What have they done to the sound!!!
Prior to the most recent Bonds starring Daniel Craig this was my all time favourite film.
Even after 31 years its still a great story, if a little wooden in places.
The bond music is an integral part of the experience for me and obviously others going by the number of JB CD compilations available.

Carly Simons' title song has always appeared somewhere on an IPod playlist of mine so I was amazed at the quality of the sound at the beginning of this version of the film.

A few minutes at the begining of the DVD was spent infoming the viewer of the improvements made to both the picture (excellent) and the soundtrack (oh dear!).As the film openng credits roll Carly sounds like she is singing in a carpark as there is so much echo and no warmth at all.
The impression is that the producers have bought a ghetto blaster with one of those surround function buttons and butchered it.

Bond 77 fairs no better.
On the original we are treated to 2 warm base guitar notes as Bond exits the ski chalet and in your face electro/guitar as he dispatches the persuing bad guys.

This version turns it into a piece of elevator music somewhere in the background. Gone is the warmth and impact vital for this scene especially as he nears the cliff edge, jumps and the chute opens - such a great moment.

The Mojabe club is an actual imporovement as this always seemed a little distorted in the original and the pyramid scene (sound)is superb.

Why oh why get such key elements of a classic so wrong? Especially as punters have been able to buy upteen versions over the years.

What a chump you may say. You should have bought one of the others! But who wouldn't buy an Ultimate edition!


double-'o' heaven in '77!
1974: Cubby Broccolli, with his taste for lavish finery and all the luxurious leisures in life, pored uneasily over the less than earth-shattering returns on 'GOLDEN GUN': while far from a box-office flop, the monetary---and critical-----rewards were pale in comparison with earlier, superior 007 entries.

The public clearly clamoured for spectacle, as the dynamics for cinema audiences was truly changing, especially with 'young guns ' on the block [SPIELBERG and LUCAS] snapping at BROCCOLLI'S heels, eating inroads into his once-profitable cinematic series.

Re-thinking his strategy with an almost militaristic precision, CUBBY spent much time and resources on this next BOND outing, neccessitating a 3-year gap between movie releases.

Opting to grab the audience by the scruff of the neck, and bludgeon them senseless thereon, 'BROCCERS' proceeded to do exactly that, with the exhillerating, goose-pimple inducing 'suicidal' ski-jump off a perilous cliff: this rates as THE definitive pre-title sequence, which segues successfully into the somewhat 'stuck -in-time' theme song, which nevertheless suits this particular film nicely.

MOORE'S interpretation here is still 'quipsville UK' but the dangers and glossy melodramas are treated with relative respect, the out-and-out flippancy [which angered many BOND purists] more a product of the 80s outings. MOORE has touted this extravaganza as his own personal favourite, and for sheer spectacle and cutting-edge [1977-style] action octane, remains a high water mark of the MOORE contributions, and of the series itself.

BARBARA BACH cuts a rigid dash as an initially-frosty, RUSSKIE ice-maiden, who eventually warms to BOND'S western quips, and emerges as a beautiful, memorable 007 heroine. RICHARD KIEL'S 'JAWS' character is a worthy, fitting adversory and BOND opponent, coming on as a TERMINATOR-like unstoppable killing-machine, and works very well within the format of this film. 'BLACK HEART' RUM beauty CAROLINE MUNROE also radiates brriefly, though her character is also 'terminated' all too quickly.

The 'underwater lotus' sequence impressed deeply in summer 1977, and although it has been easily superceded by today's ever more polished special effects, still retains a splendid period charm, cementing the craft's status as one of the most memorable BOND vehicles ever. Excellent production design in baddie STROMBERG'S vast underwater fortress, 'ATLANTIS' , which rises from the sea with a 'WAR of the WORLDS' vigour. STROMBERG may not be among the most memorable BOND villian, but his outlandish ambitions yield the usually impressive mayhem so beloved of BROCCOLLI.

A climatic action sequence [with a nautical, submarine-docking backdrop] is choreographed almost like a symphonic ballet, with endless flying bodies, machine-gun casualties and bomb victims who keep their heads and limbs intact, without so much as a drop of blood spilled......goodness only knows what a veteran who experienced all-out WAR in the real world would make of all this!

This enjoyable, lavish outing ends with BOND and BACH cavorting in a luxurious marine-craft which bobs boyountly on the vast Atlantic seas, and the credits roll as a rousing reprise of the theme song [belted out, Military-style] concluding a superior, nicely entertaining entry in the BOND stakes.


BROCCOLLI sat triumphantly as he viewed the finished, pre-view cut; he knew instinctively he had successfully rejuvenated the slipping franchize back to it's winning level........this was clearly the direction to adhere to, and his frequent visits to SAVILLE ROW tailors, and his craving for the high life he so aching desired, would remain a reasurringly long-term reality.

One of Moore's best
Roger Moore's third one, at 50 years old, he was good! The script from Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum is excellent, the directing from Lewis Gilbert finally proved that he was a good director because Moonraker and You Only Live Twice weren't very good. I own the Ultimate Edition 2-disc and it's superb for me. The film itself is wonderful and comes in second on my ranking of Roger Moore films. The one thing I found confusing was Stromberg himself. Curt Jurgens played him well, but his normal megalomaniacs' plot was different to that of SPECTRE and Ernst Stavro Blofeld. It was confusing, which is why I have deducted a star. Live And Let Die was better for the simple reason that it's plot was easier to understand. Not my favourite Bond film and not my favourite Moore one either, but it comes about seventh in my list.

The Spy Who Loved Me - A Review
Pretty much an epic greatest hits pack for Bond featuring everything you would expect in the Bond films. Roger Moore returns once again to cement his role as Bond who has to stop evil maniac, Karl Stromberg from destroying the world. Featuring the ever famous Jaws and one of the best Bond girls, pre-creds sequence, henchmen and finale in a Bond film. If you are to watch any one Bond film in your life, make it this one.

Moore finds his groove as Bond
By this 1977 movie, the Roger Moore era of movies had found their direction and formula. The same as Goldfinger represented the coming together of ingredients for Connery, here Moore is at his most relaxed in the role, but still young enough to get away with it, and the sets, the villain, the set pieces, all create the mood for the definitive Moore Bond movie.
Alas, the definitive Bond movie has aged badly, unless you are able to relish the campness of the massive (and still impressive) sets and the script apparently written by a three year old (GIRL: `James, I need you!'... BOND: `..so does England!'). It's a miracle that medical attention was not required to remove tongues from cheeks...
Clearly, the mood of the times was for escapism and fantasy - and this movie fit the mould well. Barbara Bach is one of the most beautiful Bond girls, and actually plays quite a strong role, even though her acting lessons seem to have been taken at a carpentry school instead of a drama school. The signature stunt at the beginning of the movie, where Bond skis off a cliff and after a few heartstopping moments the parachute bursts open to reveal the Union Jack, is sublime lunacy that raised cheers in the cinema in 1977. Curt Jurgens is inspired casting to lend a degree of gravitas to the megalomaniac Stromberg. An additional bonus is the first appearance of Jaws, played by Richard Kiel - you can't help feeling that the scenes where he keeps trying and failing to get 007 leave you rooting for Jaws more than Bond. It's obvious why they brought him back in the next movie. The music has shifted in tone from John Barry's classic riffs and stringy feel, to an electronic mood, which again exaggerates the 70's feel of the movie... and let's not start on the ladies hairstyles... And the character of Bond is changing. More one liners than ever to be sure.. but compare Connery in the very similar action scene at the end of You Only Live Twice (same director) - there, Connery moves gracefully throught the milieu almost like a dancer, dealing with the enemy only as and when he needs to to achieve his goal, leaving the fighting and blowing up to others. Here, Moore has to be at the centre of everything, and lead all the action scenes. It's a trend which takes the character into fantasy more than ever before.
The Ultimate Edition has the crystal clear picture and sound we have come to expect, and all the extras from the Special Edition, including the essential documentary Inside The Spy Who Loved Me, and the commentary of the movie - all excellent value. New features include a brand new commentary by Moore, and an abundance of minor period featurettes, such as the 007 sound stage dedication, opened by Harold Wilson, the ex -PM.
This is a movie much parodied, and obviously camp and dated, and yet that is its whole appeal - it was at the time entirely original (well, except the plot elements stolen from other Bond movies) and full of iconic items and moments - the Lotus Esprit, the Pyramids light show, the first movie appearance of a jetski, Jaws... It is a movie which in no way tries to be timeless - it is very much of the time, and as such it's a small treasure.... as long as you know what you are letting yourself in for.

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