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MI6 reviews the new James Bond Ultimate Edition
DVD of the 1964 outing "Goldfinger"... |
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DVD Review - Goldfinger
16th May 2007
The James Bond movies have been brought into the 21st century
with special 5.1 surround sound remastering, new film transfers
and extra special features in the "Ultimate Editions"
series. MI6 reviews reviews the films and each of these features
along with all the special new content.
Official Blurb
Special Agent 007 (Sean Connery) has just
come face to face with one of the most notorious villains
of all time. And now he'll have to outwit and outgun
this
powerful tycoon to prevent him from cashing in on a devious
scheme to raid Fort Knox - and obliterate the world
economy.
Data Stream
Region: 2
Release Date: 17th July 2006
Running Time: 105 minutes
Screen Format: 1.66:1 Anamorphic PAL
Soundtracks: English DD5.1, English DTS
Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Greek, Hindi,
Norwegian and Swedish Subtitles
Audio Specs
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
English DTS 5.1 (768Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
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Video
The Ultimate Edition transfer is the best yet for this film,
and is so crisp and clean that a lot of the original film grain
has
been
stripped.
Despite that, the level of detail is exceptional, including
the backgrounds. Some artificial edge enhancement is visible
in places. The colour is good, with strong blacks and acceptable
shadow detail, but some skin tones seem a little manipulated.
Audio
Two new tracks (Dolby Digital and DTS) have been re-created from
the original mono soundtrack, which is (again) unfortunately
absent from this release. Audiophiles may have cause for complaint
that the true soundtrack for the film is not included, especially
as these mixes now include
new foley and special effects. In an attempt to better use
the surround sound feature, some dialog occasionally bounces
between speakers to best match their position on screen, which
between cuts, can be annoying. But unlike some of
the earlier films in the Ultimate Edition collection, lip sync
is spot on.
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DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT
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Sean Connery From the Set of Goldfinger
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Screen Tests
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On Tour With the Aston Martin DB-5
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Honor Blackman Open-Ended Interview
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007 MISSION CONTROL
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Interactive Guide Into the World of Goldfinger
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THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY - MISSION
DOSSIER
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Audio Commentary Featuring Guy Hamilton
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Audio Commentary Featuring Cast and Crew
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The Making of Goldfinger
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The Goldfinger Phenomenon
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Original Publicity Featurette
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MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA, Original
Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio
Communications
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New Bonus Features
Sean Connery From the Set of Goldfinger - Sean Connery takes
a few minutes between takes to answer a few questions about
stunts, his early days as an actor in Scotland, and his recent
non-Bond films.
Screen Tests - Archived footage with actors Theodore Bikel and Tito Vandis as
Auric Goldfinger, including the famous "No Mr. Bond I expect you to die!",
and what seems to be an abandoned sequence from an early draft where Goldfinger
tries to hire James Bond.
On Tour With the Aston Martin DB-5 - Former Aston Martin European Sales Manager
Mike Ashley explains his function as official tour guide for the world's most
famous car. The feature contains rare footage of the DB-5 and TV commercials.
Honor Blackman Open-Ended Interview - Eon director of marketing Ann Bennett explains
that open-ended interviews were often sent to numerous TV networks simulating
a real interview. Blackman discusses acting with Connery, judo, and her previous
acting roles.
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One Last Thing....
Some of the more interesting stories surrounding the production of Goldfinger
(including Connery's reported contract negotiations shortly after filming the
scene where Odd Job delivers a blow to the back of his neck) which were discussed
on the ill-fated 1991
Criterion laserdisc edition, do not appear in any of the documentaries.
MI6 Rating
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Special Features |
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Image courtesy Amazon Associates