OHMSS 40th anniversary

PPK 7.65mmPPK 7.65mm Saratoga Springs NY USAPosts: 1,256MI6 Agent
Since many James Bond websites have been talking about the 40th anniversary of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, I thought it would fun to start a thread to talk about this ground breaking entry in our favorite series.

I will start by saying this was the film that made me look at Bond as a character more, since thanks to the great script and Peter Hunt's approach to directing we see that he has more layers to him, and for the first time truly falls in love. Also I liked the locations and cinematography when Bond travels to Switzerland, never before has this country looked more beautiful on film than this.The ending was also one of the biggest surprises ever, I was really shocked to see Tracy killed in a cold blooded manner only hours after she married Bond. Even thought I was about 10 or 11 when I first watched the film that scene has stood out to me and me realize just why Bond leds the life he does.


As far as cons I have a few, casting George Lazenby who at the time had done only tv commercials was a mistake. Nothing personal mind you but I feel that a more seasoned actor would have been better for the film. If Timothy Dalton had not felt so intimidated or if EON had kept looking I would enjoyed the film more. Secondly why does Sir Hilary Bray give Bond false information on the DeBluchamp (spelling) family? Did he make an honest mistake or was he working for Blofeld the whole time?

Even with these small bumps I still count this film in my top ten Bond films list.

Comments

  • Commander StrangwaysCommander Strangways Morriston, FloridaPosts: 20MI6 Agent
    On Her Majesty's Secret Service was one of the best entries into the series, I consider the 60's the strongest decade for Bond as it was the most quality-laden of them all and it ended with OHMSS. While Lazenby wasn't that much of an actor at the time, he did a good job as IMO, Diana Rigg is a goddess, Telly Sevalas has never done a bad performance and this is certainly one of his best as Blofeld. The stunt work for the film is excellent as all the Bond films had but this is the first Bond that uses action scenes in a snowy environment, the John Barry score is excellent, the script has a good balance between humor and action.

    My only con for the film is at the finale, after Tracy get shot they blare the Bond theme from the gunbarrell sequence over the credits, it kinda ruins a delicate and emotional moment for Bond.

    To adress your questions, Lazenby was a strange casting decision, he did one good film and left though and personally I think they would have made his Bond more comical over time with help from director Guy Hamilton and such, which may have not been too bad, especially if Sir Hillary Bray undercover became a series mainstay. The other problem you brought up may just have been an oversight in the screeenplay, all these films seem to have a flaw somewhere, as do all films, you may have just stumbled onto one.

    I rank it third, behind The Spy Who Loved Me and The Living Daylights.
    It's the biggest! It's the best! It's Bond and beyond!
  • Gebruder GumboldGebruder Gumbold San FranciscoPosts: 549MI6 Agent
    OHMSS is my favourite Bond film. To me, it clicks on many different levels, and that is why I have dedicated my site, OHMSSDBS.com to the 40th Anniversary of not only OHMSS, but the Aston Martin DBS that I am restoring.

    The look of this film is so nostalgic, especially the scenes that tie in earlier films, like Bond's office, and the opening credits.
    In this film I prefer Lazenby to Connery, as Sean in 1969 was overweight, and uninspired with the role. Lazenby could have easlily done the 5 films he was signed for. Probably goes down as the biggest "what if" in movie history. OHMSS is a rare film, a rare gem, and features so many wonderful details, from the locations, to the soundtrack, that the producers have not assembled elements like that again. It is the last Bond film of the Bond decade. It has, IMHO, the most elegant car, the DBS, and by far the most elegant heroine, Diana Rigg.

    It was the last film in which ladies dressed with gloves and long dresses, men wore hats, and Bond was tough as nails.
    The music is so evocative and powerful in this film, like Goldfinger, that it stamps the impression in my mind of each scenes, and as I listen to the soundtrack, I can see the lonely beach, feel the Alps, etc.

    The pervasive colours of red and blue, like the gold in Goldfinger, permeate the set. The ski and action sequences are real- no computers or tricks. Lazenby's fight scenes are superb- Connery had to really work hard in DAF's glass elevator scene with Franks to come close to OHMSS.

    Finally OHMSS takes its place in the upper 3 of fan favourite films, the Aston Martin DBS is the fastest appreciating classic, and last of the David Brown Astons, hats are back in style again, and OHMSS music and style are emulated worldwide.

    Let us hope that we will have some world events for this important, and entertaining film...

    ..well, back to work, you've no idea how it piles up!
  • bluemanblueman PDXPosts: 1,667MI6 Agent
    OHMSS remains the top Bond film, and will likely always keep that spot, at least for me. It's Fleming's best story, and Hunt captured it damn near perfectly. Any quibbles with it are minor - added VO quips, Laz looking lost in a couple scenes - because the overall is simply stunning. Camerwork, stunts, score, locations, but most of all the characters, they're all so fully-formed and revealing, even Laz as Bond puts in a compelling 90% right performance (arguably a better one than Connery in YOLT, lol). Many fans regret Connery not being in this one, not me. Maybe if they had filmed it directly after GF as EON had planned, Connery would've fit the Bond Fleming wrote in OHMSS, but in '69 after five films he seemed done with it, and what Hunt did with Laz in the role still ranks as one of the best Bonds yet on film IMO. Maybe someday we'll get a Bond and a Bond film that rivals OHMSS (Campbell took his shot with Craig in CR and came damn close IMO), but the interweave of adventure and romance we got from Bond in '69 seems like the filmic equivalent of Piz Gloria, a pinnacle just not to be topped.
  • ManxmanManxman Posts: 125MI6 Agent
    "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is my favourite James Bond film by far, and unlike many other people who love the movie, I consider George Lazenby to have made a far better James Bond than Sean Connery.

    Connery, admittedly, possessed a leonine grace unequalled by any other Bond, and he could handle witty dialogue brilliantly (which Lazenby certainly could not; witness his dreadful delivery of the appalling puns "He had lots of guts!" and "He's branched off!"), but he was just too cocksure to be Fleming's Bond. Whilst Connery gave the impression of a man having a whale of a time, and thoroughly enjoying his travel, five star hotels and procession of beautiful lovers, Lazenby in the early part of the film pulls off the remarkable trick of appearing to pretend to enjoy himself, whilst being wracked with inner doubt. This may simply have been a reflection of his lack of confidence as an actor, but it enables him to portray a crucial facet of Fleming's character that no-one else — not even the otherwise brilliant Timothy Dalton — has been able to pull off.

    Throughout the film, Lazenby constantly strikes the right note: self-destructive anger when snapped at by M (compare this to Connery's scene with Bernard Lee in "Diamonds Are Forever", when he comes across as an arrogant schoolboy pushing his luck by cheeking the headmaster), playfulness when seducing Ruby, genuine fear when chased by Irma Bunt and her henchmen, and tenderness in the quite remarkable barn scenes with Diana Rigg. I also think Lazenby nailed the ending perfectly: his flat, stunned disbelief at Tracy's murder is pure Fleming, as opposed to the vengefulness I think Connery would have injected into the scene.

    Of course, Lazenby isn't the film's only asset: Rigg, Savalas, Steppat and Ferzetti are all wonderful in their respective roles, and the movie benefits not only from the best script and the best music, but also the best action scenes and best cinematography of the series.

    In fact, the only possible criticism I could raise of it (apart from the two horrible puns mentioned above, which appear to belong in a Connery or Moore film instead) is the opening scene at Universal Exports. Has any Bond film ever cut to anything less interesting, or consequential, after the gun barrel? Why not simply go straight to the scene in Portugal?
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,484MI6 Agent
    What a brilliant write up Manxman.

    I think they cut to Universal Exports to bed in the new Bond and show the traditional elements are in place, after that it's a long time before Bond gets back to M and the crew, and hardly ever in the case of Q who offers no gadgets.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Dan SameDan Same Victoria, AustraliaPosts: 6,054MI6 Agent
    In that opening scene, didn't M enquire as to where Bond was? The audience would have been curious as well, and with M stepping in for the audience and vocalising the curiousity, it greatened the suspence of where Bond was. When we actually saw him, it therefore became all the more cooler. :D

    Personally, I think that OHMSS's PTS is almost perfect. The only flaw is the 'that never happened to the other guy line' line. If that line had been replaced, or if the PTS had ended before it, then I think that OHMSS's PTS would have been absolutely perfect. :D
    "He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
  • MathisMathis Deuxième Bureau Posts: 21MI6 Agent
    OHMSS Is one of the best... As I said in another post I'm glad It is receiving a deserved recognition after many years. Lazenby is NOT Sean Connery and maybe that was a positive point on this one. Don't get me wrong! Connery is my favorite Bond but I doubt he could have pulled out the most emotionally complex story of the saga. He's suave and It would be hard to show him in a broken state, something Lazenby accomplishes at the final escene... ¨WE HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD!¨
    "Being dead doesn't mean one still can't be helpful…"
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,484MI6 Agent
    What might have been...

    ohmss67.jpg

    Plus other shots on the website by Jim Paul. Google image OHMSS and click on above pic for more. :)
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • zaphodzaphod Posts: 1,183MI6 Agent
    What a brilliant write up Manxman.

    I think they cut to Universal Exports to bed in the new Bond and show the traditional elements are in place, after that it's a long time before Bond gets back to M and the crew, and hardly ever in the case of Q who offers no gadgets.

    Nothing much to add, save to re state that every time we get a new actor in the role the overall quality shoots up from what has come immediatley before. That said OHMSS stands alone as a real highpoint for me despite it's flaws. I feel that we did not see this peak reached again possibly until Dalton's first outing ( which although a fine Bond film is not the equal of OHMSS) and Craig's debut in CR. OHMSS although not flawless is truly superb
  • BlackleiterBlackleiter Washington, DCPosts: 5,615MI6 Agent
    I thoroughly enjoyed OHMSS and it ranks high up on my list of favorite Bond films. However, I disagree with anyone who says that Lazenby was a better Bond than Connery. No other actor has been able to match Connery at his best - the perfect blend of charm, intelligence, humor and menance. And I have no doubt that Connery would have been able to pull off a memorable closing scene. Different from Lazenby's perhaps, but powerful nevertheless. I picture a combination of a stunned, heart-broken Bond, with a final flash of vengance coming across his face before the Bond theme kicks in.

    All that being said, I think Lazenby did a fine job, and the supporting cast was excellent, especially Riggs and Savalas. The score was top-notch, the best in my opinion, and the stunts and fight scenes were terrific. I was 15 when OHMSS was released and remember sitting in the theater feeling a combination of anticipation and dread as I waited to see the replacement for my hero, Sean Connery. I felt a slight chill when exposed to those first glimpses of Lazenby's dimpled chin in the shadows as he lit a cigarette and spied Riggs through his rifle scope. I was impressed with Lazenby's physical prowess during the battle on the beach, and I thought his bemused comment ("This never happened to the other fella!") was a neat way to break the tension and lead us into the era of the "new" Bond. As thrilled as I was to see Connery return in DAF, the movie was a disappointment and I lamented the fact that Lazenby didn't return to show us more of what he could do with Bond. I think it could have been a successful continuation of the series, and it would have spared us Roger Moore, who I thought was dreadful as Bond.
    "Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
  • chrisno1chrisno1 LondonPosts: 3,634MI6 Agent
    There's a lot being said here that I agree with.
    OHMSS is one of my top3 Bond's.
    I consider it to be one of the best examples of the "traditional" Bond film, in that it harks strongly to the book and elaborates Fleming's narrative for dramatic and violent impact. In that respect it sits extremely well next to the first 4 movies, FYEO and CR.
    Additional notables:
    Telly Savalas - the best Blofeld for me
    Diana Rigg - gorgeous, who wouldn't?
    Piz Gloria - fantastic setting
    Peter Hunt - wonderfully paced direction, esp during the middle "Hilary Bray" hour when he maintains our interest despite slowing the action right down
    Michael Reed - fabulous photography, esp the helicopter journey
    Ski stunts - hardly bettered
    Fight scenes - vicious, nasty, effective
    John Barry - marvellous score, possibly his best
    Louis Armstrong - a beautiful singing performance
    Gabriele Ferzetti - one of the best supporting roles in Bond film
    Richard Maibaum - one of his best screenplays, better because he had full control
    Costumes - 60s chic
    The Bond Girls - I know we had them before (e.g. The Flying Circus) but this is the first notable appearance of a bevy of beauties
    Ilse Steppat - Is exactly how I imagined Irma Bunt
    Gumbold's safe - for me one of the most taut sequences in any Bond film, and it isn't as if he's in any real danger
    Editing - John Glen did a superb job here, tight, fast, energetic
    George Lazenby - not all bad, the most athletic Bond in my book
    Fight scenes - WOW
    Cable car stunt - double WOW
    Avalanche - bloody hell WOW

    There are a few cons:
    Title design - not one of Binder's best
    PTS - I dislike the very first scene, with M and Q, for me it is unnecessary
    Angela Scoular - just seems too common for Bond to seduce her
    OO7 theme at the end - spoils the tragic moment
    Lazenby dubbed - why oh why oh why???

    Incidentlally, Dan Same, although now, 40 yrs on, the end line of the PTS seems remarkably duff, according to John Glen and Peter Hunt it actually got a really big laugh in 1969. I think its one of the earliest times the movies reference themselves. It is obvious, but it doesn't feel particularly out of place.

    Great poster you found Napoleon.

    Roll on another 40 years of enjoyment I say!
  • PaperbillPaperbill FloridaPosts: 812MI6 Agent
    This is my LEAST favorite Bond movie. I really can't see how anyone can put it as one of the best
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,484MI6 Agent
    In the interests of balance, I should say I showed my sister a 15-minute Xmassy excerpt, starting with the exciting escape from Piz Gloria, and she said "Stop this movie, that lead actor is so wooden, he just can't act." Something we the initiated find easy to overlook on 10th time of watching.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • GrindelwaldGrindelwald Posts: 1,342MI6 Agent
    It has a great f-in script , that's why :v

    Pers I liked Binders sequence a lot , felt epic -{
  • TobiasTobias Chelmsford UKPosts: 115MI6 Agent
    This is one of my favourite jb films nice setting plenty of action and it is a stand out from the rest
  • PaperbillPaperbill FloridaPosts: 812MI6 Agent
    Well, again I think this movie sucked, the script is good but the acting and editing are both bad, I would love to see Daniel Craig in a remake!
  • hegottheboothegottheboot USAPosts: 327MI6 Agent
    The titles are the only one with a sense of helplessness and doom with the man hanging on the the moving clock hands
  • chrisno1chrisno1 LondonPosts: 3,634MI6 Agent
    The titles are the only one with a sense of helplessness and doom with the man hanging on the the moving clock hands

    You think?
    Hmm, my take on it is that the playback of previous Bond films is good. It is all the audience really needs to remind them this is the same 007 as before. It's a pity Binder always did the titles last, because the editor/writer/director could have removed from the film all the other references!
    As a youth, I always thought those scenes were cut to resemble a tower of champagne flutes. I had no idea it was an hour glass until much later on!
    I also never understood the significance of 007 running away from the audience, or the man hanging from the clock face. Apparently he's running to catch up and then trying to stop time. But the references are much too obscure. There is very little in the film which gives the impression of impending doom (until the last 45 mins maybe) It certainly isn't as prominent a theme as TB and YOLT, where time was all Bond had.
    I also dislike the "Britiannia" logo, something akin to a postage stamp, I thought. Even worse Binder doesn't even line his credits centrally. It looks a shoddy piece of work to me.
    If I could do it again, I'd stick with the hour glass idea from start to finish, intersperced with scenes from OHMSS as well as previous movies. It worked fine in GF!!!
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,484MI6 Agent
    It always seemed the the prints of previous films seemed a bit low quality in the credits. I have to agree, there's something admirable about what Binder is trying to do but it makes me queasy, which does sum up OHMSS for me.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
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