Never Say Never Again (1983) Retrospective/Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- Retrospective on Never Say Never Again.
Check out the book "Some Kind of Hero" by Ajay Chowdhury and Matthew Field. tinyurl.com/2p8...
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#007 #jamesbond #seanconnery #neversayneveragain #thunderball #ianfleming #oliverharper #retrospectivereview
I love the Orion Pictures intro at the beginning of the video. It's so 80s that it deserves a like for this video alone.
The tune from it I always associate with The Terminator
Never Say Never is like the proto version of that thing they do a lot now, reviving legacy IP and wheeling out the old stars (with dubious results lol).
As well as telling the exact same story again but worse…
Lol and they even made Felix black
Joking aside this felix was ok prolly better than the guy they had in thunderball
What are some modern examples? I don't follow media news.
@@ThanatoselNyx star wars, indiana, sex and the city, mext gen star trek... 😂
True that !
Barbara Carrera was likely cast after her performance in spy spoof Condorman, which 100% deserves a retrospective. The official Bond series also used a few ideas from it as well.
Honestly this movie is a major guilty pleasure for me, largely because of how brilliant Barbara Carrera is in this film, so charismatic, so fun/entertaining, one of the best Bond henchmen, chewing the scenery with every second of screen-time, over-acting in the best way you could ask of a Bond villain. She's clearly loving every minute of making this film, compared to some of the other more sleepy performances in this film, after she dies the film really goes downhill. Very memorable actress of a few 80s b-movies and the Masada miniseries. Also a clear precursor to Famke Janssen's Xenia Onatopp in the very eccentric energy that Fatima Blush has, love the scene where she demands Bond admit she was the 'greatest rapture of her life'. What an odd film, but has many fun moments.
Yes . Once she dies the movie does too
There’s a fantastic book called “The Battle For Bond” by Robert Sellers, and it highlights the Thunderball rights issues.
I'd love to have it but unfortunately it's out of print
@@joshbaker1581can't find it on eBay? Lots of out of print books on there
@@joshbaker1581 true, it's probably available in 2nd hand book stores, or antique shops
I like the story where Sean Connery and Roger Moore ran into each other at an airport as they were going from one location to the next and talking about what they're doing in their respective Bond films.
Roger was actually up for cameo-ing in Never. But Cubby put his foot down and wouldn't allow it.
@@davidjames579that woulda been freaking hilarious
@@koldfyre4505 what has your comment got to do with anything?
It’s called engagement, guy.
@@davidjames579
Didn’t know that but wow - that’s a great story!!
RIP Pamala Salem (Miss Moneypenny)
She was in the Great Train Robbery with Sean Connery too. Very beautiful lady. I didn't know she had just passed away, RIP.
LMAO - Under your comment that was written in English, is a link to "Translate to English"
Pamela Salem was also in one of the best of the Classic Doctor Who stories, Robots of Death, and was a popular character on Eastenders. She was a beautiful woman who was a very talented actress. She will be missed.
Moneypenny(Pamela Salem), Felix Leiter and Q were great in NSNA(1983)! Only M's character was a real d*ck...
@@bjgandalf69 Also appeared in McCoy-era story 'Remembrance of the Daleks' as Prof. Rachel Jensen. She played Jensen again in six series of Big Finish audio spin-off 'Counter-Measures'. Highly recommended.
This is a guilty pleasure for me.
What timing. Considering the actress who played Miss Moneypenny in this just recently passed away.
I’m actually one of the few people who is a die hard bond fan who actually enjoys this movie. Irvin Kershner knows how to direct an action movie and this is no exception but the Behind The Scenes on the film is absolutely fascinating and deserves a movie of its own like The Disaster Artist
I totally agree! I really don't think this movie deserves the bad rep that it has. If all else its entertaining, and Sean is clearly having a lot of fun in the role again.
My family always watched and saw this as bond I still love this bond ❤️❤️❤️
Yes!!!! I love your retrospectives! Please do more, yours are the best and most comprehensive on YT
I cannot WAIT to get off work to watch this! These 007 Retrospectives are the best!
This one used to be on tv all the time when I was a kid in the 90s so ive seen it a million times. The intro is one of my favorite Bond intros because of how different it is, I loved the jungle aesthetic and Bond wearing the gloves, using all of these tricks and different methods of dispatching bas guys. The music never quite matched but I loved how 80s SLEAZE it was if that makes sense. Great video as always Oliver!
It's kind of eerie how you released this video on the same day that Pamela Salem's death hit the news
"You know that making love to Fatima was the greatest pleasure of your life."
"Well, to be perfectly honest...there was this girl in Philadelphia."
This may not be the greatest Bond movie, but it's a solid film with some cracking one-liners. Great review!
Connery is enjoying himself more in this film than his last 2 outings in the official series. It helps the movie a lot.
That scene is so hilariously fun, and probably the most witty writing of the film, and both Carrera and Connery having a ball in it. “Now write this. The greatest rapture in my life was afforded to me on a boat in Nassau by Fatima Blush” “I just remembered. It's against Service policy for agents to give endorsements.” Love the way Barbara Carrera just plays it up with how she says every word, especially the way she enunciates ‘double-o seven’ and cackles like a lunatic
The first Retrospective/Review of 2024! Awesome as always.
As I said in the community post, this is the first Sean Connery "James Bond" movie, and its technically not an official James Bond movie. Honestly, the behind the scenes stuff about this movie does indeed sound more interesting than the actual movie itself.
Side note: Awesome new intro! :D
I caught some of this movie as a child and the death of Blush royally freaked me out. 22:22 It's the way she laughs maniacally after the dart hits her, and promptly explodes.
For me this is not only a great final story for Connery's Bond but also James Bond in general. Bond retiring in the Bahamas with Domino is such a perfect conclusion for a character who definitely deserved a happy ending.
Roger Moore version of Bond has a similar "final story" - or _would have, had he ended his stint with 8P_ .
Yeah better than blowing him up on an island!
Problem is it's a Thunderball remake, effectively being a what-if scenario for Connery's Bond.
Last Sean Connery Bond was in 1995 “The Rock”
Oh hellz yes it must be my birthday because theres a new OLIVER RETROSPECTIVE you rock dude. Better than any official documentaries about movie
Thunderball is one of my favorite Bond movies
I watched it again recently and it was certainly better than I remembered
If they ever make a movie about the making of never say never again, they should cast Timothy spall as mclory and Geoffrey rush as flemming
Awesome review. Re watched this movie and loved it. Even parts of the score were pretty sweet and I want to sample it to make a beat out of it lol.
I was listening to the soundtrack a few months ago and I really like this one. I think that the themes are perfectly cued in the movie, especially how the main theme starts up at the end where we transition from the underwater fight to Bond enjoying the swimming pool with his lady.
I have to say I had a smile on my face for your entire retrospective, really nice research you did and the work you put into the images was phenomenal.
Connery looks in better shape than he did in diamonds are forever😀
But not hairpiece or makeup.
Like most Bond films, this is superior in every aspect to Diamonds are Forever, except for the song.
@@saxbend Diamonds are Forever is better than SPECTRE, QOS and NTTD.
@@sandersson2813 Nah bro... QOS, Spectre and NTTD are much better than DAF
@@bouya642 In what way? I'm not saying DAF is a good film, but it has it's merits, I can't see any redeeming features in those Craig films or Craig's Bond
Love love love LOVE THE NEW OPENING!
Both never say never again and octopussy are fantastic films. They both made a huge amount of money at the box office. If I had to choose I would choose octopussy first, however like I said they are both good movies and are both in my library.
I really appreciate this channel! Keep it up!
You have put together a most interesting summary of one of my favourite James Bond films. You’ve included clips I had never seen. And your discussion of the special effects is fascinating.
The goal of “Never Say Never Again” was to be different from the Eon productions. In the case of “Octopussy,” one is justified in saying, “Thank Heaven!” Sean Connery’s main inspiration was “From Russia With Love,” emphasizing character and plot over sets, gadgets, and action for its own sake. This was meant to be an older Bond dealing with a changing MI6, and facing a nuclear threat even more relevant than at the time of “Thunderball.” (Sorry, but targeting Miami doesn’t seem as nerve-wracking as Washington DC and the Middle East!)
Irvin Kershner praised Connery as the creative glue that held the production together. Despite the legal, budgetary, and script problems, Kershner said how much he loved his actors. But Connery was unfair to Jack Schwartzman, whose legal skills put the deal together in the first place. And it was Schwartzman who had to spend his time fighting Eon in the London High Court!
On the topic of legal issues, fans should realize that, you don’t get to use theme music developed and owned by another corporation. (Schwartzman had enough problems!) Michel Legrand did a good job on short notice; his scoring for the French Riviera and Fatima’s underwater trap were excellent. And it was a refreshing change from John Barry’s increasing staleness. The theme song was good, well-done by Lani Hall. “Worst Bond score ever produced?” As opposed to “Diamonds Are Forever” or “Man With The Golden Gun”? And I challenge anyone to cite memorable passages from the Brosnan or Craig films.
Personally, I found “Thunderball” more boring than you did. The characters are poorly developed, the underwater scenes really drag, Connery is going through the motions, and the whole thing is a Bahamas travelogue. (News flash: the director, Terence Young, was not fond of it, either!) The ending irritates me, as well. “Never Say Never Again” has a better one: Bond enjoying a blissful retirement in the Bahamas - like Connery himself - and saying farewell with a sly wink to camera.
Brilliant review. It made my day. Also loved your movie. Thanks
Its funny how two prominent Bond actors had calamitous relationships with 90s action stars. Roger Moore expressing discontentment with his time on The Quest with Van Damme and Seagal breaking Sean Connery's wrist on this film. Those boys were a menace.
Very good video, Oliver! I've never liked this movie, only watched it once and never again, good thing 'Octopussy' beat it at the Box Office. But I do find it fascinating on a behind the scenes basis, and I always enjoy watching these Reviews/Retrospectives. Thanks again!
Great retrospective as usual. Btw, love the clip from Stella Street!
I was 9 when Never Say Never released. Until then, I had onky known Roger Moore as Bond, so I didn't get it. My dad had to explain to me that Connery had been the original. While I do think Octopussy is the better of the two, I do enjoy Never Say Never and it is part of my Bond collection.
Another greatv video.but can I just say that Hans Zimmer man of steel score/theme reigns supreme. Such a powerful piece of music. No cheese just brilliant
I do like the Orion logo, I actually watched this back to back with Thunderball a few weeks ago, there's stuff I like but really I never thought it was anything then an oddity movie
Pamela Salem who played Moneypenny passed away.
Decent movie but they didn't have Cubby Broccoli's $$ and it shows but Connery is great and Barbra Carerra is gorgeous
Love your James Bond retrospectives!!!
"THERE WAS THIS GIRL IN PHILIDELPHIA."
LOL!!!!
I guess plenty of people know this already, but Bond's original car in the books was a Bentley.
It features in the film of From Russia With Love
According to John Barry himself he was approached to score the film but declined out of loyalty to eon
The positives: Connery, Barbara Carrera, and Klaus Maria Brandauer.
The negatives: Just about everything else.
They didn’t have official rights to the bond film iconography but didn’t the shield during the video game feel like a sneaky gun barrel image?
Absolutely sensational video - and a superb analysis of this movie and everything that surrounded it.
Fantastic work!
When this came out it I remember it was a HUGE deal.
The film got terrific reviews and I even remember all of us really loving it at the time.
But it was probably just because Sean Connery was back.
In the years since, of course, things have changed dramatically!
I watched it again not too long ago and actually found a lot to enjoy.
There were some fresh takes on a lot of the Thunderball material and the film seemed to move fast and have energy.
Sean Connery was as great as ever in his return as James Bond and the villains were all terrific.
The two main problems really were the action -
which , outside of the fight at Scrublands and the Bike chase
were pretty tepid and boring.
And that music.
I wouldn’t just call the score the worst of the Bond series
- because of the iconic nature of James Bond music, you could even say it was one of the worst in movie HISTORY.
It probably stands as one of the best examples ever of how vitally important music is to a movie.
A great score could completely elevate a film and a poor score could absolutely sink it.
Which is what happened here.
I would love to see a re-release with a new score but I suppose the fan made ones are the only ones we’ll ever see!
I’m still very happy this movie is out there - and I still rewatch it from time to time.
It seems like a nice finale to Connery tenure as 007 and it’s just great seeing him back in action as James Bond one last time.
( that is - until The Rock years later! But that’s a story for another Oliver video!)
Ohh dude, prolly my favorite Connery Bond movie. Specially because of Kim Basinger ❤🥰
The 1980's were great 😊
Like this movie. Connery does a great job bringing his charm to the role
This sounded like a complete nightmare of a production.
Thunderball is one of my favorite bond movies .
As much as I like the John Williams Superman Theme it's not the same as not having a Bond theme in a Bond movie. Superman has been around before and after the 1978 film
As someone who really enjoys Thunderball, this really does feel like a bootleg movie in ways. Even though the underwater sequences in the OG went on a bit long it somehow got even more dull in the remake, and so much of it feels like a TV movie (genuinely shocked to hear it cost more than Jedi or even Octopussy) a far cry from Kershner’s work from Empire. I feel most of it could be avoided if they had just done a half decent score but I think this might be the worst score I’ve ever heard in a major studio film 😂
Yes I agree I always found the end to this film more boring than Thunderball especially when domino kills Lago. Thunderball's ending was more exciting.
I am really surprised this movie was praised by critics as much as it was.Probably due to nostalgia for Connery I guess..I found this weaker than most(not all) of the official Bond releases..This just felt cheaper than other Bond flicks. I did enjoy it though
Another nice overview as always Oliver. I would say if you’re further interested in the Thunderball saga you should definitely get a copy of The Battle for Bond as nothing else has gone into that level of detail about the development of the story and then the McClory saga. It’s out of print but very much worth tracking down. I finally got a copy before doing my Thunderball and Never Say Never Again commentary tracks.
NSNA is such an odd film that is entirely explained by the craziness of its production. It could’ve worked fully had the producer not been entirely inexperienced and the back and forth causing the scripting troubles. It was a mistake to fire Semple when they did. It’s also unfair on a quality level to compare it to Octopussy as NSNA is more of a studio executive’s idea of what a Bond film is.
The film still has great bits peppered throughout, nice humor and is made by Connery and Brandauer’s performances. I think the shark attack and Domination scenes are by far the best in the film.
It’s amazing how flat the film feels with the incredible names in the cast and crew. It even looks flat (this is made worse by the video transfers) and has a pitifully wimpy Dolby Stereo mix.
I’ll always be fascinated by the film and its production. I grew up avoiding it and eventually grew to enjoy the aspects I like which are essentially the aged Bond as the man in the field whose experience makes the difference. They needed to go further down this route along the lines of the contemporary John Gardner continuation novels.
The inherent issues of the Thunderball story remain as they did in the EON film which is what dragged it down to a degree-these also harmed the novel. You never get away from it being designed as a film treatment in the 1950’s. The best parts of Fleming’s novel and the 1965 film are the original moments.
I do have to completely disagree on NSNA being above Thunderball though. Especially the photography. Thunderball is very well lensed by Ted Moore and while Douglas Slocombe gets some nice setups here and there even his imagery is affected by the chaotic production. This would be alleviated somewhat if both films could get the modern 4K scan and proper transfers they deserve but sadly MGM and EON don’t care.
An awesome and very underrated bond film.
Great and insightful review as always Harper; the simpler Bonds for me (From Russia, For Hour Eyes) are excellent films; the quality of this one felt like a cheesy 80s soft core porno
28:30 the Craig movies suffers the same feeling
I'd be keen to see a fan version of this with all of the Eon elements added in, and maybe some of the fat trimmed
Wait, WHAT? The electro-shock video game was in camera?? It looked how it looked in the movie, IRL??
(The video games are literally the only warm colour in the whole movie so I always appreciated them for that)
The title song is painful personally. And reused so often throughout the movie. Mr Bean is also a weird tone shift.
He wasn't Mr Bean then. Or Johnny English
GREAT OPENING TITLE!!!!!!
I saw Never Say Never Again in 1983, at age 9, but that was the Summer of 1983 (that's how old I am) I guess it was released later that year in the U.S.
Top Review Oliver!😀👍
That was the summer of Return of the Jedi for me. I was obsessed with it at 7 years old!
If the James Bond series were analogous to Doctor Who, then "Never Say Never Again" is like those two Peter Cushing Dalek movies from the 1960s that adapted two William Hartnell TV serials to the big screen. On paper, all the elements we know and love are all there, just not quite how we know and love them...
What I love most about your videos is that you never bother with silly things like the correct pronunciation of actors’ names… 🤣🤣🤣
I’m an Australian and a fun fact is that Tiger sharks are almost completely safe to swim with. They have scary looking but relatively small mouths and never hunt anything the size of a human.
Or that bloody well better be true because that’s what I was told that before I swam with them on the Gold Coast (it was spine-chilling but I kept calm because there were old ladies and children that did too)
4:50 gotta love the US and the British media. They loved Sir Connery to a fault. But I will always love Sir Roger Moore. No matter what I think of his movies, he steadied the Bond franchise when it was in grave danger and even after his tenure he has always been the biggest ambassador for the series. I cant say the same for Sir Sean who did everything to distance himself from the franchise.
Great intro!
~23:30: There’s a guy watching Kim Bassinger in the arcade who looks exactly like Timothy Dalton in Licence to Kill. As a kid, I wondered if it really was he.
The bond theme playing here & there throughout would've helped it
Great video, I was hoping you were going to cover the scene that was missing in the UK DVD back in the day. The censorship mob cut the horse impacting the water. I got the German release which had the scene in full.
14:17 Making biscuits?
If you own a cat you will know! Just google it.
This was my first Bond film. It's not the best one but its my favorite one.
Personally I always considered Thunderball my second SC Bond film after Goldfinger, though I am sort of a newcomer.
14:18 Can you please explain to me what you meant by the cat making biscuits? I'm confused.
Never say Never is my favorite Bond film ever until Quantum of Solace came along. The song, the villain, Kim Basinger. The super hot femme fatal in scuba scene. Classic movie
Great video Oliver, really sad to hear that Pamela Salem passed away on the 21st of February 2024 😔
A lot I like in this film, it probably has my favourite Bond/Q scene and one of the great Bond villains.
James Bond Never say never again is rare, under rated but good!
Brilliant as always, Oliver. Although I grew up with this film, it just left me feeling meh. Connery looks great and Brandeur was engaging as the baddie but the ending is dull as dishwater and the music execrable! Barabara Carrera was THE highlight for me. Killing her so early was a mistake and the film suffers for it. The whole production (except the video game sequence) looks bland and uninspired. By the way, it was Connery who rejected Horner and recommended LeGrand. HUGE mistake!
I always dig this movie. They played it a lot on TV here in Australia back in the 80's. The Femme Fatale is absolute fire!!!! Octopussy is great too. Awesome films!!
Flawed as it may be, I'm happy this supplanted Diamonds Are Forever as Connery's last Bond outing.
14:20 cat: this is only a side gig ive still gotta fill those biscuit orders
Love the intro Oliver👍👍
Oh how happy I am to hear you tear the ost a new one. It sounds soooo out of place, I still don't understand what they were thinking by hiring Michel Legrand.
For the movie itself I think they should've gone a more serious and grounded route, just to contrast with the campy Roger Moore movies.
This version was a sad shadow of Thunderball.
That's interesting because Lorenzo semple also wrote some of the best episodes of The Adam West Batman including the pilot if I'm not mistaken
I am the only one who actually likes this film? I feel I am! It works as a bond film and avoids silliness you had in many Roger Moore films.
If only Connery had done this film at the time he shot Cuba, a few years before. He actually looked as young as he did in the first few Bond films, which was perhaps attributed to weight loss. I would be okay with someone convincingly deep faking his younger self into this.
While Thunderball (1965) might not be for everyone, it has been one of my favorites of the James Bond series since I first saw it. In fact, I would take up Scuba Diving due to its presence in the movie's story. I have even been to some of the places in the Bahamas where Thunderball shot some of its underwater scenes.
Also, I must say as a collector of James Bond movie merchandise, I am a bit surprised that Never Say Never Again did not have a bigger marketing campaign, with merchandise to collect like many of the official films from Eon productions did. I am guessing that the budget did not allow for one, since so much money was spend just trying to get the movie made.
My wife and I have rewatched every Bond film up to Casino Royale (The newer one), and re-rewatched this a couple days ago. I had seen this many times as a kid put couldn't give you a review. Now I can say it's not very good.
The film is largely directionless for most of the runtime. There are great performances, but the ticking clock does not work. The biggest drag is that after Blush goes boom the film has a LONG ways to go to the end, but everyone is standing around. In the worst spy mysteries, the spy stands around until the mystery falls on him and that's what he have here.
The movie feels like pieces of other scripts thrown together. Why have Nicole? Do you think we remember her? It was hard to remember her name. Do you think we cared when she died?
The tone is just odd at times, like the auction scene which feels like it belongs in Romancing the Stone.
My wife couldn't get over the dress continuity issue. It feels like there MUST have been some other scene.
I agree with everything you said
Why did the press have it in for Sir Roger? Those Yankee reviewers must have been high when they reviewed this turkey!
Octopussy is a much better film. (I’m American and I loved Roger Moore as Bond)
@@jcollins1305 hi. Well said. Octopussy is gaining the respect it’s due and about time.
i consider this official Bond. i think its kind of underrated in the Bond community and very overlooked.
Love your opening . This movie is almost no different than one of Roger Moore's versions of Bond . It's an OK movie . Would've been better if there was some partnership with the Broccoli family biz .
Question for Oliver: Ian Fleming's neighbor - in the Bahamas - spoke to the BBC during one of their triennial Bond BJs - about Ian and what it was like living next to him. ANYWAY this neighbor of his described Ian's house in a really funny way but I cannot remember what he said.
Does this sound familiar and if so, what did he say? I wish I could remember because it was absolutely hilarious.
You have got to be kidding me - it'll be on TV in half an hour :D
Probs the best and most in- depth review of NSNA.
Keep up the great work.
Great video
I agree that this film suffers for the lack of a good soundtrack. There are several videos here on TH-cam made by talented creators that change the opening sequence by adding a gun barrell, Bond music for the beginning sequence making it a cold opening then a Maurice Binder type of title visuals with a better title song. Changing these elements makes the shots look like a traditional Bond film.
The absence of a gun barrel intro, the more exotic/jazzy bahama style soundtrack are just a few of the elements that makes this film my favorite Bond film by far. Fresh and non-traditional. I get that people feel it's missing the traditional Bond elements, but to me it was love at first sight (and not just because of Barbara Carrera lol )
@@GirthUnitz I don't mind the missing those EON trademarks. The problem is, NSNA isn't very good.
I got no spicy takes on this film. It's kinda terrible aside from Fatima Blush. And at least Sean looked in decent nic compared to Diamonds Are Forever