Die Another Day (Widescreen Special Edition)
List Price:
Our Price: $2.49
You Save: $12.49 (83%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Halle Berry, Pierce Brosnan, Rick Yune, Rosamund Pike, Toby StephensBrand: MGM
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1 EX; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1 EX; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Published), Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 133 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-06-03
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product features:
- 2002 - Die Another Day - MGM - Special Edition
- 2-Disc Collectible Set - Over 7 Hours of Bonus Features
- Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Judi Dench
- PG-13 - Widescreen - Best Collectible Release to Date
- Collectible - New
DVD Reviews of Die Another Day (Widescreen Special Edition)
DVD Review: A Lot of Nothing in a Big Way
Summary: 2 Stars
I've had an almost life-time interest in the James Bond character. I was committed to it similar to how Burroughs' fans are committed to Tarzan, and no doubt just as frustrated with the cinematic representation. In literature, James Bond is presented as a very serious character (if my memory is correct; it's been at least thirty years), a real man with real strengths and vulnerabilities. Only three films really came close to capturing the feel of Fleming's work: DR. NO (to a degree); FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (to an even greater degree); and ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (almost dead-on, believe it or not). In the novels, the gadgetry wasn't the main attraction, and what gadgets Fleming included weren't very sophisticated. As a fresh teen, I didn't mind the departure from the novels. That's because I was young and James Bond was cool, because he was adored by beautiful women and he drove that awesome car and he made everything seem like fun.
As the franchise aged, after a certain point the gadgetry seemed to get more complicated, more ridiculously spectacular, until the toys became downright silly, until the films were dragged down into something bordering on campiness. Tradition alone saved the franchise from ever being deemed that way, and the studio perfunctorily churned out a Bond film every couple of years or so, until they became an expensive yawn. My maturity overtook my expectations sometime after Roger Moore took over the role, and not even a nostalgic loyalty to the character could compel me to watch them anymore. They were pure silliness, with those vaulted stainless-steel secret headquarters built into mountainsides from which some villain bearing some bizarre physical handicap -- a gimmicky attempt to give depth to their snide evil -- hatched some absurd plot. When Timothy Dalton followed Moore as the superspy, my interest was roused. But as Bond eluded capture by snowboarding in a cello case, my expectations were bombed into oblivion. That was particularly sad, because Dalton was perhaps a deadlier Bond than we'd ever seen. But the tradition of silliness was stronger than Dalton's charisma, and the film slid into triteness for the sake of action, dragging him down with it.
Then came Brosnan. Pierce Brosnan has the elegance and physicality to evoke both the action figure depicted in the best films and the reserve of the character described in the novels. And I figured with a new actor as Bond, along with the audience now proven to be sophisticated enough to enjoy such high-concept espionage films as THE BOURNE IDENTITY and the four Jack Ryan films, the studio would opt to make Bond more like the way Fleming intended him. Instead, they stayed the course, which was to put it on a par with the old BATMAN TV series, with the gadgets even more unbelievably high-tech, again with patented villains (albeit with different handicaps) harboring grandiose master plans, the single difference from the old BATMAN series being that the Bond films have humongous budgets.
As the 20th Bond film -- and the first of the new millennium -- much ado was made of DIE ANOTHER DAY. It promised to be more. But, alas, the promise wasn't kept. The pre-credit action sequence -- a Bond trademark now -- gave temporary credence to the hype, that this was going to be different, "gritty" as a couple of reviewers put it. Bond, surprisingly, was captured. Though it isn't graphically depicted, and further softened by the slickness of the credits, Bond is tortured. Once the credits are over, the movie is almost immediately reduced to the now tired Bond formula: a few moments of dialogue here and there, followed by out-of-this-world chase scenes made more irritating by the now-familiar blaring orchestrations, designed to distract us from how superfluous it all is, a mediocre concept revved up with gratuitous horns. It was all there, but our modern sensibilities and the deluge of modern action films rendered it all even more familiar and tedious. Because digital film techniques make set design and special effects cheaper and action sequences less risky, the filmmakers fling them around with abandon, looking for places to stick them. So the visuals come at you until you're inured to them. Overuse of them in a Bond film (such as an Astin Martin -- a nod to the original Bond films -- with an invisibility mode) turns Bond into a mere action figure in a science fiction film, with the action so unrealistic, Bond becomes too remote from danger for any tension. And that's the main problem: there's never any real tension because you never feel anyone who matters is at any risk. The essential suspension of disbelief just isn't there. It's a big show, the spectacle the thing, and it's just dull, dull, dull. I hated this movie. I found it at Wal-Mart for $10, and it was so bad, even at that price I felt ripped off. Never again, say I. The producers are simply not going to fix this franchise, ever. It's making money just the way it is, and no doubt the studio philosophy is, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
What is it I expect from the Bond films? I expect the producers, directors, and writers to create a reasonable facsimile of espionage into which I can escape, something delivering the same thrills I experienced as a youth, but without requiring I bring the same youthful naivete I had back then, which is now lost to me forever. I'm capable of a reasonable suspension of disbelief, but you can't expect me to do ALL the work. When a wristwatch houses a ratchet and a wire strong enough to haul up a full-grown man, it's too much of a stretch, and my incredulity eclipses my willingness to accept the framed reality of the screen. Do for Bond what Tim Burton did for Batman. That might work.
Description of Die Another Day (Widescreen Special Edition)
When his top-secret mission is sabotaged, James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) finds himself captured by theenemy, abandoned by MI6 and stripped of his 00-license. Determined to get revenge, Bond goes head-to-head with a sultry spy (OscarĀ(r) winner* Halle Berry), a frosty agent (Rosamund Pike) anda shadowy billionaire (Toby Stephens) whose business is diamonds but whose secret is a diabolical weapon that could bring the world to its knees! Bristling with excitement and bursting with explosivespecial effects, Die Another Day is an adrenaline-pumping thrill-ride with "stunts and non-stop action [that] will astonish you" (Jeffrey Lyons, WNBC-TV)! *2001: Actress, Monster'sBallThe 20th James Bond adventure, Die Another Day succeeds on three important fronts: it avoids comparison to Austin Powers by keeping its cheesy humor in check, allows Halle Berry to be sexy and worthy of a spinoff franchise, and keeps pace with the technical wizardry that modern action films demand. Pierce Brosnan's got style and staying power as James Bond, now bearing little resemblance to Ian Fleming's original British super-spy, but able to hold his own at the box office. He's paired with American agent Jinx (Berry) in chasing a genetically altered North Korean villain (Rick Yune) armed with a satellite capable of destroying just about anything. John Cleese and Judi Dench reprise their recurring roles (as "Q" and "M," respectively); they're accompanied by weapons-laden sports cars, a hokey cameo by Madonna (who sings the techno-pulsed theme song), and enough double-entendres to keep Bond-philes adequately shaken and stirred. With clever nods to 007's cinematic legacy, Die Another Day makes you welcome the familiar end-credits promise: James Bond will return. --Jeff Shannon
Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
The Man With The Golden Gun (Special Edition)Release date: 2002-10-22; DVD
Best price: $8.75
Price in other shops:
Dr. NoCONNERY,SEAN; Release date: 2007-09-04; DVD
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
MoonrakerTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-05-22; DVD
Best price: $37.50
For Your Eyes OnlyMOORE,ROGER; Release date: 2007-02-06; DVD
Best price: $4.04
Price in other shops:
Licence To KillTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-02-06; DVD
Best price: $9.50
Price in other shops:
Live and Let DieMOORE,ROGER; Release date: 2007-09-04; DVD
Best price: $7.25
Price in other shops:
GoldenEyeBROSNAN,PIERCE; Release date: 2007-02-06; DVD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
Tomorrow Never Dies (Special Edition)Release date: 2002-10-22; DVD
Best price: $9.72
Price in other shops:
Quantum of SolaceSony; Release date: 2009-03-24; Published: 2009-03-01; DVD
Best price: $7.24
Price in other shops:
The World Is Not EnoughBROSNAN,PIERCE; Release date: 2007-05-22; DVD
Best price: $7.25
Price in other shops: