Continuing with the Bond movies...
You Only Live Twice
Entertaining, but weaker than any of the previous 007 pictures. The Japanese setting is very alluring, but at the end of the day it is mostly window dressing. I'd have liked to have seen more of Tiger Tanaka's ninja school, and more of Bond undergoing its rigorous training -- he comes-off as a little lame in the climax, running around with a pistol while Tanaka's men look infinitely more cool dispatching SPECTRE guards with katanas and throwing stars.
The gadgets in this film are mostly just throwaway gimmicks (and the "Little Nell" scene is silly and pointless). The overall story line concerning the hijacking of American and Russian space capsules is good however (and actually more believable than Fleming's original premise of Blofeld's suicide cult and garden of man-eating plants). You have to admire the production value, particularly Ken Adam's full-size SPECTRE hideaway in the volcano (with a full-scale rocket that actually lifts-off!). Aki is also one of the most appealing Bond girls, as is Kissy (both of whom are not only beautiful, but brave as well). Connery's performance however is not one of his best, and it is clear that he was tiring of the role. A sometimes-silly but entertaining and nice-looking film, though less satisfying than its predecessors.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Still the best of the Bond films, partly for its return to a less-fanciful, gadget-ridden approach, but mostly for taking the character in a new direction. Many have lamented that this would have been the crowning glory of the Bond pictures had Connery remained in the role (and it must have been a bitter pill for hard-core Bond fans in the 60s to watch this "stranger" clean-out Bond's desk and reminisce about Sean Connery's adventures). Perhaps if Eon Productions had made this film earlier it might have been Connery's defining moment in the part. But he was so burned-out on Bond that even with Richard Maibaum's outstanding script, I wonder if he could have done a great job by this point.
In any case, I am a big fan of George Lazenby. He fit perfectly into the role, and was requisitely suave and elegant -- and more than adequately tough and vital. I never doubted for a moment that he was 007. The transition was also helped by the regular supporting cast (Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewellan) as well as John Barry, all of whom preserved the the feel of the Bond milieu.
But the film's primary allure was see new sides of the character. Bond is introduced to a woman for whom he is willing to do the unthinkable -- abandon his dangerous profession (to say nothing of his promiscuous lifestyle) to be a husband. We also see Bond's usual confidence implode in the Swiss village scene, as he realizes there is no escape from the SPECTRE thugs and he sits down to wait for the inevitable -- when none other than Tracy comes to his rescue. It is an extraordinary moment, one of the most emotionally-charged in any 007 film. The film is rife with touching moments, most especially near the end when he locks eyes with a tearful Miss Moneypenny and tosses his hat to her.
But for all its appeal as a love story, OHMSS has some of the best action sequences of the series. The escape from Piz Gloria is spectacular (if you can forgive the occasional obvious process shot!) as is the later ski scene where Bond and Tracy make a run for it. The attack on Piz Gloria is also a winner, with Bond sliding down the icy curling sheet firing a machine gun.
American Telly Savalas doesn't have the foreign accent of previous Blofelds, but he is totally convincing as a bully and megalomaniacal thug -- which is all Blofeld really is after all (and this lends credibility to his irrational desire to be recognized as the respectable Count Balthazar de Bleauchamp). It's also great to see Blofeld out there on the ski slopes pursuing Bond alongside his henchmen, and you can't help respect the character a little for this.
John Barry's score is one of his best (for a Bond or any other film) with a propulsive, stalwart title theme, as well as his most beautiful romantic melody of the series.
It's a pity Lazenby did not continue as Bond in more films. And I'm not afraid to say it -- he was a better Bond than Moore, Dalton or Brosnan. I think he would have gone on to become a very memorable interpreter of the role, and also would have helped prevent the films from getting as foolish as they did after Roger Moore took over the part.
Diamonds Are Forever
I can imagine the elation of Bond fans at the time, when they heard the news Sean Connery would be coming back to play Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. However, watching this film in historic context, even with Connery in the role, Diamonds Are Forever is a colossal lead balloon in the wake of OHMSS. This is the most un-Bond-like Bond film of all the early pictures. Despite Connery's absence from OHMSS, that film still felt more like the original Connery pictures than anything Diamonds Are Forever. For starters, DAF is much more silly than any previous Bond movie. In fact I submit it was DAF -- not Live And Let Die -- which marked the beginning of the "slapstick Bond" which marred so many of the the Roger Moore adventures.
Also, this film is much more "American" than any previous Bond film. I suppose I understand the producers' desire to appeal to American audiences, and I know Fleming's original story is set in Las Vegas, but Vegas is such a sleazy, low-class, un-Bond-like setting. It lacks the elegance and mistique of Monte Carlo or Monengro, where a spiffy gent like Bond is more at home. In previous films, Bond drove Bentleys and Aston Martins. In DaF he drives -- ugh -- a
Ford Mustang. A Mustang is a car for rednecks and paunchy middle-aged men trying (and failing) to look cool -- not "the gentlemen agent with a licence to kill".
This film also has one of the worst teasers of the series. As much as the original Bond fans were miffed at the sight of George Lazenby cleaning-out Sean Connery's desk, I find it more difficult to accept Connery avenging the death of Lazenby's wife. Connery is so cool and detached -- he's not believable as a man avenging the death of his wife (further evidence he might not have been that stellar in OHMSS). And that horrible dubbing of the guy saying "Cairo!" doesn't even match-up with his mouth!
Nor does Connery's performance even seem much like the role he helped create. This Bond is certainly charming and funny, but gone is his lethal edge of the early films. Beyond that, Connery did nothing to get in shape for DaF. He is rather more overweight than he was in YOLT (maybe a Mustang
was the appropriate car for him after-all!
), and overall doesn't seem too committed to the part. Tiffany Case is the also one of the worst Bond girls of the entire series, a whiny, unsympathetic airhead (which is really quite a step backwards considering the strength and intelligence of the girls in OHMSS and YOLT).
Taken on its own, Diamonds Are Forever is sufficiently entertaining. Bruce Glover and Putter Smith are funny as Kidd & Wint, Charles Grey's Blofeld is charming and droll (yet still dislikable), and there are some very entertaining moments -- the moon buggy chase, Q testing his gadget on slot machines, and the final comeuppance of Kidd & Wint. I also think this film has one of John Barry's best scores for the series, and its lengthy and well-developed cues make for a very enjoyable standalone recording (
and expanded CD -- thanks again Lukas!). But for me this is the least enjoyable Bond picture up to that point.
On to the Moore era...
