I just sampled some scenes of my copy; pre-title sequence does have location names as it appeared in the cinema, as I recall.
Sequence in the hotel after the high stakes game with Vesper and Bond sharing a moment. Looks good, has a bit of golden cast to it. Could be my display, I was messing a bit with color settings.
Odd to see a Bond film start with the Columbia logo.
Just received this on DVD and watched it for the first time yesterday.
By far, this is the best Bond film ever made. It really makes all the other Bond films look like spoofs of themselves. I thought the film's opening chase across a construction site was one of the most intense action moments I have ever seen filmed.
Additionally, while the film did move rather slowly towards the end, it still stands as a leader in the Bond series. As a huge Bond fan for over 40 years (Roger Moore my favorite), I was absolutely amazed how terrific this film was. I didn't even miss having "Q" and all his gadgets.
As for the DVD....
I don't yet own a Blu-Ray player, and I hear the transfer on that format is amazing! Still, I was quite amazed by the picture quality of this DVD, which is about as good as it gets for this format.
I have a rule of thumb by which I gauge restaurants: If bread isn't served, or isn't good, the restaurant usually fails to meet expectations.
I have a similar rule for DVD extras, and it concerns the trailer. No trailer usually means the extras just aren't what they could be.
So I was very disappointed to see that Casino Royale - which I consider to be the best movie of 2006 - didn't have a trailer on the DVD. (We get other trailers! Spider-man 3, Pursuit of Happyness, The Holiday, and more. If there's room on the disc for those, why not for the feature?)
The movie itself looks good on DVD, and I am very pleased to have it in my collection. While I don't know if I'd go as far as Ron and say it is the best Bond film ever, I will say it is the best in more than 40 years, since the high points of the Connery films.
Perhaps one consequence of the 4-month turnaround from theater to DVD is a lack of extras (how many of us were saying last week that the extras on Borat weren't what they could have been?), and another is that it ensures the double-dip system.
Bold statement - and one with which few will agree. I certainly don't. Royale is a fine film - maybe even top 5 Bond - but the best of the series? Nope!
For me, it is not "the best ever", but certainly the best since Connery's first three outings. I think the series really began to falter after Goldfinger, when the filmmakers discarded Fleming's plots and began to look for excuses for higher-tech gadgets and more comedy relief. Subsequently, each movie was basically a remake of the previous one.
I find it interesting that so many who love Casino Royale were fans of Moore's films. Moore represents the nadir of the series to me. Not due to Moore's limitations as opposed to Connery, just the lightweight approach of the filmmakers during his tenure. I would almost expect Moore/Bond fans to dislike Casino Royale because it is so unlike the Moore Bond. To me, Casino Royale is the first film since early Connery to really create a sensation.
Also, people tend to forget the impact of the Connery Bond series in the early to mid 60's. Before Bond, people were not used to seeing such an amoral and cynical protagonist, "licensed to kill", drinking and smoking heavily and having lots of illicit sex with beautiful women with loud staccato music punctuating all the action. Because we are so accustomed to all those things now, we tend to forget what a shock Bond was at the beginning.
The filmmakers of Casino Royale obviously wanted to break out of the same-old same-old with this film, and succeeded admirably, IMO at recreating the excitement that people used to feel when they say "James Bond Will Return.." during the credit crawl. I hope they have more tricks up their sleeves.
It would play on my Panasonic DVD-120 and my computer.
Anyone else having similar problems? I couldn't get Stranger than Fiction to play on my Toshiba SD-3800 either, and I think both Fiction and Royale are Sony releases.
Colin, what would your pick be for the best of the series? Mine had always been "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" although "Casino Royale" is giving it a run for its money in my book.
Wrong!!! We have always wanted the theatrical poster art as DVD cover art. I never thought I'd thank Sony for anything, but thanks for the great cover art on this one Sony!
I got CR at CC today for $13.99 which is not bad for a 2-disc (even if it's a light 2nd disc).
The CC collectible 'coin' is sort of cool, it's a solid metal casino chip and comes with a felt bag.
I was debating holding off on CR in case I jumped on BR bandwagon later, but like so many other new releases I just picked it up and decided to stick with DVD for the time being.
EDIT: Those who are now impressed with Craig should really backtrack to 2004's 'Layer Cake'. Craig plays a very different white collar-ish drug crimimal, but it's still a very good performance and flick.
Agree - I'd like to thank the Bourne series for `Un Camping' this one and hopefully the next. I have a soft spot for the entire series, but hope they keep the toys and stunts closer to reality from now on.
Casting for M was questionable, but I'm used to forgiving many things in a Bond film, so....
Looking forward to running the DVD tonight. Long over due for a Bond night in the Ol HT.
I felt the chase through the construction site was over the top a bit. It does do what a lot of Bonds do and take something that's currently in fashion and use it in the film. That being the "Free running" aspect of the chase.
My other issue is that Bond is portrayed as wet behind the ears and so arrogant. In the book Casino Royale, he's not on his first 00 mission. And his doesn't disrespect "M" the way it's written in this film.
Other then that, Craig isn't bad in the role. I wasn't very enthusiastic with his choice. But he does bring that edge back. I don't think it means you take anything away from past portrayals as those actors were doing the job as directed.
I have also been a long time Bond fan and I was suprised how much I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I thought the portrayal by Craig was first-rate and I did not mind some of the continuity changes. Really would have preferred a new "M" also (Anthony Hopkins). I feel this is the best bond in many years. Glad to see the high degree of realism this movie displayed.
Loved the tag line and am eagerly awaiting Bond's return.