If asked to bet on it - I would say that Fred Haggerty would definitely care, and that gives us another opportunity to jump on the Bondwagon with this one:
The second 007 movie - based on a book chosen by JFK as one of his Top Ten - stays pretty close to the Fleming story - but adds an extra layer of intrigue by mixing in SPECTRE to the Britain vs Russia plot, with the criminal organization playing each country against the other. What can I say? It's Bond. James Bond.
And let's throw in a few extras while we're all gathered here anyway...
In 2005, From Russia with Love was reborn - as a new multi-platform video game! And best of all - they lured Sean Connery back from his 007 exile - so it's his face - and his own voice in a brand new performance as 007!
Here's a brief look behind the scenes - which gives a few seconds of Sir Sean's performance...
And here's the opening credits sequence from the game - which credits the original actors, as all their likenesses are used! (The voice actors are credited separately in the end credits, as Sean Connery was the only original actor from the 1963 movie to provide his own voice.)
Lastly, just for fun - after Harry Saltzman stated that Roger Moore had been briefly considered for the role of James Bond back in the early 60's, before they locked in on Sean Connery - artist Jeff Marshall came up with a new version of the poster for this film - what might have been:
This is one of the best of the early Bonds - and it looks beyond amazing after the frame-by-frame digital restoration by Lowry Digital for the Blu-Ray release - which sits ready to roll on my player any time - even tonight, if you cared to come by!
Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!
The only Bond movie I loved was Casino Royal. :) None of the early Bonds is my cup of tea. At all.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, did you check out my top 20 of 2011?
Nebular! You have got to expand your worldview on older movies! *sigh!* What are we going to do with you?
DeleteI am behind in my blog reading - hoping to catch up this weekend!
From Russia With Love is a terrific Bond film and one of my faves. It's fantastic to hear that Sean has lent his voice to the game. He really is my fave 007.
ReplyDeleteI love re-imaigning of the poster with Jolly Roger as Bond. Methinks this would have been a veyr different film with him. ;)
Yeah, although it doesn't have giant volcano bases or huge crazy stunts - it has risen in my estimation over the years - the train fight alone marks the movie as a classic.
DeleteApart from the weak title song, this is an absolutely fabulous Bond classic, one of Connery's best. Love the awesome train fight scene!
ReplyDeleteI don't mind the song, but I see where you're coming from about it. I do love the movie, though, and that fight is one of the best ever filmed! Cheers, mate!
DeleteI'm a huge fan of the Bond songs and love them all - except for the last few tunes (Madonna... yuck) and this one from Matt Monro. It's not bad, but veeery mediocre IMO :)
DeleteYou're right - the last few Bond songs have not been good, although I did like You Know My Name from Casino Royale. My bottom three currently is Die Another Day, Another Way to Die (from Quantum of Solace) and The Man with the Golden Gun. My top three changes from minute to minute, sometimes based on the one I'm currently hearing!
DeleteThis is one of my favorite Bond books--and films. I still remember the opening sequence, thinking, "What the?!?" Then came the reveal, and we knew Bond was in for a rough road.
ReplyDeleteThe game's title sequence alone makes it worth an ebay search; we may have to add this one to our library.
You know, I'd heard a lot about the GoldenEye game, which was supposed to be one of the best of its time, but nothing about this one, oddly enough. Thanks for calling it to my attention.
Awesome blog entry!
I think I'd already read up on all the movies before I was able to 1.) see them when ABC would finally air it; or 2.) track it down for rent on Beta or VHS; so I think I already knew all about the pre-credits sequence. But it was still so cool to see the first time! And let's give a little love to the series's first pre-credits sequence, one of only three that does not feature 007 - plastic masks and wax dummies do not count.
DeleteI actually really enjoyed the game - it has a lot of levels, is challenging, and has cut scenes featuring Sir Sean's first performance as Bond in about 22 years! Let me know if you track it down!
The first GoldenEye game was truly classic, despite the limitations of the Nintendo 64. It remains, weirdly, the best of the video games. There have been other good Bond games since - probably Everything or Nothing is next best. FRWL is probably third. I like the new GoldenEye okay. I haven't been able to try Bloodstone, so no idea on that one.
Wow, look - this comment turned into a whole 'nother blog post!
You probably have a lot of movie-to-gamer crossover here.
DeleteCut + paste + game cover art = New Blog Entry