James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 3 (GoldenEye / Live and Let Die / For Your Eyes Only / From Russia With Love / On Her Majesty's Secret Service)

Here we are at the third boxed set in this series and one of the best. It's got four exceptional movies and one that... well, has a great theme song.You can get these movies seperately in single-disc form, or you can do what I did and buy this collection! Not only do you get all the movies in pristine new transfers, along with 5.1 surround, but you also get a second disc for each movie loaded with more extras than you can imagine. Behind-the-scenes stuff, rare outtakes, radio ads, trailers, etc. It's pretty comprehensive for each movie.As for the movies themselves, "GoldenEye", "For Your Eyes Only" and "From Russia with Love" are part of the great staples in any James Bond collection. For me, though, the real gem is "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", which is far better than most people would credit (I'd say the second-best of the original Bond movies, behind only "Goldfinger"). George Lazenby makes a perfectly fine James Bond, and had he chosen to stay on to continue the role past this film, I think he would've been second only to Connery. As it is, he turns in a great performance in a vastly underrated film.As for the not-so-great film in the bunch, "Live and Let Die"... yeah, not a lot I can say in favor of it. Great theme song, but still. Who would've thought there'd be a James Bond blaxploitation film?This set gets five stars for the movies and five for the extras! What a great set. Buy it! :)

I must say that I was not pleased with the audio restoration for ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. The movie looked good but the 5.1 Surround was not too spectacular and sounded rather flat and uninspired. It just kind of hung there and was not very dynamic at all. The original sound for this film was mono and I am glad it was preserved here. If you compare it for what was done for DR. NO for instance (on another volume), there is quite a difference. The 5.1 Surround re-mastering on DR. NO is phenomenal. On this volume FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, which also had an original mono soundtrack, sounds acceptable in 5.1 Surround.Of the extras I was very pleased with the 3 Ian Fleming segments on FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. There has been resurgence in interest of Fleming's original stories with the current release of CASINO ROYALE, with Daniel Craig as James Bond, and Fleming's comments give first hand insight into the tone of that film. I liked the extras for ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE because we really get to see a somewhat real George Lazenby if you read into his comments and facial expressions. However, he looks darn good as James Bond in the filmed press release for OHMSS. I am trying to be objective here but Lazenby and OHMSS have always been at the top of the series for me. There are also some interesting extras for LIVE AND LET DIE that I had never seen before.The GOLDENEYE and FOR YOUR EYES ONLY films looked and sounded good, but I had some other thoughts on GOLDENYE. For a 2 Disc DVD there really is not that much noteworthy material on the second disc of extras. There is a short on director Martin Campbell where you get to see footage of him in action directing scenes from the film. There are also some deleted scenes with introductions by director Martin Campbell which are somewhat interesting but they are minor in nature. Actually there was one scene with Bond and CIA agent Wade in the car in Petersburg that could have remained in the film that would have helped the transition into the next scene. The making of GOLDENEYE feature was a hodgepodge of footage slapped together and it was not narrated.

While all of the frame-by-frame restored 007 collections are fabulous, "James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 3" is truly the pinnacle, with 3 of the greatest Bond adventures, ever!"GoldenEye" (1995), Pierce Brosnan's long-delayed debut as Bond, offers a revamped 007 more in tune with a post-Cold War world. With the fabulous Judi Dench as the new 'M', and a new generation of leading ladies (Izabella Scorupco) and villains (Famke Janssen and Sean Bean are standouts), youthful Brosnan, while not as decisive as Sean Connery, shows the characteristic swagger! While the hijacked nuclear satellite plot is derivative, it was great to see 007 back, after 6 years. (3 1/2 stars out of 5)"Live and Let Die" (1973), Roger Moore's debut as 007, clearly redefined the character as stylishly 'cool' rather than dangerous. Campy, with a silly Voodoo subplot, and a less-than-stellar villain (Yaphet Kotto), the film does offer beautiful young Jane Seymour as the heroine, ridiculous Clifton James as a redneck sheriff, and a plot, somewhere, involving drug shipments to America. Listen to Paul McCartney's title song, then just go with the flow, and you may enjoy Moore, and the '70s 'feel'! (3 stars out of 5)"For Your Eyes Only" (1981), follow-up to the disastrous "Moonraker", returned 007 Roger Moore to the grittier, more physical films of Sean Connery. A British encryption device is missing, and Bond must deal with a vengeance-minded Greek girl (Carole Bouquet), rival gangs (headed by Topol and Julian Glover), and an amorous ice skater (Lynn-Holly Johnson). Eschewing hi-tech devices, Moore's aging Bond climbs a mountain, gets dragged through a coral reef...and is terrific! (4 1/2 stars out of 5)"From Russia With Love" (1963), Sean Connery's second 007 outing, is considered by many the finest Bond film. If "Dr. No" provided the Bond 'framework', "FRWL" provided the 'style'; set in London, Istanbul, and aboard the Orient Express, with fabulous villains (Robert Shaw and Lotte Lenya), a sexy heroine (Daniela Bianchi), and, in his final role, wonderful Pedro Armendáriz as a doomed ally, everything is top-notch! A CLASSIC! (5 stars out of 5)"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969), the most controversial Bond film, with the most daring plot (Bond marries!), and inept 007 (George Lazenby, replacing Sean Connery). In Lazenby's defense, this WAS his first acting job, and the film had been intended as a powerful finale for Connery; however, Japan's lucrative package deal pushed "You Only Live Twice" ahead, throwing off the series' continuity, and taking Connery out of the picture! Nonetheless, "OHMSS" is a remarkable film, with Diana Rigg, a perfect 'Bond Girl', and Telly Savalas, a truly villainous Blofeld. With it's unique ending, and very human 007, it would have been a classic, whoever played 007...but fans will always wish Connery had made the film (and his absence killed the box office). (5 stars out of 5)Of all the Bond collections, THIS is the most ESSENTIAL!

This was a rip off. None of the advertised movies were included. Essentially this product was misleading. How can I return it?

Love it!