Tag: Richard Kiel

Classic Twofer – A 007 Double Feature: ‘For Your Eyes Only’ & ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’

Roger Moore passed away a month ago at the age of 89.

Officially (it’s a long story why I have to say “Officially”), he was the longest-tenured actor to play James Bond, making seven films (I guess he truly was 007) over twelve years, from Live and Let Die in 1973 to A View to a Kill in 1985 (and appearing in thirteen other films over the same period, a few of which I’d personally recommend).

To the surprise of some, I’m sure, he was also the oldest, so it’s natural that he’d be the first to leave us, but it makes the occasion no less melancholy.

It’s no secret how much I love James Bond. and with Moore’s death I gave some serious thought as to which 007 portrayal is my favorite.  Honestly, in terms of overall body of work, I have to give it to Roger.  Sure, Connery has my favorite individual movie (From Russia With Love), but Moore is just so charming, and so dryly humorous, and he clearly enjoyed what he did.

He often gets blamed for the “campy” turn the franchise took in the Seventies and Eighties, but as Isaac Chotiner so expertly pointed out, the writing was already on the wall with Diamonds Are Forever (I mean, that movie is Schlock with a Kapital K), before Moore was officially brought on board, so, blame Roger if you want, but, you’re wrong.

Anyway, in the wake of Moore’s passing, I was hoping somebody out there would put together a tribute screening, and, fortunately, AMC Theaters did just that (appropriately raising money for UNICEF in the process, for whom Roger was a long-time ambassador), and they did a good job of picking two out of seven choices (although I’m not sure why they were shown out of order at the screening I attended), in that they pretty much show the full breadth of the franchise, from down-to-earth to over-the-top (and, as most post-1969 Bond movies are either rehashes of From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, or You Only Live Twice, these two definitely fall in line).

My only nitpick is that neither of these films feature a score by John Barry, but I suppose you can’t have everything all the time.

Let’s get to it.

 

Original Release Date: June 26, 1981
Directed by John Glen
Written by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson
Cast: Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Julian Glover, Cassandra Harris, Jill Bennett, Michael Gothard, John Wyman, Jack Hedley, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Geoffrey Keen, Walter Gotell, James Villiers, John Moreno, Charles Dance, Toby Robins, Stefan Kalipha, Graham Crowden, Noel Johnson, Paul Brooke, Eva Reuber-Staier, John Wells, Janet Brown, John Hollis, Jeremy Bulloch, Victor Tourjansky
Soundtrack: Bill Conti

This has always been one of my favorites in the Bond franchise, and it’s definitely one of the most low-key (like if Mike Stoklasa got his wish and they made a live-action Batman movie where he just takes down one crime syndicate).

Not that For Your Eyes Only isn’t without it’s more over-the-top moments, e.g. the pre-title sequence where Bond dispatches of an unnamed “Blofeld” (that long story again), the hockey rink scene, and the “Margaret Thatcher” ending.  But, by and large, it’s fairly reigned in; perhaps the grittiest of Moore’s tenure.

The basic outline is something of a cross-pollination of From Russia With Love and Thunderball, in that Bond has to track down a sunken MacGuffin device to make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, and there’s a gorgeous girl who’s closely related to it along for the adventure.

In terms of Bond movie elements, as silly as the pre-title sequence is, I like that it’s completely unrelated to the rest of the plot; this would only happen one more time in Octopussy (much like that cameo from Smithers, but we’ll talk about that later) and as of SPECTRE it’s still yet to happen again.  I also enjoy when Bond has strong allies (a la Kerim Bey) at his side, and I like that Q gets to have a humorous moment outside of his lab, so these are pluses as well.  Sadly, Bernard Lee died before his scenes could be filmed, so M is conspicuously absent.

As far as the cast goes, it may not be the longest list of all-stars (I’m still not sure why they cast Topol, but I’m not complaining; he’s great in this), but it’s well-assembled nonetheless (and how Julian Glover got to be in Star Wars, James Bond, and Indiana Jones is a delicious mystery).  Everybody fills their roles nicely and helps bring out the appropriate emotional response to each scene.  Nobody’s particularly flamboyant or scenery-chewing, but that’s fine in this movie.  One might argue that the one sore spot is Lynn Holly-Johnson as Bibi Dahl, but I think she’s true to the character as written, so ultimately I don’t take issue with her performance.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention long-time Bond veteran but first-time director John Glen (who would helm the franchise for the whole of the decade) and first-time Bond cinematographer Alan Hume (who would see out Moore’s tenure, and also shot a little movie called Return of the Jedi).  Most Bond films excel visually, but I particularly like the look of this one, especially all the magic hour stuff.

Really, I’d say For Your Eyes Only is just about the perfect Bond movie, except for one thing: no trains the music.

This is not to say that Bill Conti isn’t a fine composer in his own right, and, to be fair to him, there are at least one or two cues I really enjoy, but, on the whole, I don’t think he’s a fit, and his sound sticks out like a sore thumb in this context.

Other than that, it’s hard to complain.  You’ve got James Bond, beautiful women, travel to a variety of locations, guns, cars, underwater photography, helicopter stunts, skiing, climbing, and Détente.

Outside of a train fight, what more could anyone ask?
(Speak of the devil and he shall appear.)

Rating: ★★★★½ (out of five)

 

Original Release Date: July 8, 1977
Directed by Lewis Gilbert
Written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum
Cast: Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curd Jürgens, Richard Kiel, Caroline Munro, Walter Gotell, Geoffrey Keen, Bernard Lee, George Baker, Michael Billington, Desmond Llewelyn, Edward de Souza, Vernon Dobtcheff, Lois Maxwell, Nadim Sawalha, Eva Reuber-Staier, Robert Brown, Milton Reid, Cyril Shaps, Milo Sperber, Albert Moses, Shane Rimmer, Ray Hassett, Jeremy Bulloch, Victor Tourjansky
Soundtrack: Marvin Hamlisch

Ah, the first Bond movie of the post-Saltzman era (and post-Hamilton era; coincidence?).

The Spy Who Loved Me marks a return to BIG for the franchise.  Wider widescreen, bigger sets (the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios was first built for this film), bigger stunts (the parachute jump), bigger miniatures (not even joking), bigger henchman (Jaws), bigger frenemies (the Soviets are brought in like we’ve never seen before), etc., all of which are completely appropriate given that it’s the first of two consecutive rehashes of You Only Live Twice (this and Moonraker, which is another favorite of mine despite being the polar opposite of For Your Eyes Only), also directed by Lewis Gilbert (and both featuring Blofeld stand-ins, although I do enjoy Curd Jürgens in this).

As I said before, most Bond movies excel visually, The Spy Who Loved Me being no different (apparently Stanley Kubrick himself gave some secret assistance), but this one really lays on the old movie magic.  From Ken Adam’s gigantic sets to Derek Meddings’ “miniatures” (honestly, this movie has some of the best model work I’ve ever seen; not that everything looks great, but certain things legitimately look plausibly full-size, and in water to boot) to the Lotus that transforms into a submarine, it’s hard not to feel a sense of wonderment when the movie goes big.

However, the film is unfortunately weighed down by a pair of albatrosses.

First off is Barbara Bach’s performance as Anya Amasova aka Agent XXX (GET IT!?).  The less said about it, the better.

Second is Marvin Hamlisch’s score, which is crazy, because I have to dog a guy who’s not only an EGOT winner, but has a Pulitzer Prize on top of it.  But, you know what?  It wasn’t my decision to go Full Disco.  That was his choice, and it was a poor one (to be clear though, it’s not the worst top-to-bottom score in Bond history).  The title song is great though, I won’t deny that (even if it feels slightly out of place).

As far as the Bond movie elements go, this one makes heavy use of Bond’s Royal Navy cover, which I’m a big fan of, and we’re introduced to Robert Brown as Admiral Hargreaves (who would replace Bernard Lee as M in from Octopussy to Licence to Kill).  We’re also introduced to Walter Gotell as General Gogol (M’s opposite number in Moscow), who would feature from this film through The Living Daylights.  And there’s a train fight, which always makes me happy (even if it’s not nearly as good as the original).

In the end, The Spy Who Loved Me is number one (or close to it) on a lot of people’s Bond lists, but I’ve never seen it that way (feels like nostalgia over judgement to me).  Not that I dislike it, I’m happy to watch it, I just think the general consensus is somewhat inflated.  I recommend it well enough, but more so as a cultural touchstone than as a movie.

Although, it was Roger Moore’s favorite, which is a much better note to end on.

Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)

Nobody did it better.

 

P.S.
For you Empire Strikes Back fans out there, in addition to Julian Glover (aka General Veers), Jeremy Bulloch (aka the guy in the Boba Fett suit) has a cameo as “Smithers” in For Your Eyes Only (and Octopussy), and is also a submarine crewman in The Spy Who Loved Me.  And John Hollis (aka Lobot) plays the unnamed “Blofeld” during the intro of For Your Eyes Only.

You might also recognize Ray Hassett, who plays another crewman in The Spy Who Loved Me, who’s the guy who informs Han Solo that Commander Skywalker never checked back in to Echo Base (and also plays “Harry” the unfortunate policeman in Superman).

Classic Movie Quinella – Burt Day: The Burt Reynolds Marathon – “I was born ready!”

In the relatively short history of Alamo Drafthouse Yonkers, there have been four marathons dedicated to specific actors: Caged, Stallone Zone, Van Dammage, and, most recently, Burt Day.

Every marathon has been a great event, very much tailored to both true fans of the stars in question and real film buffs, as each movie is shown on a 35mm print.  In the case of Burt Day, it went the extra mile, giving us five movies instead of the usual four.

Enthusiastically curated by Cristina Cacioppo, Burt Day was a celebration of that indefatigable American personality, the one and only Burt Reynolds; and, with the exception of a Charles Durning supporting role, it rather thoroughly captured the breadth and width of his career (as well as sparking such debates as “Which Burt is better: mustache or no mustache?”).

Let’s dig in.

Movie #1: ‘Hooper’ (1978)

‘Hooper’ is one of those movies that’s a bit up and down along the way, but in the end makes you glad you saw it.

Burt plays Sonny Hooper, a stuntman who’s universally regarded as the best in the business, but faces pressure from a young hotshot (Jan-Michael Vincent), his live-in girlfriend (Sally Field), and the ravages of time and injury.  While working on the Adam West (so wonderful) film-within-the-film, ‘The Spy Who Laughed At Danger’ (which I wish was a real movie we could see), Hooper finds out that one more nasty fall could render him paralyzed, forcing him to weigh the cost of one last, big “gag”.

Directed by former stuntman Hal Needham (who rose to prominence directing ‘Smokey and the Bandit’), ‘Hooper’ is largely a fun romp with lots of great stunts (obviously) and practical effects, but there are also some “What?” moments, like when Hooper and his girl get romantic outside their house and the music makes you think the movie’s ending.  It also features an impossible-to-miss cameo from a very much still active Terry Bradshaw.

It’s not the best, but it’s far from the worst, and it was a great movie to start the day with.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

 

Movie #2: ‘White Lightning’ (1973)

People like to goof on [New Jersey’s own] Joseph Sargent because he happened to direct ‘Jaws: The Revenge‘ (which is wonderfully terrible and you should definitely watch it), but he also directed [the original] ‘The Taking of Pelham One Two Three‘, which is not only one of the great New York movies ever made, it’s one of the signature movies of the 1970s.

‘White Lightning’ is about as far from the Yankee city as you can get, but it’s no less entertaining.  Burt plays Gator McKlusky, a moonshine runner who’s in prison until he finds out his brother’s been murdered and strikes a deal with the Feds to take down corrupt Sheriff J.C. Connors (Ned Beatty).  Paired with fellow parolee Dude Watson (Matt Clark), Gator is out for justice, but must work carefully to gather hard evidence without blowing his cover and suffering the same fate as his brother.

In essence, the movie is a Southern-fried revenge flick with a lot of hot car action (largely driven by Hal Needham), but what I really like about it is that it takes itself seriously.  Sure, there are fun moments, and Burt’s natural personality lends itself to levity, but the film definitely has a hard edge as well.  While not R-rated violence, the opening scene where Gator’s brother is murdered by the Sheriff is unquestionably brutal, and sets the tone for what Gator must overcome.

It’s also a movie filled with great character actors, which I like.  Besides Ned Beatty and Matt Clark, you’ve got Bo Hopkins, R.G. Armstrong (from ‘Predator‘), and Diane Ladd (along the with first appearance of her daughter, Laura Dern).  I also think Jennifer Billingsley looks quite fetching in this one, but I was alone in that opinion amongst my compadres at the marathon.

While ‘White Lightning’ may be overshadowed by other works in the Burt Reynolds canon, I put it among the best in terms of overall quality, and it’s one I’ll definitely revisit in the future.

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

Movie #3: ‘Gator’ (1976)

“You can’t have one without the other.”

That’s right, for the first time at an Alamo Yonkers actor-centric marathon, we were feted to a legitimate double feature of an original and its follow-up.

Directed by Reynolds himself (his directorial debut, in fact), ‘Gator’ is a classic “It happened again!?” sequel, except rather than getting justice on a sworn enemy, Gator McKlusky must take down his old friend, Bama McCall (Jerry Reed). a Southern gangster who keeps “Dunston County” under his thumb.  Oh, and this time Gator’s paired up with a federal agent from New York (Jack Weston) who sticks out “like a bagel in a bucket of grits.”  Also along for the ride are TV reporter love interest (Lauren Hutton) and crazy cat lady (Alice Ghostley).

All puns aside, ‘Gator’ is a strange animal.  While it maintains the hard edge of ‘White Lightning’, dealing with some very real subjects like urban poverty and underage prostitution, the movie is also chock-full of “What?” moments, mostly involving two of McCall’s henchman, “Bones” and “Smiley” (who are a giant and a homosexual, respectively), but also other characters as well.  The tonal shifts are enough to make your head spin at times, but, the movie is pretty consistently entertaining, so we can more easily forgive such things.

I still say ‘White Lightning’ is the superior film of the two, but ‘Gator’ is a strong effort by sequel standards.  It was great to see them back-to-back.

Rating: ★★★½

 

Movie #4: ‘Heat’ (1986)

As is tradition at these marathons, at least one movie of the day must be decidedly obscure.  In this case, it’s 1986’s ‘Heat’, based on the William Goldman novel of the same name, and which apparently has been recently remade as ‘Wild Card‘ starring Jason Statham, again featuring a screenplay from William Goldman.  We must also note that this ‘Heat’ is not to be confused with Michael Mann’s ‘Heat‘ or the earlier ‘L.A. Takedown‘.

In our ‘Heat’, Burt is Nick Escalante, a man of danger whose occupation resides somewhere between bodyguard and private investigator, and who is well-versed in the seedy underbelly of Las Vegas.  There are three main strands to the story: the first is Nick’s deep yearning to retire to Venice; the second is helping a platonic ladyfriend (Karen Young) get revenge on a young mobster for, shall we say, grave mistreatment (and dealing with the consequences himself); and the third is teaching an eccentric young man of means (Peter MacNicol) how to be a tough guy.

Reportedly, the production of this movie was something of a mess, requiring a new director practically every week, but I like what I see, even if the editing of the fight sequences is a bit unusual.  The Burt Reynolds of ‘Heat’ is an older, grizzled veteran, and his trademark laugh has taken on a more cynical tone.  For all the characters Reynolds played in his younger years with a devil-may-care attitude, Nick Escalante is deadly serious, and Burt gives a very effective performance.

‘Heat’ may be a small story in terms of scale and scope; there aren’t any bomb threats or bank robberies or hijackings, but it’s a gritty, slow-burner of a thriller that offers a nice change of pace from the usual actioners, and it’s got some heart as well.  I give it a solid recommendation.

Rating: ★★★½

 

Movie #5: ‘The Longest Yard’ (1974)

Talk about saving the best for last.  I remember watching this movie as a kid and thinking it was pretty good.  Watching it now, I see that it is nothing less than a work of genius.

‘The Longest Yard’ is the story of Paul Crewe, a disgraced former pro quarterback who ends up in prison, whereupon the warden “convinces” him to form a football team of fellow convicts to play a tune-up game against the guards’ team, so that the warden may show us all the true meaning of power.

While not an anti-hero in the realm of Snake Plissken, the movie goes to great lengths to show us that Paul Crewe is not a good guy.  He beats his girlfriend, he steals her car (while drinking), drives it into a bay, then harasses the cops who come to arrest him.  Worse than all of that though, he’s a points-shaver, which is just plain un-American.  And yet, we can’t help but root for him and his ragtag team of convicted criminals, because it’s Burt Reynolds and he’s indelibly charming.

The movie is a tour-de-force.  It’s got action, comedy, brutal drama, and some of the best football scenes ever done in a Hollywood film.  However, the true genius lies in its subversive nature.  There are plenty of movies where you find yourself rooting for the bad guys, but to be cheering for a bunch of criminals like they’re your favorite team playing in the Super Bowl, that’s a whole other level.

Burt is his usual wonderful self, but everyone in the ensemble brings something to the table.  From the prison officials, guards, and inmates, to Bernadette Peters as the warden’s secretary, everybody is on their game, making this movie a real treat.

If you’ve never seen it, you must; it’s nothing less than an essential American film.

Rating: ★★★★½

So, that’s it; that was a long, incredibly enjoyable day for all of us who attended.

Shout outs again to Alamo Drafthouse Yonkers for hosting and Cristina Cacioppo for curating, and to all the servers, runners, cooks, and bartenders who took care of us.  My Gator-Ade (moonshine and lemonade in a mason jar) was quite delicious.

I don’t know when the next marathon will be, or who will be featured.  All I know is I can’t wait for it to happen.