Top Gear-50 Years of Bond Cars (2012)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2012
Running Time	62:00
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Phil Churchward
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Richard Hammond Vic Armstrong Roger Becker Daniel Craig Guy Hamilton Robbie Maddison Roger Moore Ola Rapace
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Top Gear has been on UK Television on and off since 1978, however most people probably associate the name more with the current incarnation featuring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond & James May which has been running since 2002 (although May didn't join until 2003).

     This disc contains a one off special from Top Gear, released to coincide with the latest James Bond film, Skyfall. It is a one hour show focused on 50 years of Bond Cars from Dr No through to Skyfall.

     Although branded as a Top Gear special the only member of the team who appears is Richard Hammond. This show is very entertaining and fun to watch with many of the famous cars featured including the original Aston Martin DB5, Toyota 2000GT, AMC Hornet, the Double Decker bus, Lotus Esprit, Citroen 2CV, Renault 11, Alfa GTV6, Aston Martin V8 Volante, the BMWs from the Pierce Brosnan era and the newer Aston's from the recent films. Adding to the fun are two construction projects, one to recreate a working submarine Lotus and to create an invisible Ford Transit, taking ideas from Bond films.

     There are also a variety of celebrity guests including Sir Roger Moore, various Bond directors, Daniel Craig and the old Stig, Ben Collins (who has obviously been partially forgiven).

     This show will certainly be enjoyed by fans of Top Gear and/or James Bond.

     Recommended.

Video

     The video quality is decent but somewhat disappointing for a recent show.

     The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

    The picture was a bit soft in places, lacking the sharpness of most modern television. The shadow detail was fine.

     The colour was decent but somewhat overbright in many sequences.

     There was some mild aliasing, some jagged edges and macro-blocking at times. There was also the usual motion blur.

     There are subtitles available in English for the Hearing Impaired which are clear and easy to read.

    There are no layer changes during playback.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is good.

     This disc contains a English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0.

     Dialogue was clear and easy to hear and understand.

     The music and car sounds were well reproduced.

     The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu included music and motion.

    This show is available in the same format in the UK and US. Buy local.

    The video quality is decent.

    The audio quality is good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall