 "Often underappreciated (Blu-Ray review)" | 2009-08-09 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2QR035HCPBSLC |
When I asked my readers (and my friends and co-workers) which of the Bond Blu-Ray releases I should watch first, they unanimously picked Live and Let Die. Obviously if you've been reading my reviews you know that I ignored them, purely because I didn't want to start off with Roger Moore's first outing as Bond, which is an...odd film, to say the least.
With Connery (and Lazenby) gone from the Bond picture, the franchise seemed keen on reinventing itself with Moore and his different take on the secret agent. Rather than the suave styles of Sean, or the gritty gist of George, Roger went with a new direction for the Bond films: humor.
Don't get me wrong, Connery had his moments, but largely Connery's remarks were one-liners thrown at just the right time -- not all the time. What goes best with humor? Apparently nonsensical camp and self referencing dialogue! Live and Let Die was Michael Meyer's biggest inspiration for Austin Powers; that should tell you all you need to know.
As I already said, the movie was an odd one for an action spy thriller, let alone one like Bond. Live and Let Die is, ultimately, a supernatural Blaxploitation 70s B film which happens to have James Bond as the lead. Without James, the movie would work great and be considered a cult 70s classic; with him, it enters a whole new level of entertaining. This was a side (and type) of Bond never seen before to this extent, and changed the direction of the franchise from a more serious role to what we saw until Casino Royale came out to bring the series back to earth.
Ultimately, it's a fun romp and very entertaining. Is it a great movie? No. Is it an entertaining movie? No doubt. It's one of my favorite Bond films not because it breaks ground or has the best story, but because it's the most fun to watch and has one of the most intriguing characters in any Bond film before or since, Baron Samedi. (Plus it has the best Bond theme and opening sequence ever!)
Live and Let Die gets a bad wrap with a lot of fans because it doesn't take itself as seriously as Connery's films did, but faulting it for that would be no different than faulting Connery for making Bond too imposing of a figure to take over. No one could replace Connery as James Bond, so instead Roger Moore gave us a new direction for Bond to travel-one where a number of fine actors could replicate his persona on screen, and most importantly, entertain viewers.
Like the other older Bond films released on Blu-Ray, the video transfer does nothing astounding but does bring the quality up several notches. Colors are more vibrant, there's less grain and noise, blacks are deeper, and the little things are noticeable for the first time since theaters. It's a great presentation for an older movie, and if you have an HDTV and are a fan of Bond (or fun) it's a must-own not only for the quality of the film itself, but for the quality of the transfer.
Sadly, the audio is lacking in this one compared to the other five releases. While it's technically 5.1 and lossless, the levels could have been tweaked better. There were more times during this film that I had to adjust the volume to hear speaking (and lessen effect noise to a tolerable level for neighbors) than any of the other releases. It's a nuisance at most playing Volume Coach, but it's still one a viewer shouldn't have to go through multiple times throughout the film.
Once again, the extras on this Blu-Ray release are nothing new and are identical to the extras featured on previous DVD releases of this movie. While a few images here and there have been cleaned up or made in higher quality, for the most part it's exactly the same as if you had your DVD version from four years ago in the Blu-Ray player. A shame, but given that every Blu-Ray in this set is in the same boat (except Die Another Day which features less than the DVD releases) it's nothing surprising and shouldn't deter you from making a purchase. |
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| "A humorous, intriguing little romp" | 2009-05-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: A16HJBQ8T8ZROP |
Although it's understandable why some dislike this film, it's nowhere near the trainwrecks of A View to a Kill, Tommorow Never Dies, or The World is Not Enough. Not exactly my favorite of the series, it's still one I definately enjoy watching.
Live and Let Die is a Bond that tends to grows on some people, not all. |
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| "A humorous, intriguing take on 007" | 2009-05-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: A16HJBQ8T8ZROP |
Although it's understandable why some dislike this film, it's nowhere near the trainwrecks of A View to a Kill or The World is Not Enough. Not exactly my favorite of the series, it's still one I enjoy watching from time to time.
Live and Let Die is a Bond that tends to grows on some people, not all. |
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| "Roger Moore's First Attempt" | 2009-04-23 |
| - Reviewed By swan847 |
Looking back, whenever the producers of Bond insert a new actor the movies tend to be some of the best for their respective era. Goldeneye was Pierce Brosnan's one great film. The Living Daylights was much better than License to Kill and Casino Royale was absolutely spectacular. Roger Moore's initial effort, on the other hand, came during a rather weak period following Sean Connery's one clunker, `Diamonds Are Forever' and preceding the strange and bland `Man With The Golden Gun'. The late 60's and early 70's were an era of experimentation for the U.S. and Britain and the Bond producers seemed to be getting with the times. None of the licensed Bond films are without redeeming qualities but some bury them deeper than others. LaLD has more than a few flaws but I have to say that it has improved with repeated viewings.
My biggest issue with the film is that when you get right down to it Mr. Big/Kananga is nothing more than a glorified drug dealer. It's no coincidence that two of my least favorite Bond films, this one and the abominable License to Kill both pit Bond against a drug kingpin. On the upside the casting is excellent and I have to give a special nod to Yaphet Kotto for his portrayal of Kananga and Jane Seymour is absolutely one of the most beautiful Bond girls ever. Julius Harris and Geoffry Holder were well cast as Kananga's henchmen Tee Hee and Baron Samedi. The one sore spot for me was the nauseating Clifton James as Sheriff Pepper who unfortunately makes an unwanted return in Golden Gun.
There are a few scenes in the movie that are done extremely well. One classic is when Bond walks into the all black `Filet o Soul' dressed in a long black coat with black gloves, parted haircut, speaking in his British accent. This may be the best fish out of water scene in all the Bond movies. After Bond stumbles into Mr. Big's trick booth and finds himself captured, Kotto delivers one of the best lines of any Bond movie. Bond begins to introduce himself and Big responds, `Names is for tombstones, baby! Y'all take this honkey out and WASTE HIM! NOW!' The line works absolutely perfect and establishes Mr. Big as a different kind of villain. Another great scene is when Mr. Big reveals that he and Kananga are the same person. Everything about it works, particularly Kananga testing of Solitaire to see whether or not she had slept with Bond. The plot of LaLD is a bit weak but the dialogue is well written. When Bond stumbles upon the villains underground lair Kananga is there waiting with Champaign in hand. `What shall we toast to?' he asks to which Bond replies, `An earthquake?' That is one of the few times I laughed out loud during a Bond movie.
Live and Let Die reminds me in some ways of the Man with the Golden Gun in that it seems a bit removed from the other Bond films. On some levels including the terrific soundtrack it works quite well. I was never a fan of Paul McCartney's title song but the rest of the music is great. I'm going to give the film a four and it may be a generous score but for some reason the film continues to grow on me unlike many of the more recent Brosnan films that seemed to lose something on repeated viewings.
There is one final scene I thought I would mention. After Bond is taken out to be `wasted' Kananga's henchmen take him to the slums of Harlem behind some buildings strewn with trash. One of the henchmen gives Bond a rough shove from behind prompting Bond to thank him. And he thanks him in a way that sounds 100% sincere. What really struck me about this scene was the realism of it. This was a legit, trash filled, crumbling section of Harlem. There is almost no color in this scene and the thought of Bond being executed in this terrible section of New York City always stuck with me. Again, the film is on the lower end of the Bond scale but there are moments that excel. |
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 "Do do that voodoo" | 2009-04-07 |
| - Reviewed By flipsy |
| LIVE AND LET DIE, the first James Bond film to star Ropger Moore, often gets a bad rap among Bond fans. Stiff and too reliant on the one-liners, Moore was almost no one's favorite James Bond, and this entry in the series is one of the darkest... except for the long chase sequences (one, an extremely extended sequence involving speedboats jumping over dry land and a redneck Louisiana sheriff, would make you want to cringe if it didn't seem like part of a different film altogether.) It's racial politics are also very strangely handled, drawing perhaps too much from Ian Fleming's own bizarre fears about black Jamaican and American culture exploited in his novel on which the film is largely based. But there's much to recommend the film for: even though it draws heavily from popular culture fantasies of voodoo, it is one of the genuinely scariest Bond films, and the dramatic Paul McCartney and Wings theme song is used to fine effect throughout the film, especially in the scary sequence when the likable Gloria Henry, as Bond's first ever African-American romantic partner, realizes she's about to be killed by the villain Katanga (Yaphet Kotto). Geoffrey Holder is also very effective as one of Katanga's henchmen who disguises himself as Baron Samedi, and is featured in the film's final chilling shot. And then there is an extended sequence in a weed overgrown alley between a series of abandoned Harlem tenements that features some of the most breathtaking Gothic images in films of the period. Finally, in Jane Seymour as the prophetic Solitaire, it has one of the most memorable of all Bond women, particularly in that she's one of the more helpless ones (almost all the best Bond women other than Seymour are the ones who can actually fight, like Ursula Andress and Honor Blackman). True, her Seventies couture is often quite laughable, as is one especially unfortunate chase sequence with Bond driving a double-decker bus and Seymour for some reasons sitting sedately in the back (for reasons never entirely explained); but she has a lovely voice that sounds properly uncanny when she reads her magic Tarot cards. For all its faults, this is a hard film to forget. |
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| "Live or Let Die once again" | 2009-04-03 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2VGROGIRL4WIZ |
| The movie has been cleaned up for Blue Ray but the biggest change from the regular DVD is the sound. The DTS sound is fantastic. |
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