Arguably the best Bond outing (Goldeneye (DVD))

Member Name: slinkysteve

Product:	Goldeneye (DVD)
Date:	18/04/01 (139 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great film, excellent extras

Disadvantages: Less extras than other Bond DVD's

I can still see all the key events in this movie: Fast car chase, Q's gadgets, Loads of technology and the laugh out loud scene involving M (Judi Dench) putting Bond in his place "I think you are a sexist misogynist dinosaur, a relict of the cold war...." This film fully brings Bond up to date for the 90's and Brosnan plays it beautifully.

The Story
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There is a new technological threat. A satellite device code-named "Goldeneye". It is a nuclear bomb, set off above the Earth's atmosphere which concentrates an electromagnetic blast onto a 30mile target area destroying anything with an electronic chip. Effectively sending the area into the dark ages. When the Goldeneye key is stolen, London is the next target. Only one man can save the day - James Bond, but he will have to face an old colleague if London is to be saved.

The DVD
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As this is primarily a DVD review I'm compelled to write about the disc itself rather than the film contained, so if you're looking for a comprehensive review of the movie, please look in the films and movies section.

• Picture Quality:
As this is a relatively recent film we are treated to a top-notch high quality picture with those out there luck enough to own a high resolution widescreen set (not me unfortunately!) benefiting even more with an upgraded resolution courtesy of the way MGM have encoded it. Naturally it is in a 2.35:1 screen ratio but hopefully this will not degrade the enjoyment of the film (unless you have a 14" screen.)

• Sound Quality:
Dolby Digital 5.1 is the order of the day and boy is it tasty. I only with I had the necessary equipment to fully enjoy it. Even from just a Nicam TV the sound is still perfect with all the explosions and gun shots lovely to the human ear.

• Subtitles:
Subtitles come thick and fast on this DVD with English + 10 other languages (most
of Europe) except French, German and Spanish. Some DVD's I've seen edit the subtitles. This doesn't seem to though I should point out that I've only watched certain parts with subtitles enabled.

The Extras
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As with all of the Bond DVD's, Goldeneye comes with a myriad of features. Though it doesn't contain as many as "The World is Not Enough" it does contain some very interesting features. As expected the Goldeneye music video is included sung by the diva herself Tina Turner - full screen and no notable picture faults. There are 2 trailers for the film and for once they are not almost identical, and are quite entertaining. 12 Television ads also accompany it and they are pretty good. It's really interesting to see all the promotion for the film and think "I never saw THAT advert".

There is also a making of Goldeneye included which I thought could have been a little longer and more involved in the movie. This contains interviews with the cast as well as a few behind the scenes video. An audio commentary by the director and producer and "The world of 007" documentary also feature. This last item sounds familiar but I can't vouch for whether it is repeated on another of the Bond DVD's as I've not seen it yet. The booklet contained within the DVD box has a little feature on the tank chase scene and also some interesting facts about the film.

Overall
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In all there is about 3.5 to 4 hours of video contained on this single disc. Now I'd like to see how Braveheart got away with 2 discs when it had barely any extras, granted the film was 3hrs, but still I think they wanted 2 discs to up the price and desirability of the release. After all the American release came on only on disc and contained the same items.

Goldeneye is one of my favourites of the Bond series, partly because I fell in love with the N64 game and also because
everything is just over the top to the nth degree. Look at the girls, the cars, the gadgets then look me in the eye and tell me you don't enjoy it.

I bet you can't.

Summary: