OHMSS - The Forgotten Bond Film
If you ask real James Bond fans what the best Bond film is, the answer you will usually get is ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE.
"Huh? Never heard of it? Was it a Roger Moore or a Sean Connery?"
Neither.
"Then it had to be the Timothy Dalton one I didn't see."
Not Dalton either.
"I was sure I saw all of the Brosnan movies, even the silly ones where Denise Richards was a scientific genius and the one where the car ice skates on its roof."
It was the one that starred George Lazenby.
"Who?"
Lazenby played Bond in one film, between Connery and... Connery. After YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE Connery walked away from the series to do something else... and they did one of those worldwide searches for the next James Bond and came up with this guy Lazenby... from Australia! Compared to Connery, Lazenby was... a little light. So he ends up the only one film Bond, with Connery returning 2 years later for DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, and then Moore takes over... except for NEVER SAY NEVER. So we had this one film Bond (who's really not bad) in what is probably the best of all Bond films.
Bond gets married (to Diana Rigg!) who is the daughter of crime kingpin Draco, who supplies Bond with information on Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his cat. Blofeld (Telly Savalas?) is in Switzerland, in a mountain top scientific facility full of hot babes from all around the world, creating viruses that can be passed by the babes (one from every country) and destroying the world's food supply using genetically modified grains. This plan is really topical now - lots of concern over modified grains and animals and the health risks of eathing them. Cloned corn anyone? How about cloned cows? Or mad cow disease? All of these things are part of Blofeld's plot to control the world. It's always the world - no one ever wants to control Canarsie, NY.
The marriage between Bond and Tracy begins as a cover (like in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE) but soon Bond really falls in love with her, and there are some real emotional scenes... and a shocking twist ending to the relationship. That emotional element is one of the things that makes this Bond film work even without Connery.
The other things are the amazing action scenes - this film has the most amazing ski chase of any Bond film, and all of the other action scenes are balls-to-the wall great stuff! The tone is less jokey, more gritty, in this film (with one exception). The score by John Barry is probably the best Bond score ever - some of it gets reused in later films.
The DVD trailer:
The original theatrical trailer:
Seriously - this is the film they should remake as the next Bond film. It has everything going for it, and no one has seen it.
- Bill
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
TODAY'S SCRIPT TIP: A Hero's Entrance - and Will and Jack Sparrow from PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN.
Dinner: City Wok - pork fried rice with brown rice.
Bicycle: Panera in NoHo then back to Ventura & Vineland for the evening shift, where there was NO TABLES and I sat outside for 2 hours in chilly weather before someone left. I had to order a hot tea just to get myself up to room temp.
Pages: Didn't finish my chapter today - hadn't slept well and felt blah. These early chapters in the book are the problem ones.
"Huh? Never heard of it? Was it a Roger Moore or a Sean Connery?"
Neither.
"Then it had to be the Timothy Dalton one I didn't see."
Not Dalton either.
"I was sure I saw all of the Brosnan movies, even the silly ones where Denise Richards was a scientific genius and the one where the car ice skates on its roof."
It was the one that starred George Lazenby.
"Who?"
Lazenby played Bond in one film, between Connery and... Connery. After YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE Connery walked away from the series to do something else... and they did one of those worldwide searches for the next James Bond and came up with this guy Lazenby... from Australia! Compared to Connery, Lazenby was... a little light. So he ends up the only one film Bond, with Connery returning 2 years later for DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, and then Moore takes over... except for NEVER SAY NEVER. So we had this one film Bond (who's really not bad) in what is probably the best of all Bond films.
Bond gets married (to Diana Rigg!) who is the daughter of crime kingpin Draco, who supplies Bond with information on Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his cat. Blofeld (Telly Savalas?) is in Switzerland, in a mountain top scientific facility full of hot babes from all around the world, creating viruses that can be passed by the babes (one from every country) and destroying the world's food supply using genetically modified grains. This plan is really topical now - lots of concern over modified grains and animals and the health risks of eathing them. Cloned corn anyone? How about cloned cows? Or mad cow disease? All of these things are part of Blofeld's plot to control the world. It's always the world - no one ever wants to control Canarsie, NY.
The marriage between Bond and Tracy begins as a cover (like in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE) but soon Bond really falls in love with her, and there are some real emotional scenes... and a shocking twist ending to the relationship. That emotional element is one of the things that makes this Bond film work even without Connery.
The other things are the amazing action scenes - this film has the most amazing ski chase of any Bond film, and all of the other action scenes are balls-to-the wall great stuff! The tone is less jokey, more gritty, in this film (with one exception). The score by John Barry is probably the best Bond score ever - some of it gets reused in later films.
The DVD trailer:
The original theatrical trailer:
Seriously - this is the film they should remake as the next Bond film. It has everything going for it, and no one has seen it.
- Bill
TODAY'S SCRIPT TIP: A Hero's Entrance - and Will and Jack Sparrow from PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN.
Dinner: City Wok - pork fried rice with brown rice.
Bicycle: Panera in NoHo then back to Ventura & Vineland for the evening shift, where there was NO TABLES and I sat outside for 2 hours in chilly weather before someone left. I had to order a hot tea just to get myself up to room temp.
Pages: Didn't finish my chapter today - hadn't slept well and felt blah. These early chapters in the book are the problem ones.
posted by wcmartell at 7:45 AM
6 Comments:
I've seen this film. I hated this film. But I know how much you like Point Blank and it's got some Point Blankesque seventies style camera moves of which I am not a fan. I do like the scene at the beginning where he breaks the fourth wall and goes "What you thought it was the other guy?" or something to that extent. I liked Lazenby in that moment, I just really disliked the way the film was shot. And I didn't buy into the love story.
So yeah, perhaps a remake of this story would work since I guess my beef isn't with the story, but the direction.
I've seen it a few times - it's repeated fairly regularly on TV here in the UK. Lazenby had a rotten job - not only was he replacing the canonical Bond actor, the film had a very non-Bond, downbeat ending. That said it probably has one of the best soundtracks of the entire series.
It is indeed the best of Bond (or at least my favorite), and the closest to the Ian Fleming books, in terms of tone and drama, other than perhaps From Russia with Love.
I think the editing, particularly during the ski chase, was groundbreaking. And Lazenby's darker characterization of Bond (yes, he was a bit of a lightweight in his performance) was the antecedent of to movie super spies like Bourne.
IMO, it's the first attempt at a modern and sincere spy thriller. Unfortunately, camp ruled for the next two decades or so.
loved Wild Things- cant wait for the 4th installment! http://bit.ly/b0dsi6n
Definitely my favourite Bond film. And, yeah, no one has heard of it.
A remake with Daniel Craig? ... I would probably need therapy, it near killed me the first time around - but YEAH! BRING IT ON!
My favourite Bond would have to be David Niven - who played (the older retired) Bond in the first Casino Royale film.
*THAT'S* the Bond film that everyone forgets exists.
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