Ths funny and touching comedy hit features Kirk Douglas and Dan Aykroyd in a shining cast of great stars!

After the poor reception given to George Lazenby in Her Majesty's Secret Service, Sean Connery was no doubt lured back to the series with a gadget-stuffed briefcase full of cash (most of which he allegedly gave to charity) for this wry, snappily made seventh instalment in the series. Some of its secret weapons include a smart script, a Las Vegas setting providing plenty of neon reflections on windscreens for a memorable car chase through the Strip, and the comely Jill St. John as Tiffany Case, a diamond cut-above most of the preceding Bond girls. (Apart from Diana Rigg in Her Majesty's Secret Service, that is). Blofeld and his fluffy white cat are on hand to menace 007--it's the Nehru jackets and steely surface-look of this one in particular that the Austin Powers spoofs are sending up. Blofeld's initial cover as a reclusive Howard Hughes-like millionaire points to how the series was catching up with more contemporary figures and issues. Other highlights include two truly ferocious, karate-kicking female assassins and a sizzling moon-buggy chase across the dunes. --Leslie Felperin

On the DVD: The mind boggling possibility of casting Adam West (TV's Batman) as Bond was seriously mooted because the suits at United Artists wanted to Americanise the franchise, th e documentary reveals. Sean Connery was eventually persuaded to return but demanded a record fee to reprise his role, and then donated all the cash to his charitable foundation, the Scottish International Education Trust. The rags to riches story of larger-than-life producer Albert R Broccoli is told in the second documentary. The commentary is another in the series of edited selections from interviews with cast and crew, which are exhaustive in the wealth of detail offered but a little exhausting to sit through. Sundry trailers, radio and TV spots plus a few deleted scenes complete the comprehensive selection. --Mark Walker

Ten poignant moments in Diana's life.

It's been said that Diana Krall is a more successful recording artist than she is a live performer, yet Live in Paris seems to have captured the best of both worlds. Krall has evolved into a performer of extraordinary intensity. She treats what is essentially a set of jazz vocal standards as a kind of musical performance poetry which reflects the subtlest nuance of every lyric; while her dark, seemingly effortless contralto is a near-perfect jazz instrument. This performance features Krall's regular band plus a vast orchestra that tends to detract (and subtract) from her under-rated piano playing, but there are still any number of highlights, such as "All or Nothing at All" and "'S Wonderful".

On the DVD: the additional features on this 16:9 DVD (which has stereo, DTS and Dolby surround audio options and which is PS2 compatible) are mostly excellent. The rehearsal footage is almost better than the concert, and some of Krall's interpretations bring knowing smiles to the faces of some of the female members of the orchestra. Of the two rather MTV-friendly video features, the first (for "The Look of Love") is superb; while the second (for "Let's Face the Music and Dance"), all aggressive lighting and nasty makeup, has Krall clumping around like a big-boned drag queen, but it's really the only fault in an otherwise perfect release. --Roger Thomas