Category: Films

2022.11.04

“Golden Eye” (1989): Danish rental VHS

The English TV movie "Golden Eye" from 1989 (not to be confused with EON's theatrically released "GoldenEye" from 1995) was the first filmed dramatization of James Bond author Ian Fleming's life. Charles Dance, almost a dead ringer for Fleming, was perfectly cast in the lead after previously guest-starring as the henchman Claus in EON's "For Your Eyes Only" (1981). Christoph Waltz, who was later to become Blofeld in "SPECTRE" (2015) and "No Time to Die" (2021), also had a bit part as a Nazi in "Golden Eye", the plot of which was inspired by Ian Fleming's experiences in the Royal Navy's Secret Service during World War II.

Danish distributor Irish released "Golden Eye" with Danish subs as a rental VHS sometime around 1989/90. The cover designer clearly didn't bother checking the name of the main character who is invariably spelled Ian Flemming on the front and back cover.

"Golden Eye" was shown on Danish TV 2 on February 1, 1992, now retitled "Hemmelige affærer" [Secret Affairs]. To this date, "Golden Eye" has not been released on DVD or VOD with Danish subtitles.

2022.09.16

“You Only Live Twice”: Danish theatrical release poster (1967)

2022.06.10

“On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” (1969): From Denmark with Love

For "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (EON 1969) production designer Syd Cain once again furnished the arch villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld's hideout with Danish Modern.

Disguised as the herald Sir Hilary Bray James Bond (George Lazenby) checks in at the Swiss mountain resort Piz Gloria. His room features two pendant lamps created in 1964 by the famous Danish designer Verner Panton (1926-1998). Each of the Fun 0DM lamps (DM is short for the German term "Decken-Montage" meaning ceiling-mounted) consists of a four-ring chrome-plated metal frame with natural sea shells discs. The lamps are clearly visible around the film's 56-minute mark (Blu-ray) as Bond is checking the lamp for hidden microphones. Early versions of the Fun 0DM lamp were manufactured in Switzerland which is also the film's primary location.

● Link to the Fun 0DM lamp at verpan.com

In the same sequence (time code 56:20) Syd Cain reused the iconic Bodil Kjær Office Desk from 1959 as part of the furniture in Bond's room. The free-standing table previously featured in "From Russia with Love" (EON 1963) and "You Only Live Twice" (EON 1967).

Around the two-hour mark Tracy di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg) is seen fiddling with another Verner Panton-designed lamp, the Fun 5DM, in Blofeld's office. Fun 5DM is an extra-large ceiling mounted lamp with two clusters of shells hanging from stainless steel rings.

2022.05.20

“The Poppy is also a Flower”: Danish theatrical poster (1966)

The somewhat obscure 1966 feature film "The Poppy is also a Flower" is of special interest for James Bond completists as the screenplay was based on an original idea by Ian Fleming hatched before his death in August 1964.

Fleming's participation was due to the film's director, Terence Young. As production of "The Poppy is also a Flower" was about to commence in 1965, Young left the post-production on "Thunderball" to his editor Peter Hunt.

"The Poppy is also a Flower" is an anti-drug spy thriller which highlights UN's campaigns against the world-wide opium trade. United Nations initiated the production which was financed by Xerox Corporation for showings on American TV although the film was released as a theatrical feature in other countries. In Denmark it was called "Operation Opium" and premiered on October 14, 1966. The release poster, pictured below, does its best to accentuate the James Bond/Agent 007 connections.

Harold Sakata (Oddjob in "Goldfinger") is the only actor from the EON Bond series to appear in the star-studded cast of "The Poppy is also a Flower". All of the actors waived their fees for a token payment of one dollar. Many of the male French and Italian actors in the film were dubbed by Robert Rietty who also voiced, among others, Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi) in "Thunderball" and appeared on-camera in "Never Say Never Again" (1983).

"Operation Opium" was universally panned at the time of release. The film is available on German DVD and Blu-ray (Region 2) as "Mohn ist auch eine Blume" issued by the label Filmjuwelen .

Thanks to movieposter.dk.

2022.02.11

“You Only Live Twice” (1967): From Denmark with Love

● Danish Modern design by Bodil Kjær(born 1932) made its first Bond appearence in "From Russia With Love" (EON 1963) in several sequences showing Ernst Stavro Blofeld sitting behind Kjær's iconic Office Desk from 1959.

In "You Only Live Twice" (EON 1967) Bodil Kjær's free-standing wood and aluminum table reappears several times. In the film's teaser sequence, delegates from the three superpowers USA, USSR and United Kingdom are each seated behind Office Desks.
Time code (Blu-ray): 03:56-05:02

2022.01.28

“Quantum of Solace”: Danish release poster (2008)

2022.01.07

“No Time to Die”: Danish retail videos (2021)

On Friday January 7, 2022, SF Studios are releasing "No Time to Die" on home video in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The 25th Bond film from EON Productions will be available on DVD, Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD and VOD (Video On Demand).

None of the releases by SF Studios contain any of the bonus materials for "No Time to Die" even though these are included in most other territories. The SF Studios office in Denmark claims that the masters provided for the Nordic countries by MGM did not include any of the extras.

If you choose to purchase an British, German or Italian release of "No Time to Die", the following four featurettes are included on the discs:
"Anatomy of a Scene: Matera" (11:32)
"Keeping It Real: The Action of No Time to Die" (6:15)
"A Global Journey" (7:50)
"Designing Bond" (11:04)

4K Ultra HD editions in other territories also include the 46-minute documentary "Being James Bond" which was briefly available as a free VOD title on iTunes during the autumn of 2021.

Furthermore, the Scandic Blu-ray editions of "No Time to Die" only include the Dolby 5.1 soundtrack as opposed to the foreign editions which have Dolby Atmos and/or Dolby TrueHD 7.1. According to SF Studios, this oversight was also due to MGM not providing any 7.1 soundtracks for the Nordic release. (The Atmos soundtrack is however included on the Nordic 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray).

● "No Time to Die" bonus materials in other territories (external link to dvdcompare.net)