Merrick here...
One of the more interesting tidbits to emerge from CES this week is news that a forthcoming amalgamation of James Bond Blu-rays - intended to commemorate the film franchise's 50th anniversary - will not only feature all already released 007 Blu-ray titles, but 9 007 movies which have yet to see the light of day on Blu.
This means: the only pictures not included in this set would be John Huston's 1967 CASINO ROYALE adaptation (starring David Niven, Peter Sellers, and Woody Allen - although it's available on Blu HERE seperately) and EMPIRE STRIKES BACK director Irvin Kirshner's bizarroverse Sean Connery follow-up NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (available seperately on Blu HERE). Presumably, complicated rights issues - and the fact that neither title is traditionally considered a 'proper' chapter in Bond franchises as as most underrstand it - prohibited the inclusion of these titles.
Artwork for this mega-set has now been released ('tis EMBIGGENABLE!):
![](https://media.aintitcool.com/media/uploads/legacy/ckeditor_assets/pictures/4900/original/bondbig.png?1326292111" style="width: 1036px; height: 877px; )
...and the collection is now up for pre-order on Amazon HERE. This press release discusses the release further...
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JAMES BOND CELEBRATES FIFTY INCREDIBLE YEARS
WITH GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY BLU-RAY COLLECTION
BOND 50
THE WORLD’S MOST SUCCESSFUL SECRET AGENT MEETS THE WORLD’S BEST HOME ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE
AVAILABLE FOR WORLDWIDE PRE-ORDER STARTING TODAY
In celebration of James Bond’s monumental golden anniversary, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment today unveiled BOND 50, a collectible box-set featuring all 22 James Bond films on Blu-ray Disc for the first time in one complete offering. The longest running film franchise of all time, the Bond 50 collection marks the debut of nine James Bond films previously unavailable in high definition Blu-ray. Fans around the world can pre-order now with participating online retailers.
Acclaimed Bond directors John Glen (five Bond films including For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights & Licence To Kill), Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, Casino Royale) and Michael Apted (The World Is Not Enough) with special guests Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) and Caterina Murino (Casino Royale) made the Blu-ray announcement today during a Directors’ Panel discussion in the Panasonic Booth at the annual Consumer Electronics Show.
BOND 50 showcases fifty years of Bond neatly packaged into one cool, sleek collectable box-set featuring all six iconic James Bond actors. Produced using the highest possible picture quality and audio presentation, the collection includes all 22 James Bond feature films from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace and more than 130 hours of bonus features including some new and exclusive content.
“With all 22 feature films available on Blu-ray in one collection for the first time this is a great way for fans to catch up on 007’s epic journey before Skyfall hits theaters next Fall,” said Michael Brown, Senior Vice President, MGM Home Entertainment. “Now viewers can enjoy the intense action of the innovative franchise in the most immersive home experience possible.”
“We have a whole program of exciting activities planned for our 50th anniversary year, beginning with today’s announcement, by Fox, of the release of all 22 films on Blu-ray for the very first time,’’ added Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, with Eon Productions. “We are also delighted that Fox has unveiled a specially designed anniversary poster which we hope the fans will love as much as we do. Our website, 007.com will be regularly updated with all the latest anniversary news and events.”
ABOUT EON PRODUCTIONS
EON Productions Limited and Danjaq LLC are wholly owned and controlled by the Broccoli/Wilson family. Danjaq is the US based company that owns, together with MGM, the James Bond franchise. EON Productions, an affiliate of Danjaq, is the UK based production company which makes the James Bond films. The 007 franchise is the longest running in film history with twenty-two films produced since 1962. Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli took over the franchise from Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli in 1995 and have produced some of the most successful Bond films ever including CASINO ROYALE and QUANTUM OF SOLACE. The twenty-third film entitled SKYFALL is currently in production.
ABOUT TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC (TCFHE) is a recognized global industry leader and a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company. Representing 75 years of innovative and award-winning filmmaking from Twentieth Century Fox, TCFHE is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming, acquisitions and original productions on DVD, Blu-ray Disc Digital Copy, Video On Demand and Digital Download. The company also releases all products globally for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce throughout the world.
ABOUT METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS INC.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. is actively engaged in the worldwide production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home video, interactive media, music, and licensed merchandise. The company owns the world’s largest library of modern films, comprising around 4,100 titles. Operating units include Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc., United Artists Films Inc., MGM Television Entertainment Inc., MGM Networks Inc., MGM Distribution Co., MGM International Television Distribution Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC, MGM ON STAGE, MGM Music, MGM Consumer Products and MGM Interactive. In addition, MGM has ownership interests in domestic and international TV channels reaching over 130 countries. For more information, visit www.mgm.com.
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