From Russia With Love - Tumblr Posts
DR NO (Terance Young, 1962).
NOTE: The following is an edited version of a review available in full on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME. Check it out! Link below.
The film that launched the longest running franchise in movie history. Sean Connery stars as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 in this adaptation of the sixth novel in the series.
Investigating the disappearance of fellow MI6 operatives, Bond heads to Jamaica and is soon on the trail of the titular Dr No, an underground dwelling, Nemo-esq scientific genius with plans to wreck the US space programme. Fist fights, shoot-outs and car chases ensue!
In many respects, Dr No is Bond in its purest form. Before the over reliance on gadgets, before the campy, double entendre laden humour, before the over the top action set pieces. Connery is perfect in the role: suave yet cool, a lover and a fighter. He is surrounded by a classy supporting cast. As Island girl Honey Ryder, Ursula Andress set the standard for Bond girls, emerging like Venus from the ocean in a two-piece swimsuit and creating one of the most iconic images of the entire series. Jack Lord and John Kitzmiller make appealing allies for Bond, while Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell make their first appearances as Bond’s MI6 boss M and his flirtatious secretary Miss Moneypenny, respectively.
Director Terance Young never lets the pace flag. Dr No is one of the shorter Bonds but Young never wastes a second as he delivers a gripping, intelligent thriller.
Rewatching the movie almost 60 years after release it is fascinating to see how much of what we associate with the series is already present. Refinements were made to the formula over the coming films but I don’t think this series opener was ever bettered. Equalled maybe, but it has a certain economic, raw, unpolished appeal that box office success and bloated budgets would not allow for in the future. Six decades on this is still a fantastic piece of popular cinema. Intelligent in a way action movies rarely are today, shot through with streak of sardonic humour. If you are only familiar with later entries than this original classic should really be next on your Bond viewing list!
100+ movie reviews now available on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME. Link below.
Movie number 83: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (Dir: Terence Young, 1963).
Sean Connery returns as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 in this second movie in the series, From Russia with Love. Produced, once again, by ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and Harry Saltzman’s Eon Productions.
Here some double agent dupery sees Bond smuggling a Soviet Lektor decrypting device from East to West via the Orient Express. Pulling the strings are terrorist organisation SPECTRE, seeking to avenge the death of an agent who Bond bumped off previously.
Dr No director Terence Young returns to deliver another tight, action packed yet well paced thriller. I will admit the misogynistic tone of From Russia with Love leaves a bad taste. The sight of Bond slapping a woman about, even if she is a Russian agent, fills me with unease. That aspect aside, the movie ranks as one of the series’ best.
Many latter staples of the series are introduced here. SPECTRE head honcho Blofeld makes his first appearance, as does gadget man Q, a role Desmond Llewelyn would be associated with until his death in 1999. From Russia with Love also introduced the pre-title sequence and Lionel Bart provided the first Bond theme. Heard as an instrumental against the nudie ladies silhouette titles (another first - although here she is a belly dancer, nudieness would follow in later movies), Matt Monro’s beautiful vocal version is heard first over a transistor radio and later in the end credits.
Connery is fantastic; equal parts flirty and fighty, cool yet sophisticated. A quality supporting cast sees regulars Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell return as M and Miss Moneypenny respectively; an amiable Pedro Armendáriz as Bond’s Istanbul M16 ally; Robert Shaw makes an impressive baddie and Daniela Bianchi gets to look lovely in a series of nighties as ambiguous Bond girl Tatiana. Best of all is the fabulous Lotte Lenya as SPECTRE agent and possessor of lethal footwear Rosa Klebb.
In my opinion the early Bond movies were never bettered. From Russia with Love, in particular, holds up as one of the series’ best and has stood the test of time as an exciting action adventure in its own right.
If you enjoyed this review check out my previous review of Dr No. A longer, more in-depth version of this review appears on my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com
James Bond will return in my review of Goldfinger...