Product Description

Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Claudio Santamaria, Jesper Christensen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey WrightDirector: Martin Campbell

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1977 in DVD
• Brand: Blu-ray Action & Adventure
• Released on: 2007-03-19
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Format: Widescreen
• Original language: English, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Turkish
• Dubbed in: Polish, Hungarian, Czech
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds
• Running time: 144 minutes

Amazon.co.uk

The most successful invigoration of a cinematic franchise since Batman Begins, Casino Royale offers a new Bond identity. Based on the Ian Fleming novel that introduced Agent 007 into a Cold War world, Casino Royale is the most brutal and viscerally exciting James Bond film since Sean Connery left Her Majesty's Secret Service. Meet the new Bond; not the same as the old Bond. Daniel Craig gives a galvanising performance as the freshly minted double-0 agent. Suave, yes, but also a "blunt instrument," reckless and possessed with an ego that compromises his judgment during his first mission to root out the mastermind behind an operation that funds international terrorists. In classic Bond film tradition, his global itinerary takes him to far-flung locales, including Uganda, Madagascar, the Bahamas (that's more like it) and Montenegro, where he is pitted against his nemesis in a poker game, with hundreds of millions in the pot. The stakes get even higher when Bond lets down his armour by falling in love with Vesper (Eva Green), the ravishing banker's representative fronting him the money.

For longtime fans of the franchise, Casino Royale offers some retro kicks. Bond wins his iconic Aston Martin at the gaming table, and when a bartender asks if he wants his martini "shaken or stirred," he disdainfully replies, "Do I look like I give a damn?". There's no Moneypenny or "Q," but Dame Judi Dench is back as the exasperated M who, one senses, admires Bond's "bloody cheek." A Bond film is only as good as its villain, and Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre, who weeps blood, is a sinister dandy. From its punishing violence and virtuoso action sequences to its romance, Casino Royale is a Bond film that, in the words of one character, 'makes you feel it', particularly during an excruciating torture sequence. Double-0s, Bond observes early on, "have a short life expectancy". But with Craig, there is new life in the old franchise yet, as well as genuine anticipation for the next one when, at last, the signature James Bond theme kicks in following the best last line ever in any Bond film. To quote Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin, "now I know what I've been faking all these years". --Donald Liebenson

Synopsis
After a great deal of discussion--on the part of fans and producers alike--over Daniel Craig's (The Mother, Munich) suitability for the role of James Bond, he more than proves himself in this explosive revamping of the franchise. Under the direction of Martin Campbell (The Mask of Zorro) and with Paul Haggis (Crash) helping with the re-writes, this addition to the Bond canon manages to hold true to the essence of the stories--the villainous villains, the fabulous sets, the beautiful women, the fast-paced action--while updating the formula with subtlety and humanity. Trading in the Cold War era for a new, post-9-11 landscape, the tale unfolds in locations that span the globe, including the Bahamas, Venice, and the Czech Republic. It opens in Madagascar, where Bond pursues a guerilla bomb-maker in one of the most breathtaking chase scenes ever--and it all takes place on foot. Botching that assignment, Bond goes to Montenegro to square off against terrorist baddie Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelson), an international loan shark who gambles with the money of his equally dangerous clients. Beautiful British Treasury representative Vesper Lynd (Eva Green, The Dreamers) supplies Bond’s own funds, appearing on his arm in Montenegro, while M (Dame Judi Dench, Pride and Prejudice) keeps a close watch on the action from headquarters. The extravagant poker game forms the centre of the action, with Jeffrey Wright (Syriana, The Manchurian Candidate) putting in an intense appearance at the table; interrupting the game are assassination attempts, poisoning, and other dramatic events that keep the adrenaline pumping. The flirtation that unfolds between Bond and Vesper Lynd is only in keeping with the spy’s M.O. as a ladies’ man. What differs here, however, is what sets this Bond apart from the rest: the romance is taken seriously, and it exposes a vulnerability in Bond that he’s never shown before. This, however, only makes him the tougher, as Craig's Bond is darker, less campy, more brooding and mysterious, than his past incarnations ever were.

Customer Reviews

Blu-ray full product details
Since Amazon never publishes the full details here they are:

Audio: Czech 5.1, English 5.1, English PCM 5.1, English Audio description track 5.1, Hungarian 5.1, Polish 5.1, Russian 5.1, Turkish 5.1

Subtitles: Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, English (Hard of hearing), English, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Polish, Romanian, Slovene, Turkish

High Intensity in High Definition
What is probably the best James Bond film is a fantastic introduction to the amazing quality of the Blu Ray High-Definition system. Its almost worth splashing out on a player and HD screen for this movie alone. The quality is truly stunning - you can even see the individual hairs on the mongoose in the fight scene with the cobra. Every shot is a joy, every close up revealing and, with uncompressed audio, the chase scene at the beginning and the collapsing building at the end made my living room move beneath me. In terms of the acting, I think Daniel Craig is the best Bond and Mads Mikkelsen is the perfect villian as Le Chiffre. In case you haven't realised, I liked the film and loved the Blu Ray technology !

The original reference disc
One of the oldest Blu-Ray discs is still one of the absolute best. "Casino Royale" has a dazzling PCM 5.1 soundtrack with some of the best Bond music in ages "You know my name" from Chris Cornell of The Black Crowes. Throughout the film the listener is spoiled with top-quality effects, superb use of surround speakers and a gargantuan subwoofer display: when the building crumbles late on, you'll think your own house is going down. And, last but not least, everything is perfectly balanced. There is a woeful trend emerging (chiefly amongst some DTS HD MA tracks e.g. "Public Enemies") for dialogue to be way too quiet and everything else way too loud.

"Casino Royale" is also a stunning visual experience. Everything is super-sharp and with such depth and plasticity that it becomes clear why some BD lovers talk about 'three-dimensionality' even before the release of 3-D Blu-Ray. There are several moments where you expect the figures to walk off the screen and into your room. Colours and contrasts are always spot-on, with Craig's eyes glowing an incredible blue that seem made to advertise the format!

And then the film is even better. I had given up on Bond movies as a pathetic joke many, many years ago. Suddenly the franchise is funny again (but no longer laughing at it) with a script that crackles with wit (Bond and Vesper on the train are superb after you digest the awful "Moneypenny" pun). Action sequences are more believable, the fiddly gadgets and associated campness are gone. Craig is a Bond who looks as though he could actually do this for a living and that gives the film a drive and a presence that the franchise had long lost. The film also offers a more human Bond than ever before, actually stopping to take the idea of killing seriously: the title music opens "If you take a life/Do you know what you'll give?" For me, he is beyond criticism and the best Bond ever bar none (unless you think the role should not be played so seriously, then it's Connery). But everyone is brilliant, the acting is the highest standard ever seen in a Bond movie.

Criticisms? The Sony product placement is beyond shameless. I know they spent a bundle on this, but do they have to risk ruining the hard-won reality and credibility of the film by fixing every camera-angle so that you even see the blank disc in the security camera recorder is a Sony? I also thought that Bond playing Texas hold 'em just because that is/was so popular on TV at the time was a bit suspect.

Aside from that, if for some strange reason you don't own this disc, buy it now. It really is still one of the top ten best Blu-Ray discs on the market, and still the disc I most often use to show off the format and related equipment to the curious.