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MI6 reviews the new James Bond Ultimate Edition
DVD of the 1967 outing "You Only Live Twice"... |
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DVD Review - You Only Live Twice
6th 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.
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Official Blurb
When U.S. and Soviet manned spaceships are
hijacked in Earth's orbit, Agent 007 (Sean Connery) must
race to prevent a nuclear war between the superpowers. His
pulse-pounding missions takes him to Japan, where he battles
the evil SPECTRE organization and its diabolical leader,
Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasence)!
Data Stream
Region: 2
Release Date: 17th July 2006
Running Time: 112 minutes
Screen Format: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen Transfer
Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 Audio
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
Compared to earlier films in the series, "You
Only Live Twice" is not the best of the transfers from
the Connery era. Detail in the backgrounds could be better,
and
there are some digital edge artifacts present. The colour seems
to have been manipulated too, with the red levels slightly
too high - most evident on skin tones. Black levels are excellent.
The telecine process has introduced a few minor horizontal
wobbles.
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, but
the new remastered mixes are excellent and stay faithful
to the original. There is not much discernable difference between
the Digital and DTS mixes. Some dialog occasionally bounces
between speakers to best match their position on screen, which
between cuts, can be annoying at times.
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DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT
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Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond
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Whicker's World - Highlights From 1967 BBC Documentary
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On Location With Ken Adam
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007 MISSION CONTROL
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Interactive Guide Into the World of You Only Live
Twice
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THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY - MISSION
DOSSIER
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Audio Commentary Featuring Director Lewis Gilbert
and Members of the Cast and Crew
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Inside You Only Live Twice
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Silhouettes: The James Bond Titles
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Plane Crash: Animated Storyboard Sequence
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MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA, Original
Trailers, Photo Gallery, TV Spot & Radio
Communications
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Bonus Features
Whicker's World (Highlights From 1967 BBC Documentary) - Highlights from the 1967 BBC Documentary
by journalist Alan Whicker who had inside access during the shooting
of You Only Live Twice. The insightful feature leaves the viewers
craving for the full documentary.
Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond - A 52 minute look at the past
four Bond films, Showing past villains, girls, stunts,
and gadgets,
the feature also containing footage from the new film "You
Only Live Twice", cameos from Q and Moneypenny, and teases
the audience about 007's possible upcoming marriage to a mystery
lady.
On Location With Ken Adam - Narrated by Production Designer
Ken Adams, the feature is a selection of his own personal
footage,
containing location scouting and on-the-set shooting with anecdotes
about the cast locations.
All other features were previously released on the
Special Edition DVD.
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One Last Thing....
It's unfortunate that the Whicker's World programme had to be
curtailed to highlights. There is also no footage from the
Japanese media - who relentlessly reported on the shooting
throughout the production.
MI6 Rating
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| Audio |
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| Special Features |
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