- Actors: David Niven, Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, Orson Welles, Joanna Pettet
- Directors: John Huston, Joseph McGrath, Ken Hughes, Richard Talmadge, Robert Parrish
- Writers: Ben Hecht, Billy Wilder
- Format: AC-3, Collector's Edition, Colour, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language English, French
- Subtitles: English, Spanish
- Region: Region 1 (US and Canada DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 2.35:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: Unrated (US MPAA rating. See details.)
- Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
- DVD Release Date: 21 Oct 2008
- Run Time: 131 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
- ASIN: 6302470021
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 93,040 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
John Huston was only one of five directors on Casino Royale, the expensive, all-star 1967 spoof of Ian Fleming's 007 lore. David Niven is the aging Sir James Bond, called out of retirement to take on the organised threat of SMERSH and pass on the secret-agent mantle to his idiot son (Woody Allen). The amazing cast (Orson Welles, Peter Sellers, Deborah Kerr and others) is wonderful to look at, but the film is not as funny as it should be, and the romping even starts to look mannered after a while. The musical score by Burt Bacharach, however, is a keeper. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
The idea of more than one actor playing the role of James Bond would have seemed very whacky when this film was made - as Sean Connery was seen my many to actually BE James Bond. However, when this movie came out during Sean Connery's final 60's Bond adventure going head to head with 'You Only Live Twice' it became apparent that even without Connery the Bond brand still had box office potential. Without 'Casino Royale', it is possible that the best Bond movie 'OHMSS' would not have been made. Today of course we have had seven actors playing the role of Bond and the character changes his face almost as regular as that other bastion of Britishness a certain TV Time Lord. Therefore Casino Royale can be considered as remarkably prescient in casting almost every character in the movie as a 'James Bond' - during the climax a number of performing seals and a Typhoo Tea chimpanzee dressed in a tuxedo and wearing a toupee are identified as 007 - I am not sure about the seals but the chimp has always struck me as a rather nasty but hilarious visual gag at the expense of Mr Connery. This film has had for me a fascination bordering on obsession for details regarding the production, the editing and the missing scenes and what was contained in the original screenplay before Peter Sellers left. Finally, the 40th Anniversary Edition DVD is my dream come true as it features an comprehensive documentary detailing the making of the film, and also features interviews with some of the directors and actors and actresses who participated in it. There are some real gems of anecdotes both in the documentary and on the commentary track. My only disappointment is that the deleted scenes were not included on the DVD - but it appears they have long been destroyed. I had often heard that there was a spoof gun barrel scene with a champagne bottle cork popping but this too is missing. There are those who hate this film, but there are also those who like me absolutely adore it as a work of post-modern genius. The bold primary colours, the massive and imaginative sets - the classic and unsurpassed soundtrack by Bert Bacharach, the casting of Peter Sellers, David Niven, Woody Allen, Orson Welles etc make this a must see movie for any fan of cinema. This is a Bond film whether you like it or not it just TOO MUCH FOR ONE JAMES BOND!
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Released in 1967, Casino Royale started life as a serious Bond film, designed to rival (and capitalise on) the successful Eon series. When these plans came to nothing, the film was instead touted as a spy spoof, to star Peter Sellers in the Bond role, but due to Sellers' unprofessionalism (leaving before his scenes were finished) and various other production nightmares, the film gradually mutated into the overblown tribute to 1960s' pop culture that we all know, but don't necessarily love. However, despite its reputation as an unfunny, overblown disaster of a film, the fact is that Casino Royale is actually quite an enjoyable movie. Holding the whole thing together with his customary charm and good humour, David Niven (playing the `original' James Bond) gives perhaps his most impressive performance of the 1960s; when Niven starts saying lines like `be careful, that's my loose kneecap' and `it's depressing that the words `secret agent' have become synonymous with `sex maniac'', you can't help but buy into the film, and laugh with it, rather than at it. Barbara Bouchet, playing Miss Moneypenny, is one of the most attractive women I have ever seen, and the film features a veritable parade of gorgeous sixties' starlets wearing very little indeed. John Huston, William Holden, and Orson Welles do great cameos (I'll take Welles' Le Chiffre over `Nads' Mikkelsen's any day), and Woody Allen, back when he was funny, has some good lines as Niven's nephew Jimmy Bond. The sets and art design for the film are absolutely astounding, and tons of British comedy actors appear in minor roles, some funny (Geoffrey Bayldon, Ronnie Corbett), some not (Bernard Cribbins). But the best thing about the film is the music; Burt Bacharach's score for Casino Royale must be one of the most underrated in film history, and is annoyingly catchy. All in all, Casino Royale is by no means a great film, but it is a harmless and funny one.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
One star is not for either of the films which share this title but for Amazon for combining the graphics of the 1960's spoof starring David Niven with the cast of the 2006 Bond movie starring Daniel Craig. Come on Amazon - this item may be unavailable but which of the two films are you trying to list?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4:3 screen letterboxed! :-(
This is a review of the DVD of the David Niven movie Casino Royale. The disk is recorded in a 4:3 aspect ratio then black bands fill the top and bottom of the screen so that there... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr. S. C. Martin
Have no fear, Bond is here!
Casino Royale(1967) is one of the funniest films of all time. The cast can't be beaten as it includes Peter Sellers, Bernard Cribbins, Ronnie Corbett, Ursula Andress, David Niven,... Read more
Published 10 months ago by j.r
More Panther than 007 - still excessive but fun nonsense
A parody of not only Bond films but on film itself, Casino Royale nods and bows to all sorts of the genre, from sci-fi to westerns and everything between. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Tim Kidner
Dear oh dear
I love 1960s British movies, I love the work of Peter Sellers, Woody Allen, David Niven, Orson Welles, and I have a high tolerance level for period zaniness. Read more
Published 16 months ago by MallingFox
I'VE ALWAYS HAD A SOFT SPOT FOR THIS FILM...
True, it's nothing like the movies produced as part of the "official" James Bond series, which is why I suspect it has earned such derision from film critics and, from what I can... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mr. L. F. G. Ballinger
Fabulous, hilarious
It's not James Bond as we know the genre - and does not try to be - it's a great spoof but also a terrifically funny film in its own right.
Published 20 months ago by Marran Grey
Dreadful
Quite simply this is one of the worst films I have had the misfortune to watch - and I want my two hours of wasted life back. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Mr. T. Philipson
Comic bond a bomb
Often enjoyed David Niven and Peter Sellars Humour in the past but this has a cast full of stars and nothing else. Humour is smug,forced and and I didn't laugh once.
Published 22 months ago by Stu
Rubbish
I wouldn't normally write reviews as it's all so subjective. However, this was so bad I feel compelled to tell you. I wanted to turn it off after 30 minutes but persevered. Read more
Published on 7 April 2008 by Mr. M. Wells
It seemed like a good idea at the time...
Oh, the pain, the pain of the first 45 minutes and the last 25 of the 1967 epic spoof version of Casino Royale, which try too very hard to be wacky and with it and funny to be... Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2007 by Trevor Willsmer
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