Thunderball
OVERALL:
ASPECT RATIO(S)
16x9 Widescreen (2.35:1)
FEATURES
STUDIO
RECOMMENDATION
- Director's Commentary
- Cast & Crew Commentary
- "Making of Thunderball" Documentary
- "Thunderball Phenomenon" Documentary
- Still Gallery
- "Inside Thunderball" Featurette
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV and Radio Spots
MGM
Buy it!
GRADING SCALE
Film 
Features
Audio
Video
This Bond film is all about water. Aside from great characters, the scenery is breathtaking and the action is still exciting. The highlight of the action pieces is the big underwater fight near the end. It is easily the greatest underwater sequence ever filmed. THUNDERBALL, though not as highly regarded as GOLDFINGER, still packs a whallop and was a huge box office success. Great gadgets, action, and Bond babes make this a terrific film. One of the best 007 adventures.
Features
This disc is just as packed as the other 1st wave dvds. Actually, it's probably the most featured. 2 big documentaries and 2 commentaries highlight a great dvd. The menus are classy, Bond style.
Audio
This is my favorite part of this release. It's been given a brand new 5.1 track and it sounds great. In fact, of all the remasters of any Bond dvd, this one is the best. Not ever sounding too loud, al la GOLDFINGER, THUNDERBALL has some great surround effects, particularly in the airplane sequence. The bass surprised me by being fairly aggressive, even for a 60s film. When Largo has his henchmen dropping the grenades in the water to kill 007, the bass gives you an extra punch in the face. Great job, MGM.
Video
Granted, this film is 35 years old. There are a few blips here and there, especially in the first 30 minutes of the film. But after that, it's pretty much a clean movie from there. This is undoubtedly the best this film has ever, and will ever, look. The only other flaw is some scenes are just way too dark. But aside from that, a great 16x9 transfer.
Overall
This is one of my favorite Bond movies and dvds. If it would have had villians similar to GOLDFINGER, this one might be the most popular. Do yourself a favor and buy this gem if you haven't already. Very highly recommended.