|
| 
 enlarge | Director: Irvin Kershner
Actors: Sean Connery, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Max Von Sydow, Barbara Carrera, Kim Basinger
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $4.49
You Save: $10.49 (70%)
New (56) Used (43) from $3.99
Rating:  188 reviews
Sales Rank: 2154
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 133
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 027616853981
ISBN: 0792847229
UPC: 027616853981
EAN: 9780792847229
ASIN: B00004WEJZ
Theatrical Release Date: 1983
Release Date: October 17, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: ******BRAND NEW****** THE SOURCE FOR RARE MEDIA, THOUSANDS OF CUSTOMERS SATISFIED, AND OVER 250 000 ITEMS IN STOCK, BUY FROM A TRUSTED SOURCE, ESTABLISHED SINCE 1998 - INETVIDEO ~~~
|
| Customer Reviews:
Slick, enjoyable but not quite premium Bond February 13, 2008
At once the victim of impossible expectations after years of false starts and rumors about Connery's return to Bondage and also a breath of fresh air as the Roger Moore Bond films increasingly floundered, Never Say Never Again was a welcome riposte to the worst excesses of the EON franchise in 1983, but time hasn't been that kind to it. There are certainly some horrible miscalculations, Carrera's cartoonish villainess Fatima Blush (like Faye Dunaway on steroids), Edward Fox's self-parody as M, Pamela Salem's moronic Moneypenny and an embarrassingly over-the-top Rowan Atkinson's horribly unfunny Nigel Small-Fawcett among them, not to mention that problematic and much-despised easy listening score from Michel Legrand.
A famously troubled production, with Cubby Broccoli frightening studios, investors and co-stars away through years of lawsuits and Connery taking against the film's inexperienced producer Jack Schwartzman so violently that he would reportedly hide whenever the actor came anywhere near his office, most of the scars aren't visible in the finished product. Thankfully the worst excesses of the legendary unfilmed but sadly rather silly and OTT script Connery and Len Deighton penned in the early 70s, Warhead (which climaxed with a hang-glider attack on the Statue of Liberty and boasted a villain with his own underwater lair), were also toned down, albeit largely for budget reasons. With only a watered-down version of their radio-controlled sharks remaining, this version is at least a little more grounded than the rampant silliness that had seen the Bonds stray unrecognisably far from their roots in Ian Fleming's novels. Despite uncredited co-writers Ian La Fresnais and Dick Clements pilfering their earlier movie spinoff of Porridge for some of the jokes, the more streamlined screenplay flows better than Thunderball, which was always the clunkiest of Bond scripts in its desperation to throw everything including the kitchen sink into the mix, but it's also less fun. Odder still is the very American feel to the film, with a clean, spare look that's uncomfortably at odds with Connery's previous outings.
On the plus side, Klaus Maria Brandauer is particularly good as Largo, Bernie Casey brings an easy familiarity to his role that makes him one of the best of the many Felix Leiters in Connery's tenure, and Alec McCowen and Max Von Sydow are fine in undemanding parts while Robert Rietty, who voiced Largo in Thunderball as well as numerous other Bond characters over the years, turns up briefly onscreen for a change. It's also thankfully light on the gadgets that got particularly out of control in the EON series during the 80s and the action scenes are for the most part well-handled, with an excellent fight with Pat Roach the standout despite a particularly lame gag ending.
Enjoyable but no enduring classic. It's worth noting that a special edition of this title will also be released some time in the future.
Focus on the women, not the script January 2, 2008
Even a bad James Bond movie has considerable entertainment value. Unfortunately, Never Say Never Again IS a bad James Bond movie.
This time, SPECTRE has stolen a pair of nuclear weapons and is demanding tribute from the world's wealthiest nations. Bond, played by Sean Connery, finds himself up against a megalomaniac and his own boss, M, who disapproves of the 00 agents. The 00 boss disapproving of the 00's is one of a number of script elements that doesn't make much sense to the alert viewer.
Connery's acting is the only selling point of this film (Too old? No way!) Klaus-Maria Brandauer as Maximilian Largo is a peculiar villain that certainly comes off as mad, but not really threatening. Barbara Carrera as Fatima Blush is more than threatening, but perhaps she is hamming it up a bit too much for the cameras. Kim Basinger has all of the beauty of a Barbie doll, but her character, Domino Petachi has only slightly more personality than a Barbie doll.
The Bond women have all of the sex appeal that you expect, but the gadgets, the stunts, the soundtrack, and the climax all fall short. Viewers with some passion for 007 movies will not want to miss this. More casual viewers have better options available.
 "Now pay attention 007.." November 28, 2007
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
A bond movie without the Bond Horns going off, you know..Ta da Ta Daa, Ta da da! is not a Bond Movie period end of story! If you're a real man you won't watch this bond! It's been documented, you'll either lose your hair or lose testosterone! You've been warned....
I had to up my rating all the way to one star! That was tough.
 The "red-headed step-child" of the Bond series November 28, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Bond fans often turn up their noses with the mention of this film. They've called it "Connery at his worst" or complained that it's not a "genuine" entry in the series. Yet, I went to see it when it was first released & liked it. A remake of the classic "Thunderball", it's flawed & imperfect, but still an enjoyable film. It was great to see Sean Connery again in his "007" status, playing an older Bond, but one which hasn't lost his knack for adventure & romance.
While some of the trademarks are missing---understandably, since it was made outside the home studios of MGM/UA---it's the film itself that counts, and Connery makes the most of it, showing all the other Bond actors how it's done. He slips back into the role so easily that it's as if he never left.
It also benefits from a first-rate villain in actor Klaus Maria Brandauer as Largo, a baddie who's more complex than the sum of his parts. Kim Basinger--here at the beginning of her film career--plays the typical Bond babe who finds herself in a power struggle between Bond & Largo.
This is a much-maligned film that deserves a second look.
Not just the worst Bond film, but one of the worst films I've seen November 15, 2007
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
I remember when this was released in the cinemas, people were pretty much lukewarm towards it;
"It's just a remake of Thunderball" were common remarks. Looking back on it after 25 years though it's apparent what an astonishing pile of backside this film really is.
Now I know that in essence much of the Bond world *is* rather silly if you really think about it, the films are mostly made with such craftmanship that there is suspension of disbelief. On the other hand Never Say Never Again is far sillier, and is made so ineptly that disbelief is not so much suspended as hanging by a thread- which is broken every fifteen minutes or so. This is James Bond almost reduced to slapstick comedy. Eg at a health farm Bond throws a bottle of liquid at an assailant , who falls to the ground unconscious. Bond looks at the bottle and discovers that it's his own urine sample. In the cinema this might have raised an (uneasy) chuckle, but objectively it's more fitting for a Carry On film. The villainess is destroyed by an explosive pen, Rowan Atkinson, then hot property as Blackadder, makes a cameo....etc. And one of the films supposedly "memorable" points has Bond and villain playing a video game in a casino. This looks extremely dated , even kitsch now. I find it hard to believe the makers could be so oblivious to the fact that this would look so dated in later years.
Okay, the bile is spent. I do kind of like the Bond movies, but this movie should become a textbook case of how NOT to do a remake!
|
|
|
| |
