Sean Connery:

James Bond-Casino Royale ASIN:6303873480 Our Price: $7.99 Customer's Rating: 5 Summary: Wrong Royale Comments: The Editorial Review is referring to a different version of Casino Royale from 1967 starring Peter Sellers and David Niven this version is from 1954, it is black & white and stars Barry Nelson. It was originally a live TV movie on CBS Climax. I reccomend this movie to any James Bond fan.

Diamonds are Forever ASIN:630238060X Our Price: $9.94 Customer's Rating: 4 Summary: Moore inside of Connery-not a bad thing Comments: DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER may star Sean Connery but this movie has got the feel and style of the Roger Moores movies stamped on it. This is not terrible, but to some it is. In the film, after finally vanquishing his hated nemisis Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Bond (Connery-starting to look a little rough) is given the rather uninteristing assignment of looking into the world of smuggled diamonds. Anyone who comes close to the gems in question has been killed by an unsavory pair of killers. While posing as a smuggler, Bond meets up with lady smuggler Tiffany Case in Amsterdam, the two travel to Las Vegas to learn that a reculsive millionaire locked inside a hotel penthouse is stockpiling the diamonds, possibly in preperation for a world devastation plot. Don't expect to see much of the spy procedures or layered detective style work from the previous Bond films. DIAMONDS goes straight for fun with a fist fight inside of an elevator, a car chase over sand dunes in the desert complete with atc's, cars and a moon buggy, another car chase through Las Vega's glittering streets, a chopsockey match with two amazons and a helicopter shoot out on an oil rig off the coast of Baja California. Sadly though some of the performances by the stars is not up to par with the fun. Charles Gray is too stuffy as Blofeld, Jill St. John is a little dim very self centered. and Norman Burton is just terrible as Felix. Connery on the other hand from his vacation from the role is a little more refreshed but his age is starting to show and Jimmy Dean is surprisingly good in his role. To sum it up DIAMONDS won't dot the record books for movie making in the series, but it is good fun.

Dr. No ASIN:B0000068SI Our Price: $14.95 Customer's Rating: 4 Summary: James Bond Rules! Comments: Before there was Pierce Brosnan in "Tomorrow Never Dies", before Roger Moore in "For Your Eyes Only", and before George Lazenby in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", everyone must remember that there was Sean Connery in the first installment of the 007 series, "Dr. No". And though I must admit that all the other James Bond movies were wonderful, "Dr. No" is still one of the top of my favorite Bond movie list. "Dr. No" begins in Jamaica, where an agent and his secretary are mysteriously killed. James Bond (Sean Connery) is sent to investigate. With the help of CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jack Lord) and a local fisherman Quarrel (John Kitzmiller). After encountering tarantulas, snipers, and in a car chase with a group of men, the trail finally leads up to Crab Key Island. While trying to stop the sinister Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman), Bond meets up with the beautiful Honey Ryder. Together, they try to stop Dr. No from destroying an American space ship. There are many reasons why you would like this movie. First, you would immediately fall in love with the character of James Bond with the wonderful acting skills of Sean Connery. Also, besides the Felix Leiter in "For Your Eyes Only", Jack Lord's portrayal of him is I think the best of all. There is a reason why I gave only 4 stars for this movie. It's because maybe back in 1963, the action and suspense would have been really thrilling for people then, but now... after watching movies like "Matrix", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and the newer Bond movies with Pierce Brosnan, the action isn't that appealing. But that is the only reason I would give it 4 stars. But I'm telling you, if you're a fan of James Bond, don't ever miss the very first 007 movie, "Dr. No".

From Russia with Love ASIN: 6303651461 Our Price: $9.94 Customer's Rating: 5 Summary: From Russia With Fun! Comments: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE is without a doubt probably the best James Bond movie and is further proof that the earliar Bond movies are indeed superior to the later Bond movies that would sadly suffer from too many wild stunts and gimmick bloat. Great, believeable action scenes and a good spy story power this film instead of special effects. In this, his second outing James Bond (Sean Connery) is sent to Turkey to bring back a powerful Russian coding machine that England has been wanting for a long time. Unfortunatly the criminal group S.P.E.C.T.R.E. wants the coding machine too and have set up a plan to have Bond retrieve the device so that their agent, Donald Grant (Robert Shaw) can steal it from Bond and then kill him. S.P.E.C.T.R.E. hopes that these events with the stolen coding machine will end the Cold War between England and Russia. Connery definetly shows off his grit as Bond in the explosive, action filled finale of this film as he easily and takes on the dangers that are closing in around him as he gets closer to home, this movie was proof that he was the best Bond. If you want to see a great, classic action movie as well as see the kind of spy that James Bond used to be, see FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. It's terrific.

Goldfinger ASIN:630365147X Our Price: $9.94 Customer's Rating: 5 Summary: Bond Breaks Out To The Big Time In "Goldfinger" Comments: "Goldfinger", released in 1964 is the third film of the James Bond series and like the two preceding film in the series, Goldfinger is based on Ian Fleming's novel of the same name. Sean Connery returns as James Bond and many of the players from the first two films reprise their roles including Bernard Lee as "M", Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny, and Desmond Llewelyn as "Q". Terence Young, however, does not return as the director in this outing, replaced by Guy Hamiltion. The storyline of Goldfinger represents the first time (and the last time until "Live and Let Die") that a Bond film does not involve a scheme from the evil organization SPECTRE. Instead, it appears that Bond will be investigating what he terms a "simple smuggling matter". The crime is gold smuggling and the target is rich tycoon named Auric Goldfinger, a man Bond has had a previous and somewhat unpleasant encounter with. Bond begins to penetrate the world of Goldfinger and to uncover his smuggling methods, but he discovers that smuggling is but a sideline to Goldfinger for Bond discovers that Goldfinger is planning the greatest crime in history, to rob the gold vaults of Fort Knox! Captured, Bond must play a deadly game to foil Goldfinger's plans. Goldfinger can be considered the first big budget Bond film and the production shows it off with shooting locations in Britain, Switzerland and, for the first time, America. Director Guy Hamilton gives Goldfinger a much broader, brassier feel than the earlier Bonds. Shirley Bassey sets the mood in the opening credits with her award winning redition of the "Goldfinger" theme song and the mood is continued with the film score. Several other changes are made under Hamilton's watch. Bond's spy gadgets make their true debut in this film, topped off with the trademark Aston Martin loaded with a full array of weapons. The armorer Q's character is established fully for the first time, displaying his genius for developing the tools of spycraft and displaying his disdain for Bond and his antics. One unusual tradition began with Goldfinger when Bond's CIA contact Felix Leiter, played by Jack Lord in "Dr. No" was played instead by Cec Linder. From this point on (until "Licence To Kill"), no actor ever played Felix Leiter a second time. Despite the changes, German actor Gert Frobe continued the tradition of ruthless, driven villians with his excellent potrayal of the title role and Harold Sakata played what was probably one of the ultimate evil henchmen of the movies, the silent and deadly Oddjob. The cast, interesting enough, contains several actors from familiar British TV series. Shirley Eaton, who plays Goldfinger's girlfriend Jill Masterson, was a regular guest star on "The Saint" whose title role was played by a future Bond star named Roger Moore. Honor Blackman, who plays Goldfinger's personal pilot Pussy Galore (could you really get away saying that in a '60s movie?), was well known as Cathy Gale of "The Avengers" a series from which a number of its stars would appear in later Bond films. The original Bond formula created by Terence Young and the new elements from Guy Hamiltion combined with a suspenseful plot, lots of action and a fine cast made Goldfinger the strongest Bond effort to date and the results paid off quite handsomely at the box office. Today's moviegoers will find Goldfinger rather dated when compared to today's Bond but if one wishes to see James Bond as he was at the height of his popularity in the 1960's, not to mention one of the best thrillers of that decade, this is the one Bond to own.

Never Say Never Again ASIN:B000006FNX Our Price: $14.95 Customer's Rating: 5 Summary: A unique James Bond movie Comments: When Kevin McClory teamed up with the Eon company to make the movie Thunderball in 1965 he was contractually obliged not to exercise his rights to the James Bond character for ten years, Sure enough in 1975 McClory started pitching a 007 script titled Warhead to all the competing studios, but it wasn't until 1983 that Never Say Never Again actually made it to the silver screen opening opposite the lame Roger Moore vehicle Octopussy. Never Say Never Again (a title suggested by Sean Connery's wife) has on display a variation of the plot that McClory had produced almost 20 years earlier. There are slight differences and the look of the film bears a stark contrast to the EON produced series. Despite a rather slim plot, the movie does showcase one the best villains of any Bond movie with the brilliant Klaus Maria Brandeur hamming it up as the megalomaniacal Largo. In addition to his sterling performance and a (too short) appearance by Max Von Sydow as Blofeld, there is the delicious Barbara Carrera as the villainess, a role that allows her to frolic around in various stages of undress. Not to be outdone the movie also features an early performance by Kim Basinger as the "Bond girl" and her character seems to display more depth than either Maud Adams or Kristina Wayborn were able to convey in the rival EON movie of that year. After the movie was obtained by MGM-UA (the company that produces the EON production) there was talk among fans as to the possibility of the gun barrel sequence being added to make it part of the "canon", I for one do not think that this unique James Bond 007 movie should be tampered with in that manner and equally happy to see it emerge on DVD. I heartily recommend this movie

The Spy Who Loved Me ASIN:6302510023 Our Price: $9.94 Customer's Rating: Summary: Comments:

Thunderball ASIN: 6303651488 Our Price: $9.94 Customer's Rating: 5 Summary: CLASSIC BOND! CLASSIC CONNERY! Comments: 1965's "Thunderball" roared across the movie scene only a year after the 1964 hit "Goldfinger". Some fans tend to believe that this is one of the weaker Connery outings as James Bond. In a sense it is true, the film just couldn't get any bigger than the colossol "Goldfinger" so in a way it is met as a slight disappointment after the 1964 007 adventure. None the less Thunderball is one of the series most memorable with Tom Jones belting out the classic opening theme. The movie has classic Bond villians, neat gadgets and great settings. Emilio Largo, Fiona Volpe and Vargas are some of the best Bond villians ever! The acting is very good in this film. Connery plays Bond wonderfully as usual. Adolfo Celi is notorious as the ruthless Emilio Largo. Philip Locke plays the strong silient type with the menacing Vargas. Lucianna Paluzzi plays the evil (but beautiful) Fiona Volpe. Claudine Auger plays a touching role as the innocent Domino Derval. Rik Van Nutter plays Felix Leiter and proves to be one of the best but stil Jack Lord is better. Martine Beswick plays the small role of Paula and Bernard Lee returns as M and Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny. Thunderball's lot is pretty formulaic. SPECTRE highjacks some nuclear warheads and holds the world hostage for a hefty ransom. Bond is sent to the bahamas to investigate and find the missing nuclear warheads. In conclusion Thunderball is an underrated 007 outing. The plot is fairly solid and the acting is very good. The villians are classic and the sets are wonderful. Bottom line: get this DVD! It is classic essential Bond! Highly recommended!

You Only Live Twice ASIN: 6302380588 Our Price: $9.94 Customer's Rating: 3 Summary: A Spectacular Bond, But ... Comments: You Only Live Twice has many things going for it: Two good heroines, played by Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama who are not only good looking (Hama, especially, looks great in a bikini), but can take care of themselves as well; a great title song and score by John Barry; tremendous stunt and action sequences (the helicopter dumping of the SPECTRE car into Tokyo Bay, the fight at the Kobe docks, the Little Nellie battle with the SPECTRE helicopters, the battle in the volcano, etc.); and, especially a great visual look courtesy of Ken Adam's spectacular sets (the volcano/rocket silo set alone should have earned Adam the Oscar for set design) and Freddie Young's cinematography. There are, however, major problems with the film. Donald Pleasance as Blofeld and Tetsuro Tamba as Tiger Tanaka are woefully miscast in their roles. Blofeld in the books is a large man with silver hair and a magnetic presence. By contrast, Pleasance's Blofeld seems more like a petulant child who can't get his way (when he instructs one of his underlings to "Kill Bond ... NOW!", he sounds like a spoiled brat who wants his mother to buy him the latest toy at FAO Schwartz). Similarly, Tiger Tanaka, in the book You Only Live Twice, is a huge man the size of a sumo wrestler with a gregarious personality. Tamba, in contrast, looks like a bank clerk. The screenplay by Roald Dahl is, at best, Bond Screenwriting 101 material. Dahl's dialogue makes cardboard cutouts of the characters and is completely overwhelmed by the spectacular stunt and set pieces. Unlike Richard Maibaum, Dahl is completely unable to flesh out the characters and make them seem real to the audience. He even gets the Bond martini wrong when he has Dikko Henderson (Charles Gray) state that it is "stirred ... not shaken." In my opinion, however, the biggest weakness of You Only Live Twice is ... Sean Connery. I know that most Bond fans will consider this blasphemy, but this is not only Connery's weakest performance as Bond, it's his weakest performance in ANY film. Connery was originally signed to do a Bond film every year from 1962 to 1967. However, Connery became so disenchanted with both the time it took to film the movies and the direction of the series, Broccoli and Saltzman released him from his contract after Thunderball and signed him to a one picture deal, hoping that would convince him to stay on as James Bond after You Only Live Twice. Connery, however, was so disenchanted over being typecast as James Bond that he sleepwalked through the filming of You Only Live Twice. In the film, he is overweight, slow-moving, disinterested, uncharismatic and basically looks like an actor fulfilling the last picture of a contract. Connery's charm and appeal, for the only time in his career, are completely absent. During the Little Nellie fight with the SPECTRE helicopters, for example, he looks like he's about to fall asleep. Compare Connery's performance in YOLT with those in the other Bond films, The Man Who Would Be King, Robin and Marian, The Untouchables and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and it's easy to see that his heart wasn't into it and that he was sick of the role. Luckily for Bond fans, his performance in Diamonds Are Forever and Never Say Never Again were up to the usual Connery standard. However, Connery's performance in You Only Live Twice, plus the film's other weaknesses, relegate the film to the second tier of Bond films.