Gabrielle Ferzetti does for sure - so it's another leap onto the Bond Wagon for this one...
In my initial run of tracking down all of the James Bond movies after becoming a fan - first with any airings on the ABC network - home of 007 throughout the 70's and early 80's - then with rentals of the movies on Beta and VHS - On Her Majesty's Secret Service (OHMSS) remained the hardest to find. ABC had initially aired it in two parts - due to it being 35 minutes longer than the shortest Bond movie - and they really altered the original movie doing so - they padded the 140 minute movie to 200 minutes to fill two nights (100 minutes plus 20 minutes of commercials each night - can you imagine? We have almost 20 minutes of commercials per half hour now!) This version starts with the escape from Blofeld's lair late in the movie - and as an unconvincing soundalike narrates - Bond thinks back on how this all started - which then takes the viewer back to the actual opening of the movie. As a result of this bizarre re-edit, ABC didn't go around showing OHMSS much (if at all).
In fact, let's start some extras with a couple of rare clips of the ABC TV edit - which someone has thoughtfully posted on YouTube. The two clips run about 18 minutes altogether - I'm not suggesting you watch the whole of both - if you have time, by all means check 'em out - but even if you don't have that much time to spare - you can get a taste of this televised assault on the poor movie...and see how poor all these 2.35:1 movies looked in full frame - the shenanigans start right after the gun barrel opening...
Those videos disappeared - but I'll leave that up there as historical record - instead here are two ABC openings when they aired the movie - the first from 1976 in two parts, the other from 1982 complete in one evening:
Meanwhile, back in the day - I had no luck seeing the movie on TV, and then it was hard to find on tape, because it starred "that other guy."
I finally found it - and I loved it - of course - although I found Lazenby a little lacking back then - I've grown rather fond of him since, and really would have liked to see how he would have grown into the role if he'd continued it into the 70's...
Let's throw in a couple more extras, as we often do with these 007 movie posts. Suppose Sean Connery hadn't left the series (for the first time) after You Only Live Twice in 1967, or suppose the filmmakers had done OHMSS instead of You Only Live Twice in 1967 - with a different Bond girl and villain - the poster might have looked like this:
Yul Brynner would have made an interesting Blofeld...
Here's a more modern version of the trailer - I always enjoy these -
And that will do it - a long post for what was the longest Bond film of all - until that title was taken by Casino Royale in 2006.
The movie resides in the video vault on a fine DVD - the Blu-Ray is coming in September....and we could be spinning that DVD as soon as tonight if you want to join me for some 007 fun!
Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!
You can never go wrong with Bond, my friend. You, better than most, abide by this principle. Speaking of the great Bond Saga, I'm already in the process of creating mental images of Skyfall. Sam Mendes, please do not let me down. I trust he will not.
ReplyDeleteI hope he doesn't either. I'm the tiniest bit troubled that the Bond theme isn't more prevalent in that teaser trailer. I understood why it wasn't in Casino Royale until the end - but there was no excuse to keep it out of Quantum of Solace - and now I'm worried the producers have jettisoned it altogether. Sure hoping not. That music gets my blood racing!
DeleteI thought this movie nearly ruined Bond. Who the hell wants the ultra cool spy to fall in love? That was the problem with Casino Royale. Bond needs to remain the seducer because that's part of his charm. Having him fall in love is pointless and makes him uncool. He's like a superhero. Love is for mortals not superspys. If I want to watch a romance, there's plenty of tripe out there like The Notebook. LOL Just keep to the guns, the explosions and the sex 007.
ReplyDeleteI am seriously on a high for Skyfall. What a magnificent trailer!
Mel, I should have totally known you wouldn't be about a romantically shmoozing 007 - but he sure does get some comeuppance each time he lets his guard down, doesn't he? And I like the later references to the marriage - which Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton handled well, giving us a quick glimpse of the hurt through the tough exterior.
DeleteI will pencil this one and Casino Royale out of any film festivals we schedule - they would take up too much time anyway! Cheers!
I guess my problem is I don't want Bond to be too multi-dimensional. It takes away from my shallow enjoyment if I have to sympathize. ;) But you're right, Moore and Dalton both did a good job with the references.
DeleteCraig: Lazenby wasn't too bad. He grows on you. Good effort. But of course, nobody comes close to Connery. Never have. Never will. Cool posters and clips. Thank God for YouTube. LOL.
ReplyDeleteHe does grow on you. When I read how the poor lad was left to his own devices by director Peter Hunt - I thought he really did a pretty dang good job. Thanks for the kudos!
DeleteA good Bond movie - but IMO it could have been way better with Moore or Connery. Wasn't too fond of Lazenby's performance.
ReplyDeleteI can't say you're wrong - Lazenby's perf is a bit weak. I do think he might have grown into it though...sadly, we'll never know now...
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