OHMSS - am I the only one who...
Agent Sidewinder
Posts: 223MI6 Agent
...cannot imagine Sean Connery in this film at all?
Seriously, I read many comments on OHMSS to the effect of 'oh, with Connery it would have the PERFECT James Bond film', but for me the film and George Lazenby are inextricably connected. In fact, a significant part of my enjoyment of the movie comes from its 'oddball' status.
Connery is, of course, Connery. But when I try to imagine him exchanging loving glances with Tracy in Draco's car or while travelling down a Swiss mountain on skis, or crying over Tracy's body at the end, I can't do it, those moments are forever Lazenby's to me. I'm not knocking Connery's acting skills here, I'm sure he COULD have pulled it off, it's just nigh on impossible for me to imagine it.
So, does anyone agree with me out there, or am I yelling in the dark here?
Seriously, I read many comments on OHMSS to the effect of 'oh, with Connery it would have the PERFECT James Bond film', but for me the film and George Lazenby are inextricably connected. In fact, a significant part of my enjoyment of the movie comes from its 'oddball' status.
Connery is, of course, Connery. But when I try to imagine him exchanging loving glances with Tracy in Draco's car or while travelling down a Swiss mountain on skis, or crying over Tracy's body at the end, I can't do it, those moments are forever Lazenby's to me. I'm not knocking Connery's acting skills here, I'm sure he COULD have pulled it off, it's just nigh on impossible for me to imagine it.
So, does anyone agree with me out there, or am I yelling in the dark here?
Comments
Of course, the most popular "what if" as you mentioned is Connery in the 1969 OHMSS. I've pondered on how one day a fan-made version of OHMSS could incorporate flawless CGI to make the Lazenby-Connery switcheroo, but I agree that with the lines and "acting" done close to verbatim would likely produce something really wooden (though I still anticipate this happening one day!)
The big maybe, and common regret, is how perhaps Connery would have made OHMSS his own, since there is a measure of these films that result from the actors' on the spot input, the unique "synergy" (hate that word, BTW) produced by the cast and crew, and most importantly, the unique interaction between Rigg, my favorite Bond girl of all time, and Connery...ahem, my fave Bond. But who knows? Maybe the interaction would have proved disasterous, and the "caliber," appeal or bankability of movie leads do not always guarantee successful pairings; a 60's film with a title I can't remember at the moment, with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole comes to mind as an example of this.
Lazenby also brought a physical edge to the part that was above and beyond any of the other actors. If you can forgive his occasional discomfort in the role overall Lazenby was much better than most people give him credit for. When Connery did return he telephoned a jovial performance in and paved the way for the Roger Moore era.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
http://www.hmss.com/films/ohmss67/
"How To Steal A Million"- too calculated to create cool characters and chemistry. Dead on, supes.
have liked to have done this
movie and show off that he can
do emotional scenes.
Or at the end of the movie
when hes saying goodbye to Tracy
instead of saying "We have all the time in
the world" Connery looks up with the serious
look he does and says, "Blofeld"
Lazenby sais in the end of starting sequence: "That never happened to the other guy!" If it would, OHMSS would be totally different movie.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
To me, it's THE ultimate Bond film. It has a degree of emotional intensity that few others had- it was never seen again until 'For Your Eyes Only' and it was somewhat botched in that, imo. The only thing I could say was wrong with the film would be right at the very end- I find the triumphant strains of the Bond theme that follows the gorgeous, moving 'We Have All The Time In The World' to be all wrong.
Several factors make the film the best EON Bond film.
1) The locations - The Swiss alps, Bern, Portugal, London.
2) Casting - Rigg, Savalas give excellent performances. Ilse Steppat is marvellous as Irma Bunt. She died shortly after filming I believe. The Blofeld girls are excellent. Notice Joanna Lumley.
3) Script - Maibaum at his best. Extensive use of locations from the novels never seen in th films before such as Bond's office, M's house 'Quarterdeck?'. Extended screentime used to full effect.
4)Costume
5)Music score. The instrumental title track is better than most of the themes sung by major artists.
Louis Armstrong's We Have All The Time...is very atmospheric especially at the climax of the film.
Everything about the film is flawless.
The UE disc has some never before seen footage of Lazenby. 'In His Own Words' I think it is called.
Why was he such a dick about refusing to shave his beard and being a hippy? He could have been Bond throughout the seventies no problem.
I think he just felt that he was the star of the bond movies, and not Bond being the star of Bond movies. He seemed almost wanting to make enemies of friends. What he said about Hunt in the "In his own words" I thought was interesting - that they could have found anyone to play james bond and that hunt was more interested in set ups for shots. It seemed just like shooting himself in the foot.
Anyway, it seemed like he learnt his lesson. At least thats something.
one reason Connery quit after YOLT was the filmmakers abandonment of the source material in favour of formula any truth to that or is that just more spurious Wikiwisdom?
if true, it suggests connery would rather have done a faithful adaptation of OHMSS than some fantastic story of a secret volcano HQ
"Better make that two."
Watch how you word your statements.
Wikipedia is for wimps
He was a bloated oaf in that movie. Looks like he feels it too in every scene.
a few folks above argued the increasing formulization was due to Connerys personal style, and that sounds more likely: there was stuff in the novels that just wouldnt work with the Connery persona, not just Tracys death but the torture scenes, the moments of selfdoubt, the constant muttered expletives, the fact FlemingBond actually falls for women and considers changing his lifestyle...
I could not see him in OHMSS at all, itd have to be a totally different movie, and we already had an unrecognizable You Only Live Twice that trashed all elements of character development that were in the novel
we gotta count ourselves lucky he did quit or we never would have got this film at all
I think Connery could have done everything that you stated extremely well. However, to be fair, he might not have agreed to do some of them such as the torture scenes, the moments of self doubt and 'the fact FlemingBond actually falls for women and considers changing his lifestyle.' I think he could have handled them superbly, but I can't imagine him agreeing to doing them, same as the Tracey scene as depicted in the film. However I can easily imagine him agreeing to constantly mutter expletives.
(That all said, I wouldn't want to see any of the things that you described. Obviously Tracey died in OHMSS and in it Bond fell for a woman for whom he considered changing his life style, which as a one-off I think worked, but only as a one-off, however I'm not looking forward to the torture scene in CR and I don't think that Bond should have moments of self doubt.)
The Sean Connery of the first four Bond films could and probably would have done a brilliant job in OHMSS, far better than George Lazenby. The Connery of YOLT & DAF definitely would not have done a brilliant job in OHMSS.
In fact, Connery's portrayal in YOLT is my least favourite by a Bond actor in the whole series. I'd rather have Lazenby than a bored looking non-performing Connery. However, I am less critical of Connery in DAF. I tend to believe he altered his portrayal to suit the lighter tone of the film. He could have lost some weight, though.
I enjoy Seans bond but i find it all too cool, roger can sometimes overdo the funnyness but brings it right back esp in the Glen ones of his, Pierce has gotten the balance right.
"Better make that two."