The top-grossing film in the world this year, the new James Bond movie “No Time to Die,” is coming to Blu-ray from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Dec. 21 with nearly 80-minutes of special bonus features, which is about 75-minutes more than extras than the last Bond movie offered.
In addition to the mold-busting and often shocking 2-hour 43-minute film itself (click here to see my review), the most enticing bonus documentary here (available only on the 4K UHD/Ultra disc) is the excellent 45-min Being James Bond retrospective on the five-film Bond career of Daniel Craig, which had a limited released on several outlets in September/October, including on Apple TV streaming and on MGM HD cable network. In it, Craig candidly reflects on his 15-year run as James Bond, sharing his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. It also includes never-before-seen archival footage from “Casino Royale” to “No Time To Die.” New to these Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions and Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) Blu-ray and DVD Collector’s Editions are four exclusive featurettes, reportedly running from 6-minutes – 11-minutes each:
- ANATOMY OF A SCENE: MATERA – interviews with Craig and director Cary Joji Fukunaga, and on-set interviews with crew members about the the making of the pre-credit chase sequence shot in Matera that starts on foot, then motorcycle, then the Aston Martin DB5.
- KEEPING IT REAL: THE ACTION OF NO TIME TO DIE – A look at the creation of the practical stunts produced for “No Time To Die” in keeping with the Bond franchise tradition of keeping it real where possible instead of using CGI (computer-generated images).
- A GLOBAL JOURNEY – With exotic locations being a hallmark of Bond films, this featurette takes viewers to those featured in “No Time to Die,” starting with Bond’s spiritual home in Jamaica, as well as Italy, Norway and Scotland, with comments along the way from from Craig, Fukunaga, other cast and filmmakers about what it was like filming at these locations.
- DESIGNING BOND – Production designer Mark Tildesley and costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb, along with cast and other filmmakers, discuss the inspiration, challenges and trials of concepting and making sets and costumes for the iconic Bond franchise.
Technical details from the media release…
Blu-ray:
Number of Discs: 3
Layers: BD 50
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 16:9 2:39:1
Languages/Subtitles: English, French Canadian and Latin American Spanish
Sound: English (Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital 2.0 for bonus content), French European (Dolby Digital 7.1), Latin American Spanish (Dolby Digital 7.1)
4K UHD:
Number of Discs: 2
Layers: BD 100
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 16:9 2.39:1
Languages/Subtitles: same as above
DVD:
Number of Discs: 2
Layers: DVD 9
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen 16:9 2.39:1
Languages/Subtitles: English, French Canadian, Latin American Spanish
Sound: English (Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 for bonus content), French European (Dolby Digital 5.1), Latin American Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
— By Scott Hettrick