From Russia with Love (1964)

That was an excellent one.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Movie Review: "007: From Russia With Love" (1963)This quick follow-up of the first Bond movie "Dr. No" produced in just 12 months time, released on October 10th 1963 in London, delivers more thrills, higher valued action scenes and leading actor Sean Connery, in top-form to encounter a further depth-taking toward the crime organization "Spectre" without revealing the name nor the headmaster's face just yet, who sends out his associates to retrieve an encrypting code device from the Russians stationed in Turkey.Suspense levels are tighten-up with "From Russia With Love". The locations range from classic countrysides over exotic oriental belly dancing occasions to a moving train scene, where the film directed by reprising director Terence Young (1915-1994) plays out the full strength of iconic production-values-in-the-making for future Bond pictures to come with hand-to-hand combats, gun-shooting, helicopter to boat action scene, when 21-year-old actress Daniela Bianchi at Sean Connery's side dining with the highly-trained spy nemesis character Grant, portrayed by Robert Shaw (1927-1978), before the action takes his turns to an accelerated showdown sequence of putting James Bond in on-going motion from train interiors to a Venetian hotel room of surprising second suspense infusions.Producers Albert R. Broccoli (1909-1996) and Harry Saltzman (1915-1994) exceed themselves in executing the production with precision, a doubled budget and refined cinematography by Ted Moore (1914-1987) as well as promoted production designer Syd Cain (1918-2011), who brings in sophisticated class and delicacy, more gadgets to be used by James Bond in a constant-striving spy adventure with elegant costume design as taste to mark "From Russia With Love" already one of the best of the "007" movie series. © 2017 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC)

"From Russia with Love" is the second installment in the Bond franchise and widely considered to be the best of the Bond movies up to this point. While I haven't seen enough of them to either confirm or deny this, I did really really like this movie. I understand the praise.Connery revises his role as James Bond, heading to Turkey to meet with a potential Russia defector who wants to travel back to England with him and bring a Russian super-decoder as payment. What Bond doesn't know is that Tatiana is secretly working for Rosa Klebb, former officer for the Russian military. What Tatiana doesn't know is that Klebb is not loyal to the motherland anymore and is secretly working for SPECTRE. SPECTRE is attempting to pit Russia and England against one another, assassinating James Bond, while stealing the Lektor machine in the process. It's all very complex.This movie's filled with great scenes and Connery is at his very best in this one. The cast around him is fantastic too. Robert Shaw may just be my favorite Bond henchman I've seen thus far. He's a fantastic actor that has this foreboding-ness about him that I can't get out of my mind. My favorite character introduced in this one though is Kerim Bey. I'm sad this actor died so young because he is phenomenal here.A couple of scenes stand out, some of them really setting the tone for future Bond stereotypes. For one, the train fight scene is absolutely brutal! There's so much tension and good action choreography in this, one of the best early Bond fight scenes, hands down. The scene where we get introduced to our first set of gadgets is fun too. The suitcase isn't the most memorable gadget but it has a great deal of importance as it introduces us to Q.Sidenote: I also loved the chess scene and the great set design on display there. I loved all the scenes involving SPECTRE as well.I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the title sequence, another archetype of the Bond flick. It's a memorable one (even if you can't read it) and foreshadows our interactions with the gypsies later. This one has everything you want in a Bond film: a good henchman, SPECTRE, a devious plot, good action sequences, gadgets, beautiful women. This is the film that changed the action genre forever!

What I liked1. Like with the other two films so far of his, Connery did a great job2. It was interesting to see a movie about Russia in the sixties3. The chess scene was pretty cool to watch4. It felt like the first Bond movie that showed itself to be a part of something biggerWhat I didn't like1. The first twenty or so minutes are kind of confusing if you are not much of a Bond fanOverall I would say that this is still a very solid effort for Bond and that this movie deserves good reviews and is quite under rated compared to other Connery titles in the series.

After a successful debut in theaters ("Dr. No") in 1962, James Bond is back as Agent 007 of the British Secret Service. As with the first film, "From Russia with Love" was released in England six months ahead of its U.S. release. So, movie fans in America who had seen "Dr. No" in 1963, and who heard about the new James Bond movie, would have to wait until May of 1964 to see this second film. The plot is more complex in this film, and involves U.S., British and Soviet spy organizations. But the real culprit is the nasty SPECTRE, the international "evil empire" that tries to dominate the world. The story is more interesting, and has more action. This film also introduces the character of "Q," who is MI6 director of special equipment. His crew experiments with and develops new weapons, hidden gadgets and special items that Bond and his fellow agents may need in emergencies. This film also began the practice of shooting in various exotic locations that are part of the plot. The scenic aspects of the Bond films soon became part of their appeal. In this film, scenes were shot in Istanbul, the Bosphorus Strait that connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea, other parts of Turkey, the canals of Venice, other places in Italy, Madrid, and numerous locations in Scotland and England. Many of the early James Bond films introduced newcomers to audiences. Some went on to notable film careers, and others didn't. Tatiana Romanova is one of the longest roles of the many attractive female parts in Bond films. She is played by Daniela Bianchi, a new Italian discovery who could barely speak English. So, her voice was dubbed in the film. Bianchi was the Miss Rome of 1960 and was runner-up in the Miss Universe contest where someone noticed her and thought she might be good for this James Bond film. Her career was short lived, ending in 1968. She had just 16 appearances, mostly in Italian and French films. None of these were exceptional films or roles. Apparently, Bianchi didn't want to be an actress and in 1970 she married an Italian businessman and settled into home life. And, who will ever forget Lotte Lenya for her knife-in-the-shoe kicking scene in this film with Sean Connery. She plays Rosa Klebb, the former Russian security official who is now a member of SPECTRE. This was only Lenya's third film and second English film. The Austrian-born actress had a longer stage career. She was a dancer, singer and actress. Her movie career began with a major supporting part (as Jenny) in the 1931 German film, "The 3 Penny Opera." Before that, she had the same role in the 1928 stage play that ran successfully in Berlin. Lenya was married to composer Kurt Weill who wrote the music for the show. After the Nazi rise to power in 1933, Weill and Lenya fled to England. Lenya won the 1956 supporting actress Tony for her Broadway role of Jenny in "The Threepenny Opera." She received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her supporting role as the Contessa in the 1961 movie, "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone." Lenya's name comes up frequently when the song, "Mack the Knife," is played. Lenya's husband, Kurt Weill, wrote "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" for "The Three Penny Opera." American jazz musician, Louis Armstrong, in 1956 added Lotte Lenya's name in a line in the song. Many singers around the world have recorded the song. By far the most famous (and arguably the best) is the 1959 smash hit by Bobby Darin. His "Mack the Knife" (with Lotte's name) topped the charts in the U.S. and the U.K.