Anyway, if you tell the story of YOLT the novel you don't have much! There isn't any action until the final scene and confrontation with Blofeld.
I always enjoy YOLT...just can't help it!
And you're right about the novel...but it IS a great third act---and one that really ought to be done at some point. Apparently we must be careful with this one, though, because some fans are fully prepared to lose their minds if it's not handled just right {:)
The overall storyline would make a great 'jumping off' point for a Bond film: Bond being sent on a quiet diplomatic mission which explodes (figuratively and literally!) into something more... :v
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I really like YOLT, it is beautifully filmed, the score (as mentioned) is great, we have a couple gruesome deaths and the ninja's rappelling into the volcano is the best commando attack ever. Connery isn't at his best here, but he is still exudes a certain confidence that Bond has to have.
My biggest disappointment is with Karen Dor as Helga Brandt, just didn't find her attractive.
Yes, what the producers did to Karin Dor (because they told her to change her dark hair to a more "German" colour) is a real shame. She was a beauty with her natural dark colour. Almost unbelievable that the ugly redhead from YOLT is the same woman. Pictures are from the 1964 German Western "Winnetou II":
I always envisioned a full YOLT adaptation to be probably never ideal of audiences. Such a departure from the norm would upset people but I can't help but imagine the beautiful, haunting imagery captured on film by Stanley Kubrick or David Lean.
Connery, clearly bored, flabby, and phoning it in.
I suppose so...but I've never really dwelt on it when watching the film. Any actor who does a role six times is going to have one or two that's not up to par. By the time he was doing YOLT, Connery was certainly tired of the grind, and it shows if you look for it...it's easy to see, but for me it's equally easy to overlook for sentimental reasons.
To me, YOLT is many things, but two things primarily: 1) The moment when the series first 'jumped the shark' with its OTT sets and plot, and 2) The climax of the golden age of Cinematic Bond, with its OTT sets and plot In completely abandoning Fleming for the first time, it simultaneously began the process of alienating FlemingistsTM and charting a lucrative course of ups and downs en route to DAD.
In this controversial post-'reboot' era, my hope is that some still unused aspects of the YOLT novel (along with the CR, LALD, MR, DAF and TSWLM novels) might still see the light of the silver screen, in one form or another, as the films continue to evolve.
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Comments
I always enjoy YOLT...just can't help it!
And you're right about the novel...but it IS a great third act---and one that really ought to be done at some point. Apparently we must be careful with this one, though, because some fans are fully prepared to lose their minds if it's not handled just right {:)
The overall storyline would make a great 'jumping off' point for a Bond film: Bond being sent on a quiet diplomatic mission which explodes (figuratively and literally!) into something more... :v
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
My biggest disappointment is with Karen Dor as Helga Brandt, just didn't find her attractive.
I suppose so...but I've never really dwelt on it when watching the film. Any actor who does a role six times is going to have one or two that's not up to par. By the time he was doing YOLT, Connery was certainly tired of the grind, and it shows if you look for it...it's easy to see, but for me it's equally easy to overlook for sentimental reasons.
To me, YOLT is many things, but two things primarily: 1) The moment when the series first 'jumped the shark' with its OTT sets and plot, and 2) The climax of the golden age of Cinematic Bond, with its OTT sets and plot
In this controversial post-'reboot' era, my hope is that some still unused aspects of the YOLT novel (along with the CR, LALD, MR, DAF and TSWLM novels) might still see the light of the silver screen, in one form or another, as the films continue to evolve.
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM