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After returning to his signature role as James Bond for the last
time in Diamonds Are Forever, Sean Connery again stepped down
and declined any further 007 adventures. So again on the lookout
for a new Bond (including a brief consideration of Burt Reynolds!)
the producers finally agreed on Roger Moore. In the first of his
seven outings as Bond, Moore quickly established himself as 007
for a new era, winning plenty of new fans and keeping the venerable
franchise alive. After he stepped down, six films later, following
1985's A View to a Kill, Moore had become just as identifiable
as Bond as Connery, a feat most thought impossible at the time
of Live and Let Die.
Easily the most "flavorful" in the series, (i.e., racist)
it's Bond meets voodoo, afros and Yaphet Kotto. When British agents
are being killed mysteriously, 007 is called into action. What
he encounters is a drug ring that stretches from Jamaica through
New Orleans and all the way to the streets of Harlem. In her first
film appearance, Jane Seymour plays Solitaire, fortune teller
for the drug dealer's organization who specialty is tarot... as
long as she's still a virgin. Will Bond bed the lovely Solitaire?
I think he might.
In a bit of a departure, Live and Let Die has fewer of the action
sequences that had long since become a Bond trademark. A boat
chase through the canals of Louisiana does maintain the tradition
and is the pinnacle of suspension of disbelief. (In another famous
moment, Bond's escape from an crocodile farm almost ended the
poor croc stunt man's career.) Live and Let Die is not my favorite
Bond chapter, but having to follow Sean Connery must have been
a daunting task that the filmmakers did their best to surmont,
hence all the voodoo locales. Still, it's an interesting detour
and has its share of moments, and if you're a Bond fan, do you
really care anyway if it's not that original? Spooky!
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Presented in anamorphic widescreen, Live and Let Die probably
suffers most due to age, and is one of the few later Bond films
to be shot in 1.85:1, not 2.35:1. The print used is mainly free
of dirt, but occasional flecs and white nics show up. Colors look
strong, but for whatever reason fleshtones seem a bit muted. The
picture is sharp and detailed, in fact a bit too detailed. Shimmer
is present in the smallest details and edges. This is a good presentation,
but I don't think it's a great one.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
Live and Let Die was curiously originally produced with a mono
soundtrack and that is exactly what is presented here. Earlier
films in the series had been given stereo soundtracks and I wonder
why this film, well into the series, was not only given mono treatment
in the audio department, but also given a flat aspect ratio after
the series had moved to scope to match the epic qualities that
the series was continually striving for. Anyway, disappointing
as it is, the mono soundtrack is clear and smooth. There's no
distortion and although the frequency range is limited, the soundtrack
is a clean effort.
A French mono tack is also included with English and French subtitles.
Points off here for no Spanish support.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
Part of MGM's ongoing spate of Bond special edition DVD releases,
Live and Let Die starts off with the mandatory two audio commentaries.
In a break from some of the other discs, only the first commentary
is non-screen specific. This first interview commentary track
is compiled from recordings of the director and cast. The second
commentary is a screen specific commentary with writer Tom Mankiewicz.
For a writer, he sometimes has very little to say. He usually
does have interesting items to offer up and I prefer this type
of commentary over the interview cut and paste job on commentary
one. But, was it me or did Mankiewicz start yawning about thirty-seconds
into the title sequence. Easy Tom, we've got a lot of film left
to go.
A brand new thirty-minute documentary, Inside Live and
Let Die, has been produced and provides a focus on Roger Moore
taking over as the new Bond and several of the stunt sequences
that went bad. It's an interesting look at the film, but I found
some of the other new documentaries much more interesting. "On
The Set With Roger Moore" showcases about five minutes of on-set
footage and interviews with Roger Moore that don't really seem
to mean anything.
The rest of the disc revolves around marketing and advertising.
Both the original theatrical teaser and trailer
are included. Oddly, the teaser (which are usually just that,
short teases) runs twice as long as the full trailer. Still
Gallery features over one hundred-fifty photographs covering
everything from the end of the search for the new James Bond to
the poster art from around the world. There is a sixty-second
TV spot and slimmed down version of the same commercial
at thirty-seconds. Two radio spots are included. The weirdest
item of all has got to be the Live and Let Die milk board commercial
shown in the UK during the film's release. Yeah, after a long
day of filming in the Louisiana bayou, give me a tall glass of
milk, YUM!
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc
in your PC?
No ROM extras have been included.
Parting Thoughts
The contents of the Live and Let Die special edition is right
on track with the other discs, but the creation of a real commentary
track puts it slightly out in front of some of the others for
me. I wasn't as enamoured with the picture and sound of most of
the other discs, but it's still worthy of any Bond fans consideration.
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