007: James Bond - Sean Connery 6-Film Collection 4K UHD

Every fan has a favorite Bond film. Every fan has a favorite Bond actor. Because of that, no two fans are likely to agree on every aspect of every film in a franchise that has spanned over six decades and 25 films from Eon Productions (add two if you want to consider the original Casino Royal and Never Say Never Again part of the franchise). The cinematic outings of 007 started with one man Sean Connery and as the first, he left an indelible mark on the franchise, one all Bond actors have to measure up to. And as the first Bond actor, he’s like all other performers to don the tux and gadgets, Connery had his share of amazing films and a couple of tough ones. But then depending on the fan you ask, that ranking could be wildly different. 

In the heyday of HDD, our own Peter Bracke and Josh Zyber compiled the initial reviews of the James Bond franchise on Blu-ray. Reading through these reviews again, I see all of their points and agree with many and disagree with some. But like I said, no two Bond fans are likely to agree on all aspects of every film. In a moment I’ll link over to those excellent original reviews, but for my part, here’s how I rank Connery’s six-film run at Eon:

1. Goldfinger
2. From Russia with Love
3. Thunderball
4. You Only Live Twice
5. Dr. No
6. Diamonds are Forever

As briefly as I can, I’ll endeavor to explain myself. Goldfinger is the film where the Bond template was fully formed. The Shirley Bassy title song, the quips, the gadgets, the car, the ladies, the escalating action, and they nailed the usage of the iconic “Bond Theme.” This is the one where everything clicked and it's been among my favorites since childhood. 5/5

From Russia With Love is almost as good as Goldfinger. As the second film of the franchise, it’s where practice made perfect and the stakes gradually mounted to the tense Oriental Express sequence to the helicopter chase to the speedboat escape. It's a big bold adventure that showed that Dr. No wasn't just a fluke and that Connery was a star worthy of a franchise like this. 4.5/5

Thunderball actually benefitted from the protracted legal wrangling. Originally intended as the first novel adapted for the screen, it became the fourth film and because of the three previous box office successes, this film could be fully released on the scale it deserves. It’s bigger, more expensive than the previous films, and an exhilarating entry as the stakes turn global as S.P.E.C.T.R.E. becomes a more fully-formed menacing international cabal of villains with Adolfo Celi as the shark-loving Largo. 4.5/5

You Only Live Twice ranks this high out of nostalgic childhood love. One of the first Bond films I ever saw as a kid, I loved the action and spectacle, but even I admit it’s not a great film. Today, I view it as more of a pulp spy novel come to life, complete with Donald Pleasance as the menacing first full on-screen appearance of Blofeld. What it lacks in plot clarity it makes up for with big-spectacle action complete with ninja warriors armed with machine guns! 3.5/5

Dr. No is a film I like a lot; I think it’s well-made, but it’s also comparatively sluggish. Part of that is because it’s the first film paving the path forward for future films to follow. The franchise didn’t yet know how to escalate the action setpieces. There wasn’t an iconic song to open the credits. Most galling to me is how every simple action Bond makes is met with the classic theme song. He opens a door - Ba-dah BAAAA-DAAAAH! He checks into his hotel - Ba-dah BAAAA-DAAAAH! He looks at the bathroom - Ba-dah BAAAA-DAAAAH! Thankfully once the film reaches Dr. No’s Island, the show finds a strong pace with some solid action and suspense setpieces to catch your full attention. 3.5/5

Diamonds are Forever - the film Connery didn’t want to be a part of but $1.25 million changed his mind. After the brilliant ending of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the emotional arc of this follow-up just feels out of place with Connery returning after Lazenby’s exit. The revenge of Tracy isn’t his story on top of the film just feeling like it’s going through the motions. The Blofeld doubles is a slick plotline but then it's never quite fully realized. The action is good and there’s the silly moonbuggy sequence and an explosive climax, but ultimately I’ve never really taken to this final appearance for Connery in the official Eon productions. 3/5

For longer more insightful looks at these films, here's our original reviews:

Joshua Zyber's Dr. No Blu-ray Review
Joshua Zyber's From Russia with Love Blu-ray Review
Peter Bracke's Goldfinger Blu-ray Review
Joshua Zyber's Thunderball Blu-ray Review
Joshua Zyber's You Only Live Twice Blu-ray Review
No previous published review for Diamonds Are Forever

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
The James Bond 007: Sean Connery 6-Film Collection offers the official Eon-produced Connery James Bond films on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray for the first time in a six-disc 4K UHD + Digital. Never Say Never Again will just have to wait for another day. Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, and Diamonds Are Forever are all pressed on Region Free BD100 discs. All discs are housed in a multi-disc case, each gets its own tray to rest on so no stacking. The included digital code unlocks all six films on Fandango Now and is not Movie’s Anywhere compatible. Each disc loads to a static image main menu with standard navigation options along the bottom.

All six of Connery’s “official” James Bond appearances make their first appearance on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray sourced from fresh new scans and restoration work complete with new Dolby Vision/HDR10 grades. Uniformly, I wouldn’t call these presentations necessarily night-and-day improvements over the older Lowry Digital scans and Blu-rays, they exhibit many of the same faults or issues within the negative, but overall these are much healthier and more cinematic-looking transfers. In general terms, film grain is better rendered and more visually appealing, there's some occasional brief anomalies that crop up but can barely count as distracting. The color grading for HDR is more natural without looking so over-saturated letting primaries have a more natural pop and presence with much more natural skin tones for the cast (when Connery isn’t slathered in tanner). 

Dr. No
It’ll be a repeating theme for all of the films, but when there aren’t any kind of optical effects or camera trickery like undercranking to give fights more action thrust, this is a beautiful image. The black levels are immediately stronger with better shadow gradience than the old Blu-ray disc. I was also struck by how much more depth there was to the image. The old Blu-rays always looked very flat to me. Now the film can at times look positively lifelike. Bitrate holds strong with a high average in the 60-70mbps range with spikes well over 100. The HDR grading for Dolby Vision and HDR10 really lets those blues and reds pop. Any so-called “faults” are cooked into the negative and can’t really be alleviated. But for a film going over sixty years old now, this is a solid effort. 4.25/5

From Russia with Love
As the series got bigger and better with a more robust budget, the visuals improved and that tendency tracks for this release. Again, optical effects for the time might be a noticeable downgrade from the adjacent frames, but they’ve always been that way. The production design on this film was more intricate than Dr. No so the visuals are more appealing and detailed. Bitrate holds strong with a high average in the 60-70mbps range with spikes well over 100. This is also a darker more shadowy film so scenes like the gypsy camp fight or the fight between Bond and Grant on the train are more of a black-level stress test, and thankfully, the HDR grade delivers the goods. 4.35/5

Goldfinger
Brighter, and more expensive than the last two films, this one is a visual feast in 4K HDR. Now it’s still incredibly obvious when there’s a rear-projected background, I was most impressed with the extended sense of depth for this film’s transfer among all others. The hotel pool, the golf course, Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus assault on Ft. Knox, the big climactic battle, all of it looks fantastic. Bitrate holds strong with a high average in the 60-70mbps range with spikes well over 100. Well-detailed, with a healthy natural HDR color grading. In my opinion the best of the bunch. 4.5/5

Thunderball 
The most financially successful entry also marks the first time Ted Moore (who shot five of the six films here) photographed the film in Panavision shifting away from the 1.78:1 aspect ratio of the first three to 2.35:1 for this outing - so visually this film is already a bit different looking from the previous films. It also had the tightest most fraught post-production with the final edit so I wonder if that had an effect on the final results. Overall it looks very good. I’d say film grain is a bit more pronounced here than before, but not overly distracting or out of place. Details are sharp, but it also feels like the generational loss in the optical effects is a bit more noticeable. But, looking back at the old Blu-rays, that sort of effect is present there too. Bitrate isn’t quite as strong for this one, the average holds at around 40-50mbps with some strong spikes into the 90s, but also some pretty low dips into the 20s. Thankfully the big underwater battle looks great and holds strong throughout. When it’s at its best it’s beautiful. 4/5

You Only Live Twice 
The only film of this set not shot by Ted Moore, Freddy Young would take over for this one. It has a slightly different flavor than the Moore-shot films, but it’s another example of when it’s great it’s beautiful. When it’s rough, it’s tough. More than the other films in this set, this one felt more impacted by the number of rear projection backgrounds and optical effects. Again certain visual aspects present in past releases I felt it were more noticeable this round as these sequences play out far longer than brief cutaways. Despite any faults, overall this is a welcome step up visually to 4K over the old Blu-rays. The film grain is better resolved for a more cinematically appealing image. The HDR grade lets the bold color scheme really pop beautifully and more healthy human skin tones. The big final battle in Blofeld’s volcano base looks terrific and you can tell this is where most of the budget went for this film. Bitrate is overall healthier here than Thunderball, getting back into that base 50-60mbps range with stronger peaks. 4/5

Diamonds are Forever
Guy Hamilton returns to direct and Ted Moore returns to shoot and the visual combination is very much like what the pair delivered with Goldfinger. The budget is again bigger so the visual effects are finished a little better and compared to You Only Live Twice, not nearly as reliant on optical backgrounds and trickery to complete a scene. The set design is more intricate and expansive on top of the glitz of Las Vegas in the 1970s. While Connery is certainly looking his age in this one, the entire visual aesthetic is greatly improved. Details in facial features, set design, and costumes are excellent. The Dolby Vision/HDR10 grading is right on point giving plenty of primary pop while letting blacks and shadows have their day lending to a more consistent sense of depth to the image. Again, this easily bests the old Blu-ray discs. The bitrate is again nice and high, 60-70mbps with spikes well into the 90s. It might not be Connery’s best Bond, but it’s a strong contender for the best-looking of his run on 4K UHD. 4.5/5

In a win/win for everyone, each film comes with its own brand new Dolby Atmos audio tracks complete with its respective original theatrical Mono presentations in DTS-HD MA 2.0. And in the case of Thunderball, that’s two Atmos Tracks and two Mono mono tracks for the various mixes of the film that were punched through during that crazy post-production period. The nice thing is that it doesn’t sound like any cheap tinny stand-in audio effects were used for the Atmos tracks to fill the space. So consider that a plus. 

Generally, you can’t go wrong with either option for their respective films, but I do have a little “however.” The effectiveness of the respective Atmos tracks gets better with each film. For Dr. No and From Russia with Love, I didn’t feel like they added anything, a little more present in the Front/Center and Height channels, there really wasn’t a whole lot of surround activity to really suck you into the moment. For these two, I had more enjoyment of the DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono mixes than the Atmos. 

By Goldfinger the sound design gets a little more active and the Atmos picks up a bit more punch. But again, very Front/Center with drifts for the Height channels during the gassing sequence and I still ended up enjoying the mono experience a bit more. But man, that Shirley Bassey tune really kicks with the Atmos mix so that’s worth it. 

Once we get to Thunderball it becomes more of a toss-up to the dealer’s choice between the Atmos options or the Mono options. Again you get two of each here. The difference between the tracks comes down to subtle changes in the music cues and alternate line reads, but in terms of fidelity, they’re uniform. The Atmos gets more spread this time and a bit more impact where it counts during the big action sequences and the climax.

You Only Live Twice is where I started to somewhat prefer the Atmos over the original mono. Again both are very good, I’ll probably stick to the Mono more often than the Atmos on future viewings but this Atmos is very good. Again because there’s more action the audio placement through the soundscape is more active and engaging. Overheads get a bit more distinct activity; the Little Nellie helicopter battle and then the final volcano evil underground lair assault is fantastic stuff in that regard. 

And with Diamonds are Forever, I feel like this is where the Atmos leapfrogs over the mono option for overall impact. Don’t get me wrong, the Mono is still terrific and an enjoyable run, but I have to give props to the Atmos track for how well it brings the film to life. Arguably where Bond became “goofy” during the 1970s, there’s a more active sound design with increasingly more elaborate action sequences and the Atmos track does a tremendous job delivering that sonic excitement. Purists who want the mono get their win, and next-gen audio fanatics will be happy with the Atmos. 

Title - Mono - Atmos:
Dr. No - 4.25/5 - 4/5 
From Russia with Love - 4.5/5 - 4/5 
Goldfinger  - 5/5 - 4.15/5
Thunderball - 4.5/5 - 4.35/5
You Only Live Twice - 4.5/5 - 4.5/5
Diamonds are Forever - 4.5/5 - 4.5/5

As for the bonus features we’re getting pretty much everything of weight and importance from the previous Blu-ray releases returns. The only things I noticed not included were the sort of filler disc content like rotating trivia image tracks and the like that were little more than glorified IMDB factoids smashed onto the Blu-rays. Key content that actually offers any kind of relevant information about the production and context is included. Individually, each film maintains a robust assortment of extras. Collectively, this is a terrific selection, especially if you haven’t dug through these previously. 

Dr No:

• Audio Commentary featuring Terence Young and various cast and crew members.
• Declassified: MI6 Vault: (SD 18:15 Total)
• The Guns of James Bond
• Premier Bond: Opening Nights 
• Exotic Locations (HD 2:36)
• Mission Dossier: (HD 1:08:45 Total)
• Inside Dr No
• Terence Young: Bond Vivant
• Dr. No 1963 Featurette 
• Ministry of Propaganda:
• Theatrical Archive: (HD/SD 10:58 Total) 
• Theatrical Trailer
• Introducing Mr. Bond
• James Bond is Back-to-Back in Dr. No and From Russia with Love
• James Bond Face To Face with Dr. No and Goldfinger 
• TV Broadcasts: (SD 1:24 Total)
• Miss Honey and Miss Galore Have James Bond Back for More 
• Hiss Honey and Miss Galore
• Radio Communications (Audio Only, 6:33 Total)
• Beautiful Nature Girl
• Dr. No, A Madman with a Fantastic Secret 
• James Bond, The Indestructible Ace Undercover Agent
• Meet James Bond, Ace Undercover Agent
• On the Edge of Your Seat
• Come on Out, We Know You’re There

From Russia With Love:

• Audio Commentary featuring Terence Young and various cast and crew members
• Declassified: MI6 Vault: (HD/SD 19:35 Total)
• Ian Flemming: The CBC Interview
• Ian Flemming and Raymond Chandler
• Ian Flemming on Desert Island Discs
• Animated Storyboard Sequence 
• Exotic Locations (HD 3:14)
• Mission Dossier: (HD 1:00:28 Total)
• Inside From Russia with Love
• Harry Saltzman Showman
• Ministry of Propaganda:
• Theatrical Archive: (HD 7:41 Total)
• Theatrical Trailer - S.P.E.C.T.R.E.
• Bond: Back-to-Back
• The Biggest Bond Sale Ever
• TV Broadcasts: (SD 1:36 Total)
• Sean Connery is Bond
• Bond All Over
• More Thrills per Minute
• Radio Communications (Audio Only, 1:34 Total)
• Fantastic Bond Sale
• Famous Named Villains
• Sean Connery is…

Goldfinger:

• Audio Commentary featuring Guy Hamilton
• Audio Commentary featuring various cast and crew members
• Declassified: MI6 Vault: (HD/SD 28:44 Total)
• Sean Connery from the Set of Goldfinger
• Theodore Bikel Screen Test
• Tito Vandis Screen Test
• On Tour with Aston Martin DB5
• Honor Blackman Open-Ended Interview
• Exotic Locations (HD 3:15)
• Mission Dossier: (HD 55:19 Total)
• The Making of Goldfinger
• The Goldfinger Phenomenon
• Ministry of Propaganda:
• Theatrical Archive: Original Theatrical Trailer (HD 3:08)
• TV Broadcasts: (1:46 Total)
• Stop Look He’s Gunning for Trouble 
• Miss Honey and Miss Galore
• Miss Honey and Miss Galore Have James Bond Back For More
• Radio Communications (Audio Only, 30:42 Total)
• Original Radio Interview with Sean Connery
• Evening 006: Evening 008 What’s New (1)
• James Bond is Back in Action… (1)
• Everything He Touches Turns to Excitement (1)
• What’s That Paint?
• James Bond is Back in Action… (2)
• James Bond is Back In Action… in Goldfinger (1)
• Honey, What Are You Doing with That Paint…
• Evening 006: Evening 008 What’s New (2)
• Everything He Touches Turns to Excitement in Goldfinger
• James Bond is Back in Action Mixing Thrills and Girls
• Think You’re in Miami Alone, Alone Except for…
• About One of the Secret Agents James Bond…
• He Had the Oddest Name… Goldfinger
• Agent James Bond Thought It The Most…
• How Would You Like to Make Love to a Woman
• James Bond Drugged Twilight Sleep…
• James Bond Is Back in Action, Sean Connery is James Bond
• In All of Adventure There are No Men Like James Bond
• Life Magazine Proclaims: The Best Bond Adventure Yet Filmed 
• Gold Finger - His Women Like His Fortune Drenched in Gold
• Goldfinger and Dr. No Are Getting Another Shot at 007 (1)
• Now Miss Honey & Miss Galore Have James Bond Back for More (1) 
• Goldfinger and Dr. No Are Getting Another Shot at 007 (2)
• Now Miss Honey & Miss Galore Have James Bond Back for More (2) 
• Goldfinger and Dr. No Are Getting Another Shot at 007 Together (1)
• Sean Connery as James Bond
• Goldfinger and Dr. No Are Getting Another Shot at 007 Together (2)
• Now Miss Honey & Miss Galore Have James Bond Back for More (3) 
• Goldfinger and Dr. No…
• Madness Perhaps…?
• Two Stunning Women James Bond Could Never Forget

Thunderball:

• Audio Commentary featuring Terence Young
• Audio Commentary featuring Peter Hunt, John Hopkins and others
• Declassified: MI6 Vault: (HD/SD 1:28:02 Total)
• The Incredible World of James Bond - Original 1965 NBC Television Special 
• A Child’s Guide to Blowing Up a Motor Car - 1965 Ford Promotion Film
• On Location with Ken Adam
• Bill Suitor: The Rocket Man Movies
• Thunderball Boat Show Reel
• Selling Bonds: (HD/SD 2:09)
• Original 1965 Television Commercials: Raincoat
• Original 1965 Television Commercials: Slacks
• Original 1965 Television Commercials: Action Pack Toys
• Exotic Locations (HD 3:18)
• Mission Dossier: (HD 1:02:27)
• The Making of Thunderball
• The Thunderball Phenomenon
• The Secret History of Thunderball
• Ministry of Propaganda:
• Theatrical Archive: (HD 8:37 Total)
• Get the Point
• What an Operator
• The Biggest Bonds
• TV Broadcasts: (SD 3:38 Total)
• Strikes Like Thunderball
• Look Up Look Down Look Out
• Two for One Bonds
• Bond Sale
• Thunderball and From Russia with Love Double Bill
• Radio Communications (Audio Only, 5:17 Total)
• Introduction
• The Biggest Bond of All
• See Sean Connery in Thunderball
• Here Comes Thunderball
• Look Up Look Down Look Out
• James Bond Does it Everywhere
• Sean Connery in Thuderball
• Here Comes the Biggest Bond of All
• On Motion Picture
• Thunderball and You Only live Twice
• Sean Connery is James Bond

You Only Live Twice:

• Audio Commentary featuring Lewis Gilbert and various cast and crew members
• Declassified: MI6 Vault: (HD/SD 1:11:41 Total)
• Welcome to Japan Mr. Bond
• Whicker’s World - Highlights from 1967 BBC Documentary
• On Location with Ken Adam
• Mission Dossier: (SD 59:28 Total)
• Inside You Only Live Twice
• Silhouettes: The James Bond Titles
• Plane Crash: Animated Storyboard Sequence
• Exotic Locations
• Ministry of Propaganda:
• Theatrical Archive: (HD 9:00 Total)
• Theatrical Trailer
• North American Theatrical Trailer
• You Only Live Twice/Thunderball Double Bill
• TV Broadcasts: You Only Live Twice/Thunderball Double Bill (SD 00:58)
• Radio Communications (Audio Only, 5:42 Total)
• Above a Japanese Volcano
• Surrounded
• From All Sides
• Above the Earth
• Can One Motion Picture
• No One Picture
• Sean Connery is Bond

Diamonds are Forever:

• Audio Commentary featuring Guy Hamilton and various cast and crew members
• Declassified: MI6 Vault: (HD/SD 16:03 Total)
• Sean Connery 1971: The BBC Interview
• Lesson #007: Close Quarters Combat
• Oil Rig Attack
• Satellite Test Reel
• Explosion Tests
• Alternate and Expanded Angles: (HD 33:24 Total)
• Elevator Fight
• Vegas Car Chase
• Moonbuggy Chase
• Bambi & Thumper
• Bond on the Oil Rig
• Deleted Scenes: (HD 7:40 Total)
• Sammy Davis Jr. 
• Killing Shady Tree
• Dinner with Plenty
• Plenty Returns
• Through the Alley Again
• Mr. & Mrs. Jones in the Bridal Suite
• Mission Dossier: (SD 1:16:26 Total)
• Inside Diamonds are Forever
• Cubby Broccoli the Man Behind Bond
• Exotic Locations
• Ministry of Propaganda:
• Theatrical Archive: Christmas Teaser Trailer (HD 00:56)
• TV Broadcasts: (SD 3:09)
• The Newest, Greatest Bond Adventure
• From the Diamond Fields of South Africa
• Sean Connery as James Bond 007
• The Women are Still Falling for Him
• Radio Communications (Audio Only, 2:04 Total)
• Only One Man Can Blow Up a Volcano
• Sean Connery as James Bond 007
• Only One Man…
• Would Drive a Car with an Ejection Seat

Sean Connery is often hailed as the best James Bond. I think part of that is the simple luck of being the guy in the suit at the time when the best Ian Flemming novels were up for grabs. He got to be the actor to set the mold for all future James Bond performers to follow and. Everyone has their favorite Bond actor, everyone has their favorite Bond film. Thanks to Amazon/MGM and Warner Bros, we can now kick back to the exploits of Sean Connery as everyone's favorite secret agent through six thrilling adventures in 4K UHD. Each film earns a welcome Dolby Vision/HDR10 upgrade, some better than others, all better than the old Blu-rays. Each film also scores solid Atmos audio upgrades complete with their original theatrical mono tracks. This set wouldn’t be complete without the insane assortment of archival extras to dive through. At the end of the day, this is an excellent run for 4K releases dedicated to the first star of the franchise. Hopefully, this overall positive A/V trend will continue and improve for Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, and Brosnan. Highly Recommended