Au service secret de Sa Majesté

Rating-7/10

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is one of the most furious Bond film's there are and George Lazenby's one and only outing as Bond in which he does a good job in the end. A pretty good film that is close to being a straight good movie but nevertheless does the job well with Bond facing some of his most difficult villains of all time and a Bond girl who could finally get to James Bond's heart and maybe make him…Love.

The story is full of action, adventure and good old Bond fun with guns, cars and Bob-sleighs? Yes Bob-sleighs feature quite a bit here as the majority of the film is set in a Swiss ski resort. It goes at quite a slow pace at parts but then certain bits can be very fast paced action and well done as well because some Bond stunts can seem just plain fake, but there done quite well in the late 60's flick. Finally I especially enjoyed the more sophisticated Bond who didn't sleep with everyone he met, maybe toned down just the tiniest from Connery's portrayal.

Lazenby as Bond is well, well he looks the part and even his hair seems perfect but his acting skills are not as sharp as Connery and even his voice seems to subdued by his surroundings. Diana Rigg as the Bond girl is perfect and she is fine throughout the entire film, the rest of the supporting cast excluding the main villains and Bond are average but overshadowed by the main roles like they should do. Telly Savalas as Blofeld is perfectly quirky and although not seeming evil as previous, he seem's to serve up a rational Blofeld, who doesn't kill so many people as always.

Written OK directed like that too it is nothing special and there is not too much that is needed to be said about it all. The stunts do though because they are brilliant although obviously near impossible as we see with every Bond film to date but in any case it was fun to see. I loved the setting the Ski resort which doesn't make it any better or worse but serves to give you a beautiful background with all the things also going on, who knew so much snow could look so great.

It isn't without negativity at all and I already said what I thought about Lazenby, but also some people may find the story drags a little and that there are too many skiing sequences but then again they can be fun to see as well. Also the script is ridiculous like other Bond's and put's some crazy scenarios but also one part which is funny is Lazenby when he has his voice dubbed into a posh British accent by another actor(Lazenby could not do the voice) but any way's it doesn't affect loads.

I think any Bond fan will like this as it has many things which Bond is known for and makes for a fun watch for even those who have never seen Bond if there around. Also if adventure is your choice then well he does go on an adventure but he stays in one place for long time so maybe not for you people but people can like this game a lot.

I give it overall a 7/10 and this is deserved fully, people will find it Good but also poor as well, but I think many people don't like Bond generally or only the modern one's. Just watch it and enjoy it, savour Lazenby's solo role and witness what I believe to be the saddest Bond ever(you will get what I mean by the end).

On Her Majesty's Secret Service will probably always remain the most controversial entry in the Bond series, thanks both to its unusually human and romantic story, and the notorious casting of novice actor George Lazenby as OO7. Some think these elements ruin the film, while others hail OHMSS as the best Bond ever. I wouldn't go that far in my praise, but for me this is still one of the classic Bond films, true to Ian Fleming's original vision and arguably showing OO7 in a more realistic light than any other film in the franchise.

To get the Lazenby issue out of the way first, it is certainly true to say that he lacks the charisma of the man he (temporarily) replaced, Sean Connery, and his impossibly chiselled jaw is somewhat irritating. However, he does look the part, and for a first-time actor he turns in a remarkably assured performance, particularly in the fight scenes but also in Bond's more tender moments, most notably in the highly emotional finale. If Lazenby had gone on to make more Bond films (and it was his own decision not to do so) he could well have developed into a very fine OO7, but as it is I still find his performance in OHMSS perfectly acceptable, and not damaging to the film in any way.

The film itself represented a conscious attempt to get back to Fleming after the increasingly extravagant antics of Thunderball and You Only Live Twice. Director Peter Hunt, who had edited the classic early Connery films, was very keen to remain faithful to Fleming's original story, and as a result OHMSS has an unusually strong emphasis on character and plot, with the gadgetry and humour found in most Bond films largely jettisoned. Rather like From Russia with Love, OHMSS feels like a real spy adventure, as Bond tracks Blofeld down and even adopts a disguise as he infiltrates his arch-enemy's Alpine hideaway, Piz Gloria. Where this film is unique, however, is in the level of emotion it invests in OO7's relationships with others. We see this early in the film when Bond quarrels with M and submits his resignation, a sequence which really brings out the affection which both M and Moneypenny have for him, but which M especially prefers to keep concealed. This affection is brought out again near the end during Bond and Tracy's wedding, when Q sheds his normal exasperation and shows us his fondness and respect for OO7.

However, it is of course the relationship between Bond and Tracy which gives the film its emotional heart. OHMSS sees Bond fall genuinely in love for the first and only time, and personally I found the film's romantic scenes both tender and touching, particularly for being so unexpected in a Bond film. The casting of Diana Rigg as Tracy helps immeasurably in making us believe in this romance, as she is a rare example of a proper actress taking on the role of a Bond girl, and her dynamic, spirited performance makes it easy to see why Bond would fall for her and marry her. It also helps the film's tragic conclusion, itself unique in the Bond franchise, pack far more of an emotional punch than might otherwise have been the case.

Of course, the film has more going for it than just an unusually human Bond.

Hunt directs with great skill, and the Alpine scenery that dominates the film looks absolutely stunning. There is no shortage of great action either, the highlights being a tense and gripping ski chase and an equally thrilling bobsleigh pursuit. Telly Savalas makes for a very effective Blofeld, understated and sinister, and his Rosa Klebb-like henchwoman Irma Bunt is played with relish by Ilse Steppat. There are also echoes of FRWL in the character of Draco, Tracy's father, who is a charismatic Bond ally in the style of Kerim Bey. Special mention should be given to John Barry, who produced his greatest Bond soundtrack for OHMSS. The opening instrumental theme, with its sombre and foreboding tone, sets the serious mood of the film, while the classic We Have All the Time in the World, sung by Louis Armstrong, is the perfect soundtrack to Bond and Tracy's doomed love.

However, while OHMSS is undoubtedly a classic Bond film, it just falls short of my personal top five for two principal reasons. The first of these is that the film is too long, primarily because the central section, where Bond infiltrates Piz Gloria in disguise, is dragged out for far longer than was necessary. Blofeld's plan to use beautiful women as carriers of a devastating eco-virus is the other main weakness, because it is totally preposterous and does not fit into the film's serious nature. I must admit also that, good as Lazenby is, I do wish Connery had agreed to make this film, because with him on board, and a little more editing, I think it could have been the best Bond ever, even beating FRWL. As it is, OHMSS is still a very strong film, its bold deviations from the Bond formula paying off handsomely. It is just a crying shame that it did not perform better at the Box Office, because this would encourage the Bond producers to shift to the high-camp, comic style that would dominate the franchise during the 1970s; sadly, it would be more than a decade before a serious, Flemingesque Bond would reappear on the big screen.

"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is a sadly under-appreciated Bond film which is stylishly-directed and features an outstanding score, like most of these early Bond films. Other than a silly self-referential line in the teaser and some sappy romantic montages, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is a thrilling adventure which sees Bond traveling to the Swiss Alps to encounter villains and partake in dangerous action sequences.

It sounds like a Bond film, alright, but this is actually quite different from the formulaic films one would later expect from the series, and the sort of film Bond was gravitating towards with "Thunderball" and "You Only Live Twice". It certainly delivers on the promise of sexual innuendo and lots of provocatively dressed women, but it's a different sort of Bond in that it seems to be more straight-faced and harsh, culminating in what is probably the saddest Bond ending. It's also probably the closest to Fleming's version of Bond outside of "Casino Royale", although "The Living Daylights" was also somewhat similar to the literary Bond. As a Fleming fan it is nice to see the Bond series take after the books.

Lazenby, who has been frequently criticized and is many people's least favorite Bond, actually does a decent job of the role. He's nowhere near as good as Connery, of course, but I thought that other than the scenes where he tried to seriously emote, he carried the film with his charisma and physical presence. I strongly believe he should have continued in the role. Lazenby fits the content of the film, which is certainly far more down to Earth than many other Bond films, and focuses heavily on hand-to-hand combat in the action scenes, which is somewhat refreshing after the overblown (entertaining, but seriously outrageous) action scenes in "You Only Live Twice". This is a genuinely good script, with a solid plot, good dialogue, and good characterization.

It's not just a throwaway action flick, it's an excellent espionage thriller with a strong dramatic core, and as fun as things like "Goldfinger" certainly are, it's nice to see one of these movies treat women as more than mere sex objects, and it's interesting to see a Bond girl paired with a Bond who reacts as a human would and not a cartoon character. Diana Rigg is probably my favorite Bond girl. She gives a strong performance and is helped by an excellent script which gives her a fair amount to do.

By staying closer to the source material, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" dramatically improves on its two predecessors and features some of the best locations in the series, although I admit my familiarity with the majority of the Swiss shooting locations gives me a nostalgic view of things. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is a strong contender for the title of best Bond film.

9/10

Yeah, I think so. Like most people who are interested in James Bond, I saw the films over and over on TV before I read any of the books. I then got round to buying Casino Royale, and being knocked out by it - this was somewhat different to Moonraker and all that Roger Moore stuff. So I read the books in their sequence, seriously the best way, and by the time OHMSS came round, I had a pretty good idea of who James Bond was. And, I'm sorry to inform all the Seanophiles, James Bond is not Connery, Moore, Dalton (though he came close, but is Welsh..)or Brosnan. Oddly enough, given the choices, he's kind of like George Lazenby.

Sure, Sean Connery was suave, sexy, and spoke rather curiously, Timothy Dalton had the serious side sorted, Brosnan is sophisticated etc, Roger Moore.. well, another time, maybe.

George Lazenby, maybe due to his lack of experience, (though why is his debut so widely mulled over in that respect.... it's not something that most actors are subjected to?) is not so at ease with his surroundings, not so cocksure that everything is going to work out fine as the others, and this is the real James Bond. The one in the books. You can almost believe in this one. And when things don't work out fine, you feel a weird familiarity with him. He's just a man, though admittedly he's disproportionately talented at a pretty impressive range of activities, from skiing to flying, swordsmanship, shooting people, jumping out of things, carnal endeavours etc.. Oh no, sorry, that's me. Well, anyway, I'm quite tired now. OHMSS is the best of the films, though From Russia With Love contains possibly the finest fight scene of all and maybe the best trio of baddies (including a slightly peripatetic Blofeld)and is Connery's best.

George Lazenby is the best Bond, because his talents - a certain naturalistic charm, physical dexterity, and a capacity for possible failure - are used brilliantly, and he is closer by far than any of the others to the book-Bond.

There you go.

Oh, and Diana Rigg is the best 'Bond girl', though that description is not very fair to her, We Have All The Time In The World is the best Bond song, and the theme tune is possibly John Barry's finest work.. let alone being the best Bond title theme.

There you go again.

Thanks for reading, and if you happen to disagree, well... you're wrong. Cheers.

I am a James Bond fanatic. I own all the films on video. During my film school days, I sponsored a "James Bond" film fest. I told my wife she MUST be a James Bond fan before we could marry. I introduced her to the films and she is now a Bond fan.

My favorite Bond will always be Sean Connery.

My favorite film will always be "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".

"That film with that Australian actor as Bond? Telly Savalas as Blofeld?"

That's the usual reaction I get when I mention that. But this film has a lot going for it. When Connery left the series before this film began production, the film's producer, Albert Broccoli, knew he was in trouble. The next film could make or break the future of the Bond films.

He knew he couldn't get anyone remotely close to Connery as a new Bond. So he found an unknown, George Lazenby, to play the role. Broccoli knew this film would sink or swim on its assets: the plot, special effects, gadgets, the Bond girls, the music, battle scenes, and the locations.

Boy did he succeed! This film has the BEST of all of the above! The plot is the standout. While James Bond, master spy and savior of the world, battles the forces of evil, he also shows us he is human by falling in love with Diana Rigg (a great choice for a Bond film!).

Many people have passed over this film because it doesn't have a Bond named Connery, Moore, or Brosnan. Lazenby does a decent job as Bond but lacks the refinement and polish of the others. Still, watch this film and imagine what Sean, Roger, or Pierce could have done with the role. It ranks with any of their best Bond roles and stands as the best film of the whole lot.