10/29/08
The Old Casino
With all our attention to the new James Bond, we may have overlooked the old one. The 1967’s loveably ramshackle *Casino Royale* is getting a belated 40th Anniversary Edition, giving you a chance to check out the film that almost killed the franchise.
Shared between five auteur-minded directors and even more diva-minded stars, *Casino Royale* is pretty much the disaster you would expect, but as disasters go, it’s pretty fantastic. Abandoned by Peter Sellers halfway through production, the movie ping-pongs between a sinister Orson Welles, David Niven trying his best to add a shred of dignity to the proceedings, and Woody Allen doing his best to turn everything into a proto-Austin Powers sex farce.
In short, it was ripe for a remake.
—R.B.
CONTRIBUTORS
- — Russell Brandom
