Hugo DraxLeeds, United Kingdom.Posts: 210MI6 Agent
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is often dismissed as an anomaly in Bond series, famous for the sole appearance of George Lazenby as James Bond 007. Sandwiched between the far-fetched, gadget-driven You Only Live Twice and the witty, camp Diamonds Are Forever, this fast-paced, action oriented thriller may seem out of place. But this is one of the best films in the series.
George Lazenby makes a great debut as James Bond. He exudes charm, elegance and sophistication and he handles the legendary 007 wit brilliantly. But he happened to get the role of James Bond at a time when Sean Connery was the public's only choice for the role. Lazenby clearly tries to imitate Connery at times, and with the latter's great success in the role who can blame him? This inevitably draws comparisons between Lazenby and Connery and 9 times out of 10 the suave Scot wins the contest.
Dame Diana Rigg is one of the most complex, interesting Bond women in the series. Despite the reported unease between Lazenby and Rigg, she handles the romance wonderfully well and a worthy ally to 007 as he battles with the treachery of the Swiss Alps. Telly Savalas is the most convincing Blofeld in the series.
The locales are wonderful, as is the contrast between the sun-drenched Portugal to the glacial beauty of Switzerland. The musical score is also one of the best in the series and the title theme is certainly the best instrumental music in Bond history.
The screenplay is noticably sharp and a lot of this can be attributed to Simon Raven, who adds gravitas to the dialogue.
Overall this is an excellent Bond film. Both the film and it's main lead had the misfortune of being made and starring in the wrong place at the wrong time for the general public. The success of other down-to-earth thrillers such as For Your Eyes Only, From Russia With Love and The Living Daylights illustrates that there is a market for these type of films but the public did not want this or Lazenby as Bond back in 1969.
As my name probably gives away, it's my favorite of them all. The writing, the direction, the locations, the music, the acting (save one obvious bit) and the adherence to the "Fleming sweep" have never been matched in the series. Together, they overcome Lazenby's noticeable inexperience as an actor.
This is an absolutely gorgeous film to behold, and Peter Hunt gets the credit for that. He (and John Glen) got some amazing scenes in the mountains. Hunt also has a very interesting way of constructing smaller scenes, my favorite example being when Blofeld drops the grenade in the bobsled. I can think of no other moment in the series in which the villain shows vulnerability that is not Bond-induced. What a great idea to shoot it that way! Every other director would have had Blolfeld throw the grenade at Bond, who would then have to fumble around for it.
And how about the tense scene in Gumbold's office? Great stuff! Every time I watch it still, I worry that he won't finish before Gumbold gets back. It's the best example I can think of in which the screenwriters added something great to an already great story.
As for the actors, the producers were correct in casting Diana Rigg against George the newbie. Ferzetti is also fantastic (although some of that credit must be shared with De Keyser's dubbing). Most important, Lazenby is better than he gets credit for. Frankly, I have a hard time seeing Connery or Moore pulling off the marriage proposal in the barn (Brosnan definitely, Dalton probably). Had he been better advised and had a smaller ego, Lazenby could have evolved into the ultimate Bond portrayer.
I particularly like Bernard Lee in this film. He has a frustrated weariness about him from the first scene in the PTS when he's stewing over Bond's whereabouts all the way through to when he's resigned to Blofeld getting away with his extortion. OHMSS portrays M with more depth and realism than any other film, including TWINE.
Finally, I love the homages to previous Bond films, both in the opening credits and when Bond cleans out his desk. Fabulous.
The film is not without weaknesses. Most notable is the dubbing of George Baker's voice when Bond poses as Bray. In a movie that strives for authenticity, this seems an unnecessary element. Telly Savalas, while mostly excellent, gets a little "posy" at times, holding his cigarette like an effete wimp and swapping poetry lines with Tracy. And I'm not a huge fan of the ease with which supposedly-fragile Tracy dispatches the supposedly-tough Grunther in the climactic fight. Outsmarting him, yes -- beating him up, no.
But, by and large, these are nitpicks. I would be amazed if any Bond film can replace OHMSS at the top of my list. I am beyond excited at the prospect of seeing it on the big screen for the first time next week in NYC.
OHMSS is my second favorite Bond flick for several reasons. Telly Savales is far and away the best Blofeld, the Swiss Alps are breathtaking, Diana Rigg is my alltime favorite Bond woman, and who could not love a movie with Hilly?
Outside of sites like this, Lazenby is generally forgotten, or written off, when it comes to James Bond, but I think he could have taken the role and made it his own if he could have controlled his ego and gotten some good advice. Aside from the scene when he proposes to Tracey, the most powerful scene in any Bond movie is when she is killed. Of all the Bonds, only Timothy Dalton could have showed the pain and anguish that Lazenby did. Brosnan tries to when he discovers Paris Carver is dead, but I didn't feel the same emotional pull that I did when I saw the end of OHMSS.
I watched it this morning because I was nursing a hangover in bed! The opening scene is great and Lazenby is a brilliant fighter. Overall, I think Lazenby did pretty well as Bond and let's not forget, he taking on an impossible task at the time. If he had controlled his ego, he could've been a very good Bond.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is a unique film, in terms of the Bond, the direction and the ending. It is my favourite Bond film and probably always wiil be.
George Lazenby makes an excellent debut as Bond, and in my humble opinion brought the best portrayal of the character. As I have said before he showed tough, cold ruthlessness and resourcefulness coupled with a positive emotional commitment not seen before in the series, the most balanced approach to the role yet. It is not just the well choreographed and brillinatly executed fight scenes alone that make him a great Bond, as good as they are, and contrary to popular opinion this was not the sole reason he was chosen. He exudes self confidence (no doubt due to his self importance and large ego as an individual) which fills the screen with presence, right down to the little things such as the way he struts into a room. There is also a boyishness about his Bond, particularly in the Moneypenny scenes and his smirk while reading Playboy, a good example of well used subtle humour. Lazenby is also adept at the humour and one-liners. He is clearly not the best actor in the world but I do believe he had a natural ability at the part, to use a similar phrase as Peter Hunt he wasn't Connery as Bond, Moore as Bond or any of the rest of them, he was James Bond, so in this respect it helped that he was not a seasoned character actor.
Accomodating the new Bond are the knowing connections with the audience, in the PTS when he says, "This never happened to the other fellow" and Moneypenny's throwaway, "Same old James". These help enormously in easing the audience into the new Bond.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service gives the presentation of a defiant Bond, towards M and his entire profession. Here 007 is conflicted as never before, openly resentful at his orders and the man delivering them. The anger is visibly stewing on Lazenby's face when M takes him off Operation Bedlam and refuses to help Tracy, Bond appears so angry he is almost disgusted at M's unwillingness to act or listen to his point of view. In my opinion OHMSS contains the best M/Bond scenes, and this quality would not be neared until Licence To Kill and GoldenEye.
There is also the most developed relationship of the series. Despite the supposed off-screen tensions between Lazenby and Rigg, this does not show and one can genuinely believe the closeness of the two characters. Some of the scenes they share are electrifying, especially the barn scene. I do not believe that the realtionship was tailored entirely toward Rigg as Bond remains the assertive character. He takes the initiative when saying, "...between friends, or lovers" and Hunt was right to make it Bond who proposes. That said, Tracy is clearly a strong character and also takes the initiative in tracking Bond down and saving him. This seems to be a relationship of co-dependence and all the better for it, too often there are hollow romances with the woman having little to do but look good.
Diana Rigg the most talented actress to play a Bond girl and is stunningy naturally beautiful, especially in the PTS. It is quite funny that in these days of 'female James Bonds' one of the most independent and head-strong Bond girls was of the sixties and was not an action lead like Halle Berry. The character of Tracy is possibly the most interesting and intellegent of the series, a troubled, untrusting ice-queen with the barriers up to begin with thawed by her relationship with Bond. Rigg portrays her with an elegance not really seen again until Sophie Marceau's Elektra King, both of their allure is a classy sexiness, and it is great to see Bond work very hard to get beneath the exterior of the determined woman. Tracy proves to be resourceful and essential, much more than a romantic interest, difficult not to like.
Telly Savalas provided the best and most menacing interpretation of Blofeld, as fanciful as the character is Savals gives a far more believable attempt than either Pleasance or Gray. Irma Bunt is a deadly but deviously humorous character executed with finesse by Steppat. Bernard Lee, Los Maxwell and Desmond Llewellen are as good as ever.
As well as all this character development there is plenty of amazing action, superior stunts and Hitchcock-inspired suspense, making it a greatly balanced picture. The ski-sequences are the best and tightly edited, the attack on Piz Gloria is astounding and the safe scene keeps the viewer at the edge of their seat. Hunt's direction is near unblemished and it was a good idea to focus much less on gadgets which were becoming overbearing by the time You Only Live Twice was released. The ending is shocking and tragic and makes the character of Tracy especially missed, snatched as she was from Bond. Lazenby was particularly skilful here, and he seems to me to be the best placed Bond actor to carry this scene, more convincing than any of the others.
OHMSS is visually superb with unmatched cinematography. This is especially apparent near the end, with Bond and Tracy driving off from the wedding with the camera rising up. It is shot as an epic, and I do wish I could see ti on the big screen as it would look perfect. The fight sequences are sharply edited to be all the more brutal, accentuating Lazenby's fighting skills.
All this makes for not only the best Bond picture, but the best film full stop. 10/10
Hmmm, well, I lent my flatmate a copy of the film - it had School For Scoundrels tapes after it off the TV. He said he was ploughing through OHMSS and he sort of screwed his face up: "It's BIZARRE! It's got all the ingredients of a Bond film but there's something not quite right...."
And then: "Well as for Diana Rigg, I just cannot see what some people see in her. Looks wise, she was 50/50 even back then..."
I sort of agree. It's a classy looking film, sure, but there are so many awkard moments in it. The stuff with Bond in disguise, the cheesy swell of saxophone music when the girls appear, the somehow stuffy, claustrophobic feel of the film and an American Blofield somehow make it all not quite right imo.
As for Bond falling in love, it's dangerously subjective. Any red-blooded man can sympathise with Bond wanting to go to bed with any girl but taking it further emotionally... Well, I suppose most guys would be happy with a Diana Rigg type to take up the aisle (!) but to me she's just a bit too smug and hoity toity, delivering her lines like Sam in Sex and the City.
Still, it's certainly one of the best looking films. The best Bonds to me have a trashy look though, even Dr No had a bit of that...
Well-liked by Bond fans for it's look, sound, clever scenes, and strong supporting cast but dismissed by the general public for it's lack of a certain actor and atypical plot line, OHMSS delivers all that's needed to put it in classic territory next to the Connery films.
Lazenby looks good in the part despite his youth, and handles the courtship theme quite well. Unfortunately a great deal of the Hillary Bray scenes are done with a overdub of George Baker, perhaps covering Lazenby's lack of range.
Savalas gives some menace to the Blofeld character and performs well in the part. Diana Rigg, while not possessing supermodel looks, gives true depth to the Tracy character. The rest of the cast is made up of solid European actors, who perform admirably. The regulars do well here and there's not much dropoff in the M scene, while the Moneypenny scene doesn't have that same connection that the Sean and Roger ones did.
There are some fantastic suspenseful scenes like the break-in at Gumbold's office and Bond hanging on the gondola wire. Meanwhile the aerial and ski photography are revolutionary. Complete with the stunningly beautiful music from John Barry they provide a lasting image of the movie.
It's great how loyal the movie was to the book, while keeping things exciting with a ski/car chase and other fun scenes.
Then there's the ending, which is one of the most emotional not only in the series history but also of all time.
In honor of the recent conversation dealing with this fine film, I'll throw my hat in the arena.
Remember first impressions they're what I stand by, your first gut instinct never fails. OHMSS' , it knocked me for a loop on it's first viewing -- four reasons that WOW'ed me, were the cinematography, locations, score, and the atmosphere created by the actors. It's got the best Barry work period, one of my favorite credit sequences, Diana Rigg, an inspired selection for the role of Blofeld, and one of the best allies ever to appear in a Bond film with Draco.
The story line is closely following the book, (welcome that) what you see on the screen is a wonderful artistic movie, unfortunately terribly underrated in it's time (starting to re-emerge as a lost classic) but nonetheless breathtaking and suspenseful.
The climax --what words can I use that haven't already been expressed, hands down one of the most pivotal events ever and surely one of the bravest. Peter Hunt is the finest editor period, along with Glen they made everything so damn beautiful on that movie, terrible pity that the battle of replacing Connery had to tilt the scale out of any complete favor by the contemporary audience at that time.
Glad to see other fans for this film out there. It's been my favorite Bond film for many years (indeed, one of my favorite films of all time).
Not a lot to add to the others' comments, other than for me this is the perfect, most well-rounded 007 film. It grieves me that Lazenby mucked up and let his ego run away with him...I can imagine all the fine Bond pictures he could have conceivably made had he agreed to EON's 7-year deal at the time...then perhaps we would have been spared the goofiness of DAF or the excesses of the Roger Moore years.
At any rate, for his first acting gig, I feel Lazenby did a fine job, and remains the most convincing in action scenes of all the actors to play the role. Diana Rigg makes a splendid foil for the less-experienced George, and is simply radiant (as well as being far and away the best actress to ever appear in the series). Telly Savalas makes for a memorable Blofeld, somehow hitting the right note of European decadence to smooth over his innate Yankee-ness, and is suitably intimidating a figure.
This movie has it all: good, witty script, a strong narrative, powerhouse action scenes, lush cinematography and beautiful locales, and Barry's best Bond score -- all given an epic feel and gloss from director Peter Hunt.
Quoting docforce:
Glad to see other fans for this film out there. It's been my favorite Bond film for many years (indeed, one of my favorite films of all time).
Not a lot to add to the others' comments, other than for me this is the perfect, most well-rounded 007 film. It grieves me that Lazenby mucked up and let his ego run away with him...I can imagine all the fine Bond pictures he could have conceivably made had he agreed to EON's 7-year deal at the time...then perhaps we would have been spared the goofiness of DAF or the excesses of the Roger Moore years.
At any rate, for his first acting gig, I feel Lazenby did a fine job, and remains the most convincing in action scenes of all the actors to play the role. Diana Rigg makes a splendid foil for the less-experienced George, and is simply radiant (as well as being far and away the best actress to ever appear in the series). Telly Savalas makes for a memorable Blofeld, somehow hitting the right note of European decadence to smooth over his innate Yankee-ness, and is suitably intimidating a figure.
This movie has it all: good, witty script, a strong narrative, powerhouse action scenes, lush cinematography and beautiful locales, and Barry's best Bond score -- all given an epic feel and gloss from director Peter Hunt.
God I love this movie.
I entirely agree with most of what you said. Welcome to AJB docforce, good to see there's another OHMSS fan and a Lazenby fan (that must be about five ).
Connery is and will always be my favorite 007, but Lazenby follows close behind and I agree with you that for OHMSS he was the best choice...I can't see any of the other 4 pulling it off as successfully (not that I would have minded Connery trying!)
Rating On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Bond - George Lazenby is no Sean Connery. That's the fact, Jack. Even the subpar performance of Connery in YOLT surpasses Lazenby's effort. He may have developed into an acceptable 007 with more movies but he is really out of his element here. Rating - 7
Villains - Blofeld is better here than in YOLT but still not a real scary villain. Irma Bunt strikes more fear than Blofeld. Rating - 7.5
Girls - Although Tracy is a wonderful character, the other Bond girls (Blofeld's Angels of Death) are horrible. They should have made Tracy the only Bond Girl in this movie. Rating - 7.5
Gadgets/ Vehicles - The Aston martin DBS is the only plus here. Tracy's Cougar is just OK. No gadgets worth mentioning. Rating - 7.5
Overall Rating - A good story line with a lot of action late. The ending is so different from all other 007 movies. Tracy dying in James' arms is very touching but then being followed by the Bond Theme seems ridiculous. Rating - 7.375
I used to absolutely hate this film and hate Lazenby.
Having watched the movie a bit more and after reading the novel, watching commentaries and really trying to appreciate it, this film made it to my #1 spot, tied with TLD....and Lazenby is tied with Dalton at my #1 Bond spot...
Everything about this movie is very enjoyable to me. The greatest score of all of the Bond films in my opinion complements it very nicely.
I'll rate it a 150/100.
This is one of my favourites the acting the locations and the music score is great as well i have the expanded cd soundtrack and it is good listening to the missing music it goes with the TND soundtrack
Hugo Drax
Leeds, United Kingdom.Posts: 210MI6 Agent
Comments
George Lazenby makes a great debut as James Bond. He exudes charm, elegance and sophistication and he handles the legendary 007 wit brilliantly. But he happened to get the role of James Bond at a time when Sean Connery was the public's only choice for the role. Lazenby clearly tries to imitate Connery at times, and with the latter's great success in the role who can blame him? This inevitably draws comparisons between Lazenby and Connery and 9 times out of 10 the suave Scot wins the contest.
Dame Diana Rigg is one of the most complex, interesting Bond women in the series. Despite the reported unease between Lazenby and Rigg, she handles the romance wonderfully well and a worthy ally to 007 as he battles with the treachery of the Swiss Alps. Telly Savalas is the most convincing Blofeld in the series.
The locales are wonderful, as is the contrast between the sun-drenched Portugal to the glacial beauty of Switzerland. The musical score is also one of the best in the series and the title theme is certainly the best instrumental music in Bond history.
The screenplay is noticably sharp and a lot of this can be attributed to Simon Raven, who adds gravitas to the dialogue.
Overall this is an excellent Bond film. Both the film and it's main lead had the misfortune of being made and starring in the wrong place at the wrong time for the general public. The success of other down-to-earth thrillers such as For Your Eyes Only, From Russia With Love and The Living Daylights illustrates that there is a market for these type of films but the public did not want this or Lazenby as Bond back in 1969.
8/10.
This is an absolutely gorgeous film to behold, and Peter Hunt gets the credit for that. He (and John Glen) got some amazing scenes in the mountains. Hunt also has a very interesting way of constructing smaller scenes, my favorite example being when Blofeld drops the grenade in the bobsled. I can think of no other moment in the series in which the villain shows vulnerability that is not Bond-induced. What a great idea to shoot it that way! Every other director would have had Blolfeld throw the grenade at Bond, who would then have to fumble around for it.
And how about the tense scene in Gumbold's office? Great stuff! Every time I watch it still, I worry that he won't finish before Gumbold gets back. It's the best example I can think of in which the screenwriters added something great to an already great story.
As for the actors, the producers were correct in casting Diana Rigg against George the newbie. Ferzetti is also fantastic (although some of that credit must be shared with De Keyser's dubbing). Most important, Lazenby is better than he gets credit for. Frankly, I have a hard time seeing Connery or Moore pulling off the marriage proposal in the barn (Brosnan definitely, Dalton probably). Had he been better advised and had a smaller ego, Lazenby could have evolved into the ultimate Bond portrayer.
I particularly like Bernard Lee in this film. He has a frustrated weariness about him from the first scene in the PTS when he's stewing over Bond's whereabouts all the way through to when he's resigned to Blofeld getting away with his extortion. OHMSS portrays M with more depth and realism than any other film, including TWINE.
Finally, I love the homages to previous Bond films, both in the opening credits and when Bond cleans out his desk. Fabulous.
The film is not without weaknesses. Most notable is the dubbing of George Baker's voice when Bond poses as Bray. In a movie that strives for authenticity, this seems an unnecessary element. Telly Savalas, while mostly excellent, gets a little "posy" at times, holding his cigarette like an effete wimp and swapping poetry lines with Tracy. And I'm not a huge fan of the ease with which supposedly-fragile Tracy dispatches the supposedly-tough Grunther in the climactic fight. Outsmarting him, yes -- beating him up, no.
But, by and large, these are nitpicks. I would be amazed if any Bond film can replace OHMSS at the top of my list. I am beyond excited at the prospect of seeing it on the big screen for the first time next week in NYC.
Outside of sites like this, Lazenby is generally forgotten, or written off, when it comes to James Bond, but I think he could have taken the role and made it his own if he could have controlled his ego and gotten some good advice. Aside from the scene when he proposes to Tracey, the most powerful scene in any Bond movie is when she is killed. Of all the Bonds, only Timothy Dalton could have showed the pain and anguish that Lazenby did. Brosnan tries to when he discovers Paris Carver is dead, but I didn't feel the same emotional pull that I did when I saw the end of OHMSS.
George Lazenby makes an excellent debut as Bond, and in my humble opinion brought the best portrayal of the character. As I have said before he showed tough, cold ruthlessness and resourcefulness coupled with a positive emotional commitment not seen before in the series, the most balanced approach to the role yet. It is not just the well choreographed and brillinatly executed fight scenes alone that make him a great Bond, as good as they are, and contrary to popular opinion this was not the sole reason he was chosen. He exudes self confidence (no doubt due to his self importance and large ego as an individual) which fills the screen with presence, right down to the little things such as the way he struts into a room. There is also a boyishness about his Bond, particularly in the Moneypenny scenes and his smirk while reading Playboy, a good example of well used subtle humour. Lazenby is also adept at the humour and one-liners. He is clearly not the best actor in the world but I do believe he had a natural ability at the part, to use a similar phrase as Peter Hunt he wasn't Connery as Bond, Moore as Bond or any of the rest of them, he was James Bond, so in this respect it helped that he was not a seasoned character actor.
Accomodating the new Bond are the knowing connections with the audience, in the PTS when he says, "This never happened to the other fellow" and Moneypenny's throwaway, "Same old James". These help enormously in easing the audience into the new Bond.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service gives the presentation of a defiant Bond, towards M and his entire profession. Here 007 is conflicted as never before, openly resentful at his orders and the man delivering them. The anger is visibly stewing on Lazenby's face when M takes him off Operation Bedlam and refuses to help Tracy, Bond appears so angry he is almost disgusted at M's unwillingness to act or listen to his point of view. In my opinion OHMSS contains the best M/Bond scenes, and this quality would not be neared until Licence To Kill and GoldenEye.
There is also the most developed relationship of the series. Despite the supposed off-screen tensions between Lazenby and Rigg, this does not show and one can genuinely believe the closeness of the two characters. Some of the scenes they share are electrifying, especially the barn scene. I do not believe that the realtionship was tailored entirely toward Rigg as Bond remains the assertive character. He takes the initiative when saying, "...between friends, or lovers" and Hunt was right to make it Bond who proposes. That said, Tracy is clearly a strong character and also takes the initiative in tracking Bond down and saving him. This seems to be a relationship of co-dependence and all the better for it, too often there are hollow romances with the woman having little to do but look good.
Diana Rigg the most talented actress to play a Bond girl and is stunningy naturally beautiful, especially in the PTS. It is quite funny that in these days of 'female James Bonds' one of the most independent and head-strong Bond girls was of the sixties and was not an action lead like Halle Berry. The character of Tracy is possibly the most interesting and intellegent of the series, a troubled, untrusting ice-queen with the barriers up to begin with thawed by her relationship with Bond. Rigg portrays her with an elegance not really seen again until Sophie Marceau's Elektra King, both of their allure is a classy sexiness, and it is great to see Bond work very hard to get beneath the exterior of the determined woman. Tracy proves to be resourceful and essential, much more than a romantic interest, difficult not to like.
Telly Savalas provided the best and most menacing interpretation of Blofeld, as fanciful as the character is Savals gives a far more believable attempt than either Pleasance or Gray. Irma Bunt is a deadly but deviously humorous character executed with finesse by Steppat. Bernard Lee, Los Maxwell and Desmond Llewellen are as good as ever.
As well as all this character development there is plenty of amazing action, superior stunts and Hitchcock-inspired suspense, making it a greatly balanced picture. The ski-sequences are the best and tightly edited, the attack on Piz Gloria is astounding and the safe scene keeps the viewer at the edge of their seat. Hunt's direction is near unblemished and it was a good idea to focus much less on gadgets which were becoming overbearing by the time You Only Live Twice was released. The ending is shocking and tragic and makes the character of Tracy especially missed, snatched as she was from Bond. Lazenby was particularly skilful here, and he seems to me to be the best placed Bond actor to carry this scene, more convincing than any of the others.
OHMSS is visually superb with unmatched cinematography. This is especially apparent near the end, with Bond and Tracy driving off from the wedding with the camera rising up. It is shot as an epic, and I do wish I could see ti on the big screen as it would look perfect. The fight sequences are sharply edited to be all the more brutal, accentuating Lazenby's fighting skills.
All this makes for not only the best Bond picture, but the best film full stop. 10/10
And then: "Well as for Diana Rigg, I just cannot see what some people see in her. Looks wise, she was 50/50 even back then..."
I sort of agree. It's a classy looking film, sure, but there are so many awkard moments in it. The stuff with Bond in disguise, the cheesy swell of saxophone music when the girls appear, the somehow stuffy, claustrophobic feel of the film and an American Blofield somehow make it all not quite right imo.
As for Bond falling in love, it's dangerously subjective. Any red-blooded man can sympathise with Bond wanting to go to bed with any girl but taking it further emotionally... Well, I suppose most guys would be happy with a Diana Rigg type to take up the aisle (!) but to me she's just a bit too smug and hoity toity, delivering her lines like Sam in Sex and the City.
Still, it's certainly one of the best looking films. The best Bonds to me have a trashy look though, even Dr No had a bit of that...
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Lazenby looks good in the part despite his youth, and handles the courtship theme quite well. Unfortunately a great deal of the Hillary Bray scenes are done with a overdub of George Baker, perhaps covering Lazenby's lack of range.
Savalas gives some menace to the Blofeld character and performs well in the part. Diana Rigg, while not possessing supermodel looks, gives true depth to the Tracy character. The rest of the cast is made up of solid European actors, who perform admirably. The regulars do well here and there's not much dropoff in the M scene, while the Moneypenny scene doesn't have that same connection that the Sean and Roger ones did.
There are some fantastic suspenseful scenes like the break-in at Gumbold's office and Bond hanging on the gondola wire. Meanwhile the aerial and ski photography are revolutionary. Complete with the stunningly beautiful music from John Barry they provide a lasting image of the movie.
It's great how loyal the movie was to the book, while keeping things exciting with a ski/car chase and other fun scenes.
Then there's the ending, which is one of the most emotional not only in the series history but also of all time.
Classic
9.5/10
Remember first impressions they're what I stand by, your first gut instinct never fails. OHMSS' , it knocked me for a loop on it's first viewing -- four reasons that WOW'ed me, were the cinematography, locations, score, and the atmosphere created by the actors. It's got the best Barry work period, one of my favorite credit sequences, Diana Rigg, an inspired selection for the role of Blofeld, and one of the best allies ever to appear in a Bond film with Draco.
The story line is closely following the book, (welcome that) what you see on the screen is a wonderful artistic movie, unfortunately terribly underrated in it's time (starting to re-emerge as a lost classic) but nonetheless breathtaking and suspenseful.
The climax --what words can I use that haven't already been expressed, hands down one of the most pivotal events ever and surely one of the bravest. Peter Hunt is the finest editor period, along with Glen they made everything so damn beautiful on that movie, terrible pity that the battle of replacing Connery had to tilt the scale out of any complete favor by the contemporary audience at that time.
certainly enjoyable, I wish Connery played in it.
9\10
Not a lot to add to the others' comments, other than for me this is the perfect, most well-rounded 007 film. It grieves me that Lazenby mucked up and let his ego run away with him...I can imagine all the fine Bond pictures he could have conceivably made had he agreed to EON's 7-year deal at the time...then perhaps we would have been spared the goofiness of DAF or the excesses of the Roger Moore years.
At any rate, for his first acting gig, I feel Lazenby did a fine job, and remains the most convincing in action scenes of all the actors to play the role. Diana Rigg makes a splendid foil for the less-experienced George, and is simply radiant (as well as being far and away the best actress to ever appear in the series). Telly Savalas makes for a memorable Blofeld, somehow hitting the right note of European decadence to smooth over his innate Yankee-ness, and is suitably intimidating a figure.
This movie has it all: good, witty script, a strong narrative, powerhouse action scenes, lush cinematography and beautiful locales, and Barry's best Bond score -- all given an epic feel and gloss from director Peter Hunt.
God I love this movie.
I entirely agree with most of what you said. Welcome to AJB docforce, good to see there's another OHMSS fan and a Lazenby fan (that must be about five
Connery is and will always be my favorite 007, but Lazenby follows close behind and I agree with you that for OHMSS he was the best choice...I can't see any of the other 4 pulling it off as successfully (not that I would have minded Connery trying!)
Bond - George Lazenby is no Sean Connery. That's the fact, Jack. Even the subpar performance of Connery in YOLT surpasses Lazenby's effort. He may have developed into an acceptable 007 with more movies but he is really out of his element here. Rating - 7
Villains - Blofeld is better here than in YOLT but still not a real scary villain. Irma Bunt strikes more fear than Blofeld. Rating - 7.5
Girls - Although Tracy is a wonderful character, the other Bond girls (Blofeld's Angels of Death) are horrible. They should have made Tracy the only Bond Girl in this movie. Rating - 7.5
Gadgets/ Vehicles - The Aston martin DBS is the only plus here. Tracy's Cougar is just OK. No gadgets worth mentioning. Rating - 7.5
Overall Rating - A good story line with a lot of action late. The ending is so different from all other 007 movies. Tracy dying in James' arms is very touching but then being followed by the Bond Theme seems ridiculous. Rating - 7.375
Having watched the movie a bit more and after reading the novel, watching commentaries and really trying to appreciate it, this film made it to my #1 spot, tied with TLD....and Lazenby is tied with Dalton at my #1 Bond spot...
Everything about this movie is very enjoyable to me. The greatest score of all of the Bond films in my opinion complements it very nicely.
I'll rate it a 150/100.