OHMSS...GREAT Bond movie!!!

Agent_0010

sorry i haven't posted in a few days. ive been away..
Anyways, I just checked this one out from the library a few days ago and I have to say...OHMSS is probably the most underrated Bond movie of all time! I saw it once a while ago and thought it(and Lazenby) were mediocre at best. But then, on this second viewing, I admit I really got into it and it turned out to be one of 007's most exciting adventures! Story and execution thereof were fantastic, and I now have to say Lazenby was a very good Bond. He had the look, the build(though not up to Connery's physique). It's a shame he didn't do anymore. I wonder how DAF would have been with Lazenby in it?
Anyways, who else here likes OHMSS and thinks it's an underrated Bond movie?

jherman

No it's rated right were it should be,because it is the worst Bond out of 21 of them.The movie would have been a good one I like the story but Lazenby is the worst choice for Bond they could have made back then.

fatchuck31088

jherman wrote:

No it's rated right were it should be,because it is the worst Bond out of 21 of them.The movie would have been a good one I like the story but Lazenby is the worst choice for Bond they could have made back then.

Lazenby wasn't that bad. And OHMSS certainly isn't the worst.

Jamesbondjr

jherman wrote:

No it's rated right were it should be, because it is the worst Bond out of 21 of them.The movie would have been a good one I like the story but Lazenby is the worst choice for Bond they could have made back then.

Your right, it is rated right where it should be.
But you speak for yourself. You are of course entitled to your opinion and I respect that.

A lot of Bond fans actually rate OHMSS very highly, myself included. George Lazenby tends to get stick from people who are familiar with the series but who aren't Bond fans so-to-speak. Again a lot of fans rate him highly too. Check out this thread.

http://www.ajb007.co.uk/index.php?topic=27419.

DAF with Lazenby would have been interesting. I presume it was written after Sean Connery had announced his comeback so would have been written with him in mind. It would have been interesting to see what they would have done had George Lazenby stayed on to do a couple more.

Johmss

Why OHMSS is the worst movie ever? (Besides Lazemby)

The main title is perfect, the soundtrack is one of Barry's Best... OHMSS did better than 007 (or at least is more knowed by non fans)

Diana Rigg is lovely (in fact i found the romance montage scene well done) and Terry Savalla wasn't diabolical, but by far the best Bloferd in the series.

Not packaged with lots of action but that is because is like the book.

And is the movie in which Bond gets married, it has a deeply meaning that sadly after that wasn't touches as it should.

Lazemby should made DAF and why not, LALD

Dan Same

I adore OHMSS. I think it's flawed (the romance was IMO not developed enough, I didn't like the scene with Moneypenny and Lazenby was mostly dreadful) but I still think it is one of the greatest Bond films ever made and perhaps the most beautiful. I love the script (although it was flawed), I really enjoy the action scenes, I adore the music, I think the plot is amazing and I consider Diana Rigg and Terry Savalas to both be magnificent. Plus, even though I wish Lazenby had never been hired in the first place, I love his handling of the final scene. OHMSS is IMO a true masterpiece. :007)

Loeffelholz

OHMSS is...wait for it...a CLASSIC.

The fact that poor George happens to be portraying Bond in the film is beside the point, but for a non-actor, his rendering of the Tracy death scene is nothing short of amazing. His physicality is a strength of his performance as well.

This film is a distinctive jewel in the franchise---IMRO, there is only one other film out of the 21 which comes close, in terms of overall departure and freshness: Casino Royale.

highhopes

Fish1941 wrote:

I'm sure that many of you know my feelings about OHMSS. I love it!

By the way, here is an article on why Lazenby didn't film another Bond movie:

Why George Lazenby Only Made One Bond Movie

Fascinating article. Thanks for sharing, Fish.

I love Diana Rigg, and was really excited that she would be in the movie, but I just don't care for Lazenby. He's just too stiff, and with those sharply chiseled features, he has all the personality of a wax dummy. But the script is certainly OK.

Johmss

Oh man!

Great info... it is a good article, and says lots of things that i seriously didn't know.

So, i don't hate Lazemby or Broccoly, i'm gonna hate Lazemby's agent (what a ******)

i'm sure he wasn't an oscar-worthy anctor, but hevery film would improve his skills

highhopes

Johmss wrote:

Oh man!

Great info... it is a good article, and says lots of things that i seriously didn't know.

So, i don't hate Lazemby or Broccoly, i'm gonna hate Lazemby's agent (what a ******)

i'm sure he wasn't an oscar-worthy anctor, but hevery film would improve his skills

But while Lazenby is busy learning the job -- and there no guarantee he would -- movie-goers get stuck with a crappy product. They should have gone with an actor in the first place, instead of just trying to find a Connery clone. They even cut his hair to imitate Connery's toupee. The fact that they chose an actor first rather than a "type" is one of the things I appreciate about CR.
But again, the OHMSS script was pretty strong.

Klaus Hergescheimer

OMHSS is terrific. It was arguably the best scripted of all of the films, and it is very faithful to the novel, which is, IMO, one of the three "holies" of Fleming's work. (Along with CR and FRWL) The story is very strong, and the performances are great. I could do without some of the sillier elements (the Hillary Bray sequences are dreadful; Bond reading a playboy seems elementary for him; etc.), but it's not enough to soil one of the very best films.

I would rank it #5, behind CR, FRWL, and the Dalton films.

Dan Same

highhopes wrote:

But while Lazenby is busy learning the job -- and there no guarantee he would -- movie-goers get stuck with a crappy product. They should have gone with an actor in the first place, instead of just trying to find a Connery clone. They even cut his hair to imitate Connery's toupee. The fact that they chose an actor first rather than a "type" is one of the things I appreciate about CR.
But again, the OHMSS script was pretty strong.

I completely agree. Although I loved his physicality and his handling of the final scene, I think Lazenby was terrible. OHMSS is seventh on my list. If Connery had been cast, it would most certainly be in my top five. However, I don't think the actor is the film's only problem, as IMO the script (while great) wasn't perfect. The best written Bond films are IMO GF and FRWL. After that comes films like DN, TB, OHMSS and TSWLM. I think that if Connery had been cast, and the script had been fine tuned, OHMSS could very well challenge GF and FRWL for the title of my favourite Bond films. However, as it is, I still think it is a masterpiece.

P.S. Not that you're asking, but I actually prefer your old photo HH. I think it's much clearer. Is there any particular reason why you changed?

Dan Same

Klaus Hergescheimer wrote:

I could do without some of the sillier elements (the Hillary Bray sequences are dreadful; Bond reading a playboy seems elementary for him; etc.)

I don't agree about the Hillary Bray sequences which I thought were terrific, but I very much agree about the playboy. Considering that Bond is able to get any woman he desires, it seems a little desperate and ordinary for him to be looking at a centre-fold. And the worst thing is that he took it with him!

Johmss

I just don't see Lazemby similar to Connery. For me they are very different (i see Lazemby as a skinny guy instead of Connery Build up body)

I think Connery in OHMSS and in DAF would be marvelous, as if it was Lazemby as well (the final product may vary of course, but it would be more conected rather than the PTS in DAF) but that would be a vendetta movie a la LTK... but with Connery or Lazemby.

Is like, it doesn't matter if you never see OHMSS, an only weird Bond married, is like it wasn't a cannon.

Yet i'm glad pretty much everyone agree about the novelization and the script... is just perfect.

RJJB

Lazenby, the man's name is Lazenby. Not LAZEMBBY.

highhopes

Dan Same wrote:

highhopes wrote:

But while Lazenby is busy learning the job -- and there no guarantee he would -- movie-goers get stuck with a crappy product. They should have gone with an actor in the first place, instead of just trying to find a Connery clone. They even cut his hair to imitate Connery's toupee. The fact that they chose an actor first rather than a "type" is one of the things I appreciate about CR.
But again, the OHMSS script was pretty strong.

I completely agree. Although I loved his physicality and his handling of the final scene, I think Lazenby was terrible. OHMSS is seventh on my list. If Connery had been cast, it would most certainly be in my top five. However, I don't think the actor is the film's only problem, as IMO the script (while great) wasn't perfect. The best written Bond films are IMO GF and FRWL. After that comes films like DN, TB, OHMSS and TSWLM. I think that if Connery had been cast, and the script had been fine tuned, OHMSS could very well challenge GF and FRWL for the title of my favourite Bond films. However, as it is, I still think it is a masterpiece.

P.S. Not that you're asking, but I actually prefer your old photo HH. I think it's much clearer. Is there any particular reason why you changed?

The parts of the script I didn't care much for were the breaking of the fourth wall in the PTS; the harem at Blofeld's lair -- It's just cheesy, Austin Powers crap. More like the Playboy Mansion that a master criminal's headquarters; And the montage to the one or two worst songs a long-past-his-prime Louis Armstrong ever recorded in which Bond and Tracy fall in love. I kind of wish she'd been shot right there and then.

P.S. I just like to change the old picture now and then. Besides, it's raining here and I miss riding ...

Scribe74

Klaus Hergescheimer wrote:

OMHSS is terrific. It was arguably the best scripted of all of the films, and it is very faithful to the novel, which is, IMO, one of the three "holies" of Fleming's work. (Along with CR and FRWL) The story is very strong, and the performances are great. I could do without some of the sillier elements (the Hillary Bray sequences are dreadful; Bond reading a playboy seems elementary for him; etc.), but it's not enough to soil one of the very best films.

I would rank it #5, behind CR, FRWL, and the Dalton films.

I tend to agree . . . let's be honest, most of the films made a mockery of Fleming's source material. I enjoyed OHMSS because it was the best adaptation -- after FRWL -- of the novel on which it was based.

Loeffelholz

I'll just step in here and defend "We Have All The Time In The World"---possibly the last major recording of the great Satchmo's life. It's beautiful, and masterfully rendered. So there {:)

If 007 were ever to fall in love, during a montage, this is what should play over it B-)

blueman

I admit it, I loved the montage and Armstrong singing that song. It's kinda cheesy, and it shouldn't work in a Bond film, but it does (for me at least).

I would've liked more of Bond the man, and less of Bond the image, but agree it's one of the best and they balanced what they did do perfectly.

Moore Not Less

highhopes wrote:

The parts of the script I didn't care much for were the breaking of the fourth wall in the PTS; the harem at Blofeld's lair -- It's just cheesy, Austin Powers crap. More like the Playboy Mansion that a master criminal's headquarters; And the montage to the one or two worst songs a long-past-his-prime Louis Armstrong ever recorded in which Bond and Tracy fall in love. I kind of wish she'd been shot right there and then.

Pretty much agree with everything except your reference to 'All The Time In The World' as one of Louis Armstrong's worst ever recordings. I think it's a beautiful song, beautifully sung by Armstrong.

highhopes wrote:

I miss riding ...

You are not the only one.

highhopes

Loeffelholz wrote:

I'll just step in here and defend "We Have All The Time In The World"---possibly the last major recording of the great Satchmo's life. It's beautiful, and masterfully rendered. So there {:)

If 007 were ever to fall in love, during a montage, this is what should play over it B-)

I'm just saying that "We Have All the Time in the World" is a long way from "West End Blues." Any hack would have sufficed on the former. Only Armstrong the latter. I happen to be a fan of his. (It always bugs me when people say "Isn't he the guy who sang 'Hello, Dolly'" or some other piece of crap, when you can pretty much trace 20th century popular music back to him). So hearing songs that are really beneath his talent is depressing.

Dan Same

highhopes wrote:

The parts of the script I didn't care much for were the breaking of the fourth wall in the PTS; the harem at Blofeld's lair -- It's just cheesy, Austin Powers crap. More like the Playboy Mansion that a master criminal's headquarters; And the montage to the one or two worst songs a long-past-his-prime Louis Armstrong ever recorded in which Bond and Tracy fall in love. I kind of wish she'd been shot right there and then.

I agree about breaking th fourth wall in the PTS. I really hate that. Another thing I dislike is that in the scene with Monepenny, she says he's the "same old James... only more so." The "It never happened to the other guy" line in the PTS and some of the comments that Moneypenny made are things that I wish could be expunged from the film.

In regards to your other two comments; I actually don't agree. I loved the harem scenes and I thought they were terrific. The major reason being that I love that Bond used the exact same seduction technique on two different women.

I also think that We Have All The Time In The World was used perfectly. Was it one of his worst songs? Perhaps, but that's fine with me.

highhopes wrote:

P.S. I just like to change the old picture now and then. Besides, it's raining here and I miss riding ...

I can certainly understand the desire to change things from time to time. Who knows, I might replace my photo of the beautiful Halle Berry with one of old Craggy himself (Daniel Craig).

highhopes

Fish1941 wrote:

As for the harem . . . it's in the novel as well. Blame Fleming if you don't like it.

Curse you, Ian Fleming ... )

Sir Hillary Bray

Fish1941 wrote:

My only complaint about OHMSS is that they used actor George Baker to dub the voice of Sir Hilary Bray, when Bond was impersonating him. I thought it was unecessary.

Other than that, I love OHMSS. For an experienced actor, George Lazenby was pretty damn good. But because he was following upon the footsteps of Connery, many condemned his acting. And this attitude has pervaded to this day. In fact, those at Eon Productions have condemned Lazenby more for turning down the offer to continue with the Bond role than any bad acting. And Pierce Brosnan had criticized Lazenby for making Bond too human.

"We Have All the Time in the World" is a lovely song that was beautifully performed by the great Armstrong. His last performance. There's another great song in the movie called "Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?".

As for the harem . . . it's in the novel as well. Blame Fleming if you don't like it.

An excellent summation, which I agree with. OHMSS is far and away my favorite (although I know it's not your #1, Fish) so obviously I disagree with most of the comments disliking the film. But my opinion is no more valid than, say, HH's.

I completely agree that the single most annoying (and inexplicable) aspect of the film is Bond using Baker's voice while masquerading as Bray. The only possible explanation I can come up with (and believe me, I've thought about this hard) is that somehow Blofeld and Bray had spoken at some point, and that Blofeld would therefore be clued into Bray's voice. However, this is highly unlikely, as Blofeld seemed to do all his correspondence on the issue through Gumbold. I've never understood why this whole silly aspect was included in a film that otherwise devotes itself to realism and Fleming's source material.

BTW, Fish, I don't recall Brosnan ever commenting on Lazenby, but that's probably just my own bad memory.

Finally, I agree that ...Christmas Trees... is great in the film itself, but that's probably because it sounds like background music appropriate to a winter festival. When I hear it unfiltered on the soundtrack CD, I don't like it -- lyrics are stupid, IMO.

highhopes

Sir Hillary Bray wrote:

An excellent summation, which I agree with. OHMSS is far and away my favorite (although I know it's not your #1, Fish) so obviously I disagree with most of the comments disliking the film. But my opinion is no more valid than, say, HH's.

And in fact, considerably less!!! :007) Just kidding Hill -- couldn't resist.

Sir Hillary Bray wrote:

I completely agree that the single most annoying (and inexplicable) aspect of the film is Bond using Baker's voice while masquerading as Bray. The only possible explanation I can come up with (and believe me, I've thought about this hard) is that somehow Blofeld and Bray had spoken at some point, and that Blofeld would therefore be clued into Bray's voice. However, this is highly unlikely, as Blofeld seemed to do all his correspondence on the issue through Gumbold. I've never understood why this whole silly aspect was included in a film that otherwise devotes itself to realism and Fleming's source material.

That was another problem with the film (despite the laundry list of complaints, I did enjoy it). It made no sense at all. It's as if we were to believe that Bond was a master impressionist along with everything else. (I'm suprised he didn't use that skill again when he was in Vegas for the next film).

John Drake

Sir Hillary Bray wrote:

BTW, Fish, I don't recall Brosnan ever commenting on Lazenby, but that's probably just my own bad memory.
quote]

I can remember them having a spat not long after GE came out. I'm pretty certain Brosnan criticized Lazenby's performance in OHMSS. Lazenby retaliated claiming if the producers wanted a Bond who could get in touch with his feminine side, then Brosnan was the right man. I'll google about and see if I can find any quotes. They were both at the DAD premiere, so I assume they'd buried the hatchet by then.

highhopes

Call it: "The Battle of the Brunettes"

"If Brosnan walked into a room, I doubt anyone would look up. But this is the Nineties and women want a different man, a man who shows his feminine side. Pierce definitely has that." - George Lazenby

"George is just an old, p***** off guy. He was never an actor, but some p***** off Aussie who doesn't know how to show his feminine side. I met him, and he's got that kind of brittle edge to him." - Pierce Brosnan


Brutal )

No wonder Eon went with a blond ...

John Drake

highhopes wrote:

Call it: "The Battle of the Brunettes"

"If Brosnan walked into a room, I doubt anyone would look up. But this is the Nineties and women want a different man, a man who shows his feminine side. Pierce definitely has that." - George Lazenby

"George is just an old, p***** off guy. He was never an actor, but some p***** off Aussie who doesn't know how to show his feminine side. I met him, and he's got that kind of brittle edge to him." - Pierce Brosnan


Brutal )

No wonder Eon went with a blond ...

Cheers for finding that. If push comes to shove my money's on Lazenby, even at his age.

Dan Same

John Drake wrote:

Cheers for finding that. If push comes to shove my money's on Lazenby, even at his age.

I doubt that. Brosnan is a much better fighter than alot of people give him credit for.

highhopes

Dan Same wrote:

John Drake wrote:

Cheers for finding that. If push comes to shove my money's on Lazenby, even at his age.

I doubt that. Brosnan is a much better fighter than alot of people give him credit for.

Lazenby wasn't much of an actor, but something tells me kicking Pierce's a** is something George would be very good at.

Smoke_13

I just finished with OHMSS and I have to say that I concur with the title of this thread. OHMSS is a great film. The relationship between Bond and Tracy is very well written.

The fight scenes were also well done. I've always been a fan of ski chase scenes in Bond films and this one is pretty good too.

It's unfortunate that a bitter Bond played by Lazenby couldnt come back and do Diamonds are Forever with a dark, jaded, side to it.

Oh and as for Lazenby vs. Brosnan...are you kidding me? Lazenby would be embarrassed if he actually broke a sweat as he slapped Brosnan around.