Review of Thunderball: Special Edition (James Bond)

Introduction

He`s back. James Bond returned to our cinema screens once more in "Thunderball". The fourth Bond film, but one which differed from its predecessors, in so much as it wanted to be a big action film - the underwater scenes and the rocket pack pre-credits sequence are notable examples.

If the plot and the story outlined above sound familiar, it`s probably because they are. Thunderball was remade in 1983 as "Never Say Never Again", released by a rival company to compete with Octopussy. There`s a long and complicated legal story behind it all, along with lots of other reasons, but I`ll stay away from all that.

Video

A 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer - a first for Bond as it was the first to be made this way. Many of us will be familiar with Bond films from endless TV repeats, so it`s nice to see it in the correct ratio at last.

And it looks very good for its age. Hardly any artefacts, not much grain and some great colour at times. It`s not always this good, and does have some washed out moments, but it`s very commendable for such an old film.

Audio

The soundtrack has had a full DD5.1 remix. Fans seem to be divided over the remixing issue, and the results can be variable, but in this case it`s a pretty good attempt. Some good surround effects are used and the score also seems to benefit from the remix. The dialogue isn`t always perfect but on the whole it`s a damn fine effort.

Features

It`s a Bond DVD, so that means loads of extras, which is always good to see.

There are two commentary tracks featuring cast & crew (Connery et al are absent once more) and they are very interesting to listen to, as there`s plenty of information about the film to be gleaned from them. The only problem is the presence of what can only be described as a "Bondspotter" who does go rather over the top at times!

There are three documentaries. "Inside Thunderball" discusses the various versions of the film, including cuts made, scenes not used, re-dubbing of certain sections and other things that have happened to the film over the years.

"The Making Of Thunderball" is another good making of documentary, narrated excellently by Patrick Macnee. Plenty of background information on offer and it covers the genesis of the film from storyboard to production.

"The Thunderball Phenomenon" focuses on the marketing and publicity that surrounded the film, and features some great old footage. You might be surprised at some of the Bond merchandise that was available - if you thought that gimmicky movie tie-in products were new, think again!

Look out also for trailers, TV spots, radio spots and a massive stills gallery.

Conclusion

It may not be the best Bond film (in fact it`s quite a way short of that), but Thunderball is another outstanding example of how to treat an old film on DVD. The picture looks good, the sound has had a credible remix and it`s just overflowing with extras.

If you`re an ardent Bond fan you`ll probably want it anyway, and there`s plenty of added material for the casual fan.