Rating: 
Summary: Classic Bond Spoof from the Era of Classic Bond
Review: Casino Royale is hilarious bond spoof produced during the time while Sean Connery was still playing James Bond in the regular Bond films. It has a remarkable cast of stars, including David Niven, Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, and a young 32 year old Woody Allen.The film suffers from a certain amount of discontinuity, which having only seen it on TV in the past, I took to be an artifact of it being edited for television. The extra material provided with the DVD, an interview with director Val Guest, explains why this is (I won't spoil it for you). Keeping these behind-the-scenes facts in mind, makes the movie even more entertaining. I probably laughed more as I child when I watched this movie, but I certainly get more of the jokes as an adult. It's also great fun to take a trip back in time and see these classic actors spoofing the Bond image. I give Casino Royale 4 stars for nostalgia and goofy fun.
Rating: 
Summary: SILLY but FUN
Review: Silly but fun "Bond" movie. Great time capsule of 60's movie-making excess but includes some really great stuff -- from the opening titles, to "the Look of Love." Bought the DVD version really just to replace my old VHS version.
Rating: 
Summary: Problems with this DVD
Review: Had problems with this DVD at the 1:45:50 mark or so. Seems the picture gets incredibly garbled and looks like big digital blocks. I have a RCA early model DVD player. Anyone else have similar problems?
Rating:
Summary: The best movie of the late 60s
Review: I consider this the best movie of the late 60s just as I consider The Prisoner as the best television program and White Rabbit as the best song. This movie is a psychedelic satire of the James Bond movies. Everyone involved in the production, directing, acting and film scoring were the first rank talent of that era. The story is intentionally disjointed and strange in order to produce a confusing effect in the viewer. The only thing this has in common with the book is the title and the James Bond character. It is a total rewrite. The bonus feature of the TV version of Casino Royale is also included.
Rating: 
Summary: beware!
Review: buyers beware! the new DVD of CASINO ROYALE has a few problems. first, the top of the picture flickers in some scenes. check out the scene where M is about to be killed. the blue sky shakes. also, the DVD throws in the tv version, but why did they bother, since they cut the last 3 or 4 minutes out of it. that's right, the ending of the story -- where bond kills the peter lorre character -- is CUT! go figure.
Rating:
Summary: Royale Treatment
Review: You're making a mistake if you compare this film with the Eon Bonds of the Sixties. You're also making a mistake if you compare it with later spy spoofs, like AUSTIN POWERS. In fact, it would be a mistake to compare this film to anything. Approached on its own merits, CASINO ROYALE is an oddball maze of plots, characters, pop-art images, and over-the-top gags that brims with a great sense of life and giddy humor. Does everything make sense? No. Is it something of a jumble? Yes. Are all of the gags funny? I don't think so. But do any of those things get in the way of this being a thoroughly entertaining romp for anyone with half a sense of humor? Not at all. CASINO ROYALE is one of my all-time favorite pick-me-up movies when I'm stuck with the flu at home, and it's a great pleasure to share with friends, especially if you have a soft spot for Sixties culture. It is silliness for the sake of silliness, designed purely to delight and distract, and, to paraphrase William Saroyan, I can think of few things more noble. I've been looking forward to the DVD release for some time, and have been a little dismayed at the scant information about it from various sites. Now that I have it, I can say that MGM has treated the film well. Is it a red-carpet treatment like the Eon Bonds have gotten? No. But it is a far better DVD package than we were given with NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN. The image and color quality have a vibrance fitting a film of the era (and I mean that in a good way), and the sound -- including one of cinema's most distinctive scores, written by Burt Bacharach -- is presented in a newly digitally enhanced 5.1. The extras are what interested me, and (especially for the price) the disc provides some goodies. One is the original TV version of CASINO ROYALE, shot with Barry Nelson as an Americanized "Jimmy Bond." The other is a NEW making-of featurette with Val Guest discussing the film. Guest was one of the five directors (!) on the movie, and was charged with trying to tie it all together. He has some really great behind-the-scenes info, mostly told under footage from the movie. The featurette is not the best I've seen, but it's hardly the worst, and sheds great light on how this distinctive and idiosyncratic one-of-a-kind picture was made. I wish they had asked Guest to do a commentary, but I'm not griping. Considering how little has been written on the making of this genuinely twisted film, the featurette alone is more than welcomed. There is an original trailer included, and the film is presented letterboxed. For the price, CASINO ROYALE can't be beat. Its influence on the POWERS series will be obvious to even the most casual viewer, right down to the music.
Rating:
Summary: The Original Spy Spoof
Review: Not to take anything away from the Flint films. This is a classic Bond spoof, the scenes are well directed and the acting is pretty good. There would be no Austin Powers without this film, watch it and see why. hint: Peter Sellers. Not an Oscar winner, but highly entertaining!
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but slightly dated satire of spy films & 007
Review: With its tongue firmly planted in cheek, Casino Royale takes viewers on a wild ride through the spy business. David Niven plays the retired James Bond (who despises what his successor with the same name has been doing on behalf of the UK). The plot is little more than an excuse to cobble together 5 different segements (with 5 different directors including John Huston who appears in a cameo). The funnest segment involves Peter Sellers as James Bond. He projects confidence so well in his witty performance that you'd almost expect him to play the role in a Real Bond Film. His scenes with Orson Welles very from mildly entertaining to rip roaring funny. Welles was reportedly irritated with Sellers during the making of the film so most of his material was shot with Seller's around (Seller's made fun of Welles girth and continually bated him during the production). Although it hasn't aged as gracefully as some the Flint films (which still work very well as satire), Casion Royale still works well enough to enjoy. In many respects, it's a predecessor to the Austin Powers movies and plays like that film crossed with It's A Mad, Mad, Mad World. Although Casino Royale is a lot of lightweight fun, it's not as good a spoof as its producers seem to think. James Coburn was actually funnier in the two Our Man Flint spy spoofs. Casino Royale is a notch below Flint and above the Dean Martin Matt Helm films. A pity there was no way include a cameo of Sean Connery (the film's producers were not the producers of the Bond series. Casino Royale was the only Fleming book that they owned. That's one of the reasons they elected to go in a satirical direction with the film as anything else would have resulted in lawsuits). It's also a pity that the various directors are no longer around to include a commentary track. Most of the principles are dead so it's no surprise that there's no commentary track from them as well. Casino Royale is an enjoyable romp as long as you check your expectations at the door. While time hasn't been as kind to it as it has been to some of the Bond & Flint films, it was clearly ahead of its time.
Rating:
Summary: stinker
Review: how dare they spoof bond not funny justas bad as never say neveragain
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely LAME
Review: This isn't just bad; it's atrocious. Shocked to the core, I was. The moment I watched this I was stunned. It did not follow Ian Fleming (it wasn't supposed to) and it wasn't funny. It leaves me wondering why on earth I'd wasted so much time even buying it. It is the most un-Bond, unfunny movie I've watched, ever. Highly recommend you NOT to waste your money on someone who is not cool and is given a title that Ian Fleming serious despised, especially for his beloved character - 'Sir'.
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