Return of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. out on DVD

The Return of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., the 1983 made-for-TV movie, came out on DVD this week. It wasn’t included when the original series came out on DVD in 2007. So here’s a look, starting with the main titles:

Gerald Fried, the veteran composer who did more MFU episodes than any other composer, was hired for the ’83 TV movie and did the arrangement of the Jerry Goldsmith theme. While OK, some fans aren’t happy with it. However, Mike Post was the choice at one time to be the composer for Return. Fried ended up being one one of two U.N.C.L.E. crew members on the film. (Director of photography Fred Koenekamp being the other).

The U.N.C.L.E. TV movie also featured George Lazenby (sort of) reprising his role as James Bond. It was filmed at the same time Roger Moore was going before the cameras in Octopussy and Sean Connery in Never Say Never Again. Thus, it was the only time all of the actors playing Bond were doing the role (sort of, at least) at the same time. Take a look:

Of course, it should be remembered that Ian Fleming helped (in a small way; Sam Rolfe did the heavy lifting) to create the original show.

The biography of Auric Goldfinger?

At HMSS, we’re not much into James Bond fan fiction. Why would you put all the time and energy into something you (legally) wouldn’t be able to publish? And, as any aspiring James Bond writer should know, Ian Fleming Publications is not looking for any new Bond authors, or looking at any unsolicited manuscripts.

Having said that, however, we’ve tripped over somebody who’s come up with a pretty cool idea. Roland Hulme, on his Militant Ginger blog, has posted his idea for, and prologue to, a fictionalized biography of one Mr. Auric Goldfinger. Called The First Edition Death Warrant, it examines Goldfinger’s obsessions, his personal drives, and his history. As Mr. Hulme puts it,

I imagined the story of this man’s life. It was exciting, erotic and macabre. As a young man, I envisioned him as a noble sort, outwitting Nazis and Russians during World War II. However, as his obsession with the ‘purity’ of gold increased, Goldfinger himself became more and more corrupt.

We think this is a novel (no pun intended) idea, with some degree of merit. Ian Fleming’s villains are such terrific characters, and loom so large in our imaginations, that we think something like this could be a fascinating read. Hulme says he’s contacted the estate of Ian Fleming to see if they’d be interested. We wish him luck!

Read all about it at the Militant Ginger.