Diagnosed with an aggressive cancer of the right lung on my 58th birthday (14th July) So not really ...
Diagnosed with an aggressive cancer of the right lung on my 58th birthday (14th July) So not really in the humour for writing much at the moment, although I *WILL* be back before too long...Ken
Member since:06.12.2000
Reviews:678
Members who trust:869
~ ~ Following on from the outstanding success of the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, in 1963, the studios and money men were very quick to get a second helping onto our cinema screens the following year. (May, 1964) Directed by Terence Young, this movie again cast everyone’s favourite Edinburgh milkman, Sean Connery, (just imagine this guy delivering your gold tops in the morning girls) as the intrepid and dashing 007. He is once more pitted against his old adversary, the dreaded SPECTRE organisation, who are still up to all their old nasty tricks, and trying to do the dirty on the whole world.
~ ~ This time around, SPECTRE want to get their hands on a new piece of Russian hardware for decrypting secret messages called a “Lektor”, (no relation to everyone’s favourite cannibal!) that will enable them to know exactly what the West and Russia are up to
in the global intelligence stakes. Along the way they want to get rid of our hero James, as they are sick and tired of him thwarting their evil machinations.
~ ~ The leader of SPECTRE, appropriately called “Number 1”, despatches a beautiful Russian agent named Tatiana Romanova, (fetchingly played by Daniela Bianchi) to feed James false information. We never actually see the face of the mysterious “Number 1”, only a hand stroking a pure-white cat that constantly sits in his lap. He is listed in the film’s credits as Ernst Blofeld, but there is a question mark placed against where the actor’s name should appear. So cunning is this organisation that the delectable Tatiana doesn’t even realise that she is in their employ, and thinks she is acting on behalf of her beloved Motherland, Russia. She tells the West that she is willing to turn over the decoder but only if it is collected by 007 in person. Naturally she falls head over heels for the delectable Mr. Bond, but she is only one of four different ladies that James manages to seduce during the course of this particular adventure. (Phew, talk about staying power!! Did they have Viagra in those days?) Included in this amorous feast are two gypsy girls that he manages to service at the same time. (Clearly sexually transmitted diseases were not a burning issue in the 1960’s!!)
~ ~ This was also the first Bond movie to introduce the tradition of Bond being kitted out by “Q”, the special gadgets boffin employed by the Secret Service to come up with ever more ingenious ways of killing off the enemy. In this film there’s nothing as high-tech as we have come to expect from more recent Bond movies, with James simply getting an exploding briefcase with a tear gas canister hidden inside, a high powered assassins rifle with an infra-red scope, and a hidden knife and roll of gold coins. No fancy cars for our lad on this occasion, but he does get himself a trip on the fabled Orient Express train, where he despatches a bad lad, SPECTRE's chief hunk Red Grant, (Robert Shaw) through the carriage window. (That’ll teach him to light up in a No Smoking compartment!!)
~ ~ One of my favourite scenes in the film is where Bond has been taken in by a bad guy, who he ultimately uncovers. As he ponders his mistake he comes out with a truly classic line, “Red wine with fish, that should have told me something.” Clearly a man who doesn’t know his reds from his whites should have been immediately suspect.
~ ~ As in all the Bond movies we are treated to a feast of exotic locations, in this case Venice and Istanbul, and the accompanying musical score from composer John Barry is superb.
~ ~ Unlike the first Bond movie this film is not so frenetically paced, and it could even be said to flag a little in the action stakes, but it manages to entertain none the less, and has the usual ration of explosions, chases, beautiful ladies, and shootouts that we have since come to expect. This, the second in the Bond series, was unquestionably better than the first, Dr. No, but still not quite as good as the next, Goldfinger. (opinion to follow)
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2008 - Action/Adventure - Director: Christopher Nolan - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1996 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Daragh O'Malley, Oliver Cotton, Jason Durr, Sean Bean, Allie Byrne
Directed with consummate skill by Terence Young, the second James Bond spy thriller is ... more
considered by many fans to be the best of them all. Certainly Sean Connery was never better as the dashing Agent 007, whose latest mission takes him to Istanbul to r...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sean Connery returns as James Bond in this thrill-a-minute adventure featuring remarkable ... more
villains, beautiful women and exotic locales! This time, Bond squares off against the evil SPECTRE organisation in a race to seize the Soviet Lektor decoding mach...
Advantages: Lots of action and thrills Disadvantages: None
Charles_Strickland 26.11.2006 (26.11.2006)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of From Russia With Love (DVD)
![Bond Remastered - From Russia With Love (1-disc) [DVD] [1963]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78138147.jpg "Bond Remastered - From Russia With Love (1-disc) [DVD] [1963]")
![From Russia With Love [DVD] [1963]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78230162.jpg "From Russia With Love [DVD] [1963]")
![From Russia With Love [Single Disc Version]-DVD](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/103283121.jpg "From Russia With Love [Single Disc Version]-DVD")
Jun 11th, 2001
very helpful by (96%):
helpful by (4%):
