MovieChat Forums > From Russia with Love (1964) Discussion > Dr No, FRWL, Thunderball and OHMSS, Fin

Dr No, FRWL, Thunderball and OHMSS, Fin

posted 4 years ago by Lucia2016 (516)
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Growing up i only ever watched Goldfinger as it was on T.V a lot and i watched the Moore films which were ok i suppose, i did watch D.R No but found it boring so didn't bother for years

I recently re watched the early Bonds with older eyes and saw them in a whole new light, Goldfinger is strange as it stands out in the series by having no mention of Spectre and while it is the most polished Bond it's not my favorite in fact i might even have it just above Diamonds and you only live twice in the series.

For me Dr No and Russia could almost be the same film, they sit nicely together in setting up James Bond's character and Spectre are used vary sparingly which adds so much mystique and intrigue about them. They are both so stripped back compared to what it becomes and i can see why people don't like it i personally love it. The scenes where he is just doing nothing in the hotel while the theme song plays is so weird but love the measured audacity of it, he is doing absolutely nothing but it's so cool.

Then Goldfinger has the full formula and it has the car and the eccentric baddie but it's always lacked something for me, not sure what, it could be that he is on the case from the get go and behind enemy lines so to speak so there is a lot of tension him having to get out of life or death situations, whereas in the others i prefer him just snooping around talking and manipulating people and telling people how to drink their wine.

I really like Thunderball, another one i dodged for years but i think it mixes the best of the first two with Goldfinger, it's slow for the first half then gets more elaborate towards the end

And then the tragedy that is On her Majesties Secret service, the best written Film in my opinion, it's the one people laugh at because the other bloke is playing Bond but it's one of those if only Connery had returned it would have finished off the series perfectly

The plot of keeping a bunch of women in a retreat and secretly brainwashing them is creepy as hell and scarily probably not as far fetched as it seems. it would have capped the series nicely and i could have done without the other two after

[–] Ace_Spade (9344) 3 years ago

Excellent points all 'round.

FRwL is my favourite, and Dr. No is a top-tenner for me for sure, and largely for the reasons you mention. It's stripped back, it feels tense, it's got the mystique and intrigue to them. Another reason I prefer them to Goldfinger (a great movie) is that there are large chunks of Goldfinger where Bond is kind of inactive. He's a prisoner...and then...what? He's always making movies in the first two films (and subsequent ones, for the most part). Not that he's lazy in Goldfinger, just that he gets caught and isn't terribly effective after that.

Your evaluation of OHMSS is spot-on, 100%. It's an extremely well-written and well-crafted Bond (perhaps they knew the uphill battle they had with a non-Connery actor portraying Bond), and it's held back by Lazenby as the dullest and most forgettable version of the superspy. If Connery were starring, OHMSS would be my number two Bond, maybe even number one.

I'm glad you got to revisit and discover the original Bond pictures. They're really special and unique. They made him and broke the mould. I love a lot of subsequent Bond pictures, too, but nothing beats the originals - and particularly those first four.

[–] Ed (522) 3 years ago

OHMSS is by far my favorite 007 film. It is so great, well-paced, well-edited, superb cast, great music and action. And it’s faithful to the movie, including that ending.

Next is FRWL for me, and Dr. No then Thunderball. Goldfinger feels a bit boring to me. YOLT is decent, Diamonds was ridiculous.

I generally ignore all the Bond films after Living Daylights. Most aren’t great and are just bloated.