1963 | Dir. Terence Young | 115 Minutes
"It must be a pretty sick collection of minds to dream up a plan like that."
SPECTRE devises a plan to eliminate James Bond and destroy his reputation using a beautiful woman and a prized codebreaking machine as bait. Despite knowing it is a trap, 007 agrees to take on the mission.
Better paced than Dr. No, and more daring by far in its overt depictions of Bond's pathological philandering, director Terrence Young returns to direct From Russia with Love and delivers a remarkably improved follow-up. It is one of the best films of the series and generally one of the best spy movies of its time, more grounded and slightly less escapist than most other franchise entries. From top to bottom, the production design of the picture is excellent, its action sequences are exhilarating, and its musical score is notably rousing - the first full James Bond soundtrack composed by franchise regular John Barry.
The film spends an appropriate amount of time defining the players involved in the scheme to murder and discredit the MI6 agent in its opening minutes, collectively some of the best villains of the series. Subsequently, the feature takes off to Istanbul where lively Cold War intrigue and spirited gypsy belly-dancing debauchery await. While the Istanbul portion of the film is immensely entertaining, the section onboard the Orient Express is even better as a menacing killer disguised as an ally enters the picture. The back-to-back climatic action sequences, one featuring a and grenade-dropping helicopter and the other a thrilling boat chase, are staged practically perfectly.
Dashing and ever-so-slightly rough around the edges, Sean Connery further cements his take on Bond. Italian actress Daniela Bianchi is adorable and believably naive playing the Russian beauty Tatiana Romanova. As the Turkish station head Kerim Bey, Pedro Armendáriz exudes good humor and affability. Lotte Lenya provides an iconic performance as the trollish and sadistic SPECTRE No. 2 Rosa Klebb. Robert Shaw brings subtle dimension to hired killer Donald "Red" Grant, turning what would have been a rather simple character into a remarkably interesting foil for Bond. Convincingly arrogant, Vladek Sheybal makes the most of his handful of scenes as SPECTRE No. 5 chess grandmaster Kronsteen. Uncredited with face strategically out of frame, Anthony Dawson stands in for SPECTRE No. 1 Ernst Blofeld while Eric Pohlmann provides the villain's voice. Back at MI6, Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell are amusing as always returning as M and Moneypenny, while series mainstay Desmond Llewelyn appears for the first time as Q though only for a brief equipment demonstration without his trademark snark.
From Russia with Love is not just one of the best films of the 007 franchise but also a great espionage action picture in general. It is an atmospheric, provocative, and immensely entertaining experience that demonstrates some of the very best of what a James Bond film can offer without some of the series' more fantastical flourishes.
THE COLD OPEN
Red Grant stalking and murdering a man in what turns out to be a James Bond mask is a nice fake-out and also a clever way to get in an appearance by Connery at the top of the film considering the real Bond doesn't appear until a ways into the narrative.
THE THEME SONG AND OPENING TITLES
Interestingly, the titular theme song plays over the end credits, and not the opening titles designed by Robert Brownjohn featuring belly dancing to an instrumental version of the tune mixed with a reworking of Monty Norman's James Bond theme. The song itself is a serviceable if unremarkable ballad performed by English singer Matt Monro.
THE BOND GIRL
A more developed character than most Bond love interests of the time but still mostly serving as a prize to be won, hapless reluctant spy Tatiana Romanova is at least afforded her own significantly dramatic moment when she saves Bond from Klebb in the epilogue.
THE BOND VILLAIN
The main antagonist of the film (as Blofeld only makes an appearance as a faceless figure), Rosa Klebb is ruthless and deadly, hiding a nasty poisonous knife in her boot. Regularly parodied, though not quite as often as Blofeld, Klebb is one of the most iconic villains of the series.
FEATURED HENCHMAN
As an unrefined blunt instrument that's quick to violence and neglectful of finer details, a man who pairs red wine with fish, Red Grant shares many similarities with Daniel Craig's initial portrayal of Bond. Having him face off against Connery's Bond virtually compares Craig's take against Connery's in a roundabout way.
FEATURED GADGET
The trick briefcase with hidden gas bomb, knife, ammo, and gold sovereigns may not be the flashiest of gadgets but proves to be one of the more practical and grounded ones.
FLEMING FIDELITY
Based on the 1957 novel of the same name, the fifth installment in Fleming's series, the only notable change is the replacement of Soviet counterintelligence agency SMERSH with SPECTRE, as SPECTRE hatches the scheme against both SMERSH and MI6 in the film. Also, in the epilogue that takes placed in Paris (moved to Venice in the adaptation) Klebb manages to cut Bond with her poisoned knife, ending the novel with a cliffhanger.
FRAGMENTS
- Eon Productions decided to adapt From Russia, with Love as the second film in the series following Dr. No due to US President John F. Kennedy naming it as one of his favorite books of all time in a Life magazine interview
- Series regular voice over artist Nikki Van der Zyl dubbed the dialogue for Sylvia Trench
- John Barry's "007" theme is featured for the first time during the raid in the gypsy camp, a unique theme that would recur in several more Bond films; the theme inspired Shiro Sagisu's "Decisive Battle" theme and its myriad of variations featured in the Hideaki Anno's Evangelion anime television series and films, and in Anno's Shin Godzilla
- Walter Gotell appearing as SPECTRE henchman Morzeny would go on to play KGB head General Gogol in The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, and The Living Daylights
- At the top of the end credits, the film advertises that "James Bond will return in the next Ian Fleming thriller 'Goldfinger'"
