Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery [DVD] [1997]

The Austin Powers series was and still is one of the most premier spy comedies on the market. A smashing blend of then-modern pop culture mythos and classic '60's spy/mod culture particularly taking inspiration from the James Bond series, Derek Flint, and even the '66 art house classic Blow-Up. The first film got the series off to a great start with Austin traveling through time to stop his ultimate nemesis, Dr. Evil (both played of course by Mike Myers) and having to cope with changing attitudes towards his era of 'free love' and various battles Evil's colorful henchmen (my personal favorite being Mustafa played by Will Ferrell). The cinematography and set design are both top notch as well as a groovy soundtrack with tunes from Burt Bacharach, Nancy Sinatra, Divinyls, and of course the theme by Quincy Jones. I opted for the original 1997 New Line Platinum DVD as I already have the other two on DVD and the price was hard to pass up. The transfer while somewhat aged still holds up and doesn't distract from the action. Audio is still solid, your standard 5.1 mix. The 2.1 aspect ratio is a bit odd sounding at first but the director requested it for this release. Special features aren't quite as plentiful as the ones for the other two Austin Powers films but the deleted scenes and alternate endings are worthwhile (especially the cameo by Bond girl Lois Chiles). I also really like the cover art for this one. Really captures the spy/psychedelic vibe well and the yellow color palette looks pretty good next to the red and blue covers for the sequels (I know it might seem like a small thing to mention but as someone who owns a lot of DVDs I do get annoyed when the cover for film series don't line up well together so it's worth noting when they do). Overall this film and it's sequels will probably be remembered for years to come as comedy classics. The amount of references and homages will keep any Bond fan pleased and replaying the DVD over and over to catch all the little details and those looking for a fun spy-comedy will not find much than can top this film. Fabulous and highly recommended.

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, is hands down, the funniest spy spoof ever made. Mike Myers, who previously brought us the Wayne's World films, strikes gold a second time. The cast is fantastic, with countless hilarious moments and over the top scenes. The problem is that all American home video releases of the movie have been the censored American PG-13 cut, and not the extended international release. Sadly the Blu-ray, while featuring superb audio and video, does not fix this. Also, bonus features are the same as previous home video releases. I love Austin Powers, the first film anyway. But it needs a special edition release with the international cut and new bonus features. Despite that, the film is strongly recommended.

The Blu-ray provided a good picture and sound. Mike does an excellent job of portraying super spy Austin Powers and he provides plenty of laughs. Mike also plays Dr. Evil as well as some other characters in the movie. The jokes are for adults so don't let young children watch this movie. Robert Wagner appears in this movie as Number 2, Dr. Evil's second in command, and Robert gives a good performance. If you want a different type of comedy movie buy this one.

This movie is still hilarious even after all this time. One of my favorite comedies.

The first Austin Power movie was the funniest it was knew it was different

This is a very funny movie and it's fun to watch the origins of the Austin and Dr. Evil characters. Not as good as Part 2 but much better than Part 3. The transfer is very good and makes the movie pop.

Highly disappointed to see this blu ray edition lack of languages and subtitles option .The previous DVD release has better option in languages and subtitles !! what a shame and negligence !

Bought it because it was a favorite movie when I was a kid. Went with my family to see it in theaters. And I wanted to own it on Blu-Ray. Can't believe it's been 20 years already.