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Casino Royale (2-Disc Widescreen Edition) 
Actors : Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright
Director : Martin Campbell
Studio : Sony Pictures
by Sony Pictures
Brand : Sony
Release Date : 2007-03-13
Publisher : Sony Pictures
Number of Items : 2
EAN : 0043396148598
UPC : 043396148598
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 1074 reviews)
List Price : $19.94
Our Price : $8.99
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Product Description |
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Casino Royale introduces James Bond before he holds his license to kill. But Bond is no less dangerous, and with two professional assassinations in quick succession, he is elevated to "00" status. "M" (Judi Dench), head of the British Secret Service, sends the newly-promoted 007 on his first mission that takes him to Madagascar, the Bahamas and eventually leads him to Montenegro to face Le Chiffre, a ruthless financier under threat from his terrorist clientele, who is attempting to restore his funds in a high-stakes poker game at the Casino Royale. "M" places Bond under the watchful eye of the Treasury official Vesper Lynd. At first skeptical of what value Vesper can provide, Bond's interest in her deepens as they brave danger together. Le Chiffre's cunning and cruelty come to bear on them both in a way Bond could never imagine, and he learns his most important lesson: Trust no one. |
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Marketadvisory.com |
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The most successful invigoration of a cinematic franchise since Batman Begins, Casino Royale offers a new Bond identity. Based on the Ian Fleming novel that introduced Agent 007 into a Cold War world, Casino Royale is the most brutal and viscerally exciting James Bond film since Sean Connery left Her Majesty's Secret Service. Meet the new Bond; not the same as the old Bond. Daniel Craig gives a galvanizing performance as the freshly minted double-0 agent. Suave, yes, but also a "blunt instrument," reckless, and possessed with an ego that compromises his judgment during his first mission to root out the mastermind behind an operation that funds international terrorists. In classic Bond film tradition, his global itinerary takes him to far-flung locales, including Uganda, Madagascar, the Bahamas (that's more like it), and Montenegro, where he is pitted against his nemesis in a poker game, with hundreds of millions in the pot. The stakes get even higher when Bond lets down his "armor" and falls in love with Vesper (Eva Green), the ravishing banker's representative fronting him the money.  |
For longtime fans of the franchise, Casino Royale offers some retro kicks. Bond wins his iconic Astin-Martin at the gaming table, and when a bartender asks if he wants his martini "shaken or stirred," he disdainfully replies, "Do I look like I give a damn?" There's no Moneypenny or "Q," but Dame Judi Dench is back as the exasperated M, who one senses, admires Bond's "bloody cheek." A Bond film is only as good as its villain, and Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre, who weeps blood, is a sinister dandy. From its punishing violence and virtuoso action sequences to its romance, Casino Royale is a Bond film that, in the words of one character, makes you feel it, particularly during an excruciating torture sequence. Double-0s, Bond observes early on, "have a short life expectancy." But with Craig, there is new life in the old franchise yet, as well as genuine anticipation for the next one when, at last, the signature James Bond theme kicks in following the best last line ever in any Bond film. To quote Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin, now I know what I've been faking all these years. --Donald Liebenson Stills from Casino Royale (click for larger image) Beyond Casino Royale on Marketadvisory.com 
On Blu-ray | 
CD Soundtrack | 
Why We Love Daniel Craig | 
The Marketadvisory.com James Bond Store | 
Where Have I Seen Daniel Craig? | 
Bond on Set: Filming Casino Royale Book |
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James Bond: Part I |
My interest in James Bond died the day I saw Pierce Brosnan shoot a machinegun. Gone were the careful headshots of a man who was an expert with his pistol. Replacing that deadly accuracy was frenetic scenes, random gunfire, and Bond bending the laws of reality. The Bond films had become a parody of themselves.
Enter Casino Royale, which makes up for the shambling travesty that was the Casino Royale Bond spoof. Daniel Craig takes on the role of Bond as a newbie, a newbie who is a ruthless killer. Gone are the delicate acrobatics that were the trademark of other Bonds. This Bond is a hulking brute, smashing through walls, ruthlessly shooting people, and otherwise achieving his missions through sheer brute force. It seems jarring at first, but this is the origin of Bond, from thug to international assassin.
The plot, bound by the rules of the original novel, doesn't entirely make sense. Why the entire world, including both the U.S. and British authorities, feel that beating a criminal at a card game is the best way to coerce him is beyond me. But if you're willing to buy into that fact (a requisite, really, for the spy genre where nothing is ever so simple and direct) then the film has a certain cadence to it that really enthralls.
Until the end. The part where, we are led to believe, Bond is going to settle down with Vesper Lynd, a treasury agent, in Venice. Yeah, right.
About ten minutes could have been cut from this scene alone. We get that Bond is enamored with Lynd, that he wants to give it all up for her, but after the torture, the shooting, the gambling, the chasing, the movie becomes something of a snore until it picks up again. And then we're off to the beginning of another movie, with no resolution whatsoever.
Casino Royale is a much improved film, but it's the foundation for the Bond mythology, and as such it breaks previous expectations and struggles to establish new ones. It's much better than the Bond films that went before it, but they set the bar pretty low. As a book-end to Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale can't be really appreciated without seeing the two movies back-to-back.
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Best Bond Ever... |
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Its got everthing: intrigue, suspense, great special effects, good acting, excellent cast, and proper character development for a 2 hour movie. Excellent! |
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Bond Reborn Better Than Ever |
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For the original series of James Bond films, Sean Connery defined the part quite effectively. Since Connery other actors such as George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan have attempted to portray this persona with the same elan with varying degrees of success. In my opinion none have measured up to Connery in the qualities of an international British agent with unsurpassed physical skills, sophistication and attraction for women. None until now. Daniel Craig makes one heck of a Bond! He fits this role equally well. Thus this movie is quite successful. The locations-Italy, Montenegro, the Bahamas- are fantastic with wonderful photography. Some exotic, mind-dizzying technology is used but not too much. There are some exciting action scenes such as in Miami and particularly around the casino at Montenegro. Eva Green plays Vesper and provides some excellent verbal jousting with Craig such as on a train in Europe. Vesper also becomes the name of a drink (6 parts Gordon's Gin, 2 of vodka, one of Kina Lilet all shaken until cool). Overall this is a wonderful movie.The Griffon Trilogy |
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Double Dipping Bond |
I've been a 007 fan ever since DR. NO premiered as the bottom half of a double drive-in bill in Kansas City. I loved Connery; thought Lazenby's OHMSSS the best of the Bond bunch; suffered through the Moore era; loathed
Dalton's petrified agent; tolerated Brosnan's glossy but empty 007 - and woke up during the last two minutes of CASINO ROYALE to hail Daniel Craig as THE new Bond on the block. Naturally I snatched up the original DVD
release.
So now here comes Sony with a new "collector's edition" (double-dipping, as they do so well). There actually are some snippets that make this one worth having, notably the "deleted" which actually do add a little more to the film. The extras are puff-pieces - but watchable.
Only for Bond die-hards, or folks who believe Blue Ray will replace regular DVD. |
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James Bond, Completely Revitalized and Renewed - Perfect on BluRay! |
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This movie did for the James Bond franchise what Batman Begins [Blu-ray] did for the "caped crusader". Totally revitalized for modern times, with all of the old schtick thrown out. Dark, brooding, sexy, artistic and cool. What a great film. The film is absolutely perfect on BluRay as well. The HD mastering is perfect, the sound mastering is flawless, and the extras are totally worth the price of purchase. Amongst the best of the best of Bond flicks. An absolute must for any Bond aficionado and highly recommended even for the casual Bond fan. |
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