The first film Dr. No had established the Bond films with their mix of espionage, sex, violence and gadgets. The second From Russia With Love was infinitely better and for a Bond film surprisingly gritty. From Russia With Love featured an altogether more gripping and exciting screenplay than many of the somewhat formulaic sequels. As it was made in 1963 it was still made against the background of the Cold War and indeed the Cuban Missile Crisis had been only a couple of years before. The enemy were seen as the Communists in Russia who sought supremacy over the West. Espionage and counter-espionage was a hot topic selling truckloads of books by Ian Fleming, John Le Carre and others.
Sean Connery returned as Bond again and I know many people, myself included still regard him as the best and quintissential Bond. Connery displays just the right amount of cool authority in the role. Robert Shaw (as seen in Jaws and The Sting) plays the villainous Red Grant as a member of SPECTRE who is not only trying to kill Bond but also try to destabilise Russian relations with the West. Shaw as usual puts in a first rate performance. There is the obligatory Bond Girl in the shape of Daniela Bianchi who is a much better actress than many of the 2D girls who followed. She is really quite plausible and enchanting at the same time.
Bianchi plays Tatiana Romanova a Russian spy who is double crossed by Shaw in the stealing of a decoder. The plot is well executed with many twists and turns along the way. The end is a little predictable but presented very well.
The film also features the use of some exotic locations such as Venice and Istanbul which add to the overall nice look of the film. The photography is well worthy of mention too. The director Terence Young controls the action tautly including some superb sequences on the Orient Express and with a helicopter.
Whilst From Russia With Love was a very good film this only serves to show the paucity of later Bond films. The quality of the writing fell as the budgets for stunts as gadgets rose. The later Bond girls were plastic and merely included to appeal to the male audience. Like many of the Bond films it is ultimately a fantasy and a bit of nonsense and should not be taken too seriously. The films are made with the producers tongue placed firmly in the cheek.
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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
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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)
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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")
Oct 14th, 2001
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