From Russia With Love
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Movie Reviews of From Russia With Love
Movie Review: The first three in the series were the best...
Summary: 4 Stars
but the best of these three is FRWL.
The film has great characters set in a storyline that is genuinely suspenseful. The fight scene aboard the train between 007 and Red Grant is one of the best ever filmed. I liked the low-tech gadgetry, like the attache case with a sniper's rifle.
So much better than later 007 films like Quantum of Solace.
Movie Review: James Bond can't be beat
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the second of the bond films and it is as good as they get. It has everything we expect in a Bond film (sex, adventure, and humor) so you can't be disappointed. Best of all, there is also the great Lotte Lenya with the deadliest shoes in the spy business.Movie Review: Bond Goes Red
Summary: 4 Stars
Lots of intrigue and lots of action in this 007 spy-fi. Connery is a hit again as 007 the spy who's a hit with the ladies, and a pain in the neck to the bad guys. Look for Robert Shaw to be the menacing bad guy.Movie Review: Good Early Bond
Summary: 4 Stars
"From Russia With Love" plays more like an old fashioned spy thriller without a great deal of the high tech glitz and over-the-top plots found in later Bond offerings. Overall, an entertaining movie.Movie Review: 3 1/2*s-A step down from Dr.No.-but still pure Connery Bond-
Summary: 3 Stars
After the boffo debut of Sean Connery in Dr.No,its' popularity insured another release.In fact the first three were to see a year to year release.
This second release"From Russia With Love" really takes a hard tack on the cold war tensions extant at that time.However unlike Dr.No which took place in pretty much the same locale,this film was to start a trend which took Bond to muliple locations within a single movie.Depending on the movie this could be a plus;but in this case I found it to be a minus.We get so many locations that the plot becomes too involved and at times makes it a bit sluggish.
The movie opens a little differently than its' predecessor.To start we get the famous "eye shot" piece right off.Then we move into the short prologue.This has Bond seemingly in a large garden maze looking for,but really being stalked by,a villain called Red Grant,played menacingly by Robert Shaw.Tension builds nicely until,what's this?.....our hero is killed!The action stops,a yell is heard and the camera pulls back to reveal that what we have witnessed wasn't really Bond but a surgically altered look a like that was "done in".And it was all a training exercise for villain Grant.
At this point the credits start to roll with the wonderful theme music, but no vocals.The vocals were later sung during the end credits by Matt Munro.Also in Dr No the opening credits showed a few girls dancing in coloured shadows.In this one we see more girls'distinct and showing more flesh;something that would be "improved" upon in future Bond films.
The film opens in Venice,Italy where a chess championship is taking place between a Canadian and Czech player(Ironically the movie goes full circle as it ends up back here in the end).The Czech player during the match is summoned to the criminal organization SPECTRE run by one Dr.Blofeld who(face unseen until a later film)would sit in his chair stroking his white cat;pulling all the strings to the subsequent illegal activity that Bond would try to quell.He puts in motion a plan(by the Czech player) assisted by one Colonel Kleb(played by Lotte Lenya-yes,the same one referenced in "Mack the Knife"!)to trap and kill Bond.Colonel Kleb it seems is a former SMERSH agent(Russian) but,unbeknownst to all but a few people,has defected to SPECTRE.
One Tatiana Romonov played by Daniela Bianchi is recruited by Kleb to be the "defecting" agent that Bond will contact to obtain a "Lektor" decoding machine.Bond gets his usual "M" briefing before heading out on his assignment and we are introduced to one "Boothroyd" played by Desmond Llewllyn."Boothroyd" would become a permanent fixture in the Bond pics as "Q",Bond's man of a thousand gadgets.
Bond heads off to Istanbul to meet one Kareem Bey played wonderfully by Pedro Armendariz,his contact there.Kareem is a very influential man.In fact he has many sons who help to run his local "syndicate".Before long both are off to a local gypsy camp to see a contact there.Red Grant(Shaw) is now back in the picture following Bond's every move.In fact during an ambush at the camp Grant actually saves Bond's life,but only in order to later dispose of him himself.
After the ambush Kareem gets revenge on the man he knows is responsible for the ambush.In town there is an overlarge English sign of a(real)film called "Call me Bwana" starring Bob Hope and Anita Ekberg.The poster consists mainly of Anita's large face.Kareem shoots his adversary while climbing out of a concealed window that opens up in her mouth.Bond says in his usual style:"She should have kept her mouth shut".
Bond meets up with Tatiana as planned and they both "steal" the Lektor.Kareem arranges a trip through the eastern block on a train to get Bond,the girl and the machine spirited to the west.Along the way much intrigue and fighting ensues.Kareem is killed and Grant(who has been dogging Bond all the way) kills and takes the place of a British agent in Zagreb,Yugolslavia.Of course Grant's real identity is eventually revealed and after a harrowing struggle Bond narrowly escapes certain death.
Farther on Bond and Tatiana,who by now is in love with Bond(naturally!),disembark the train and overpower Grant's contact and steal his truck.In short order they are being pursued by a SPECTRE helicopter.The truck is disabled and they have to hoof it.What ensues is similar in nature to Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" where Cary Grant was divebombed by the plane.Here Connery gets harrassed in the same manner by the chopper,done very effectively.He eventually brings it down and they head to the coast.Here they commandeer a SPECTRE contact boat and head aross the Adriatic Sea to Venice.While there in a hotel waiting to leave the city for London Bond is set upon by Colonel Kleb(disguised as a maid) who Blofeld has dispatched to once and for all dispose of Bond...or else.Will she succeed? Will she regain possession of the all important Lektor decoding machine?More importantly in the end,will Tatiana help Bond or Kleb?
Here the movie ends and the vocals of the lovely theme music commence.
As you can tell by the plot synopsis I have given there is alot going on throughout this movie.For space sake I can only give you small details of course.Fleshed out this movie as I said at the start slows down a bit too much in many places such as the gypsy camp and on the train.I think it could have been tightened up a little more in the script and editing room.There are just too many little details we needn't have to have seen which unnecessarily pad it.
Having said that that doesn't make this movie poor by any stretch.It is a very action packed and charged movie that constantly thrives to keep the tension going throughout.A nice touch in that respect was the Robert Shaw character who is that constant and nagging unseen(by Bond)threat.
So even though,in my oppinion,not up to the level of its' predecessor "To Russia with Love" is still a very entertaining flick which you will still enjoy.And this new remastered edition is a delight to the eyes and ears.After all,it's a Connery Bond....what more does one need?