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They played on his love of (bad?) jazz music, women, boozing, not conforming, rebellion, even in mid-age.
It was the execution that failed, not the concept. In fact, stripping away the dated and bad music, is NSNA, at its core, capturing more of Fleming's Bond than any other film since OHMSS?
Funny how many of the later EON films have some NSNA influence. GoldenEye with the laser watch, a replacement M, and Onatopp. TND has a motorcycle chase set piece. SF with the theme of Bond being a bit older.
Of course, NSNA is very dated 1983 in it's styles, and Michel Legrand easy listening AM score. Although it wasn't made by a team well practiced in producing Bond every 2 years, and was a one shot deal, I still rank it higher than some of the EONs. Most of the Brosnans and certainly QoS.
Very well said, bravo. I agree 100% except for the small part I indicated :P
I never really tried to rank it within the 24 official movies, but it surely wouldn't be No 24. It is a mile better than DAF, that's for sure.
...cuckoo.....
and i see i was far too kind to it lol.
there are only 3 positives i take away from this movie..
1. the title theme
2. the opening "war games" training
3. Klaus Maria Brandauer as Largo
the rest of the movie feels like a cheap made-for-tv regurgitation of Thunderball (which it is, lets not kid ourselves) - every aspect of NSNA was done much better back in 1964 under the stewardship of Terrence Young, Cubby and Harry... this is just a disaster from almost start to finish and served no other point than to stroke Kevin McClory's massive ego.... what sucked in 1983 still sucks today, and it's a film that i would put below even the worst film in the official EON cannon.
never watched it all the way through. I always end up skipping whole sections. I really
think it's very poor.
I think that it has dated pretty badly and the title track I really don't like, I'm sorry. I have to agree that this has the feel of a tv movie, which doesn't fit right for Bond.
Appreciate the effort but it isn't great.
The production quality may not match the usual Bond standard, although DAF was worse.
The ensemble cast is one of the best in the franchise. Yes! Had the production quality hit the level of OP or FYEO, NSNA would be very, very high in rankings.
Still, there are elements I compare to the actual series that hold up well. For instance, of all the made-up titles this one sounds more Fleming like to me than, say, Die Another Day.
I have always had a soft spot for NSNA. It's not a top tier Bond film by any stretch, but it has its charms. The film breaks down when it makes clunky attempts to compete technology-wise (the laughable XT-7B). Some more successful moments I thought were Bond's fight with Lippe at Shrublands, smuggling of forbidden food and drink into Shrublands, and his dance with Domino. Carrera commanded attention in every scene and portrayed a whimsical, but sinister villain.
As for the bluray edition, the film does look very nice, but it has not been given the same treatment the official films received. It appears to be pretty well straight from the original film. You will see plenty of grain and marks on the film, but all in all a nice picture quality and nice audio as well.
yep - which is sad, because it's the first 5 minutes of the movie, after that the film continually tries to one up itself in the awfulness category.... just when you thought it couldn't get any worse - just wait another 5-10 minutes, and you'll sink to a whole new level of stupid... and this cycle repeats itself over the course of the whole movie.
I prefer it over DAF. Yes you read right.
Connery looks like he's actually having some fun in NSNA and he's remarkably athletic for his age here - as opposed to Roger (only 3 years between them), whom I do appreciate but his dour lack of physicality really does harm his films imo, especially when he was asked to, er, 'run'...
That also goes for Fatima Blush, played by Barbara Carrera. Many Bond fans tend to forget that she's the only actor/actress in a Bond film that got full acting recognition for her role during the Golden Globes of 1984. She actually got nominated. And like Javier Bardem in "Skyfall", Barbara was shortlisted for a 'Best Supporting Actress Oscar" in 1984.
And regarding Carrera's role. Come onnn. She was amazing. It's basically the blueprint for Xenia Onatopp in "GoldenEye". One of the highlights of the film. BUT....forgotten, because her role was in an "unofficial film". I think it's unfair.
Now as you can see in my ranking I absolutely found "Octopussy" better than "NSNA". But I do think there are at least 7 to 8 official Bond films that were more lacklustre.....especially solely judged as a film.
This is my opinion off course. But in any case...."NSNA" deserves a bit more praise.
George Lazenby got nominated for a Golden Globe for OHMSS. Rightfully so in my opinion.
Anyway on topic, NSNA is a middle-of-the-road entry for me. I kind of like how it has a distinctive 80's style, something one can definitely say about AVTAK and LTK too (films I really like).
I enjoy both Brandauer and Carrera as the main villains. Absolutely loved Bernie Casey too. I even like Edward Fox as M. The aged Bond idea here works quite well with Connery's age and I even think it's better and more self-consciously done than in SF.
What I don't like about the film is the lack of memorable set pieces. It more or less reminds me of FYEO, one of my least favourite entries, in that it doesn't do much wrong but it is not particularly unforgettable at times.
I own the BD and the picture quality is pretty darn good!
Also Barbara Carrera is great as is Klaus Maria Brandauer. Great characters and casting in this film.
He himself is not exactly with the times, as his Bentley, and the jazzy soundtrack suggests.
Not close to one of my favourites, but one to be admired when I want to see a film tackle the last days of Bond in the Service, when his health, choices and character disposition aren't exactly admired any more. A true living, breathing relic. He is an old dog, but sometimes the old ways prove to be the best.
Well said @peter
A really good summing up of the film. NSNA certainly deserves more credit than the usual "It's rubbish and not official Bond" tripe I always read.