Showing posts with label lewis gilbert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lewis gilbert. Show all posts

Monday, July 30, 2012

007 James Bond Marathon: Moonraker



Based on Ian Fleming’s novel, Moonraker is the story of James Bond uncovering a space shuttle theft as he meets its manufacturer who plans to create a society in outer space. Directed by Lewis Gilbert and screenplay by Christopher Wood, the film has James Bond traveling all over the world again as well as go to outer space to face off against another megalomaniacal villain. Also starring Michael Lonsdale, Lois Chiles, Richard Kiel, Walter Gotell, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell, and in his final appearance as M, Bernard Lee. Moonraker is a spectacular film from Lewis Gilbert.

After the theft of a space shuttle, James Bond is asked by M and the Minister of Defense Frederick Gray (Geoffrey Keen) to investigate as Bond travels to California to meets its manufacturer Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale). After meeting Dr. Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles) at Drax’s lab, Bond seduces Drax’s assistant Corrine Dufour (Corrine Clery) to get information about what Drax is planning as he travels to Venice for further investigation. After dealing with some of Drax’s people, Bond discovers glass vials containing nerve gas put into chambers as Bond later learns that Goodhead is a member of the CIA. After reporting the news to Gray and M about the lab, they discover that it’s gone as Gray is forced to apologize to Drax for Bond’s blunder though M knows something is up.

Going to Rio de Janeiro, Bond meets his contact Manuela (Emily Bolton) to find out what Drax is doing in Rio as he suddenly meets up with Drax’s newly-hired henchman in Jaws (Richard Kiel) as he and Goodhead have another encounter with Jaws when they learn that Drax is moving all of his properties away from Rio. Though Bond was able to escape the clutches of Drax’s henchmen, Goodhead was captured as Bond regroups at a secret base where Q (Desmond Llewelyn) discovers the source of the nerve gas from a rare orchid prompting Bond to go to the Amazon where he encounters Jaws and more of Drax’s men leading to Drax’s secret base where Goodhead is held prisoner. After another escape with Goodhead, the two travel to outer space where they learn about Drax’s big plans to hold a society of a new world and destroy the old one. The news would force Bond to save the world with the help of an unexpected ally.

The film is essentially about James Bond stopping another industrialist from destroying the world to create a new one but this time around, it’s in outer space. Yet, it would have Bond doing more investigating and engage into conflict with henchman as he is trying to save the world once again. This time around, he faces off against a man who wants to create a new world that away from all of the decadence and turmoil but also create new species with people who have perfect genes. While there’s nothing wrong with Drax’s ideas, the fact that he wants to destroy Earth just makes him the kind of foe Bond has to defeat. The screenplay succeeds in creating a character as complex as Hugo Drax as well as creating a Bond girl in Dr. Holly Goodhead who is quite intelligent and can kick some ass in order to help Bond.

The direction of Lewis Gilbert is definitely big in terms of the ambition he aims for as much of the film takes place in different locations such as Venice, Rio de Janeiro, California, and parts of Guatemala. Yet, Gilbert ensures that the film has all of the tropes of what is expected in a Bond film through the beautiful locations and thrilling action sequences while taking time to uncover things that is crucial to the film’s plot. While the film does contain humor, at times it goes a little overboard towards silliness where it ends up being a bit of a distraction rather than to help advance the story. Yet, the humor isn’t shown as much as it leads to the climatic scenes in outer space in the third act where Bond takes charge and faces off against Drax and destroy his plans. Despite the flaws the film carries, Lewis Gilbert creates another successful and engaging Bond film that does everything that is expected in a Bond film.

Cinematographer Jean Tournier does a wonderful job with the film‘s photography from the gorgeous exterior shots of some of the film‘s exotic locations to the interiors in Drax‘s mansion and the space station to maintain a very pristine look. Editor John Glen does excellent work with the editing to play up the element of suspense and action with some stylish cuts for the latter. Production designer Ken Adam, with set decorator Peter Howitt and art directors Charles Bishop and Max Douy, does brilliant work with the set pieces from the look of Drax’s mansion and home bases to the look and interiors of the space station.

Costume designer Jacques Fonteray does superb work with the costumes from the suit that Drax wears at the space station to the look of the space suits worn by the U.S. Marines astronauts and Drax‘s astronauts during the climatic laser battle. Visual effects supervisor Derek Meddings does spectacular work with the visual effects such as the many scenes in outer space that involves zero gravity and anything involving lasers. Sound mixer Daniel Brisseau does nice work with the sound from the way the lasers sound to the array of sound to exemplify the film‘s action sequences. The film’s score by John Barry is terrific for its lush orchestral arrangements and the bombast it has for many of the film’s action sequences. The title song co-written by lyricist Hal David and sung by Shirley Bassey is a wonderful ballad that plays to the tradition of Bond themes while it also has a disco remix played in the film’s final credits.

The casting by Weston Drury Jr. and Margot Capelier is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it includes some notable performances from Corrine Clery as Drax’s assistant Corrine Dufour, Toshiro Suga as Drax’s henchman Chang, Emily Bolton as Bond’s Rio contact Manuela, Michael Marshall as the U.S. Marines commander, and Blanche Ravalec as the girl Dolly that Jaws falls for. Bond regulars such as Walter Gotell as General Gogol. Geoffrey Keen as the Minister of Defense, Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny, and Desmond Llewelyn as Q are fun to watch as they each give memorable performances. Bernard Lee is great as Bond’s superior M who backs Bond up following a blunder as it’s a truly gracious performance from Lee in his final outing as M.

Richard Kiel is excellent as the henchman Jaws where he finally gets something to do other than go after Bond where his character falls in love as he gets to display a more tender side to the character. Lois Chiles is wonderful as Dr. Holly Goodhead by providing a calm yet cool performance as a character who aids Bond in the mission while proving to be a very smart person Bond can count on. Michael Lonsdale is very good as Hugo Drax, an industrialist who has ambitions to create a new world as Lonsdale displays a great sense of restraint and prestige as the film’s antagonist. Finally, there’s Roger Moore as James Bond where Moore displays his sense of humor and charm to the character while proving to be more direct once his character has to do investigating and fighting as it’s one of Moore’s essential performances as Bond.

Despite some of the silliness in the story and the unnecessary humor, Moonraker is still a stellar film from Lewis Gilbert. Thanks in part to Roger Moore and Michael Lonsdale, it’s a film that is worth watching for its sense of adventure as well as being thoroughly entertaining. Notably as it has Bond taking on the sci-fi genre with some success as Bond manages to find ways to remain relevant in the age of the blockbuster. In the end, Moonraker is a marvelous James Bond film from Lewis Gilbert.




© thevoid99 2012
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Thursday, July 26, 2012

007 James Bond Marathon: The Spy Who Loved Me



Based on Ian Fleming’s novel, The Spy Who Loved Me is the story of James Bond teaming up with a Russian agent to stop a reclusive megalomaniac from destroying the world and create a new one under the sea. Directed by Lewis Gilbert and screenplay by Richard Maimbaum and Christopher Wood, the film is a return to James Bond going back to basics after spending time dabbling with other genres with its two previous films as Roger Moore plays Agent 007 for the third time. Also starring Barbara Bach, Curd Jurgens, Richard Kiel, Geoffrey Keen, Walter Gotell, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell, and Bernard Lee as M. The Spy Who Loved Me is an extraordinary and thrilling film from Lewis Gilbert.

Following the disappearance of two nuclear submarines from Britain and the Soviet Union, James Bond is asked by the Minister of Defense (Geoffrey Keen) to investigate the matter as Bond travels to Cairo. He then meets KGB officer Major Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) who is also there to find a microfilm plans about the tracking system that has captured the submarines where they encounter a metallic-teeth henchman named Jaws (Richard Kiel) as they get the microfilm where Bond later meets Amasova’s superior in General Gogol (Walter Gotell) who has decided to team up with M to investigate the submarines’ disappearance where Bond and Amasova suspect a shipping tycoon named Karl Stromberg (Curd Jurgens).

Traveling to Sardinia, Bond and Amasova meet Stromberg posing as a couple where Bond learns about Stromberg’s plans to create an underwater society away from the decadence and chaos of the modern world. After another tussle with some of Stromberg’s people including Jaws, Bond and Amasova realize that an oil tanker from Stromberg might have something to do with it as the two board a U.S. submarine to uncover more about Stromberg’s base known as Atlantis where they’re captured by Stromberg’s oil tanker along with the U.S. sub crew. Realizing what Stromberg plans to do with the two captured subs, it’s up to Bond to once again save the day.

The film is essentially the story of James Bond teaming up with a KGB agent to defeat an industrialist tycoon who is hell-bent on destroying the world in order to create a new one under the sea. It’s a plot that is simple yet screenwriters Richard Maimbaum and Christopher Wood create a script that is complex in terms of the motivations of Karl Stromberg as well as fleshing out both James Bond and Anya Amasova who team up to stop Stromberg. Especially since Bond is the one who kills Amasova’s lover early in the film during a mission where she would eventually find out that would cause some tension between the two.

Anya Amasova in some ways is Bond’s equal as she is a spy who is just as cunning, intelligent, and is able to get the job done though she may not be as physically superior as Bond. Still, she is someone who understands Bond as well as the fact that she is someone who is loyal to the KGB and wants to ensure that she gets the job done. Then there’s Karl Stromberg who is an interesting villain that stands out from the rest. All he wants is to create a new world under the sea where things are simpler as there’s no politics and decadence that he feels is ruining the modern world. While he may not be a villain who can match Bond physically, his ambition and willingness to face anyone who will get in his way does make him a compelling antagonist.

Lewis Gilbert’s direction is definitely big in terms of the set pieces that are created as well as the locations as the film is shot in Egypt, Canada, Switzerland, and Sardinia, Italy. Yet, it’s also intimate for the way it explores the relationship between Bond and Amasova where they have to work together despite being part of different factions as they’re away of the bigger picture in order to maintain a good British-Soviet relationship. Through some amazing compositions, close-ups, and tracking shots, Gilbert’s direction is always engaging for the way the suspense is built and the payoff that comes in afterwards. Notably in the climatic action scenes involving submarines and possible nuclear Armageddon where Bond would have to use his own intelligence to save the world. Overall, Gilbert creates a truly magnificent and engrossing film that stands up there with some of the great Bond films.

Cinematographer Claude Renoir does spectacular work with the film‘s photography from the beauty of the exteriors in its locations to some of the interiors with some amazing light schemes that features un-credited work from Stanley Kubrick. Editor John Glen does excellent work with the film‘s editing by playing up to the film‘s suspense and action with methodical and rhythmic cuts to maintain its leisured pace. Production designer Ken Adam, with set decorator Hugh Scaifie and art director Peter Lamont, does superb work with the set pieces such as the Atlantis home base as well as the secret meeting rooms Bond and Amasova meet to pull their sources together.

Visual effects supervisor Derek Meddings does amazing work with the miniatures created such as the exterior of the Atlantis base as well a few key visual effects shots. Sound recorder Gordon Everett does terrific work with the sound to play up some of the action scenes with heightened sound as well as the way the narrator speaks during the Egyptian pyramids sequence.

The film’s score by Marvin Hamlisch is brilliant for its lush orchestral pieces mixed in with a bit of funk and disco for the some of the film’s action sequences. With a soundtrack that includes classical pieces from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Sebastian Bach, Camille Saint-Saens, and Frederic Chopin along with Maurice Jarre’s theme from Lawrence of Arabia. The film’s theme song Nobody Does It Better by Hamlisch and lyricist Carole Bayer Sager and sung by Carly Simon is among one of the best Bond theme songs ever recorded.

The casting by Weston Drury Jr. and Maude Spector is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it features notable appearances from Michael Billington as Amasova’s lover Sergei Barsov, Shane Rimmer as the U.S. sub commander, Edward de Souza as Bond’s Egyptian contact Sheikh Hosein, Robert Brown as Admiral Hagreaves, Milton Reid as Stomberg henchman Sandor, and Caroline Munro as Stromberg’s assistant/assassin Naomi. Bond regulars such as Lois Maxwell as the witty secretary Miss Moneypenny and Desmond Llewelyn as the inventive but unappreciated Q are a joy to watch. New Bond regulars in Geoffrey Keen as British defense minister and Walter Gotell as General Gogol are also great to watch as the latter is a great character who serves as an authority figure Bond can trust. Bernard Lee is superb as Bond’s superior M who always keeps Bond in check while ensuring that he does his job.

Richard Kiel is excellent as the silent but deadly Jaws where his tall figure and big metallic teeth makes a great impression as one of the most memorable henchman of the Bond franchise. Curd Jurgens is great as the villainous Karl Stromberg who displays a low-key sense of intimidation to his character as well as devilish charm to a man who likes to show off his ideas. Barbara Bach is wonderful as Major Anya Amasova aka Agent Triple X as she displays an intoxicating beauty but also determination as a woman keen on doing her job as well as deal with someone as charming as Bond. Finally there’s Roger Moore in a phenomenal performance as James Bond where Moore maintains his low-key sense of humor for the role while bringing a wit to the way he handles business as it’s one of Moore’s best performances as Agent 007.

The Spy Who Loved Me is a remarkable film from Lewis Gilbert as it stands as one of the best films of the James Bond franchise. Thanks to an ensemble cast led by Roger Moore as James Bond, the film is highlighted by high production values, amazing visual effects, and a compelling story. It’s a film that does everything that is expected in a Bond film and more. In the end, The Spy Who Loved Me is an outstanding film from Lewis Gilbert.




© thevoid99 2012
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Tuesday, July 03, 2012

007 James Bond Marathon: You Only Live Twice



Based on Ian Fleming’s novel, You Only Live Twice is the story of James Bond heading to Japan to stop SPECTRE from furthering the tension between the U.S. and Soviet Union over incidents relating to their space programs where Bond finally meets up with SPECTRE’s leader Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Directed by Lewis Gilbert and screenplay by Roald Dahl (with additional work by Harold Jack Bloom), the film is another ambitious story where Bond travels to different places to face SPECTRE as Sean Connery once again plays Bond while Donald Pleasence plays the mysterious Blofeld. Also starring Mie Hama, Akiko Wakabayashi, Tetsuro Tamba, Karin Dor, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, and Bernard Lee as M. You Only Live Twice is a grand yet exciting film from Lewis Gilbert.

After faking his death in Hong Kong to sway attention from his enemies, James Bond is assigned to uncover a mysterious plot that involved a U.S. space capsule captured by a rocket that had landed somewhere in Japan. In hoping that the incident doesn’t spark World War III, Bond travels to Japan to meet his contact Henderson (Charles Gray) where things go wrong until he secretly goes into a building to find secret documents from an industrialist named Mr. Osato (Teru Shimada). After giving the documents to a Japanese secret service agent in Tiger Tanaka (Tetsuro Tamba), Bond suspects that Osato has something to do with the incident as he pretends to a businessman to meet Osato and his assistant Helga Brandt (Karin Dor).

After Bond and an agent named Aki (Akiko Wakabayahi) went to Osato’s dock to inspect his boat, things go wrong when Bond is captured by Osato and Brandt where the latter tries to seduce him and later kill him. Bond manages to escape where Q (Desmond Llewelyn) and Tanaka help Bond to inspect the mysterious island that is believed where the secret rocket is launched. Though Bond doesn’t find anything, he is later attacked by helicopters where he manages to out maneuver them thanks to Q’s additions in the helicopter Bond is flying. Still, Bond decides to hide out in Tanaka’s secret base to train as a ninja following an incident where a Soviet space capsule was captured leading to more U.S.-USSR tension.

With the help of an agent named Kissy Suzuki (Mie Hama), Bond and Kissy masquerade as a married Japanese couple to trek around a mysterious island where they make a big discovery. Just as the U.S. is set to launch another space capsule, Bond finally meets the man who organized everything in SPECTRE’s leader Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

The film is simply about James Bond traveling to Japan to uncover a plot to sabotage the dueling U.S.-Soviet Union space missions in an attempt to start World War III. While in his mission, he faces numerous foes who try to kill him where he would eventually meet the man who organized the whole thing in Ernst Stavro Blofeld. In meeting Blofeld, Bond gets a chance to confront the man he had been fighting against for the past few years after foiling Blofeld’s plans since Dr. No. While Blofeld might not be a strong villain as he always has people doing his dirty work, he is still a very intriguing villain for the way he organizes schemes and will not let anyone get in his way or mess things up for him. Even if it’s someone from his own organization where if someone from his group messes up, he takes care of that someone in the most gruesome way.

Roald Dahl’s screenplay does play to a lot of what is expected in the Bond formula in the way he goes about in his mission to do some investigating, fighting, and making out with women. Yet, the story opens with two big scenes to set up the story such as the U.S. Gemini capsule being captured and then Bond in Hong Kong where he fakes his death. By faking his death, Bond has to go undercover to Japan to find out what is going on as he deals with a shady industrialist and several assassins that will eventually lead him to Blofeld. One of the script’s great strengths is in the few people that assist Bond such as Tiger Tanaka and Aki. The latter of which is among one of the most interesting Bond girls who aids Bond in his work while being someone who can hold her own. While the other Bond girl in Kissy Suzuki only arrives in the third act, she’s also interesting since she is a great swimmer as well as a skilled assassin.

Lewis Gilbert’s direction is definitely big for the way he creates amazing action sequences and suspenseful moments. While some of it does require visual effects which were quite primitive in the mid-1960s, it does play to the world that Bond is in as it includes some amazing scenes set in outer space such as the opening prologue scene. By having Bond go to Hong Kong and later Japan, the film definitely has a different atmosphere since Bond has to learn about the world of Japanese culture where he would eventually disguise himself as a Japanese man late in the film.

Gilbert’s approach to suspense is engaging for the way he sets up having characters being killed off as well as the big unveiling of Blofeld who never had shown his face in the previous films. His unveiling is a big moment where Gilbert reveals what kind of man Blofeld is where it would lead to this huge climatic battle with vast compositions for Gilbert to present. With a lot of stylistic shots that includes a few hand-held stuff, Gilbert does create a very extravagant yet thrilling film that is among one of the great films of the Bond franchise.

Cinematographer Freddie Young does excellent work with the photography to capture the gorgeous landscape of the Japanese locations including some nighttime shots of Tokyo as well as some great lighting set-ups for the scenes inside Blofeld‘s home base. Editor Peter R. Hunt does brilliant work with the editing to create amazing rhythmic cuts for the film‘s action scenes along with some stylish jump cuts and dissolves to play with the film‘s rhythm. Production designer Ken Adam, with set decorator David Ffolkes and art director Harry Pottle, does spectacular work with the set pieces such as Blofeld’s home base that included a pond for his piranhas as well as the traditional Japanese houses that Bond would live in.

The special effects work of John Stears is very good for the way the scenes in space looked as well as a few visual effects driven work such as Bond on the mini-helicopter as well as some of the car chase scenes. Sound recorders Gordon K. McCallum and John W. Mitchell do terrific work with the sound to capture the atmosphere of the sumo building where Bond meets Aki as well as the big climatic battle at Blofeld‘s base involving ninjas. The film’s score by John Barry is among one of Barry’s best score for the lush string arrangements that he creates for the film’s theme that includes traditional Japanese string instruments. The title song co-written with lyricist Leslie Bricusse and sung by Nancy Sinatra is a gorgeous ballad that plays to the world of Japan as it is one of the top songs of the Bond theme songs.

The casting by Weston Drury Jr. is superb for the ensemble that is created as it includes some small but memorable roles from Tsai Chin as Bond’s Hong Kong lover, Charles Gray as Henderson, Ronald Rich as Blofeld’s bodyguard Hans, and Teru Shimada as the powerful industrialist Mr. Osato. Other notable small roles from Bond regulars include Lois Maxwell as the very witty Miss Moneypenny who gives Bond a memorable code word, Desmond Llewelyn as the very funny Q, and Bernard Lee as Bond’s no-nonsense boss M. Karin Dor is very good as Osato’s secretary Helga Brandt who tries to have Bond killed and later seduce him in an another assassination attempt. Tetsuro Tamba is excellent as the resourceful and disciplined Tiger Tanaka who helps Bond in his mission to stop SPECTRE.

Mie Hama is wonderful as Kissy Suzuki who aids Bond in the film’s climatic mission while pretending to be his traditional Japanese line where she and Sean Connery have a few funny moments. Akiko Wakabayashi is great as the Japanese agent Aki who helps Bond throughout the film as she proves to be a very smart and helpful woman who does more than the typical Bond girl. Donald Pleasence is excellent in his small but memorable role as Ernst Stavro Blofeld where Pleasence definitely lives up to the megalomania of Blofeld with a creepy voice as well as a dark sense of humor. Finally, there’s Sean Connery in a fantastic performance as James Bond. Although there’s nothing new that Connery brings to the character, Connery does make Bond compelling enough as well as presenting new challenges that does shake Bond’s sense of professionalism as well as the mission at hand.

You Only Live Twice is a marvelous film from Lewis Gilbert with another winning performance from Sean Connery. Thanks to great set pieces, beautiful locations, John Barry’s exquisite score, and a top-notch ensemble cast. The film is definitely among one of key James Bond films during Sean Connery’s period as Agent 007. It’s also a very engaging film for the way it sets up the idea of World War III giving the audience a chance to root for Bond once again. In the end, You Only Live Twice is a superb film from Lewis Gilbert.




© thevoid99 2012
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