But for film fans the disc is well worth a look for its featurettes, which contain no-holds-barred interviews with many of the principals explaining why the film is such a mess. (There's also an audio commentary with a pair of Bond-movie historians.)

Chief among the outspoken interviewees are the film's first director, Joseph McGrath, who was fired in the middle of shooting, and one of the pickup directors, Val Guest. Both are remarkably candid, as are actresses Jacqueline Bisset and Joanna Pettet, among others.

All of which provides a crash course in how big-budget movies can go off the rails when studio interference and star egos run amok, and decisions are fueled by panic. (The worst offender was apparently Sellers, despite his million-dollar paycheck.)

One drawback: Missing is the 1954 half-hour black-and-white TV version of "Casino Royale," which can be found on an earlier DVD release.

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E-mail: hicks@desnews.com