To coincide with the release of the 22nd 007 James Bond film, Quantum of Solace on November 14th, MGM Fox has released the first six blu-ray editions of the spy library: Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, Live and Let Die, For Your Eyes Only and Die Another Day.

Available now as single blu-ray releases at a Suggested Retail Price of $34.98 or in two three-packs priced at $89.98. Volume 1 has Die Another Day, Live and Let Die, and Dr. No. Volume 2 collects From Russia With Love, For Your Eyes Only, and Thunderball.

All six films have sparkling 1080p transfers and new DTS-HD audio. They all maintain the extras from the 2006 DVD releases full of archival and promotional footage. PCS reviews each blu-ray below:

• Dr. No (1962) A+
• From Russia With Love (1963) A+
• Thunderball (1965) A
• Live and Let Die (1973) B+
• For Your Eyes Only (1981) B+
• Die Another Day (2002) C-

FEATURE: A+

Nearly 50 years later, the character of James Bond is stronger than ever. The 22nd film, Quantum of Solace will surely pack theaters the weekend of November 14th because 007 is a part of our life. The ultimate male fantasy, the culture of Bond lives on: living the high life, drinking dry martinis, traveling to distant places, sitting down at a casino table, playing Goldeneye, driving an Aston Martin, or just uttering the line, “Bond, James Bond.” But every mantra has a beginning, and everyone’s favorite secret agent began as a character in Ian Fleming’s 007 pulp fiction series in 1953. Another eight years would pass until he made the jump from the tattered paperbacks to the silver screen in Dr. No, a production put forth with Fleming’s approval, and the production team of Harry Saltzman and Alfred “Cubbie” Broccoli.

In his film debut, Agent 007, James Bond (Sean Connery) is sent to Jamaica with the disappearance of a fellow British agent. He assembles a team with a CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jack Lord) and island local, Quarrel (John Kitzmiller) and a local Crab Key goddess, Honey Ryder (Usula Andress) who literally emerges from the sea. They stumble on the island of an eccentric Dr. No and his plan to attack America and their space program in Cape Canaveral with nuclear assault. I’m leaving out details but this was the making of an epic spy adventure and at the time, such a script was ambitious and grand.

It is said that we create heroes when we need them most. Movie-goers got some kind of satisfaction through Bond movies, at least with European and American audiences. He was a spy who was reluctant to follow orders, he killed when necessary, at times when not. He portrayed the playboy code, driving fast cars and sleeping with women he barely knows whether it helps his mission or not. That recklessness, the disregard for his body made him mysterious and attractive. And so our hero took center stage lit with slick title sequences to introduce him, a hip brass band as his soundtrack, the smell of sex in the air and danger around the corner–we were hooked.

PRESENTATION: B+

The packaging is a standard case in a cardboard slipcase. There are two stickers that cover the slipcase, one of which is a promotion for e-Movie Cash towards the new Quantum of Solace film. The problem though is when you pull the label off to reveal the redemption code, part of the ink of the code and the adhesive stays behind. I wound up using the the adhesive of the other sticker to clean up the case, a tedious and unnecessary annoyance.

As in all of the newer James Bond releases, the same menu design is carried through with a modern and sleek appearance. A spiraling gun barrel frames the screen as silhouettes of shapely women and clips scroll by. The navigation has a spy theme with choices like “Language Decryption” for “Audio”, and “Initiate Mission” for “Play.” Moving within each selection like the extras can be a little cumbersome moving up and down and then to the left to get out of that nav bar, and “Play All” is only an option that shows up some of the time. Once you’ve viewed a special it automatically moves down the menu when your natural instinct is to move to the next selection. Another awkward default is that in the commentary selections it starts at the last track and you have to move up to see the rest. White Subtitles are available in English and Spanish.

AUDIO: A–

There’s a new, 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track and it sounds amazing. All of the action scenes are active and appropriately you’ll feel it when things go boom. The original English and Spanish Mono tracks are included for the nostalgic, and so is a French 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack.

VIDEO: A+

We get a shiny new 1080p transfer that’s AVC MPEG-4 encoded which thanks to the Lowry Restoration Process looks amazing! The original ratio is 1.66:1 has been brought over and the thing that will catch your eye immediately is the Murice Binder title sequence. The details of the church interior make you feel like you’re not that far away. The different colored lamps show up in the shine of cast members’ hair. As said in the restoration documentary, this film may look like it was shot in the 1960’s but it doesn’t look 45 years old. Dr. No has never looked so good.

EXTRAS: A+

Like all of the Bond blu-rays, they’ve transplanted all of the extras from the recent DVD releases. They are in standard definition, widescreen and sport a 2.0 Dolby Stereo mix. Each of these Bond films have a different degree of strength concerning the extras. Some have a literal vault of archival footage, which can be nice, but also can be dull. Dr. No sports a great Audio Commentary hosted by John Cork of the Ian Fleming Foundation and interviews with director, Terence Young and cast members that weave in and out of scenes they contributed to. The biggest reason why all of these Bond films shine on blu-ray is explored in 007 Licensed to Restore (11:56). It’s a fascinating process and the tedious work of Lowry’s staff is a marvelous achievement.

A BBC special, Guns of James Bond (5:06) interviews Jeffrey Boothroyd who become a gun enthusiast after reading the Fleming novels. Touring through his gun cabinet Boothroyd puts on a show-and-tell of the actual abilities of Bond’s guns in various situations and what kind of gun he would have liked to have seen Bond use. There’s no such thing as a small Bond red carpet event. Premiere Bond: Opening Nights (13:09) is a tell-all of the spectacles and who’s who in the crowd of dashing entrances. From the Royal Premieres at the Odeon Lester Square to Hollywood Boulevard, the featurette is entertaining until the last two minutes where every charity that saw donations from the premieres is mentioned.

Inside Dr. No (42:10) spotlights the important people responsible for the Bond films. Naturally, Harry Saltzman and Alfred “Cubbie” Broccoli were spoken about well. The choice of Sean Connery was the first and most important decision. Next, his villains, the sturdy supporting cast and then… Ursula Andress recalls her memorable entrance scene. Dr. No 1963 (8:40) is a black and white style guide to James Bond showing likes and dislikes, his favorite gun for example. Terence Young: Bond Vivant (17:57) gives credit to the director who is just as responsible as Connery for creating an icon. Young did more with less to establish the franchise, and his films in particular have remained amongst the fan-favorites throughout the decades. It was his style and attitude that Connery pulled from and placed in his performance. He is remembered by past cast and crew members as a man who could have easily been James Bond himself because he shared the same swagger. It’stoo bad he couldn’t direct more.

007 Mission Control is the throw-away extra which allows users to access all of the major elements of film strung together in different branches: opening credits, women, allies, villains, mission combat manual, Q branch, and exotic location. The best purpose I see for this is to showcase the action scenes for reference material or to pull out the great Binder opening credits. In the “Ministry of Propaganda” four theatrical trailers (10:57), one TV spots (1:24) and six radio commercials (6:38). An extensive gallery full of promotional and behind-the-scenes images closes out the extras.

DR. YES –- OVERALL SHOCK VALUE: A+

On that movie lot 1961, the world famous recipe for the next action hero was drawn up. Like a treasured recipe for chocolate chip cookies, follow is and it will always taste as great as that first batch. Change the process or the ingredients and the experience changes. This blu-ray preserves the original recipe like no other previous edition of Dr. No, and I guarantee you it will taste better than what you remembered.

FEATURE: A+

In the second film of the long-running franchise, SPECTRE sets out to exact revenge on James Bond (Sean Connery) for killing Dr. No. They’ve trained a new assassin, Red Grant (Robert Shaw) a towering brute and armed with a garrote in his watch. Trained and approved by SPECTRE Number Three, the vile Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya), Grant’s only mission is to wipe out 007.

MI6 sends Bond to Istanbul to retrieve a Russian Lektor cryptograph and a cypher clerk by the name of Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi) at the consulate. She has made a deal to defect with the Lektor as long as Bond is the agent to pick her up. Unknown to Bond is that Romanova is acting undercover against her will (by SPECTRE) and is leading Bond to his death. British Intelligence Chief Ali Kerim Bey assists Bond in stealing the Lektor and flee on the Orient Express with Romanova, where Grant is waiting for them. Plenty more action ensues and Bond suspects Romanova is working as a spy for Russia, (not SPECTRE) and a deadly climax awaits them all in Venice.

While Dr. No had a plot with a much larger scope, director, Terence Young came back with a stealthy reconnaissance mission showing the wide array of missions in 007’s world. The importance of an enemy cypher was a very real thing. Any edge could be the difference in a global war and a mission like this was a plausible story viewers could buy. The gypsy theme and Venice channels gave it a warm Mediterranean flavor–a great contrast to the bigger threat, the cold, Eastern Bloc looming in the back. The Bond family was established with the return of Bernard Lee as M, Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny and Desmond Llewelyn as Q and Rosa Klebb and Red Grant became legendary adversaries in the 007 lore. If blondes are your thing, Bianchi doesn’t disappoint as the resident Bond girl and balanced by his womanizing and flirting, Connery steps up the physical action in memorable fist fights and explosive chase scenes. Everybody goes home happy. Track down From Russia with Love, it’s one of the very best Bond films ever made, and lives on in high-end form on blu-ray.

PRESENTATION: B+

Packaging is a standard case in a shiny, cardboard slipcase. There are two stickers that cover the slipcase, one of which is a promotion for e-Movie Cash towards the new Quantum of Solace film. The problem though is when you pull the label off to reveal the redemption code, part of the ink of the code and the adhesive stays behind. I wound up using the the adhesive of the other sticker to clean up the case, a tedious and unnecessary annoyance.

As in all of the newer James Bond releases, the same menu design is carried through with a modern and sleek appearance. A spiraling gun barrel frames the screen as silhouettes of shapely women and clips scroll by. The navigation has a spy theme with choices like “Language Decryption” for “Audio”, and “Initiate Mission” for “Play.” Moving within each selection like the extras can be a little cumbersome moving up and down and then to the left to get out of that nav bar, and “Play All” is only an option that shows up some of the time. Once you’ve viewed a special it automatically moves down the menu when your natural instinct is to move to the next selection. Another awkward default is that in the commentary selections it starts at the last track and you have to move up to see the rest. White Subtitles are available in English and Spanish.

AUDIO: A–

A new, 5.1 DTS-HD lossless Master Audio track is one of the major upgrades for the blu-ray. The rear channels get a decent spin with music, explosions, and train effects traveling back to them. The scene where Bond goes at it with a helicopter is one of the better immersive scenes in the film. Dialogue is clear from conversations to the grunts of hand-to-hand combat. Also present is original English and Spanish Mono tracks and a French 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack.

VIDEO: A+

From Russia gets a new 1080p transfer that’s AVC MPEG-4 encoded and with the Lowry Restoration Process it looks like it’s ready to hit theaters tomorrow! The original ratio is 1.66:1 has preserved and details like the frescos are completely visible now. The title sequences are sexy and alluring using the gypsy dancers and projecting the names onto their bodies. I can’t rave about these title sequences enough as their rich hues in high definition are like ripe fruit. These transfers show no sign of age or artificial enhancement, just a very clean image.

EXTRAS: A+

Like all of the Bond blu-rays, they’ve transplanted all of the extras from the recent DVD releases. They are in standard definition, widescreen and sport a 2.0 Dolby Stereo mix. Each of these Bond films have a different degree of strength concerning the extras. Some have a literal vault of archival footage, which can be nice, but also can be dull. From Russia with Love has a great Audio Commentary hosted by John Cork of the Ian Fleming Foundation and interviews with director, Terence Young and cast members that weave in and out of scenes they contributed to.

Two excellent featurettes in the Mission Dossier menu are the Inside From Russia With Love (33:46) and Harry Saltzman: Showman (26:42). The former talks about Harry Saltzman and Cubbie Broccoli knows the formula. Release James Bond every year and produce another in between but knowing it and implementing it were two different things. The feature on Saltzman revealed him to be a big showman, and always tried to think big, and tried to take Bond to that big level. His daughter Hilary, and son Steven recollect fondly personal stories of their father, and his peers and friends on his storied career.

Open up the MI6 vault to get to know Ian Fleming in The CBC Interview (7:42) in which he answers questions on his approach to writing the novels and denies that they are corrupting the young boys in school. Two BBC Audio Clips are heard with black and white photo montages. One is with Raymond Chandler (5:11) where the two popular writers converse on their differences, and the other, DESERT Island Discs (5:12) explains how intelligence organizations really work. And if that’s not enough, there’s an Animated  Storyboard (1:28) of the boat chase sequence.

007 Mission Control is the throw-away extra which allows users to access all of the major elements of film strung together in different branches: opening credits, women, allies, villains, mission combat manual, Q branch, and exotic location. The best purpose I see for this is to showcase the action scenes for reference material or to pull out the great Binder opening credits. In the “Ministry of Propaganda” four theatrical trailers (7:41), three TV spots (1:35) and three radio commercials (1:38). An extensive gallery full of promotional and behind-the-scenes images closes out the extras.

FROM ERNIE WITH LOVE –- OVERALL SHOCK VALUE: A+

As much as I enjoy all of the Sean Connery Bond films, From Russia with Love sticks out as a big favorite of mine. Sometimes the spy missions that lean on the espionage and reconnaissance intrigue me more than the threat of yet another nuclear weapon. The casting was filled with inspiring choices. Like Thunderball, this film balances out the playful banter with up-close violence. Bond continues to carry a mean streak in his character but is strong enough to take the foot off the throat at any moment. And as the body count in Bond’s wake rises, so do the number of reasons to add this blu-ray to your shelf.

FEATURE: A

The villain group, SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-Intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) takes down a plane carrying nuclear warheads with an undercover agent posing as a pilot. Intelligence suspects the plane is submerged underwater after it goes off the radar somewhere in the Bahama waters. Agent 007 (Sean Connery) leads a team in Nassau to find the weapons before they can be used against the allies. He meets not one, but two curvaceous redheads, Domino (Claudine Auger) who is linked to mysterious Largo (Adolfo Celi), a shark aficionado with a mansion off coast. Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi) enters the arena who turns out to be a SPECTRE agent with a nasty bedside manner. Can he and his allies find the plane, the nukes, and save the day in time to tag both Bond girls? Of course, we are talking about James Bond here.

Terence Young directs, sadly his final Bond film arguably the best of the lot. A raw energy flowed through his three films, unseen in many of the later films. He created spy epics without unwarranted excess. Mystery, suspense, and seduction were always present in nearly every frame under Young’s and Thunderball, achieved the perfect blend of those qualities with an imaginative spy script. Fortunately as directors come and go, and different men get fitted for the tuxedo, the constant force behind the films remains constant with producers, Alfred Broccoli and Harry Saltzman who with Thunderball managed to salvage the production from legal troubles when former Ian Fleming collaborators, Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham tried to sue back in 1961, when it was thought to be the first Bond film. Thankfully, the much-storied past off-camera did nothing to tarnish what happened on-camera.

It’s the fantasy world of espionage that we’re drawn to, men–dark and mysterious, women–exotic and deadly, situations–we’ve played out as children. But it’s the most capable agent, James Bond, was born a movie icon because he was unpredictable. He got the job done but he was never a boy scout, these were stories based off pulp fiction. 007 killed who he needed using his body as a weapon and then seduced the weak for the good of gaining information–but he always used his smarts and thought on the fly. Connery conveyed all of these qualities better than anyone else and is a big reason Thunderball remains as one of the best 007 films ever. Released for the first time on blu-ray, Thunderball remains a timeless gem that now has the benefits of high definition to match the quality of the film for years to come.

PRESENTATION: B+

The packaging is a standard case in a cardboard slipcase. There are two stickers that cover the slipcase, one of which is a promotion for e-Movie Cash towards the new Quantum of Solace film. The problem though is when you pull the label off to reveal the redemption code, part of the ink of the code and the adhesive stays behind. I wound up using the the adhesive of the other sticker to clean up the case, a tedious and unnecessary annoyance.

As in all of the newer James Bond releases, the same menu design is carried through with a modern and sleek appearance. A spiraling gun barrel frames the screen as silhouettes of shapely women and clips scroll by. The navigation has a spy theme with choices like “Language Decryption” for “Audio”, and “Initiate Mission” for “Play.” Moving within each selection like the extras can be a little cumbersome moving up and down and then to the left to get out of that nav bar, and “Play All” is only an option that shows up some of the time. Once you’ve viewed a special it automatically moves down the menu when your natural instinct is to move to the next selection. Another awkward default is that in the commentary selections it starts at the last track and you have to move up to see the rest. White subtitles are available in English and Spanish.

AUDIO: A–

With each film, the sound mix gets better and better. In this, the fourth 007 film, more sound effects pan around and behind you like gunfire and helicopters. The subwoofer gets much more constant work than in Dr. No and From Russia with Love. The rumble from jets is robust and plumes of the explosion are accompanied with the rattling of your floorboards. Everything sounds great on this new, 5.1 DTS-HD lossless audio track and it’s exciting to hear a film this old sound so good. The original English and Spanish Mono tracks are included for the nostalgic, and so is a French 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack.

VIDEO: A+

The 1080p transfer is AVC MPEG-4 encoded and is in 2.35:1 and the Lowry Restoration process works wonders on Bond–the Connery films especially. The set designs have so much more depth to them with frescos on the walls and ornate decor throughout and in general seem like more color-rich films than the 1970’s era of 007. Maurice Binder’s title sequences dazzle in the high def. Crisp details of those voluptuous silhouettes have defined edges and the primary hues illuminate the room you’re watching it in. Blacks are deep, dark, and truly black. The range of blues and greens in the Nassau coral reefs can be picked up at a glance and underwater sequences look like a freshly-cleaned aquarium. Note the dramatic contrast in outfits in the climactic scuba brawl especially when the camera pans out to fit over twenty stuntmen in one shot. In older versions of the film both sides look they’re all wearing dark suits when the allies are actually wearing bright red-orange scuba gear.

EXTRAS: A+

Like all of the Bond blu-rays, they’ve transplanted all of the extras from the recent DVD releases. They are in standard definition, widescreen and sport a 2.0 Dolby Stereo mix. Each of these Bond films have a different degree of strength concerning the extras. Some have a literal vault of archival footage, which can be nice, but also can be dull. Thunderball though is a strong all-around disc complete with two phenomenal Audio Commentaries and some great finds in the MI6 Vault.

John Cork of the Ian Fleming Foundation returns to moderate the first commentary to teach us yet more lessons in Bond 101. His comments allow you to study particular points of scenes while the folding in the excerpt interviews with the cast and crew members such as director, Terence Young, composer John Barry, Luciana Paluzzi, and Ricou Browning who coordinated the underwater scenes that add new dimensions to the viewing experience. Cork hosts the second commentary with screenwriter, John Hopkins and editor, Peter Hunt. They even have a little fun here mixing in the Spanish audio for a change and playing the original title song “Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” sung by Dionne Warwick. Whether you’re a casual fan or a diehard double agent, these two extras are invaluable pieces of cinematic history–DO NOT pass them up.

In the MI6 Vault is an NBC TV Special from 1965 called, The Incredible World of James Bond (50:54) which is an encyclopedia of sorts of the first four Bond films. Lots of it is redundant material if you’ve watched all of the early films, and is a comprehensive overview if this is your only Bond purchase. A Child’s Guide to Blowing Up a Car–1965 Ford Promotional Film (17:09) make believes that you’re a bored young boy with an over-zealous and cinephile father who’s been invited on the set during the shoot of the car chase. It’s an ingenious way to do a behind-the-scenes spot, but it runs a bit long for my taste and…frankly gets annoying, but it does have cool title sequence. On Location(13:06) is a cool trip down memory lane with set designer, Ken Adam and the pre-production footage of him, Harry Saltzman, and Albert Broccoli scouting where and what to shoot. The Rocket Man Movies (3:54) interviews Bill Suitor, the man strapped to the infamous rocket pack Bond uses to getaway in the opening scene. He discuses what it feels like to go up in the air with the suit and the revelation of why Bond suddenly though, “safety first.” Thunderball Boat Show Reel (2:51) is a publicity clip of a much shorter alternative cut of scuba brawl scene, where amusing 1965 TV commercials advertise the official 007 raincoat, pants, and secret agent spy pen and paper in Selling Bonds (2:05).

007 Mission Control is the throw-away extra which allows users to access all of the major elements of film strung together in different branches: opening credits, women, allies, villains, mission combat manual, Q branch, and exotic location. The best purpose I see for this is to showcase the action scenes for reference material or to pull out the great Maurice Binder credits. Three 1995 featurettes make up the “Mission Dossier”, Making of Thunderball (27:34) takes you on a basic overview of the big moments of the film, casting and Connery, Claudine Auger, and Luciana Paluzzi reflect on memorable scenes. The Thunderball Phenomenon (31:04) gives background to the James Bond “novel” beginnings, memorabilia and Ian Fleming facts, and the insane popularity of the series. The Secret History of Thunderball (3:56) shows that there were varying versions of a handful of scenes where different dialogue was used, or it was dubbed differently or the scene was taken out completely. No real explanations are given though. In the “Ministry of Propaganda” are three theatrical trailers (8:26), six TV spots (3:31) and ten radio commercials (5:03). An extensive gallery full of promotional and behind-the-scenes images closes out the extras.

BOND. THUNDER BOND – OVERALL SHOCK VALUE: A

As stated above, Thunderball encapsulated the right mix of spy games and sexual tension. Its fresh screenplay aimed big, but succeeded with the basics. The action was never over the top, nor did the gadgets seem out of this world. The Bond girls electrified the screen and Connery’s leading man mojo is as fierce as ever. The only thing it lacked was a legendary villain. Trumping the recent DVD with better sound and even better video, another classic film benefits from the blu-ray treatment.