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Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1, English, Spanish, Subtitled
Welcome to Casino Royale, the ultimate psychedelic secret agent satire!Packed with girls, guns and gags galore, this "very funny picture" (The New Yorker) delivers "laughs all the way" (Cue)! Starring Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, David Niven, Joanna Pettet, Orson Welles, Daliah Lavi, Woody Allen, Deborah Kerr, William Holden and others, and with an original score from Oscar winner Burt Bacharach, this groovy spy movie is "even farther out" (L.A. Herald-Examiner) than all other spoofs combined! British Intelligence is waning in every possible way! When the diabolical SMERSH begins killing off Her Majesty's Secret Service, super-agent James Bond (Niven) recruits six more "James Bonds" to confuse and conquer their enemies. But it won't be easy. They'll have to face an army of irresistibly sexy female operatives, exploding robotic fowl, parachuting Indians and a germ that makes all women beautiful but kills all men over 4'6"!
"...hysterical..." At-A-Glance Film Reviews
"...clever, witty, and exacting in its satire." James Berardinelli's ReelViews
"Outlandish oversized spoof -- a perfect evocation of its time." Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress
Editor's Note
This swinging spoof of Ian Fleming's spy hero features an aging James Bond (David Niven), reluctantly dragged out of retirement to chase down the evil crime clique called SMERSH. In order to confound the forces led by the villainous Le Chiffre (Orson Welles), the Secret Service enlists five other agents, also under the name "Bond," and all six converge on the titular casino. Meanwhile, Woody Allen, as the retiring secret agent's nephew, causes havoc at every turn. The gleefully chaotic product of five directors, numerous screenwriters, and the late 1960s in general, CASINO ROYALE revels in its psychedelic spy satire premise. The comedy features a legion of stars in roles both large and small: Niven, Welles, Allen, Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, William Holden, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jacqueline Bisset, Deborah Kerr, and many more. (Apparently, Sellers and Welles despised each other, and Sellers would frequently not show up for his scenes.) Amid the wackiness, there are genuine moments of hilarity, making the film a surreal romp through Bond lore and the more eccentric aspects of 1960s pop culture.
Plot Summary
This stupendous spoof of James Bond films tells of the super agent's plans for retirement. When he relinquishes his authority to this bungling nephew, the results are disastrous.
| Features | Audio Commentary With James Bond Historians Steven Jay Rubin & John Cork | | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital Mono | | Audio: French, Spanish Dolby Digital Mono | | Featurettes: The Making Of Casino Royale, Bond James Bond, A 3 Ring Circus, More Directors, More Stars, The Big Climax, & It's A Wrap! | | Interactive Menus | | Original Theatrical Trailer | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, Spanish |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: TCFHE/MGM |
| Release Date: 5/12/2009 |
| Running Time: 130 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1967 | | Catalog ID: 109288 | | UPC: 00027616092861 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French Dubbed, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Nominee (1968) | | | British Academy Awards, Julie Harris, Best British Costume (Colour) | | | Oscar, Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Best Music, Original Song |
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| | Professional Reviews | Variety 8 of 10
Wacky comedy extravaganza, Casino Royale is an attempt to spoof the pants off James Bond. The $12 million film is a conglomeration of frenzied situations, 'in' gags and special effects, lacking discipline and cohesion. Some of the situations are very funny, but many are too strained...Based freely on Ian Fleming's novel, the story line defies sane description. Sufficient to say that the original James Bond (David Niven), now knighted and living in eccentric retirement, is persuaded back into the Secret Service to help cope with a disastrous situation...Niven seems justifiably bewildered by the proceedings, but he has a neat delivery of throwaway lines and enters into the exuberant physical action with pleasant blandness. Peter Sellers has some amusing gags as the gambler, the chance of dressing up in various guises and a neat near-seduction scene with Ursula Andress.
FilmCritic.com 6 of 10
Peter Sellers proves he still had it in his turn as, yes, James Bond, in the one 007 spoof ever made (unless you count that unintentional farce Never Say Never Again)...Stealing the show is Orson Welles, playing Bond's nemesis at the baccarat table, but unfortunately the scenes in the titular casino are far too few and far between. Most of the film involves Bond's (David Niven) plan to create a gaggle of dummy Bonds (including the Sellers version and Woody Allen as young "Jimmy Bond") in order to throw the real enemy, SMERSH's mysterious "Dr. Noah" (this is funny?) off the scent...Hours later, we're treated to a funny, yet long overdue ending. With a little more forethought and discipline in the editing process, Royale might have lent itself to an amusing tale. Instead we've got questionable comedy that doesn't even measure up to the jokes already present in the Bond series. Note to filmmakers: If you want to spoof something, at least make sure you're outdoing your source material on the comedy front. - Christopher Null
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