On Her Majesty's Secret Service- Very overrated?

2456722

Comments

  • Posts: 4,762
    Sometimes its just too depressing to think that people who can hold such ludicrous points of view are also entitled to vote and have kids. The worlds going to hell in a handcart and we're all going along for the ride whether we like it or not.

    =)) It's not like if 00Beast doesn't like OHMSS he'll want a communist dictatorship in the USA as well....... sorry but your post is a bit extreme... not liking OHMSS doesn't make him a monster, and doesn't disqualify all the opinions he may have....

    Its just I find it rather worrying that if a candidate ran on a 'OHMSS is rubbish' ticket he could get votes from people like 00Beast. Would you honestly feel secure with someone with such extreme views having their finger on the button? Give me Dubya any day.

    Lets just hope 00Beast is too young to vote! ;)

    Haha, thanks for the support @DaltonCraig007! As for the age thing, yes, I am probably one of the youngest on here at 16 years old, but I'm not immature and one of those kids who has to have an explosion onscreen every second to be entertained. I can enjoy a more laid-back movie with more plot and less action. From Russia with Love is my second favorite Bond movie, and some might say that it moves slowly as well, and I'd even say it has very little action. Still, it's the plot and characters and such that makes it a favorite of mine, so it's not like a have to have a big shoot-em-up to be entertained. I just find OHMSS to be a bore, and I'm sorry if I've stepped on any toes here, I didn't mean to, honest. Just trying to get some feedback on the surprise I've had recently at the number of OHMSS supporters! I still like it, since it's a Bond movie, but it's probably my least favorite I have to say, either it or Goldfinger.
  • Posts: 1,407
    Personally for me, OHMSS is my number 1 Bond film (it keeps switching places with CR and FRWL though). I think Lazenby is decent enough but everything else from the action, the amazing score, the love story, the locations are incredible. Now I can see the flaws with the film (the dubbing, the pacing in some spots) but it doesn't stop it from being in my top 5. And that's saying something because I used to hate it actually and it was one of the last Bond films I saw
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    00Beast wrote:
    Sometimes its just too depressing to think that people who can hold such ludicrous points of view are also entitled to vote and have kids. The worlds going to hell in a handcart and we're all going along for the ride whether we like it or not.

    =)) It's not like if 00Beast doesn't like OHMSS he'll want a communist dictatorship in the USA as well....... sorry but your post is a bit extreme... not liking OHMSS doesn't make him a monster, and doesn't disqualify all the opinions he may have....

    Its just I find it rather worrying that if a candidate ran on a 'OHMSS is rubbish' ticket he could get votes from people like 00Beast. Would you honestly feel secure with someone with such extreme views having their finger on the button? Give me Dubya any day.

    Lets just hope 00Beast is too young to vote! ;)

    Haha, thanks for the support @DaltonCraig007! As for the age thing, yes, I am probably one of the youngest on here at 16 years old, but I'm not immature and one of those kids who has to have an explosion onscreen every second to be entertained. I can enjoy a more laid-back movie with more plot and less action. From Russia with Love is my second favorite Bond movie, and some might say that it moves slowly as well, and I'd even say it has very little action. Still, it's the plot and characters and such that makes it a favorite of mine, so it's not like a have to have a big shoot-em-up to be entertained. I just find OHMSS to be a bore, and I'm sorry if I've stepped on any toes here, I didn't mean to, honest. Just trying to get some feedback on the surprise I've had recently at the number of OHMSS supporters! I still like it, since it's a Bond movie, but it's probably my least favorite I have to say, either it or Goldfinger.

    Dont worry 00Beast no sore toes here - its all good banter.

    I'm just a bit sad for your sake that you cant appreciate the brilliance of OHMSS. Even more so that you rate FRWL so are obviously not an idiot. If you'd come back and said DAD was your favourite then I'd have said theres no hope for you and put a call in to Dignitas but you seem intelligent enough and I'm hopeful that as time passes you'll discover for yourself that OHMSS has to be in the top 3 for any Bond fan.
  • AgentJamesBond007AgentJamesBond007 Vesper’s grave
    Posts: 2,632
    00Beast wrote:
    (1) Lazenby just isn't that terrific, (2) the pacing is awful, (3) the music isn't top notch, (4) too many boring scenes prior to Bond's arrival at Piz Gloria, and even some when he's there, (5) Tracy isn't very interesting, and I could probably go on.

    1. Lazenby was solid, not a great actor but didn't get too many chances.
    2. Pacing was consistent except for maybe the Piz Gloria and Gumbold's office.
    3. The music was one of the best in the series!
    4. Not really any boring scenes, but it stayed with the book well.
    5. Tracy is quite an interesting girl, her character develops nicely throughout.

    Sure, now it's overrated but that's because It's finally getting the attention it didn't get back in 1969.
  • AgentJamesBond007AgentJamesBond007 Vesper’s grave
    edited March 2012 Posts: 2,632
    00Beast wrote:
    Haha, thanks for the support @DaltonCraig007! As for the age thing, yes, I am probably one of the youngest on here at 16 years old, but I'm not immature and one of those kids who has to have an explosion onscreen every second to be entertained.

    Nope, 15 here ;). Seems to be that I'm maybe one of the strongest Bond fans compared to those with my (very young) age.
  • Posts: 4,762
    00Beast wrote:
    Haha, thanks for the support @DaltonCraig007! As for the age thing, yes, I am probably one of the youngest on here at 16 years old, but I'm not immature and one of those kids who has to have an explosion onscreen every second to be entertained.

    Nope, 15 here ;). Seems to be that I'm maybe one of the strongest Bond fans compared to those with my (very young) age.

    I never would have guessed, and I'm not being sarcastic! Good to know another younger Bond fan! And yes, I'm with you on the stronger Bond fans thing. Some of my friends "like James Bond", but they don't really give it the time of day that we do!
  • Posts: 1,092
    It's solid but yeah, I have never understood what is so great about it. It's good, really good but what's the big whoop from Bond fans? Most of the public doesn't even know the movie exists but among Bond people it has a huge following and I don't get it. Not much happens in the movie. For real. Here's the story:

    He meets a girl
    He researches Blofeld
    Finds Blofeld
    Leaves the mountain
    Comes back with father in law and Blofeld gets away
    Bond marries and his wife dies

    Those are the major plot points and for a 2 and a half hour film that isn't enough for me. It feels lackadaisical to me. The pacing is slow. Bond getting married and the Scottish ancestry thing makes it feel (artificially) more espansive IMO. But in reality not much happens in this film.

    And Blofeld's plan? Retarded. Sorry, really stupid and lame. Hypnotising a bunch of girls? Why is that so awesome or cool? If the main character thrust is about Bond going after Blofeld, why does he get away and why do I care since it is Laz in the film and not Connery? It feels so anticlimatic b/c of what was set up in YOLT.

  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    Posts: 4,399
    @AgentJamesBond007

    The funny thing - that scene in Gumbold's office would've bored me to tears, if it wasn't for Barry's masterful score over that scene... in itself, it's a slow scene - but the score adds punch and tension to it - with it's soft start and slow and dramatic build up..

    the only thing i found impractical about that scene, was that he needed a copy machine sized safe cracker - when in the previous film he cracks a safe with something 10x smaller lol.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,304
    HASEROT wrote:
    @AgentJamesBond007

    The funny thing - that scene in Gumbold's office would've bored me to tears, if it wasn't for Barry's masterful score over that scene... in itself, it's a slow scene - but the score adds punch and tension to it - with it's soft start and slow and dramatic build up..

    the only thing i found impractical about that scene, was that he needed a copy machine sized safe cracker - when in the previous film he cracks a safe with something 10x smaller lol.

    LOL. Well, he does need the copy function as well...
  • edited March 2012 Posts: 4,813
    You know what just sprung to mind with all this OHMSS talk?
    In M's office, Bond looks so surprised that he's being relieved of his mission (finding Blofeld) but all we've seen Lazenby do so far in the movie was drive around, gamble and (was just about to) play golf!!
    Maybe if the movie could be re-arranged somehow to have the search of Gumbold's office come way earlier, it would have made more of an impact
    HASEROT wrote:
    the only thing i found impractical about that scene, was that he needed a copy machine sized safe cracker - when in the previous film he cracks a safe with something 10x smaller lol.

    That was a tool to help him crack the safe-- this time he needed a machine to crack the safe for him, because there were Playboys in the office that required his attention!! :D
  • Posts: 1,082
    00Beast wrote:
    Sometimes its just too depressing to think that people who can hold such ludicrous points of view are also entitled to vote and have kids. The worlds going to hell in a handcart and we're all going along for the ride whether we like it or not.

    =)) It's not like if 00Beast doesn't like OHMSS he'll want a communist dictatorship in the USA as well....... sorry but your post is a bit extreme... not liking OHMSS doesn't make him a monster, and doesn't disqualify all the opinions he may have....

    Its just I find it rather worrying that if a candidate ran on a 'OHMSS is rubbish' ticket he could get votes from people like 00Beast. Would you honestly feel secure with someone with such extreme views having their finger on the button? Give me Dubya any day.

    Lets just hope 00Beast is too young to vote! ;)

    Haha, thanks for the support @DaltonCraig007! As for the age thing, yes, I am probably one of the youngest on here at 16 years old, but I'm not immature and one of those kids who has to have an explosion onscreen every second to be entertained. I can enjoy a more laid-back movie with more plot and less action. From Russia with Love is my second favorite Bond movie, and some might say that it moves slowly as well, and I'd even say it has very little action. Still, it's the plot and characters and such that makes it a favorite of mine, so it's not like a have to have a big shoot-em-up to be entertained. I just find OHMSS to be a bore, and I'm sorry if I've stepped on any toes here, I didn't mean to, honest. Just trying to get some feedback on the surprise I've had recently at the number of OHMSS supporters! I still like it, since it's a Bond movie, but it's probably my least favorite I have to say, either it or Goldfinger.

    Dont worry 00Beast no sore toes here - its all good banter.

    I'm just a bit sad for your sake that you cant appreciate the brilliance of OHMSS. Even more so that you rate FRWL so are obviously not an idiot. If you'd come back and said DAD was your favourite then I'd have said theres no hope for you and put a call in to Dignitas but you seem intelligent enough and I'm hopeful that as time passes you'll discover for yourself that OHMSS has to be in the top 3 for any Bond fan.


    OHMSS is in my top 3. So is FRWL. And CR. If I count from the wrong end.

    They are all terribly overrated, sorry.
  • Posts: 140
    On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the last great Bond. A cinematic climax of the 60's with just a few shades of the impending 1970's (Bonds's frilled shirt in the casino!).

    Great music, cinematography, locations and Lazenby had potential. I hated it when I first saw it (aged 6) but my affection for it has grown and grown.

    Just great.
  • Posts: 232
    O.H.M.S.S. is not overrated, but it is being favorably reevaluated. This film has unfortunately been at the bottom barrel for many a fans for so many years, it is due time for it's well deserved fandom. It has always been my favorite, but I spent many a conversations (I've worked at a lot of video stores) defending this film for years. I really love that people are starting to take this film seriously and see the gem that it is.

    John Barry's music is flawless, and simply the best of his career. George Lazenby pulls off far more with one film, then any of the other single outings by Bond actors. Lazenby deserves much more praise then he gets, as far as I'm concerned. The Tracy tragedy is one of the biggest dramatic points of the entire series, that continuously haunts Bond in future films. No O.H.M.S.S. is not overrated, it is a true masterpiece of the Bond cannon.
  • Posts: 4,813
    A very good point, Jarrod-- it was definitely the last one I saw growing up. I saw them all in a crazy order- every weekend I would get one, back when Blockbuster was a thing, lol. OHMSS was the one I could never find!
  • Posts: 278
    OHMSS... is the most stylish and sexiest Bond Flick of the lot!?? Combining stylish direction, great use of the camera, good sets, good cast?, good script, song & the most definitive Bond score of the lot!!! (Thank you JB!!)
    GL was doing his best, knowing how hard it would be to feel SC shoes!!! I believe he did a good job, and for me the film has aged well!! I always enjoy watching it, and can't wait for the Blu-Ray to come out!! :-B ^:)^
  • Posts: 4,762
    A very good point, Jarrod-- it was definitely the last one I saw growing up. I saw them all in a crazy order- every weekend I would get one, back when Blockbuster was a thing, lol. OHMSS was the one I could never find!

    Ah yes, the old Blockbuster routine! I did that as well! Strangely enough, I rented GF and OHMSS one time and watched them in the time allotted (5 days was usually the standard), and I thought they were epic. Now, hahaha, look which two are at the bottom!
  • edited March 2012 Posts: 4,813
    MrEon wrote:
    GL was doing his best, knowing how hard it would be to feel SC shoes!!! I believe he did a good job, and for me the film has aged well!! I always enjoy watching it, and can't wait for the Blu-Ray to come out!! :-B ^:)^

    Yep- love him or hate him, someone had to have the balls to take over after Connery! Imagine being a total noob in the world of acting, and trying for the role of Indiana Jones, of Gandalf (or some other famous role only played by one guy)... That's how it must have felt for him! That's a brave guy right here!
  • Posts: 278
    ...You have to give it to GL, he stepped right in there and IMO gave a creditable performance!!! I met him once in Milton Keynes of all places, walking through the shopping centre and he stopped chatted and shock hands, very charming and very big!!?6'2" easy, but a real nice bloke!! Have a lot of time for old George!!! =D>
  • St_GeorgeSt_George Shuttling Drax's lovelies to the space doughnut - happy 40th, MR!
    Posts: 1,699
    For me, OHMSS is certainly not overrated. In fact, compared to the oft most praised Bond film FRWL, methinks it may be underrated.

    OHMSS contains everything the ideal Bond movie should and more - excellent plot, great direction, terrific characters (and, on the whole, very good acting), brilliant score, delicious cinematography, outstanding action and stunts, great pacing and generally fine editing and an absolute killer of an ending. It even arguably boasts two action climaxes (the raid on Piz Gloria and the bobsled chase)...
  • Posts: 4,762
    St_George wrote:
    For me, OHMSS is certainly not overrated. In fact, compared to the oft most praised Bond film FRWL, methinks it may be underrated.

    OHMSS contains everything the ideal Bond movie should and more - excellent plot, great direction, terrific characters (and, on the whole, very good acting), brilliant score, delicious cinematography, outstanding action and stunts, great pacing and generally fine editing and an absolute killer of an ending. It even arguably boasts two action climaxes (the raid on Piz Gloria and the bobsled chase)...

    The raid on Piz Gloria is decent, but not outstanding. However, there's no doubt that the bobsled chase is really cool! It's the highlight of the movie for me.
  • Posts: 6,709
    I just wish they´d given Tracy the lancia like in the novel.
  • Posts: 4,813
    You know what just sprung to mind with all this OHMSS talk?
    In M's office, Bond looks so surprised that he's being relieved of his mission (finding Blofeld) but all we've seen Lazenby do so far in the movie was drive around, gamble and (was just about to) play golf!!
    Maybe if the movie could be re-arranged somehow to have the search of Gumbold's office come way earlier, it would have made more of an impact

    Another thing that I noticed: after Blofeld snaps his neck on that treebranch, what the heck happens to him? Bond could have walked right up to him and put a bullet in his head for good measure! It just cuts to the wedding! What, did Bond just leave him there?
    Perhaps if they showed the tree and Blofeld was just gone (like the end of Halloween) that would have been cool and creepy. Oh well.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    Another thing that I noticed: after Blofeld snaps his neck on that treebranch, what the heck happens to him? Bond could have walked right up to him and put a bullet in his head for good measure! It just cuts to the wedding! What, did Bond just leave him there?
    Perhaps if they showed the tree and Blofeld was just gone (like the end of Halloween) that would have been cool and creepy. Oh well.

    Much as it pains me to slag off OHMSS this is a very good point. Even if Bond doesnt go back and kill him, hows he getting down without assistance seeing as hes practically paralysed?

    Is it too far fetched to think that the bobsleigh was Blofelds planned escape route in the event of Piz Gloria coming under attack and Irma Bunt is waiting somewhere at the bottom and rescues him while Bond is getting leathered on the St Bernards brandy?
  • I also think that this film, aswell as Lazenby are overrated.
    - Not horrible, as my very first viewing made me think, but on my second viewing (About a year/year and a half ago), I thought that it wasn't as bad as i had remembered, but still no-where near as good as peope say. Plus the whole 'breaking the fourth wall', and refering back to connery's bond was taking it TOO far. Though i was hugely impressed with the fist-fight sequences, I thought that they felt much more realistic than many other films that i've ever seen from near that decade, and more enjoyable than most in films today.
  • edited March 2012 Posts: 940

    George%20Lazenby-ALO-077650.jpg

    No, I strongly disagree.

    I think OHMSS and Lazenby are extremely underrated in the big wide world. MGW, the general public and world press always look to overrated films like GF for praise but largely ignore true gems like OHMSS. Most of the general public - even those who "like" the Bond films sadly don't even know who Lazenby is and certainly don't praise the film in an overrated manner. Sure, more and more big Bond fans have come to appreciate it over time but they represent a small minority of those who watch the films, and that praise is well deserved in my opinion.

    Lazenby brought a down-to-earth charm to the role. His love affair with Tracy was perfectly believable (I find the CR romance far harder to buy) and Lazenby had fantastic chemistry with series regulars like Moneypenny and M too. He should also be praised for giving Bond a vulnerable quality. Scenes like him looking genuinely scared and trapped at the ice rink remind us that Bond is not an invincible superhero which many could argue Connery, by YOLT, had driven us to believe. I honestly cannot imagine Connery performing emotional scenes as well as Lazenby in this film, especially considering his bored appearance in YOLT. Lazenby should also deserve respect for his superb physical fights in the film. Off-set issues with cast members like Rigg didn't affect the on-screen chemistry at all and I find it strange to say Tracy "wasn't interesting" when she's probably the Bond girl with the single-most character backstory and film relevance in the series. Elsewhere, the quality of cast is arguably the best in the series.

    The John Barry soundtrack is phenomenal, easily the best of the series. To say it "isn't top-notch" is mighty peculiar in my view. As previous posters have rightfully said, even scenes like Gumbold's office have so much added tension due to Barry's soundtrack. This film sets the benchmark to how a Bond film should sound like. The main theme brings action and danger whilst others like the beautiful 'Journey to Blofeld's Hideaway' reinforce the fact that legendary music has been missing from the Bond universe for a while now.

    I do feel OHMSS generally grows with people over time. I hated it as a youngster and never took to Lazenby, but like fine wine, I've come to appreciate its qualities. I hope those who dislike it now will do the same in time. OHMSS was not long ago at the bottom end of my rankings but it now sits firmly in my top 3 Bond movies.


  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    slyfox wrote:
    No, I strongly disagree.

    I think OHMSS and Lazenby are extremely underrated in the big wide world. MGW, the general public and world press always look to overrated films like GF for praise but largely ignore true gems like OHMSS. Sure, more and more Bond fans have come to appreciate it over time but they represent a small minority of those who watch the films, and that praise is well deserved in my opinion.

    Lazenby brought a down-to-earth charm to the role. His love affair with Tracy was perfectly believable (I find the CR romance far harder to buy) and Lazenby had fantastic chemistry with series regulars like Moneypenny and M too. He should also be praised for giving Bond a vulnerable quality. Scenes like him looking genuinely scared and trapped at the ice rink remind us that Bond is not an invincible superhero which many could argue Connery, by YOLT, had driven us to believe. I honestly cannot imagine Connery performing emotional scenes as well as Lazenby in this film, especially considering his bored appearance in YOLT. Lazenby should also deserve respect for his superb physical fights in the film. Off-set issues with cast members like Rigg didn't affect the on-screen chemistry at all and I find it strange to say Tracy "wasn't interesting" when she's probably the Bond girl with the single-most character backstory and film relevance in the series. Elsewhere, the quality of cast is arguably the best in the series.

    The John Barry soundtrack is phenomenal, easily the best of the series. To say it "isn't top-notch" is mighty peculiar in my view. As previous posters have rightfully said, even scenes like Gumbold's office have so much added tension due to Barry's soundtrack. This film sets the benchmark to how a Bond film should sound like. The main theme brings action and danger whilst others like the beautiful 'Journey to Blofeld's Hideaway' reinforce the fact that legendary music has been missing from the Bond universe for a while now.

    I do feel OHMSS generally grows with people over time. I hated it as a youngster and never took to Lazenby, but like fine wine, I've come to appreciate its qualities. I hope those who dislike it now will do the same in time. OHMSS was not long ago at the bottom end of my rankings but it now sits firmly in my top 3 Bond movies.


    As eloquent as the Wizard himself. Sir, I salute you.
  • edited March 2012 Posts: 940
    As eloquent as the Wizard himself. Sir, I salute you.
    Thank you kind sir. It's a privilege to sit alongside someone with a sensible attitude towards OHMSS!
  • OHMSS is underrated by the population as a whole, but very overrated by hardcore Bond fans. OHMSS is a good film, but not a great one. Because Bond films are subjective I can see why it might be someone's favorite bond film, but I can also see why some people don't like it. For me it falls somewhere in the middle. I enjoy it when I watch it, but there are other Bond films that excite me more.
  • Posts: 11,189
    I'm not a huge Lazenby fan but nonetheless OHMSS stands as one of my favourites. There's so much to put it near the top. John Barry, Louis Armstrong, Diana Rigg, Peter Hunt etc.

    There are some issues I have with it and most do involve Laz BUT he did very well near the end of the film and was very good with his fight scenes.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    Bain youve let yourself down there. You cant be slating the Laz. Living f*cking legend.
Sign In or Register to comment.