Shaken and stirred — All 20 Bond movies get a double-disc makeover on DVD
Or if it's M or Moneypenny, you know that's his boss and the boss' secretary. And, of course, gadget man Q.
You know the bad guys — Blofeld, Oddjob, Jaws, Dr. No, Goldfinger. ...
And you know the women — Honey Rider, Tiffany Case, Kissy Suzuki, Solitaire, Domino ... and some others who can't be named in a family newspaper.
You also know some of the actresses who played "Bond girls" and went on to stardom in their own right — Ursula Andress, Jane Seymour, Teri Hatcher, Halle Barry.
And, of course, 007 is shorthand for you-know-who.
There are 20 movies in the James Bond oeuvre, and five actors are identified with the role — Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.
And depending on your age, either Connery, Moore or Brosnan is the "only true Bond."
Bond No. 6, Daniel Craig, makes his debut later this month in "Casino Royale," and by no coincidence to be sure, the 20 007 flicks are being reissued on DVD this month and next, in four box sets, each film in a two-disc thin box.
MGM Home Entertainment sent two of these newly revamped films and bonus features for review, both starring Connery. I didn't tell them that he happens to be my Bond of preference, but I won't complain.
Then again, they aren't my favorite Connery Bonds — "Thunderball" and "Diamonds Are Forever." (They aren't bad, but they're no "Dr. No" or "From Russia With Love" or "Goldfinger.")
And yet, I have to admit that I watched all the bonus features for both films (OK, I didn't listen to the entire audio commentaries), and there's a lot of fascinating stuff here for fans:
• Jill St. John — who looks quite fabulous in her mid-60s, by the way — along with others, explains what happened in the "Diamonds" scene where a car goes through a Las Vegas alleyway tipped toward the driver's side and comes out tipped toward the passenger side.
• Sean Connery talks about being Bond in a vintage BBC interview.
• A technician explains that the jet pack used by Bond in "Thunderball" was not a gimmick but a real tried-and-tested flying device.
• The underwater fight sequence in "Thunderball" is edited quite differently from its original form, and that original version is included.
• There are deleted scenes galore.
• Vintage TV excerpts, advertising and featurettes — lots of new stuff and, of course, everything that has been included in past editions.
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