among the best of the Bond movies, this baby has some classic moments; the speed-boat chase across the swamps of Louisiana, the bus chase in San Monique, Baron Samedi striking fear into the heart of man, Sheriff JW Pepper spitting and sweating all over the place, Jane Seymour looking utterly divine and Yaphet Kotto lending huge gravity in what is possibly the best incarnation of a Bond baddie.

George Martin's score was a departure from the Barry scores that preceded it, but it works nicely in the context of the film, alongside Roger Moore's new Bond.

There's a reason that some of the Bond films have outlasted others. This film is rightly considered one of them. If you haven't seen it, stop wasting time reading this and go watch it to discover those reasons for yourself.

As with all the new Bond DVDs, the picture and sound have been remasted to stunning effect. Watching these films on an upscaling DVD player, you will be amazed at how clean they look, sound and feel. Extras are superb too, with a nice 30 minute documenatry and a wealth of other tidbits.

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review by: date: 2007-12-12 rating:
An excellent upgrade for Roger Moore's entertaining Bond debut
Fondly remembered by many as Moore's best effort, you have to be in the right mood to see this today and willing to make a mental trip back in time to the early 70s when it was made. It's probably dated more than almost any other Bond film - even bearing in mind that the seventies was the decade that fashion forgot, the sideburns and flares on display here are pretty vicious and, as the first film since Dr No to enter Bond's flat, it is deeply distressing to note that he is a slave to Formica and has chicken-shaped pate moulds on the wall. As swell as being the first Bond film since Goldfinger not to be shot in 2.35:1 widescreen, more significantly it also marks the point at which the series started imitating other trends rather than setting them - in this case blaxploitation pictures, which is quite an achievement you're your hero is white. Beyond its voodoo trappings little of the plot of Ian Fleming's novel survives as Shaft - sorry, Bond - takes on the drug-pushing president of a small island in Jamaica, but it's certainly one of the most action-packed of the series and never outstays its welcome the way some later efforts would.

Taking barely 11 minutes to get into some serious raised eyebrow action, there is perhaps a bit too much of Simon Templar in Moore's performance, but there is also a harder edge to his Bond that was soon smoothed away. He has a very cynical attitude towards Jane Seymour's virginal Solitaire), using her callously as bait. In a way it's a blessing that the film was not tailored specifically for Moore as later efforts would be, relying more on his rarely tapped abilities as an actor than his star persona. It doesn't hurt that director Guy Hamilton visibly raises his game from his lazy helming of Diamonds Are Forever.

This also shows the first sign of breaking up set pieces to add throwaway visual gags. This frequently detracts from the nifty and still very impressive speedboat chase, possibly the best sustained action sequence in the series until the free-running chase in Casino Royale, as Clifton James does his Deputy Dawg impersonation while the odd bit of slapstick comedy removes much of the threat. At times it is hard to tell which lines are meant to be funny and which ones aren't. "Great disguise, Bond - white face in Harlem" is pretty obviously the former, but surely the unintentional dialogue high point has to be Tony Award-winning Shakespearian actor Yaphet Kotto - curiously seeming to give three performances, starting out as Marlon Brando before easing into the genial villainy - uttering the immortal "Names is for tombstones, baby. Take him out and waste him."

The extras from the original DVD release are all retained - including the documentary with amazing outtakes of the alligator stunt going wrong that prove that the filmmakers used real gators - as well as some welcome new additions. The 1964 extract from Millicent Martin's TV show with a young Moore sending up James Bond is fun, and there's an intriguing 1973 documentary shot on the set. The print may be a damaged mixture of faded color and black and white footage, but the content more than compensates, from Moore quipping "If Guy Hamilton thinks I'm doing that again, he can get the other feller back, I'm telling you" to the depressing sign of the times that even then the film industry was still partially segregated, with the Black Stuntmen's Association having to prove that you didn't need blacked-up white stuntmen to double for black actors. The trailers are among the best of the series, promising 'More excitement, more action, more danger and more - much more - Roger Moore.' Better still, the legendary Milk Marketing Board commercial that was so cruelly undermined by Moore's entertaining account of filming Roger Moore as James Bond, is also included, featuring much manufactured footage of the cast downing pints of milk after dangerous stunts!

Highly recommended

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review by: carlosnightman date: 2007-12-08 rating:
Quick Reviews!
My personal favourite Bond Movie (largely because of nostalgia) and along with Moonraker, the most bizarre outing for the secret agent. Where Moonraker failed though, Live And Let Die succeeds. There are good set pieces, fights, girls, funny moments (not as over the top as they would become) and unusually for a Bond film, it is actually quite scary in parts, especially for the younger viewer.

When Bond is sent to America to investigate the deaths of several British Agents, his search leads him to Mr Big, a Harlem crime lord. With further investigation, Bond finds a drug-smuggling link between Mr Big, and Dr. Kananga, a mysterious man from a Caribbean island. Bond flies to Kananga's island to stop the massive Heroin dealing. There he meets the beautiful Solitaire played wonderfully by Jane Seymour, a virgin who has been enslaved by Kananga as her mystical powers bring him success. Bond soon finds himself entwined in voodoo forces he can barely fight, and struggles to complete his mission.

Plenty of stunts and action sequences, chases and humour make this an instant Bond classic, but the characters and performances of Yaphet Kotto and his various goons make it one of the best. Tee Hee is mysterious, Whisper is memorable, and Baron Samedi is a strong Villain as he seems to be immortal. This marks the appearance of Sheriif GW, and his comic escapades which are either annoying or very funny depending on your point of view. Moore gives a good performance, bringing the series in a different direction, and Seymour is one of the most beautiful Bond girls. There are many memorable moments, including the famous train fight, and Kananga's explosive end. Probably the most scary Bond film so far, in fact there has not been another one like it, and when i was young it was always the one i most looked forward to seeing. There are flaws- it does have more slapstick humour than previous outings and Bond does not seem as tragic or cold a character as before.

The features, like all of the Ultimate Editions are excellent, along with impressive picture and sound restoration work. There are trailers, documentaries, and an interestin early sight of Moore as Bond.


review by: date: 2007-11-21 rating:
Live and Let Die - A Review
A brilliant film starring Roger Moore in a carribean adventure as what Fleming invisioned to be a good Bond. Brilliantalthough not frequent action witha relatively simple drug plot. Good fun with the hilarious Sherrif JW Pepper. Top Marks.

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