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Casino Royale
(1967) is a bit like marmite - you either love it or loathe it! To many
Bond fans it is an embarrassment and dismissed because it isn't really a
'Bond' film, but they will happily accept Never Say Never Again
into the canon because it stars Sean Connery, and was a so-called 'serious'
attempt at making a Bond film outside of the official series. Let's face
it Casino Royale shouldn't be taken seriously because it's a comedy, but
given the choice I'd still watch it over the ill-conceived Connery comeback any
day. The story behind how the 1967 version of Ian Fleming's first James
Bond novel was made would make a fascinating film in itself, and much of
this background is covered in the 'making of' documentary which features
on the new Collector's Edition DVD.
Along with an informative
audio commentary by Steven Jay Rubin and John Cork, a 5-part documentary on
the making of Casino Royale is the only new addition to this DVD.
Disappointingly the original 1954 TV version of Casino Royale starring Barry
Nelson and an interview with co-director Val Guest, which appeared on the
2002 release, have not been carried over. Completists who own the earlier release will no doubt want to hang on to this in order
to create their own 'ultimate' two-disc edition of the film! For no
apparent reason the 40-minute 'making of' feature is split into five parts
(Bond, James Bond?; A Three Ring Circus; More Directors, More Stars;
The Big Climax; It’s a Wrap!), and whilst not as slick as the some of
documentaries for the official series, it makes up for this by not being
the usual backslapping congratulatory affair which appears on most DVDs.
The interviewees include co-directors Val Guest (whose comments were
recorded shortly before his death aged 94 in 2006) and Joseph McGrath, who
is very frank about his relationship with Peter Sellers, and his own dismissal from the film. McGrath provides the most input to this backstory
with additional comments from Joanna Pettet who plays Mata Bond in the
film, Daliah Lavi (The Detainer) and Jacqueline Bisset (Miss Goodthighs).
Background to the more technical aspects of making Casino Royale is
provided by assistant director Roy Baird, Nic Roeg (Additional
Photography) and Alex Thomson (Camera Operator). The theatrical
trailer and an accompanying photo gallery round out this new edition that also includes
six small art cards featuring the Italian poster artwork by Giorgio
Olivetti.
The DVD
transfer of the film appears to be identical to the 2002 release which
perfectly showcases Jack Hildyard's excellent cinematography and the
imaginative production design of Michael Stringer. The soundtrack has been
remixed for 5.1 (the original mono option is retained for purists) and
makes Burt Bacharach's brilliant score sound all the more alluring.
The
Casino Royale Collector's Edition DVD is currently only available in
Region 1 (USA/CANADA) but can be easily imported for those with
multi-region DVD players. |
