Binding: DVD
EAN: 0071896450101
Publication Date: 1997
Region Code: 1
Sales Rank: 64907
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Rating: - My Favorite James Bond Film and One of the Best
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE has always been my favorite James Bond film. Why? I can't say for sure. Being adversaries in the film, both Sean Connery and Robert Shaw both possessed enough masculinity and virility to square off against each other very convincingly in a highly dramatic and very physical display of fisticuffs in their ultimate confrontation aboard the Orient Express. Connery not only possessed enough polish, sophistication and wit as James Bond but he looked like he was more than capable of handling himself in any scrape. The enigmatic and chameleon-like Robert Shaw, though lacking social refinement, was probably Bond's greatest equal when they came face to face. Dramatically it was a duel between two blunt instruments. Philosophically the confrontation represented more than good against evil. The world's social hierarchy of the superiority of the sophisticated and cultured class opposed to the unrefined lower classes was at stake. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE is full of emotion and energy. In a modern world filled with criminal minds living behind a veneer and facade of refinement it was just good to know that a worldly man like James Bond was on our side. Sean Connery embodied all those qualities.
Another strong asset to this film was Pedro Armendáriz performance as the very worldly and weary Kerim Bey, Bond's counterpart and head of the Turkish station of British Intelligence. He is an older and perhaps wiser operative that Bond mutually befriends. Pedro Armendáriz performance makes ... Read More
Rating: - Ian Fleming's Bond Comes to Cinematic Fruition
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE is one of the better Bond films in the series. It is probably Sean Connery's best depending if you prefer his performance here before he redefined his performance permanently in GOLDFINGER. In FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE Sean Connery continued his portrayal of the character in the Fleming literary mold. It follows the directorial style of DR. NO. In FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE Connery refined his performance adding more depth to the character's worldliness, intellect, social graces and wry humor. The film's story and plot are very good. S.P.E.C.T.R.E. returns and we are introduced to Blofeld. This time the villains' plot is twofold as it lures James Bond and the Soviets into a tangled web of espionage from Istanbul to Venice as it unfolds like a travelogue of intrigue and adventure. There are so many superlatives to this film. The characters have real depth. The acting is excellent. The locations and sets breathe real life into the story. The fight scene in the gypsy camp is a triumph of choreography, cinematography and editing which is only equaled by the death struggle between Red Grant and Bond on the Orient Express. John Barry's first complete score brings a highly recognizable sound to the Bond series with his unique musical style. It works very well in this film as it works on both an intellectual and emotional level. I don't think Ian Fleming could not have asked for more.
Rating: - One of the Best even if Edited
There is not much more that can be added to what has already been written or said about FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. It is considered to be one of the better Bond films in the series.
Before I get on to the main point of what I have to add, I do want to comment on the widescreen versions that have been issued. I am not sure what the proper aspect ratio of this film is. In a comparison of the DVD to the Laser Disc, the DVD appears to have been cropped at the top and bottom to give it a wider effect. The proportions of the prints I saw in several theaters all resembled the Laser Disc.
My more important note of curiosity however is the content of the film itself. I still have not seen any version on VHS, Laser or DVD as the ones I have seen in the theater for FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE.
It appears that on video two scenes contain cuts.
Cut # 1: When Red Grant has Bond on his knees at gunpoint aboard the Orient Express, he editorializes in a most graphic manner about the roll of film that was shot of Bond and Tatiana in the boudoir. For its time, this was a rather risqué piece of dialogue. By today's standards it is somewhat timid. Bond's comeback is still intact on the video, responding to Grant how it took a collection of pretty sick minds to dream up such a scheme. That was a direct response to Grant's cut line and gives us an insight into Bond's moral standards that there is a line that even he would not cross given his flare for the more amorous pursuits.
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