A 007, dalla Russia con amore

A Bond film that stands out among all other films as well as the Bond films, From Russia With Love is filled with not only a heavy dose of nonstop action and adventure, but also an intelligent plot that commented heavily on the world state of affairs in 1963. Capitalist and Communists are set to work against each other by SPECTRE, an organization which does not give any special considerations to economic systems, but wishes to weaken the balance of world power and take control itself. The survival of the Bond films depended on their ability to change with the decades, and From Russia With Love is no exception. Great acting performances from not only Sean Connery, but Robert Shaw, Pedro Armendariz, and Lotte Lenya (the wife of Kurt Weill).

Hard to believe, but the movie is actually an improvement on Fleming's novel. Rather than have the Lektor operation be a simple Russian scheme to discredit Bond as Fleming did, SPECTRE takes a hand here in their first on-screen appearance as an organization. The plot is improved considerably because of this. The movie thrives on its supporting actors and Sheybal. Connery is somewhat outshone by these greater lights, but gives a credible performance. From Russia... is a different pace of movie: no one here is intent on wiping out the world's population, or destroying the gold supply, or stealing submarines. Basically, it's a quiet little plot focusing on an elaborate "sting" operation. Until the end, the pace is kind of slow, and might lose more "modern" audiences, particularly those used to incredible stunt sequences every 20 minutes.

After the success of Dr. No, the movie going public could not get enough of Sean Connery as James Bond. From Russia With Love was almost demanded to be made and it's proved to be one of the most durable of the Bond series in popularity.

That infamous third echelon SPECTRE is after a new Russian decoding machine that the West would certainly like to lay its mitts on as well. But SPECTRE has something additional in mind. Knowing that MI5 will send its best in 007 after the decoder, they have it in mind to kill James Bond. And the alluring bait will be Daniela Bianchi, their agent.

Of course as always no woman can resist the sex appeal of James Bond as packaged by Sean Connery. Personally I've always liked Roger Moore best in the part, I like Sean Connery as well, but more for his non-Bond roles. That I'm sure will be appreciated by Sean Connery should he ever get to read this review.

The cinematography in a story that takes place in Istanbul and along the Mediterranean Sea is gorgeous. Connery gets a really outstanding cast in support including Pedro Armendariz for whom this was a final performance as Bond ally Ali Kerim Bey.

Robert Shaw has a part of few words as the paid assassin SPECTRE has trained for the purpose of killing James Bond. Shaw is terrifying in his role and the fact he did it without much use of a voice that was one of the best in the English language, testifies to his ability as an actor. His confrontation with Connery on the Orient Express is one of the great fight scenes ever done on film.

However I have a warm spot in my heart for Lotte Lenya as Rosa Klebb, the Russian defector now working for SPECTRE, the woman with those killer orthopedic shoes. Kenneth Cole never designed better.

From Russia With Love has everything you want in a James Bond film, action, sex, and exotic locations. And Sean Connery, who could complain.

After the success of Dr. No, it was only a matter of time before James Bond returned for his second installment of espionage and adventure. Of course, it wasn't until the phenomenal success of Goldfinger that the Bond series really took off, and established the formula soon to be followed by every subsequent 007 movie and virtually every other action movie. But 'From Russia with Love' proved to be an equally effective, if slightly quieter little film, with more focus on the undercover espionage portion of James Bond's occupation, and less of the glamorous saving the world which would later become daily routine for him.

In fact, one of the things that makes 'From Russia with Love' interesting is that it is a 007 movie made before the "Bond movie" formula was established, and noticeable differences in the storyline can be seen. 'Russia' is more of a slower film, with fewer action sequences and more focus on Bond actually being a spy rather than an action hero. This leisurely, tension-building storytelling likely would have garnered terrible reaction in the 90s, but 'From Russia with Love' is still a very strong, if less formulaic addition to the Bond series.

Another noticeable difference is that Bond himself is much less the star of the show than is usually the case. Much more focus is placed on the supporting characters of the story, including minor characters such as chess master Kronsteen (Vladek Sheybal) who likely would simply have been eliminated from the story had 'Russia' followed the standard formula more closely. And for once, Bond isn't completely all knowing, capable of solving any problem independently - he teams up with the wise Kerim Bey (the charming Pedro Armendariz, his last film role) who shows Bond the ropes of Istanbul. But more standard story elements from the Bond formula are still present, such as menacing villains Rosa Klebb (the terrifying Lotte Lenya) and hit-man Red Grant. (an utterly intimidating and menacing Robert Shaw, the film's standout) And of course, there is still a slew of beautiful women for Bond to seduce, especially Russian decoding clerk Tatiana Romanova, played by the immensely gorgeous Daniela Bianchi. Also watch for a tense boat chase near the film's climax, the kind of stunt frequented by future Bond films.

So 'From Russia with Love' is really a quieter, more suspenseful addition to the Bond series, with more focus on Bond doing some actual spying rather than explosions every five minutes and Bond saving the world from some elaborate scheme. It may drag at times, and may not prove quite as exciting as today's audiences might hope, but Connery is at the top of his game here as 007, and his opposers are genuinely menacing and intimidating. For those wishing the Bond franchise would place more emphasis of the espionage portion of Bond's occupation, 'From Russia with Love' should prove the perfect film for them.

-8/10

From Russia With Love is directed by Terence Young and adapted to screenplay by Richard Maibaum & Johanna Harwood from the Ian Fleming novel of the same name. It stars Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Lotte Lenya, Robert Shaw & Pedro Armendáriz. Music is by John Barry and cinematography by Ted Moore.

James Bond's second cinematic outing has 007 sent on a mission to Istanbul to try and acquire a Russian cypher machine known as Lektor. It's a trap set up by SPECTRE, who formulate a plan to upset the world order whilst murdering Bond in revenge for his killing of their agent Dr. No.

Spy Hard! A certain JFK had announced From Russia With Love as being one of his favourite books, thus making the minds up of producers Broccoli & Saltzman to make Fleming's Cold War thriller the follow up to Dr. No. It's a favourite of many a Bond aficionado because it represents one of the few occasions where Bond was still down to earth as a person, a hard working agent forced to do detective work. The adaptation is very literate as well, with a high fidelity to the source material a major bonus to Fleming's fans. The story is tautly told, often with dark tints the deeper Bond gets into things, and a number of excellently constructed set pieces fill out the latter half of the picture. It's not hard to understand why Connery cites this as his favourite Bond film.

Though it is mostly free of the gadget excess that would become a trademark of the franchise, it's still very much a quintessential Bond movie. Exotic locations and exotic foes, eye poppingly gorgeous ladies (Bianchi smouldering like few others can), pre-credits sequence, the snazzy title credits (here on a dancing lady), title song crooned by a big name (Matt Munro), Barry's blending of the Bond theme into the score, Blofeld (a faceless Anthony Dawson) and an impressive cast list. One of the film's big strengths is the cast assembled, Connery (firmly moving into iconic realm) is aided considerably by the presence of Lenya, Shaw and Armendáriz, while the first appearance of Desmond Llewelyn as Boothroyd (latterly to be known as Q) is a telling point in the series.

With a $2 million budget in the coffers, the makers were able to really push the boat out technically, and so they were rewarded as the pic went on to gross nearly $79 million Worldwide. Crucially it became apparent that James Bond was popular outside of Britain, the template had been set, what would they do with the next Bond outing we all wondered? 8/10