"This never happened to the other fella"
When the HD James Bond Blu-rays were announced a few years ago, die-hard 007 fans went nuts. The pre-Daniel Craig classics (and a few not-so classics) starting hitting shelves one by one (and in sets): From Russia With Love, The World Is Not Enough, Goldfinger, Moonraker, Die Another Day, For Your Eyes Only, The Man With The Golden Gun, Dr. No, License To Kill, Thunderball and Live And Let Die — all restored, all awesome and all looking better than they ever have before…
…Uh, wait a minute. What happened to the rest of the Bond titles?
That’s the question every Bond/Blu-ray fan was asking themselves. Turns out, the remaining Bond Blu-ray titles came to a halt.
Somewhere along the line, MGM (you know, that roaring lion you see before a Bond film starts?) got themselves into serious debt; and on November 3, 2010, the studio filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Bond Blu-ray collectors became restless, especially those who already purchased the first half. Even the production of a new Bond film was put on hold (despite strong box office numbers for Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace).
On April 1st 2011, some Bond titles magically popped up on Netflix’s hugely popular streaming service; but they’re not just Bond titles, they’re mostly the titles that haven’t been released on Blu-ray. Best part: they’re in HD.
With the exception of Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies (I certainly can do without ANY of the Brosnan titles), the remainder of the 007 title are now available to stream for the first time in 720p HD: Diamonds Are Forever, You Only Live Twice, Spy Who Loved Me, Octopussy, The Living Daylights, A View To A Kill, and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Additionally, you also get the following HD titles to stream: Man With The Golden Gun, Thunderball, For Your Eyes Only, License To Kill, Live And Let Die and Moonraker. As a bonus, the unofficial, non-EON Productions Never Say Never Again is available as well (only time will tell if Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Die Another Day, The Word Is Not Enough, and Goldfinger will end up as streaming titles – but again, we have those on Blu-ray so who cares?).
Okay, fine, so the remaining Bond movies on an actual Blu-ray disc still haven’t showed up; but you have to admit, seeing them on Netflix – and in HD – is the next best thing. I don’t know about you guys, but I sure as hell never noticed the birth mark on that babe’s body in the Diamonds Are Forever pre-credit sequence — and is that one of her nipples I see too? With that said, the HD quality, even when streaming, is beautiful.
Blu-ray collectors need not worry. MGM seems to finally have their act together. A new Bond film is in the works and is scheduled for release in 2012. It’s even going to be directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty). I bet you anything we’ll start seeing the rest of the Bond Blu-rays around the same time.
Until then, experience The Spy Who Loved Me as you’ve never experienced it before (cowbells and all).
MPM, you’re my hero. Great article!
Thanks, I’m glad you liked it. =D I’ve been waiting for some of these titles FOREVER on Blu-ray, so when I saw that they were on netflix, it made me so happy I wrote this little article.