Thunderball

Tags

007, 1960's, Adolfo Celi, Bernard Lee, Claudine Auger, Desmond Llewelyn, James Bond, Lois Maxwell, Luciana Paluzzi, Martine Beswick, Rik Van Nutter, Sean Connery, Spy, Terence Young, Thunderball

Film Title

Thunderball

Director

Terence Young

Starring

• Sean Connery as James Bond
• Adolfo Celi as Emilio Largo
• Claudine Auger as Domino Derval
• Luciana Paluzzi as Fiona Volpe
• Martine Beswick as Paula Caplan
• Rik Van Nutter as Felix Leiter
• Bernard Lee as M
• Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny
• Desmond Llewelyn as Q

After the success of Goldfinger, the Bond series went well and truly gadget laden with Thunderball, the fourth instalment. While not as thrilling or as effective as its predecessor, Thunderball is enjoyable enough and still a fun Bond movie with a good amount of action.

Thunderball begins with a thrilling pre-title sequence in which Bond grapples with an enemy who has faked his death. The ever so suave 007 escapes due to a nifty jetpack and his loyal Aston Martin. We then move onto Bond’s latest mission, which has him searching for two NATO atomic bombs stolen by the criminal organisation SPECTRE. The evil group plans to hold the world to ransom for £100 million or else they destroy a prominent city in the United States or United Kingdom. M sends Bond to the Bahamas to investigate this plan and comes across Emilio Largo, the eye-patch sporting SPECTRE agent who is the brains behind the fiendish plot. Bond manages to get to the heart of Largo’s plot by becoming acquainted with his mistress Domino Derval, who is more like his kept woman than a loved girlfriend who is watched constantly by Largo’s men. Aided by CIA contact Felix Leiter, fellow MI6 beauty Paula and eventually the caged Domino, Bond attempts to avert a full-scale nuclear war and thwart the insidious plan of SPECTRE.

Although it doesn’t reach the heights of Goldfinger, Thunderball has enough charm and action to keep you watching. The gorgeous location of the Bahamas is captured in all its sun dappled glory and really does feature some breathtaking shots. Terence Young, who helmed Dr.No and From Russia with Love, brings his talents to the screen and spins this yarn well with his assured direction. Out of all the Bond movies, Thunderball is the most aquatic. From the title sequences of silhouetted water girls swimming to the underwater climactic battle, the movie definitely has a marine feel to it. Many of the underwater scenes are excellently handled, yet there are some that do seem to last for ages and drags the length of the film. All in all, the action is handled very well and there are some exciting sequences. But there are times when Thunderball veers towards comic strip rather than spy movie, especially with its occasional overuse of technology. Thankfully, these moments are only few and far between in what is still a great movie. John Barry’s excellent score gives Thunderball a sense of pace and some excellent musical cues; the title song by Tom Jones has a bombast that is infectious and the power with which he sings is extraordinary.

Sean Connery is once again excellent as Bond, exuding masculinity, charm and ruthlessness as he tangles with the villains in his way and romances any woman he wants. Adolfo Celi makes for an interesting adversary for 007 in the form of Emilio Largo; cruel, arrogant and menacing with his eye-patch, sly shark like smile and white hair perfectly complimenting his evil, corrupt nature and possessive streak over Domino. The stunning Claudine Auger manages to inject sympathy and pain into her character of Domino, who is morose from the confined treatment that Largo has inflicted upon her for years. Luciana Paluzzi sizzles across the screen as Fiona Volpe, a siren who is bad to bone but sexy as hell and capable of trapping any man in her web of death. Unfortunately the other girl in Thunderball, Martine Beswick is underused as Bond’s fellow MI6 agent and the same can be said about Rik Van Nutter as another incarnation of Felix Leiter. The series regulars are at least on hand to add magic to their brief scenes; with Bernard Lee strict and taciturn as boss M, Lois Maxwell a delight as the flirtatious Moneypenny always chasing Bond and loyal gadget man Q, played with humour and wisdom by Desmond Llewelyn.

Despite its shortcomings and occasional lag in pace, Thunderball is still a great movie and interesting addition to the Bond canon.

From Russia with Love

Tags

007, 1960's, Bernard Lee, Daniela Bianchi, Desmond Llewelyn, From Russia with Love, James Bond, Lois Maxwell, Lotte Lenya, Pedro Armendáriz, Robert Shaw, Sean Connery, Spy, Terence Young

Film Title

From Russia with Love

Director

Terence Young

Starring

• Sean Connery as James Bond
• Daniela Bianchi as Tatiana Romanova
• Pedro Armendáriz as Kerim Bey
• Lotte Lenya as Rosa Klebb
• Robert Shaw as Red Grant
• Bernard Lee as M
• Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny
• Desmond Llewelyn as Q

Following on from the groundwork of Dr. No and armed with twice the budget, Terence Young crafts From Russia with Love; a quintessential entry into the Bond series that is also a classy, exotic and exciting thriller in its own right. Featuring eccentric villains, a stunning Bond girl, likeable allies and an absolutely riveting story of international espionage, From Russia with Love ranks as one of my favourite movies in the James Bond franchise.

This time Bond is summoned to M to investigate a very mysterious and twisted case. A beautiful cipher clerk in Istanbul named Tatiana Romanova has contacted MI6 saying she wants to defect with information regarding a Lektor device. M thinks it is a trap but sends Bond anyway to see what he can find out. It transpires that the crime syndicate SPECTRE has devised a cunning and seemingly ingenious plan to steal the Lektor from the Soviet’s, whilst getting revenge on Bond for the killing of Dr. No. Tatiana Romanova, unbeknownst to her, is in fact an unwitting pawn in SPECTRE’s twisted plan, she believes she is doing this mission for the good of her country. Bond heads to Istanbul to investigate and is aided greatly by Kerim Bey, the charismatic British Intelligence Chief stationed in Istanbul. Meeting with the gorgeous Tatiana, he begins to unravel the case.  From here it is a cat and mouse game of espionage as Bond tackles villains left, right and centre, including the sadistic Rosa Klebb and the psychopathic Red Grant. With exotic foes, nefarious schemes and Sean Connery back as James Bond, From Russia with Love is classic Bond.

From the get go, From Russia with Love emerges as an excellent spy thriller. Terence Young directs with flair and allows the humour and suspense to be supplied in equally effective quantities. Visually, the film is stunning to watch as we see Istanbul in all its beauty. The title sequences that would populate later ventures are used for the first time here, the title seductively projected over the undulating hips of a belly dancer. Peter Hunt, the editor is at his best here, with many of the action and fight scenes being a significant highlight. These range from a jaw-dropping and savage fight between two women at a gypsy camp in order to settle a love triangle, Tatiana exchanging information with Bond in the Hagia Sophia and not forgetting Bond’s brutal fight to the death aboard the Orient Express with the assassin Red Grant. John Barry’s score is suitably amazing and perfectly compliments the exciting yet dangerous atmosphere of foreign intrigue. Matt Monro croons the title song that features at various important times in the narrative. He would be the first high-profile singer to sing the title song in a Bond movie and since then many illustrious stars have followed.

The cast itself is reason enough to catch this marvellous entry in the series. Sean Connery is back as the debonair, womanizing Bond and this time gets some great one liners to compliment the ruthless side of his character. Daniela Bianchi, whilst being a stunning girl, embodies the naive charm of Tatiana as she begins to realise the trickery that has befallen her. Pedro Armendáriz turns in a highly charismatic performance as Kerim Bey; he has a humour, charm and intelligence that make him one of the best allies in the Bond movies. Lotte Lenya is unforgettable as the twisted and sadistic Rosa Klebb, her poison tipped shoe making her a dangerous and highly original villainess. And adding to the excellent villains of the piece is Robert Shaw, who is outstanding as the homicidal paranoiac Red Grant, who is charged with killing Bond. His violent and well-executed fight with Bond on the Orient Express is an excellent scene of hand to hand combat and danger. In the supporting roles, Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell are as always a welcome presence as the crusty M and the keen Miss Moneypenny. For the first time, we get a glimpse of Desmond Llewelyn as the much-loved gadget master Q. He supplies Bond with a nifty attaché case, armed with a throwing knife and tear gas, that comes in very useful later on in the movie.

So all I have left to say is that From Russia with Love is a thrilling, gripping and exciting  high point of the James Bond franchise.

Dr. No

Tags

007, 1960's, Anthony Dawson, Bernard Lee, Dr. No, Jack Lord, James Bond, John Kitzmiller, Joseph Wiseman, Lois Maxwell, Sean Connery, Spy, Terence Young, Ursula Andress

Film Title

Dr. No

Director

Terence Young

Starring

• Sean Connery as James Bond
• Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder
• Joseph Wiseman as Dr. Julius No
• Jack Lord as Felix Leiter
• Bernard Lee as M
• Anthony Dawson as Professor Dent
• John Kitzmiller as Quarrel
• Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny

In 1962, one film started one of the most successful franchises in movie history. That movie was Dr. No and the series was of course the James Bond movies. A sleek, action-packed and influential film, Dr. No ushered audiences into the exciting world of one of cinema’s most enduring icons, the one and only Bond…..James Bond.Making a star out of Sean Connery as the suave and sophisticated spy and boasting a multitude of iconic images, Dr. No is a spy movie that still holds up as a great way to start the long-running series.

James Bond, also known as 007, is sent by MI6 to Jamaica in order to investigate the disappearance of Strangways, another agent who was looking into a CIA  claim that something in the area is disrupting the launching of rockets. Bond teams up with CIA agent Felix Leiter and a local boatman Quarrel, in order to unravel the mysterious disappearance of Strangways. It seems that the evidence points to the reclusive Dr. No, a scientist who owns the nearby island of Crab Key, which many people are scared to enter because of alleged superstitions involving a dragon. Whilst tangling with deadly tarantulas, shifting loyalties and assassins, Bond begins to unearth the sinister plans of the Doctor. Also aiding him in this is Honey Ryder, a beautiful diving girl with her own agenda for taking part in bringing down Dr. No. Prepare for exciting, action and the introduction to James Bond as Dr. No delivers an amazing spy film that is still as watchable as it has ever been.

Director Terence Young brings the action filled world of 007 to excellent life with amazing vigour with car chases, a maniacal villain and a gorgeous Bond Girl. As I mentioned earlier, it is a film with no shortage of iconic moments; the opening gun barrel sequence, the famous main theme tune, Honey Ryder’s sexy emergence from the surf and many others.Although not as gadget laden as many of his later adventures, we still see Bond as a suave agent with a ruthless streak that can survive on his own wits. As the first man to essay the role, Sean Connery is nothing short of amazing. He embodies the sophisticated edge to Bond but imbues him with a humour and serious side that make him one of the most iconic to play the role. The moment he utters the immortal lines “Bond…..James Bond” is still an excellent introduction to this enduring character. Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder is suitably sexy and appealing, her famous entrance in which she rises Venus like from the ocean clad in a white bikini has lost none of its erotic impact and still ranks as one of the sexiest moments in the series. Joseph Wiseman is a creepy presence as the eponymous villain, hell-bent on revenge against those who have doubted him. In supporting roles, Jack Lord and John Kitzmiller make for likable allies in this Bond adventure. As the villain’s henchman, Anthony Dawson is excellently menacing and his scene when Bond questions  him whilst calmly playing cards is a thrilling and suspenseful moment. Bernard Lee is the stern M, head of MI6 and Lois Maxwell is the pining secretary Miss Moneypenny. Both would become staples of the films and Lee and Maxwell acquit themselves admirably.

Making stunning use of the Jamaican location, boasting an excellent score and many other positives, it is hard to fault Dr. No. Yes some of it may look a bit dated now, but without this we wouldn’t have the Bond series. An influential and iconic movie that deserves every ounce of credit thrown its way.