The name's Bond...

I've been umming and arring for weeks now. Should I buy a copy of the uncut version of Casino Royale or not? The region 3 DVD apparently has a few extra seconds of violence than the UK release and 22 seconds more than the US release. This footage was trimmed by the distributor in order to gain the film's 12 and PG-13 ratings respectively.

So, do I really want to see an even longer version of the sequence where James Bond is given a literal bollocking with that knotted rope? Probably not.

I enjoyed the film at the cinema and thought that it was a major improvement over most of the more recent 007 adventures. It was a pretty good, gritty reboot of the series. I wasn't aware that any cuts had been made before I watched it; in fact I found the violence that I saw at times a little too intense and nasty. This view might surprise older readers of this blog. Generally I've not got a problem with screen violence (I've been known to seek it out), but this is supposed to be a James Bond movie - not Hostel III or Saw IV - it should be aimed at 12 year old wannabe 'secret agents', not wannabe torturers.

Remember when the word 'Bond' used to guarantee an exciting spy adventure film for all the family to enjoy? Let's look back now at a few Bond clips that never made it into the 1970's films. From more innocent, less cynical times. Dang da da dang dang dang dang, dang da da dang dang dang dang...