The new boxed “deluxe collector’s edition” of “Goldfinger” (MGM/UA Home Video ML105198, THX, three discs, $99.98) marks the seventh time that this most collectible film of the very collectible James Bond series has been issued on laserdisc, the preferred format of the home video connoisseur collector.
This edition lives up to its “definitive” status, both through the crisp, bright transfer of the letterboxed film to disc and through the many supplemental features that have been added to it.
The movie, exceedingly clear in picture and monaural sound reproduction, also has two alternate soundtracks devoted to running commentary on the filmmaking process. On one, director Guy Hamilton and Sean Connery, Honor Blackman and other cast members reminisce, while on the other, production crew members explain the movie’s stunts, special effects and expensive gadgets (including the famous Aston-Martin DB5).
The movie is followed by two half-hour documentaries on the making and marketing of the film, several theatrical trailers and TV commercials, radio spots, and a still photo gallery. The package is further enhanced by an illustrated brochure that charts in detail the scenes and supplemental attractions on each disc.
There’s some duplication in anecdotes and film clips in the added features, but that’s to be expected in an edition that covers so much territory, and the rare gems uncovered here, such as Theo Bikel’s unsuccessful screen test for the title role (Gert Frobe, whose English was dubbed, got the job), are choice indeed.
On a slightly more modest scale is the collector’s edition of “The Big Country” (MGM/UA, Image Entertainment ID7352MG, two discs, letterboxed, $79.99), the 1958 Western directed by William Wyler, with Charlton Heston, Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons and Burl Ives (Oscar for supporting actor). Heston and Ives are heard on an alternate soundtrack, and another separate track isolates the score by Jerome Moross.
The supplemental section includes interviews with Heston and Peck, who wryly recalls the trouble he had with Wyler in co-producing the film, plus home movies, scene stills and the text of the screenplay. There are also three brief but informative essays printed on the gatefold jacket.
For the laserdisc edition of “Lord of Illusions” (MGM/UA ML105294, two discs, AC-3 stereo, letterboxed, $44.98), his 1995 marriage of ’40s film noir and ’90s horror movie special effects, writer-director Clive Barker has added 12 minutes of previously unreleased footage (not specifically identified) which, he says, makes the disc “the version by which I wish to be judged.”
More recent discs of note:
“Oliver Twist” (Criterion Collection 1419L, $49.95) has some rough spots, but, considering its age, director David Lean’s 1948 version of Charles Dickens’ novel, with Guy Green’s outstanding black-and-white cinematography, looks quite sharp. Alec Guinness’ famous and controversial portrayal of Fagin remains a fascinating study in repulsiveness.
“Guys and Dolls” (Hallmark Entertainment/Image ID3178HL, two discs, THX, AC-3, letterboxed, $59.99) was not a very exciting movie musical, despite the presence of Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra and several original Broadway cast members, but it has received a beautiful disc treatment, letterboxed in its original, 1955 Cinemascope ratio.
“Waterworld” (MCA/Universal Home Video 42680, two discs, THX, letterboxed, $44.98), producer-star Kevin Costner’s adventure epic in a land-starved future, comes across very well on disc, its large-scale action sequences, featuring sea battles on water scooters, revved up with roaring stereo sound.
