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Casino Royale | 
 enlarge | Actors: Peter Sellers, Woody Allen
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.94
Buy Used: $4.79
You Save: $10.15 (68%)
New (13) Used (24) from $4.79
Rating:  149 reviews
Sales Rank: 11937
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 137
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: D1003902D
ISBN: 0792853741
UPC: 027616880208
EAN: 9780792853749
ASIN: B00005JL0I
Theatrical Release Date: April 28, 1967
Release Date: October 15, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Sent First Class Mail.
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Amazon.com
John Huston was only one of five directors on this expensive, all-star 1967 spoof of Ian Fleming's 007 lore. David Niven is the aging Sir James Bond, called out of retirement to take on the organized threat of SMERSH and pass on the secret-agent mantle to his idiot son (Woody Allen). An amazing cast (Orson Welles, Peter Sellers, Deborah Kerr, etc.) is wonderful to look at, but the film is not as funny as it should be, and the romping starts to look mannered after awhile. The musical score by Burt Bacharach, however, is a keeper. --Tom Keogh
Description
Welcome to Casino Royale, the ultimate psychedelic secret agent satire! Packed with girls, guns and gags galore, this "very funny picture" (The New Yorker) delivers "laughs all the way"(Cue)! Starring Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, David Niven, Joanna Pettet, Orson Welles, Daliah Lavi, Woody Allen, Deborah Kerr, William Holden and others, and with an original score from Oscar winner* Burt Bacharach, this groovy spy movie is "even farther out" (LA Herald-Examiner) than all other spoofs combined! British Intelligence is waning in every possible way! When the diabolical SMERSH begins killing off Her Majesty's Secret Service, super-agent James Bond (Niven) recruits six more "James Bonds" to confuse and conquer their enemies. But it won't be easy. They'll have to face an army of irresistibly sexy female operatives, exploding robotic fowl, parachuting Indians and a germ that makes all women beautiful but kills all men over 4'6"! *1981: Original Song (with Carole Bayer Sager, Christopher Cross, Peter Allen), Arthur; 1969: Original Song (Lyrics by Hal David), Score, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
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| Customer Reviews: Read 144 more reviews...
 A mess from those swingin' '60s June 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Casino Royale" is one of those films, ala "Cleopatra" and "Heaven's Gate," whose backstory is more interesting than anything that made it to the screen.
Before Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli came calling on Ian Fleming in 1961 to propose the deal that would give birth to the James Bond film series that continues today, the author sold his first 007 novel, "Casino Royale," to CBS-TV. After the network adapted the book for a 1954 episode of "Climax," the film rights passed to Gregory Ratoff. Once the Saltzman-Broccoli films gathered box-office momentum, producer Charles K. Feldman, a former associate of Broccoli's, bought the rights from Ratoff's widow in the hope of cashing in on his friend's success. So much for loyalty. Believing he could not compete directly with the "official" Bond films, Feldman turned "Casino Royale" into a spoof. "Bondmania" which reached its peak with the 1965 release of "Thunderball" was winding down by then, but "Casino Royale" sold enough tickets to become the third biggest box-office hit of 1967 ("You Only Live Twice," that year's real Bond film, took second place behind "The Dirty Dozen"). But the bloated budget meant it could never qualify as a success.
The screenplay, to which "Catch 22" author Joseph Heller, Terry Southern, and Billy Wilder are said to have made contributions, shows signs of too many chefs at work in the kitchen, which was clearly the case behind the camera. No less than five directors are credited, so it's not surprising that the film has no real direction. It's a mess. But, hey, this was the `60s, baby, an era of "doin' your own thing," transcendental meditation, surrealism in music ("I am the walrus, goo-goo-gagoob"), so there was no need to be coherent.
"Casino Royale" has more in common with Feldman's earlier "What's New, Pussycat?" than it does with James Bond. Both films co-starred Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, and Woody Allen, and surrounded them with other stars, though "Casino Royale" has the more glittering lineup with even the likes of Deborah Kerr, William Holden, and Orson Welles joining in. Unfortunately, the laughs are few and far between with Allen providing the most amusing moments. Burt Bacharach's music score is a classic, however, highlighted by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass' performance of the title tune.
The 1954 television version of Ian Fleming's first 007 novel is included on the DVD. The live telecast survives today on kinescope, a crude pre-video technique in which the program was filmed directly off a monitor as it was transmitted into the viewers' homes. The production itself is a little crude, too, but it remains watchable.
James Bond is an American agent in this version, and star Barry Nelson portrays him less enigmatically than any of the actors who followed in the role. One thing this Bond is not is larger than life. "I'm no hero," he says after being roughed up by his foes, "I don't like pain." This certainly isn't the more nonchalant Bond of the big screen, but it is a convincing one. Peter Lorre makes an effective LeChiffre, Bond's first adversary, and Linda Christian is good, too. This production isn't entirely faithful to the novel, but considering the time constraints, that couldn't be expected.
Brian W. Fairbanks
 One of the funniest psychedelic movies ever! June 8, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you are expecting this to be a simple spy vs spy plot, forget about it. Oh yes, it has spies galore, but this hilarious sendup of all things "Spy" must have inspired comedic authors galore. Every time I watch it I catch another sly pun or comment that cracks me up. This movie is very clever and every actor is hilarious in this all-star cast, from David Niven (as the Original, retired James Bond) to his wily and troublesome nephew, Jimmy Bond, played to perfection by Woody Allen. Deborah Kerr plays Mimi, villainess turned nun for her love of Sir James. ("Doodle me, Jamey!") Peter Sellers has fun with many costume changes but does not play the bumbler; rather, he is an expert in Bacarat standing in for 007 to help beat one of the bad guys (played hilariously by Orson Wells) and assisted by the fabulously beaded and feathered Ursula Andress!
The sets are those of dreams and nightmares, with plenty of the mod patterns of the 60's when this movie was produced. If you love off the wall comedy, this one is a keeper. But watch it closely; the jokes range from subtle and dry to outright silly puns and the confusion created is deliberate and fun. Watch for cameos by Peter O'Toole, Humphrey Bogart and many more.
 "Vaporized lysergic acid - highly explosive!" March 29, 2008
I must be in the class that loves it, because this is a funny movie - lots of chuckles from the understated performances of David Niven as Bond, especially in the Scottish castles with the 19 daughters.
Enter Woody Allen as Bond's long lost son, Jimmy Bond: "I have a very low threshhold of death. My doctor says I can't have bullets enter my body at any time." If you don't find this quote amusing or funny, that's because it's not! And neither is Woody - as usual! Quite fortunately, his first slot only lasts a minute. His second appearance, later in the movie is much better, largely due to the fact that he doesn't speak much. But back to main characters.
In order to confuse his enemies, the original Bond (Niven) has a new 'James Bond' trained - this time one that can resist beautiful women, as threats to the life of Bond usually come in the guise of beautiful women. Some great scenes of these gorgeous girls coming out to kiss the new Bond, only to have him Judo throw them to the ground - hilarious!
There are as many funny scenes in this film as there are beautiful girls. It reaches levels of absurdity that are almost profound! Of course you know not to expect a real Bond movie. Look at the cover of the zone 2 Casino Royale - here's a test. If you think there's something humorous just looking at this guy's face (and remember - he's Bond!), then you'll probably like this movie. There is one scene however where Sellers suddenly becomes Bond - like out of the blue - I didn't quite catch the logic there first time around.. First he's Evelyn Tremble trying to reach some unknown objective and next thing he's Bond! What?! HOLD ON JUST A SECOND. I went back and watched it again! ---- Evelyn Tremble (Sellars) wrote a book on winning at gambling. After being seduced (and given $100,000 to gamble with), he agrees to take on evil SMERSH representitive Le Chiffre (Orson Welles) at the Baccarat table - under the guise of *James Bond* (so as not to be recognized as the famous author Evelyn Tremble!). His chance of putting LeChiffre out of commission comes in winning against LeChiffre at high stakes Baccarrat.
Later, the daughter of the David Niven James Bond and Mata Hari, is brought into play. Her job is to stop LeChiffre's art auction from being able to raise enough enough money to help him cover gambling debts, thus forcing him back to the table (where Evelyn Tremble, aka James Bond, will play against him).
Thumbing their noses to "What's New Pussycat?" (1965, which I saw recently and loathed), young Mata Hari is escaping her mother's East German headquarters where she'd been sent to foil the auction and as she and her taxi driver are running away, she considers going down a sewer grate in the road - as she opens the man-hole cover, the theme song from "What's New Pussycat?" comes wafting out! "Better not go down there!" says her cab driver. Fortunately, this movie never does, though both movies were made around the same time.
Actually, I thought this movie was great even when I was getting lost in the story the first time - that much more reason to watch it the second time - you notice a lot more jokes, and start catching the twisted logic in the plot.
At one point later in the movie, a certain Miss Goodthighs puts some 'LSD' in the form of alka-seltzer in Sellar's drink and a mock Beatles song comes on as they sink into a fantasy.
When things start getting even more splicy and psychedelic later on (and they do!), don't give up! Consider it a challenge! Or just 'go with the flow'.. It's pure audacity. And rest assured, after the flying saucer comes, things start to resume the thread of logic again - logic, that is, for this wacked out 1967 made James Bond spoof... ;)
A classic spoof which improves with age! February 20, 2008
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
`Casino Royale', the original 1960's version is one of those movies which seems to improve with age. I can recall reviews at the time of its release saying that its primary failing was that it parodied a genre, the James Bond movies, which were themselves a parody of the spy thriller genre, so it was much like taking coals to Newcastle. The movie was done with much of the same talent which contributed to the similar `What's New Pussycat', primarily the superb comic talents of Peter Sellers and Woody Allen. One of the very best things I can say about `Casino Royale' is that where these two failed to redeem `What's New Pussycat', they succeeded quite well thank you in the spy spoof.
One of the things one notices upon looking back at this flick is that it may have been an unsung precursor to the general genre of `all star' spoof movie. Most of this genre has usually been traced back to `Airplane', `Blazing Saddles', and maybe the early Woody Allen movies such as `What's New, Tiger Lily' and `Take the Money and Run'. In fact, I think Casino Royal stands up quite well as one of the better early representatives of this genre.
One thing this has in spades is a fine collection of cameo and major performances by the likes of David Niven, Orson Welles, George Raft, William Holden, Deborah Kerr, John Huston and many others. And, each one contributes just the right amount of panache to their stereotypical characters. But Sellers, Niven, and Allen do most of the heavy lifting, with Sellers doing a superb job in his character, far, far better than his silly character in `Pussycat'.
I also am very fond of the inventiveness behind some of the silliness, although there is more than enough simple-minded silliness, especially in the final scene. The primary premise of five James Bond characters, flubbing their roles in the field, leading to the need to bring James Bond senior out of retirement to straighten things out creates lots of opportunities for a wide variety of situations and subplots.
While the new `Casino Royale' is a superb `classic' Bond flick, its release may have the secondary benefit of bringing this old warhorse spoof out of the closet to be enjoyed once more.
It seemed like a good idea at the time... February 13, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Oh, the pain, the pain of the first 45 minutes and the last 25 of the 1967 epic spoof version of Casino Royale, which try too very hard to be wacky and with it and funny to be anything other than execrable. Two or three jokes sort of work, but probably only because you're desperate for something, anything to work - and then suddenly the Peter Sellers-Joanna Pettet sections kick in and suddenly the film seems almost good. It even starts to look like a real movie instead of an over-decorated Christmas tree, with a particularly stunning bit of slo-mo in the Look of Love scene, and some genuine wit in Q's scene, set in the basement of Harrods. It's a shame that Sellers walked off the picture, because the gaps are often all-too visible and horribly papered over. And then, after an hour of not bad, Sellers is gone and it suddenly goes straight back to overproduced Hell for a painful and redundant finale. Still, at least Burt Bacharach's score is a lot of fun and a joy to listen to: if only it graced a worthier film.
The US NTSC disc includes the 1954 live TV version of Casino Royale, with an uncomfortable Barry Nelson as Jimmy Bond of the CIA, Michael Pate a wildly unconvincing Leiter of British Intelligence, don't ya know, and a very good Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre. The plot is boiled down to a 50-minute running time but it's not without interest and while it may spare Bond the carpet beater it doesn't completely cop out on the torture scene. However, it's worth noting that a special edition DVD with a new documentary on the 1967 version will be released in the future.
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