4K UHD owners have long tabbed this week’s release of the SEAN CONNERY 007 6-FILM COLLECTION (Warner) as one of the format’s biggest releases of the year. This Warner anthology presents Sean Connery’s entire Eon tenure as James Bond with new Dolby Vision HDR remasters and Dolby Atmos soundtracks, and while the enhancements may come off as mild in terms of detail, there are big improvements in color reproduction to be found here – especially once Bond makes the move into anamorphic widescreen in “Thunderball.” And speaking of that, there’s a big surprise here too: for the first time, fans can choose between two different sound mixes that have long confounded aficionados of Connery’s fourth foray as 007.
In terms of what’s here, let’s get right down to it, seeing as most of us know these pictures inside and out, and have owned them many times over the years, including multiple releases on formats as ancient as VHS and laserdisc.
Connery’s initial three James Bond movies offer a general grounding and faithfulness to Ian Fleming’s original novels that would diminish as the franchise took off for the box-office stratosphere of the mid to late ‘60s. DR. NO (109 mins., 1962), FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (115 mins., 1963) and GOLDFINGER (110 mins., 1964) are all hugely entertaining in their own way, and even the more modest trappings of the first Bond adventure remain engaging when viewed today. “From Russia…” brings composer John Barry fully aboard but I’ve never been a huge fan of the picture compared to “Dr. No” and especially “Goldfinger,” which remains the veritable prototype for the Eon series and all the globe-trotting adventures that followed it.
Each of these movies was shot “flat” and is presented here in what looks like a 1.7:1 aspect ratio (between the 1.66 of the previous Blu-Ray and 1.85 of other transfers) with Dolby Vision HDR. In terms of the overall transfers in this set, these pictures benefit from a more balanced, warmer color timing that appears more accurate (and it’s certainly more satisfying) than the more limited color pallet of the Blu-Rays from over a decade ago. Certainly the compression is also far better on UHD (there are no jaggies to be found like in “Dr. No”’s Blu-Ray opening) but in terms of overall detail, there’s not a whole lot of difference between these three transfers and the Blu-Rays that came before. And, if you’re looking for one of these movies to “pop” in terms of HDR, the deployment of Dolby Vision is quite reserved here, as is sometimes the case with Warner’s 4K UHD catalog releases.
The remaster benefits are more evident, however, once we get to the three widescreen pictures, starting with THUNDERBALL (130 mins., 1965). This first anamorphic Bond adventure really served as the launching pad for the series’ international success, ushering with it a tendency for the series to embrace bigger and wilder plots with budgets to match.
The 4K UHD of “Thunderball” is a fascinating one since the audio options are vast. While each film offers a Dolby Atmos remix (comparable to the 5.1 remixes from the older Blu-Rays) as well as its original mono sound, “Thunderball” also throws in an alternate sound mix that fans have talked about for years. This alternate track includes a few differently edited lines, a couple of alternately edited music cues, and even its own end title music arrangement – and for the first time, this track is included along with the original release mix in both Atmos and mono. (For a full list of the differences between the mixes, check out this Youtube video which does a great job breaking it down).
In terms of color, “Thunderball” offers immediate gains over its earlier Blu-Ray with a wider pallet and warmer saturation to go along with a more detailed rendering of its scope visuals. That also pertains to Connery’s subsequent Bond sojourns, the offbeat yet mildly disappointing YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (117 mins., 1967) and Connery’s unexpected return to the role in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (120 mins., 1971), which was a check-cashing venture for the star after George Lazenby fizzled out (for a myriad of reasons) in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” These transfers similarly look more impressive than the HD masters that Lowry Digital worked on some 20 years ago, with a wider color gamut and occasional HDR splashes that seem to be more obviously applied than the first three Bond remasters.
Warner’s menus obviously lack the snazzy effects that MGM’s 007 Blu-Rays contained, but they do seem to house all the special features from those releases (a myriad of documentaries and featurettes, trailers and vintage TV specials), all encoded in their proper frame-rate at that. Digital HD codes also adorn the package, which uses some modern “throwback” styled cover art that I’m not crazy about, but would never put me off from buying this set.
On balance, this is a highly pleasing package for Bond fans, who have had to patiently (or not so patiently) wait for this belated debut of the classic 007 series entries to appear on 4K UHD. Here’s hoping Warner and MGM get to the Roger Moore entries next, and don’t forget about the Dalton and Lazenby pictures (plus “Never Say Never Again”) along the way. The audience is ready and willing!
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2025 is shaping up to be a terrific year for TV on Disc releases with several long-running series debuting on DVD and Blu-Ray for the first time. Among the latter is MURDER, SHE WROTE (1984-96; Universal), the CBS staple which aired after “60 Minutes” on Sunday nights at 8pm for nearly the entire duration of its 12-season run, comprising much of the ‘80s and ‘90s in the process.
Angela Lansbury starred here, of course, as Jessica Fletcher – a Maine widow not unlike Miss Marple, whose talents writing mystery thrillers were only outdone by her actual ability to solve crimes. And that, of course, Jessica did throughout “Murder, She Wrote,” a series created by Peter S. Fischer and the “Columbo” team of Richard Levinson and William Link which laid down its formula fast and never really tinkered with it. That obviously was a good thing, because this tightly-written series followed “Columbo,” “Ellery Queen” and other shows like it, but with Lansbury’s engaging performance as an amateur sleuth making its sometimes complicated plots a pleasure to piece together.
Having grown up back at the time of its original broadcast, “Murder, She Wrote” – along with “Matlock” – was one of those series my Nana always had on, and I remember enjoying watching some of the episodes with her before she passed in 1994. In addition to an array of guest stars familiar to anyone who lived through the era (Leslie Nielsen, Mickey Rooney, Cyd Charrise), the series did mix up its infrequent supporting cast at times, with Tom Bosley essaying the local police chief (“Amos Tupper”) for four years before he took off for “The Father Dowling Mysteries,” while Jessica began teaching criminology in New York City for a time beginning in the 1991-92 season. However, for most of its run, viewers could count on little alterations from the show’s structure, and loved guessing “whoduneit?” as Jessica pieced together the culprit at the center of each episode’s crime.
Universal has brought several shows to Blu-Ray over the years and this 62-disc package offers all 12 seasons of “Murder, She Wrote” in attractive, genuine 1080p (1.37) transfers. Having been shot on film, these transfers show off more detail than you’d ever have seen on broadcast TV back then, and the package is configured with each season being housed in its own separate case. That also holds true for the 4-movie collection of “Murder, She Wrote” follow-up mysteries Lansbury appeared in that were produced between 1997 and 2003, and are also included in Universal’s now-available box-set, along with a number of extras.
Among the latter are interviews with Angela Lansbury and assorted crew/cast, carried over from the previous DVD releases, along with a look at “America’s Top Sleuths” (from the now-defunct Sleuth Channel) and the crossover with Tom Selleck’s CBS primetime hit “Magnum, P.I.”
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Another series that enjoyed a decades-plus run – basically from the time “Murder She Wrote” ended in the mid ‘90s and into the mid 2000’s – was THE DREW CAREY SHOW (1995-2004, Warner), a terrific sitcom anchored by comic Drew Carey leading an ensemble of four buddies (along with Diedrich Bader, Ryan Stiles and Christa Miller) working at a Cleveland department store managed for much of its run by future “Late Late Show” host Craig Ferguson.
“The Drew Carey Show” was a breezy, easy watch for so much of its duration. You could easily drop in and out of the comedy and not miss a beat, and the ensemble – along with the writing – was especially strong for its genre as well. While the quality eventually waned in its later years, in its prime, this was one of ABC’s best comedies from the latter end of its network’s genre heyday.
Warner’s Complete Series DVD includes Dolby Digital stereo sound and 1.33 transfers. Fans should note the series did offer a number of musical bits and because of licensing, some alterations had to be made with four whole episodes discarded altogether (Drew’s Dance Party Special; Drew Carey’s Back-to-School Rock ‘n’ Roll Comedy Hour Parts 1 & 2, and the karaoke-centered What’s Love Got To Do With It).
NEXT TIME: Arrow’s DARK CITY on 4K UHD! Until then, don’t forget to drop in on the official Aisle Seat Message Boards and direct any emails to our email address. Cheers everyone!