Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4922 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-07-17
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Box set, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Greek, Dutch, Norwegian, Finnish, English, Danish, Swedish, Hindi
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 116 minutes

Special Features
THE ULTIMATE EDITION CONTAINS: NEVER BEFORE RELEASED ON DVD: Newly Recorded Audio Commentary Featuring Sir Roger Moore DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Bond 1973: The Lost Documentary Roger Moore as James Bond, Circa 1964 Live and Let Die Conceptual Art 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Live and Let Die THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Guy Hamilton Audio Commentary Featuring Tom Mankiewicz Inside Live and Let Die • On Set With Roger Moore

Synopsis
In his first turn as James Bond, Roger Moore infiltrates a gang of narcotics smugglers in voodoo-infested Jamaica. His daring exploits lead him on a number of incredible chases. Digitally restored.

Customer Reviews

FAST CARS, FAST GIRLS:...........and even faster QUIPS.
following the lacklustre debacle of the less-than-enjoyable 'DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER' , the early 70s BOND producers went back to the drawing-board for a much needed re-interpretation.

The muddled mess that was 'DIAMONDS' was clearly the wrong direction for CUBBY and the boys to pursue, so SALTZMAN understandably backed a more bankable going concern, which gambled [shrewdly, as it turned out] on upping the visual stunt quota, to new, breathtaking [in the context of 1973 cinema] heights.

Eschewing CONNERY'S now out-of-step interpretation, the script itself veered in a more comic-strip direction, and the decision to cast well-known ITC stalwart ROGER MOORE as COMMANDER BOND ensured a more light-hearted [if ever more spectacular] confetti would result.

MOORE'S laid-back, flippantly-quipping, relaxed lounge-lizard saw the BOND character changed immeasurably, with 007 now given to uttering inane, but nevertheless extremely entertaining, double-meaning quips directly in the face of diabolical drama, and even DEATH itself: and cinema-goers [especially in this early MOORE era] lapped up the dividends wholeheartedly.

The plot itself here is an ever-scene-shifting, joyous travelogue, taking in steamy jungle backdrops and seedy HARLEM-like urban decay alike. Black humour is most definately to the forefront here, ['whose funeral is this/-------YOURS!']to deliciously sardonic, macabre effect, and the 'black magic' theme throughout maintains a lesser-seen fantasy element injected into the gaudy setpieces.

The stunts that pepper the tableaux are of a very high standard [especially a thrilling power-boat chase], and in 1973 this was cutting-edge stuntwork, as odd as that may seem in light of today's ever-escalating visual frolics so beloved of HOLLYWOOD. One very dated element appears early on: this is when BOND encounters a willing MADELINE SMITH, and an LCD watch [of red digits, no less] is seen in close-up: this technological marvel actually had 1973 audiences gasping in it's futuristic scope!

the character of SOLATAIRE [JANE SEYMOUR] is a welcome diversion in the independent BOND girl stakes, and overall the coloured peoples are well-represented in this entrtaining outing. Some excellent, imaginitive black humour as one deserving baddie [YAPHET KOTTO] is despatched, MACY BAY- parade like, like a giant balloon.

It has to be said that the character of 'SGT' PEPPER is a poorly-concieved, intensely irritating introduction: perhaps this redneck humour went down well in HICKSVILLE 1973, but to the majority of viewers, this appallingly embarassing character represents a squirming interupption, who dominates and diffuses too much valuable screen-time.

MOORE'S character would scale back further, and eventually his version of BOND took a one-dimensional back seat to the ever-more-escalating, intolerable events, in which guilt-free mayhem became the order of the day, but in this 'new, revitalized' incarnation, fresh blood was injected to great effect, and BROCCOLLI and the boys achieved just the right balance of epic spectacle and thrilling escapade.

RECCOMENDED.

Too right!
Live And Let Die is my favourite Roger Moore episode. I like A View To A Kill (although many people don't), but this is by far my favourite Moore one. It has a strong cast with Jane Seymour and Yaphet Kotto, and features a bizarre but action-packed boat chase and an encounter with crocodiles and alligators at the hands (and metal claw) of Tee-Hee Johnson.

Jane Seymour plays the tarot reading Solitaire, and she makes a good Bond girl. She is unlike any other, who works for the enemy, but hasn't really matured. She isn't a woman yet, and that what makes this movie good. It's spooky and funny, not my favourite Bond, but my favourite Moore Bond.

Classic Bond, beautiful DVD
Bond meets Blaxploitation is one of the all-time great entries. Based half-heartedly on Fleming's novel of the same name, 'Live & Let Die' sees Bond travel to Harlem and the Caribbean to stop kingpin Mr Big from bringing a lifetime's supply of heroin to the US.

Largely considered to be among the best of the Bond movies, this baby has some classic moments; the speed-boat chase across the swamps of Louisiana, the bus chase in San Monique, Baron Samedi striking fear into the heart of man, Sheriff JW Pepper spitting and sweating all over the place, Jane Seymour looking utterly divine and Yaphet Kotto lending huge gravity in what is possibly the best incarnation of a Bond baddie.

George Martin's score was a departure from the Barry scores that preceded it, but it works nicely in the context of the film, alongside Roger Moore's new Bond.

There's a reason that some of the Bond films have outlasted others. This film is rightly considered one of them. If you haven't seen it, stop wasting time reading this and go watch it to discover those reasons for yourself.

As with all the new Bond DVDs, the picture and sound have been remasted to stunning effect. Watching these films on an upscaling DVD player, you will be amazed at how clean they look, sound and feel. Extras are superb too, with a nice 30 minute documenatry and a wealth of other tidbits.