44 replies to this topic

[HildebrandRarity]

Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight I will be seeing TSWLM at the cinema for the first time in my life.

The excitment is just unbelievable. I have not seen the movie on DVD in a while. I can only imagine what an epic this movie will be on the BIG SCREEN.

'Review' to follow!

[jaguar007]

First BOnd movie I ever saw on The Big Screen was TSWLM in 77. Have seen everyone on opening weekend ever since.

[HildebrandRarity]

First BOnd movie I ever saw on The Big Screen was TSWLM in 77. Have seen everyone on opening weekend ever since.

Care to share some of your reflections at the time?

[Col. Sun]

Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight I will be seeing TSWLM at the cinema for the first time in my life.

The excitment is just unbelievable. I have not seen the movie on DVD in a while. I can only imagine what an epic this movie will be on the BIG SCREEN.

'Review' to follow!

Hey mate, you'll LOVE IT!

It really is BIG SCREEN, PURE CINEMA ENTERTAINMENT - Moore's best and a brilliant comic book style movie in its own right.

On the big screen it's something very special. EPIC is the right word!

I saw it 3 times as a kid, then again 2 years ago at the Empire - terrible old print though, but still great to see.

Enjoy.

[marktmurphy]

They showed it digitally at the Empire last year- it looked terrific.

[jaguar007]

First BOnd movie I ever saw on The Big Screen was TSWLM in 77. Have seen everyone on opening weekend ever since.

Care to share some of your reflections at the time?

Well it was over 30 years ago. I remember really liking it. It was not the first Bond movie I had seen as I had seen some on TV beforehand, just the first I saw in the theater. As a kid of 9 years old, I really liked the submarine Lotus.

[HildebrandRarity]

On the big screen it's something very special. EPIC is the right word!

I saw it 3 times as a kid, then again 2 years ago at the Empire - terrible old print though, but still great to see.

So, they came out with a digital print only 1 year ago, then, as per marktmurphy:

They showed it digitally at the Empire last year- it looked terrific.

?

I'm hoping they show the digital print!

[tristanjblythe]

Lucky you. One of the best OTT Bonds.

Enjoy!

[sthgilyadgnivileht]

Yes as everyone says it will be brilliant experience. I remember the PTS the most when I saw it big screen.
I bet if SWLM was rereleased theatrically across the country It would do good business.

[HildebrandRarity]

'Review' to follow!

So I finally saw The Spy Who Love Me on The Big Screen last night. I'm happy to report that seeing it as originally intended shed some new light even though the print was not a digital one. In fact it seemed as if the theatre - built in the 'Roaring Twenties' eighty years ago - was playing a set of reels from 1977! For as the curtain went up (no joke, there was a curtain that did go 'up') you could note slight scratches, lines and faded colours gracing the old Transamerica logo. It did not matter for as the white dot went across the screen right off the bat - a moment not seen since Die Another Day in 2002 - the blood started to boil because we were into the start of an 'epic' James Bond adventure.

As I sat in the old theatre, I was struck by just how TSWLM plays more like a comedy than anything else. Audience members were chuckling every 5 minutes or so. Only during the tense scene between Bond and Anya in their Sardinian hotel room was there dead silence. When you're watching the movie at home without the benefit of an audience, you view it in a slightly different light. With an audience present, TSWLM goes from merely 'Bond-And-Beyond' to 'Action-Comedy-Fantasy-Bond'.

Noteworthy too is the immense 'sweep' of the film on the Big Screen: The ski jump in the PTS is breath-taking; the long shot of the arrival of the Lotus at the Mediterranean resort is majestic; Atlantis looks 'LARGER THAN LIFE'; The tete-a-tete between the Lotus and Stromberg's helicopter as Naiomi tries to machine-gun the white car all over and across the Sardinian hill sides is riveting; the sheen and scope and breadth of the well-lit Liparus submarine pen set is mesmeric! These sceens 'lose out' on tv.

Another thing I noticed - as it was naturally top of mind - was the link between 'Spy and Quantum 0f Solace: OO7 using the cover name Robert Stirling, dramatic and action elements being set against the backdrop of a 'show' as well as accompanying atmospheric music specific to that show, a foe hanging on desperately to Bond at the edge of a building before being 'let go' to an inevitable doom, Bond and Bond Girl walking in the desert. But comparisons end there because what passed for quality then (like a hand to hand fight with Sandor, or Barbara Bach's acting) must be left in context to it's era.

Speaking of Barbara Bach, one of the words of the evening was 'curves'. She may not be from the Diana Rigg school of acting but man did she have some curves and you notice them more up there on the Big Screen! And the costume designer had no problem accentuating those curves. Curves too came to mind with Naiomi as she steps out of the boat to greet Bond/Stirling...and also with respect to Atlantis, surely one of the most over-the-top of all villian lairs ever in any movie of any kind with planet Earth as it's setting! When they did Die Another Day at the turn of the century, TSWLM's Atlantis must have had an influence on the Iceland location designs for Gustav Graves' palace and fake diamond mine.

One other thing that I must say is that Roger Moore is outstanding in this Bond outing. He's serious when he need's to be (when Anya brings up his 'wife' at the Mojaba club in Cairo, their chat about the Austrian mission in the Sardinian hotel room). He looks like Adonis. And he's funny as hell. He's a Bond that Craig's Bond could become (if he wanted), both being the only two Englishmen and blondes of the six thus far.

All in all a unique viewing of a well-loved James Bond film...complete with the reel running out and the screen going white with scratchy lines and then blank about mid way for about 5 to 10 seconds!

I'd pay to see a digital print. Here's hoping one day I'll have the opportunity to do so!

[Skudor]

I saw the digital print in the Empire last year. The PTS was awesome (the base jump really looks hair-raising on a big screen). The rest was merely ok, and actually brought TSWLM down a couple of notches for me. The big screen, it seems, reveals more than just visual detail.

[Professor Pi]

TSWLM was my first introduction to Bond way back in 1977. It's probably the most representative movie of the Bond franchise, both the good and the bad. But it's pure movie Bond. I've seen it two more times on the big screen at bond festivals, and wore out the VHS tape during my teens. It's got everything--great PTS sequence, big climactic battle, gorgeous women, a good soundtrack (even if not John Barry), excellent henchman, awesome chase scenes, pretty good dialogue, and some truly inspired gadgets. As a remake of YOLT, it's superior. Stromberg is a bit subpar, and the Lawrence of Arabia bit is too much, but those are really its only weaknesses. The art direction is visually superb.

It is not be the best Bond movie, but it gave the franchise a much needed jolt that hurtled Bond into the eighties. A bit unoriginal perhaps, but it gave the people what they wanted.

[Mr_Wint]

Stromberg is a bit subpar,

Why? He has a lot of great scenes and good dialouge. For instance: his introduction scene, meeting with "Robert Sterling", the speech at Liparus and the end scene with Bond. He doesn't belong in the subpar category because "Subpar" for me means something that is below a certain standard. And after 22 films, I can only think of 3-4 villains that are better than Curd Jürgen's Stromberg.

[Harmsway]

And after 22 films, I can only think of 3-4 villains that are better than Curd Jürgen's Stromberg.

I can only think of three or four villains who are worse. Stromberg is astonishingly forgettable.

[Professor Pi]

Most of TSWLM is excellent, but next to these elements, Stromberg is decidedly average. He's a mere shadow of Largo, who wasn't the best villain to begin with. I don't dislike the actor or the character, but compared to Doctor No, Goldfinger, Grant and Klebb, any Blofeld, or even Mr. Big/Kananga and Scaramanga, he just doesn't hold up. Scaramanga wasn't great, but there was Christopher Lee elevating the character. And Yaphet Kotto had enough presence to override his villain's lack of world domination vision. Stromberg as a villian is probably most similar to Drax, but Michael Lonsdale deadpanned such great lines, Curt Jurgens just pales in comparison. Actually, now that I think about it, he was the weakest villain of the Bond series up to that point. Not that there aren't some nice moments, but there's little to no true menace underneath the surface. Compare to what Christopher Walken brought to Zorin and you'll see what I'm getting at here.

[Mr_Wint]

And after 22 films, I can only think of 3-4 villains that are better than Curd Jürgen's Stromberg.

I can only think of three or four villains who are worse. Stromberg is astonishingly forgettable.

The nagging "he is just pressing buttons"-attitude is still so widespread that many fans fails to see what an effective villain Curd Jürgens created in this film. He is not the charming type of villain á la Goldfinger (instead he is much closer to Dr No/Largo). Jürgens gave a wonderful mix between self-satisfaction and ruthlessness topped with perfect line delivery.

Then we must hope, Captain, that you will suffer no further... mishap!

Only Dr No, face-less Blofeld, Goldfinger and Hugo Drax are better, IMO.

[HildebrandRarity]

The art direction is visually superb.

Indeed...and much more apparent when viewed at the cinema.

Most of the sets are stunning and the locations look gorgeous on a huge canvass, esp the Canadian (for Austria), Egyptian and Sardinian ones.

[Professor Pi]

And after 22 films, I can only think of 3-4 villains that are better than Curd Jürgen's Stromberg.

I can only think of three or four villains who are worse. Stromberg is astonishingly forgettable.

Then we must hope, Captain, that you will suffer no further... mishap!

Only Dr No, face-less Blofeld, Goldfinger and Hugo Drax are better, IMO.

Like I said, there are some nice moments. One thing Jurgens/Stromberg captured better than any other villain is sheer gluttony as in the scene where Stromberg has this huge buffet all to himself when Bond comes and kills him.

Also, the way he dispatched of his secretary was rather haunting (albeit Largo inpsired), and blowing up the helicopter with the scientists who double-crossed him, right after they shook hands thinking they got away with it! "Cancel transfer of 20 million dollars!"

And there are other memorable quotes:

"In a few minutes, New York and Moscow will cease to exist!"

"You have a tendency toward violence which has to be controlled."

"Let them get ashore ... and then kill them."

But in the Bond canon, there are far superior, truly great menacing villains. Even Jonathan Pryce captured the insanity of Elliot Carver better then Jurgens portrayal of Stromberg.

But remember, Stromberg was a last minute substitute for Blofeld when McClory threatened EON with another lawsuit. Everything else in the script is SPECTRE inspired, from the monorail and the mini-subs to the uniforms. So the character was never really fully developed, but Jurgens did well with what he was given.

[HildebrandRarity]

I saw the digital print in the Empire last year. The PTS was awesome (the base jump really looks hair-raising on a big screen). The rest was merely ok, and actually brought TSWLM down a couple of notches for me...

I can understand why TSWLM was brought 'down a couple of notches' for you. It's held in very high esteem and for most people it was the top Bond film between the 1960s and 1987, or perhaps even 1995 or 2002 or 2006 (depending on who you are). But in terms of overall quality of acting, 'hand-to-hand action' and some plot 'issues', it suffers in relation to, say, the current Craig era.

Still, a solid 8.25 out of 10 for me in terms of the Eon Bond canon.

I would LOVE to see a cleaned-up digital version of the film and in full surround in a large cinema.

[Daylights]

I saw TSWLM on the big screen in Pinewood Studios. I bet not many people have seen it in the same quality as me - I watched the digital master.

[HildebrandRarity]

I saw TSWLM on the big screen in Pinewood Studios. I bet not many people have seen it in the same quality as me - I watched the digital master.

You lucky bastard!

So, what did you think? Please feel free to provide us with some of your recollections of the event...as well as what you thought the major differences were between it and watching it on a tv.

[Daylights]

I saw TSWLM on the big screen in Pinewood Studios. I bet not many people have seen it in the same quality as me - I watched the digital master.

You lucky bastard!

So, what did you think? Please feel free to provide us with some of your recollections of the event...as well as what you thought the major differences were between it and watching it on a tv.

Well, the different was huge, and it's kind of imposible to describe, because the total experience was so more than just watching the film itself. The film was introduced by Sir Roger's personal assistant Gareth Owen and the most uncredited "Bond" ever, Martin Grace (Roger Moore's stunt double). After the movie, there was an onstage interview with Richard Kiel, John Glen, Christopher Wood, Shane Rimmer, Edward de Souza, Valerie Leon and Caroline Munro. It's quite a feeling to watch a great movie together with the cast and crew.

The event itself was great, and included a Pinewood Studios tour, a buffet lunch, hanging around with cast and crew and of course the moment everybody was waiting for, dining with Sir Roger Moore. I have written quite a long article about the day on a Scandinavian James Bond website, but at the moment I don't have the time and effort to translate it.

I surely hope there will be a Timothy Dalton event at Pinewood one day, even though Bondstars.com don't represent Dalton yet. I would definitely go again!

By the way - I learned something new that day: Martin Grace didn't only double Moore, but also Richard Kiel. When you see Jaws walk on that plank on the construction yard, it's actually Martin Grace. He spent some time learning how to copy Richard Kiels characteristic way of walking. He did it so good, even Kiel was impressed. According to Kiel, his own mom won't believe it's not her son she sees in the scene

Edited by Daylights, 27 January 2009 - 12:54 PM.

[Gothamite]

TSWLM was my first introduction to Bond way back in 1977. It's probably the most representative movie of the Bond franchise, both the good and the bad. But it's pure movie Bond. I've seen it two more times on the big screen at bond festivals, and wore out the VHS tape during my teens. It's got everything--great PTS sequence, big climactic battle, gorgeous women, a good soundtrack (even if not John Barry), excellent henchman, awesome chase scenes, pretty good dialogue, and some truly inspired gadgets. As a remake of YOLT, it's superior. Stromberg is a bit subpar, and the Lawrence of Arabia bit is too much, but those are really its only weaknesses. The art direction is visually superb.

It is not be the best Bond movie, but it gave the franchise a much needed jolt that hurtled Bond into the eighties. A bit unoriginal perhaps, but it gave the people what they wanted.

I agree with everything here. It's such a great movie to just sit back and enjoy, without taking too seriously. Pure Moore.

As for Stromberg, I really quite enjoy him, but I think he should have been developed a little bit more. Curt Jurgens' menacing voice and cold eyes made him the quintessential Bond villain, so much so that I think he should have been Blofeld in every single use of that character. Such a pity they couldn't have SPECTRE in TSWLM the way they wanted to.

[HildebrandRarity]

Now that we've digested all 22 movies, how would people rank TSWLM?

I would say it's in the top third but not the top 3. Perhaps 5th or 6th depending on the mood.

[Mr. Blofeld]

As for Stromberg, I really quite enjoy him, but I think he should have been developed a little bit more. Curt Jurgens' menacing voice and cold eyes made him the quintessential Bond villain, so much so that I think he should have been Blofeld in every single use of that character. Such a pity they couldn't have SPECTRE in TSWLM the way they wanted to.

That sort of explains why he shoots Stromberg so many times...

[JimmyBond]

While not a theater in the traditional sense, my ex girlfriends Uncle was really well off, and he had set up a huge projection screen in his attic complete with DVD player. It was as close to having a theater experience as one could get by using a DVD player. And since I'm posting this tidbit in this thread, you know that means we used it to watch 'Spy once.

Even on this set up the film seemed to take on a new life, everything felt bigger, more epic. What a great way to breath life into a film I had seen many times before. Too bad we're not together anymore, otherwise I would have watched more Bond films at her uncle's house.

[DaveBond21]

Great to read your review. It's a superb Bond movie.

And I agree with you about Anya and Naomi...

[Mr. Somerset]

I saw the digital print in the Empire last year. The PTS was awesome (the base jump really looks hair-raising on a big screen). The rest was merely ok, and actually brought TSWLM down a couple of notches for me...

I can understand why TSWLM was brought 'down a couple of notches' for you. It's held in very high esteem and for most people it was the top Bond film between the 1960s and 1987, or perhaps even 1995 or 2002 or 2006 (depending on who you are). But in terms of overall quality of acting, 'hand-to-hand action' and some plot 'issues', it suffers in relation to, say, the current Craig era.

Still, a solid 8.25 out of 10 for me in terms of the Eon Bond canon.

I would LOVE to see a cleaned-up digital version of the film and in full surround in a large cinema.

I've seen TSWLM twice in the cinema; once nine years ago- an actual print of the film with the old Transamerica logo(very clean BTW)- and a digital copy two years ago. Audiences gasped at the ski jump both times and laughed at Roger's quips in the van.
This one has always been larger than life, and one of my faves. I do prefer seeing a prrint rather than digtal in the cinema- even if a bit scratchy.

[DaveBond21]

While we are talking about TSWLM and Naomi, here is a photo of her 2nd most famous role as the slave girl in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.




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Attached Files

•  Caroline_Munro.bmp   877.88KB   15 downloads

[Double-Oh Agent]

While we are talking about TSWLM and Naomi, here is a photo of her 2nd most famous role as the slave girl in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.




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To quote Roger Moore's James Bond, "What a handsome craft, such lovely lines."