63 replies to this topic

[Ed King]

8.5

[Genrewriter]

I give it a solid 9/10. Lazenby is shockingly good considering it was his first real performance but sadly, it's not quite enough. Apart from that, everything is impeccable.

[David Somerset]

10/10. The sixties end as they had begun, with a superb Bond movie.

[Tarl_Cabot]

George Lazenby has a great Bond film to his credit, even if it's just 1 film.Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan may have a huge fan base but their respective films are no where near as good as OHMSS, something his grandchildren should take great pride in...I love OHMSS.It's a 10/10.His work as Bond has room for improvement but that's ok since he was a novice. I think he would have been a very successful Bond if he stuck around.We can only speculate.

[Kingdom Come]

Sorry fans, but it is one of my least favs. Badly directed - really awful editing - that gastly Hunt way of editing; fast edits makes it exciting!
NOT. Poor cinematography - Rigg very unlikeable; Too slow. Appaling dubbing. Dodgy Special Effects. It only really starts to be interesting when Bond arrives in Switzerland and Lauterbrunnen Valley [I've been there, WOW what a place - though not at all used in this film. Why? This valley has 72 waterfalls / a graveyard / caverns and has to be seen in the summer to be believed!]

[Bond111]

Words fail me when I try to talk about this masterpiece. Sure the editing can get a bit annoying at times, but I find the speed ramping in DAD much worse. The Bond movies will probably never get any closer to the books than this. It has, IMO, one Barry's best scores ever. Diana Rigg is brilliant, and my favorite Bond girl. Lazenby wasn't too bad considering this was really his first acting job. If he had done more Bond's I'm sure he would have been better liked. The locations are the best (I've always had a great liking for Switzerland). The movie never gets boring, with some great and imaginative action sequences, especially the ski sequences, probably the best skiing ever caught on film. When I first saw this as a young boy, to be honest I didn't like it very much. But it sort of grew on me, and now has a place close to my heart. I feel sorry for those that hate this film, but that's your problem.

10/10

[Red Grant]

Originally posted by bond111
Words fail me when I try to talk about this masterpiece. Sure the editing can get a bit annoying at times, but I find the speed ramping in DAD much worse. The Bond movies will probably never get any closer to the books than this. It has, IMO, one Barry's best scores ever. Diana Rigg is brilliant, and my favorite Bond girl. Lazenby wasn't too bad considering this was really his first acting job. If he had done more Bond's I'm sure he would have been better liked. The locations are the best (I've always had a great liking for Switzerland). The movie never gets boring, with some great and imaginative action sequences, especially the ski sequences, probably the best skiing ever caught on film. When I first saw this as a young boy, to be honest I didn't like it very much. But it sort of grew on me, and now has a place close to my heart. I feel sorry for those that hate this film, but that's your problem.

10/10

I echo your words 100%. I think the problem that people have with the film is that they view it through modern eyes when really you have to make allowances for the changes in technology and film making in general. People forget that it was the Bond movies that virtually invented this style of fast editing. If you analyse many of the scenes in detail they just don't make sense! But that is what film is all about - the ability to do something that no other genre (book, theatre etc) can do. OHMSS comes with a lot of baggage which automatically makes it different and out of step. Hell, Michael Wilson still tries to claim it didn't make money on the DVD documentary. It has taken a long time for OHMSS to be recognised as the classic it is by a lot of non-hardcore Bond fans. The real fans have known this all along. I would rather watch OHMSS again than almost any Bond movie given the choice. It belies it's length in my opinion and rewards repeated viewings. I think it is something that Ian Fleming would have been proud of had he seen it. The people who made it are rightly proud of their achievements and surely the amount of words typed in these forums about the film (good or bad) must say something about it's cult status.
It may not be the best, it may not be the most successful, but for me OHMSS is my favourite and stands head and shoulders above the rest.
11/10

[Simon]

10.

Not liked upon first viewing (aged 10), now considered the most superbly realised Bond.

Bonds will never be this good again.

Regarding the dubbing, Thunderball has to be the worst in this repsect, they sometimes look as though filmed a different movie entirely between location and studio pickups. Dubbed Chinese movies have nothing on this.

[Jaelle]

Since OHMSS is battling it out right now with FRWL and TLD as my favorite Bond film, you can guess how well I rate it. At least a 9.

And as for the kilt... Lazenby is the only Bond actor who could pull it off. I think he looks great in it. He looks great throughout the entire film. Diana Rigg, a great score, Peter Hunt as director... Lazenby would have gone on to do even better if he hadn't listened to bad advice and had let his ego take him over.

[Genrewriter]

I think you're forgetting about Connery who could pull it off easily, being Scottish and all.

[Jaelle]

Originally posted by Genrewriter
I think you're forgetting about Connery who could pull it off easily, being Scottish and all.

Oops, I did forget. Tho I have seen Sean in a kilt and tho he looks good, I still think Lazenby looks better in it.

[CommanderBond]

10/10

Just A Classic!!

[CraigLogan]

I hate this movie. I apologise if I offend any fans of the film but I watch the first 5 Bond movies and their just so good. Connery's performance in each and every one is remarkable, the pace of each film is just right & each movie had a great villain. But to follow up these classic films with OHMSS was simply unbelieveable. Lazenbys accent is terrible, he cant act to save his life (oh yes and another thing that annoys me is the fact that they have Bond wear a kilt when the SCOTS MAN LEAVES THE ROLE!!) The film is too damn long that it becomes a chore just to see the film through to the end. Telly Savalas:Good Actor, but to use him as the replacement for Pleasence is crazy. Yes, i know the Blofeld in this movie was alot more physical than before, but why not just get his henchmen to do the physical stuff? Why take away the intrigue and menace that this character was famous for?!? I'll stop there lol.

Anyway, thank you for your time. :-)

[Qwerty]

The true 'Christmas' Bond movie for me, and now it's that time of year, I'll be watching it even more than I usually do! I give it a 9, extremely well plotted, excellent score, brilliant leading ladies and villains, but George just isn't James Bond all the way, but I do like him. Excellent in a way now long forgotten!

[Onyx2626]

Qwerty's right. Merry Christmas everybody!

I grew up hating this one because I was kidnapped by N. Koreans and brainwashed. Only LTK and GE try for this tone.
Lazenby though, IS a good Bond. (see final scene) There is just something "civil servant" about him, in a dangerous way. [the man could fight!]

Telly Savalas, like Yaphet Kotto, actually does some cool things with the villian role. (note the perverse drag on his fag he takes while menacing Diana Rigg in the elevator)

The helicopter flight to Piz Gloria is so beautiful I watched it 3 times!

Oh yeah....great song too. I denied myself this movie for years What was I thinking? I rate it 4th or 5th fave. It's elemental, like DN.

[TheCheat]

10

it is just so awesome.
great story.
great cast.
great stunts.
and suprisingly...lazenby is actually good

[Onyx2626]

Okay I gave the wrong kind of rating. Kill me.

10

[0014]

No less than 9, I saw it for the first time yesterday andit was fantastic.

[Bondian]

Hi,

I'd have to give this movie a 9 primarily because it was an 'overall' good Bond flick. The only thing to let it down was the dowdy and easily annoyed Tracy. I just couldn't imagine why James fell for this female when he's supposed to like 'imperfect' ladies as opposed to someone who he wouldn't look twice at if Ursula was in the same room.


Cheers,

Ian

[DLibrasnow]

I give OHMSS a 9/10....Simply put it ranks in my top 3 of all Bond movies along with TSWLM and FYEO! I love it.

[Lancaster]

The best - 10/10

[Sensualist]

9 out of 10.

A top quartile 007 adventure!

[Harmsway]

So many people love OHMSS. I am not one of them. The film itself stands up okay, aside from some choppy editing and an overall cheese factor with the brainwashing. What really drives me nuts is Lazenby. I can't stand the man as Bond. He can't deliver his lines, he has little charm, and isn't particularly attractive compared to the other Bonds. And for him, and him alone, I don't love this movie. But for everything else, I give it a 8/10.

[Bon-san]

10.

To quote "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (the book, not the website), this film is "too good in places to be a proper Bond film". Which is perhaps why it is such a polarizing force in Bond-dom. Personally, I find Hunt to be genius and Lazenby to be spot-on Fleming's Bond. Reed's cinematography is glorious, and Rigg's acting is to be savored. I wouldn't want them all done this way, but I'm damn glad they made this one this way. I'm not even sure I'd change the kilt.

The best.

[Bond_Bishop]

One of the best Bond movies. I give it an 8. It's also, in my opinion, the saddest Bond Movie. Tracy's death is very tragic. John Barry's special OHMSS score is the best thing with the movie

[Aces High]

Far Up,Far Out,Far More,...as the poster said & I agree with every phrase.On Her Majesty's Secret Service was the last true great BIG screen Bond movie made.This movie was made for cinemas not home TV sets.Big bangs,big locations,& big music,
In defence of Telly Savalas proberbly the BEST Bond bad guy of all.Yet this movie leaves the biggest emigma of all the 007's nope not why Lazenby did just one ..but the TRUE assassin of Tracy ..Irma Bunt who gets away scott free..see it was not Blofeld that fired the fatal shot..he merely drove the getaway car.
Now wouldn't that be hot..Irma Bunt to come back as a master criminal to finish off 007.

[bryonalston]

I would have to rate OHMSS an
8
The storyline is great, but there are several flaws which makes it less than a ten:
-The Scenery, wardrobe, and feel of the film is late 60's. This gives the film a lack of style, class, and doesn't look forward to the future like many other Bond films.
-Telly Savalas' Blofeld seemed larger than life, and lacked the threat of the earlier incarnations like in FRWL and TB. Also, the lack of SPECTRE brings the film down slightly
-The action scenes seem rather pedestrian compared to some of the others of the time.
-George Lazenby gave an excellent performance, but his immaturity and lack of acting experience showed on film.

The film is great, but it certainly doesn't stand the test of time. Some continuity in DAF would have been great. Connery returning was a mistake, which brings down the overall integrity of the film.

[Agent 76]

good movie , bad Bond!
but here's my rate: 8.5/10

Edited by Agent76, 31 January 2004 - 11:41 AM.

[SPECTRE No. 7]

This movie is excellent. What else can be said? 10/10 - its well paced (for the most part), Diana Rigg is incomprable, Draco would have to be my favorite ally, Blofeld (quintessential Bond villain, in proper Blofeld mode - unlike a certain villain from DAF), Barry's magnificent score (even with that abominable Christams song by Nina and a tone-deaf children's choir), great Moneypenny scene, that wonderful Louis Armstron standard, dialogue that manages to be intelligent, funny and sexy (something that has been remarkably difficult in recent years - DAD, anyone?) and an ending that is actually touching and involving (something that could have been cringe-worthy in a film like this but somehow works). Incredible.

[SirHillary]

This is a superb film in every way! Beautiful, atmospheric and moving...the action scenes are breathtaking!

10/10