Live and Let Die [DVD] [1973]

I'm making my way through all the recent Bond on Blu-Ray releases, and strangely enough as I move through the franchise from the oldest (Dr.No), the image quality seems to be very slowly deteriorating. That's not to say that the image is poor; it is in fact excellent, but Dr.No's was astonishing and is over a decade older. The colours appear a Little muted compared to the earlier films, and the picture is more grainy, particularly in the garish red walls of Mr. Big's Fillet of Soul hideout. However, there is plenty of detail in the close-ups of the actors faces, and the materials of the clothing are rendered so well you could almost feel them. In general it is still a great improvement over the Ultimate Edition DVD (and that was pretty good for a start off).

The sound however seems to be improving as I move through the series (apart from a little dip for From Russia With Love), and for the first time Live and Let Die has a properly working surround treatment to my ears. There is real activity in the LF channel, with explosions now having real impact, and there is some decent use of the rear speakers as well, with only a few occasions sounding a little contrived (the birdsong in the Bayou scene for example). Effects steering is also very believable. The score is delivered beautifully, with plenty of audible detail particularly in the percussion, it also swells nicely into the rears to envelope you as you watch. I did notice however that in a couple of scenes the music drops into mono (the boat race just before the disruption of the wedding for example), this is pretty noticeable and sounds a little strange.

I didn't experience the worryingly long loading times I had with the earlier Bond films, which is an improvement. The extras appear to be identical to the Ultimate Editions, although the major docs have been bumped to HD which is nice.

I may be biased because this was the first Bond film I saw, and the film that introduced me to the full cinema experience, but I rate this as the best Bond movie. With a new lead, all concerned seem to be trying that little bit harder, the style of the film is pitched just right - not too much humour to outweigh the sense of menace, and the speedboat chase must rate as one of the top action sequences of the series - wild, yet still not quite implausible, which is one of the problems with the more recent films - constantly out to outdo themselves until the stunts are so ridiculous that all credibility is lost. Also the bad guys with their sinister voodoo scarecrows add a chilling touch that few of these films have. all this and the priceless Sheriff JW Pepper... stop reading this rubbish and just buy it!

Fondly remembered by many as Moore's best effort, you have to be in the right mood to see this today and willing to make a mental trip back in time to the early 70s when it was made. It's probably dated more than almost any other Bond film - even bearing in mind that the seventies was the decade that fashion forgot, the sideburns and flares on display here are pretty vicious and, as the first film since Dr No to enter Bond's flat, it is deeply distressing to note that he is a slave to Formica and has chicken-shaped pate moulds on the wall. As swell as being the first Bond film since Goldfinger not to be shot in 2.35:1 widescreen, more significantly it also marks the point at which the series started imitating other trends rather than setting them - in this case blaxploitation pictures, which is quite an achievement you're your hero is white. Beyond its voodoo trappings little of the plot of Ian Fleming's novel survives as Shaft - sorry, Bond - takes on the drug-pushing president of a small island in Jamaica, but it's certainly one of the most action-packed of the series and never outstays its welcome the way some later efforts would.

Taking barely 11 minutes to get into some serious raised eyebrow action, there is perhaps a bit too much of Simon Templar in Moore's performance, but there is also a harder edge to his Bond that was soon smoothed away. He has a very cynical attitude towards Jane Seymour's virginal Solitaire), using her callously as bait. In a way it's a blessing that the film was not tailored specifically for Moore as later efforts would be, relying more on his rarely tapped abilities as an actor than his star persona. It doesn't hurt that director Guy Hamilton visibly raises his game from his lazy helming of Diamonds Are Forever.

This also shows the first sign of breaking up set pieces to add throwaway visual gags. This frequently detracts from the nifty and still very impressive speedboat chase, possibly the best sustained action sequence in the series until the free-running chase in Casino Royale, as Clifton James does his Deputy Dawg impersonation while the odd bit of slapstick comedy removes much of the threat. At times it is hard to tell which lines are meant to be funny and which ones aren't. "Great disguise, Bond - white face in Harlem" is pretty obviously the former, but surely the unintentional dialogue high point has to be Tony Award-winning Shakespearian actor Yaphet Kotto - curiously seeming to give three performances, starting out as Marlon Brando before easing into the genial villainy - uttering the immortal "Names is for tombstones, baby. Take him out and waste him."

The extras from the original single-disc DVD release are all retained for this repackaged Ultimate Edition 2-disc set - including the documentary with amazing outtakes of the alligator stunt going wrong that prove that the filmmakers used real gators - as well as some welcome new additions. The 1964 extract from Millicent Martin's TV show with a young Moore sending up James Bond is fun, and there's an intriguing 1973 documentary shot on the set. The print may be a damaged mixture of faded color and black and white footage, but the content more than compensates, from Moore quipping "If Guy Hamilton thinks I'm doing that again, he can get the other feller back, I'm telling you" to the depressing sign of the times that even then the film industry was still partially segregated, with the Black Stuntmen's Association having to prove that you didn't need blacked-up white stuntmen to double for black actors. The trailers are among the best of the series, promising 'More excitement, more action, more danger and more - much more - Roger Moore.' Better still, the legendary Milk Marketing Board commercial that was so cruelly undermined by Moore's entertaining account of filming, Roger Moore as James Bond 007 (A Pan original), is also included, featuring much manufactured footage of the cast downing pints of milk after dangerous stunts!

Highly recommended