The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

England, the Soviet Union and the U.S. join forces in this James Bond thriller to stop a maniac who's bent on destroying the earth. That is, the dry land earth, above the oceans. Of course, they don't know his plan at first. But James Bond and a Soviet secret agent are out to find out what happened to each country's nuclear submarine that disappeared. The Americans get in the picture with a third submarine as Bond and Agent XXX pursue the Stromberg behemoth of a ship. Roger Moore is in his third of seven roles as British secret agent 007, James Bond. Barbara Bach plays Soviet Major Anya Amasova. One wonders if the her agent ID wasn't a bit of a spoof of the Soviets, who often tried to have the biggest, best or last of something. Where Bond is agent doublte07, the Soviet Amasova is agent triple-x. The fiend in this Bond thriller is played by Curd Jürgens. Richard Kiel, a true giant of an actor at 7 feet, 2 inches, plays Jaws. He has a genuine steel trap for a mouth. This is the first Bond film in a while to receive any major film award nominations. It received three Oscar nominations and two each Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. Apparently, "The Spy Who Loved Me" was Moore's favorite Bond film. The filming took place in Egypt, off the Emerald Coast of Sardinia, Italy, in the Bahamas, at Baffin Island in Canada, in Okinawa, at St. Moritz in Switzerland, the Bay of Biscay off the coast of France, and in England and Scotland. The plot has a good amount of intrigue, and the film has a variety of thrills. A ski-chase scene in the Alps gives way to a road-chase by a gun-ship helicopter, and finally undersea skirmishes. Some wonderful props for this film included the Atlantis city of Stromberg that rose like a giant steel octopus in the sea. And the specially made Lotus Esprit S1 car turned heads on the beach in the film and amazed moviegoers. The Wet Nellie, as it was called, converted to a mini submarine, and had various gadgets including a rocket launcher. This is a fun-filled, action-packed and enjoyable Bond film - one of the best of the series. Here are some favorite lines. For more dialog, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page of the movie. Log Cabin Girl, "But James, I need you." James Bond, "S does England."James Bond, "When one is in Egypt, one should delve deeply into its treasures."James Bond, "Still, you did save my life." Maj. Anya Amasova, "We all make mistakes, Mr. Bond."Maj. Anya Amasova, "You don't have to worry abut me, Mr. Bond. I went on a survival course in Siberia." James Bond, "Yes, I believe a great number of your countrymen do."

James Bond investigates the hijacking of British and Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads with the help of a KGB agent whose lover he killed.For the most part, the Bond films are fun fluff. Wild action, beautiful women, and very little substance. This one, however, seems to make more of an attempt to balance the action (including a great ski chase) with a deeper look at some of the characters.And the villains are great. Jaws? Truly one of the most iconic Bond villains, with the only competitors being Blofeld and Oddjob. I suppose one could argue that "Man With the Golden Gun" was better, and I may be willing to change my mind, but this was a serious contender.

I will have to look on the 'net for a good article on which movies are closely-based on Ian Fleming actual Bond novels. This one sure isn't. The DVD (and Blu Ray) are restored to pristine condition. My old DVD player "jumped" after the titles, but it plays better on my Sony Blu-Ray Player. (Almost unnoticeable). Diminutive Barbara Bach, looks so exotic with push-up bra and puffed up lips. (Ringo Starr's wife). The ski-jump is one of the best Bond openers ever. The scenes at Luxor make the movie somewhat of a travelogue? It gets a little bit predictable toward the middle and end. A sub-swallowing ship instead of a space capsule "eater". A baby sub instead of a baby helicopter. At the finish, the villain's lair looks like a miniature, to me. No depth-of-scale. "Jaws" (Richard Kiel) is a lot of fun and not too "campy" in this one. He fights the shark and wins! One of my favorites due to Barbra Bach, she is so lovely!

Directed by Lewis Gilbert, and produced by Albert Broccoli (Harry Saltzman left the franchise after the collapse of their personal finances), has script Richard Maibaum and Christopher Wood and is the tenth film in the franchise.In this film, James Bond investigates the disappearance of American and Soviet submarines, a situation that is generating a great discomfort in the already strained relations between the two nuclear powers. In Egypt, after several setbacks, the secret services of both sides decide to join forces and Bond ends up collaborating without trust with Amasova Anya, the Soviet agent Triple X. The tracks drag the unlikely duo to Sardinia in order to investigate Stromberg, an industrial mysterious, passionate about the sea, living in a kind of underwater station in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.Regarded by many as one of the best achieved movies during the Roger Moore as 007, he received a script that is completely different from the original book Fleming and gives the film so many similarities to "You Only Live Twice" and "Thunderball" that comes to be confused with them. Again, this film back to pick up the American and Soviet rivalry, still very current and already quite focused on previous films in the franchise. However, this time, and the style of "détente", both countries are aware that something is happening and want to avoid open war. And it's funny to see the distrustful relationship that arises between Bond and Amasova in which both seek to be one step ahead of rivals. One of the iconic scenes of the film is the sequence filmed in Luxor, where both seek to steal a microfilm and defeat Jaws for then if they steal and fight each other for the prize. Machines and inventions are also part of this film, with an amazing amphibious car and a hollow tanker, capable of containing inside an authentic naval base. A positive note also for the opening credits, with the song "Nobody Does It Better" sung by Carly Simon.In this film, apart from central casting inherited from the previous films, Barbara Bach gave life to the bond-girl Anya Amasova, Caroline Munro played Naomi, Curd Jürgens was the villain, Stromberg, Walter Gotell played the Russian General Gogol and Richard Kiel gave soul the ruthless killer Jaws.