When both a British and a Russian nuclear submarine disappear without trace, suave MI6 spy James Bond and beautiful KGB agent Anya Amasova must temporarily join forces to solve the mystery.
This is one of my favourite Bond flicks; like Gilbert's prior outing, You Only Live Twice, it's gloriously excessive, over-the-top and enormous fun all the way. It's got a mad villain with an insane looking undersea secret base, a sexy Russian spy called Agent Triple X, an unflappable silent movie giant henchman who bites through anything and anyone that gets in his way, a supercool Lotus Elise which turns into an underwater submersible, not one but two classic Hammer Films babes (Munro and Leon) and a humungous oil tanker which eats submarines. In terms of plausibility it may be a tad lacking, but for sheer jaw-dropping action entertainment it's rarely been topped, with a stunning ski-chase opening, a memorable fight in the Abu Simbel temples, a fantastic car/motorbike/helicopter chase along the Costa Smeralda and a huge finale dust-up in villain Stromberg's vast Atlantis base. Ken Adam's production design, particularly for the latter, is just breathtaking in its scope and grandiose comic-book stylings - Adam built the largest soundstage in the world, flooded with a million gallons of water, for the amazing sequences where the subs are captured by the Liparus. Okay so the movie may have a few too many jokes about sexual proclivity and the plot doesn't really bear much scrutiny, but it's everything a Bond movie should be; stylish, action-packed, exotic escapist fantasy, transporting you to some glamorous other-worldly universe of spies, arch-villains, wild gadgets, dangerous women and international intrigue. It's sensational, with a great cast, terrific photography, neato special effects (by Derek Meddings) and a goofily enjoyable string-disco score featuring one of the most memorable theme songs of the series (Nobody Does It Better). Everyone has their own favourite Bond films and eras, but I think this one is pretty undeniably one of the best (both Moore and producer Albert Broccoli cited it as a favourite). Some weird trivia; there is a gaffe in the end credits citing For Your Eyes Only as the next film in the series (it was actually Moonraker), Stanley Kubrick was an uncredited lighting / technical consultant on the big stage shots, and by most accounts this was the last movie Elvis Presley saw. Shot in Egypt, Canada, Scotland, Sardinia and at Pinewood Studios, this is blockbuster British action cinema at its best.
This is one of my favourite Bond flicks; like Gilbert's prior outing, You Only Live Twice, it's gloriously excessive, over-the-top and enormous fun all the way. It's got a mad villain with an insane looking undersea secret base, a sexy Russian spy called Agent Triple X, an unflappable silent movie giant henchman who bites through anything and anyone that gets in his way, a supercool Lotus Elise which turns into an underwater submersible, not one but two classic Hammer Films babes (Munro and Leon) and a humungous oil tanker which eats submarines. In terms of plausibility it may be a tad lacking, but for sheer jaw-dropping action entertainment it's rarely been topped, with a stunning ski-chase opening, a memorable fight in the Abu Simbel temples, a fantastic car/motorbike/helicopter chase along the Costa Smeralda and a huge finale dust-up in villain Stromberg's vast Atlantis base. Ken Adam's production design, particularly for the latter, is just breathtaking in its scope and grandiose comic-book stylings - Adam built the largest soundstage in the world, flooded with a million gallons of water, for the amazing sequences where the subs are captured by the Liparus. Okay so the movie may have a few too many jokes about sexual proclivity and the plot doesn't really bear much scrutiny, but it's everything a Bond movie should be; stylish, action-packed, exotic escapist fantasy, transporting you to some glamorous other-worldly universe of spies, arch-villains, wild gadgets, dangerous women and international intrigue. It's sensational, with a great cast, terrific photography, neato special effects (by Derek Meddings) and a goofily enjoyable string-disco score featuring one of the most memorable theme songs of the series (Nobody Does It Better). Everyone has their own favourite Bond films and eras, but I think this one is pretty undeniably one of the best (both Moore and producer Albert Broccoli cited it as a favourite). Some weird trivia; there is a gaffe in the end credits citing For Your Eyes Only as the next film in the series (it was actually Moonraker), Stanley Kubrick was an uncredited lighting / technical consultant on the big stage shots, and by most accounts this was the last movie Elvis Presley saw. Shot in Egypt, Canada, Scotland, Sardinia and at Pinewood Studios, this is blockbuster British action cinema at its best.