Highlander- Tastier Than A Sheep’s Stomach

‘I am the Krug! Hear me roar!’ says the bad guy. ‘Heh heh heh- I don’t think so’ replies Lambear. ‘Yesh- the namesh Ssean- Ssean Connerah’. Says Sean Connery. Yesh, Highlander features these three peoples in an interesting take on the old good versus evil battle. There are sword fights, time travels, horses all mixed up in this tale of action, honour, romance, and immortality. Christopher ‘Rain Man’ Lambert plays Jimmy O’ McGreggor, a Kilt wearing Haggis bandit of Ye Olde Scotland. The film begins with his life over 5000 years ago. He is a simple Scotsman, a follower of Braveheart like everyone else and has a beautiful wench. His town is attacked one evening by Geordies and he is stabbed in the heart, dying in the arms of his belovely. After mourning his loss however he returns from the dead, but this time he is alive! He tries to join his family and friends again but they are zombiephobes and cast him out for witcherycraft. He decides to travel down to London as he heard the streets are paved with gold and he can start a new life. On the way though he meets an eccentric old Grandaddy who tells him that, like himself, he is an immortal who can only be killed by losing his head or his temper. These immortals have been fighting each other for weeks and one day the survivor will win a medal. Thus begins a training regime and a hundred year battle against a fellow immortal known as Clive.

This film has some pretty screen shots of the Scattish lowlands, places I would like to visit such as Lock Ness, Lock Spurrin, and Lock Lockland Lough. Kristoffer is a charming newcomer in his first film, his head like a giant light bulb turned off. It is nice to see Shaugn Commeray coming out of retirement for his first film since 1961’s Live And Live Die. He would go onto greater success the following year as the mad scientist in Jurassic Park. Also, Lost favourite Ron Perlman stars as The Crumb- a fierce fighter who would give Arnie’s Conan sword skills a run for their money. Overall this is a good film which I would recommend to Bankers and Firework Company employees.

Best Scene: When Lambread and Coventry are frolicking together in the waters of New Lock Gloghensborough in authentic 17th Century pantaloons. I recently got myself a pair and this Summer I plan to try them out in the local duck pond

From Russia With Love

From Russia With Love

Another dark outing for Connery, FRWL sees Bond lured by SPECTRE into their territory as revenge for his interference with Dr. No. Along for the ride is Donald Grant (The cooly ruthless Shaw) who is not what he seems. Naturally Bond realises what is happening just in time and, in a brilliant fight sequence (one of the best in the series) he takes one Grant, who may be his match in every way. However, SPECTRE will not give up so easily and will stop at nothing to make the Secret Agent pay.

This has probably one of the best scripts for a Bond film, full of twists and surprises, not pandering to any audience, and before the time when every Bond film had to have very certain themes planted into it. It seems like a thriller with strong action elements, rather than an action with strong comic elements as the series would progress to, but unfortunately the film is not as good as it should have been. The Bond girls are instantly forgettable, the theme song is awful, and there are few good set pieces. What lifts it though is Rosa Klebb (another strong performance, by Lotte Lenya), helped by a couple of shoe gadgets, and the pre-title sequence which, although not one of the best, would continue in all following Bond movies. The introduction of Q, rather than Boothroyd sparks the beginning of Bond’s use of gadgets and another good relationship in the films. Not memorable enough, difficult when Goldfinger was next, but scores points for being gritty and realistic.

This DVD has a wonderful restoration job in terms of sound and picture quality, making the film seem like a modern action flick. The extras include interviews and commentaries, and are equally as interesting as each other in the series.

As always, leave your comments on the movie and the review- is this one of the more underrated Bond films? Where does in place in your Bond list? Don’t forget to check out my other Bond reviews in the DVD section.

Goldfinger

Goldfinger

This is the point where the Bond series really fired into action-terrific stunts, explosive action, good set pieces, memorable villains, car chases, gadgets, and feisty, strong willed women. Probably deserving of being called the best Bond movie, though it is not my favourite, as it has everything a Bond movie should have. It also stands beside other action films for its excitement levels, is full of one-liners and memorable images, and has a very good plot and strong performances from everyone.

Bond is investigating a gold smuggler, in a brief turn away from the full blown SPECTRE plots of previous films, and uncovers a plan to destroy the world’s economy. Bond meets Auric Goldfinger, the man believed to be responsible, and soon is struggling to stop the plan and save the world.

Goldfinger has many famous moments which have become more than simply memorable movie scenes- The Jill Masterson ‘turns to gold’ scene, the ‘Shocking’ bath moment, the famous Aston Martin’s ejector seat scene. The laser scene. Pussy Galore, as her name may suggest is Bond’s ‘girl’ this time, and is easily the strongest female character to date in the series. We have Oddjob, a terrifying silent assassin who uses his steel rimmed bowler hat to dispatch of his enemies, one of the best bad guys in any Bond movie, and Goldfinger himself is the archetypal Bond Villain- smart but…dumb. The theme tune is one of the strongest, and the film made sure that Bond had a place in movie and cultural history.

The DVD has sparkling visuals restored for modern viewing, and the same can be said for the sound. The 2nd disc is full of interesting features which will satisfy all Bond fans- from the nerds to the passing enthusiasts.

As always, please leave your comments on the movie and the review- is this the best Bond ever? And don’t forget to check out my other Bond reviews in the DVD section.

Dr No

Dr No

The first in the most successful movie franchise of all time, and the perfect introduction to Bond- one of the most loved characters in movie history. Sean Connery is perfect in the role he made his own, able to be tough and cold in the face of the enemy, charming with women, and capable of delivering witty one liners without them sounding cheesy. Dr. No was a worldwide hit upon release, and now almost half a century later thanks to this Ultimate Edition the film looks and sounds as if it was filmed yesterday- and a whole new legion of fans can become entwined in the world of 007.

Bond travels to America to find the bad guy who the Americans could not, follows the clues which lead him to a Caribbean island, and encounters two important characters-Honey Ryder, his love interest, and Quarrel, a guide. As with every Bond film following, the secret agent comes in contact with one or two ‘Bond Girls’, and a friend who helps him complete his mission. The famous shot of Ursula Andress coming out of the sea may well have been outrageously sexy in the 60’s, but has become extremely dated, or rather the audience has since become de-sensitised to images of a sexual nature. However, it remains the benchmark for the Bond Girl entrance, and Ryder is still one of the most famous women to grace Bond’s world. She was certainly a strong female character for the era, but there is a definite sexist attitude towards her throughout the film, mainly because Bond’s real sole purpose is to catch or kill the bad guy, complete the mission, and stay alive.

Quarrel is played brilliantly by John Kitzmiller, and although there are slight racist undertones, unfortunate but unsurprising for the time, he is a strong character and Bond is genuinely hurt when he is killed. We see that Bond is a haunted character, and that people who come into his life will inevitably die or not stay around. This is what makes him cold, why is must be mysogynistic, and why he cannot afford to get close to anyone. We are introduced to Moneypenny, whose relationship with Bond has always been intriguing over the years, and his superior M, who constantly annoy each other but have a great mutual respect. Dr. No himself is a slightly weak character, partly because of his lack of screen time, and partly because he is not as charismatic or memorable as later bad guys. However, he is ruthless and has the traits of most villains-pride, and an eye on world domination. His death scene is also weak, but perhaps this is because we are used to more elaborate scenes in later films.

Overall the film is high quality entertainment, the script is sharp and tense, the tone is darker than other movies of the time, the music is memorable, and the stunts are good, leading the way for its sequels. The features on the dvd are excellent, with deleted scenes, a good commentary, and interesting documentaries.

Feel free to leave any comments on the movie- does this still stand up to today’s standards of action and Bond movies? Also check out my other Bond reviews in the DVD section.

From Russia With Love: Special Edition

From Russia With Love

Another dark outing for Connery, FRWL sees Bond lured by SPECTRE into their territory as revenge for his interference with Dr. No. Along for the ride is Donald Grant (The cooly ruthless Shaw) who is not what he seems. Naturally Bond realises what is happening just in time and, in a brilliant fight sequence (one of the best in the series) he takes one Grant, who may be his match in every way. However, SPECTRE will not give up so easily and will stop at nothing to make the Secret Agent pay.

This has probably one of the best scripts for a Bond film, full of twists and surprises, not pandering to any audience, and before the time when every Bond film had to have very certain themes planted into it. It seems like a thriller with strong action elements, rather than an action with strong comic elements as the series would progress to, but unfortunately the film is not as good as it should have been. The Bond girls are instantly forgettable, the theme song is awful, and there are few good set pieces. What lifts it though is Rosa Klebb (another strong performance, by Lotte Lenya), helped by a couple of shoe gadgets, and the pre-title sequence which, although not one of the best, would continue in all following Bond movies. The introduction of Q, rather than Boothroyd sparks the beginning of Bond’s use of gadgets and another good relationship in the films. Not memorable enough, difficult when Goldfinger was next, but scores points for being gritty and realistic.

This DVD has a wonderful restoration job in terms of sound and picture quality, making the film seem like a modern action flick. The extras include interviews and commentaries, and are equally as interesting as each other in the series.

Feel free to comment on the movie and the review- is this your favourite Bond film with Connery and where would you rank it overall?