@@haywoodsmith2822Paluzzi may be more enigmatic and play a better character, but in terms of classical feminine beauty it was very hard to beat Claudine Auger as Domino. Not a fan of the character but she’s beautiful.
I found a quote from the IMDB page under trivia. "Bond enters Miss Moneypenny's and hangs up his hat then enters the meeting with M. When he exits M's meeting, after his chitchat with Moneypenny he goes to the hat rack to find his hat is gone Bond states "I thought I wore a hat when I came in.." This was the final appearance of James Bond wearing a hat as a fashion statement. (With the exception of the opening scene of On Her Majesty's Secret Service)" Not sure if that clears up the hat dilemma or not.
@@ZombyMammoth I think it is meant as a change in fashion for bond though it is poorly done it would have made more sense for him to lose it in a fight and say something funny like "well hats off to you"
I think the insinuation of the scene is that M took the hat from Bond as he was fed up with Bond's antics with the hat, hence also why the hatstand is also moved toward the door rather than in its usual position in the corner of the room.
It's important to remember that the scuba scenes were super innovative at the time, so while they seem really long and gratuitous to us, they were a huge new thing at the time.
People often point to logistical or other reasons why a scene or scenes is great but, ultimately, entertainment value is more important. And reading reviews (even from the time) some people found the underwater scenes logistically impressive but dull. So I dunno.
Why was it so innovative? I know the type of camera they used was new but the footage itself doesn't look any better than the underwater color footage from Jacques Cousteau's The Silent World which was released almost 10 prior to thunderball.
Hey Calvin, have you noticed - in the Q/ Bond scene Q explains to him (and us) that the watch is a geiger counter and the camera is an underwater camera. However later when Bond gives Domino the CAMERA he tells her it’s a geiger counter(?!). WTF? Did they forgot their own gadgets?! Crazy. I love your reviews, and keep up the good work.
It was a good basic plot. Steal two nukes, and hold the US and UK for ransom. It gave more background on SPECTRE. It had Fiona (Drool). However, in 1965 underwater action sequences were unheard of. So there was a lot more fascination with that. It gave something different. It's basically a film that hasn't aged well. It would have been better if we just saw SPECTRE having a meeting, and saying it had the largest operation SPECTRE ever attempted. Then explained the plot as well to the audience. I do think the disarming of the bombs was lame as well as the sped up action sequences. But it's still a fun film.
I think that a big part of the bomb stealing sequences as drawn out as they were was that the first four Bond films really were far slower-paced than the later ones. The over the top action scenes every fifteen minutes without elt up really became a bit fo a staple with YOLT when they first drifted away from Fleming plots.
THUNDERBALL, despite the pacing the problems, is the only Bond that made a world wide threat seem legit. You felt like nations were scrambling to stop SPECTRE from killing innocent people. In the later films, it just became such a routine for one man taking down entire armies in order to stop a threat no one knew except Bond and a few red shirts.
that's probably the closest it's come since then. i'll give you that it could potentially have been a global threat, but during the film, the threat is to clear a way through the "demilitarized zone" for an invasion into south korea. besides, don't we all want to forget die another day?
doaftheloaf I thought Graves' intent was obvious because an invasion of South Korea would mean fucking with NATO. As for the film, there is no question how bad it was. However, I think the all time worst Bond film is Quantum of Solace. I don't care if it wasn't as campy as DAD, it reduced to Bond to a pure action zombie.
i don't think it's the worst in the series, but it isn't good. it'd probably be more accurate to say there are better-made films that entertained me less. thunderball could be one of these.
For the same reason all these super scary villains have self-destruct button on their premises or they always feel compelled to deliver long monologue instead of just shooting him
This mightve been answered already but the whole missing hat thing was just to symbolize that Bond wasn't going to wear a hat anymore as part of his standard outfit
I assumed it was just a joke to the audience that just wasn't very funny, however OHMSS was the last film where he threw the hat so they kind of went through with the joke??????????????? I don't know that whole thing has puzzled me for years as well.
@@alwaysOPEN4business Yes forgot about that one, so it seems he only threw the hat 3 times (Dr. No, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, For Your Eyes Only)
If we’re in favor of the underdog, and most of us all, then I’m all in favor of LGBTQ rights. A trans person deserves the same rights as all of us. 🌈 😊
@Doubletake Pigeon, You’ve got me! I meant, “ . . within reason.” But I certainly did not say that. Your counter-examples are excellent and hit the mark. I’d even add to the list that we shouldn’t make Billy the Kid any kind of great hero, other than maybe in a cool film. Now, where you say “our fundamental sovereignty as individuals,” allow me to ask the same question. Do you mean within reason? For example, as middle-income jobs continue to slowly erode, as they have for 40+ years in my United States and I think probably also in the UK, might you be in favor of Universal Income and the tax level to do it right? An alternative might be to take a good hard look at the Asian Tiger economies - plus China and India - but these are also very much mixed economies. And yes, I am very interested in the hip pocket forms of lived and experienced freedom. I don’t know whether you consider yourself to be either a small or big L libertarian, or perhaps another view entirely. But in any case, I’d be interested in your views. Thanks. 🌈 🚴🏽♂️ 🎸
guys I was literally just talking about Calvin accidentally editing an audio track from earlier in the video into that sequence where did this all come from
Cmon man its the bond with almost all the elements, Connery, Spectre,gadgets, jetpack, hot bondgirls, coldwar, eye patch villain, DB5, felix leiter, M,Q,Moneypenny,intense situation, Bombers, Nukes, world domination, exotic locations, original bond theme, cool OST ect... I sure hope SPECTRE is more like thunderball and goldeneye.
@@purplebondsaiyan2987 All 60's bond films are superb (yet not to be taken TOO seriously) with this and YOLT being the templates for all subsequent big budget action movies.
Unfortunately the film is less than the sum of its parts. The pacing and poor structure really hurt this film. There’s a good 90 minute movie in Thunderball, it’s just dragged out to tedium.
I honestly find Thunderball one of the best Bond films. Great music, the underwater scenes were state of the art for that time, the plot is solid, the SPECTRE organization is given effective time in the movie, and Largo is a solid villain. Connery gives us a great performance and the leading Bond girl is fantastic. I love the whole movies.
Agreed. I didn't like the film when I first watched it as a kid (for the same reasons as Calvin), but now that I have gotten older I agree it is one of the best. The only flaw is that the first act is a bit slow.
Watching most Bond films for the first time in 2020, I have to say: the Thunderball scuba battle stands out as a high point. So many of the films in the series try so hard to come up with something novel for the chase and fight scenes, and in this case they actually did something truly novel, and not contrived at all (it is integral to the plot), and they knocked it out of the park.
How can anybody not like this movie? It practically is the definition of BOND. Everything from the music, the women, gadgets, the locations, SPECTRE, Connery, and much more is just perfect in this movie
@@crimsondeath7468 it's basically dukes of Hazzard mixed with a black exploitation film. It had one of the most underwhelming openings. Just to name a few things I don't like about it. That being said I've seen it more then once.
Terence Young got disillusioned with the franchise too. I read this quote ages ago (impossible to verify now) that he would like to direct one more JB; provided it be the last, and not just his last, the last ever.
@@calvindyson I understand the Hate for Thunderball But Really to me this is a Great Film dispite so Flaws of the Film like the Scene where the SPECTRE Agents Building the Camouflage for the Bombs was too Long but I really love All The Underwater Scenes and Fights!!!! We Agree to Disagree but to me I think this is BY Far Better than the Stupid Never Say Never Again Seriously!!!! Love the Channel Bond Reviewer!!!
@randy palla its a replica of the From Russia With Love SPECTRE Ring made by Factory Entertainment he did a video on getting it. I even just recieved my own yestarday. Long discontinued but you can find people reselling them online
Just rewatched this, got very close to falling asleep. The story moves at an absymally slow pace, and the best bits are so brief you often forget them. I could give credit for the underwater scenes being revolutionary and the pre title scene having some intrique, but there's so little good to talk about.
Admittedly, a year later and I've started to enjoy Thunderball more. Largo is a hell of a better villain than I initially thought, Domino and Fiona are pretty good, Tom Jones' song is one of the best in the series, and the score is greatly bombastic.
Vargas being asked what his passion is and not answering - I believe this is supposed to be killing. James putting on sunglasses to hide emotions - Look at the hands giving Domino the watch, they tremble
I avoided re-watching Thunderball for years after this review, but having recently read the novel, I gave the film another chance. You're way too hard on this film, I really enjoyed watching it again. I'm not surprised Bond is sarky with Q, as he's being patronising in the extreme to him.
The main reason I don't like this movie are the underwater sequences. I get that at the time it was so advanced but now it's just soooo slow. But I agree with you, Fiona Volpe is the saving grace of this movie, sexy and amazingly acted
I'm sorry, but to me Thunderball is the epitome of the James Bond "Thing". The locales, beautiful women, the diabolical and actually believable bad guys in this one are GREAT, the chase scenes... I could go on. I suggest sir that you go back and look again at this film! It is gorgeous and its many interesting character interactions and situations, intriguing... While this film may be other things, "Weak" is certainly NOT one that would be an accurate description of this ultra cool, suave, film. And the women are just simply Delicious! Ciao!
kurvos Yes, we watch Bond movies for the beautiful women, among other things (like the exotic locales, set designs, action sequences, stunts, etc etc) Appreciating a sexy woman isn't pathetic. It's part of being a heterosexual man (or a gay woman)
kurvos Yes, we watch Bond movies for the beautiful women, among other things (like the exotic locales, set designs, action sequences, stunts, etc etc) Appreciating a sexy woman isn't pathetic. It's part of being a heterosexual man (or a gay woman)
Say what you will about the underwater sequences, but Thunderball is ten times better than Diamonds Are Forever which I've grown to dislike tremendously. Domino is one of the most attractive Bond girls of Connery's films, Fiona Volpe was an amazing henchwoman. Her death was one of the more notorious deaths in the franchise and was definitely intense. SPECTRE was also more of a global threat in this film rather than a British, Russian, or Chinese one. The musical score by John Berry is excellent, and the opening song "Thunderball" by Tom Jones is the best male vocalist song in the films other than "You Know My Name" by Chris Cornell, and last but not least... the Jetpack. Enough Said. Thunderball is without a doubt Connery's most underrated movie.
A BIG moment you missed talking about the beach scene with Domino and Bond revealing her brother's death...The shot right before he puts on the sunglasses is a close up of his hand, giving Domino her brother's items. As he pulls it away his hand clearly trembles! A lot of people miss this for some reason.
I happen to love this film, and after recently viewing it again, consider one of my top 10 favourite bond films. Your arguments seem far too nitpicky and bring up complaints that you ignore in other films. An example of this is the scene between Q and James bond. The look that they give one another I found to be quite comedic, and saying that Bond acts like a petulant schoolboy around Q, can be seen frequently in other bond films as well. I feel that the harsh review of this film, is unjust. It is by no means a perfect films, but I believe it is one of the better ones in the series.
@@cockshield It was just an imitation of Goldfinger. They just took what they thought were the most popular elements of Goldfinger and stuck them in another movie.
Hiya Calvin, love your videos! 😂 Just thought I'd throw my opinion in of the "I had a hat when I came in" part of the film. If you look closely, Bond and M have different outfits on in both scenes, which suggests they are supposed to be different days which would explain why Bond's hat has disappeared. Obviously discussing his individual assignment with M is happening the day after the meeting with all the 00s. Or maybe even later the same day? Bond had come back quickly from Shrublands hadn't he so maybe he'd gone home and changed before coming back in to see M? Farfetched perhaps but maybe? The line "I think I had a hat when I came in" is said by Bond to try to move on from the awkwardness created by Moneypenny calling M "the old man" and to get out of there asap. The expressions he pulls as he heads for the door suggest that he's thinking Moneypenny might have overstepped the mark and he just wanted to get out of there. Just my opinion. Any thoughts? Keep the reviews coming! 😁
You actually forget one thing that always bothered me with the shower scene. Bond tells Leiter "You were about to call me 007" while the guy in the shower is coming to it. So why punch Leiter if you then mention it anyway while the guy is listening, now even closer up cause it is right in front of him.
Why do I love Thunderball? I think it has all the right ingredients for a classic Bond film. Beautiful locations and women, a great John Barry score, an interesting Bond girl... Yes, Domino does share some similarities with Honey Ryder, but Domino does kill Largo, an interesting villain if just for how good he is at his job of Spectre. He's also one of the most classy and stylish villains in the series. Yes, the underwater sequences do drag, but it's probably a top 5 Bond film for me.
How do locations and women make a movie? The plot is so threadbare and it's mostly just Bond swanning around in the Bahamas without anything happening. No cool stunts or anything.
"I think I had a hat when I came in" My guess is Bond is trying to show M that he wasn't just chit-chatting with Moneypenny. The very obvious, and empty, hat stand shows he's just making excuses.
I adore this film. I appreciate the opportunity to see the nuts and bolts of SPECTRE's operation for once (although I admittedly did find it boring in the remake). I love seeing the 00s meet together for a conference. I find the villains to be loads of fun, from our eyepatch-sporting Largo (who, of course, was iconic enough to inspire an Austin Powers character) to Fiona and even Vargas (who, for the record, is shy about his love for killing). The shark pool scene is one of my favorite moments in the entire series, and even though the underwater scenes drag a bit (where's that quirky Peter Hunt editing when you really need it?), they're still spectacular--contrast the truly bland and incomprehensible climax of NSNA. Sure, it's pretty much all formula and spectacle rather than character, but unlike most of the later films with that same balance, this film is simply gorgeous to stare at for its padded running time. For my tastes, at least, it's the best-looking Bond flick with the possible exception of Skyfall.
I watched it recently and I really enjoy the John Barry score, particularly when Felix and Bond are in the helicopter finally finding the plane. Combined with the widescreen footage its a great part. Thunderball looks great and sounds great, but its so slow to get going, so in many ways it reminds me of SPECTRE (though that film has a meh soundtrack).
I've started watching all the Bond films from the beginning. I just finished Thunderball and I think cinematography and technology wise, it's the best so far. I can't wait to keep going
Well Calvin, I understand that you didn't find this movie spectacular and some people would say love or hate this movie both at the same time. However, I really like "Thunderball" and...I kind a like underwater fight scenes. 👪👩👩👧👦👨👨👦: Boooooooo!!!! Okay, okay, I will admit it is too slow, but the entire sequence, the story, all these gorgeous ladies, and Connery still becomes a clever Bond character. It may be not the strongest Bond film like every hardcore Bond fan should said it, but it was fantastic only for me. With the jet pack scene, beautiful underwater experience, and Bond banging with Domino and Fiona. Probably a better Bond film than the same director who did "Dr. No" or "From Russia With Love." But hey, the ending scene where Disco Valente was stupid and hilarious.
I think these flaws could be easily have been overlooked had the supporting cast been stronger. Felix, Largo, Domino, Paula, and most of the cast just come off as flat or simply dead weight. I will admit I am a sucker of the atmosphere. The 1960's decadence, the gorgeous backdrop of the Bahamas, Ken Adam's beautiful decor, Barry's score, it just feels right but executed in the wrong fashion.
All Bond movies have flaws, Thunderball has a problematic run time. But people think Thunderball is weak because it came out after Goldfinger. It’s still better than MOST Bond movies after (there’s 22 movies after, not that hard to believe, especially with the middle era)
Hot take on the "blackmail" scene with the health spa lady: It's made pretty plain from their earlier interactions that she finds him attractive and is only rebuffing his advances because it would be a violation of the terms of employment to shag the clientele, and she values her job. The "blackmail" situation provides enough of a pretext for her to "surrender", her rationale being "well, he _might_ be making a genuine threat", even though it's pretty obvious to everyone from that roguish twinkle in his eye that this is basically role-playing foreplay, and that he's not really the sort to go tattle to the manager.
You’ve made a very thoughtful reply which I think has a lot of truth to it. Of course, it may be playful to the person making the job threat. And may not be perceived as all that playful by the person on the receiving end. 💃🏽🕺🏼 It does add dramatic tension to the scene. But currently outside the norm of behavior on the part of someone you or I would probably consider as a dependable friend. And what if she finds him attractive, but is married, or has a steady boyfriend, or is looking to have a steady boyfriend and is not into just a one night stand? As it was, she said goodbye to him at his car and asked him to call. And Bond never did. 🙁
@ M Adams: You don't know that Bond never called her. After all, we did see him with Sylvia Trench in both Dr. No and From Russia With Love, so we have evidence that he does keep in touch with some of his "conquests". It's entirely possible that Bond would meet up with her when he returned to England. It's also pretty clear that she was very interested in Bond, and was only rebuffing his advances because he was a patient, and she could have been fired for sleeping with him. If Bond didn't think she was mutually interested in him he would never have tried to blackmail her, and in fact he only did that because she had already jumped to the conclusion that he was going to complain to her boss about the massage table. When Bond said "someone's going to pay for this" was actually talking about the person who tried to kill him.
This is honestly one of my favourite bond movies. My top 10 would be: #1 Goldfinger #2 From russia with love #3 Dr.no #4 Casino Royale #5 The spy who loved me #6 Skyfall #7 License to kill #8 Thunderball #9 The living daylights #10 Goldeneye
The OLD MAN scene is the highlight of a turgid movie. Ignoring the reasoning for the missing hat, It's a lovely piece of awkward comedy with great timing and delivery by Connery. His tight arsed walk is perfection!!
Thunderball Is One Of Best Bond Films Of All Time,Claudine Auger As Domino Derval Was Hot As Hell,10/10 Rating For Me With A Badass Seal Of Approval,Lord Colton Of Gallifrey
This movie was so strange. Even for Bond. I think my favorite bit is the doppelgänger pilot having his oxygen line cut, being unable to escape his chair, and drowning in the cockpit of the Avro. The handle for the ejector seat is clearly visible almost the entire time. Ok the spine stretching thing loops past parody, another high point.
In the pantheon of bad Bond films, I don't think this classifies anywhere near bad. It isn't great, but it manages to do many things right and has some interesting ideas. If you think this is a bad movie, you have not seen enough bad movies.
@@lukeschroter9389 I hear when goldfinger came out James bond movies 🎬; people were obsessed with that movie;; still think thunderball was better James bond 🎬 movies red hair villain: male villain remind of billionaire Onassis of the 1960s
Myself I used to have Thunderball as my favourite Bond flick (after that, I picked From Russia with love and recently I consider Dr. No to be the best ... but that's another story.). But there's no film like Thunderball just like there's no film like Skyfall - that's why I see the two quite similar in some way. First, the picture looks beautiful, and that would've been a must to make the underwater scenes to work. And I love every piece of those "teadious" underwater scenes! Sometimes the picture even looks modern (and I've only seen this film on VHS and DVD, and not on Blue-ray). The filming under water is wonderfully done and the picture is great, it's an art in itself to make a suspense drama in a slow motion moving atmosphere like underwater - and yet they manage top class! Fiona Volpe is also a great contribution, I agree with Calvin on that point. But Largo I think is great and although we don't get to know that much about him I Think he shines through the screen in every scene he's in and you really get intimidated by this character. Vargas is also a very interesting henchman, almost entirely mute throughout the movie (and I wish I stayed that way). But also, I agree with Calvin that Vargas should've been more elaborated thoroughout the film. One of the most interesting Bond henchmen in the film series if you ask me. I also agree on that the scientist who ends up pretty much "solving the problem" gets too Little attention, but to tell the truth I actually never thought about that until Calvin pointed it out! Maybe it's because I've always been hooked on the film itself that all the plot holes get under my radar, I don't now. The final fight between Bond and Largo with the fast forwarded backdrop I've always found hilarious though, but since I'm a 60s fan I've never got that much bothered about it since that kind of technique and editing was quite general at that time and I think shouldn't be too much dug in to. But nevertheless, it does look quite stupid! I don't think this is Connery's best performance though (I save that for From Russia with love and Dr. No) and Claudia is a beautiful Bond girl "with teeth" ;) ... But I guess all that matters, wheather you will like this film or not, gets down to how you feel about the under water scenes. If you like them and think they're you will certainly like this film, but if you don't, you will surely dislike most parts or the entire film. As for the plot I've for some reason always found myself invested even though Calvin has good points in the lacks in the script showing and telling us everything only to let us see the characters catch up with the plot. Not very good storytelling but it worked for me! :)
There's a time skip between the MI-6 scenes. There's a difference in the suit Bond is wearing. My best guess is that in the time before Bond went into his briefing with M (in which 001 through 006 got their assignments), he came back for the hat changed into his yellow shirt and vest. The hat becomes a convenient excuse to get out of an awkward situation. I've, personally, grown out of love with this film. When I first saw this in 2000, I loved the plot and I love the set up. I thought the underwater scenes were something different that I really enjoyed. But as I saw more of the series and saw better underwater scenes in "For Your Eyes Only" and "Tomorrow Never Dies," my opinion of it has gone down. The plot meanders and I can safely blame how this was executed by the producer. A director can have a vision but a producer is the final voice and Kevin McClory showed that he had no right to produce this film at all. On a positive note, though, the actors have done amazing job with what they have and I can easily say this movie has one of the sexiest female villains. Fiona Volpe is the reason why I tend to have an interest in redheads. Good job as always, Calvin. Can't wait for the next review.
This film's big problem, as you say, the fact that we know everything and Bond doesn't, also comes from the novel. See my review below: Now, we arrive at the first book in the series that I never finished. The first time I attempted to read the series, some 8 years ago (or more?), I ended up stopping in the middle of Thunderball. For whatever reason, it didn’t hold my attention. I never really enjoyed the film adaptation (I learned how to snap my fingers over the length of a particularly dull screening), which I found to be rather dull and one-note, with very little in the way of memorable action or plot. I’ll be revisiting this film shortly, so stay tuned for that review, but I will say that the things I find boring in Bond usually stay pretty constant. One of the things I get most bored of is nautical Bond. As Bond/Fleming was a naval officer and given Fleming’s life in Jamaica, extensive material involving diving, marine biology, and all other things aquatic appears throughout the series. Nothing is more boring than an underwater fight scene. It’s true in the films (Thunderballand For Your Eyes Only, to name two) and it’s true in novels. But is Thunderball a novel? Books and documentaries have been made detailing the history behind the legal disputes between either Fleming or EON Productions and Kevin McClory, one of Fleming’s collaborators. The long and short of it is that Kevin was one of five writers, including Fleming, that contributed to the story of an original James Bond screen treatment. The film, pre-dating Dr. No by a couple of years, didn’t materialize, and Fleming decided to adapt this screen treatment into his next novel (McClory, Fleming, and one of the other writers receive credit for the source material on the copyright page). Legal disputes ensued and the resultant endpoints thereof include Kevin McClory’s producer credit on Thunderball (the film) and the eventual McClory-produced remake, the entirely uninteresting “unofficial Bond film, ”Never Say Never Again (1983), starring Sean Connery. More importantly (for our purpose), the complicated history of the novel’s development leads to a book far unlike any that preceded it. At times it reads like a novelization of a film. Description is slightly more literal than stylized, and, despite the overall lack of action, it conjures up images in one’s mind of a Thunderball film with Connery, but with the budget of Dr. No. The novel shows a constraint and self-awareness, with the hint that they were considering keeping the film simultaneously high-concept and low-budget. The globe trekking is minimal, there is only one real action set-piece (or maybe, two… but they are both underwater and involve spearguns and deadly fish; both are also relatively brief). There is a lot of dialogue and character development, and a fair deal of meandering about. But I guess we’re supposed to be looking at the pretty location photography that would have been. The opening act at Shrublands, the health clinic Bond is required to stay at, is a lot of fun. I am always a sucker for more casual Bond material that shows him at home and being rather relatable. This chunk of the book would have made for a pretty decent short story. Next comes the introduction of SPECTRE, Bond’s new adversaries. It’s remarkable, in hindsight, how understated the organization’s presentation feels. It does obviously have a lot of the over-the-top dramatics you’d expect, but they are couched in as much realism as possible. The plot is obviously the biggest in Bond so far: theft of nuclear missles with the world held for ransom. But as these things don’t actually happen, the budget can be kept down. The book makes the Fleming mistake of putting us way ahead of Bond in knowing the plot. Fleming must not be particularly interested in the suspense of who/what/where/when/why that compels Bond to engage in his duties, but instead he builds his stories around the “how” of “How is Bond going to figure it out and beat the baddie?” Bond and Leiter (whose presence in the story is larger than ever) bumming around for the whole middle of the book, trying to find out information that we already know, doesn’t make for the most compelling read. Fortunately, Domino and Largo are colorful figures, and the scenes of villainous exposition are engaging, so that makes up for something. I will admit that the Domino’s brother connection is never fully explained, and it’s not entirely clear of how the Domino/Largo/Giuseppe triangle developed, nor who knew what and when. This element is stronger in the film, as far as I can recall. By the way, every time Leiter appears, it’s always a surprise for the reader and for Bond, and it makes me the giddiest young man on the subway whenever it happens. He is the Gene Parmasan to my Lucille Bluth whenever I read Bond. The novel’s lopsided structure (my usual grievance with any Fleming) can be felt by noticing the fact that act III (or is it act IV?) begins with about 10% of the book left. The book’s finale is predictable but thankful after the water treaded by Bond & Co. in the chapters leading up to it. The coda is sweet, and maybe a bit hokey, but I’m sure it would have been a hit with the cinemagoers.
Calvin Dyson Thanks! And thanks for another great review. Looking forward to hearing about Casino Royale; a film I've seen half-a-dozen times and it just gets more and more impenetrable and implausible.
I'm glad someone else has pointed out a lot of my problems with Thunderball...I thought exactly the same thing about that guys random change of heart at the end! I remember the first part being pretty good and then it just gets so bogged down in those bloody tedious underwater sequences which go on for an age! I sort of wonder, as I believe this at this period of time the whole Jacques Costeau underwater 'odyssey' films were being popular whether there was some emulation of this? I dunno, but it doesn't work...watchable with good to very good moments but as this reviewer says it lags and characters are just sort of picked up and discarded for convenience all the way through.
All the flaws you address are indeed bad. But I still liked Thunderball, and found it way better than boring earlers Dr.No & From Russia with Love; and still better than Goldfinger. Unfortunately, nothing new in Bond films for him to brush off the deaths of his allies (Paula). I agree Fiona was great, and prolly my favorite Bond Girl till that point in the films; although she's not as memorable as Aki, Teresa (Tracy), and Goodnight. I liked Largo as a villain, and found him more serious than Goldfinger, who the film had devalued by having Bond mock him several times. The great song by Tom Jones was 1 of the better themes in the franchise. The underwater scuba scenes were slow, but as others mentioned, the early films had slower pace; so this film's general faster pace at least helped.
I first saw Thunderball when I was about 12-13 years old. I absolutely loved it. Now that I'm 20 I still love it. I love Connery (who actually gets to do stuff the whole film, unlike Goldfinger), the Tom Jones theme, I love Blofeld's scene with SPECTRE, I love the locations, the girls, etc. I also like the underwater stuff. I think the slow pace is justified because of the sheer gruesomeness of the deaths, like having their oxygen lines cut, or taking a harpoon to the face. For me it's tense. A great review though, I appreciate your unique perspective.
It's interesting how you and I have diametrically opposed preferences for our 007 style (campy Moore vs deadly serious literary) but we both hate Thunerboredom and Quantum of Boredom and your opinions of both these messy films are almost identical to mine. I also agree that Thunderball often gets a free pass due to Connery.
I think that Largo is, perhaps, the coolest of all the Bond villains; The eye patch, the 'Disco Volante', the dinner jacket, the beachside villa... ... So much so that he was honoured [ie sent up] in the Austin Powers' series as the eye-patched "Number Two" played by Robert Wagner.
Agreed..he is both brain and brawn, able to fight not just stand on the sidelines..I couldn't disagree more with this snarky little boy this is top notch classic and a favorite of mine..it inspired me to take up scuba diving tho it's been a while since I've covered a sunken bomber with camo netting if you get my drift..he criticizes what makes it work, like someone who hates pizza reviewing a pizza place.
@@rynehall9990 Yes; you have some good points & this film was a mega hit world wide earning even more then Goldfinger'.PS; I prefer Paula to Domino! You can see a LOT more of Martine Beswick in a film called 'Dr Jeckyl & Sister Hyde.'
Personally, I used to really enjoy this movie. I used to watch it all the time as a kid. Now I can honestly say after watching it recently, I was bored out of my mind. The film's plot is just poorly constructed and I feel they should have branched off from the book and made it more mysterious. They completely branched off when it came to Moonraker. That film may not be universally liked but atleast its enjoyable and a fun film which I cannot say about Thunderball. Also I really enjoyed that bit with Vargas that you did! Still a better henchman than Elvis though since he atleast dies in a unique way.
I always thought the hat thing was just Bond trying to change the subject after the awkward scene with M and Moneypenny but then I never understood why the hat is missing upon leaving her office and now understand that it was done to show the last time James Bond wears a hat as a fashion statement as hats where then out of style, but then they just go and give him on back again in Majesty’s because I think they where trying to be faithful to the novel
Some interesting information I just gathered from one of the commentary tracks: the third seat in the briefing hall is occupied by a female 00 agent. Makes me think, I would like to see a movie with a female 00 agent set in the 60s, because I like how the movies in the 60s in general looked like. A female agent, who's not a female Bond, operating in a light and colorful surrounding like Nassau with some scenes filmed with a wide background visible like in the scene in the bar right after Bond and Domino arrive at the beach.
I think its pretty clear that bond intended to use Fiona as a human shield, he clearly saw the gun pointed at him and swung her on purpose with a look of fear on his face in front of him
A very funny review. I think you are being a little hard on this film as I would have expected the audience to have enjoyed this movie back in 65 subsequent to the Ian Fleming (McClory) novel. It is very similar to the book, which incidentally is a great 007 read. It just flows and I think Terrance Young wanted the same for the film, I agree with you wholeheartedly about the rich but poor looking film with poor dubs and edits. Remember, Terrace Young was James Bond and extravagantly spoiled the whole cast and crew while holidaying in the Bahamas. Wasn't he known for spending his wages on entertaining the whole film unit? Maybe with some of the films budget also..... Fiona Volpe was and still is a favourite of mine. The scene after Bond beds her, only to find that the henchmen are waiting for him outside is in my opinion one of the greatest Bond moments ever. "Vanity Mr Bond, something you know so much about" And with this dark humorous moment, John Barry drops a gentle score of Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang over the top of it. Spine tingling. Yes my friend, you forgot to mention anything about the late great Mr John Barry. What drives a number of the Bond films. which are slow in pace, is the Barry music which gives emotion and superior feel. The suspension of disbelieve is what is required in viewing these films and as bad as they are, John Barry always kept you wanting more. Goldeneye for me was never going to work as Eric Serra playing the 007 theme on timpani drums was dirge! Thunderball was never going to be better than Goldfinger, following Goldfinger in chronology, but this movie has its moments, not many but many more than Brosnan films and QoS. Cheers!
Thunderball sets itself apart by depicting England, and MI6, in a more Baroque setting. It is also a very formalistic film by first briefing the audience in a very comprehensive way, making sure that that we know that this is a very glamorous *job* which Bond is being tasked with. We see the English attitude toward developments 'abroad', before stripping Bond of the ecoutrements of civilization, and dropping him into a snake pit in the Bahamas.
Hi Calvin, just found your channel, already a huge fan and working my way through all your videos. I agree with everything you said on why Thunderball is not a great film but its one of the best films for Bond the person/brand of James Bond as a person. A lot of the appeal for me is he is the person I would love to be (minus the sexual assault) ;). Huge sex appeal, commanding, tough, cool, suave, smooth, sophisticated. This movie delivers everything that is escapism Bond to the max. This move is peak Bond idolization for who James Bond is. When I was younger the part that really stuck out was how he grabbed the girl to dance with at the Kiss Kiss club until Fiona cuts in. I always loved when he used his magnetism to pick up girls who weren't integral to the plot. If someone wanted to know why do people like James Bond so much? This is the movie I would put on and say isn't he cool?
7:57 How will Bond get out of this one? Is he doomed to being stretched out of shape? Will Largo, the arch-fiend be successful? Find out tomorrow, Same Bond-Time, Same Bond-Channel
Man...when you think about it, McClory really plagued the series with his petty suing. But Thunderball is just rather boring. Connery was good as usual, there's really no bad acting, but it just drags and drags at times. However Connery and Luciana were great, and there are some good scenes, but still. It's watchable. But it's not one of the best or one you'll watch over and over.
Bond intended to use Fiona as a shield. He saw the gun at the last second and decided to turn. The bullet went right between his two fingers, and he wasn't surprised when she died.
Before I started watching your videos, I had heard that Thunderball was great. I told my parents, (who hadn't ever seen a James Bond movie) to watch it, because I had heard that it was great. When I watched it, my entire family left within fifteen minutes and I had fallen asleep after like an hour.
I too rank this low, but I don't think the plot is bad as 007 plots go. The thing is still pretty watchable, but it drags in parts. Good: Fiona is a great henchperson Underwater filming looks great even if action is a little slow The plane heist was pretty cool Bad: Too long and editing is uneven Domino is pretty blah Paula is underused After Fiona is shot, Bond just walks away. They couldn't follow him or just grab him? Ugly: The sexual assault on Patricia The sped up footage and jump cuts The doctor saving Domino
Can't really explain why, but I bloody love Thunderball, and I always have since first viewing. I can plainly see and acknowledge all of it's flaws, but.... it's Thunderball.
Mister Dyson. Admittedly, Thunderball isn't without its flaws. Yes, I agree that the plot is over-explained. Yes, it was much better in Goldfinger when the plot was hinted at in bits through most of the movie and only revealed near the end. Yes, some characters are over-used (Count Lippi), and some are under-used (Paula & Kutze). Yes, the henchmen aren't threatening or intimidating in the least. Yet Fiona should have her picture in the dictionary next to 'Femme Fatal'. Sexy as she is deadly and perfectly played, but for me Fiona is still only the 2nd best part of this film. What I love the most about this movie is how many scenes feature Miss Moneypenny, and this is not just because I'm Canadian. In Thunderball, Moneypenny's appearances may be short, but at least they are reasonably frequent and she looks gorgeous. In my opinion, Lois Maxwell was really at her best and most-beautiful in these films, and the Connery/Lazenby-era Miss Moneypenny will always be my favorite. Other things I like about this film include the sets - specifically the SPECTRE meeting room, as well as the re-appearance of the DB5. In closing, I'd just like to say that I do enjoy watching your reviews and find that you articulate your opinions well. Even when speaking of your least-favorite film of the series, you show it the proper respect by not just pointing-out imperfections and making fun of them, but by clearly explaining why they are imperfection and how they could have been made better. Your enthusiasm as a lifelong Bond fan is both highly-apparent and even contagious. I should thank you for the many facts I've learned about the 007 universe just from watching your show. Keep up the great work.
A decent Bond movie, not that good, but not bad. Both slow and mildly entertaining, Thunderball is watchable. Although I think that Domino and Fiona looked too similar. For example, when Bond meets Largo and plays cards with him, I genuinely thought that was Fiona by his side. It led me to believe that the film was full of plot holes involving her.
I don’t know if you knew this already but you’ll be pleased to hear that the legend that is Peter Hunt didn’t actually edit this film as mentioned at 28:24. In fact it was edited by Ernest Hosler. Presumably Hunt was busy with the Ipcress File at the time instead, which was also released in ‘65.
This film is the very definition of overproduced. The studio had the money and the prestige to make this a gigantic film. So they sacrificed most of the story for incredible set piecesand slick looking scenery. While they definitely achieved both of those with flying colors they unfortunately gave us a very simple story that came off as complicated and wooden characters that were not very interesting, save for Fiona. Also the dubbing of Largo is incredibly distracting. Particularly because of this actor did a much better job dubbing Tiger in You Only Live Twice.
Your criticisms are valid but I still like the film. I think it was one of the first I'd seen on TV. I don't mind the underwater scenes even if they are slow. Any Bond film in the 60s is in with me, that is the decade of Bond and spies. I think You Only Live Twice is worse than this one due to Connery being bored and Bond so easily solves it as you point out in this one. I think some of the 70s/80s entries are far poorer. Well, to each his own.
Rest in peace Claudine Auger (26 April 1941 - 18 December 2019)
Always loved her role as Domino, and one of the most beautiful Bond girls.
Luciana Paluzzi is/was a strong contender.
@@haywoodsmith2822Paluzzi may be more enigmatic and play a better character, but in terms of classical feminine beauty it was very hard to beat Claudine Auger as Domino. Not a fan of the character but she’s beautiful.
I found a quote from the IMDB page under trivia.
"Bond enters Miss Moneypenny's and hangs up his hat then enters the meeting with M. When he exits M's meeting, after his chitchat with Moneypenny he goes to the hat rack to find his hat is gone Bond states "I thought I wore a hat when I came in.." This was the final appearance of James Bond wearing a hat as a fashion statement. (With the exception of the opening scene of On Her Majesty's Secret Service)"
Not sure if that clears up the hat dilemma or not.
He also threw a hat in For Your Eyes Only
r u kidding no it didn't answer anything
PTSD from his fight with Oddjob... no more hat throwing for James.
@@ZombyMammoth I think it is meant as a change in fashion for bond though it is poorly done it would have made more sense for him to lose it in a fight and say something funny like "well hats off to you"
I think the insinuation of the scene is that M took the hat from Bond as he was fed up with Bond's antics with the hat, hence also why the hatstand is also moved toward the door rather than in its usual position in the corner of the room.
Love how you took a jab at Kevin McClory there.
It's important to remember that the scuba scenes were super innovative at the time, so while they seem really long and gratuitous to us, they were a huge new thing at the time.
People often point to logistical or other reasons why a scene or scenes is great but, ultimately, entertainment value is more important. And reading reviews (even from the time) some people found the underwater scenes logistically impressive but dull. So I dunno.
Thunderball is crap
You’re not wrong...
Why was it so innovative? I know the type of camera they used was new but the footage itself doesn't look any better than the underwater color footage from Jacques Cousteau's The Silent World which was released almost 10 prior to thunderball.
I think the underwater fight seen took alot of work. I respect it
Hey Calvin, have you noticed - in the Q/ Bond scene Q explains to him (and us) that the watch is a geiger counter and the camera is an underwater camera. However later when Bond gives Domino the CAMERA he tells her it’s a geiger counter(?!). WTF? Did they forgot their own gadgets?! Crazy. I love your reviews, and keep up the good work.
It was a good basic plot. Steal two nukes, and hold the US and UK for ransom. It gave more background on SPECTRE. It had Fiona (Drool). However, in 1965 underwater action sequences were unheard of. So there was a lot more fascination with that. It gave something different. It's basically a film that hasn't aged well. It would have been better if we just saw SPECTRE having a meeting, and saying it had the largest operation SPECTRE ever attempted. Then explained the plot as well to the audience. I do think the disarming of the bombs was lame as well as the sped up action sequences. But it's still a fun film.
Better than it's copy never say never again
@@randomhuman97 doesn’t even have to be said, 95% of people agree
I think that a big part of the bomb stealing sequences as drawn out as they were was that the first four Bond films really were far slower-paced than the later ones. The over the top action scenes every fifteen minutes without elt up really became a bit fo a staple with YOLT when they first drifted away from Fleming plots.
Thunderball maybe top three jame bond movies 🎬 ever; ❤ Italian lady villain & red hair & sexy voice
THUNDERBALL, despite the pacing the problems, is the only Bond that made a world wide threat seem legit. You felt like nations were scrambling to stop SPECTRE from killing innocent people. In the later films, it just became such a routine for one man taking down entire armies in order to stop a threat no one knew except Bond and a few red shirts.
i'll give you that, but the series hasn't really had a global threat since moonraker.
that's probably the closest it's come since then. i'll give you that it could potentially have been a global threat, but during the film, the threat is to clear a way through the "demilitarized zone" for an invasion into south korea.
besides, don't we all want to forget die another day?
doaftheloaf I thought Graves' intent was obvious because an invasion of South Korea would mean fucking with NATO. As for the film, there is no question how bad it was. However, I think the all time worst Bond film is Quantum of Solace. I don't care if it wasn't as campy as DAD, it reduced to Bond to a pure action zombie.
i don't think it's the worst in the series, but it isn't good. it'd probably be more accurate to say there are better-made films that entertained me less. thunderball could be one of these.
doaftheloaf I actually prefer to watch DAF over TB.
On these “health” machines - why is there always a setting that will kill the person on it?
or non-base-ten numbering on the controls?
My dad said the intention was to stretch Bond until he died
For the same reason all these super scary villains have self-destruct button on their premises or they always feel compelled to deliver long monologue instead of just shooting him
In Germany there's a saying sport ist Mord. Physical activity is murder.... The saying has to come from somewhere
He turned the setting up to eleven!!
16:00 The real question is:
What shower has hot water the moment you open it?
It doesn’t.
@Paul Kryder maybe the water heating systems were better than today's for the elite??
Perhaps it was just unexpectedly cold?
This mightve been answered already but the whole missing hat thing was just to symbolize that Bond wasn't going to wear a hat anymore as part of his standard outfit
Andrew Gold but he wore one again in OHMSS, just 2 films down the line, so? And it still makes no sense in the context of the film...
I assumed it was just a joke to the audience that just wasn't very funny, however OHMSS was the last film where he threw the hat so they kind of went through with the joke??????????????? I don't know that whole thing has puzzled me for years as well.
@@spaceace4387 he throws it in For Your Eyes Only too
@@alwaysOPEN4business Yes forgot about that one, so it seems he only threw the hat 3 times (Dr. No, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, For Your Eyes Only)
Really? His suit is different in those scenes. It's in a different day than the day he threw the hat!
Calvin, at 5:44, I hear, 'AH, IT'S NOT A WOMAN, IT'S A TRANSVESTITE!" is that intentional?
That ain't no woman! It's a man, man!
If we’re in favor of the underdog, and most of us all, then I’m all in favor of LGBTQ rights.
A trans person deserves the same rights as all of us. 🌈 😊
@@madams3478 damn straight. my comment from three years ago is actually meant to question his audio mixing mistake
@Doubletake Pigeon, You’ve got me!
I meant, “ . . within reason.” But I certainly did not say that. Your counter-examples are excellent and hit the mark. I’d even add to the list that we shouldn’t make Billy the Kid any kind of great hero, other than maybe in a cool film.
Now, where you say “our fundamental sovereignty as individuals,” allow me to ask the same question. Do you mean within reason? For example, as middle-income jobs continue to slowly erode, as they have for 40+ years in my United States and I think probably also in the UK, might you be in favor of Universal Income and the tax level to do it right?
An alternative might be to take a good hard look at the Asian Tiger economies - plus China and India - but these are also very much mixed economies.
And yes, I am very interested in the hip pocket forms of lived and experienced freedom.
I don’t know whether you consider yourself to be either a small or big L libertarian, or perhaps another view entirely. But in any case, I’d be interested in your views. Thanks. 🌈 🚴🏽♂️ 🎸
guys I was literally just talking about Calvin accidentally editing an audio track from earlier in the video into that sequence where did this all come from
Cmon man its the bond with almost all the elements, Connery, Spectre,gadgets, jetpack, hot bondgirls, coldwar, eye patch villain, DB5, felix leiter, M,Q,Moneypenny,intense situation, Bombers, Nukes, world domination, exotic locations, original bond theme, cool OST ect...
I sure hope SPECTRE is more like thunderball and goldeneye.
I agree Kasra This Film in Particular is the Quintessential Bond Film!!!! With Everything!!!!! Do I detect a Generational Basis? Just Asking!!!
@@purplebondsaiyan2987 All 60's bond films are superb (yet not to be taken TOO seriously) with this and YOLT being the templates for all subsequent big budget action movies.
@@kevinharkness2108 agree!!
Right elements aren't enough. You have to give it life, make it grab the audience. The execution of this film is flaccid.
Unfortunately the film is less than the sum of its parts. The pacing and poor structure really hurt this film. There’s a good 90 minute movie in Thunderball, it’s just dragged out to tedium.
I honestly find Thunderball one of the best Bond films. Great music, the underwater scenes were state of the art for that time, the plot is solid, the SPECTRE organization is given effective time in the movie, and Largo is a solid villain. Connery gives us a great performance and the leading Bond girl is fantastic. I love the whole movies.
Agreed. I didn't like the film when I first watched it as a kid (for the same reasons as Calvin), but now that I have gotten older I agree it is one of the best. The only flaw is that the first act is a bit slow.
Watching most Bond films for the first time in 2020, I have to say: the Thunderball scuba battle stands out as a high point. So many of the films in the series try so hard to come up with something novel for the chase and fight scenes, and in this case they actually did something truly novel, and not contrived at all (it is integral to the plot), and they knocked it out of the park.
How can anybody not like this movie? It practically is the definition of BOND. Everything from the music, the women, gadgets, the locations, SPECTRE, Connery, and much more is just perfect in this movie
Hmm, if only he had made a 36 minute video explaining exactly how and why he doesn't like it...
The only two bond films I "hate" are live and let die and die another day.
@@91doctorj Die another die I get but why Live and let die???
@@crimsondeath7468 it's basically dukes of Hazzard mixed with a black exploitation film. It had one of the most underwhelming openings. Just to name a few things I don't like about it. That being said I've seen it more then once.
It’s hard to watch a movie that can drag quite a bit and then suffer from an extremely rushed conclusion.
Terence Young got disillusioned with the franchise too. I read this quote ages ago (impossible to verify now) that he would like to direct one more JB; provided it be the last, and not just his last, the last ever.
That insignia on Lippe was not SPECTRE, it was a symbol of the red tongs.
Nevertheless, Largo and Fiona both wear a damn-obvious SPECTRE ring. A bit more showy than a shadowy crime organisation might really need.
Just after the policeman apologizes to Largo he nearly gets ran over by a car lol
MoviesNGames007uk It's quite hilarious isn't it! You really do pay for questioning the parking procedures of SPECTRE agents
Does he almost get ran over or does he almost get run over? Or is it runned?
@@calvindyson I understand the Hate for Thunderball But Really to me this is a Great Film dispite so Flaws of the Film like the Scene where the SPECTRE Agents Building the Camouflage for the Bombs was too Long but I really love All The Underwater Scenes and Fights!!!! We Agree to Disagree but to me I think this is BY Far Better than the Stupid Never Say Never Again Seriously!!!! Love the Channel Bond Reviewer!!!
@randy palla its a replica of the From Russia With Love SPECTRE Ring made by Factory Entertainment he did a video on getting it.
I even just recieved my own yestarday. Long discontinued but you can find people reselling them online
Just rewatched this, got very close to falling asleep. The story moves at an absymally slow pace, and the best bits are so brief you often forget them. I could give credit for the underwater scenes being revolutionary and the pre title scene having some intrique, but there's so little good to talk about.
Admittedly, a year later and I've started to enjoy Thunderball more. Largo is a hell of a better villain than I initially thought, Domino and Fiona are pretty good, Tom Jones' song is one of the best in the series, and the score is greatly bombastic.
I have a feeling he flew the jetpack in when he got to the house but you do bring up a good point in how did no one else notice
Correct; the logic of common sense indicates that Bond flew to the château.
I assume he left the jetpack there when the house was empty (everyone was at the funeral).
Vargas being asked what his passion is and not answering - I believe this is supposed to be killing.
James putting on sunglasses to hide emotions - Look at the hands giving Domino the watch, they tremble
I avoided re-watching Thunderball for years after this review, but having recently read the novel, I gave the film another chance. You're way too hard on this film, I really enjoyed watching it again. I'm not surprised Bond is sarky with Q, as he's being patronising in the extreme to him.
The main reason I don't like this movie are the underwater sequences. I get that at the time it was so advanced but now it's just soooo slow. But I agree with you, Fiona Volpe is the saving grace of this movie, sexy and amazingly acted
I'm sorry, but to me Thunderball is the epitome of the James Bond "Thing".
The locales, beautiful women, the diabolical and actually believable bad guys in this one
are GREAT, the chase scenes... I could go on. I suggest sir that you go back and look again at
this film! It is gorgeous and its many interesting character interactions and situations, intriguing...
While this film may be other things, "Weak" is certainly NOT one that would be an accurate description
of this ultra cool, suave, film. And the women are just simply Delicious! Ciao!
"The women are just simply Delicious"... good god, people like you are so pathetic. "Durrrrr...... I watch Bond movies for sexy women, hurr hurr! :B"
kurvos Yes, we watch Bond movies for the beautiful women, among other things (like the exotic locales, set designs, action sequences, stunts, etc etc) Appreciating a sexy woman isn't pathetic. It's part of being a heterosexual man (or a gay woman)
kurvos Yes, we watch Bond movies for the beautiful women, among other things (like the exotic locales, set designs, action sequences, stunts, etc etc) Appreciating a sexy woman isn't pathetic. It's part of being a heterosexual man (or a gay woman)
As a heterosexual man, I have to say Bond has never looked as good as he did in Thunderball.
Say what you will about the underwater sequences, but Thunderball is ten times better than Diamonds Are Forever which I've grown to dislike tremendously. Domino is one of the most attractive Bond girls of Connery's films, Fiona Volpe was an amazing henchwoman. Her death was one of the more notorious deaths in the franchise and was definitely intense. SPECTRE was also more of a global threat in this film rather than a British, Russian, or Chinese one. The musical score by John Berry is excellent, and the opening song "Thunderball" by Tom Jones is the best male vocalist song in the films other than "You Know My Name" by Chris Cornell, and last but not least... the Jetpack. Enough Said. Thunderball is without a doubt Connery's most underrated movie.
Damn, Diamonds Are Forever is one of my favourites.
The underwater war sequence was rather excellent I feel, none of the tension or chaos is lost while you are able to easily tell which side is which.
TB was an expensive imitation of Goldfinger.
@@howie9751 Expensive and flaccid.
Ahhh it's not a woman its a transvestite randomly popping up during that editing hiccup was so funny!
Great video as well!
+The Gargantuan Apple 5:44
+Makalon102 Was it from another review?
Went to check the comments to make sure it wasn't just my phone playing up. Of course this was the first comment there :-D
I thought I was going insane.
That SPECTRE uniform bit is one of the best things I've ever seen and can be applied to so many villainous organizations. 🤣
Slight editing hiccup around 5:43 where the audio of the transvestite line plays. Good review so far, though!
***** Yes that is unfortunate! It seems the file was corrupted somewhere along the way... Dang it...
Calvin Dyson Don't worry too much, just finished the video and other than that little hiccup it's a really good 'un.
Calvin Dyson Yeah it's an annoying glitch but....
It got a huge ass laugh outta me, so there is that :P
Calvin Dyson Pretend it's the beginning of a running gag and you should be fine.
"Ah, it's not a woman, it's a transvestite!" Classic!
A BIG moment you missed talking about the beach scene with Domino and Bond revealing her brother's death...The shot right before he puts on the sunglasses is a close up of his hand, giving Domino her brother's items. As he pulls it away his hand clearly trembles! A lot of people miss this for some reason.
I happen to love this film, and after recently viewing it again, consider one of my top 10 favourite bond films. Your arguments seem far too nitpicky and bring up complaints that you ignore in other films. An example of this is the scene between Q and James bond. The look that they give one another I found to be quite comedic, and saying that Bond acts like a petulant schoolboy around Q, can be seen frequently in other bond films as well. I feel that the harsh review of this film, is unjust. It is by no means a perfect films, but I believe it is one of the better ones in the series.
Better than Goldfinger. There, I said it.
@@cockshield It was just an imitation of Goldfinger. They just took what they thought were the most popular elements of Goldfinger and stuck them in another movie.
Thunderball is one of my favorite 007 movies
Hiya Calvin, love your videos! 😂
Just thought I'd throw my opinion in of the "I had a hat when I came in" part of the film.
If you look closely, Bond and M have different outfits on in both scenes, which suggests they are supposed to be different days which would explain why Bond's hat has disappeared. Obviously discussing his individual assignment with M is happening the day after the meeting with all the 00s. Or maybe even later the same day? Bond had come back quickly from Shrublands hadn't he so maybe he'd gone home and changed before coming back in to see M? Farfetched perhaps but maybe?
The line "I think I had a hat when I came in" is said by Bond to try to move on from the awkwardness created by Moneypenny calling M "the old man" and to get out of there asap. The expressions he pulls as he heads for the door suggest that he's thinking Moneypenny might have overstepped the mark and he just wanted to get out of there.
Just my opinion. Any thoughts? Keep the reviews coming! 😁
I like your points
You actually forget one thing that always bothered me with the shower scene.
Bond tells Leiter "You were about to call me 007" while the guy in the shower is coming to it. So why punch Leiter if you then mention it anyway while the guy is listening, now even closer up cause it is right in front of him.
Bond on the outta control spa bed always reminded me of George Jensen . The shark ate the guy before talked 😂
Why do I love Thunderball? I think it has all the right ingredients for a classic Bond film. Beautiful locations and women, a great John Barry score, an interesting Bond girl... Yes, Domino does share some similarities with Honey Ryder, but Domino does kill Largo, an interesting villain if just for how good he is at his job of Spectre. He's also one of the most classy and stylish villains in the series. Yes, the underwater sequences do drag, but it's probably a top 5 Bond film for me.
How do locations and women make a movie? The plot is so threadbare and it's mostly just Bond swanning around in the Bahamas without anything happening. No cool stunts or anything.
Dominoe is sexy with great looks and body.
It's a cheap Goldfinger rip off. But then better than many that came later.
@@DarthRushy I know this is a very late reply. But do the other Bond movies have better plots. Do you really watch Bond movies for the plot?
@@keyaamabrahams7984 I watch every movie for at least a half-decent plot. And yes, they do
I would take this over Diamonds are Forever any day
I'd take any Bond film over Die Another Day.
that's setting the bar pretty low.
I would rather take this than A view to a kill
KERBEROS a view to a Kill isn’t boring like this
I'd take just about any movie over Diamonds are Forever, one of the worst films I have ever seen,
18:54 "gess that's a good shot!"
Oh man, I know right, that french...oh...you mean the actual shot from the previous scene. Ok."
"I think I had a hat when I came in"
My guess is Bond is trying to show M that he wasn't just chit-chatting with Moneypenny. The very obvious, and empty, hat stand shows he's just making excuses.
I adore this film. I appreciate the opportunity to see the nuts and bolts of SPECTRE's operation for once (although I admittedly did find it boring in the remake). I love seeing the 00s meet together for a conference. I find the villains to be loads of fun, from our eyepatch-sporting Largo (who, of course, was iconic enough to inspire an Austin Powers character) to Fiona and even Vargas (who, for the record, is shy about his love for killing). The shark pool scene is one of my favorite moments in the entire series, and even though the underwater scenes drag a bit (where's that quirky Peter Hunt editing when you really need it?), they're still spectacular--contrast the truly bland and incomprehensible climax of NSNA. Sure, it's pretty much all formula and spectacle rather than character, but unlike most of the later films with that same balance, this film is simply gorgeous to stare at for its padded running time. For my tastes, at least, it's the best-looking Bond flick with the possible exception of Skyfall.
I watched it recently and I really enjoy the John Barry score, particularly when Felix and Bond are in the helicopter finally finding the plane. Combined with the widescreen footage its a great part. Thunderball looks great and sounds great, but its so slow to get going, so in many ways it reminds me of SPECTRE (though that film has a meh soundtrack).
I've started watching all the Bond films from the beginning. I just finished Thunderball and I think cinematography and technology wise, it's the best so far. I can't wait to keep going
Well Calvin, I understand that you didn't find this movie spectacular and some people would say love or hate this movie both at the same time. However, I really like "Thunderball" and...I kind a like underwater fight scenes.
👪👩👩👧👦👨👨👦: Boooooooo!!!!
Okay, okay, I will admit it is too slow, but the entire sequence, the story, all these gorgeous ladies, and Connery still becomes a clever Bond character. It may be not the strongest Bond film like every hardcore Bond fan should said it, but it was fantastic only for me. With the jet pack scene, beautiful underwater experience, and Bond banging with Domino and Fiona. Probably a better Bond film than the same director who did "Dr. No" or "From Russia With Love."
But hey, the ending scene where Disco Valente was stupid and hilarious.
I think these flaws could be easily have been overlooked had the supporting cast been stronger. Felix, Largo, Domino, Paula, and most of the cast just come off as flat or simply dead weight. I will admit I am a sucker of the atmosphere. The 1960's decadence, the gorgeous backdrop of the Bahamas, Ken Adam's beautiful decor, Barry's score, it just feels right but executed in the wrong fashion.
Me too - brilliant film.
All Bond movies have flaws, Thunderball has a problematic run time. But people think Thunderball is weak because it came out after Goldfinger. It’s still better than MOST Bond movies after (there’s 22 movies after, not that hard to believe, especially with the middle era)
The harpoon going clean through the shark appears to be a special effect. I could be wrong, but I believe that shark was unharmed.
Agreed. No puncture, no blood, no reaction.
It cracked me up when M initially assigned Bond to Station C (Canada). I thought, "Canada? You're sending Bond to CANADA? "
Hot take on the "blackmail" scene with the health spa lady: It's made pretty plain from their earlier interactions that she finds him attractive and is only rebuffing his advances because it would be a violation of the terms of employment to shag the clientele, and she values her job. The "blackmail" situation provides enough of a pretext for her to "surrender", her rationale being "well, he _might_ be making a genuine threat", even though it's pretty obvious to everyone from that roguish twinkle in his eye that this is basically role-playing foreplay, and that he's not really the sort to go tattle to the manager.
You’ve made a very thoughtful reply which I think has a lot of truth to it. Of course, it may be playful to the person making the job threat. And may not be perceived as all that playful by the person on the receiving end. 💃🏽🕺🏼
It does add dramatic tension to the scene. But currently outside the norm of behavior on the part of someone you or I would probably consider as a dependable friend.
And what if she finds him attractive, but is married, or has a steady boyfriend, or is looking to have a steady boyfriend and is not into just a one night stand? As it was, she said goodbye to him at his car and asked him to call. And Bond never did. 🙁
@ M Adams:
You don't know that Bond never called her. After all, we did see him with Sylvia Trench in both Dr. No and From Russia With Love, so we have evidence that he does keep in touch with some of his "conquests". It's entirely possible that Bond would meet up with her when he returned to England.
It's also pretty clear that she was very interested in Bond, and was only rebuffing his advances because he was a patient, and she could have been fired for sleeping with him. If Bond didn't think she was mutually interested in him he would never have tried to blackmail her, and in fact he only did that because she had already jumped to the conclusion that he was going to complain to her boss about the massage table. When Bond said "someone's going to pay for this" was actually talking about the person who tried to kill him.
This is honestly one of my favourite bond movies.
My top 10 would be:
#1 Goldfinger
#2 From russia with love
#3 Dr.no
#4 Casino Royale
#5 The spy who loved me
#6 Skyfall
#7 License to kill
#8 Thunderball
#9 The living daylights
#10 Goldeneye
Good list! I agree with most of these, although I honestly wasn't a fan of either License to Kill or From Russia with Love.
The OLD MAN scene is the highlight of a turgid movie. Ignoring the reasoning for the missing hat, It's a lovely piece of awkward comedy with great timing and delivery by Connery. His tight arsed walk is perfection!!
Thunderball Is One Of Best Bond Films Of All Time,Claudine Auger As Domino Derval Was Hot As Hell,10/10 Rating For Me With A Badass Seal Of Approval,Lord Colton Of Gallifrey
This movie was so strange. Even for Bond.
I think my favorite bit is the doppelgänger pilot having his oxygen line cut, being unable to escape his chair, and drowning in the cockpit of the Avro. The handle for the ejector seat is clearly visible almost the entire time.
Ok the spine stretching thing loops past parody, another high point.
"PARKS IN A NON PARKING ZOOOOOOONNE?????!!!!"
Ha ha I died of laughter with your Kevin McClory rant on how he invented everything.
In the pantheon of bad Bond films, I don't think this classifies anywhere near bad. It isn't great, but it manages to do many things right and has some interesting ideas.
If you think this is a bad movie, you have not seen enough bad movies.
Or I love too many bad ones.
Thunderball is my favorite. The editing isn’t the best, but claudine auger....😍
ok its not better then GOLDFINGAAAAA
@@lukeschroter9389 I hear when goldfinger came out James bond movies 🎬; people were obsessed with that movie;; still think thunderball was better James bond 🎬 movies red hair villain: male villain remind of billionaire Onassis of the 1960s
Myself I used to have Thunderball as my favourite Bond flick (after that, I picked From Russia with love and recently I consider Dr. No to be the best ... but that's another story.). But there's no film like Thunderball just like there's no film like Skyfall - that's why I see the two quite similar in some way. First, the picture looks beautiful, and that would've been a must to make the underwater scenes to work. And I love every piece of those "teadious" underwater scenes! Sometimes the picture even looks modern (and I've only seen this film on VHS and DVD, and not on Blue-ray). The filming under water is wonderfully done and the picture is great, it's an art in itself to make a suspense drama in a slow motion moving atmosphere like underwater - and yet they manage top class!
Fiona Volpe is also a great contribution, I agree with Calvin on that point. But Largo I think is great and although we don't get to know that much about him I Think he shines through the screen in every scene he's in and you really get intimidated by this character.
Vargas is also a very interesting henchman, almost entirely mute throughout the movie (and I wish I stayed that way). But also, I agree with Calvin that Vargas should've been more elaborated thoroughout the film. One of the most interesting Bond henchmen in the film series if you ask me.
I also agree on that the scientist who ends up pretty much "solving the problem" gets too Little attention, but to tell the truth I actually never thought about that until Calvin pointed it out! Maybe it's because I've always been hooked on the film itself that all the plot holes get under my radar, I don't now.
The final fight between Bond and Largo with the fast forwarded backdrop I've always found hilarious though, but since I'm a 60s fan I've never got that much bothered about it since that kind of technique and editing was quite general at that time and I think shouldn't be too much dug in to. But nevertheless, it does look quite stupid!
I don't think this is Connery's best performance though (I save that for From Russia with love and Dr. No) and Claudia is a beautiful Bond girl "with teeth" ;) ...
But I guess all that matters, wheather you will like this film or not, gets down to how you feel about the under water scenes. If you like them and think they're you will certainly like this film, but if you don't, you will surely dislike most parts or the entire film. As for the plot I've for some reason always found myself invested even though Calvin has good points in the lacks in the script showing and telling us everything only to let us see the characters catch up with the plot. Not very good storytelling but it worked for me! :)
How dare he leave out the best bond quip of all time... when Fiona asks Bond to get her something to put on!
My favorite scene in James bond movie❤ it ; ❤ Fiona sport car ride too together ❤ her red hair; sexy voice villain lady
There's a time skip between the MI-6 scenes. There's a difference in the suit Bond is wearing. My best guess is that in the time before Bond went into his briefing with M (in which 001 through 006 got their assignments), he came back for the hat changed into his yellow shirt and vest. The hat becomes a convenient excuse to get out of an awkward situation.
I've, personally, grown out of love with this film. When I first saw this in 2000, I loved the plot and I love the set up. I thought the underwater scenes were something different that I really enjoyed. But as I saw more of the series and saw better underwater scenes in "For Your Eyes Only" and "Tomorrow Never Dies," my opinion of it has gone down. The plot meanders and I can safely blame how this was executed by the producer. A director can have a vision but a producer is the final voice and Kevin McClory showed that he had no right to produce this film at all.
On a positive note, though, the actors have done amazing job with what they have and I can easily say this movie has one of the sexiest female villains. Fiona Volpe is the reason why I tend to have an interest in redheads.
Good job as always, Calvin. Can't wait for the next review.
This film's big problem, as you say, the fact that we know everything and Bond doesn't, also comes from the novel. See my review below:
Now, we arrive at the first book in the series that I never finished. The first time I attempted to read the series, some 8 years ago (or more?), I ended up stopping in the middle of Thunderball. For whatever reason, it didn’t hold my attention. I never really enjoyed the film adaptation (I learned how to snap my fingers over the length of a particularly dull screening), which I found to be rather dull and one-note, with very little in the way of memorable action or plot. I’ll be revisiting this film shortly, so stay tuned for that review, but I will say that the things I find boring in Bond usually stay pretty constant. One of the things I get most bored of is nautical Bond. As Bond/Fleming was a naval officer and given Fleming’s life in Jamaica, extensive material involving diving, marine biology, and all other things aquatic appears throughout the series. Nothing is more boring than an underwater fight scene. It’s true in the films (Thunderballand For Your Eyes Only, to name two) and it’s true in novels.
But is Thunderball a novel? Books and documentaries have been made detailing the history behind the legal disputes between either Fleming or EON Productions and Kevin McClory, one of Fleming’s collaborators. The long and short of it is that Kevin was one of five writers, including Fleming, that contributed to the story of an original James Bond screen treatment. The film, pre-dating Dr. No by a couple of years, didn’t materialize, and Fleming decided to adapt this screen treatment into his next novel (McClory, Fleming, and one of the other writers receive credit for the source material on the copyright page). Legal disputes ensued and the resultant endpoints thereof include Kevin McClory’s producer credit on Thunderball (the film) and the eventual McClory-produced remake, the entirely uninteresting “unofficial Bond film, ”Never Say Never Again (1983), starring Sean Connery.
More importantly (for our purpose), the complicated history of the novel’s development leads to a book far unlike any that preceded it. At times it reads like a novelization of a film. Description is slightly more literal than stylized, and, despite the overall lack of action, it conjures up images in one’s mind of a Thunderball film with Connery, but with the budget of Dr. No. The novel shows a constraint and self-awareness, with the hint that they were considering keeping the film simultaneously high-concept and low-budget. The globe trekking is minimal, there is only one real action set-piece (or maybe, two… but they are both underwater and involve spearguns and deadly fish; both are also relatively brief). There is a lot of dialogue and character development, and a fair deal of meandering about. But I guess we’re supposed to be looking at the pretty location photography that would have been.
The opening act at Shrublands, the health clinic Bond is required to stay at, is a lot of fun. I am always a sucker for more casual Bond material that shows him at home and being rather relatable. This chunk of the book would have made for a pretty decent short story. Next comes the introduction of SPECTRE, Bond’s new adversaries. It’s remarkable, in hindsight, how understated the organization’s presentation feels. It does obviously have a lot of the over-the-top dramatics you’d expect, but they are couched in as much realism as possible. The plot is obviously the biggest in Bond so far: theft of nuclear missles with the world held for ransom. But as these things don’t actually happen, the budget can be kept down.
The book makes the Fleming mistake of putting us way ahead of Bond in knowing the plot. Fleming must not be particularly interested in the suspense of who/what/where/when/why that compels Bond to engage in his duties, but instead he builds his stories around the “how” of “How is Bond going to figure it out and beat the baddie?” Bond and Leiter (whose presence in the story is larger than ever) bumming around for the whole middle of the book, trying to find out information that we already know, doesn’t make for the most compelling read. Fortunately, Domino and Largo are colorful figures, and the scenes of villainous exposition are engaging, so that makes up for something. I will admit that the Domino’s brother connection is never fully explained, and it’s not entirely clear of how the Domino/Largo/Giuseppe triangle developed, nor who knew what and when. This element is stronger in the film, as far as I can recall.
By the way, every time Leiter appears, it’s always a surprise for the reader and for Bond, and it makes me the giddiest young man on the subway whenever it happens. He is the Gene Parmasan to my Lucille Bluth whenever I read Bond.
The novel’s lopsided structure (my usual grievance with any Fleming) can be felt by noticing the fact that act III (or is it act IV?) begins with about 10% of the book left. The book’s finale is predictable but thankful after the water treaded by Bond & Co. in the chapters leading up to it. The coda is sweet, and maybe a bit hokey, but I’m sure it would have been a hit with the cinemagoers.
RemmersMusic Excellent and enjoyable to read post! Thanks very much!
Calvin Dyson Thanks! And thanks for another great review. Looking forward to hearing about Casino Royale; a film I've seen half-a-dozen times and it just gets more and more impenetrable and implausible.
RemmersMusic
...Which one, Daniel Craig or Peter Sellers/Ursula Andress/David Niven/about a jillion other actors, all of whom play "James Bond, 007"?
Nicholas Tosoni The one that is too bizarre for words.
RemmersMusic
...Ah, the 1954 one from _Climax!_, then.
We don't get a Q scene until over an hour into the film. I wouldn't mind so much if anything before hand wasn't so painfully dull.
You need to appreciate how cutting edge underwater filming was for audiences, but it does look dull today
i always thought that moneypenny took it as a keepsake
I'm glad someone else has pointed out a lot of my problems with Thunderball...I thought exactly the same thing about that guys random change of heart at the end! I remember the first part being pretty good and then it just gets so bogged down in those bloody tedious underwater sequences which go on for an age! I sort of wonder, as I believe this at this period of time the whole Jacques Costeau underwater 'odyssey' films were being popular whether there was some emulation of this? I dunno, but it doesn't work...watchable with good to very good moments but as this reviewer says it lags and characters are just sort of picked up and discarded for convenience all the way through.
I always thought the hat thing was Bond saving face and trying to escape the awkwardness of the moment.
I think it was a subtle joke to the fact that hats were going out of fashion, so the producers didn't want Bond to wear one anymore.
You are one of the very few James Bond TH-camrs that I respect but I gotta say I love the underwater battle sequences.
Thunderball is my favourite bond film.
Me too
And mine
All the flaws you address are indeed bad. But I still liked Thunderball, and found it way better than boring earlers Dr.No & From Russia with Love; and still better than Goldfinger.
Unfortunately, nothing new in Bond films for him to brush off the deaths of his allies (Paula).
I agree Fiona was great, and prolly my favorite Bond Girl till that point in the films; although she's not as memorable as Aki, Teresa (Tracy), and Goodnight.
I liked Largo as a villain, and found him more serious than Goldfinger, who the film had devalued by having Bond mock him several times.
The great song by Tom Jones was 1 of the better themes in the franchise. The underwater scuba scenes were slow, but as others mentioned, the early films had slower pace; so this film's general faster pace at least helped.
I first saw Thunderball when I was about 12-13 years old. I absolutely loved it. Now that I'm 20 I still love it. I love Connery (who actually gets to do stuff the whole film, unlike Goldfinger), the Tom Jones theme, I love Blofeld's scene with SPECTRE, I love the locations, the girls, etc. I also like the underwater stuff. I think the slow pace is justified because of the sheer gruesomeness of the deaths, like having their oxygen lines cut, or taking a harpoon to the face. For me it's tense.
A great review though, I appreciate your unique perspective.
This was the first Bond I saw on TV as a kid. I ate chocolate and drank coke all night, for this reason it's a classic.
I think the hat scene is just that he’s finding the situation awkward so try’s to change the subject.
Dude military airbases are as relaxing as you can get... YOU DESERVE MORE SUBS *thumbs up*
It's interesting how you and I have diametrically opposed preferences for our 007 style (campy Moore vs deadly serious literary) but we both hate Thunerboredom and Quantum of Boredom and your opinions of both these messy films are almost identical to mine. I also agree that Thunderball often gets a free pass due to Connery.
I think that Largo is, perhaps, the coolest of all the Bond villains; The eye patch, the 'Disco Volante', the dinner jacket, the beachside villa... ... So much so that he was honoured [ie sent up] in the Austin Powers' series as the eye-patched "Number Two" played by Robert Wagner.
Agreed..he is both brain and brawn, able to fight not just stand on the sidelines..I couldn't disagree more with this snarky little boy this is top notch classic and a favorite of mine..it inspired me to take up scuba diving tho it's been a while since I've covered a sunken bomber with camo netting if you get my drift..he criticizes what makes it work, like someone who hates pizza reviewing a pizza place.
@@rynehall9990 Yes; you have some good points & this film was a mega hit world wide earning even more then Goldfinger'.PS; I prefer Paula to Domino! You can see a LOT more of Martine Beswick in a film called 'Dr Jeckyl & Sister Hyde.'
Personally, I used to really enjoy this movie. I used to watch it all the time as a kid. Now I can honestly say after watching it recently, I was bored out of my mind. The film's plot is just poorly constructed and I feel they should have branched off from the book and made it more mysterious. They completely branched off when it came to Moonraker. That film may not be universally liked but atleast its enjoyable and a fun film which I cannot say about Thunderball. Also I really enjoyed that bit with Vargas that you did! Still a better henchman than Elvis though since he atleast dies in a unique way.
I always thought the hat thing was just Bond trying to change the subject after the awkward scene with M and Moneypenny but then I never understood why the hat is missing upon leaving her office and now understand that it was done to show the last time James Bond wears a hat as a fashion statement as hats where then out of style, but then they just go and give him on back again in Majesty’s because I think they where trying to be faithful to the novel
31:29 Alec Trevelyan certainly looked a hell of a lot like Ringo Starr back in the day.
Some interesting information I just gathered from one of the commentary tracks: the third seat in the briefing hall is occupied by a female 00 agent. Makes me think, I would like to see a movie with a female 00 agent set in the 60s, because I like how the movies in the 60s in general looked like. A female agent, who's not a female Bond, operating in a light and colorful surrounding like Nassau with some scenes filmed with a wide background visible like in the scene in the bar right after Bond and Domino arrive at the beach.
I'm pretty sure the harpoon misses the shark. It's just a question of frame-rate... We would see blood flowing from the holes...
Also, the spear used was hollow like a drinking straw
I think its pretty clear that bond intended to use Fiona as a human shield, he clearly saw the gun pointed at him and swung her on purpose with a look of fear on his face in front of him
A very funny review. I think you are being a little hard on this film as I would have expected the audience to have enjoyed this movie back in 65 subsequent to the Ian Fleming (McClory) novel. It is very similar to the book, which incidentally is a great 007 read. It just flows and I think Terrance Young wanted the same for the film, I agree with you wholeheartedly about the rich but poor looking film with poor dubs and edits.
Remember, Terrace Young was James Bond and extravagantly spoiled the whole cast and crew while holidaying in the Bahamas. Wasn't he known for spending his wages on entertaining the whole film unit? Maybe with some of the films budget also.....
Fiona Volpe was and still is a favourite of mine. The scene after Bond beds her, only to find that the henchmen are waiting for him outside is in my opinion one of the greatest Bond moments ever. "Vanity Mr Bond, something you know so much about" And with this dark humorous moment, John Barry drops a gentle score of Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang over the top of it. Spine tingling. Yes my friend, you forgot to mention anything about the late great Mr John Barry. What drives a number of the Bond films. which are slow in pace, is the Barry music which gives emotion and superior feel. The suspension of disbelieve is what is required in viewing these films and as bad as they are, John Barry always kept you wanting more. Goldeneye for me was never going to work as Eric Serra playing the 007 theme on timpani drums was dirge!
Thunderball was never going to be better than Goldfinger, following Goldfinger in chronology, but this movie has its moments, not many but many more than Brosnan films and QoS. Cheers!
Thunderball sets itself apart by depicting England, and MI6, in a more Baroque setting.
It is also a very formalistic film by first briefing the audience in a very comprehensive way, making sure that that we know that this is a very glamorous *job* which Bond is being tasked with. We see the English attitude toward developments 'abroad', before stripping Bond of the ecoutrements of civilization, and dropping him into a snake pit in the Bahamas.
Hi Calvin, just found your channel, already a huge fan and working my way through all your videos. I agree with everything you said on why Thunderball is not a great film but its one of the best films for Bond the person/brand of James Bond as a person. A lot of the appeal for me is he is the person I would love to be (minus the sexual assault) ;). Huge sex appeal, commanding, tough, cool, suave, smooth, sophisticated. This movie delivers everything that is escapism Bond to the max. This move is peak Bond idolization for who James Bond is. When I was younger the part that really stuck out was how he grabbed the girl to dance with at the Kiss Kiss club until Fiona cuts in. I always loved when he used his magnetism to pick up girls who weren't integral to the plot. If someone wanted to know why do people like James Bond so much? This is the movie I would put on and say isn't he cool?
7:57 How will Bond get out of this one? Is he doomed to being stretched out of shape? Will Largo, the arch-fiend be successful? Find out tomorrow, Same Bond-Time, Same Bond-Channel
Thunderball is the Bond franchise's Aquaman: hugely successful, mostly set underwater, and kind of dumb.
And if you question that, he’ll take you to court... Best Line Everrrrr
Man...when you think about it, McClory really plagued the series with his petty suing. But Thunderball is just rather boring. Connery was good as usual, there's really no bad acting, but it just drags and drags at times. However Connery and Luciana were great, and there are some good scenes, but still. It's watchable. But it's not one of the best or one you'll watch over and over.
I disagree, this film gets better the more you watch it. I especially love Fiona Volpe, easily the best female villain in the entire series.
My god that SPECTRE rant was perfect had me in stiches
I loved thunderball
The is good for you.
Me too.
Me too one of my favs, I hate how negative he is about it, can't fathom, no pun intended, why he hates this film
14:10 Easy! His suit is different than the one he wears when he puts the hat. So...it's in a different day?!
Bond intended to use Fiona as a shield. He saw the gun at the last second and decided to turn. The bullet went right between his two fingers, and he wasn't surprised when she died.
Before I started watching your videos, I had heard that Thunderball was great. I told my parents, (who hadn't ever seen a James Bond movie) to watch it, because I had heard that it was great. When I watched it, my entire family left within fifteen minutes and I had fallen asleep after like an hour.
I too rank this low, but I don't think the plot is bad as 007 plots go. The thing is still pretty watchable, but it drags in parts.
Good:
Fiona is a great henchperson
Underwater filming looks great even if action is a little slow
The plane heist was pretty cool
Bad:
Too long and editing is uneven
Domino is pretty blah
Paula is underused
After Fiona is shot, Bond just walks away. They couldn't follow him or just grab him?
Ugly:
The sexual assault on Patricia
The sped up footage and jump cuts
The doctor saving Domino
Can't really explain why, but I bloody love Thunderball, and I always have since first viewing. I can plainly see and acknowledge all of it's flaws, but.... it's Thunderball.
Basically, if you fancy Fiona Volpe, this is a classic. If you don't, the flaws you have pointed out are all valid. I fancy Fiona Volpe
Mister Dyson. Admittedly, Thunderball isn't without its flaws. Yes, I agree that the plot is over-explained. Yes, it was much better in Goldfinger when the plot was hinted at in bits through most of the movie and only revealed near the end. Yes, some characters are over-used (Count Lippi), and some are under-used (Paula & Kutze). Yes, the henchmen aren't threatening or intimidating in the least. Yet Fiona should have her picture in the dictionary next to 'Femme Fatal'. Sexy as she is deadly and perfectly played, but for me Fiona is still only the 2nd best part of this film. What I love the most about this movie is how many scenes feature Miss Moneypenny, and this is not just because I'm Canadian. In Thunderball, Moneypenny's appearances may be short, but at least they are reasonably frequent and she looks gorgeous. In my opinion, Lois Maxwell was really at her best and most-beautiful in these films, and the Connery/Lazenby-era Miss Moneypenny will always be my favorite. Other things I like about this film include the sets - specifically the SPECTRE meeting room, as well as the re-appearance of the DB5. In closing, I'd just like to say that I do enjoy watching your reviews and find that you articulate your opinions well. Even when speaking of your least-favorite film of the series, you show it the proper respect by not just pointing-out imperfections and making fun of them, but by clearly explaining why they are imperfection and how they could have been made better. Your enthusiasm as a lifelong Bond fan is both highly-apparent and even contagious. I should thank you for the many facts I've learned about the 007 universe just from watching your show. Keep up the great work.
Thunderball great James bond movie 🎬;; technology was bad back then; otherwise great movie
Calvin does: Thunderball vs Never Say Never Again. I genuinely don't know which would win 🤔
they were delayed 3 weeks and all of the editing was done in that time.
The titles do not necessarily have rotoscoping, but the live action is reprinted as black, maybe by optical printing.
A decent Bond movie, not that good, but not bad. Both slow and mildly entertaining, Thunderball is watchable. Although I think that Domino and Fiona looked too similar. For example, when Bond meets Largo and plays cards with him, I genuinely thought that was Fiona by his side. It led me to believe that the film was full of plot holes involving her.
+Kerry PeriChicken Yes!! I can't still really tell them apart.
I don’t know if you knew this already but you’ll be pleased to hear that the legend that is Peter Hunt didn’t actually edit this film as mentioned at 28:24. In fact it was edited by Ernest Hosler. Presumably Hunt was busy with the Ipcress File at the time instead, which was also released in ‘65.
This film is the very definition of overproduced. The studio had the money and the prestige to make this a gigantic film. So they sacrificed most of the story for incredible set piecesand slick looking scenery. While they definitely achieved both of those with flying colors they unfortunately gave us a very simple story that came off as complicated and wooden characters that were not very interesting, save for Fiona. Also the dubbing of Largo is incredibly distracting. Particularly because of this actor did a much better job dubbing Tiger in You Only Live Twice.
Your criticisms are valid but I still like the film. I think it was one of the first I'd seen on TV. I don't mind the underwater scenes even if they are slow. Any Bond film in the 60s is in with me, that is the decade of Bond and spies. I think You Only Live Twice is worse than this one due to Connery being bored and Bond so easily solves it as you point out in this one. I think some of the 70s/80s entries are far poorer. Well, to each his own.
“Jacques”=“James” in French
What's french for Jack then ?