From Russia with Love Blu-ray delivers stunning video and great audio in this exceptional Blu-ray release
Secret agent James Bond battles the all-enveloping tentacles of an international
crime syndicate called SPECTRE. The organization's mad plan for world supremacy
unfolds with the icy efficiency of a chessmaster's complex strategy, and if they
succeed, the antagonism of the cold war will be pushed from deep-freeze to the
supernova of atomic oblivion. But our man Bond dispatches sultry spies, madmen,
and double agents with the same coolness he displays while downing Martinis and
making love to beautiful blondes. In this, the second of the series, Bond travels to
Turkey to meet a mysterious Russian woman who claims to have fallen in love with
his photograph. She offers him a secret translating device if he will join her,
although he does not know that she has been put up to the task by Rosa Klebb,
formerly of the KGB, who has gone to work for SPECTRE. It's Bond's assignment to
get the girl and the machine back to England — and to do it, of course, in style.
By the time that From Russia With Love premiered in theaters in 1963, James Bond
fever had already gripped the world. Audiences were swept away to the realm of spies,
international intrigue and a protagonist who loved his martinis, cars and women almost as
much as he loved his home country of the United Kingdom. The previous year, film audiences
were introduced to the dashing spy with Dr. No, making a household name out of
the previously unknown Sean Connery, almost overnight. As the second film in the series,
From Russia With Love capitalized on Connery's popularity, his character's decadent
lifestyle and building real-world tensions between western nations and the Soviet Union.
Any doubts in Bond's popularity were immediately forgotten; From Russia With Love
smashed box office records around the world, cementing James Bond's place in film history.
Bond enjoys a rare moment of sobriety.
The second James Bond filmed adventure finds everyone's favorite gentleman spy on a
mission to retrieve a top-secret Soviet decoding machine known as the LEKTOR. Bond
(Sean Connery) travels to Istanbul to intercept a defecting Soviet agent who possesses the
device. Little does Bond know that SPECTRE, the menacing terrorist organization hinted at
in Dr. No, has set a trap for him; they intend to exact their revenge for Bond's
involvement with the death of their comrade in arms, Dr. No. Bond will dodge SPECTRE's
assassination attempts at every turn while outwitting Russian agents, seducing the ladies
and meeting new foes with some devilishly dangerous footwear. By boat, train and plane,
Bond will take on the forces of destruction and chaos in a race across Europe, keeping the
LEKTOR out of the hands of SPECTRE.
After the relatively confined Caribbean locale of Dr. No, From Russia With
Love serves as more of a travel-log, jet-set Bond adventure. The film feels more exotic
and dangerous; Bond visits locations that must have been seldom seen in films from the
60s, giving the film a more thrilling and mysterious flavor. It's the perfect paranoid
adventure for the height of the Cold War, while still delivering Soviet characters who
manage to come across as sympathetic compared to the diabolical craziness of SPECTRE's
cadre of baddies. In From Russia With Love, we are finally introduced to the
SPECTRE organization; their leader Blofeld (Anthony Dawson), assassin Rosa Klebb (Lotte
Lenya) and the ruthless Red Grant (Robert Shaw) all amp up the villainy with their dreams of
world domination. By contrast, Bond's major love interest in the film is Russian; Daniela
Bianci's Tatiana Romanova proves to be a first rate Bond girl.
There are many notable firsts in From Russia With Love. Desmond Llewelyn makes
his first appearance as "Q" - - he'd appear in every subsequent Bond film until his death in
1999. Along with "Q" came a ton of new gadgets, including a pager, bug detector and a car
phone. Bernard Lee returns as "M", Bond's boss and the head of MI6, while the ever-
present Lois Maxwell reprises her role as Miss Moneypenny; a role she'd continue well into
the next decade. Of course, the real draw still lies with Sean Connery; he's a little more
confident as James Bond in his second outing, while still exuding a fresh excitement for the
role. From Russia With Love is his movie and he enjoys every second of it.
Perhaps the best reason to enjoy From Russia With Love all over again, aside from
Connery's great performance, comes from the inclusion of one of the series' best villains.
The amazing Robert Shaw steals every scene he occupies as Red Grant. He's Bond's first
real nemesis to appear in the films and he serves as an excellent, evil counterpoint to the
witty British agent. While From Russia With Love isn't my absolute favorite of the
Bond films, it comes pretty darn close. It's a must buy addition to any Bond fan's collection,
as well as a film that every budding Bond fan should own. From Russia With Love is
a true classic that is highly recommended.
Encoded with the AVC Mpeg-4 compression codec, framed at the film's original aspect ratio
of 1.66:1 and presented in full 1080p, From Russia With Love makes its high
definition debut in a stunning Blu-ray package of incredible quality. For a 46 year old film,
the folks over at MGM and Lowry Digital Images have done a remarkable job cleaning up the
film and removing any annoying print damage. The film looks fresh and ready for action.
Some might notice a few slight instances of edge enhancement on From Russia With
Love; fortunately, this occurs rarely and is barely noticeable. Otherwise, the transfer
features black levels and contrast fitting a picture of 60s origin, a remarkable level of detail,
vivid, if slightly dated, color reproduction and an absolute absence of additional digital
artifacts and anomalies. I've never seen From Russia With Love look anywhere
near this good; Bond fans are going to be in heaven with this excellent Blu-ray release.
Highly recommended.
Much like the other classic Bond releases from MGM, From Russia With Love has
been given a spruced-up surround sound mix in lossless 5.1 DTS-Master Audio. It's an
involving
track with plenty of surround activity and excellent use of rear directional effects, but does
often show the limits of the sound recording equipment used in the 1960. Viewers will often
hear a slight hissing sound during the film's quieter moments, while many of the action
effects have a slightly metallic and clunky sound to them.
I wouldn't classify any of these issues as problems, however. From Russia With
Love is a 46 year old film at this point; there are going to be limitations to any material
of such an advanced age. I am, however, impressed with how much mileage the sound
designers were
able to squeeze out of these antiquated tracks. Dialogue is mostly intelligible, with very few
passages that sound less than ideal. The film's score is also well represented and sounds
as though it could have been recorded yesterday. While From Russia With Love
isn't going to challenge the likes of Transformers or Black Hawk Down in the
sound department, it is a remarkable remaster that provides a well-updated surround
experience. Recommended.
- Feature Audio commentary Hosted by Producer John Cork, featuring Director Terence
Young and various cast and crew members
- Ian Fleming: The CBC Interview
- Ian Fleming and Raymond Chandler
- Ian Fleming on Desert Island Discs
- "Inside From Russia With Love"
- "Harry Salzman: Showman"
- Animated Storyboard Sequence
- 007 Mission Control
- Mission Combat Manual: Action Sequences
- Q branch: Gadgets
- Exotic Locations
- TV Broadcasts
- Image Database
As one of the better special features sets among the first six classic Bond films released by
MGM, From Russia With Love does an exceptional job of positioning the film within
the historical and cultural climate of the 60s. My favorite feature is a thorough commentary
track hosted by DVD producer John Cork. He's assembled a series of sound-bites and audio
clips from various members of the cast and crew, including Director Terence Young. Great
stuff! I was also particularly fond of the vintage radio and television interviews with Bond
creator Ian Fleming. Mr. Fleming was an opinionated man, never at a loss for words and
never afraid to speak his mind. The
set's animated storyboard sequence is interesting, and I found several of the more gadget
and gear related features to be entertaining. Finally, the "Inside From Russia With
Love" featurette does an exceptional job of outlining the film's production, while
featuring a ton of great vintage clips and behind the scenes exclusives. It's an
informative and well-conceived documentary that is a must-watch for any Bond fan. All told,
I'm very impressed with what's been included with From Russia With Love; MGM
should be commended for their excellent work.
From Russia With Love is one of my personal favorites among the varions James
Bond films. With
Sean Connery at his prime, featuring a story pulled directly from an Ian Fleming novel, the
film remains one of the storied series' finest achievements. MGM continues to do fine work
with their restorative work on the Bond franchise; From Russia With Love looks
better than could have been expected for a film of its advanced age, while sounding
thoroughly updated and
exciting. The set's supplemental features are also well assembled, giving a nice historical
perspective on the film's production and cultural impact. Bond fans will doubtlessly line up
to purchase From Russia With Love on Blu-ray. Those viewers not familiar with the
film will be treated to one of the series' best; it's a film that contains a tremendous amount
of legendary material that must be seen. This exceptional Blu-ray release is
highly recommended.
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