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On Her Majesty's Secret Service

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

List Price: $34.98
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: 60's Bond at it's best...
Review: It may not be Connery but it's a must-own for even the mildest admirer of Bond films. Lazenby is smooth, quiet, not overly animated, but fits the bill the perfectly in my opinion. The style, music, characters, suspense, romance and action are all of classic 60's spy campiness. And as mentioned in other reviews, the scenery and camera work are excellent.

As you will see by watching it, Kojak is also quite the skier, as well as a brilliant mad scientist set on taking over the world.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Some of the Most Imaginative Action Sequences Ever Filmed!
Review: OHMSS is undeniably one of the best James Bond films ever. Everything from the performances to the sets to the locations are amazing. There's only one major flaw, George Lazenby. He's OK, but just isn't Bond. He does a reasonable job, but is missing something. I think he tried to imitate Sean Connery (something that Roger Moore DIDN'T do) and it just doesn''t work. He seems to enjoy his little quips and there's even a sly hint of the former actor, Sean Connery, in the opening teaser. And Bond's leading lady--Dame Diana Rigg (Mrs. Peel!) as Tracy, my favorite of all the Bond girls. She actually steals the show with her wonderful personality, wit, intelligence, and dominant beauty. But she kind of makes Lazenby look silly, as she is such a better (and smarter) actor. She is the main reason I like this one so much. Now, onto the movie. This time bond is off to a health clinic, disguised as Sir Hillary Gray, where he encounters an assortment of lovely female patients. Once again, Bond is up against the evil SPECTRE organization, and must stop the sinister Blofeld (Telly Savalas) from releasing a deadly virus apon the world. Former editor Peter Hunt has a strong dirctorial debut handling the outrageous action sequences quite well--including a wild (and icey) car chase turned road ralley--adding finese and a dash of humor. All in all, it's wonderfully enjoyable romantic adventure (including the most emotionally charged ending of the dynamic series) perfectly capturing the spirit of Ian Fleming's novel.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lazenby (who?) is terrific, OHMSS is closest to novels.
Review: George Lazenby who was not Bond just as quickly as he was, played 007 quite well considering (1) it was done in the wake of Connery's efforts and (2) he was relatively unknown. Far and away, this installment in the series comes closest to Ian Flemming's novels in style and tone (for those of us who have actually read some of them). Great movie, ironically one of the series' strongest links. Also, the murder of 007's bride by Blofeld flows nicely into Bond's unbridled fury in his search for the SPECTRE leader in the sequel, Diamonds Are Forever. Check this one out!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: This 007 Cries out for a Remake
Review: There is so much wrong with this installment in the James Bond series. The actors were largely miscast, the first half of the movie is somewhat slow, even the credit sequence lacks the punch of earlier efforts. Forget all that! Once this puppy starts moving it kicks into high gear and you don't mind that Lazenby is a poor substitute for Connery. You don't mind that Diana Rigg is way too british to be pass for a Spanish Contess. You don't mind that Savalas' Blofeld all of the sudden doesn't seem to recognize 007 despite having nearly bumped him off in the previous film (perhaps he was expecting Connery too?). The action sequences in this film are top notch and the scenery is breathtaking. Also, the score is one of the best - how is it that this score never seems to get the recognition value of others such as Goldfinger or Thunderball?

Who knows - but if you haven't seen this one before or if it's been a while - check it out. The wide screen Xfer is good although the negative appears to have suffered a little neglect in the passing years. Brosnan should definitely take a look at this and commission an updating of the story for one of his future outings.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Wooden acting - Over zealous editing...
Review: Let me first start by saying if I could have given this 2 ½ stars, I would have. The scenes from the Alp's is incredible, and beautiful. But I couldn't justify pushing it up to 3. Just having to sit through George Lazenby's acting is pain enough. And the fact that the producers & director knew he had no acting experience before shooting began is a disgrace to the Bond franchise. The story is ok, but since Lazenby is walking around like a robot, we can never have a feel for character development. Plus, all the quick-cut editing is enough to give you a migraine. Director Peter Hunt (being a former editor on Bond films) should have pulled in the reins somewhat on all the jumping. Your eyes can't focus on a scene for more than a second, before you get switched to another. I'm sure Sean Connery would have made this a better movie, but it does suffer from it's script, and poor editing. On the plus, like I said, beautiful photography! The scenes of Bond skiing, being followed, is truly magnificent. If you watch the "making" of the film on the DVD, you'll see how they accomplished many of these incredible shots. But, it just doesn't make up for a lousy actor, and below average script.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Splendid
Review: Many thinks that this one is the worst because of the presence of George Lazenby. But actually it's one of the strongest to date.

Lazenby is no Connery or Dalton, but he's adequate in the role of 007.

Former editor of Dr No to Thunderball, and second-unit director of You only live twice, Peter R Hunt makes an impressive start as director (unfortunly he never did any more Bond).

Together with a screenplay by Richard Maibaum (based on Fleming's novel), Syd Cain's production design, Photography by Michael Reed, editing of John Glen and of course John Barry's excellent score, you'll have a film that collects all the best elements of Bond, James Bond.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Impressive Bond film finally getting its deserved praise
Review: George Lazenby took over for Sean Connery for just one Bond movie. Connery was a better Bond. (So was Moore and Brosnan has done better too). Because he only made one movie, Lazenby never had a chance to make the role his own the way the three actors mentioned have. He's not a bad actor at all. Just not Connery. For a long time series devotees were unwilling or unable to see past Lazenby's less than Connery performance and view the movie as a whole. OHMSS is a 007 movie with an unusually realistic and intelligent script. This film presents two major plots and holds them up quite well. Bond pursued his mortal enemy, Ernst Stavro Blofeld to the Swiss Alps. Switzerland is incredibly beautifully shot throughout the film. 007 also falls in love with the troubled and beautiful Tracy Draco. The romance is wholly believable. Diana Rigg is an excellent actress and is my favorite Bond Girl in the entire series. Rigg and Lazenby have an on screen chemistry that, rumor has it, they lacked in real life during the filming. Apparently, Lazenby clashed with several of the people involved in the making of OHMSS. Consequently, when he asked for way too much money to be in a second Bond movie, the powers-that-be controlling the series weren't exactly devastated to see him walk. Lazenby now admits asking for too much and not accepting less was the most foolish mistake he made in his acting career. Telly Savalas is very fine as Blofeld. My favorite portrayal of the role. He plays Blofeld as a psuedo-sophisticated arrogant meglomaniac. Both charming and lethal. The action scenes are lengthy, numerous and top notch. OHMSS just barely misses the top five in my personal rating of all the Bond films. Goldfinger and FRWL are the absolute best. Really six stars out of five. Then FYEO, TSWLM and Goldeneye are excellent and at least just a little better than OHMSS. OHMSS is excellent, but the lowest rated of the Bond movies I give five stars.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bond at His Best!
Review: This is the Ultimate James Bond Story and film. A quite unique film in the Bond series. This one comes action packed with all the trimmings. "A Great Christmas Bond Movie." A special mention should go to John Barry, the music score is beautiful to listen too, as is Louis Armstrongs' "We have all the time in the World". Lazenby is great as Bond, only sometimes does his accent slip, otherwise a great underrated performance. If only he'd gone on to make some more Bond Movies.... DVD Quality is sharp, and Widescreen, which is essential to this particular movie. Watch out for the downbeat ending though! This IS the Best Bond will ever get! Buy now.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An Excellent Film That Bond Fans Should Revisit!!
Review: Most of the James Bond films are very different and much more action-filled than the novels that share their names. On Her Majesty's Secret Service is a rare exception. With this film, the producers didn't try to "improve" the plot, but simply concentrated on putting it onto the screen the way that Fleming had put it onto the page. And no small wonder.

My favorite of the Bond novels, there isn't much you need to do to the story to make it an interesting movie. Fans, however, thought that it was hampered by Lazenby's performance as Bond. In revisiting this film, I've come to disagree with that point of view.

Despite a few off moments, Lazenby does quite a good job in the role, and if you sit through the movie again, you'll realize that such concerns really take a back seat to the actual story itself.

It's quite exciting, really, and there is a lot of action. There are some pretty rough hand-to-hand sequences that I think Roger Moore would have been hard pressed to pull off. Lazenby is the perfect big, lanky, rough-houser for this type of action.

Diana Rigg is the best of the "Bond girls." She is tough, classy, and vulnerable. And it is through her, and this film, that audiences discovered that Bond is not only classy and tough but he is vulnerable too.

Fans of the Bond films should revisit this movie. It probably won't become your favorite one, but if you can get past the fact that Lazenby isn't your Bond-of-choice, you might actually discover this film's unique charm.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "On Her Majesty's Secret Service": Quite good....
Review: The sixth 007 movie turned out to be one of the worst in the series to many fans. A new Bond with a very different style from that of Sean Connery only added to the displeasure. While I don't praise Lazenby's Bond at all, (he just didn't fit the role) I have to say that the story is one of the best in the series. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was one of Ian Flemming's most popular novels, and the producers of the Bond saga literally copied the book word for word into movie format. While this did make the movie a little too long, it also made the story one that was gripping, especially for 1969. Out of the 19 Bonds produced so far, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is probably in the top 10 for me. If Connery had held on for this one, it might have been one of the few best in the 007 series.

As far as the DVD goes, as with all the James Bond special edition DVDs, it's simply wonderful. Many extras are included, among which you can find TV spots, radio spots, trailers, two documentaries, and several other great add-ons that make the DVD well worth the money.

A very different Bond movie, but still one to see.


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