Live and Let Die, Diamonds are Forever, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only, and Dr. No.

Narrated by the inimitable Peter Graves, this installment of A&E's Biography series deals as much with Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, as it does with the Bond character himself. Fleming led a colorful and action-packed life, modeling Bond after his own real-life experiences. After a difficult childhood spent in Eton and military schools (Fleming's father was killed in action in World War I), he went on to work for Reuters and eventually became a fixture in the British intelligence community. During World War II, Fleming led his own top-secret commando squad in the British Navy, taking on all types of dangerous assignments. By the 1950s, he decided to turn his energies toward writing, and invented his Bond character: brave, dashing, handsome, good with the ladies, filled with derring-do and adventure. The novels were a hit, but unfortunately Fleming, who died just before the release of Goldfinger, didn't live to see Bond's peak of popularity, as a string of absurdly good-looking and rugged men would embody the martini-swilling, woman-chasing secret agent in the movies. In typical Biography fashion, this is a detailed, slightly tongue-in-cheek look at the superspy man's man that we've all come to know. -Jerry Renshaw.

Eight Films in nice clean dust box. Tapes in slipcases: Diamonds are Forever, The Spy, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights, License to Kill.

Has it really been decades since the first James Bond film? Over the course of 19 films and 5 Bonds, the beloved film spy has evolved to keep up with the times, but James Bond is at heart still the same suave, urbane tough guy that Sean Connery established in 1962's Dr. No. The James Bond Story traces the development of the character, interviewing Bond leading ladies Maud Adams and Jane Seymour and Bond actors Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan and exploring the ups and downs of the filmic franchise over the years. Also, director Terence Young, producer Cubby Broccoli, and, of course, Ian Fleming follow the progression of the Bond character from its first onscreen realization through the 2000-model Bond. There's lip service paid to his progress from a womanizing, Martini-swilling Neanderthal in a tux to a somewhat more politically correct man, and the traditional Bond killing gadgets get treatment as well (complete with outtakes and flubs). This is just the thing for Bond fans and of the spy genre in general; an affectionate look at 40 years worth of James Bond. -Jerry Renshaw.