From Russia With Love
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Movie Reviews of From Russia With Love
Movie Review: Amazon: Lotte Lenya is ... "lovely???.
Summary: 5 Stars
The James Bond series of films has, over the last 40-odd years, been a great highlight of cinema's spy genre. Often imitated, they have never been surpassed. I can remember when even the earliest of them was new, a theatrical experience much looked forward to.
After a somewhat slow start in "Dr. No", "From Russia With Love" propelled Bond and Connery forward to a new height -- and even better was to come. "From Russia" was more of what we came to expect from Bond films, with 007 travelling from one interesting locale to another.
"From Russia" boasts (as came to be usual) an excellent cast -- most particularly Robert Shaw as the trained assassin and Lotte Lenya as Col. Klebb, who recruited him to kill Bond.
The casting of Lotte Lenya is the most creative casting move undertaken in this film. In the late '20s and very early '30s, she was one of the great lights of the Berlin stage, for whom Kurt Weill wrote many roles specifically. She was stunning as Jenny the Pirate in the Dreigroschenoper (or Threepenny Opera, of which a 1931 film is now on DVD; a CD of her performing Weill's "Seven Deadly Sins" and a number of other wonderful Weill songs is also out and about). Lenya's performance in "From Russia" adds real gravitas and a palpable sense of menace to the film.
If you check the Amazon review of this film, you may notice that in it Lotte Lenya is referred to as a "lovely assassin". How's that again?? I did call their attention to this gaffe, asking if anyone there had actually seen Ms. Lenya, but apparently they're sticking with the "lovely". Ah, well ... here we go. In the 20s and 30s, Lotte Lenya was, in a word, plain. In "From Russia", she was 65 and had graduated from plain to -- well, unattractive, anyway. Her face was perfect for the role, lovely in the sense of Margaret Hamilton or a pre-surgery Phyllis Diller. Can you imagine a blonde bombshell chasing 007 around with dagger-loaded sensible shoes? Well, maybe if you want comic relief. As it is, a "lovely" Lotte is hilarious enough.
Movie Review: An excellent addition to the Bond franchise.
Summary: 5 Stars
Brimming with tension, suspense, and understated cool, From Russia with Love is one of the very best movies in the entire James Bond series. The plot, which revolves around the criminal organization SPECTRE and its attempt to steal a Soviet codemaking machine by manipulating and ultimatley murdering a certain British secret agent (guess which one), is clever and engrossing. Part of the movie's charm comes from simply watching SPECTRE's plan unfold. The film is also incredibly atmospheric: Bond travels to a lush, decedant Istanbul before heading back west on a train trip that hangs heavy with mystery and paranoia.
Sean Connery is, of course, incredible. To put it plainly, the guy simply IS James Bond. He's in complete command of the character, playing his role with absolute confidence, brimming with wit, charm, and ruthless intelligence. Connery's Bond is mesmerizing, his performance a masterpiece. The rest of the cast is fantastic as well: Lotte Lenya is unforgettable as the brutal Colonel Rosa Kleb, playing her part with relentless authority and barely subdued insanity. Ditto for Robert Shaw, whose portrayal of ruthless assassain Donald "Red" Grant is fiery and intense. Shaw turns his charater into an omen, a source of constantly escalating tension and nervous energy. Pedro Armendariz is superb as the exuberant, friendly, and loveable Kerim Bey, who befriends and assists Bond in Istanbul. The film also contains the first appearance of Desmond Llewelyn as Q, one of the series' most beloved characters (he'd appear in every subsequent Bond film until 1999's The World is Not Enough).
Throw in John Berry's tension-filled soundtrack and some of the sharpest one-liners ever found in a Bond film and you've got an absolute classic, and one of the finest entries in an excellent series.
Movie Review: The Best Bond!
Summary: 5 Stars
Sean Connery is the original James Bond in this thrilling second film in the series that has 22 films and counting!
The story follows James Bond as he attempts to locate a Soviet cryptographic decoder and take the device to England. In reality, the decoder is bait for a trap by SPECTRE to kill Bond. Also involved in the plot is the dangerous SPECTRE agent Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) and the deadly assassin "Red" Grant (Robert Shaw). Klebb also acquires the help of an unknowing Russian cipher clerk named Tatiana Romanova (played by Daniela Bianchi).
This film has a perfect blend of everything: action, suspense, Bond girls, gadgets, you name it! Several scenes in the movie really stand out including the opening sequence, the gypsy camp scene, the brawl with Grant on board the Orient Express, and the fight against Rosa Klebb and her poison-tipped shoes. This film started the tradition of cool gadgets in the Bond movies, but doesn't take away from the rest of the film by being too over-the-top or gimmicky. The Bond attache case includes a hidden throwing knife, sniper rifle, and a tear gas booby-trap. Daniela Bianchi deserves special mention as a Bond girl, she is certainly one of the most beautiful ones to date.
Still one of the Best Bond movies yet! I highly recommend it!
Movie Review: AGENT 007.5
Summary: 5 Stars
In the true spirit of "Dr. No", here we have a James Bond (Connery) who can handle himself very nicely in the mold of a true 1964 British agent. Again, the plot is quite simple: trying to abduct a supposed Russian defector who possesses a secret decoder during the "Cold War" circa 1964. The fun begins in Istanbul,where the top British official seems to be a target in a shooting gallery. Traveling beneath the city, the duet confiscates the machine and the "plant" and off we go across southern Europe via the Istanbul Express. Spies begin to die and Bond steps up to the challenge-taking out a key Russian spy, a hapless truck driver, a helicopter, at least 4 Russian patrol boats in a memorable, fiery chase scene, and hated Russian agent 003, disguised as a matron. This is the Bond we knew and loved, not the "Casper Milktoast" seen in "Goldfinger". With his Russian "partner" hopelessly converted by Bond's sexuality, the movie ends appropriately undercover in a Venetian gondola.Relax, girls! Connery is absolutely no match whatever for Matt Damon as Jason Bourne circa 2007. But, by 1964 standards,at least he acts, he perfoms his best here.Movie Review: Love for From Russia with Love
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the best of the Bond collection which is based on Ian Fleming's original with the add on of Spectra. The movie keeps you on with love, sex, tricks, secret weapons. The professional killer (Robert Shaw) is cold blood and tough. The section that he keeps Bond on his knee while preparing his gun with silencer is real life. The conversation is civil and credible. The tear gas explosion and subsequent fighting under a blue light created a tense mood.
With British humor of smoke and fire, Bond escaped with the wit of being a secret agent. Sean makes Bond alive and real with the right balance of being a British gentleman, not an American playboy later by Roger Moore. Bond said he is obliged after being informed by Shaw who protected him in the Camp with his Mauser broom handle.
This movie keeps the James Bond thrills on till the end. The theme song by Matt Monroe is wonderful. This is the best James Bond classic which entertains in sight and sound.