James Bond - Thunderball (Ultimate Edition 2 Disc Set) [1965]

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2007-12-12 rating:
Clunky but still fun
`Here comes the biggest Bond of them all!' screamed the ads. But while this is still the high water mark of the series at the box-office - selling more tickets than any other Bond, inflation-adjusted to today's prices its box-office take would exceed a billion dollars - it's also pretty much the clunkiest Bond in its determination to throw everything and the kitchen sink into the mix.

Opening with an excellently choreographed but very badly over-edited fight sequence, the formula is fully established here: the megalomaniacal villain, the ruthless disposal of underlings, perverted villain ("Vargas does not drink, does not smoke, does not make love. What do you do, Vargas?"), the obligatory three women for Bond to dally with and the archetypal Maurice Binder title sequence replacing Robert Brownjohn's earlier efforts (here an underwater ballet of men with harpoons pursuing silhouetted naked girls). It does tend to drag in places, but is still markedly superior to the majority of Roger Moore's efforts.

Much has been made over the years of the film's convoluted legal history. Fleming's novel was an unauthorised adaptation of a screenplay he co-wrote with Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham in an earlier, unsuccessful attempt to launch the series. After much wrangling, McClory was awarded the screen rights and formed an uneasy alliance with Broccoli and Saltzman to co-produce the film, a move that was have legal consequences beyond remake Never Say Never Again and lead to decades of law suits.

The new cook in the broth leads to a rather more schoolboyish Bond, but the film does take a few enjoyable swipes at him, such as Lucianna Paluzzi's villainess taunting his sexual arrogance - "I forgot your ego, Mr. Bond. James Bond, the one where he has to make love to a woman, and she starts to hear heavenly choirs singing. She repents, and turns to the side of right and virtue..." The saddest sight is Earl Cameron, the black actor who distinguished such 50's British films as Sapphire and Flame in the Streets reduced to the role of messenger boy, though at least he fares better than Quarrel in Dr No. If the role of Felix Leiter was intended to paper over gaps in the narrative, Cameron's Pinder is there only to drop Bond off at the next setpiece.

Although it appears there is no definitive version of the film - there are various cuts in circulation because of the rush to get the film ready for its premiere, while the `James Bond will return in On Her Majesty's Secret Service' caption seems lost forever - this is as close to it as we're likely to see, though a featurette does handily point out the differences between various versions. Handily one of the audio commentaries also offers the chance to hear the original Dionne Warwick title song Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, possibly the best song ever written for a Bond film ("He's smooth and he's sharp/And like a shark he looks for trouble/That's why the zero's double/Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang") only to get ditched for the Tom Jones song built around the title for promotional reasons. There's also a 48-minute TV special The Incredible World of James Bond, a radio spot advertising a beauty contest to find girls for OHMSS (planned as the next Bond film), production designer Ken Adams' home movie footage, the famous documentary A Child's Guide to Blowing Up a Motor Car and more besides on a well-packed two-disc set.

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review by: date: 2007-11-19 rating:
Thunderball - A Review
Hmmm... not up to usual standards, I know most like this Bond film it's just never hit the right buttons for me and bored me to tears. But on the other hand it marks the height of Bondmania making $800million in today's money with an ace Bond girl and is all good up until Bond jet's off to the Bahamas. It has a relatively simple plot of two nuclear warheads being stolen and SPECTRE threatening to blow up a major city if not payed a huge ransom. It's quite slow but rather close to the book. Although the huge underwater finale makes up for many of it's bad points. A poorer Bond film in my opinion but a good film in general.

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review by: skenn1701a date: 2007-08-19 rating:
Bond matures gracefully, but could do with a trim
It is hardly possible to imagine an actor inject so much charisma into a role as Connery does here as Bond in Thunderball. Truth be told, it is really the glue that holds a movie together that otherwise might look rather frayed round the edges, despite the spectacularly tasty ingredients on display.
So what is it about? SPECTRE, Bond's arch enemies, have hatched a plan to seize two nuclear warheads from the British by capturing a Vulcan bomber on a training mission. Then, of course, a diabolical megalomaniac asks for 100 million dollars while stroking his cat. All the double-0's are brought in to get put on the case - but Bond has a lead - and of course it involves seducing a beautiful woman, in an exotic location (in this case, the ex-Miss France Claudine Auger, in Nassau, Bahamas). Can Bond seduce her in time to find the bombs before they are used?
As a general rule, the better the Bond villain, the better the Bond movie - and so it proves in this case. Adolfo Celi plays the villain efficiently enough, without being truly inspired. He comes across as a well paid hired hand, rather than an egomaniacal adversary. The villainess, on the other hand, the sexy redhead played by Luciana Paluzzi, comes across as a much more sophisticated foil for Bond's charms and wit, with a genuine sense of menace.
Another plus for the movie is the photography. On every level it is superior to its predecessors - filmed for the first time in widescreen, Ken Adams outlandish sets have room to breathe for the first time, and the groundbreaking underwater photography is surprisingly (forgive me) fluid and clear. In fact, the underwater scenes are the true draw of the movie, adding a new dimension to Bond's skills - however, they also prove to be the movies drawback, as they are drawn out far too long in the climactic underwater battle. The movie is going swimmingly though (apologies again..) until the very final scene on board the yacht which jettisons its cocoon to become a hydrofoil. This has been so ludicrously speeded up for dramatic effect, as to do exactly the opposite, and spoil the moment.
The Ultimate Edition has the usual improved picture, and sound. The sound in particular has been given better depth without anything too tricksy and obvious with surround effects. For extras, as usual the Special Edition extras are all here, including the superb documentary charting the troubled history of the production. In addition, there is an abundance of archive material which will interest the die-hards...vintage promotional featurettes and an NBC hour long special on Bond up to this point. An interesting addition is some home movie footage from the set designer Ken Adams talking about the location shooting, and the fun that went on behind the cameras.
So to summarise, with a bit of trimming and more careful use of speeded up action scenes, this could have been a 5 star classic, as it is, it is still a very respectable and enjoyable 4 star entry into the Bond franchise, with Connery at his peak. This edition is certainly the way to see it.

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review by: date: 2006-12-27 rating:
start of "bond" series.
"thunderball" is the first decent bond film as far as i'm concerned; a fast pace, plenty going on that will keep one occupied, the perfect locations and also one of the best theme songs ever made. only tom jones could it bring it to life.
even connery's usual wooden performance can't spoil the film.


review by: thepstandsforpaul date: 2006-08-26 rating:
This Is Connery At His Peak!
Thunderball was released at the height of Bondmania.Just like the previous Bond film Goldfinger, Sean Connery is again on top form, he was really looking the part. The pre credits sequence has never really been bettered for originality and the films plot is exciting. Under the guidence of it's number two operative, Emilio Largo, Spectre hijacks two atomic bombs from a British vulcan aircraft during a NATO training excercise off the coast of Nassau. An ultimatum is delivered to the prime minister of England threatening to use the bombs to destroy a major city in Britain or the USA unless a exorbitant ransom is paid. James Bond must find the bombs before it is too late! This is great viewing. As with all of the early James Bond films there are some memorable villains with Adolfo Celi playing Largo brilliantly and Luciana Paluzzi as Fiona Volpe was the first main Bond bad girl. Gadgets were starting to become a regular accurrance with the jet pack, the underwater breathing device, the geiger watch, the under water camera, the underwater propulsion unit and the radio active pill and mini flare device. Fantastic! Thunderball has been criticised for the underwater scenes being too long, I'd have to disagree with this. John Barry's brilliant score for the film keeps the underwater action exciting and for the times the underwater scenes were incredible. The film has also been criticised for being too long, I'd also have to disagree with this as well because in my opinion the longer the Bond the better.Connery would never be better again! You get the same special features on disc 2 as you got with the 2003 special edition release PLUS a lot more so I would reccomend this dvd to any Bond fan and film lovers!

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Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Action & Adventure . All Action & Adventure
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Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Action & Adventure . James Bond
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Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . DVD
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . BBFC Rating (intended_use_browse-bin) . PG
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Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Release Date (feature_three_browse-bin) . 1960 - 1969
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