List Price: $9.94Price: $1.99 You Save: $7.95 (80%)as of 03/21/2010 00:22 EDT
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Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302510003
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, Original recording reissued, NTSC
ISBN: 6302510007
Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Languages: EnglishUnknownEnglishOriginal LanguageHungarianOriginal Language
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Release Date: October 19, 1999
Running Time: 121 minutes
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Theatrical Release Date: June 27, 1973
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Roger Moore was introduced as James Bond in this 1973 action movie featuring secret agent 007. More self-consciously suave and formal than predecessor Sean Connery, he immediately reestablished Bond as an uncomplicated and wooden fellow for the feel-good '70s. This film also marks a deviation from the more character-driven stories of the Connery years, a deliberate shift to plastic action (multiple chases, bravura stunts) that made the franchise more of a comic book or machine. If that's not depressing enough, there's even a good British director on board, Guy Hamilton (Force 10 from Navarone). The story finds Bond taking on an international drug dealer (Yaphet Kotto), and while that may be superficially relevant, it isn't exactly the same as fighting supervillains on the order of Goldfinger. --Tom Keogh
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
Unlike some I enjoy the Roger Moore era for what it was and Live and Let Die is a solid entry in his era. I especially like the nice saturated colors used in the cinematography which this Blu-ray really takes advantage of. The picture quality is pretty amazing for a film from the early 70's and I liked the audio as well. This is a must for any Bond collector or for fans of the film.
Rating:  -
I've been a Roger Moore fan since he replaced James Garner on "Maverick." "The Saint" is one of my 10 favorite tv shows. I've been a Bond fan since seeing Sean Connery in "Dr. No," at age 13, in my local theater. When Connery stepped down as Bond, as far as I was concerned, no one but Roger Moore could replace him. I was on vacation in Europe, after graduating college, when "Live and Let Die" premiered in the U.S. The day after I returned home I rushed to closest movie theater it was playing in to see it. Actually, it was kind of a disappointment.
The Bond films had grown in size and scope since the first film, "Dr. No." I was used to and enjoyed the epic nature of each Bond film. (I even thought the previous Bond, "Diamonds are Forever" to be a letdown compared to the previous great Bond film "On Her Majestys Secret Service." I found "Live and Let Die" even more of a letdown.
Lets look at the positives and the negatives. "Live and Let Die" is basically a bunch of chases and escapes: Bond gets captured, he escapes, he gets captured again, he escapes again, etc. Some of the escapes are quite good. There is a wonderful long motorboat chase sequence in the bayou where Bond is pursued by three or four motorboats of villains. This scene is beautifully photographed from above and accompanied by some very nice music by George Martin (his only Bond score.) Compare this excellent chase sequence to the recent confusing mediocre boat sequence in "Quantum of Solace" and you will see how good it really is. There is also probably the scariest escape in the series wherein Bond, trapped upon a small platform in the middle of a lake, must escape by running across the backs of several live crocodiles. This scene was actually filmed at an crocodile farm owned and run by one Ross Kananga, who performed this hairraising stunt himself. The blu-ray shows this scene actually being filmed, (it was repeated several times,) and the crocs almost sunk their teeth into Mr Kananga on several occassions. You couldn't get me to try this stunt for 10 million dollars.
The leading lady, Solitaire, a young virgin (until deflowered by Bond,) is played by the very young Jane Seymour, who I believe to be one of the prettiest leading ladies of the series. Those of you who just know her from "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" should see how young, beautiful and sexy she was in this film. (She still is quite a good looking woman based on those commercials she has been appearing in that I have been seeing.) The villain played by Yaphet Kotto is okay, his death scene is one of the sillier I've seen in the Bond films. Roger's old friend David Hedison (since he guest starred on an episode of "The Saint,) plays Felix Leiter. He really isn't given much to do. (He was given more to do when he played Felix again in the Timothy Dalton Bond "License to Kill." There is fed to the sharks by the villain and loses his leg.) Clifton James plays redneck Sheriff J.W. Pepper and he is hilarious during the boat chase sequence. (He would not be so hilarious when stupidly reused in the next Bond "The Man with the Golden Gun.") The secondary leading lady played by Gloria Hendry is such an annoying moron that one breathes a sigh of relief when she is quickly knocked off.
I was not a fan of the Paul McCartney and Wings theme song at the time, it has grown on me however over the years. The film has grown on me as well. It is not great, but fairly entertaining. It is certainly way better than the next Bond film, "The Man with the Golden Gun," which I consider to be one of the 2 or 3 worst films in the series. Moore really doesn't seem totally comfortable playing Bond in this film or the next one. He would make the role his own however in his third Bond, the terrific "The Spy Who Loved Me."
Roger does an audio commentary on this Bond film (and his others on blu-ray and dvd.) It is enjoyable to listen to. He does state that, next to "The Spy Who Loved Me," "Live and Let Die" is his personal favorite Bond. It is not mine although, as I have stated, it has improved with time.
The picture and sound quality on this blu-ray are excellent. The other special features are basically the same found on the deluxe DVD.
Rating: -
Quality of the DVD is excellent. The film? - what Bond film was bad? Moore was the second weakest Bond but it's still a good film.
Rating:  -
While the decline of James Bond movies may have begun with Diamonds Are Forever, the first of the Roger Moore era, 1973's Live and Let Die was a blast of nitrous oxide in the wrong direction.
Where to start? Solitaire's pre-Queen Amidala costumes? Roger Moore's pseudo-suave act; smoking a cigar while parasailing? Come on...at least Mike Myers was doing it purely for fun, the ridiculous CIA agent Rosie (that would be Comically Ineffective Actress)? The unflattering homage to blacksploitation movies? The not one, but TWO death attempts (shark and alligator) that would make Scott Evil and the good folks at Looney Tunes wretch - stepping over the backs of crocodiles? Are you kidding me? Or how about the decidedly un-exotic locales of Harlem, rural Louisiana, and the dirty slums of the Caribbean? Any of those is bad, but combined into one movie it is truly painful to watch at times.
Jayne Seymour does her best and is a classic example of the beautiful but problematic Bond woman, but Yaphet Koto is clearly one of the most wooden villains in Bond history and Moore fails on all levels as an effective Bond. It makes one appreciate the job Daniel Craig has done all the more.
Live and Let Die is an embarrassment to the Bond franchise and the first in a dreadful series of missteps regarding the Bond entity. It is played for cheesy thrills, campy laughs, and the emasculation of a great cinematic and literary guy, and that's just not cricket, baby.
Rating: -
When I asked my readers (and my friends and co-workers) which of the Bond Blu-Ray releases I should watch first, they unanimously picked Live and Let Die. Obviously if you've been reading my reviews you know that I ignored them, purely because I didn't want to start off with Roger Moore's first outing as Bond, which is an...odd film, to say the least.
With Connery (and Lazenby) gone from the Bond picture, the franchise seemed keen on reinventing itself with Moore and his different take on the secret agent. Rather than the suave styles of Sean, or the gritty gist of George, Roger went with a new direction for the Bond films: humor.
Don't get me wrong, Connery had his moments, but largely Connery's remarks were one-liners thrown at just the right time -- not all the time. What goes best with humor? Apparently nonsensical camp and self referencing dialogue! Live and Let Die was Michael Meyer's biggest inspiration for Austin Powers; that should tell you all you need to know.
As I already said, the movie was an odd one for an action spy thriller, let alone one like Bond. Live and Let Die is, ultimately, a supernatural Blaxploitation 70s B film which happens to have James Bond as the lead. Without James, the movie would work great and be considered a cult 70s classic; with him, it enters a whole new level of entertaining. This was a side (and type) of Bond never seen before to this extent, and changed the direction of the franchise from a more serious role to what we saw until Casino Royale came out to bring the series back to earth.
Ultimately, it's a fun romp and very entertaining. Is it a great movie? No. Is it an entertaining movie? No doubt. It's one of my favorite Bond films not because it breaks ground or has the best story, but because it's the most fun to watch and has one of the most intriguing characters in any Bond film before or since, Baron Samedi. (Plus it has the best Bond theme and opening sequence ever!)
Live and Let Die gets a bad wrap with a lot of fans because it doesn't take itself as seriously as Connery's films did, but faulting it for that would be no different than faulting Connery for making Bond too imposing of a figure to take over. No one could replace Connery as James Bond, so instead Roger Moore gave us a new direction for Bond to travel-one where a number of fine actors could replicate his persona on screen, and most importantly, entertain viewers.
Like the other older Bond films released on Blu-Ray, the video transfer does nothing astounding but does bring the quality up several notches. Colors are more vibrant, there's less grain and noise, blacks are deeper, and the little things are noticeable for the first time since theaters. It's a great presentation for an older movie, and if you have an HDTV and are a fan of Bond (or fun) it's a must-own not only for the quality of the film itself, but for the quality of the transfer.
Sadly, the audio is lacking in this one compared to the other five releases. While it's technically 5.1 and lossless, the levels could have been tweaked better. There were more times during this film that I had to adjust the volume to hear speaking (and lessen effect noise to a tolerable level for neighbors) than any of the other releases. It's a nuisance at most playing Volume Coach, but it's still one a viewer shouldn't have to go through multiple times throughout the film.
Once again, the extras on this Blu-Ray release are nothing new and are identical to the extras featured on previous DVD releases of this movie. While a few images here and there have been cleaned up or made in higher quality, for the most part it's exactly the same as if you had your DVD version from four years ago in the Blu-Ray player. A shame, but given that every Blu-Ray in this set is in the same boat (except Die Another Day which features less than the DVD releases) it's nothing surprising and shouldn't deter you from making a purchase.
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