The Audio
I was very surprised to see that From Russia with Love featured a 5.1 DTS-HD lossless Master Audio track considering the film appeared in theatres with a Mono soundtrack. Once again the engineers have done an exemplary job with limited material, but it is perhaps too much for what the film intended.
They have managed to make a capable surround mix with effects and music using the rear channels fairly effectively. This is an old-school Bond movie so there is plenty of important dialogue scenes. Unfortunately the audio levels are up and down in these scenes (especially when action is involved) and the audio stumbles a bit.
The inconsistent audio is really apparent in action sequences; it is noticeably much louder when bullets, fists, and enemies are flying around the screen. To the point that I was turning down the audio and back up again when the sequences ended. I imagine the sound mixers were trying to give the scenes some depth and urgency, but it was mishandled slightly.
The Extras
For a 45-year-old movie I was pleasantly surprised to see a fair amount of extras and a really interesting menu system. The menu is themed around spy terms (Initiate Mission – Play and Language Decryption – Audio) and is centered on a roulette-style selector wheel.
The extras are substantial, if a little dry and dated at times and are presented in standard definition, widescreen and sport a 2.0 Dolby Stereo mix:
- Audio commentary hosted by John Cork of the Ian Fleming Foundation – This commentary track pulls in various interviews from director Terence Young and cast members as the scenes warrant and while disjointed add a lot of depth to the film.
- Inside From Russia with Love – Discussing how challenging it was to film Bond movies back to back and produce the finished products in between.
- Harry Saltzman: Showman – A great look at Harry Saltzman and his big plans for the Bond franchise. He moved on after a number of Bond films, but definitely left his mark.
- The CBC Interview – a candid interview with Fleming as he discusses From Russia with Love and the Bond series in general. This was my favorite feature; although short it gave insight into Fleming that I found intriguing. He was a very intelligent and thoughtful man and it is very obvious in this brief interview.
- BBC Audio Clips – Accompanied by black and white photos there is a dialogue between Ian Fleming and Raymond Chandler discussing their writing differences and DESERT Island Discs which talks about real spy organizations.
- Animated Storyboard of Boat Chase scene
Article comments
1 - Arlo J. Wiley
I am not generally a fan of James Bond, but I've always loved From Russia with Love. An excellent spy flick.