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"That's détente, comrade. You don't have it...I don't have it."
The year is 1980. Despite the major, record breaking box office success of 1979's "Moonraker", Cubby Broccoli decides that a return to earth and the grittier style of the earlier Bond films as created by Ian Fleming was in order and begins production on the 12th 007 adventure, entitled "For Your Eyes Only". The movie features the directorial debut of John Glen, who like Peter Hunt had been an editor and second unit director for several previous films, and Broccoli's stepson Michael G. Wilson making his writing debut assisting longtime screenwriter Richard Maibaum. In this adventure, Bond attempts to locate a sunken British spy ship equipped with a missile command system called the ATAC while navigating a web of deception spun by 2 rival Greek businessmen that includes one who is secretly working for the Soviets while pretending to be friendly to the mission. Along with Melina Havelock, a woman seeking to avenge the murder of her parents, who were helping the British locate the wreck, Bond tries to balance her need for revenge with his aim of recovering the ATAC before the villain can deliver it to the Soviets.
Based on the 8th book in Ian Fleming's series released in 1960, actually a collection of 5 short stories rather than the normal full length novel, the plot combines key elements of both "For Your Eyes Only" and "Risico". Principal filming began in September 1980 on the Greek island of Corfu and used other Greek locations as well as the North Sea for some exteriors. Production moved to Italy in January and ended in February 1981, with several English locations also in use while underwater footage was shot in the Bahamas. The film, budgeted for $28 million, premiered in London on June 24, 1981 and set an all-time opening-day record for any film at any cinema in the United Kingdom. Driven by another yet major hit title song that would wind up nominated for both Academy and Golden Globe best original song awards in 1981, the film would achieve the second highest gross to date for a Bond film by earning $195 million dollars. In addition, Cubby Broccoli joined the list of all time great producers when the Academy presented him with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, given to "creative producers whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production".
THE CAST-
- Roger Moore as James Bond
- Carole Bouquet as Melina Havelock
- Julian Glover as Aristotle Kristatos
- Chaim Topol as Milos Columbo
- Lynn-Holly Johnson as Bibi Dahl
- Michael Gothard as Emile Leopold Locque
- Cassandra Harris as Countess Lisl Von Schlaf
- John Wyman as Erich Kriegler
- Desmond Llewelyn as Q
- Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny
- Geoffrey Keen as Fredrick Gray
- James Villiers as MI6 Chief of Staff Bill Tanner
- Walter Gotell as General Gogol
- Jill Bennett as Jacoba Brink
- John Moreno as Luigi Ferrara
- Stefan Kalipha as Hector Gonzales
- Jack Hedley as Sir Timothy Havelock
- Toby Robins as Iona Havelock
- Janet Brown as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
BOND- "Back To Earth" as advertised, I honestly can't see how even those who prefer Moore in Spy wouldn't appreciate a performance such as this. Short of frequent womanizing, which really isn't an option given the script, Moore plays the role closer to Connery more than at any other time in his tenure, and brilliantly so. Director John Glen brings the film along at a pace more reminiscent of Young and Hunt as opposed to Hamilton and Gilbert, and the script challenges his Bond into trying to figure out who the bad guys are and aren't. Moore still gets his moments to mug it up from time to time but reminds us in fine fashion that Bond is much more than a wise cracking, bed hopping, jet setting playboy that his earlier films wanted the audience to embrace. Moore has often said he wasn't comfortable with Bond's darker side that we get here, but you'd never know it when watching this film. He really brings together every little nuance of what he did in his first 4 films, yes it's a bit of a "greatest hits" package that we'd see in Brosnan's later portrayal, but only Moore could play Bond the way he did and make it work on a consistent basis until age finally caught up with him. My absolute favorite and most enjoyable performance of his, a real throwback to what made me love Connery and the classic Bond films, and the moment I was finally able to forget how bad the last film was and completely embrace Moore in the role without reservations of any kind- 5/5
WOMEN- Although known more for being the long time face of Chanel cosmetics in her native France, leading lady Carole Bouquet began a film career four years before. Here she plays Melina Havelock, the daughter of a English archaelogist and his Greek wife who are violently murdered for assisting the British in their recovery mission of the ATAC. What really works first for Bouquet is that aside from her stunning green eyes, she truly looks more Greek than French and is ethnically quite believable. Her character is also very sympathetic and apart from her great looks, her acting is miles better than any of her predecessors in the Moore era, as well as the opinion of those critics who panned her performance as too "straight and serious". Melina is a woman of great inner strength and determination and Bond can barely control her from her mission to kill everyone responsible for her parents' murder by perforating them uniquely with a crossbow, yet it's that same strong desire for revenge that makes her a terrific and competent ally. Next up we have American actress Lynn-Holly Johnson as Bibi Dahl, an young ice skating sensation striving to win Olympic gold. Johnson was indeed a champion skater in her own right and her skill gives that part of her character some realism. Johnson is also attractive and has a nice body, so no issue there for me. Now I'm not going to say that I don't understand why a serious Bond fan wouldn't think an annoying, giddy, boy crazy, oversexed teen type would be a bad Bond girl, but the real Bond women here are Bouquet and the next woman I'll discuss. Bond knows her sexual advances towards him are as age inappropriate as the viewer and she really isn't a Bond girl, just a minor comedic type character who happens to be controlled by the villain's money and one that isn't an ally of the villain or a serious part of the story. Johnson is fine for what she does, her character is the problem if this category has one. Next up is the late English actress Cassandra Harris as Countess Lisl Von Schlaf, an ally and friend of Milos Colombo who shills for his casino and does whatever else he asks of her. Harris is probably better known nowadays for being future Bond Pierce Brosnan's first wife than most of her film work, and actually helped bring him to the attention of Cubby Broccoli as a result of her role. She sleeps with Bond and is eliminated as a result, but is excellent in the role as she makes you think she is Austrian but is actually a Liverpool girl who made good. In addition we have late English actress Jill Bennett as Dahl's German teacher and mentor, Olympic champion Jacoba Brink, and attractive American actress Robbin Young, for whom the film was her first big break after winning a Playboy sponsored contest with the prize being a role in a Bond film, as the Italian flower shop girl. Adding in a bevy of bathing beauties, a vast improvement in general over Moonraker's women, both beautiful and competent- 4/5
VILLAINS- English actor Julian Glover, once considered for the role of Bond, gets the lead as Aristotle "Ari" Kristatos, an Anglophile considered a trusted local source by both MI6 and their Italian section. Kristatos is outwardly a cultured gentleman who enjoys the perks of his ill-gotten gains in a high style Bond can appreciate, but he is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He doesn't carry a lot of personal menace that make him a great villain by himself, but underneath his charm he is greedy, ruthless, and mercenary. Watch his face when he has Bond and Melina keelhauled and you can see he truly enjoys having people killed when it suits him. Assisting him as his main henchman is another Englishman in Michael Gothard as Emile Leopold Locque, a killer of possibly Belgian origin who escaped prison by strangling his psychiatrist. Hmmm. Obviously he's a sick pup and just the kind of sadistic killer Kristatos appreciates, and is very effective without saying a single word throughout. A third Englishman, John Wyman, plays Erich Kriegler, an East German champion athlete who is jacked up on steroids and also Kristatos' KGB contact. Not a Red Grant but more of a YOLT Hans and later TND Stamper seemingly indestructible type who Bond must outwit when he can't outfight him. West Indian Stefan Kalipha is fine as freelance hit man Hector Gonzales, and Kristatos also has the expected small army of killers led by South African Jack Klaff as Apostis, who like Locque never speaks but has the dead eyes of a stone killer- 4/5
HUMOR- After the previous debacle, thankfully way toned down. Aside from the slapstick at the skating rink and a few bits during the chases where Moore mugs a little, his lines are limited but hilarious when he has them. Most of them are directed at the comedy figure that is Dahl ("Well, you get dressed and I'll buy you an ice cream"), which is one of his greatest lines ever in reference to his age difference with her. We also have the Havelock parrot Max and the always great Scottish actress/comedian Janet Brown and John Wells as Margaret and Denis Thatcher to round things out. Some people don't like the end sequence but Brown and Wells were well known for their Thatcher impressions and their casting was ideal, because Frederick Gray was due for his usual dose of humiliation- 3/5
ACTION- Great right from the start and it never lets up. Bond is seen at Tracy's grave in a very nice touch before taking a wild and crazy helicopter ride courtesy of E.S Blofeld remote control airways. OK, there are a few folks who want to think for some odd reason that this isn't Blofeld seeking revenge because of no credits, but that was for well known legal reasons. Let's see now- bald guy, Nehru jacket, white cat- how much more convincing do you need??? All in all, much more satisfying than the lame DAF oil rig finish where no one believed he was dead, this time you can believe it. Lots more to come include a thrilling car chase through the "Spanish wine country" where Gonzales lives (actually filmed in Greece), an awesome ski chase that starts off on an Olympic high jump and sees Bond skiing on a sheer ice bobsled track, and ends with a tense and exciting climb up the sheer rock face of the villain's last refuge- 5/5
SADISM- The movie does well here also. Most of it comes from Locque, who callously runs over Lisl, garrots Ferrara, and falls victim to his own sadism as Bond refuses to help him before kicking him and his car over a cliff in what is one of Moore's best moments. Kristatos as mentioned earlier has Bond and Melina keelhauled and enjoys it, even refusing to help his own man while watching him become fish food. Lots of blood is noticeable in the underwater scenes and adds to the scoring. He also enjoys threatening Brink and slapping Dahl. Apostis has no issues with knocking Bond off of St. Cyril's, he could have just as easily shot him. Finally, the deaths of the Havelocks are quite graphic and Gonzales is seen enjoying doing it-4.5/5
MUSIC- Very easily the only category where this movie does not do well for me. Composer Bill Conti of "Rocky" fame is brought in on John Barry's recommendation when his status at the time as a tax exile prevented him from working in his native UK. I was initially rather happy with the choice, as of course being from the Philly suburbs the Rocky theme is basically our unofficial theme to the world at large, and that movie's soundtrack is among the best ever. I very much like the theme song sung by Sheena Easton, who was the first singer to actually appear during the title sequence. Conti makes liberal use of this as well as the Bond theme in such tracks as "Submarine" used during the ATAC salvage which give the movie a musical identity relative to the song in Barry fashion. I love the cowbell in the gunbarrel that separates it from the very similar sounding LALD version. And that song from Rage "Make It Last All Night" is quite the dirty little ditty, but not the kind of music I enjoy. Unfortunately, like Hamlisch before him, Conti lazily falls back into the well declined by then popularity of disco stylings and a variety of instruments that like Spy don't make this movie Bondian sounding in the style Barry or Martin would have presented. It mostly winds up "disco meets Rocky" and overall not what I want to hear in a Bond film- 2.5/5
LOCATIONS- For the third time in a row during the Moore era, the locations are multiple, scenic, and well used. The famous northern Italian ski resort in Cortina D'Ampezzo, host of the 1956 Winter Olympics, is used as Dahl's training site and as it's the Alps, it's scenic and beautiful as one would expect. Corfu is used to represent Spain and the villages and lush terrain around Gonzales' villa are eye pleasers, other Greek locations such as the Acheillion and St.Cyril's are magnificent, and old trusted standby the Bahamas is used for some very nice underwater footage. Another perfect selection of visually exciting locations by Cubby and EON- 5/5
GADGETS- Not a movie where gadgets stand out, but they are there. Bond uses 2 different Lotuses but doesn't get to use them here. Where we get them is with Kristatos' attack sub that tears up Melina's Neptune sub, Blofeld's remote controlled helicopter, Gonzales' machine gun outfitted seaplane, and who can forget the "Identigraph" Q uses to help Bond identify Locque- 3.5/5
SUPPORTING CAST- The final area in this review where FYEO rocks. Israeli actor Chaim Topol, well known from "Fiddler On The Roof", is cast as pistachio munching Greek smuggler Milos Colombo on the suggestion of Dana Broccoli and they were right on the money with this one. Not since OHMSS had Bond had a memorable ally who not only had resources that could help him, but also the undeniable chemistry that Moore and Topol have with the other here. Like Bey and Draco, they get on like long lost friends and develop a genuine friendship you can feel and appreciate. Topol shines. In the absence of Bernard Lee, who was terminally ill and sadly passed away during filming, M was thoughtfully written out as "on leave" and we are introduced to Bill Tanner, who in later films would be M's assistant. Played by English actor James Villiers, Tanner is in charge for the moment and joined by Geoffrey Keen as recurring character Minister Frederick Gray. Villiers had expected to be Lee's replacement as M, but Cubby wanted someone much older and he was understandably disappointed. Desmond Llewellyn is again excellent as Q, and Lois Maxwell's briefer than usual go as Moneypenny was a bit underwhelming. As noted above, Keen does some grunting in displeasure over Melina killing Gonzales before Bond could find out who hired him, and pays for it later. British actor John Moreno plays Luigi Ferrara, Bond's Italian contact, Jack Hedley and Toby Robins are the Havelocks, and finally we have Walter Gotell back as General Gogol who is excellent in particular when he and Bond have a tense moment deciding who gets the ATAC. I wasn't totally thrilled with Villiers, but otherwise this was a fine supporting cast with Topol leading the way- 4.5/5
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS- After my first truly disappointing overall Bond film since OHMSS (okay I was 8 and can be forgiven for that I think), I remember reading that Cubby was bringing Bond back to reality and was truly hopeful that the excesses and gags were a thing of the past. I wasn't totally right about that as far as the future, but for this one Cubby delivers a script worthy of Fleming's source material and again, Moore is all the Bond I had missed for over 10 years. I was sad about Lee at the time but realized that the character would be recast, I still had Q and Moneypenny and it was still like being with old friends yet again in a format and settings that were what Bond was supposed to be. My faith in Cubby and the franchise was fully restored and all was well again in my world, because the grosses of the film show that Bond need not go into outer space to be highly entertaining and financially successful. As my British cousins would say, this is a "cracking film" that delivers in nearly every aspect I've described in great detail. At it's heart, it's a real throwback to the classic Cold War espionage of the Connery era, pitting Bond and MI6 against the Soviets. My favorite Moore film, a genuine top 10 entry for me that scores 41 out of 50 points for an average of 4.1
For Your Eyes Only
BOND- 4.Easily Roger's best performance as Bond. A more serious story grounded in some reality with a new director and everyone wanting to get back to the earlier style of Bond this is as close as Roger gets to being Bond. Although his most Bondian moment, kicking the car from the cliff top, Roger had to be pushed into this particular piece of nastiness, it surely pays off.
WOMEN- 4. Well CB is stunningly beautiful, and can act to boot. Also Mrs Pierce Brosnan is very easy on the eye and a good actress. Pool side beauties and the totty is considerable better than the previous outing. There are some outstanding shots of Melina who wouldn't fall in love with her - and feisty too!
VILLAINS- 4. The great Julian Glover as the duplicitous Ari is great, and the hit man Gonzales, henchmen Kriegler and Loqcue are good value. And Charles Dance as a minor henchman which must have been a bit of a let down as he had wanted the role of Bond, oh well…
HUMOR- 4. For me the humour plays better in this film, used (mainly) in the right places and not just there to be amusing. My only real gripe is the patting of an obvious dummy's head in the PTS and the line 'keep your hair on', which could be cut without spoiling the terrific opening scene.
ACTION-5. Great action from start to finish, and integral to the story and not just shoehorned into the plot. Thrilling remote-control helicopter flight, great ski jump, bob sleigh action and the mountain climbing scene really did put some real tension into the film. After the shear crapness of MR I never thought we would ever be put in a position where you thought that Bond was in a situation he couldn't get out of, the proved that assumption to be wrong. Breathtaking.
SADISM- 5. Well Ari's not a nice man, having Bond and Melina keel-hauled over coral (actually a scene lifted from the novel Live And Let Die - a book where more scenes from it appear in other films than the actual film of it!). The killing of the Havelocks (surprisingly graphic for an 'A' film), and Locque's various killings, not nice and it all works well giving the film more of a feel of the early Bonds.
MUSIC- 3. Mmm, the disco stylings of Bill Conti really are the only let down to this film. Some of the music is good, great even, but it seems a mixed bag and some of it just doesn't work for me - much like Eric Serra's score for GE, but we'll get to that later.
LOCATIONS- 5. Again, some superb locations, beautifully photographed with a real Wish You Were Here feel about them.
GADGETS- 4. Not over stuffed with gadgets, but as the film was trying to be a smaller story in the style of FRWL, indeed the MaGuffin was a similar decoding machine, the ATAC, Bond's radio watch and Q's 3-D Indentigraph and of course Bond's rather serious car alarm fitted to the Lotus!
SUPPORTING CAST- 4. Another cracking supporting cast, missing only Bernard Lee's M, otherwise top notch. As Sir Henry pointed out Topol as Bond's eventual ally is the perfect choice a real Kermin for Moore's Bond. A great performance from a great actor who seems only to be remembered for some musical he did…Frederick Gray, Moneypenny and Ferrara, plus Q's nice performance. Only Villiers as Tanner is a little underwhelming, he is an actor that you see a lot, but just can't remember his name. Jill Bennet as the Bibi's skating coach is great and Bibi herself is a nice little comic character (not a Bond girl) who Bond tells is a fickle.
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS- 42 or 4.2 For me easily Sir Roger's best performance as Bond and an overall entertaining film. It does have a few silly bits but mainly stays true to Bond's heritage. I was really quite surprised after the excess of Spy and more so of MR that we should actually have a Bond film taking itself seriously again, and a film with some real tension in it. I liked Melina (Judy in the story) and her story arc is great, and that amazing close-up after her parents have been killed is great you can tell this women is going to go all out for revenge. And her relationship with Bond is more believable than anything in MR and Bond's dismissal of Bibi is great, excellently delivered by Moore.
Some great action, including a car chase that is both fun and thrilling.
The only real jarring thing is the music, but I can just about live with that.
All round a great film, and I really think this is where Moore should have called it a day - which I believe he was trying to until Cubby offered him more for the next film. This would have been a great film to go out on.
Until that point she was the best Bond girl since Tracy. She was such a welcome change from what we had for the last five Bond girls. Ioved Mankiewiczs'idiots in bikinis or Lewis Gilberts "equals" but she was in a different league. And had her own "emotional journey" and strong reason to go after the villains.
A very welcome change.
@ actonsteve- I wholeheartedly agree with your entire statement. Seymour and Bach grabbed the headlines in popularity, but Bouquet outdid both with her acting. If I had to pick the best Bond girl of the Moore tenure, I'd have to take Melina on the strength of the character as well as looks.
Yes, I meant Kerim - wrote quite early this morning after a very restless night.
Agree re: Melina. Great character and fantastic looking to boot. Have to say I have a weakness for long, dark hair - and of course in the keel-hauling with those black panties and white T-shirt one of the most erotic moments in any Bond film.
Bond 5 Roger hit all his marks and did a good job. He was his ol playful self from TSWLM and a little (very little) of the badass from TMWTGG. Roger was reluctant to shoot the scene where he pushes Locke's car over the side of the cliff as he did not think it was in keeping to his "Bond" but he managed to pull it off. I never had a problem with it.
Women 4 I love Carole Bouquet but despised Bibi. she was meant to be annoying and she was. High marks this time around.
Villains 5 I liked the fact that they did not reveal that Kristotos was the real badass until later in the film. Julian Glover had been considered for the role of Bond at one time. He has a sophistication and cruelness about his performance. His henchment, Emile Locke harkens to the days of Donovan Grant. a silent killer whose presence looms over the film like a dark cloud. His appearance is really cool. He is not a big blond hulk but a average bespeckled (blond) killer. He reminded me of Donald Sutherland. The film does have it's blond heavy in Krieger the Olympic atheleth. Cuban hitman Gonzales is not on the screen long but his presence is felt.
Humor 3 It has its silly moments. The scene between Bond and Bibi, Bond and Melina's escape after Gonzales is killed. Not as over the top as the previous two films but fairly tastefully done.
Action 4 I give this film high marks as the action is top notch. The ski chases, the other chase scenes, the shootouts in the warehouse and Moore climbing to the monastery. That scene was full of tension and had no humor.
Sadism 4 Not much here nor as brutal as some of the scenes in the previous two films but the film has it's share: the murder of Melina's parents, seeing Ferrar with his throat slip was pretty gruesome. The coral dragging death devised by Kristotos for Bond and Melina... and the way Locke brutally runs down the defenseless Countess Lisl on the beach are pretty cruel. That Emile Locke was one bad mother F*cker.
Music 2 I wasn't too impressed with the theme song or the soundtrack.
Locations 5 Well utilized and had the feeling of "being there". the beautiful snow scenes, the rocky Greek monastery.
Gadgets 5 the only gadgets were the McGuffin and that crazy machine Q used for Bond to Identify Locke. These both contributed to the narrative and were not silly and just thrown in as audience pleasers.
Supporting Cast 4 Bernand Lee had passed away and rather than replace him they re wrote and attributed his dialoge to Chief of Staff Tanner. I applaud the filmmakers here. Q was fun especially in the Priest get up and Lois Maxwell is good. I liked sacrificial lamb Luigi Farrar he was a very likable character.
Overall score : 41 or 4.1 This is one of the best films of the moore era. I rank it as my second favorite of the Moore films. It was not as silly as the fluff of MR and the return to the "roots' of Bond was a welcomed relief. I had vowed to swear off Bond after seeing MR and only relented to see this when I heard they were going back to basics. I really enjoyed this film. And as the end credits rolled I stayed and watched to them all:
JAMES BOND WILL RETURN IN OCTOPUSSY
@ OHMSS69- I was looking forward to this review knowing you were also a big fan of the movie, and found it excellent as usual. Is LALD your favorite of the Moores? Thus far it seems we all are pretty much on the same page in that this, LALD, and Spy are the best of his 7. OP has it's fair share of fans too, so that will be interesting to see where we have that one. That's one of those I have mixed feelings about both good and bad.
One of the things I was also interested in reading was Ferrara's manner of death. You thought his throat was slit and it could have been, the reason I went with garrot was the lack of blood. Not a big deal either way, but it seems like Glen didn't shy away like Gilbert did with Jaws. I always had a question in my mind about that.
I'm still waiting to see if anyone else caught something very subtle about Kristatos early that made you wonder about his motives. I left it out on purpose but later on it added up and into his character. A fairly underrated villain there, Glover is a really good example of being understated yet sinister, something Lonsdale failed miserably in trying to be.
Luigi Ferrar was garroted? It makes sense when we had learned earlier that Locke had strangled his psychiatrist. This is in keeping with Locke's character. thanks for pointing that out.
I agree with Lancaster comments about Mellina. I love that long dark hair. she had a body, face, eyes. She really gives Solitaire some competition. Who would you choose Solitaire or Mellina? I can't decide.
At the time I thought Moore was going to toss the dove pin into the car and that would cause Locke to go over the edge(would have been in keeping to Moore's "Bond" and the silliness of earlier outings) I was surprised that he kicked the car himself. I liked the scene and think it played well to remind us: Bond is a killer.
I have to say, I saw the movie on a double date during the summer of 1981. My girlfriend and I had gone with a married couple. During the ride home, I was the only one who liked the movie. They all thought it was weak and MR better. I informed them that MR was a crock.
Yes, that deception in the storyline was well done and not obvious until we meet Colombo. When they do it well (FRWL, TLD) it's always better for me because I always prefer a movie that balances storyline with action and develops characters. I have a lot of hope for the new film in particular since they mentioned this kind of deception is prevalent. In short, it's a script that makes you think. And shows how stupid the critics of the day were, saying Moore looked confused. As that rascal Scashy would have said, "Codswallop!". He played it perfectly because that's just what Maibaum and MGW intended. Those critics were confused because they weren't spoon fed their villain like the prior film.
I'd lean towards Jane Seymour myself, but let's just say if both showed up at my door in 1981, "menage a trois" would be the first words that immediately came to mind and if not it would be a tough decision. Next, Moore kicking Locque off the cliff. I think just about everyone short of Sir Roger loves that scene. I thought the same when I first saw the film, Moore would throw the pin in and just watch him go down by himself, indeed it would have been more in his character. When he sees Locque trying to get out, he pulls out a Connery move and that's why I love it. Again, more deception that works.
MR a crock is right and the LALD taxi driver gives you a big "right on, brother" for that. I ran into a few people back then who said the same thing and told them much the same, plus of course if they think MR was what Bond was about, then they didn't know what Bond was supposed to be. I'm sure you straightened your companions out as best as possible.
There is a school of thought that in order to accurately reproduce the works of Ian Fleming one has to embrace the steely grit of the character (Bond) and the thriller aspect of the books.
Well call me a party pooper, but when I want to enter the world of espionage and be engulfed by the murky mechanics of that world I turn to Le Carre or Deighton.
Ian Fleming took a little of that world and mixed it in with an array of outrageously grotesque villains, ridiculously glamorous girls and slightly mad plotlines.
What Fleming gave us in the 50s was lovingly recreated for film in the 60s and then re-invented for a new audience in the 70s. And then the 80s happened. We still had some glorious mad Fleming plots and ideas to pick through but Moonraker had taken Bond’s off centre universe to a natural head, and something had to give. Bond had to return to earth and rediscover a little of what Fleming was striving for. There is however always the chance that we go too far in a different direction and still miss the point.
BOND:
He seems older and wiser now, less inclined to trick girls in to bed and more likely to turn them down altogether (what is the world coming to). Bond knows his Robolos from his Theotaki Asperos , but sounds unconvincing when he declares his preferences (like he has heard someone else say the same thing and is repeating it to sound a bit clever!). He is however a little more ruthless with his dispatching of Locque and I suppose to some extent Blofeld as well.
Bond looks and sounds more earnest than before but his dress sense is beginning to desert him. 3/5
WOMEN:
Melina who goes after her parents’ killer with a crossbow. When Bond says ‘Who are you?’ she replies with ‘They killed my parents’. It’s an odd reply by anyone’s standards, but Bond seems satisfied with it. We have the Countessa Lisl. Clearly the lovely Cassandra Harris and the hair stylists were looking for something original and daring when they concocted her hair style. They succeeded although maybe not as intended. And of course Bibi the pint sized skating sex pot. Plus a dozen or so bikini clad good time girls who decorate the poolside in the early Madrid scenes.
The women on the whole are very beautiful and apart from the non speaking roles they fulfil their requirements to move the plot along. The main girl Melina however remains frosty and stoic throughout, and ever so slightly too young for Roger Moore. Only Bibi seems like a bucket load of fun, but Bond dismisses her because she is..what..too young? Melina only looks about 20 for goodness sake. 3.5/5
VILLAINS:
Fleming’s wonderfully larger than life villains like Dr No, Hugo Drax, Goldfinger and Blofeld are ditched in favour of a villain who is your normal everyday psychotic. And this highlights my point about how exactly do we want to reinterpret Fleming on screen? Do we really want realism to the point of diluting Fleming’s imagination completely? Kristatos is (nevertheless) very good. I can’t recall if I figured out that he was really the villain back in 1981 and multiple viewings has made it impossible to determine how obvious this is now, but it’s a neat twist. We also have another Red Grant looky likey Eric, and a few excellent support villains like Locque and Gonzalos. A solid collection of villains despite the fact non of them will be remembered when a potted history of Bond is recalled in a hundred years time.4/5
HUMOUR:
Unlike Moonraker FYEO doesn’t have a great deal of on the nail one liners. Bond’s famous ice cream line is a goody, and Q is a relief when he delivers the killer line ‘That’s putting it mildly 007’.
The mad site gags of MR are gone apart from a pre credit joke at the expense of Blofeld and some enjoyable car roles in the funny little yellow car (I’m not a car person).
Not exactly hilarious unless one counts the Maggie Thatcher clincher at the end that seems like a left over from Moonraker.2/5/5
ACTION:
About one third of the entire film is action. Underwater action, ski action, helicopter action, running fighting chasing shooting action. It’s everywhere in FYEO, and if I had been given the editing scissors I would happily have disposed of the stupid ice hockey fight, the silly underwater submarine battle and shaved about 5 minutes off the car chase. When Bond and Melina find the ATAC they battle the man in the diving suit, then the man in the miniature sub only to get aboard the boat and be dragged through the surf. The latter sequence is wonderful, but the impact is reduced because of the dull dull dull previous 15 minutes. A shame.
The raid on the warehouse and the climatic climbing scenes are terrific though. 3/5
SADISM:
Kristatos is a sadistic so and so. Bond and Melina as well as his own men are shark bait as far as he is concerned. Locque who reminds me of Vargos from Thunderball (played by Philip Locke…spooky) murders Lisl only to be dealt an equally sadistic demise by Bond himself. And FYEO sees the return of the sport of slapping girls. OK in this department without being too brutal 3/5
MUSIC:
Bill Conti provides a theme song that just doesn’t sit up there in the company of John Barry’s great work.
Some of the soundtrack with it’s disco pretentions was out of date about three weeks after the film came out. The strange plinky plonky piano heard in the ski chase sounds like some left over music from Jon Pertwee’s Dr Who episodes.
2/5
LOCATIONS :
The Alps, various Greek locations, Italy. Lovely places, lovingly photographed. 4/5
GADGETS:
The extremes of the 70s are replaced with some more grounded gadgets including Qs wonderful 1981 state of the arts Identigraph (‘A nose Q not a banana!’). There are some interesting gadgety vehicles like the helicopter and submarine but nothing too fantastical. 2/5
SUPPORTING CAST:
No M, but Q and Moneypenny are there as is Gogol for the excellent pay off at the end.
The support cast is actually one of the series most impressive featuring fine British actors like Jill Bennett and Jack Hedley.
Best of all is Topol as Colombo the bad guy turned good. Despite not being given enough to do he is excellent. It’s just a real shame that the big moment where he explains to Bond who the real villain is – the film’s pivotal moment if you will - is almost tossed away by director John Glen. The scene is rushed and the dramatic tension drained away. Maybe Glen was feeling a little unsure of himself as a first time director, and as such was happier concentrating on the action. But Topol was basically dealt a duff hand at the wrong moment. Even so 5/5
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS 32/50
I know that FYEO was a welcome return to normality in the Bond world, but I remember watching it the first two times and feeling a little bit bored. Yes we had the fine climatic scenes, the way Bond destroys the ATAC, we had Topol, some amazing stunt work etc. But ominously 1981 also gave us Indiana Jones and sadly we could only watch in awe as Steven Speilberg re-invented the adventure movie and exposed John Glen for what he was – a jobbing director.
OHMSS69- +16 (41 FYEO, 25 MR)
ME- +13 (41 FYEO, 28 MR)
LANCASTER- +10 (42 FYEO, 32 MR)
Yours is 32 for FYEO and 29 for MR, a mere 3 point difference. Moore's brilliant, Connery like performance and action scenes that don't pay off with a Jaws sight gag only get 1 extra point more than what we saw in 1979? I'm afraid that I simply fail to understand why you found this refreshing nod to what made the Bond films great so underwhelming.
Really looking forward to you catching up with FRWL, GF, TB, and OHMSS.
But despite my odd scoring I'm sure the other guys will bring a sense of balance.
Mind you I'm also astonished to see TSWLM positioned so high compared to the 60s classics.
I am also surprised to see Spy at #1. But everyone seems to like it. Kerim still hasn't voted so that may change. Your votes on the rest of the Connery films and OHMSS may also change that and their scores are certain to rise if I am to understand you love the Connery classics as much as it appears.
You're still shocked at your points for MR I see. :) Well, anyone is entitled to update categories if on reflection they feel a score too high or low. Only request on my end is to know about it so I can make rating adjustments.
I know I am going to be cringing again at DAD review time. That and MR are never easy for me to sit through. But we all knew we'd have to tackle them to be fair to all 22 films. I'll be interested to see how they stack up against the other though, not just for me but for everyone. Moore and gags vs Brosnan and CGI. Pick your poison there.
I know one thing- a few of us like myself will be leaving on a short sabbatical come October 24th, so our reviews will be on hiatus for a few weeks. I won't be back until I've seen Skyfall (I'll return 11/12 and will be in a Bondathon with my boy those two weeks) and I know 4Ever has said she won't be back until December due to it's later release date in Japan. It's just too tempting for either of us to be here when we don't want to be influenced by others opinions. Lucky you getting it 2 weeks before me. I imagine we'll be in the Brosnan era by then with the reviews.
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
The Nile Song
BOND - Roger finally found his niche as Bond. Where Roger seemed lost in LALD and all over the place in TMWTGG, Roger established his Bond character's wit, charm, sauve and resourcefulness in TSWLM that would follow in Roger's future Bond roles. (4)
WOMEN - I just can't rally behind Barbara Bach. Her acting is wooden, stiff and her emotions seem very forced and unconvincing. Naomi, however, does indeed have some handsome crafts. I wish Barbara and Caroline had switched roles. Imagine Caroline Munro as Agent XXX. The Log Cabin Girl and the receptionist give us a brief distraction of loveliness. (3)
VILLAINS - Watching Curt Jugens play Karl Stromberg is an excellent way to cure insomnia. The dullest main villian to date. He's hardly intimidating. Fortunatley, Jaws is. Richard Keil in his avant garde role. When you scare a 12 year old boy who thought he was a tough kid, kudos to you sir. Richard Keil earned his iconic status as an initimidating henchman. They don't make them like him any more. (3)
HUMOR- Unlike DAF or TMWTGG, the humor was well placed and not there for the sake of being there. The best humor is the battle of the sexes between Rog and Barbara. Also, note Rog's facial expressions when he has Jaws on the magnet. Brilliantly done. Even Jaws shows his funny side in his frustration at not getting Bond. (3)
ACTION-Plenty of action to be had. There's the memorable ski jump in the PTS. There's the excellent Lotus land/sea action. Let's not forget the cumulative battle on the Liparus and the rescue of Anya on the Atlantis. All excellent action sequences. The action is the strong suit in TSWLM. (5)
SADISM- Using your secretary as shark food is always a safe bet for sadism. If TSWLM was filmed within the last ten years, we'd be seeing Jaws's victim teeth marks and whatevver was left of their skin. Roger still has a bit of sadism left in him in knocking Jaws's tag team partner off the building. (3)
MUSIC- Carly Simon gives us a solid main title theme. That's the only good thing I can say about Spy's music. The disco soundtrack and the barbershop quartet at the end remind us all why those two musical styles are no longer popular. Worst soundtrack of the series (well maybe except for you know what). (1) (2)
LOCATIONS- Once again, great locations. Egypt, where one must delve imnto its treasures, the Pyramids (say what you will about modern Egyptian construction, but I think the ancient Egyptians did fairly well) and Sardinia, where one can drive up on the beach. (4)
GADGETS- The Lotus deserves its admirable comparison to the Astin Martin DB5. The message receiving watch and the music box transmittor are neat little bonuses. But then again with the Lotus, is any other gadget really necessary? (4)
SUPPORTING CAST- It's good to see Desmond back as his crotchety self. Loved the pyramid lab. M and Moneypenny are as always there usual pristine characters. In his third Bond film, Shane Rimmer finally gets some good lines and screen time. TSWLM was also the first of many Bond films to feature the return of Walter Gotell as General Gogol and the debut of the very underated Geoffrey Keen as the Minister of Defense. Let's enjoy these recurring characters while we can (5).
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS- 35 36. I always felt TSWLM was more commercially renowned than it deserved to be. I always the felt the plot was ridiculous (destroying the world and starting over from the sea). While Roger, the MI6 characters, Shane Rimmer and Mr Keil give us solid performances, the rest of the cast fall way short. A dull and uninspired villian, an actress who could barely be bothered to crack a smile and the rest of the less than memorable characters offset the fine performances of the aforementioned all set to a soundtrack that may has well have been done by the Village People. TSWLM joins GF in the overated Bond films category. Still though, it is a good escapist film if you want to completely escape reality for a couple of hours.
MVP: Roger Moore (James Bond)
Running Rankings:
1. From Russia With Love (45, MVP: Pedro Armedariz)
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (45, MVP: Diana Rigg)
3. Thunderball (42, MVP: Luciana Paluzzi)
4. Dr No (38, MVP: Sean Connery)
5. Live And Let Die (37, MVP: Yaphet Kotto)
6. You Only Live Twice (37, MVP: Tetsura Tambo)
7. Goldfinger (36, MVP: Harold Sakata)
8. The Spy Who Love me (35, MVP, Roger Moore)
9. Diamonds Are Forever (32, Co-MVP's Bruce Glover and Putter Smith)
10. The Man With The Golden Gun (31, MVP: Christopher Lee)
I'll get to AVTAK and my thoughts on Moore eventually, but it's interesting to note that everyone thus far agrees Spy was a defining moment in his tenure. I am a little surprised no one has more than surface commented on the variety of his performances. Up until AVTAK, I always felt that he had three films (LALD, TMWTGG, and his definitive performance to me in FYEO) where he was considerably tougher and more classic, and then his "Lite Trio" (Spy, MR, and OP) where he was lighter and showed less of the tougher traits. A mixed reaction here according to the scores, so a question for everyone- is my assessment accurate or not, and if you find it to be so, which type of portrayal do you prefer?
Now as to women- you ask to imagine Munro as XXX. OK, I just did. My thoughts? Unless the problem is medical, sweet Caroline should definitely be a sure fire cure for impotency problems of any kind! Madonn, is she ever hot. If I keep dwelling on her too long, I may have to save this draft and contemplate her further in private 8-}. No question that I'll take her over Bach all night long, and mostly agree with your thoughts on Bach's performance.
Your thoughts on Stromberg though, worry me. In my dictionary of Bond films, Lonsdale's picture appears next to the word "dull". If a cure for insomnia exists within a Bond film, it's his cyborg-like portrayal of Drax. I'll grant Stromberg is not the best villain in the Moore tenure (those two for me are coming up), but I clearly feel a sense of menace from Jurgens that is non-existent in Lonsdale. Drax is an imitation of Stromberg with a different premise, and I can't wait to hear what you think of Drax if you find Jurgens and Stromberg to be "dull". We'd had threats of nuclear holocaust towards particular world powers and other forms of destructive behavior from villains, but some preservation of terrestrial life was always on the table. Here we see a madman who takes it to the absolute degree, no humans or animals of any kind at all except those he chooses to spare. Jaws? Who wouldn't be scared to see a real life giant full of sharp metal teeth, especially at our ages then? I was 15 at that time and he sure made me nervous when he appeared. But I agree with 4Ever in that the lack of the copious amounts of blood we should have seen when he kills was conveniently sanitized, and the character gags with him are too predictable after a while. Oddjob he isn't, I still much prefer him to Jaws. But like Oddjob he is quite iconic and memorable.
Your music scores opens up quite the can of worms. A 1 here should mean nothing, including the title track, was any good in your opinion. This score you may wish to at least reconsider since you rightfully recognize NDIB as a solid tune. Musical taste isn't something I will comment on, I'll agree that Hamlisch's score is not Barry or Martin worthy for sure, but even the GE soundtrack I would acknowledge with some sort of point because the title song is truly the only high point whatsoever for me in that particular musical disaster.
In closing, like you I have always been surprised to some degree that this film is revered to the level it is. The exact opposite with me is GF, which I know you see similarly. Your comment "real Bond fans know better" regarding my favorite film is one I always found to be very odd, considering we have nothing but the most real of Bond fans right here. Would you care to clarify or elaborate on that statement since you see Spy in similar fashion? Anyway, you get from time to time the occasional guy like my friend Luds who fairly well dislikes Spy, but in general most score it highly. I didn't think it would hit 40 points for myself, I thought maybe 38 before I tallied my scores. But I really like the film, it's my "guilty pleasure" in the series. I'd put it at #3 out of the 7 Moore entries. FYEO and LALD are top 10's to me and Spy is not, but Spy looks like it has a strong chance already to prove my particular view as far as rankings wrong. So hey, what do I know?
Time has eroded any misgivings I personally have for any of Moore's less convincing performances, as it seems to matter less now. Also, the whole point about the series and the very reason it has survived this long is it's diversity. I don't mind either of his takes on the role but I do wish he had quit after OP (at the latest), as I'm sure we all are. :-)
1000% agreed on "diversity" as the reason for the series' long term survival. Will save the dissertation on that one.
I read in a book once that TSWLM bears a striking resemblance to a 1939 spy thriller titled Q Planes which starred Lawrence Olivier. By chance have any of you seen this film ?
I really loved FYEO but it is not my favorite Moore Bond. ( I rank it #2 among Roger Moore's Bond films)
I will save my comments on Moore's Swan Song AVTAK when we get to that bridge.
Astronomy Domine
BOND - I always got the impression that even Roger Moore thought that MR was ridiculous. Rog takes a step back from Spy and gives a good, but not great performance. While Roger does a great job in displaying tow of his strong suits, his wits and quick thinking, there is just something missing which I can't quite put my finger on. Roger's chavinistic side did not suit him well in MR. There will be better days for him. (3)
WOMEN - If I were a college student and wanted to major in acting/theatre, the University of Houston would not be at the top of my list. Why? Because Lois Chiles is an instructor there. There had to have been someone better available to play Holly (groan) Goodhead. She was decent in the action scenes, but Lois never once inspired my imagination. Corrine Cleary did though. Corrine may have had the sexiest voice of any of the women. Unfortunately Cleary could only carry the women so far in MR. Same with Manuela. Manuela was quite lovely. Wish we had gotten another scene or two with her. If they're called perfect specimans, how come there isn't a 10 amongst them? Okay, maybe the blonde lady at the glass factory. Please tell me that I don't have to write about Dolly. For MR being very estrogen heavy, the women are an overall disappointment. (2)
VILLAINS - Michael Lonsdale has been in better roles. In MR though, he is Curt Jugens but with better lines and wants to destroy the world, but repopulate from space. The late 70s seem to be a trend for uninteresting villians. Um, Jaws, I'm 14 now and you're a characature (sp?) of yourself from 2 years ago. Your metal teeth don't scare me and my acme anymore. If Chang had only survived the orchestra fall. (2)
HUMOR- How many people really found the Bondola and the double taking pigeon funny? Roger does have some good quips with Moneypenny and Q, but it is good old Q who comes up with one of the best lines of them all. Something about re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. (3)
ACTION- Some good action overall. The parachute chase in the PTS, the centrifuge, the cablecar battle on Sugarloaf Mountain and the Amazon boat chase all were solid action scenes. I have to take points off for the Bondola and the space thingie though. (3)
SADISM- The centrifuge was pure sadism. You wouldn't have wanted to be on that at hyperspeed. The dogs chasing Ms Cleary through the woods of Southern California (?) was another good sadistic scene. Still wonder why she didn't take the golf cart. Lastly, the Vienna lab folks who dropped the nerve gas effectively sold the effects of inhaling nerve gas. No lab rats were harmed in the nerve gas droppings. If there had only been a closeup of Drax floating into space. (4)
MUSIC- The third time wasn't the charm for Shirley Bassey, but boy am I glad to see John Barry back. Arguably his best contribution to a Bond film soundtrack. Excellent use of synthasizers in MR. (4)
LOCATIONS- Three films in a row where we were blessed with great locations. This time, more of Venice besides a background reel and amazing shots of Rio de Janiero and the Amazon forest. No, it's not true that you can see a double taking pigeon from space. (4)
GADGETS- The dart gun watch saved Bond not once, but twice. Another mobile Q lab in a pyramind. Loved the balls, er bolos. (3)
SUPPORTING CAST- Bernard Lee turned in his second best performance in what turned out to be his last outing as M. This M had Bond's back even after Bond, M, and the MD learned how quickly Drax could fly all the way from Southern California and cover up a nerve gas leak. Excellent showing of mutual respect between Bond and M. Another usual good outing from Lois Maxwell. Desmond Llewelyn stepped up his game. With the possible exception of Goldfinger, this was his finest performance to date. Geoffrey Keen again plays his role of the Defense Minister well. Nice to see Walter Gotell, but he really wasn't needed in MR. (5)
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS- 33. If they had only kept the last half hour of MR from going into space, this would have been a better film. If the Marines aren't playing laser tag in space in 2012, they certainly weren't in 1979. MR was the end of the 70s run, which really wasn't that great for Bond films. The silliness exceeded itself with a loosely based copy of TSWLM. Borrowing from the trends of Blaxploitation and martial arts from earlier Moore films was one thing, but borrowing from Star Wars is inane beyond all reality. Enough escapism and more realism. Thankfully, the 80s will listen to me.
MVP: Bernard Lee (M)
Running Rankings:
1. From Russia With Love (45, MVP: Pedro Armedariz)
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (45, MVP: Diana Rigg)
3. Thunderball (42, MVP: Luciana Paluzzi)
4. Dr No (38, MVP: Sean Connery)
5. Live And Let Die (37, MVP: Yaphet Kotto)
6. You Only Live Twice (37, MVP: Tetsura Tambo)
7. Goldfinger (36, MVP: Harold Sakata)
8. The Spy Who Love Me (36, MVP, Roger Moore)
9. Moonraker (33, MVP: Bernard Lee)
10. Diamonds Are Forever (32, Co-MVP's Bruce Glover and Putter Smith)
11. The Man With The Golden Gun (31, MVP: Christopher Lee)
YOLT 45
TSWLM 39
LALD 37
DN 33
FYEO 32
TMWTGG 30
MR 29
I'm a little surprised that I have ranked the 2 Moore films above DN, but the catagories like music, action, locations etc work against the earlier films when in reality they are better and more rounded peices of work.
Some of the lower scores will clutter together a little when we enter my lower ranked Bonds.
I know I'm not strictly speaking an "original fan" but I always felt that with GG the producers were trying a tad too hard to push for a "Moore edgy" performance. When he slaps Andrea around it doesn't feel right coming from Rog.
With FYEO they tried to tone down his smug, playboy attitude but still keep a bit of charm. Rog is gentle and more serious towards Melina but also delivers the occasional throwaway line we've come to expect from him ("love a drive in the country don't you").
Also, the car-kick was a more appropriate opportunity for Rog to show his tougher side because: a. The person on the other end was a villain rather than a "trapped" woman and b. Moore could keep a calm, straight face.
I sometimes wonder what would have happened if he'd have said "looks like he came to a dead end" after sending Loques car over the cliff ;)
"... Did I? "
Moonraker
BOND - 3 out of 5 Moore sails thru this one with all the grace and focus of someone who knows that they just scored all A's on their last exam, school's out, and they can relax now. Time for some silliness, some fun, and not paying attention to the overall bigger picture. Sir Roger is confident and relaxed, but I did not sense focus or intensity or anything much going on (except the centrifuge scene). To me, he was not a strong Bond in this film. Looked darn good, though.
WOMEN - 2.5 out of 5 Ok, nothing special here. Lois Chiles is really pretty, I think. But her character is too wooden and the interplay with Bond just doesn't send off any real sparks. Nope. I remember being upset in the threatre seeing Corrine's death - upset and annoyed. It still annoys me. Stupid, stupid, stupid death. Oh run pretty girl, then fall down. Like a million women have done in countless other movie deaths. Sigh ... Manuela seems quite atractive and would have been nice as a more astute ally or something - she really had a lot of nothing to do. Except look frozen when a 7 ft. killer is slowing heading her way. The rest of the female troupe are rather as memorable as dishwater. So moving on to the next category ...
VILLAINS - 2.5 out of 5 Michael Lonsdale has a few good lines; but he displayed all the personality of a cold fillet of fish sitting on a plate. Maybe I missed his dry wit or something. I really found him underwhelming, not menacing, just a rich nuisance if anything. Well a nuisance who kills women by setting dogs on her. Yuk. Chang - who was a real martial arts expert, right? - skulks and lurks without much facial expression, etc. But we never see a decent fight with him! How I would have welcomed some real kick-butt martial art fighting in this film. It so needed it! And then there is Jaws. Iconic from the first moment in TSWLM, this was a classic example of carrying things too far in the wrong direction and ruining what could have been a very good ongoing character. They turned a potentially terrorizing, frightening character into a giant sized Stan Laurel slipping on a banana peel (flapping arms is just one example). I cringed watching this movie again, in more than one place.
HUMOR- 2 out of 5 They tried, and there was silliness sprayed around this movie like silly string at an eight-year-old's birthday party, but I did not enjoy the humor in this film. Not only the double taking pigeon, but so many things - and yes, especially the godawful Bondola. Even thinking about it now, I want to kick the screenwriters, producers, and director (and Roger!!) for allowing this to actually be filmed. Groans, not smiles. Seriously, when they rehearsed this, was everyone chuckling? Really? My mind boggles. I did enjoy Q's line about the "re-entry" - and that was by far the best line in this movie. That made me smile. (And maybe I was just happy the darn movie was over.)
ACTION - 3 out of 5. Well there is action. The PTS started out very well indeed, the centrifuge is perhaps the most memorable scene for me (and Roger was quite good in that scene), and the cable car chase ... but the Bondola chase, no thank you; and the whole space encounter was not my cup of tea. At all. (And I loved Star Wars, actually). But this was inane.
SADISM- 4 out of 5 Ok, the evilness was sadistic. Painful, evil, sadistic, yes.
MUSIC - 4 out of 5 The star of this film was the music, no doubt. I think the theme song is lovely, sung so beautifully by Bassey. The whole film seems to have nice, appropriate music.
LOCATIONS 3.5 out of 5 - Some very lovely locations, nicely shot. But I wasn't as impressed as some other fans in this category. Just not.
GADGETS - 3 out of 5 Some helpful ones, not excessive, especially Bond's watch. Good use made of it. Oh, wait are we counting the Bondola? Ok move on before I lower the score even further ...
SUPPORTING CAST 3.5 out of 5- And it is that high thanks to Bernard Lee, who was wonderful. I liked the respect and give and take of his relationship with Bond. Moneyprenny and Q were fine indeed, all supporting actors were more than adequate (not including the women per se in this group).
OVERALL - Well, look at my movie quote (which I hope is accurate) at the top of my review. So, I will answer you now, Roger ("... Did I?") In this Bond movie, yes you did. You missed the mark. This whole movie missed the mark. I watched Moonraker in the theatre with a friend and left the theatre muttering to myself ( as my friend was complaining about Corrine's death; first thing she mentioned), and I was rather embarrassed by this movie. Which I didn't think would be possible as I LOVE James Bond movies!! And I was really happy with Roger Moore as Bond. But there was an overall ridiculousness to this movie that covered it like a big wet, not so pretty smelling blanket. Disappointment reigned. But being a true fan, I remembered FRWL and TSWLM so I took heart and hoped for the best ... and one of the best was next: For Your Eyes Only. That's a review I look forward to (in about 2 more days).
From Russia With Love (1963)
James BondThe Bond of Dr No was raw and edgy. In FRWL he has smoothed out those rough edges and the new agent is more relaxed and more worldly wise. Equally at home on the Orient Express or in a gypsy camp this is a Bond who knows the right wines to have with fish and the right clothes to buy a young lady.
Connery has found his Bond and he is magnificent 5/5
WOMEN
The gorgeous Sylvia from the previous film is still all over him like a rash, Tatiana the Russian cipher clerk is so breathtakingly beautiful even Rosa Klebb fancies her chances. The battling gypsy girls and Kerim’s mistress make up a splendid collection of beauties 5/5
VILLAINS
Heard but not seen Blofeld, and his collection of cronies – Kronsteen the Peter Lorre-like head of planning, Rosa Klebb head of assassinations, and Red Grant the assassin himself. Rarely has a Bond film been blessed with such an array of wonderful villains as this film. Lifted from the Fleming book the film has recreated these characters to such a satisfying degree that it’s hard to imagine how the roles could be better cast. 5/5
HUMOUR
Much of the humour comes from the wonderful Kerim Bay who teases Bond and speaks with such joy and love for life (something of a juxtaposition as in reality the actor was dying and would not live to see the film completed). It seems most of his employees are his sons,( one of the films excellent running gags). And of course the juicy morsel Bond is about to divulge about his time in Hong Kong with M, which is hastily cut short by M himself. The humour is subtle, but it’s there to be seen and enjoyed. Critics of CR who insist there is no humour may benefit from a quick viewing of FRWL and see how Bond humour can be subtle or implied.
There is an unintentionally funny moment when Klebb is threatening Tatiana and reprimands her for asking questions. Klebb yells ‘Silence! Do yer not nerr to whom you are spekking?’ and for all the world it sounds like Peter Sellers’ Inspector Clouseau. Ah well.4/5
ACTION
The final third of the film has most of the action with the terrific fist fight between Bond and Grant that was the true blueprint for all fights from there on in. The film picks up a gear now and has plenty of action, but sadly in the opening parts we have little other than the gypsy camp fight and the raid on the embassy (both excellent though). This film is more about suspense. 4/5
SADISM
Klebb, Grant, Blofeld – all sadists in the true sense of the word although little of it seems to find it’s way onto the screen. 3/5
MUSIC
John Barry’s theme song is lovely but the overall impact of the music would not be felt until Goldfinger. Still a decent soundtrack 3/5
LOCATIONS
Istanbul is the main location for the film. Sadly the locations don’t seem to come to life as in later films and towards the end the film is plunged in to semi darkness 3/5
GADGETS
The gadget-laden brief case launched a thousand playground games. And introduced us to the new Q, Desmond Llewellyn. Elsewhere we are treated to a tour of SPECTRE island, Klebb’s fabulous shoes and GASP a car with a phone in it! This was real state of the arts stuff in 1963 4/5
SUPPORTING CAST
Apart from a perfect cast of villains we had Bernard Lee still showing the world how M should be played, Moneypenny, Q, Kerim Bay. Spot on, really spot on 5/5
41/50
While Goldfinger seems like the true natural successor to Dr No in style and pace FRWL is the film which Ian Fleming would probably have been most pleased with, as it captures the feel of the book so very well.
I have been fortunate enough to see the film on the big screen and it looks neither tired nor dated. As with many later films it nods heavily to outside influences (Hitchcock’s North By North West, Carol Reed’s The Third Man for instance) whilst somehow remaining suitably unique.
Generally whenever Eon announce they want to get back to the style of the early Bond films what they really mean is FRWL. Yet despite these good intentions non of the later 'serious' Bond films have come close to FRWL's integrity, charm or style, nor have they ever really assembled a cast as remarkable as this one.
What stops FRWL blowing everything else out of the water is that it isn't a Bond film as we now know it. It isn't 'exciting' enough nor glamourous enough. It doesn't have an Aston Martin or a villain with a deformity. As such it simply loses out to the films that represent the series so much better. And that is a true shame.
As the "mod" of this particular thread, with the official support and presence of Nic to make sure Forum standards are adhered to, the thought of how many reviews will count has come to mind often. What I want by now is no secret, the consistency of the same 7 reviewers doing all 22 films (23 come next year) is my main and overriding concern. How the films finish up in rank is not my concern, I can only control what I think. Since Baltimore dropped out, we had Nic step in to maintain the integrity of 7 steady reviewers for each film. We can't have 8 reviews as far as the numbers go. As a result, Nic's scores will replace Baltimore's so expect some shakeups all over the place as he gets caught up. Until then, the ones he hasn't done will be considered incomplete.
Now we come to the Moore era and thus far no DB5. Without his reviews, we only have 6 reviewers currently on board and this will have to be addressed in one of two ways. I would greatly prefer DB5 sticking with us as he has demonstrated an excellent working knowledge. But several messages to him from myself have still not been returned and since we are aware he has been posting elsewhere, I hope he reads this and understands that he has to make a decision either way because one, he is 5 films behind (LALD to currently FYEO) and then there's that number again, I need 7 steady reviewers. If he does not return, I will work with Nic and look to have another original step in. If the latter happens, again to DB5 WE WANT YOU BACK, his/her scores will replace DB5's previous scores in similar fashion to Nic's replacing Baltimore's.
This is a rather curious post regarding the 1939 Olivier film. I've never seen it myself so I can't comment on a similarity to Spy. But since we know Fleming's original story was hardly used, it makes you wonder if Maibaum and Wood "borrowed" for their screenplay.
So what Moore is your favorite? Judging by your previous scores, it appears LALD gets that honor unless we haven't reviewed it yet.
Nic makes a really good point about Shandor and that scene in that Moore definitely had the harder edge in that as well. And he is right to me in noting that with Locque it was personal. Locque's killing of Ferrara was a matter of business, which was all Shandor was to Bond. It was part of Bond's motivation to a degree but Locque killing Lisl was what really set him off and made it personal, you can see that clearly in that he wanted to spend more time with her before the attack. You can see that Bond sympathizes with Colombo over the loss. He wanted Locque to know he knew he killed Ferrara, they both knew what he did to Lisl. Bond does not want to kill a woman nor believes in that unless he has no choice and that this act is the only solution, and that has been very consistent for 50 years now. Bond is a killer of killers, and if the woman is one (Naomi, Onatopp, Elektra), so be it if it means her or him. No, I'd say that the harder edge to the Locque kill was absolutely the right thing for what the scene called for. The personal revenge kills don't stop with FYEO, as we see in OP when Bond avenges 009.
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