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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"Moonraker" is perhaps the
most lavishly bizarre and absurd of the James Bond
adventures. Capitalizing on the then U.S.
obsession with the space program, the film
concocts a plot in which a diabolical
industrialist, Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale)
hijacks his own space shuttle for an in-space
rendezvous with a secret space station.
In an age of intergalactic pipe dreams this one
must have seemed like an implausible lulu, though
Mir has since proven at least part of Drax's dream
to possess a curious legitimacy. The now infamous
and much anticipated pre-title sequence has Bond
engaging his arch nemesis, the steel trapped Jaws
(Richard Kiel) before stealing Jaw's parachute in
mid-air. The silver toothed oaf tumbles from the
sky onto a big top circus tent -- shaken but not
stirred, and opening up the bold brassy styling of
Shirley Bassey's title song.
From here onward, the film finds Bond engaging the
aid of a NASA specialist, the sultry and
ironically intellectual (I say ironically because
Bond girls of this vintage were usually nothing
more than half-naked wallpaper for our hero to bed
and betray) Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles). Together
Goodhead and Bond discover the truth about Drax --
that he has been using the space program as his
front to breed a genetically superior race of
humans which he intends on propelling into outer
space so that he can decimate the world population
with a poisonous gas, thereby leaving planet Earth
a virgin country for his own superior hybrid to
repopulate. Okay, who said anything about reality?
As far fetched as fantasy goes "Moonraker"
delivers on every level. Roger Moore is Bond on
this outing, delivering his usual quota of adroit
one liners and dominating the landscape at all
times as Britain's most suave super spy.
As with "The Spy Who Love Me," "Moonraker" gets
the deluxe visual presentation via MGM's
restoration efforts from the mid-1990s for the
laserdisc format. Colors on this DVD are rich,
bold and sharply contrasted. Shadow delineation
and black levels are superb. Edge enhancement,
aliasing and pixelization are kept to a bare
minimum. Chips and scratches are non-existent --
almost. There is a vibrancy to the print elements
that make the whole film appear much younger than
it actually is. The audio has been remixed to 5.1
surround and is engaging, bright and very strong
in its bass. Extras include several documentaries,
audio commentaries, theatrical trailers,
interviews, a music video and production stills.
Wow! |
