007: The Sean Connery 6-Film Collection - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

007: The Sean Connery 6-Film Collection



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


WARNING: THE SCORES ABOVE ARE A COMBINED SCORE FROM ALL 6 FILMS.. THE INDIVIDUAL SCORES ARE CONTAINED BELOW IN THE INDIVIDUAL SECTIONS OF THE REVIEW

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Movie
With the Daniel Craig Collection receiving a 4K release in 2019, we’ve been hoping for almost six long years whether we would ever get the old classic EON-produced Bond movies in next-gen formats. As a lifelong Bond addict, I’ve collected just about every version of the films out there (except for that giant Bond collection with the cardboard sleeves. I can’t stand cardboard sleeve disc holders) and have been IMPATIENTLY waiting on the release of the rest. Unfortunately, we don’t get a massive box set or even individual releases of all the films, but Warner seems to be leaking these out slowly and has deigned to give us at least the next set by going back to the beginning and releasing all of the Sean Connery Bond films in one set. Hopefully we see the Roger Moore set and the rest come out soon, but for now I can be satisfied with at least getting the ones that started it all (well, not ALL of the Connery films, mind you. Never Say Never isn’t included here, and for good reason being because it was never a canonical Bond film. It would just be nice to have to complete ALL the Connery Bond films.

Rather than break this set down into individual films, I decided to go about this from a collective mindset. Being that this set is all the Connery Bond films, I wanted to view it through the lens of watching the series grow and adapt over the years. The infamous Dr. No is the film that started it all back in 1962. When watching the film back to back with the rest, you can see the actual groundwork being laid here. Originally a more serious spy film, Dr. No doesn’t overindulge in all of the over-the-top gadgets, gizmos, and cheesiness that the series turned into later. It’s a much more straightforward take on Ian Fleming’s novels, and actually tries to keep everything as a basic spy movie. Bond is introduced as the suave and debonair ladies' man with a license to kill, but doesn’t kill till near the end of the movie. Most of the film is simply a cat-and-mouse game as Bond hunts the villainous Dr. No until the very end, where he spoils his dreams of nuclear conquest.

It’s fascinating to watch the series change and grow with each film, and From Russia With Love takes Dr. No as a stepping stone, leaping off the idea of the maniacal world dominating “Spectre” as the series villain, and starts dipping his toes into the romance and gadgets aspect of his burgeoning character. From Russia With Love is probably one of my favorite Bond films due to the fact that it is the most balanced of them all. We see Q (Desmon Llewelyn) make his first appearance as the gadget master, while our Russian Bond girl sets the stage for Bond girls actually falling in love with the master spy in subsequent films. The action is top-notch, and the plot is one of the best of the series.

Fan favorite Goldfinger is one of those films where you see the paradigm shift happening in front of your eyes. Long gone are the vestibules of classic spy craft, replacing it with more action, more cheesy one liners, and more bodacious Bond babes to ogle in the form of Pussy Galore. We at least deviate from the Spectre villain set for a more traditional megalomaniac, but Goldfinger himself is a pretty weak bad guy. He just makes up for things by being a bit overdramatic. The same can be said for Thunderball as well. It continues where Goldfinger left off, with more spy gadgets, hot babes, and Connery gunning down villains left and right with his Walther PPK (chambered in good ole .32 ACP).

You Only Live Twice has long been the most criticized of the Connery films, and for good reason. The film goes WAYYYY over the top, with a bloated runtime (for what we see on screen at least) and a 3rd act that just goes gonzo bonkers in terms of cheesiness. I mean, we have Bond traipsing all over Japan like a modern-day Ronin Gaijin, and at this point in his career, he’s starting to age a bit into that crusty old man that he’ll become later. The , suave, and ripped Bond is slowly getting older (which is not a bad thing), and back then, they didn’t have the exercise and dieting regimen to extend his shelf life. As is, You Only Live Twice is just plain silly, without many critically redeeming factors. Still, the flick manages to be fun and one of the more rewatched films despite all the negatives.

Diamonds Are Forever manages to be the comeback for Connery, who stepped away after You Only Live Twice because he was sick of the franchise. The studios gave the franchise to George Lazenby in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in 1969, only to watch that film get critically lambasted for its dark tone (I will say this, Lazenby’s Bond was fantastic, but it had one of the darkest endings of the entire series to date). I will be forever one of the people who LOVED the tone swap back to a darker Bond, and Lazenby’s level of physical fitness and martial arts skill made him a more formidable star. The problem was, the audience didn’t go for it, so EON Productions called back Connery for one more go at it in 1971. The result? A more silly Bond film that is less insane than You Only Live Twice, but gave up the darker tone that Lazenby gave us. Honestly, even though it’s a decent Bond flick, Diamonds Are Forever is one of my least-watched Connery Bond flicks. I can’t put my finger on it, but the film feels a bit rehashed. Which shouldn’t phase most viewers as that is how Bond is, but still, I just don’t enjoy watching it that often.




Rated PG by the MPAA




Video:

Back in the 2008 era, when the Bond films were released, they were all utilizing the 2004 Lowry Digital restorations of the films, and at the time, they were considered quite nice. If not a little controversial due to the digital processing. But back then, we had 720p and 1080p televisions, and MOST of them sub 55 inches, so the issues were not that prevalent. As time progressed and better mastering technologies have emerged, I would say that those original Bond transfers on Blu-ray don’t hold up that well. Simply put, they’re over-processed, and the grain is decreased so dramatically that they look a bit waxy on larger screens. And with the advent of 60-85 inch screens becoming the norm for home theater enthusiasts, they just don’t look as great due to how much sharpening and edge enhancement.

Luckily, all 6 films have been remastered in brand new 4K scans of the OCN (Original Camera Negative) and look rather good. They’ve gotten rid of pretty much all of the old tinkering and processing, giving us a more natural and clean look to the film. Most are very, very good, with some just looking “OK”, but overall these look very pleasing. The first three films utilize the more spacious 1.78:1 framing, while the last three expand into the 2.39:1 scope aspect ratio that most subsequent films would employ. Colors are cleaner and more refined, with a sense of richness to the dark mahogany of the train in From Russia with Love, to the green grass on the golfing green where Goldfinger and Bond have a little mental sparring match. Textures look great as well, and really benefit from the lack of obvious digital manipulation (to be fair, there will ALWAYS be SOME digital manipulation in remasters, but it’s a balancing act where the audience can’t tell vs. needing to clean up minor things), and they obviously outclass the aging Blu-rays.

Fine details are solid, with some decent upgrades over the 1080p discs, but you aren’t going to see MASSIVE upgrades in that department. The Lowry transfers always showed good details, and the 1960s and early 70s film sources weren’t notorious for being stunning to the naked eye. The end result is that all 6 films look good, rarely great, but never poor in any way. Simply put, these are very palpable upgrades over the 1080p discs and should please fans and purists alike with how natural they look in comparison. Personally, I wanted to give this a 4.5/5, but felt that was a bit too high, so I went down to a 4/5, which I feel is a tad too low. I’d like to split the difference, but we have no star rating system for that, but I just wanted to clarify for your edification.






Audio:

Kind of like the video transfers, we get some new audio remixes as well. The Blu-rays and DVDs sported the aging 5.1 mixes that were struck during the early days of the home video formats and stuck around for the better part of 25+ years. They were good, sometimes great, but according to my sources at Warner, every film got a new audio mix in the form of a new Atmos track from scratch (built from the ground up, not just tweaked versions of the 5.1 mix) and an original theatrical mono mix in 2.0 DTS-HD MA.

Purists will be ecstatic to see the return of lossless theatrical mono tracks, and more modern audiences will really enjoy the Atmos tracks. Either one works just fine for me, but I found myself gravitating towards the Atmos even though I tend to be a purist most of the time. It just sounds more cinematic in a way, and MGM hasn’t gone overboard with the next generation audio. It stays mostly up front, rarely extending into the surrounds and overheads, instead keeping it a fairly front-heavy experience. That being said, we do get minor ambient bits bleed into the extraneous speakers, and some LFE here and there with an explosion or the like. It’s minimalist for an Atmos track, but much more “pure” for people like me who want at least SOME surround effects while keeping the spirit of the original audio intact.






Extras:

Dr. No
• Audio Commentary
• Declassified: MI6 Vault
• Exotic Locations
• Mission Dossier
• Ministry of Propaganda

From Russia With Love
• Audio Commentary
• Declassified: MI6 Vault
• Exotic Locations
• Mission Dossier
• Ministry of Propaganda

GoldFinger
• Audio Commentary #1
• Audio Commentary #2
• Declassified: MI6 Vault
• Exotic Locations
• Mission Dossier
• Ministry of Propaganda

Thunderball
• Audio Commentary #1
• Audio Commentary #2
• Declassified: MI6 Vault
• Selling Bonds
• Exotic Locations
• Mission Dossier
• Ministry of Propaganda

You Only Live Twice
• Audio Commentary
• Declassified: MI6 Vault
• Mission Dossier
• Ministry of Propaganda

Diamonds are Forever
• Audio Commentary
• Declassified: MI6 Vault
• Alternate and Expanded Angles
• Deleted Scenes
• Mission Dossier
• Ministry of Propaganda

Final Score: ​

While nerdy and impatient me would have loved to have seen the ENTIRETY of the original Bond films in 4K, I’m happy to say that the Sean Connery portion of the set looks and sounds pretty great in 2160p. All the extras are retreads from the DVD days (it’s not 100% complete as we’re missing a few minor things, but 95% of them are there), so we don’t get anything new, but the new 4K remasters and audio upgrades are appreciated. Maybe not PERFECT, the set is very solid, showcasing impressive technical points, not to mention getting Connery in 4K for the first time (as 007 that is). Here’s to hoping we get the Moore, Lazenby, Dalton, and Brosnan eras next.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Sean Connery, Lois Maxwell, Anthony Dawson, Bernard Lee
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Written by: Various
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1, 2.35:1, 2.39:1
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English DTS-HD MA 2.0 (Original audio), French, Spanish DD Mono
Subtitles: English SDH,
Studio: Warner Bros.
Rated: PG
Runtime: 110 Minutes / 115 Minutes / 110 Minutes / 130 Minutes / 117 Minutes / 120 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: June 10th, 2025

Recommendation: Great Set

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