Live and Let Die [DVD] [1973]

If you like films with a car chase you might watch this just for the boat chase. Apart from the wrong boat being shown at one point in the film and the other boat's scraped paintwork appearing before it should, though it does disappear again, it's epic. Roger Moore suffered an accident in filming the boat chase and some stunt drivers were injured but a world record for jumping a boat was set successfully and appears in the film. Boat chases do appear in some of the other bond films but this was the best. Roger Moore's first outing as bond and arguably his best in the role, though in later films it was the script that let him down, rather than his acting. Apart from the boat chase the rest of the film is typical Bond only with a better story than some of the later films. There is some humour as well as action and even this is memorable and better than some of the other Bond films.

This is actually quite a decent Bond flick. When this was made in 1973, Roger Moore was still young and handsome and made for an attractive new Bond after Connery's departure from the franchise. The story set in and around New Orleans and on a fictitious Caribbean island is intense and quite dark and the humour which has become a trademark of the Moore era is still rather restrained. While the irate Sheriff is huge fun, he does not distract from the spectacular speed boat chase. I personally really enjoyed the imaginative voodoo scenes, but for young or sensitive viewers these may be disturbing. Also worth mentioning is the theme song by Paul McCartney, one of the best in the entire series.One word of warning: This is very much a product of its time (the early 1970s) and if you're looking for political correctness, stay away from this film. It does feature instances of racism and blaxploitation. Then again, if you're big on political correctness, you should probably stay away from Bond altogether - the films, the books, the character.

The Blu ray is a good transfer and is better than a DVD , but it is taken from the already good restoration done on the Ultimate Edition DVD , so it’s marginally better. I would say the soundtrack is a lot better as the overdubbing of sound effects, such as the police car crashes sound more in sic. The film writing is one of the best for Roger Moore, the one liners are very much in keeping with this style of bond and I think only Roger can get away with this pithy sense of humour. Seans delivery was good but a little flat I feel , but you got a better agent. You get more of the Saint with Roger and less of a Bond.As for the Story line well yes there has been better , but the set pieces throughout the film are some of the best, and certainly the best speed boat chase ever filmed. Marvel films today, seem to try to emulate Bond for its entertainment and for this current gen it probably works. But for me of another gen. The old Bond movies tick all the boxes and though dated I quite like the idea of trading my smart phone in for a watch that can cut through rope. Enjoy

Roger Moore was my favourite James Bond, he never took himself to seriously and, when I heard he had died recently, I decided to treat myself to his Bond films. Buying them separately was cheaper than buying a set. The are all good quality and arrived promptly. I have made hours of viewing pleasure ahead of me. Very pleased.

The film has some redeeming features: the music is good and helps maintain a simmering of suspense throughout the film, Tee Hee is a great villain, and some parts of the film are also quite humorous. The scene in the lead up to the climax with the crocodiles is a fantastic sequence. However, Bond lost its way with this film due to the supernatural / magic ideas being taken too far, and not really appropriate for this type of film, for instance, the immortality of Baron Samedi. The bizarre demise of Kananga (where he swallows a pressurised bullet) helps mar the climax of the film and is one of the worst clangers of any Bond film. The boat chase is also stymied by the awful presence of Sheriff Pepper. Therefore this film has one of the weakest climaxes of any Bond film: the stakes have never felt lower.

This was Rogers first James Bond and I think he was the correct choice as he was well known to the British public in popular TV series such as the Saint. I enjoyed this 121 min REGION B/2 DVD with the highlight being the boat chase. Several British Agents are killed in a short space of time, during routine surveillance of dictator Dr Kananga (Yaphet Kotto). Bond is sent to New York to investigate and falls into a trap by gangster Mr Big thanks to his tarot card reader Solitaire (Jane Seymour)