43 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

The Spy Who Loved Me is widely regarded as one of the best James Bond 007 films of the series, in my opinion, it is the best. I started the thread for the Moore Bond films with 'Moonraker- Not as bad as you think', which proved to be very successful. Many people on CBn love that film. The Spy Who Loved Me is only better!

After the dismal, (although it was still great for a normal film) box-office and fan ratings of The Man With The Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me proved to be a saving grace for the series. It promised one of the best Bond films ever and had the longest wait the series had experienced yet- 2 and half years. Nothing stops The Spy Who Loved Me from shooting for the sky. This film wants to be big, with Ken Adam's colossal sets, Marvin Hamlisch's riveting score, a fan favorite Bond girl, a very tall man named Jaws and a title song that proved nobody does it better, The Spy Who Loved Me is perfection for the Bond series.

Barbara Bach as the Bond woman, yes, woman, she had started the successful trend of Bond's equal, which led to the great chemistry between her and Roger, and the characters on screen, Anya and Bond. This film also offers a great trio of villains, the soft spoken Stromberg, the winking Naomi and fan favorite Jaws. Not since Oddjob, has a villain gained this much attention.

All of these elements add up to a great Bond film. It's one of the best. Many place it as #1 in their rankings. (I think DLibrasnow will agree with me there.)

As they say, 1977 truly was a great year for 007.
What are your thoughts on the phenomenal Bond film?

[NORK]

I agree that TSWLM was one of the best Moore films, but I think Moonraker was still better.

[007luvchild2]

I now think FYEO was Moore's best in performance. Bach, I don't think was the first female Bond equal, I give that title to Pussy Galore. (Although she wasn't an agent, but she shared the some of the characteristics of Bond's suaveness, professionalism, resistance, and ambition, I think that was rather bold considering the timing). The Spy Who Loved was good, however, I think it's overrated.

[zencat]

Yep, TSWLM is my fav. A perfect James Bond film, IMO.

[brendan007]

Originally posted by Qwerty

It promised one of the best Bond films ever and had the longest wait the series had experienced yet- 2 and half years.

The same amount of time had passed between the releases of YOLT and OHMSS

[Derringer]

I would have to see all the movies back-to-back in order to "certify" TSWLM as the best. This is something I will do when my box sets of DVD are prurchased .

However, not having viewed them all back-to-back as of yet, I will agree that TSWLM is the best of all the Bond movies. The Fleming novel, which is not a story even remotely similar to the movie, has also become one of my favorite Fleming novels.

The the theme song is also my favorite, though admittedly it is a "chick song". However, I think Carly Simon's voice as superior to the other title-song singers, except perhaps she is tied with Sheena Easton's FYEO.

Speaking of Sheena, she used to be my favorite lustful desire until she started dating Prince :mad:. What a disgusting little creature he is. And as for Sheena, she is now tainted forever as far as I am concerned.

Cheers,

Derringer

[Qwerty]

Originally posted by brendan007


The same amount of time had passed between the releases of YOLT and OHMSS

Oh yes, thanks for bringing that to my attention. As for the novel, it's quite funny how they created one of the best Bond movies, and my favorite by having to create a solely original story, (save for the metal teeth). It proved that when the Bond team were pushed they really could come through in the end!

[ChandlerBing]

It's fine, but for me, Jaws ruins the movie. Where is the fun in a villain you cannot kill? And he then becomes Bond's buddy in the next one? Nope.

[Doubleshot]

For me, having not grown up with the Moore films, "Spy" is just a middle-of-the-road Bond film. It's good, but not great; and it has some very big detractors. I'll go over some of the pros and cons, hopefully to shed some light on my apparent madness:

PROS:

• Terrific performance from Roger Moore as Bond. This was before he was too old, too slapstick, and too unbelievable. This is one of the few Moore films, in my opinion, where he really works. Moore really IS James Bond in this one, before his performances would become too playful with the audience and "wink and nudge". "The Spy Who Loved Me"'s Bond actually goes through the film as our beloved James Bond would, taking everything seriously and treating it as if it could actually happen. Moore would forget that when it came to Moonraker and A View to a Kill, and those films suffered for it.
• Rick Sylvester's pre-titles ski jump is one of the most memorable and awe-inspiring stunts in the series. John Glen and Willy Bogner took a simple stunt and editor Glen cut it into a very gripping, suspenseful sequence. "How can he get out of that one?!"
• Great cinematography and location photography. Egypt, Sardinia, and Switzerland are all remarkable locations and their potential as Bond locations was well explored.
• Great title song and score from Marvin Hamlisch and Carly Simon. "Nobody Does it Better" has proven to be one of the classic Bond themes of all time, and whenever "Spy" is one TV, I often sit down long enough to hear the title song or my favorite segment of the score. I love Hamlisch's homages to the pre-titles underscore of "From Russia With Love" (pay close attention to the scene in the Egyptian ruins where Bond and Anya hunt Jaws) and the subtle reference to "Live and Let Die" in the car chase.

CONS:

• Bland, uninteresting performances from Barbara Bach and Curt Jergens, who, other than 007 himself, are obviously the most crucial to the success of the film. Anya Amasova is a very well-written part and Bach certainly had that kind of "tough girl" quality to her, but her performance is dreary, making you rely more on what she is supposed to be to the film rather than what she actually is. Same for Jergens as Stromberg, but Jergens was at more of a disadvantage: his character was also uninspiring and pedestrian compared to the likes of Goldfinger, Blofeld, or Scaramanga. Maybe it's all Jergens could do for the character.
• Jaws. I completely agree with you, Chandler. The character had one or two fun moments throughout the film, and in appearance, he is a very classic Bond villian. But in execution, he's too over the top. And the direction he was taken in - completely unredeemable.
• Stromberg's plot, and the execution of it. The plot itself is just too over-the-top for me. It did give Ken Adam oppertunity to design the great Tanker set on the 007 Stage, but it just doesn't work for me. Stromberg has no real reason, other than "he just can". It doesn't gel. It's too uninvolving.
• "Spy" is just too unoriginal. I understand that to a certain extent, every Bond film is the same, but here we have a train fight no different than "Live and Let Die" just two films before, which is no different than "From Russia With Love" before it. We have a plot and formula identical to "You Only Live Twice", even including the gigantic set and battle set piece. It's as if Broccoli sat down with his many writers and crew and said, "Okay, now what can we cull from the nine films before?"

[DLibrasnow]

The Spy Who Loved Me is my all time favorite James Bond movie!

[jwheels]

I agree, this is one of the best Bond movies, however I think it starts to drag a little at the end. I love the last lines though:

Minister of Defence: "Bond, what are you doing!"
Bond: "Keeping the British end up sir."

Classic Moore.

[DieAnotherDay57]

TSWLM was a great bond movie however I wouldent say it was my favorite because I don't have a favorite bond movie or a favority Roger bond movie.

[Turn]

I've gotta go against the grain on this one. I wish I could hold TWSLM in higher regard, but it just doesn't do it for me. I've seen all but two Bond movies at the cinema or in a drive in but two -- TMWTGG and TWSLM.

I was going to see TWSLM on a Sunday in '77 after church with my family, but I got a chance to go to a Cincinnati Reds baseball game instead. I kind of wanted to see the movie, but I was told I could always see a movie, go to the game. So I went. I never saw TWSLM until it came to ABC three years later.

Part of the problem here is TWSLM is very similar to MR, which I saw first. Seeing it on television just wasn't the thrilling experience I could have gotten in the theater. I can't blame the film for that, but seeing it only on television makes it less interesting for me.

Doubleshot echoed a lot of my thoughts about it. I rank Stromberg as the weakest of all villains. The guy just bellows threats and pushes buttons. He hardly moves. I rank Whitaker nearly as low, but at least he physically comes after Bond. Stromberg can't even do that. And I agree on the Jaws thing too. Why didn't they just let Bond kill him like the script originally called for?

Bach is okay. The action is good for the most part and it's atmospheric. I wish we could have gotten more Naomi. But I think a lot of the stuff once they get on the sub just drags. Author John Brosnan of The James Bond Films also calls Spy a kind of greatest hits package. And it is. So many things are repeated that there isn't that much fun.

[DLibrasnow]

But they ripped of the plot of YOLT to make TSWLM and then ripped off the plot of YOLT and TSWLM when they made MR!

[Qwerty]

True, both TSWLM and MR are VERY similar, but they have differences which make them both great. Perhaps that's why I love them as much as I do.

[DLibrasnow]

I'm a huge fan of TSWLM, but less a fan of MR. MR would have been much better if they had stuck with Christopher Woods script.

[Turn]

You could even say they ripped off the plot of YOLT and TWSLM and came up with TND also. Not sure I agree with ripping off the plot of TWSLM aside from the madman billionaire wants to destroy the human race and repopulate the earth. YOLT and TWSLM are about missing vehicles and the attempt to get the superpowers to destroy each other, which will benefit a third party.

But everything else points to MR being a TWSLM clone.

[Triton]

I guess you could make the case that the Bond movies since Goldfinger borrowed or stole elements from the others.

PROS:

• I believe that Atlantis is still the coolest villain's lair ever to appear in a motion picture. I adore Ken Adam's design for this submersible habitat with his use of circles and ovals. I also enjoy the room with the huge ellipitical windows which look into the huge fish tanks within Atlantis.
  
• The Liparus is also one of the neatest models to ever appear on film.
  
• The webbed hands of Carl Stromberg. Stromberg is also an interesting villain because he seems so cold, calculating, and always in command. He isn't prone to rages or petulant fits like Goldfinger or Blofeld.
  
• Exceptional underwater cinematography and stunt work.
  
• Interesting use of the pyramids of Giza and other Egyptian ruins.
  
• Cairo is still one of the most exotic locations every to appear in a James Bond film.
  
• Caroline Munro as Naomi.
  
• The most action in a Bond film since the assault of the volcano base in You Only Live Twice.
  
• Marvin Hamlisch's superb score that combines parts of the James Bond sound, Mozart, and disco.

CONS:

• The beginning of Roger Moore's smug and jocular portrayal of James Bond which became worse in Moonraker.
  
• Jaws. Jaws could have been one of the most horrific, menacing, and memorable villain's henchman in the entire James Bond series ranking above Harold Sakata as Oddjob. Unfortunately, this potentially menacing character is used as comic relief and escapes from accidents unscathed that would kill mortal people. Jaws seems like he is the Coyote from a Warner Bros. Road Runner cartoon. This cartoon-like portrayal made the character a favorite of children everywhere. This lead to the "goodie" Jaws in Moonraker.
  
• The tone of the film is more juvenile in order to appeal to a younger audience and is more of an action/comedy than an action/adventure film.

[Genrewriter]

While I place TSWLM third on my favorite Moore films, I do enjoy it very much. The pretitle sequence is great, setting up the plot AND giving the audience a good action sequence at the same time, not something we see too often anymore. Jaws is a good henchman, but I do agree they made him too comical. After the train fight, he is nowhere near as menacing as he should be. Having him get killed by the shark at the end would have been a neat wink to Spielberg.

My favorite bit from it is actually not what everyone would expect. Rather than a large moment, it is a single shot when Bond arrives in Egypt. He is seen in sillohuette in a large entryway from a distance. The music and the pose Moore strikes is easily one of the coolest moments in a bond film.

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by Genrewriter

My favorite bit from it is actually not what everyone would expect.  Rather than a large moment, it is a single shot when Bond arrives in Egypt.  He is seen in sillohuette in a large entryway from a distance.  The music and the pose Moore strikes is easily one of the coolest moments in a bond film.

Are you referring to the shot that was actually a still??? You know they realized they were missing a crucial shot and so they went to the publicity department and pulled out a shot of him in sillohette that they inserted into the frame.

Never noticed that myself until it was pointed out in the DVD doc.

[Genrewriter]

It's the shot when he arrives at Fekkesh's house.

[ChandlerBing]

Yeah, the music cue was really good there, too. Nice moment, indeed.

[belvedere]

OK, I have to weigh in here. I find that TSWLM is third to Octopussy and FYEO in the Moore films. I agree with most of the major points in favor of the movie. I didn't mind Jaws - you are using the ridiculous reappearance in Moonraker to color your thoughts of him in TSWLM.

My major beef is twofold. One, Stromberg is about as menacing as a toothache. I think he is the worst villain of the series. The webbed hands (is he supposed to be half-man, half-fish? Who is he, Aquaman?) are just plain stupid. He is not at all believable as a megalomaniac bent on destroying the world. He looks like a constipated old man who can't find prunes out on the open ocean.

My other beef is that the whole revenge for kiling my "bearskin-rug-chest-hair" boyfriend (seriously, the hairiest man alive, now that's a henchman for you) seemed forced. It was like "I'm going to kill you" for two-thirds of the movie, then 007 smirked once, and it's like, "OK, didn't like him much anyway, now let's do the deed". I guess my point is this: the revenge angle could have made the movie, but it just went up in smoke. If they wanted the movie to have balls, she should have rejected him at the end; no girl for 007, no revenge killing for XXX. Now THAT'S what they call detente.

[Qwerty]

Originally posted by belvedere
[B

The webbed hands (is he supposed to be half-man, half-fish?  Who is he, Aquaman?) are just plain stupid.   [/B]

True, that's one bone I have to pick on TSWLM. Bond villains are known for their distinguishing trademarks, however, it seems they forgot that with Stromberg. The hands needed much more attention, or don't even bother having them.

[Genrewriter]

I agree, would have been nice to have something more than the fact he simply dislikes shaking hands. I also agree that Anya's lover is possibly the hairiest man I have ever seen. There's one fella who doesn't get cold in the winter.

[Qwerty]

Originally posted by Genrewriter
 I also agree that Anya's lover is possibly the hairiest man I have ever seen.  There's one fella who doesn't get cold in the winter.

Perhaps he was taught at that training Anya speaks about to Bond that it helps him "keep a positive mental attitude" and helps in "shared bodily warmth." He's got all his problems solved.

[Triton]

Originally posted by Qwerty


Perhaps he was taught at that training Anya speaks about to Bond that it helps him "keep a positive mental attitude" and helps in "shared bodily warmth." He's got all his problems solved.

Oh come on, why pick on Michael Billington? Michael is no more hairy than Sean Connery is. The only bare skinned Bond that I know of is Roger Moore.

[jwheels]

Originally posted by belvedere
My major beef is twofold.  One, Stromberg is about as menacing as a toothache.  I think he is the worst villain of the series.  The webbed hands (is he supposed to be half-man, half-fish?  Who is he, Aquaman?) are just plain stupid.

Never noticed he had webbed hands. I will havt to look for that next time I watch it.

[Qwerty]

Originally posted by jwheels57


Never noticed he had webbed hands. I will havt to look for that next time I watch it.

Exactly the point, not many noticed them. If you really want to see them, the best scene to catch them in is probably when Bond is undercaover as Sterling and and he is talking to Stromberg. Stromberg then gestures to his aquariums, that's when you can see them pretty clearly. (Look between the thumb and index finger.)

[Genrewriter]

You can also see them when he blows up the helicopter carrying the two scientists.