DVD : Casino Royale [Blu-ray] [2006]

Rating: - This is about to be replaced by a newer version.
Here we go again. It's the whole dvd situation again. You buy a film in good faith, only for them to replace it a few months later. It's pathetic that this film doesn't have either of the high def sound formats DTS MA or DD True HD. It's the reason I tend to rent Blu-Ray discs rather than buy at the moment. Great film though. 4 stars is for the film, 3 stars for the disc itself.

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Rating: - Movie: 4.75/5 Picture Quality: 5/5 Sound Quality: 4.75/5 Extras: 2.25/5
Version: U.S.A (PG-13) / Region Free [CUT]

MPEG-4 AVC BD-50
Running time: 2:24:12
Movie size: 35,118,618,624 bytes
Disc size: 47,306,624,902 bytes
Average Video Bit Rate: 24.52 Mbps
LPCM 5.1 4608Kbps 16-bit English
DD AC3 5.1 448Kbps English
Number of chapters: 16

Version: Russia / Region Free [NO CUTS]
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50
Running time: 2:24:20
Movie size: 37,323,122,688 bytes
Disc size: 49,163,230,782 bytes
Average video bit rate: 24.64 Mbps
LPCM Audio English 4608 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 16-bit / 4608kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 448 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 448kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 448 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 448kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Czech 448 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 448kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Hungarian 448 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 448kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Polish 448 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 448kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Russian 448 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 448kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Turkish 448 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 448kbps
Number of chapters: 16

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Rating: - Blu-ray full product details
Since Amazon never publishes the full details here they are:

Audio: Czech 5.1, English 5.1, English PCM 5.1, English Audio description track 5.1, Hungarian 5.1, Polish 5.1, Russian 5.1, Turkish 5.1

Subtitles: Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, English (Hard of hearing), English, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Polish, Romanian, Slovene, Turkish

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Rating: - Good film but with some inconsistant image quality
First of all let me say that I think this is a great Bond film. Not that some earlier ones weren't, they were good for their era but it seems that now 'we' want a gritty hero, not a romantic vision of a spy.
In that I think DC plays the role very well.

What did surprise me was that some of the film displayed poor image quality. The part that springs to mind is the scene in the embassy courtyard. The camera switches from Bond to his persuers and back and forth again.
The change in definition quality changes dramaticaly between one and the other camera shot. I thought I must have a fault but a friend at work had noticed the same thing. Strange for a recent film to have this problem.
Probably a case that the two camera angles were shot at completely different times/location with different equipment and one was inferior to the other.

Still, a great Bond film.

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Rating: - I am not a fan of Daniel Craig as bond.
I personally thought the idea of where to take the Bond franchise was very clever, reboot it with less sillyness. However casting DC was in my opinion a very poor move. To each thier own though. So that aside how is the movie, its ok except for the over long love plot which slows the movie down too much. Other niggles include keeping supporting cast from the Brosnan era when the franchise has been rebooted, why? it is too strong a connection with the older movies. That aside the tone is darker than most bond films and the action is excellent.
Is it an essential blu ray purchase? only if you like DC as bond. However it is a good looking film and is enhanced by the format.