Bond Week Day Five - Thunderball

To celebrate the UK cinema release of Quantum of Solace this week, the HCC team will be taking a look at a new 007 Blu-ray release every day. Today it's time for Thunderball, which was to prove a turning point for the Bond franchise.

The fourth movie of the Connery era was responsible for elevating the role of gadgets centre-stage in the Bond universe and it was to become the most successful Bond film of the Sixties.

Although far from the best in the canon, I have huge affection for the movie, not least because it was the first 007 adventure I ever saw at a cinema.

The plot, about stolen nuclear warheads, is predictable nonsense. SPECTRE is intent on holding the world to ransom and 007 is sent off to Nassau to sort the mess out. While Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi) was ultimately to prove a so-so villain, scuba-diving Domino (Claudine Auger) remains a spectacular addition to Bond's babe gallery.

The film climaxes with some neat underwater set pieces, choreographed and shot by the Ivan Tors Studio, makers of the Flipper TV show. I can't help feeling that Connery in his orange scuba suit looks so much more fetching than Daniel Craig in those silly Casino Royale La Perlas. I have an Action Man figure of the former, but harbour no desire to own one of the latter. But I digress.

The back-story of Thunderball is arguably the most interesting of all the Bond screen adventures. Originally planned to be the first 'official' story filmed - before being bumped for Dr No - it's ownership is mired in legendary confusion. A fact explored amongst the copious and generally fascinating extras on this Blu-ray set.

The Making of Thunderball, narrated by Patrick Macnee, unravels the mess around the ownership of the Thunderball story, which began life as a screenplay created by Kevin McClory, his co-writer Jack Whittingham and Fleming. 007's creator eventually bailed on the film project, before writing the Thunderball novel based on the screenplay. This led to long-running litigation and McClory's eventual success in securing rights to the story - which was remade as Never Say Never Again.

In many ways, the extras on the Thunderball BD are worth the price of admission alone. In addition to the aforementioned Making of... documentary, there's a feast of vintage footage to be had. In the Declassified: MI6 Vault area you'll find The Incredible World of James Bond, a ghastly 1965 NBC TV special - that's actually not very special at all - but has some historical interest; a gloriously wretched promo film produced by Ford at the same time bizarrely entitled A Child's Guide to Blowing up a Car; the home movies and set recollections of Thunderball's production designer Ken Adam; Bill Suitor: The Rocket Man movies, the story behind the iconic jet pack which appears in the film's opening sequence; period TV and radio ads and a trio of TV ads for a raincoat ('styled for Bond at Burton'), yours for a paltry nine guineas, 'action slacks by Burton' and 007 pen, 'vapour paper' and ring toys.

If that lot doesn't bring on a nostalgia rush for Baby Boomers, nothing will.

While the disc doesn't embrace BD Live PIPs, there are commentaries from director Terence Young; editor Peter Hunt and screenwriter John Hopkins to enjoy.

As with the other discs in the series, the HD presentation is generally excellent. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is an intelligent and involving interpretation of the original mono mix while the 1080p24 picture is rich in fine detail and texture. It doesn't pop in quite the same way as the Dr No transfer does, but this may well be a reflection on the cinematography of the time and the film stock used.

MGM/20th Century Fox, Region B Blu-ray, £23, On sale now
HCC VERDICT: 5/5