From Bond with Love
[spoilers follow]
It so happens that From Russia With Love is my favourite of the Fleming books. It has a beautifully realised and evocative story -- although I'm not sure about the whole gypsy camp thing. The villain is menacing and hard, and there's a real feeling of tension.
And the film brings it all to life beautifully. It reminds you very strongly that the early films really did aim to be adaptations of the Fleming books -- more or less faithful -- and only later evolved into the bangfests they became.
I mean, this is not an action film, not even close. What action there is proves largely uncompelling. Except for the fight on the Orient Express, which before Casino Royale was the single best piece of action in all of Bond, and still holds up. Two men try to hurt each other. That's what it is. A brutal life or death struggle. Robert Shaw is excellent throughout, and he's just one of many fine characters. Tatiana Romanova -- sorry can't remember the actor's name -- is spot on: fragile, vulnerable, gullible. Okay, that sounds like most Bond girls but she is actually like that, rather than a nondescript woman, or worse, a strong woman, who becomes that for Bond. Also, I adored her when I was in short trousers so don't even.
In this film, the woman is no more, no less a pawn than Bond himself. In the scene where they meet, she is served up to him and he is served up to her. Of course, Bond realises that she is only banging him for her country and he doesn't care. He never cares. However, he's not a serial shagger in FRWM (nor was he, really, in the books, although he did bang nearly every woman he met -- he just didn't meet many).
I think realistically you have to compare this with other 1960s spy thrillers, such as The Ipcress File. And it does hold up quite well.There's none of the massive silliness of later films (even the gadgetty briefcase has plausible additions), and the plot is simple, no world domination, no everyone gets nuked, just a code machine and extortion. So I think a B is well deserved, and for once, Bond is just an everyday pig, not his own special kind.
posted by Dr Zen @ 7:40 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home