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Comments
'Painting'? What?
Well. I believe this movie is what the kiddies call "transcendentally stupid," from the Bondola to the ninja fight that permanently damages Renaissance scholarship, to the unbelievably flimsy excuses to get to Venice and to Rio, to Jaws' every scene, to the block of wood impersonating a Bond girl to the laser battle climax.
I can't believe the same series that made such beautifully taut thrillers as Dr. No and From Russia With Love produced this mess. The only strong points are the death of Corinne Dufour, the set design (masterful as ever), and Rog's performance as Bond. Michael Lonsdale as Drax is alternately bland and appropriately reserved.
Sure, the editing sucks, but aside from that, I think Thunderball is a very fun movie.
Thunderball is a very fun movie. I like the villain, although he's not the greatest. Domino is an awesome Bond girl as well, again, not the greatest, but she's still good.
But the best thing about this movie is the action. The underwater scenes are spectacular to watch, and actually build up a lot of suspense.
Oh, and that theme song. I'd probably list it in my Top 3 favorites, along with Nobody Does it Better (The Spy Who Loved Me) and Live and Let Die.
So, Thunderball... Flawed, but I still like it a lot. I give It 7.5/10
You Only Live Twice
I thought YOLT was a little outrageous, what with making 007 look Asian, and the volcano secret base, but this is honestly one of my favorites. This kind of put the Connery Bond out of his comfort zone, which consisted of "casual" fight scenes and mild shootouts. YOLT was very action packed, which was quite refreshing, in my opinion. Some people may say it's bad or it's alright, but now that people are coming to the revelation that Die Another Day was actually good ! , I think people should give YOLT another shot.
I give It 8/10
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is like a fine wine. The older it gets the more I, and I dare say history, grows to appreciate it. I'll admit I wasn't always a huge fan and I even accused it of being boring as a kid but as I've matured I've come to realise what triumphant On Her Majesty's Secret Service is. It's one of, if not THE most, important and yet severely under-rated films in the James Bond franchise. The implications of the events of this movie resonate in many of the following films and should not be under-stated. And on top of this significance On Her Majesty's Secret Service is also a marvelously crafted and executed film with very little holding it down. However, what does hold it down, and I'll touch on that in a moment, is quite often what people immediately turn to when critiquing it and thus it is unfairly judged. For this review I'm going to try and assess the film as a whole rather than pick apart the elements that are so frequently addressed.
That being said let's quickly start with what I have commonly heard people refer to as the "major flaw" with On Her Majesty's Secret Service; George Lazenby as Bond. Yes, he's not a tremendous actor (some people like to "wittily" point out he's not an actor at all) and yes, his performance doesn't do the script too much justice is many places but, and I say this as someone who places Lazenby as last on my Bond actor ranking, he doesn't even come close to diminishing the quality of this film. Sure, had Connery been in it it may have been universally acclaimed but, given the direction You Only Live Twice took, I doubt this film would have been as faithful to Fleming's novel had he stayed on-board. It's thanks to Lazenby that this movie went back to the book. Another flaw that I commonly come across is that it suffers from a problem Thunderball did in that it drags in parts. While I can't deny that this is true in some cases I think some of the more drawn-out moments are important in order to build up to the final climax.
Now that I've cleared that up, let me get back to the positives. Diana Rigg is a revelation as Tracy, creating easily the most likable and three-dimensional Bond girls of the series to this day; Telly Savalas brings a brutal edge to Blofeld not present in Donald Pleasence's portrayal that is very suited to this film; and Gabriele Ferzetti plays yet another charismatic Bond ally in the form of Tracy's father, Draco. John Barry broke new ground with his score for Majesty's, successfully integrating electronic instruments into the orchestral tracks. Peter Hunt, the long time Bond editor and first time Bond director makes his debut in spectacular fashion with sweeping shots of the awe-inspiring ski sequences; tender and human moments not too common in a Bond film between Bond and Tracy and a white-knuckle showdown at Piz Gloria. But by-far the best scene in On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the final scene of the movie. Without giving it away for those who haven't seen it, it is a very personal and emotional scene that possible one of the most flawless sequences in the franchise. Even Lazenby nails this scene!
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is a Bond movie that must be experienced by all Bond fans. No movie is perfect but this is a very genuine attempt. I can't give On Her Majesty's Secret Service anything bellow a 10/10.
Victim of the 90s quite a weak decade for Bond, though at the time was just thankfull they were making Bond movies again.
Agreed I do rate GE, Campbell should direct more Bond films. Campbell gets Bond, would not be surprised if he returned to helm at some point.
Totally agree with all of this. What a shame, after GE, which to me towers above the other three bloated productions.
Tsunami surfing, ugh.
@ThighsOfXenia - yes, QoS is a tricky film to judge. After the cinema, I was quite underwhelmed. I thought Craig had regressed. As you said, the end of CR made us believe that Bond was back.
Perhaps I'm trying to find things that aren't really there, regarding QoS; maybe my "interpretations" are way off. Certainly, while writing my "review" of QoS, I thought this is rather pretentious stuff. ;-)
Superb, dear Major! Superb!
In fact, I would to go say, that up until the airbase, TLD features, quite possibly my favorite Bondian segments/portions, ever. The action, intrigue, romance etc is really topnotch, all enlivened by the fantastic Mr Dalton. (I wonder what he could do with Craig's material...?)
(ETA)GF rocks, like the two before it.
GE and TND. Wow, I forgot how entertaing these films are. GE is a virtual Bond masterpiece, while TND is non-stop excitement. Well done!
Bond films get better with age. I find there is tendency to be more critical in the short term as the films don't always measure up to what one wants - in my case, a return to the 60's feel and the Connery portrayal.
However, 17-19 years after the fact, these two movies are reaching iconic status.
I have reached a new appreciation for Brozzer Bond. Maybe I am comparing with what I don't like about Craig Bond, but nevertheless, Broz has his own, relaxed edgy style that does work.
Love the way he tosses jibes at the lead villains, Fleming style. Like Connery, he's got a decent ranger of facial expressions. He is very much at ease as Bond-on-mission I find.
Again, maybe I am contrasting with all the angst and drama found in the Craig portrayal, but still I do like what Broz is doing with the character here. I do believe he can handle weapons and fight with fists and he only gets better in the next two films. Nice job!!
May have to commison another Bond statue. ( Connery and Laz being the others)
I am now elevating Broz to third on my Bond actors list. This is a major development. He's only ever flirted with 4th before, battling Dalts, but now I am not only breaking the virtual tie with Dalts, Broz is being elevated above Rog into a solid third place, in fact well above the three below, and within shouting distance at least, of Sean and Laz.
In fact, if the two icons look down, they can now see Broz.
They suddenly have company, they can identify.
Broz plays Bond plenty tough. He revels in being Bond. Great with the quips, natural with the girls. As mentioned, really does a nice job insulting the wacko villains. The disdain for these psychotic loons is palpable.
It is really too bad that these iconic '90s action films did not play in double bills back in the day. The adolescents of the day really missed out
GE and TND in particular, and the other two Broz films would have made great popcorn fare double bills.
It may happen yet. One can hope. If so I will be first in line, pretending I am 13 again, like we did for the old Sean and Rog doubles - large butter-soaked popcorn and overflowing Coke, staring up at screen, mouth agape, awating 4 hours plus of pure Bondian screen mayhem and excitment.
A few TND notes from final credit roll.
Note that the accountant is a chap named John Roebuck. No doubt the inspiration for character Admiral Roebuck.
Christopher Brosnan credit: Broz's adopted son is one of several additional assistant directors listed.
from wiki "Chris Brosnan is a British film director, writer, and producer. He was born to Cassandra Harris and producer Dermot Harris, the brother of actor Richard Harris. He was adopted by actor Pierce Brosnan"
Two questions to fellow students of Bond minutiae.
1. Who is character Tamara Steele? That sounds like a Bond girl name, yet I can't place her.
She is played by one Nina Young and is actually listed one spot above Daphne Deckers as PR Lady, however Deckers is easily identified and gets plenty of screen time.
Deckers is the leggy, very attractive, smartly dressed, PR woman, who is sprinkled judiciously throughout the CMG party. Carver eventually fires her on stage.
2. What is this 4th song credited- " It Had To Be You?" performed and produced by Simon Greenway. Where does it feature in the film?
Tamara Steele - was the lady who first introduces Bond to Carver.
And "It Had To Be You?" - maybe that was the song playing over Carver's party?
edit - just found this, on our own MI6HQ -
http://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/movies/tnd_music.php3?s=music
Deckers gets way more screen-time, so the credits are a tad off, listing Young above Deckers, but that far down the list, the order is bound to be a bit off, I guess.
I'll give Deckers 4th Bond-girl status behind Yeoh, Hatcher and Cecilie Thomsen (Inga Bergstrom) Nina Young 5th.
(I know the girl in the flower shop in Cortina, in FYEO, did)
Married tennis star Richard Krajicek. Coincidentally her 46th birthday was two days ago. ( Happy belated!)
Daphne Muriël Deckers was born 10 November 1968. She is a Dutch model, host, writer and occasional actress. In 1989 she started working at RTL-Véronique. While at RTL she presented Holland’s Next Top Model, which she took over after the second season from Yfke Sturm.
Deckers began her career as a model. Later, she took up acting, appearing in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies. Also in 1999, she co-presented the first series of Big Brother. Currently, she writes children's books and books about family life and related subjects.wiki
I do like this recent picture circa 2010.
;)
Sorry, I just gotta gush one more time on how exquisitely awesome FRWL was a couple of days ago. If there is a perfect Bond movie, I'm pretty sure that's it.
FRWL yes is a perfecto Bond film. Maybe the most perfect of the first 7 all-perfect films. There may very well be degress of perfection. Pretty much has to be, if I am to even attempt to rank any of these 7 films.
I basically have the 6 Connery films, all tied for first, with OHMSS just a smidge lower in 7th.
Always nice to see at least a little bit of positive stuff about him around here.
He did embrace the Connery persona. He delivers a little differently. He doesn't have quite the same physical screen presence, but who does, but he does have his own strong presence. He brings some Bond swagger. Broz is serious Bond. He enjoys being Bond. He goes about getting the job done. He's comfortable in his Bond skin.
And he does have the requisite Fleming disdain for the villains. All of the actors bring this element actually, but Broz delivers quite well in this respect I think.