This latest James Bond 007 DVD film released on the 12th May 1998 set a new DVD record for the highest number of pre-orders for a DVD release ever!. MGM marketing manager for DVD Dave Miller said, "We seriously under estimated demand for Tomorrow Never Dies. We initially estimated 110,00 to 120,00 units for street date, but orders came in close to 200,000." As 'Tomorrow Never Dies' is the most successful Bond movie to date it was little wonder that DVD sales were sky high.

This time the unstoppable hero (Pierce Brosnan , 'Goldeneye') must prevent World War 3 by battling an enemy who manipulates what promises to be one of the 21st Century's most awesome powers, the global communications industry.

The DVD is brought to you courtesy of MGM and is presented in both widescreen (2.35:1 , anamorphically enhanced) and Pan & Scan versions on the same side. The disc is dual layered and you are given an option when the disc loads to select which aspect ratio you wish to view the film in. A groovy picture comparison is shown which displays how much of the picture is cropped on the Pan & Scan version. For this review however I'm referring to the widescreen format.

The transfer like 'Goldeneye' is excellent. The colour saturation is spot on, the transfer has a very film like appearance to it with excellent clarity and contrast. I did not see any digital artifacts and really with the quality of the DVD releases today digital artifacts on the vast majority of DVD releases from the major studios are a thing of the past. The picture has excellent detail once again and overall is demo quality.

The DVD contains both a Dolby Digital 5.1 and matrixed surround soundtracks. The Digital soundtrack from the opening scene through to the end is excellent and a real treat for Home Theatre systems. It has excellent bass, channel seperation and very aggressive use of the rear channels. It is truly a movie for those who like to push their systems and is full of deep explosions and ricocheting bullets, outstanding. The matrixed version for Prologic owners is also very good for that sound format.

Features are nominal once again and the DVD only contains a theatrical trailer, however MGM have included an eight page booklet with the DVD which features trivia, production notes and a look at the making of the film. The film is also divided into 28 chapters.

Overall an excellent DVD for not only lovers of James Bond movies but action fans overall. Recommended.

Review Equipment:Yamaha RXV992 AC3 Receiver, Polk Audio CS275 centre speaker, Polk Audio RT7's mains, Polk Audio RT3's surrounds, M&K V125 Subwoofer and Panasonic 68cm TV.