Despite many/most 'Bond Afficianados' having a lot of disdain for this movie, I've always had a soft spot for it since it was actually my introduction to James Bond and the first 007 film I saw in a cinema. For a young kid who was still crazy about Raiders of the Lost Ark (that had come out 2 years earlier), I remember at the time this movie seemed like a similar larger-than-life, globe-trotting adventure, and the gadgets, stunts and slick production values like the cruise missile vfx and the video game really caught my imagination. And then to discover it was part of a series and there was a whole bunch more of these 007 movies to seek out over the next few years was just the icing on the cake, though I do remember there was some confusion when I discovered that Bond sometimes looked like Sean Connery and sometimes looked like Roger Moore, since I never watched them in order and just saw them whenever and however I could, either on TV or later on VHS once we had that in our household.
And is that really a problem in this instance? I have no doubt that my earlier impressions of the film contribute towards what I see in and take away from it nowadays - my first sentence admitted as much. But I suspect you've mistaken what you call 'common sense' for your own opinion, one likely arrived at through the same subjective criteria any of us bring with us when it comes to artistic appreciation. If you want to say you evaluate the merits of a film by trying to make it as free of personal biases as you can then that's your prerogative, but I neither want to or need to conform to consuming media (of this type) in a similar way.
And General Kael on "Willow". And the celtic leader on "Robin Hood: Prince of thieves"(But you have to see it on the extended cut because on the theatrical one he barely appears).
I thought his scene in last crusade got cut. There was supposed to be a fight scene inside the airship before he gets to the plane hanging underneath. Don't recall seeing the mighty Pat anywhere else in the movie
@@davidgaunt5018 When Indy watched through the window Vogel approaching to the Zeppelin, the big man aside is Pat Roach. There was on the script a fight scene with Roach and For that I don't know if it was already filmed
Largo was played by German actor Klaus Maria Brandauer. Bond is not his usual kind of production. He is a very prolific stage and film actor in more artistic movies. He got famous for his portrayal of Mephisto. He said that he didn't want to play Largo in the first place, but Connery convinced him by saying "We will have a lot of fun and we will get a lot of money." 😉
When Sean Connery left the role of James Bond after doing diamonds are forever he said that he would never do a Bond movie ever again. When he got this movie, which Sean Connery knew it was a remake of Thunderball, his wife suggested the title never say never again. This was in reference to him saying he would never do James Bond again. His wife told them never say never again. And then said hey that's a good title.
NSNA is a respectable Bond movie. Like you said it has its flaws. What annoys me a little are the Bond snobs turning their noses up at it like it is a million miles beneath all the official Bond movies when, in my opinion, it has actually better than some of them. I would argue that some elements in the movie, such as crazy Fatima Blush and the laser watch, later inspired official Bond movies...
Hey, taste is subjective but I am glad youe enjoyed it. Maybe I am a Bond snob, but while the movie itself is serviceable, I detest the reason for this movie. Kevin McClory was a world class A hole and he managed to get an unfair ruling against EON productions to get control of certain elements of the Bond IP that he collaborated on. Because of him, EON lost Specter, Blofeld, and McClorry resisted every attempt to repair the relationship or settle the dispute and for what? So we could get a mediocre remake of Thunderball. It's even really shifty that Connery, who also had a falling out with Cubby Broccoli, did thjs film out of spite. It's just all ugliness behind this production.
@@BiggestDawgEver You're letting the behind-the-scenes struggles affect your enjoyment of the movie. The only significance of the legal fight and a different production company should be the explanation for the remake and the lack of familiar Bond icons. Personally, I'm glad Connery did this movie as we see the older and wiser James Bond end his career with a beautiful young blonde and a cheeky wink. I like Diamonds Are Forever more than most Bond fans, but I don't think it was a good way to finish Connery's time in the role. This movie - which I only think is average at best - feels like a better exit for the most iconic Bond actor...
Rowan Atkinson was already famous in Britain as a stand-up comic and the BBC Not The Nine O'Clock News comedy show. 1983 was a good year for him, it also marked the start of the first season of Blackadder, one of the best British comedies ever.
Kevin McClory co-wrote the Thunderball script with Fleming in the 50s. That film didn't get made. So, Fleming turned the script into a novel. Blofeld and Spectre were created for that script. McClory received a producer credit on movie Thunderball. He later brought a number of lawsuits about the use of Blofeld and Spectre which he said he created. Later he claimed the rights to make his own Bond films, but it was decided he only had the rights to remake Thunderball. Which resulted in this film. Sony later made a deal with McClory and announced their own series on Bond films. This started another round of legal battles. This was resolved when MGM decided to give up their claim to Spider-Man which stemmed from their acquiring Cannon films, who had the rights to the character at one point. MGM gave up their claim to Spider-Man and Sony ended their plans for a James Bond film. After McClory's death, Danjaq/MGM acquired his rights to Bond including Blofeld and Spectre.
“Robin and Marian” is great. Connery plays an aging Robin Hood back from The Crusades doing battle Robert Shaw as the Sheriff of Nottingham and Audrey Hepburn as Marian. He’s also great in “The Great Train Robbery” with Donald Sutherland. Connery does his own stunts running along the top of the moving train.
The part of the henchman who attacks Bond in the weight room was played by Pat Roach. He also played the German mechanic who got up close and personal with the propeller blade in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and the cult member who went through the rock grider in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom."
Actually, he uses the full size Walther P5 (which is still a rather compact pistol). Roger Moore also carries the P5 in Octopussy, which came out the same year in theaters, even though he refers to it as a PPK in that film.
It's funny that they played with the plot device that Bond was too old but Connery was 3 years younger then Roger Moore who went on to play him one more time in 1985.
FUN FACT: Klaus Maria Brandauer was originally considered for the role of Marko Ramius in The Hunt for Red October, but he quit two weeks into filming due to a prior commitment, so the producers hired Connery for the role
Kim Basinger's fun movies to watch: "Blind Date" - great romantic comedy with Bruce Willis "Real McCoy" - female bank robber, thriller, and young Val Kilmer "My Stepmother is an alien" - comedy/sci fi/ romance with Dan Aykroyd
Honestly, The Spy Who Loved Me is a remake of You Only Live Twice, and A View to a Kill is a remake of Goldfinger, so a reused plot in this era of the Bond franchise isn't necessarily the problem. The reused character names are a bigger problem, as they draw too much attention to the recycled premise. The filmmakers were legally required to stick close to the novel, but surely they could've made a few more little tweaks. As you noted, the film's greatest fault is its score, and some fans have created alternate cuts of the movie with musical selections from John Barry and other Eon-hired composers. Regardless, I'd still take it over Diamonds Are Forever without a second thought.
The producers have the right of a 1950´s screenplay who was novelized by Fleming when he realeased "Thunderball". In order to avoid a lawsuit by Broccoli they had sticked to the screenplay plot and the characters, including the names they got in it. They couldn´t ell a different story. Curiously on the 190´s when James Bond´s popularity resurfaced thanks to the success of "Goldeneye", Kevin Mclory wanted to make another "Thunderball" remake", with the titlle "Warhead 2000" and he pretened to convince Timothy Dalton to play James Bond on his movie but the actor and the Broccoli family were closed friends and he refused, so he played with using others names as George Clooney and Liam Neesom. For this project, Kevin McClory has already made a deal with Sony Pictures, who has alredy had the "Casino Royale" rights thanks to the 1967 spoof flim. But at the last moment Sony made an agreement MGM: Sony Gave them their entire James Bond property to MGM and in exchange, MGM renounced to litigate against Sony for Spiderman´s movie rights. Thanks to that "Spiderman" (2002) and "Casino Royale"(2006) could see both the light of day.
Actually, two people, Kevin McClory and Jack Wittingham, collaborated with Ian Fleming on what they proposed at a James Bond movie entitled Longitude 78 West, and they wrote the story/script together, but it was never produced. So, Fleming novelized it as Thunderball, and they promptly sued him and won a judgement. While Broccoli and Saltzman (EON Productions) did own the rights to the novel Thunderball, due to the lawsuit they brought Kevin McClory in as Producer on their movie of Thunderball and McClory was paid and given credit and agreed NOT to exercise his movie rights for 10 years and if he did it would be BASED on the book Thunderball. McClory was not happy with Thunderball so once the terms of his contract passed, he started developing a Bond movie based on Longitude 78 West and Broccoli and Saltzman (EON Productions Danjaq) sued and so McClory started basing the movie on the book Thunderball. Connery agreed to do the film, his wife suggested the title NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN based on Connery saying he'd NEVER PLAY JAMES BOND AGAIN. McClory finally won in court, so the film came out SCREEN STORY BY McClory, Wittingham, and Fleming and based on the novel Thunderball by Fleming. They Bond theme is actually formally written and credited to Dr. No composer Monty Norman who wrote the melody the guitar plays. John Barry arranged and conducted the actual theme but gets no writing credit. Barry started it with I believe is the Artie Shaw Orchestra theme (those violins going up the scale then down). Barry also did the big band bridge part, but was unable to get writing credit or royalties because Monty Norman had a written contract to do the music for Doctor No. As such Barry's contributions are unofficial and uncredited. Barry sued two and lost on this technicality that Norman was hired to write the music, the Bond theme was based largely on his written melody and Barry was hired only to ARRANGE the music. As a result of this Norman become a multi-millionaire with the movies and arcade games using that theme song. Barry got rewarded by given the ability to write several of the bond films music scores starting with From Russia with Love and he got to write themes starting with Goldfinger. Harry Saltzman also hired him to write the music for his solo project The Ipcress File motion picture.
Actually the producer were in talk with James Horner who was yet little known then, probably because they were impressed by his work on "Star Trek 2", but Sean Connery who has already demanded creative control as a condition for acepting to be in the movie, insisted he wanted french composer michel legrand for the sountrack. What a pitty. James Horner coulad have made a great James Bond soundtrack without using the James Bond theme by Monty Norman.
@@bondrafabaond I don't know. I have a feeling that Horner might have rather done another of those odd "contemporary" scores he did for the less fantastical action movies during his early days, like 48 Hrs and Commando, which seriously don't stand among the works he gets particularly praised for, and the style of which he never went back to when he got into more "serious" movies.
@@JBuddis Or maybe he would have gave us an epic adventure soundtrack like he made at that time on "Star Trek 2: The warth of Kang" or "Krull" caus epic adventure is the right tone Barry used on his soundtrack for the 007 franchise.
Actually, not 35 years. Kim Basinger: December 8 1953. Sean Connery: August 25 1930. That means only ca. 23 years age difference. Which is very normal, at least for me...
In TB; Domino's brother is killed and replaced by a member of Spectre (or someone hired by Spectre) to pose as her brother to steal the bombs. In NSNA; Domino's brother is blackmailed with Domino's life to steal the bombs by Spectre. So unlike the original movie, in this version Dominio's brother is actually the one doing the work.
Connery's final film The League Of Extraordinary Men is a film that gets a bad rap. He hated filming it so much that's why it was his last. But it is still an entertaining movie that I think deserves better. Very interesting concept and story with very good acting from Connery and others. Good visuals etc. Worth your time I believe.
@@kevinsmith2666 I saw the film when it came out and I don’t remember anything from it. Like the family guy joke I think there was a guy with an umbrella? Maybe an invisible guy? Don’t know, don’t care.
Thing is this film was adapted from a solid graphic novel but its adaptation looked as if it were low budget in terms of writing, directing, and choreographing skills.
Funny didn't remember that Rowan Atkison was in this. Maybe he was training for Johnny English. 1983 was before his characters of Blackadder and Mr. Bean. I'm not sure but maybe it was after Not the nine o'clock news. This was a good reaction to an unofficial James bond feature. Looking forward for more reactions. Have a good week Shan.
The original Casino Royale is nuts!! Thunderball was written by another guy with Ian Fleming, and he had rights to remake it. I am sure Sean Connery was thrilled to get paid twice for the same movie. He was always complaining about his share of the box office.
Sean Connory said he would never do another Bond film, so they titled this one Never Say Never Again. McCrory, came up with lots of ideas for the Ian Fleming novels, and claimed the rights to Bloefed and SPECTRE. While these were in dispute Broccoli couldn't use them. Funny thing about Connery being too old to play Bond at this point, Roger Moore was 3 years order than Connory.
Never Say Never Again is basically just a remake of Thunderball due to co-writer Kevin McClory going through a prolonged legal battle with Ian Fleming and Albert R. Broccoli over both the royalties and the rights to SPECTRE and Bloefeld, which McClory claimed credit for even though it was clear that Ian Fleming created both.
I don't know how to warn you about the original Casino Royale, Shan, except to say it takes a very specific sense of humor (or humour) to appreciate it. I love it, but I'm weird. I look forward to watching it with you.
Kevin McClory sued Ian Fleming for co-writing credit on the novel, "Thunderball", originally a screenplay for a movie that did not materialize (Pre Saltzman/Broccoli era). In short, McClory won. Years later, when Saltzman/Broccoli decided to make "Thunderball", they had to get McClory's permission, and the original movie listed McClory as a producer. As part of their deal, McClory had the rights to remake "Thunderball" after 10 years, thus "Never Say Never Again". Because of legal issues, "Never Say Never Again" could not stray from the plot of "Thunderball". Yes, the music was awful and took away a lot of the drama from an other wise very good film. Connery as usual was awesome!
The older(over 50 years old) James Bond(Connery in NSNA, Moore in OP and AVTAK) is actually very good! Such a manly/charming /experienced man! A real english gentleman-agent! *** And I like NSNA(1983) more that any Craig movie!!!
This is a remake of Thunderball and this is also the last James Bond film to have Sean Connery as the titular character. It's been theorized that the 1996 action movie, THE ROCK, is actually taking place in the same universe as Connery's Bond, and that Bond was an alias for his character John Mason, whom niether British Intelligence nor Great Britain has ever heard of him.
Hey Shan, in your "unofficial" Bond film playlist...include 'The Rock' with Connery, Nicholas Cage, Ed Harris, and Michel Biehn, directed by Michel Bay. It is VERY unofficial, but there is a theory that Connery is actually playing Bond (named John Mason), and his backstory timeline syncs up with his Bond films mostly. Watch it, then watch one of the videos that explore the theory that John Mason is actually James Bond...I personally buy the theory as it is too fun for it not to be accurate.
Delighted to see this today… I alway enjoyed this movie - your interpretation is very much mine too. I have fond memories of seeing this on TBS as a kid during their Bond marathons.
Decent film, and the best of the non-Eon entries. Though I don't think it's aged as well as some other Bond films, even from that era. I remember it getting a lot of praise at the time, but I think critics were just excited that Sean Connery was back. It was released the same year as OCTOPUSSY, which was the bigger hit financially. I prefer the Roger Moore film myself.
It´s not really a remake from "Thunderball" the movie. Ian Fleming wrote a script with producer Kevin McClory on the late 1950´s for a proposed James Bond film with Alfred Hitchcock as a potential director, but the project did never take off, so Ian Fleming novelized the script ant turned it into "Thunderbook" the novel. When Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli purchased the James bond novels rights, his choice for the first movie was "Thunderball" becuase dued to the fact that it was based on a movie script it has a very cinematic tone and structure, but Kevin McClory has already sued Ian Fleming in order to be co-owner and credited as co-writer, so insted they chose "Doctor No". Kevin McClory won the lawsuit so Broccoli and Saltzman made and agreement with him, so he could be part of "Thunderball" the movie as a producer with the condition he wou not exercise the rights for another adaptarion during the next 10 years at the same time, Broccoli and Saltzman could use Blofeld and Spectre(Mclory proved on the lawsuit they were his creations) during those 10 years. On 1975 with the 10 years past, Kevin Mclory started to work on another "Thunderball" remake, with the idea using Sean Connery, first as screenwriter and potential director but later as a main star. He struggle during 7 years till he joint with Jack Scwartzman(Brother in law of Francis Ford Coppola)and together they got finantial backin for "Never say never again". But during the production they had to by follow th the basic plotline and to use the characters from the 1950´s screenplay in order to avoid being sued by Albert Broccoli. One last note, The terrible soundtrack is Sean Connery´s blame. The producers want to hire an, by then, little known composer called James Hornter, but Connery who was given creative control and worked as producer insists on hiring the french composer Michell Legrand, who have already the music from the original "The Thomas Crown affair"
The story had similarities to "Thunderball" NOT because they didn't want to take any risks, but because of COPYRIGHT! Kevin McClory ONLY had the rights for a "Thunderball"-remake, because he wrote the original story together with Ian Fleming. Oh yeah...and the soundtrack of this movie is really bad.
As I said on your Thunderball posting.. never say never again is a remake of Thunderball in the sense that's based off of the book. Thunderball the movie was based off of the book. Legal rights kept them from using anything that wasn't in the book. The co-writer of the novel Thunderball had gotten the rights to specter and the novel Thunderball. He could not deviate from the novel. If he did he would be in violation of the copyright of James Bond. He intended to make a whole lot of other Thunderball remakes to compete against eon productions James Bond. Octopussy came out at the exact same time as never say never again. Sean Connery and Roger Moore were about the same age. But because octopussy was an original story and was an official James Bond film it's outdid never say never again in the theater. That's why there's never been another remake of Thunderball or an unofficial James Bond movie.
Klaus Maria Brandauer who played Largo has a few roles but his most memorable was in Out Of Africa starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, directed by Sydney Pollack. Yes, a great movie recommendation here. Pollack is another great director and actor you should look up. From Tootsie (1982), director and actor, to Three Days Of The Condor, (1975), Pollack directed, starring Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway (Network), and more of Max Von Sydow, a lot more playing a cool calm assassin. Good reaction and review here but love to hear your thoughts on those Craig Bond movies. Lump them together or something. Thank you, and.....have fun!!!
Glad you liked it; way more than I expected. IMO it's way better than Thunderball was; that movie had too many boring patches and not enough epic moments imo. It's when Bond was at it's most popular but not the series' finest hour. This one fixed a lot of things it did wrong and made it better. Love the villains: Brandaeur as Largo is very, very underrated for what he was given. He didn't have the most time to grow the character out but what he did have he made it work amazingly well. The freakout scene is one of the most human scenes a Bond villain has had. His Largo is more sad to watch, Celi's Largo was just a bland douchebag. When he goes all evil it doesn't 100% work due to Klaus being such a likeable dude but he nailed the psychological side well. Carerra as Blush is the hidden gem though, one of the more iconic baddies of Bond and babes in the movies. She doesn't get the credit she deserves imo, she not only is a hoot to watch but she added so much life to the role. You could tell she was enjoying it. Bassinger is very blah here; she was just learning the craft here and it shows. She was solid eye candy though. I really love the side cast. Fox was a solid douchbag M, love the guy they got as Q.. I mean Algeron lol. He deserved way more time. Moneypenny's actress was awful but she seemed like a nice lady none the less. I really adore Bernie Casey here as Felix and he is imo one of the best ones to do it. I wish he had more time to play with it but it really makes me happy to know Sean wanted Bernie and fought for him. He and Sean had great chemistry together. The behind the scenes stuff is really interesting. Their were legal issues aplenty so they had to be careful over everything. Talia Shire's husband's company produced it and it was a crap show. He wasn't ready to helm a blockbuster and they were always low on money. Kirschner was the third or 4th choice to make it; they really wanted Richard Donner to do it this was post Superman but he declined as he found the script bad and not worth it. They then tried Peter Hunt who made OHMSS but he declined out of loyalty to Cubby. Irvin had Empire Strikes Back and was the hot pick. He wasn't a good fit and argued with the producer. Connery and the producer really despised each other. He more or less called it a joke of a production and his arguments angered Talia so much that she ended up going up to Sean and straight up asked him "Why do you hate my husband so much?" He apologized for a lot of it but the experienced stunk so bad that he never had any successful luck with anything after. Sean had a lot of pull and more or less picked the actors and made important decisions. It works well for the most part. The score is awful of course; they had a great theme song by Phyllis Hyman which imo is the best one not to be picked and it got beat out by that awful cringe worthy song by Lani Hall.. yuck. The score is just horrendously bad; I cringe thinking about it. The sets also look super cheap and not aged well. It feels WAY more cheaper than it was budgeted. People really loved this in 1983; a lot it was due to Sean's return I'm sure but people really seemed to love the action and ideas it had. Octopussy to a lot of people seemed bland and cliched due to Roger's long tenure. It hasn't aged well to me much in a lot of ways; this one holds up better besides the budget and score. Sean's return was an ace in the hole no one really used to it's full potential. It did help revive his career; we got that glory run due to this movie. We have to be thankful for it due to that.
I love this one. The smartest comedic elements of any Bond film, the most believable and creepiest villain, great stunt work, and... Kim Bassinger. And yes, the music sucked.
The producers basically only had the rights to the Thunderball story (which included the original use of SPECTRE (compared to the books) which allowed them the use of Blofeld et. al. A rewatch of the Craig Bond films would be welcome, particularly since you now have a thorough background of the Bond filmography.
Hey did you guys know Sean Connery was bald for Every Bond film? He was wearing a hair piece the entire time. He went bald at a very young age.
2 ปีที่แล้ว +1
Interesting how when Shan was starting the Bond series you had a large group of haters infesting the comments throwing shade at _Octopussy_ and _Never Say Never Again_ , well, Where are they now? 😌🤣😏.
The script got treated by the writers of the 70's UK sitcom set in a male prison 'Porridge'. The gag about Bond peeing in a sample bottle sat across from it comes from an episode of the show. Dick Clement & Ian Le Frenais never got credited though a lot of the shooting script is by them.
If you know Klaus Maria Brandauer, the actor of Largo in this movie, in a movie and you have a mystery villain in the movie, it's no mystery. While he plays villains great, a mystery about who is the villain is wasted. Not that he is a mystery in this movie. As for Max von Sydow, he is underutilized in many movies he is in. He has a great, if short appearance in Conan the Barbarian, but the real crime was his appearance in Star Wars VII: The Force awakens. For the man that made Ming the Merciless unforgettable in Flash Gordon, his appearance in a Star Wars movie was downright disrespectful and an atrocity.
Dude you spent half the time talking about Thunderball XD All jokes aside, I've always liked this movie. It's a sort of "holiday Bond movie", but I still prefer it to a lot of official Bond movies, especially the Moore era. Yes, the music is pretty underwhelming, to say the least. And even when I was a kid, I found the "game" completely silly. But Connery, Brandauer, the beauty of Basinger, a few great action pieces and a good sense of humor make up for it.
22:30: ''too similar to the original for my tastes', they didn't take any risks at all...' That, is almost perfectly in line with my best friend's 'rule' when it comes to tracks which are cover versions: In order to be 'legit', it needs to actually be different from the original, and add something different which the original track did not have. For example, A female artist/group re-recording a track by a male artist/group, with no changes in tone, style, etc, would fail to meet the criteria, because it doesn't 'add anything'. And I suspect that is what you mean here. I always considered Never Say Never to be one of the weakest Bond films, but now as an adult, and knowing a bit more of the behind the camera shenanigans, I think that the issue, is really one of the copyright aspects, and, had they been able to give it the full 'Eon Bond treatment', I suspect that the things which were weaknesses, such as no 'Bond Theme' at crucial moments, an unidentified watch, etc, those things would have simply not occured, and I think that had those issues been resolved so that the licensing was all kosher, I suspect it actually would have been a pretty good film 😊😊😊😊 If I'm honest, I never liked Thunderball anyway, and I much prefered Klaus Maria Brandauer as Largo, and his creepy little spank-booth behind the dance studio, because, hey, why not have some seedy viewing while working on Evil Schemes... 🤣🤣🤣🤣😁😁😁😁 At least, there was no 'penchant for buggery', like in Austin Powers (or in the Novelization of From Russia With Love, where it was outright stated that General Gogol wanted Bond 'face down' in an interrogation room... 😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😑😑😑😑 Equally, Rupert Everett wanted to play Bond in a movie where Bond was full-on gay... That could have been quite interesting, and, although not so much now, when he said about it in the 90s, Everett would have been perfect to play Bond 👍👍👍👍
Hey Shan! Another Good movie! Can I request a few movies? Just suggestions 🤔 .. - *“PRIMAL FEAR” From (1996), “THE TOWN” From (2010), “PRISONERS” From (2013), “SIDEWAYS” From (2004)* 🍷
This was the first Bond movie I ever saw, and it probably warped me for life. I feel sad that it's just a real missed opportunity - in a different universe this could have been a great film, but instead we're left with this vindictive and sloppy version. Nonetheless, I rate Fatima Blush as on of the best Bond girls of all time.
This movie has always gotten crap as a weak entry in the series or not even part of the series. I’ve always enjoyed it though. Used to watch it on HBO back in the day.
2 ปีที่แล้ว +1
Back then I never got tired of watching this film.
Something that always bugged me is how... bland and unambitious this movie feels. It had a substantially higher budget than "Octopussy" but looks cheaper. It was directed by Irvin Kershner (who did "The Empire strikes back") and had cinematography by Douglas Slocombe (who lensed the original "Indiana Jones"-Flicks) but neither direction nor camerawork stands out. Michel Legrand was an established and experienced Film Composer who won three Academy Awards but his Score is horribly misjudged. And it had a great cast, but aside from Connery (who effortlessly slipped back into the role and had a lot of fun here, I think he did better work here than in his last two official Bond-Outings), Barbara Carrera (overacing at its finest) and Klaus Maria Brandauer (whose Largo is effectively creepy), they are either underused (Edward Fox, Max von Sydow) or bland (Kim Basinger). I like Connerys' performance and most of his lines. I like the Fist Fight in the Spa (its sad that Pat Roach was never in an Official Bond-Film because he makes for an effective henchman), I like the Motorcycle Chase, the Q Scene and a few other bits... but still, when compared to the Official entries in this Franchise, it ranks near the bottom for me.
Kershner has suggested that the production's legal troubles had a significant impact on the film's quality. I can believe it, and I bet that this director could have made a much better film if he had been working for Eon rather than for Taliafilm.
Late to the party...... Just putting it out there that another movie that some see as another unofficial Bond movie is 1996's The Rock, there's a TH-cam video that could explain the connection better and if you end watching the movie you should also check that out, even if you don't watch it as a Bond movie it's still a fun movie to watch with a few explosions too.
Ya never really know Fatima Blush also probably is physically strong💪enough/physically tough 😤 enough of a fighter/villainess 2 survive/withstand being hit in the back torso/chest torso/on the sides torso by more than 8 8×22mm Nambu pistol rounds (bullets), more than 6 ricocheted .44 Magnum pistol rounds (bullets) from her own Smith & Wesson 29, more than 30 .45 ACP pistol rounds (bullets), more than 20 7.62×39mm rifle rounds (bullets), more than 10 .303 rifle rounds (bullets), more than 15 .44 Rimfire (RF) rifle rounds (bullets) & more than 5 7.92x57mm Mauser rifle rounds (bullets) without bulletproof/bullet resistant armor vest right 2 the point in the drive thru tunnel of Motorcycle/Bike Chase Scene Bond takes the Beretta 93R from 1 of her underlings as he's clearly/obviously going 2 shoot her in the chest with it Fatima Blush without bulletproof/bullet resistant armor vest is in a way like you'll never have enough bullets 2 kill me Mister Bond/I'm far 2 strong 💪/tough 😤 4 my underlings bullets Mister Bond no matter how many/much of them ya empty in2 my chest he shoots her burst fire mode using up most of the bullets then single shot mode multiple/several times in the chest with that same Beretta 93R she cackles like a hyena & continues cackling after/when getting hit in the chest by every round/more than every round from her underlings Beretta 93R hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
The beginning and ending is poor but the middle section is quite enjoyable. Particularly any scenes with Fatima Blush who is played marvellously over the top. Kim Basinger is too young and looks like she could be Connerys grand daughter
It's fun that you are checking out the non-official Bond films. Casino Royal is in a world of its own - no way to prepare you for it other than to say "Just Enjoy". David Niven, Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, Orson Wells and Woody Allen are all in it. I look forward to your reaction when you do find it.
Good reaction & review, Shan, as always :) As a great fan of Sean Connery I watched this movie in theater in 1983. I enjoyed it but it was not the Bond-feeling. Klaus Maria Brandauer is an Austrian actor and was very well known in Germany and - of course - in Austria. He also starred in Out of Africa (1985) with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford; won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for an Oscar. Brandauer co-starred with Connery again in The Russia House (1990).
👉 _Outland_ (1981) - for *prime* early '80s Connery, you'd like this sci-fi action classic from Peter Hyams _(2010: The Year We Make Contact)._ Takes place in the _Alien / Blade Runner_ "universe". _NSNA_ - brave man. Not without it's charms, Kirschner captures some Bond-esque flair in the camerawork & Connery is in better shape here than in _DAF_ but it's tough to be a Bond film without the mystique of the traditional EON elements.
It's not great. For me the highlight is Barbara Carrera as Fatima Blush. She's fab and clearly having a ton of fun. Sadly she gets offed far too soon though.
Actually the very first “Casino Royal” and the very first appearance of Bond on screen is a 1954 production from an anthology series called Climax. Bond is played by American actor Barry Nelson. th-cam.com/video/ztsXWp0nj2c/w-d-xo.html
Despite many/most 'Bond Afficianados' having a lot of disdain for this movie, I've always had a soft spot for it since it was actually my introduction to James Bond and the first 007 film I saw in a cinema. For a young kid who was still crazy about Raiders of the Lost Ark (that had come out 2 years earlier), I remember at the time this movie seemed like a similar larger-than-life, globe-trotting adventure, and the gadgets, stunts and slick production values like the cruise missile vfx and the video game really caught my imagination.
And then to discover it was part of a series and there was a whole bunch more of these 007 movies to seek out over the next few years was just the icing on the cake, though I do remember there was some confusion when I discovered that Bond sometimes looked like Sean Connery and sometimes looked like Roger Moore, since I never watched them in order and just saw them whenever and however I could, either on TV or later on VHS once we had that in our household.
This was my first Bond movie too!
Then you are biased. Your nostalgia has defeated your common sense.
And is that really a problem in this instance? I have no doubt that my earlier impressions of the film contribute towards what I see in and take away from it nowadays - my first sentence admitted as much.
But I suspect you've mistaken what you call 'common sense' for your own opinion, one likely arrived at through the same subjective criteria any of us bring with us when it comes to artistic appreciation. If you want to say you evaluate the merits of a film by trying to make it as free of personal biases as you can then that's your prerogative, but I neither want to or need to conform to consuming media (of this type) in a similar way.
Sean Connery is 53 years old here. Roger Moore was 56 years old at the same time in Octopussy.
Daniel Craig was 52 years old in No Time To Die.
Daniel Craig look much, much younger than both. Not just a few years.
6:36 The legend that is the late, great Pat Roach ! He played roles in the 3 Indiana Jones movies.
And General Kael on "Willow".
And the celtic leader on "Robin Hood: Prince of thieves"(But you have to see it on the extended cut because on the theatrical one he barely appears).
I thought his scene in last crusade got cut. There was supposed to be a fight scene inside the airship before he gets to the plane hanging underneath. Don't recall seeing the mighty Pat anywhere else in the movie
@@davidgaunt5018 When Indy watched through the window Vogel approaching to the Zeppelin, the big man aside is Pat Roach. There was on the script a fight scene with Roach and For that I don't know if it was already filmed
Largo was played by German actor Klaus Maria Brandauer. Bond is not his usual kind of production. He is a very prolific stage and film actor in more artistic movies. He got famous for his portrayal of Mephisto. He said that he didn't want to play Largo in the first place, but Connery convinced him by saying "We will have a lot of fun and we will get a lot of money." 😉
When Sean Connery left the role of James Bond after doing diamonds are forever he said that he would never do a Bond movie ever again.
When he got this movie, which Sean Connery knew it was a remake of Thunderball, his wife suggested the title never say never again. This was in reference to him saying he would never do James Bond again. His wife told them never say never again. And then said hey that's a good title.
NSNA is a respectable Bond movie. Like you said it has its flaws. What annoys me a little are the Bond snobs turning their noses up at it like it is a million miles beneath all the official Bond movies when, in my opinion, it has actually better than some of them. I would argue that some elements in the movie, such as crazy Fatima Blush and the laser watch, later inspired official Bond movies...
Hey, taste is subjective but I am glad youe enjoyed it. Maybe I am a Bond snob, but while the movie itself is serviceable, I detest the reason for this movie. Kevin McClory was a world class A hole and he managed to get an unfair ruling against EON productions to get control of certain elements of the Bond IP that he collaborated on. Because of him, EON lost Specter, Blofeld, and McClorry resisted every attempt to repair the relationship or settle the dispute and for what? So we could get a mediocre remake of Thunderball. It's even really shifty that Connery, who also had a falling out with Cubby Broccoli, did thjs film out of spite. It's just all ugliness behind this production.
@@BiggestDawgEver You're letting the behind-the-scenes struggles affect your enjoyment of the movie. The only significance of the legal fight and a different production company should be the explanation for the remake and the lack of familiar Bond icons. Personally, I'm glad Connery did this movie as we see the older and wiser James Bond end his career with a beautiful young blonde and a cheeky wink. I like Diamonds Are Forever more than most Bond fans, but I don't think it was a good way to finish Connery's time in the role. This movie - which I only think is average at best - feels like a better exit for the most iconic Bond actor...
For me it is so bad I can't watch it again
It's not better than any official Bond movie stop it.
@@qwertymanor you are so right
Rowan Atkinson was already famous in Britain as a stand-up comic and the BBC Not The Nine O'Clock News comedy show. 1983 was a good year for him, it also marked the start of the first season of Blackadder, one of the best British comedies ever.
Kevin McClory co-wrote the Thunderball script with Fleming in the 50s. That film didn't get made. So, Fleming turned the script into a novel. Blofeld and Spectre were created for that script. McClory received a producer credit on movie Thunderball. He later brought a number of lawsuits about the use of Blofeld and Spectre which he said he created. Later he claimed the rights to make his own Bond films, but it was decided he only had the rights to remake Thunderball. Which resulted in this film. Sony later made a deal with McClory and announced their own series on Bond films. This started another round of legal battles. This was resolved when MGM decided to give up their claim to Spider-Man which stemmed from their acquiring Cannon films, who had the rights to the character at one point. MGM gave up their claim to Spider-Man and Sony ended their plans for a James Bond film. After McClory's death, Danjaq/MGM acquired his rights to Bond including Blofeld and Spectre.
Interesting fact about how Sony got the rights to Spiderman...somethingnI wasn't aware of for sure.
Another Connery film I'd love for you to see is "The Man Who Would be King". It's a story from Rudyard Kipling and costars Michael Cain.
“Robin and Marian” is great. Connery plays an aging Robin Hood back from The Crusades doing battle Robert Shaw as the Sheriff of Nottingham and Audrey Hepburn as Marian. He’s also great in “The Great Train Robbery” with Donald Sutherland. Connery does his own stunts running along the top of the moving train.
The part of the henchman who attacks Bond in the weight room was played by Pat Roach. He also played the German mechanic who got up close and personal with the propeller blade in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and the cult member who went through the rock grider in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom."
He’s is also in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange & Barry Lyndon + Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves
👍
Whatever, 1983 was a magical Bond year. Nowadays we wait 6 years for a film, back then 2 in the same year!!!
Another unique difference in this film is that Bond doesn’t use his signature Walther PPK.
He carries a Walther P5 Compact instead.
Actually, he uses the full size Walther P5 (which is still a rather compact pistol). Roger Moore also carries the P5 in Octopussy, which came out the same year in theaters, even though he refers to it as a PPK in that film.
It's funny that they played with the plot device that Bond was too old but Connery was 3 years younger then Roger Moore who went on to play him one more time in 1985.
On the other hand. Moore was really old when he start looking to old.
Granted, in the second to last conery movie , he looked more tired than old
They hired Moore when he was 45. His later films kept making money. Cubby was more risk averse than his descendants.
This Largo is played by Klaus Maria Brandauer, really good Austrian actor/director
FUN FACT: Klaus Maria Brandauer was originally considered for the role of Marko Ramius in The Hunt for Red October, but he quit two weeks into filming due to a prior commitment, so the producers hired Connery for the role
‘The Rock’ (1996)…many see as another Unofficial 007 James Bond movie
Octopussy with Moore came out the same year and did better at the box office, Most critics were kinder to Never Say Never at the time.
Battle Of Bonds.Sued Connery Remake A Hit.NSNA.VHS Tied On Sales.
Fun Fact: Screenwriter Lorenzo Semple, Jr is best known for his work on the Batman TV series from the 1960s.
Shan has his attention on Largo, while I'm eyeing that Centipede cabinet. Lol
Kim Basinger's fun movies to watch:
"Blind Date" - great romantic comedy with Bruce Willis
"Real McCoy" - female bank robber, thriller, and young Val Kilmer
"My Stepmother is an alien" - comedy/sci fi/ romance with Dan Aykroyd
Honestly, The Spy Who Loved Me is a remake of You Only Live Twice, and A View to a Kill is a remake of Goldfinger, so a reused plot in this era of the Bond franchise isn't necessarily the problem. The reused character names are a bigger problem, as they draw too much attention to the recycled premise. The filmmakers were legally required to stick close to the novel, but surely they could've made a few more little tweaks.
As you noted, the film's greatest fault is its score, and some fans have created alternate cuts of the movie with musical selections from John Barry and other Eon-hired composers. Regardless, I'd still take it over Diamonds Are Forever without a second thought.
The producers have the right of a 1950´s screenplay who was novelized by Fleming when he realeased "Thunderball". In order to avoid a lawsuit by Broccoli they had sticked to the screenplay plot and the characters, including the names they got in it. They couldn´t ell a different story.
Curiously on the 190´s when James Bond´s popularity resurfaced thanks to the success of "Goldeneye", Kevin Mclory wanted to make another "Thunderball" remake", with the titlle "Warhead 2000" and he pretened to convince Timothy Dalton to play James Bond on his movie but the actor and the Broccoli family were closed friends and he refused, so he played with using others names as George Clooney and Liam Neesom.
For this project, Kevin McClory has already made a deal with Sony Pictures, who has alredy had the "Casino Royale" rights thanks to the 1967 spoof flim. But at the last moment Sony made an agreement MGM: Sony Gave them their entire James Bond property to MGM and in exchange, MGM renounced to litigate against Sony for Spiderman´s movie rights. Thanks to that "Spiderman" (2002) and "Casino Royale"(2006) could see both the light of day.
Actually, two people, Kevin McClory and Jack Wittingham, collaborated with Ian Fleming on what they proposed at a James Bond movie entitled Longitude 78 West, and they wrote the story/script together, but it was never produced. So, Fleming novelized it as Thunderball, and they promptly sued him and won a judgement. While Broccoli and Saltzman (EON Productions) did own the rights to the novel Thunderball, due to the lawsuit they brought Kevin McClory in as Producer on their movie of Thunderball and McClory was paid and given credit and agreed NOT to exercise his movie rights for 10 years and if he did it would be BASED on the book Thunderball. McClory was not happy with Thunderball so once the terms of his contract passed, he started developing a Bond movie based on Longitude 78 West and Broccoli and Saltzman (EON Productions Danjaq) sued and so McClory started basing the movie on the book Thunderball. Connery agreed to do the film, his wife suggested the title NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN based on Connery saying he'd NEVER PLAY JAMES BOND AGAIN. McClory finally won in court, so the film came out SCREEN STORY BY McClory, Wittingham, and Fleming and based on the novel Thunderball by Fleming.
They Bond theme is actually formally written and credited to Dr. No composer Monty Norman who wrote the melody the guitar plays. John Barry arranged and conducted the actual theme but gets no writing credit. Barry started it with I believe is the Artie Shaw Orchestra theme (those violins going up the scale then down). Barry also did the big band bridge part, but was unable to get writing credit or royalties because Monty Norman had a written contract to do the music for Doctor No. As such Barry's contributions are unofficial and uncredited. Barry sued two and lost on this technicality that Norman was hired to write the music, the Bond theme was based largely on his written melody and Barry was hired only to ARRANGE the music. As a result of this Norman become a multi-millionaire with the movies and arcade games using that theme song. Barry got rewarded by given the ability to write several of the bond films music scores starting with From Russia with Love and he got to write themes starting with Goldfinger. Harry Saltzman also hired him to write the music for his solo project The Ipcress File motion picture.
Actually the producer were in talk with James Horner who was yet little known then, probably because they were impressed by his work on "Star Trek 2", but Sean Connery who has already demanded creative control as a condition for acepting to be in the movie, insisted he wanted french composer michel legrand for the sountrack. What a pitty. James Horner coulad have made a great James Bond soundtrack without using the James Bond theme by Monty Norman.
Longitude West 78 Title Was Changed To Warhead,To Never Say Never Again..After Diamonds Are Forever Connery Said. Never Again
Monty Norman Sadly Passed Away 2022.John Barry Died 2011 Barry Won Theme Arrangements Rights.
@@bondrafabaond I don't know. I have a feeling that Horner might have rather done another of those odd "contemporary" scores he did for the less fantastical action movies during his early days, like 48 Hrs and Commando, which seriously don't stand among the works he gets particularly praised for, and the style of which he never went back to when he got into more "serious" movies.
@@JBuddis Or maybe he would have gave us an epic adventure soundtrack like he made at that time on "Star Trek 2: The warth of Kang" or "Krull" caus epic adventure is the right tone Barry used on his soundtrack for the 007 franchise.
Connery was probably 35 hrs older than Basinger. She went onto be a huge star in the 80's and early 90's
Actually, not 35 years. Kim Basinger: December 8 1953. Sean Connery: August 25 1930. That means only ca. 23 years age difference. Which is very normal, at least for me...
In TB; Domino's brother is killed and replaced by a member of Spectre (or someone hired by Spectre) to pose as her brother to steal the bombs.
In NSNA; Domino's brother is blackmailed with Domino's life to steal the bombs by Spectre. So unlike the original movie, in this version Dominio's brother is actually the one doing the work.
Connery's final film The League Of Extraordinary Men is a film that gets a bad rap. He hated filming it so much that's why it was his last. But it is still an entertaining movie that I think deserves better. Very interesting concept and story with very good acting from Connery and others. Good visuals etc. Worth your time I believe.
Lol No! Just no
@@maciek8159 Come on....You know you've watched it....more than once. All by yourself so no one would know.
@@kevinsmith2666 I saw the film when it came out and I don’t remember anything from it. Like the family guy joke I think there was a guy with an umbrella? Maybe an invisible guy? Don’t know, don’t care.
A bit dumb compared to the comic.
Thing is this film was adapted from a solid graphic novel but its adaptation looked as if it were low budget in terms of writing, directing, and choreographing skills.
Funny didn't remember that Rowan Atkison was in this. Maybe he was training for Johnny English.
1983 was before his characters of Blackadder and Mr. Bean.
I'm not sure but maybe it was after
Not the nine o'clock news.
This was a good reaction to an unofficial James bond feature.
Looking forward for more reactions.
Have a good week Shan.
I think the first series of Blackadder, The Black Adder, was broadcast a few months before Never Say Never Again was released.
I love this movie. Connery nailed it and Klaus Maria Brandauer is great as Largo! Glad you enjoyed it:)
The original Casino Royale is nuts!! Thunderball was written by another guy with Ian Fleming, and he had rights to remake it. I am sure Sean Connery was thrilled to get paid twice for the same movie. He was always complaining about his share of the box office.
Only Dr No and The Man With The Golden Gun don't have helicopters somewhere.
Sean Connory said he would never do another Bond film, so they titled this one Never Say Never Again.
McCrory, came up with lots of ideas for the Ian Fleming novels, and claimed the rights to Bloefed and SPECTRE. While these were in dispute Broccoli couldn't use them.
Funny thing about Connery being too old to play Bond at this point, Roger Moore was 3 years order than Connory.
Never Say Never Again is basically just a remake of Thunderball due to co-writer Kevin McClory going through a prolonged legal battle with Ian Fleming and Albert R. Broccoli over both the royalties and the rights to SPECTRE and Bloefeld, which McClory claimed credit for even though it was clear that Ian Fleming created both.
I don't know how to warn you about the original Casino Royale, Shan, except to say it takes a very specific sense of humor (or humour) to appreciate it. I love it, but I'm weird. I look forward to watching it with you.
That assassin at the health spa was the same guy who kept fighting Indiana Jones(The Sherpa, Plane mechanic, Thugee bearded guy with the turban....)
Kevin McClory sued Ian Fleming for co-writing credit on the novel, "Thunderball", originally a screenplay for a movie that did not materialize (Pre Saltzman/Broccoli era). In short, McClory won. Years later, when Saltzman/Broccoli decided to make "Thunderball", they had to get McClory's permission, and the original movie listed McClory as a producer. As part of their deal, McClory had the rights to remake "Thunderball" after 10 years, thus "Never Say Never Again". Because of legal issues, "Never Say Never Again" could not stray from the plot of "Thunderball". Yes, the music was awful and took away a lot of the drama from an other wise very good film. Connery as usual was awesome!
The older(over 50 years old) James Bond(Connery in NSNA, Moore in OP and AVTAK) is actually very good! Such a manly/charming /experienced man! A real english gentleman-agent! *** And I like NSNA(1983) more that any Craig movie!!!
This came out the same year as Octopussy. I liked this movie because it’s aware of what it is, I hated Octopussy because it didn’t.
You’ve got some big balls for the anti Octopussy comments my friend 👍🏻
@@philoebeddo8724 Huge.🤣👍. Btw…right turn Clyde.👍
@@jimtatro6550 Keep up the Roger Moore hate and you’ll find yourself unconscious on top of a pile of Black Widows😉👍🏻
This is a remake of Thunderball and this is also the last James Bond film to have Sean Connery as the titular character. It's been theorized that the 1996 action movie, THE ROCK, is actually taking place in the same universe as Connery's Bond, and that Bond was an alias for his character John Mason, whom niether British Intelligence nor Great Britain has ever heard of him.
His last Bond film, but Sean did return to voice Bond in the FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE video game.
The Rock is THE most unofficial Bond movie. 😄
I like to think this is also the origins of Jonny English.
I truly hate the "Bond is a code name" theory.
Bond almost never used aliases.
Hey Shan, in your "unofficial" Bond film playlist...include 'The Rock' with Connery, Nicholas Cage, Ed Harris, and Michel Biehn, directed by Michel Bay. It is VERY unofficial, but there is a theory that Connery is actually playing Bond (named John Mason), and his backstory timeline syncs up with his Bond films mostly. Watch it, then watch one of the videos that explore the theory that John Mason is actually James Bond...I personally buy the theory as it is too fun for it not to be accurate.
Actually the sharks were real.
I had forgotten Rowan Atkinson was in this. Ironic that he had his own spy movies in the Johnny English comedies decades later.
Those are great
Delighted to see this today… I alway enjoyed this movie - your interpretation is very much mine too. I have fond memories of seeing this on TBS as a kid during their Bond marathons.
Decent film, and the best of the non-Eon entries. Though I don't think it's aged as well as some other Bond films, even from that era. I remember it getting a lot of praise at the time, but I think critics were just excited that Sean Connery was back. It was released the same year as OCTOPUSSY, which was the bigger hit financially. I prefer the Roger Moore film myself.
It´s not really a remake from "Thunderball" the movie.
Ian Fleming wrote a script with producer Kevin McClory on the late 1950´s for a proposed James Bond film with Alfred Hitchcock as a potential director, but the project did never take off, so Ian Fleming novelized the script ant turned it into "Thunderbook" the novel.
When Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli purchased the James bond novels rights, his choice for the first movie was "Thunderball" becuase dued to the fact that it was based on a movie script it has a very cinematic tone and structure, but Kevin McClory has already sued Ian Fleming in order to be co-owner and credited as co-writer, so insted they chose "Doctor No".
Kevin McClory won the lawsuit so Broccoli and Saltzman made and agreement with him, so he could be part of "Thunderball" the movie as a producer with the condition he wou not exercise the rights for another adaptarion during the next 10 years at the same time, Broccoli and Saltzman could use Blofeld and Spectre(Mclory proved on the lawsuit they were his creations) during those 10 years.
On 1975 with the 10 years past, Kevin Mclory started to work on another "Thunderball" remake, with the idea using Sean Connery, first as screenwriter and potential director but later as a main star. He struggle during 7 years till he joint with Jack Scwartzman(Brother in law of Francis Ford Coppola)and together they got finantial backin for "Never say never again". But during the production they had to by follow th the basic plotline and to use the characters from the 1950´s screenplay in order to avoid being sued by Albert Broccoli.
One last note, The terrible soundtrack is Sean Connery´s blame. The producers want to hire an, by then, little known composer called James Hornter, but Connery who was given creative control and worked as producer insists on hiring the french composer Michell Legrand, who have already the music from the original "The Thomas Crown affair"
The story had similarities to "Thunderball" NOT because they didn't want to take any risks, but because of COPYRIGHT! Kevin McClory ONLY had the rights for a "Thunderball"-remake, because he wrote the original story together with Ian Fleming.
Oh yeah...and the soundtrack of this movie is really bad.
As I said on your Thunderball posting.. never say never again is a remake of Thunderball in the sense that's based off of the book. Thunderball the movie was based off of the book.
Legal rights kept them from using anything that wasn't in the book.
The co-writer of the novel Thunderball had gotten the rights to specter and the novel Thunderball. He could not deviate from the novel. If he did he would be in violation of the copyright of James Bond.
He intended to make a whole lot of other Thunderball remakes to compete against eon productions James Bond.
Octopussy came out at the exact same time as never say never again. Sean Connery and Roger Moore were about the same age. But because octopussy was an original story and was an official James Bond film it's outdid never say never again in the theater. That's why there's never been another remake of Thunderball or an unofficial James Bond movie.
My first James Bond movie! And the first time I heard the saying "never say never".
Sean Connery was the best James Bond... proof here
Imagine designing a game and giving it the ability to fatally electrocute the players. You've got to appreciate the mind behind that.
“His hair looks almost white”
Yeah….’his’ hair 🤣
Steven Seagal did the rehearsal for martial art fights and broke Sean Connery’s Wrist
It's not so much a remake of the Thunderball movie, but a second interpretation of the Thunderball novel.
Klaus Maria Brandauer who played Largo has a few roles but his most memorable was in Out Of Africa starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, directed by Sydney Pollack. Yes, a great movie recommendation here.
Pollack is another great director and actor you should look up. From Tootsie (1982), director and actor, to Three Days Of The Condor, (1975), Pollack directed, starring Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway (Network), and more of Max Von Sydow, a lot more playing a cool calm assassin.
Good reaction and review here but love to hear your thoughts on those Craig Bond movies. Lump them together or something. Thank you, and.....have fun!!!
Have you seen Mephisto with Brandauer?
@@fritzkaraldo8452 No, I haven't but I should give it a try.
Glad you liked it; way more than I expected. IMO it's way better than Thunderball was; that movie had too many boring patches and not enough epic moments imo. It's when Bond was at it's most popular but not the series' finest hour. This one fixed a lot of things it did wrong and made it better. Love the villains: Brandaeur as Largo is very, very underrated for what he was given. He didn't have the most time to grow the character out but what he did have he made it work amazingly well. The freakout scene is one of the most human scenes a Bond villain has had. His Largo is more sad to watch, Celi's Largo was just a bland douchebag. When he goes all evil it doesn't 100% work due to Klaus being such a likeable dude but he nailed the psychological side well. Carerra as Blush is the hidden gem though, one of the more iconic baddies of Bond and babes in the movies. She doesn't get the credit she deserves imo, she not only is a hoot to watch but she added so much life to the role. You could tell she was enjoying it.
Bassinger is very blah here; she was just learning the craft here and it shows. She was solid eye candy though. I really love the side cast. Fox was a solid douchbag M, love the guy they got as Q.. I mean Algeron lol. He deserved way more time. Moneypenny's actress was awful but she seemed like a nice lady none the less. I really adore Bernie Casey here as Felix and he is imo one of the best ones to do it. I wish he had more time to play with it but it really makes me happy to know Sean wanted Bernie and fought for him. He and Sean had great chemistry together.
The behind the scenes stuff is really interesting. Their were legal issues aplenty so they had to be careful over everything. Talia Shire's husband's company produced it and it was a crap show. He wasn't ready to helm a blockbuster and they were always low on money. Kirschner was the third or 4th choice to make it; they really wanted Richard Donner to do it this was post Superman but he declined as he found the script bad and not worth it. They then tried Peter Hunt who made OHMSS but he declined out of loyalty to Cubby. Irvin had Empire Strikes Back and was the hot pick. He wasn't a good fit and argued with the producer. Connery and the producer really despised each other. He more or less called it a joke of a production and his arguments angered Talia so much that she ended up going up to Sean and straight up asked him "Why do you hate my husband so much?" He apologized for a lot of it but the experienced stunk so bad that he never had any successful luck with anything after.
Sean had a lot of pull and more or less picked the actors and made important decisions. It works well for the most part. The score is awful of course; they had a great theme song by Phyllis Hyman which imo is the best one not to be picked and it got beat out by that awful cringe worthy song by Lani Hall.. yuck. The score is just horrendously bad; I cringe thinking about it. The sets also look super cheap and not aged well. It feels WAY more cheaper than it was budgeted.
People really loved this in 1983; a lot it was due to Sean's return I'm sure but people really seemed to love the action and ideas it had. Octopussy to a lot of people seemed bland and cliched due to Roger's long tenure. It hasn't aged well to me much in a lot of ways; this one holds up better besides the budget and score. Sean's return was an ace in the hole no one really used to it's full potential. It did help revive his career; we got that glory run due to this movie. We have to be thankful for it due to that.
Here's the SUPERIOR song in every way SHAN with proper editing we were all used to:
th-cam.com/video/9uU4j84VKoE/w-d-xo.html
I love this one.
The smartest comedic elements of any Bond film, the most believable and creepiest villain, great stunt work, and...
Kim Bassinger.
And yes, the music sucked.
The producers basically only had the rights to the Thunderball story (which included the original use of SPECTRE (compared to the books) which allowed them the use of Blofeld et. al.
A rewatch of the Craig Bond films would be welcome, particularly since you now have a thorough background of the Bond filmography.
The original casino Royale is definitely the influence for Austin Powers and it's hilarious.
Are you talking about the Casino Royale with David Niven and Woody Allen as James Bond?
LOve Bond films & love the Shan reactions. I for one really wish you could do the Danial Craig movies. He is also a great Bond!
the B1 bomber have swept moving wings like the F-14 Tomcat!
Hey did you guys know Sean Connery was bald for Every Bond film? He was wearing a hair piece the entire time. He went bald at a very young age.
Interesting how when Shan was starting the Bond series you had a large group of haters infesting the comments throwing shade at _Octopussy_ and _Never Say Never Again_ , well, Where are they now? 😌🤣😏.
The opening song is the utter sound of 1982.
The script got treated by the writers of the 70's UK sitcom set in a male prison 'Porridge'. The gag about Bond peeing in a sample bottle sat across from it comes from an episode of the show. Dick Clement & Ian Le Frenais never got credited though a lot of the shooting script is by them.
If you know Klaus Maria Brandauer, the actor of Largo in this movie, in a movie and you have a mystery villain in the movie, it's no mystery. While he plays villains great, a mystery about who is the villain is wasted. Not that he is a mystery in this movie.
As for Max von Sydow, he is underutilized in many movies he is in. He has a great, if short appearance in Conan the Barbarian, but the real crime was his appearance in Star Wars VII: The Force awakens. For the man that made Ming the Merciless unforgettable in Flash Gordon, his appearance in a Star Wars movie was downright disrespectful and an atrocity.
Dude you spent half the time talking about Thunderball XD
All jokes aside, I've always liked this movie. It's a sort of "holiday Bond movie", but I still prefer it to a lot of official Bond movies, especially the Moore era. Yes, the music is pretty underwhelming, to say the least. And even when I was a kid, I found the "game" completely silly. But Connery, Brandauer, the beauty of Basinger, a few great action pieces and a good sense of humor make up for it.
Sean Connery had a falling out with Cubby Broccoli, did this out of spite a bit, at least they both made up before Cubby went!
22:30: ''too similar to the original for my tastes', they didn't take any risks at all...'
That, is almost perfectly in line with my best friend's 'rule' when it comes to tracks which are cover versions: In order to be 'legit', it needs to actually be different from the original, and add something different which the original track did not have. For example, A female artist/group re-recording a track by a male artist/group, with no changes in tone, style, etc, would fail to meet the criteria, because it doesn't 'add anything'. And I suspect that is what you mean here. I always considered Never Say Never to be one of the weakest Bond films, but now as an adult, and knowing a bit more of the behind the camera shenanigans, I think that the issue, is really one of the copyright aspects, and, had they been able to give it the full 'Eon Bond treatment', I suspect that the things which were weaknesses, such as no 'Bond Theme' at crucial moments, an unidentified watch, etc, those things would have simply not occured, and I think that had those issues been resolved so that the licensing was all kosher, I suspect it actually would have been a pretty good film 😊😊😊😊 If I'm honest, I never liked Thunderball anyway, and I much prefered Klaus Maria Brandauer as Largo, and his creepy little spank-booth behind the dance studio, because, hey, why not have some seedy viewing while working on Evil Schemes... 🤣🤣🤣🤣😁😁😁😁 At least, there was no 'penchant for buggery', like in Austin Powers (or in the Novelization of From Russia With Love, where it was outright stated that General Gogol wanted Bond 'face down' in an interrogation room... 😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😑😑😑😑 Equally, Rupert Everett wanted to play Bond in a movie where Bond was full-on gay... That could have been quite interesting, and, although not so much now, when he said about it in the 90s, Everett would have been perfect to play Bond 👍👍👍👍
Hey Shan! Another Good movie! Can I request a few movies? Just suggestions 🤔 ..
- *“PRIMAL FEAR” From (1996), “THE TOWN” From (2010), “PRISONERS” From (2013), “SIDEWAYS” From (2004)* 🍷
I'd recommend the movie "FX" or "Gotcha"... Hahaha
This was the first Bond movie I ever saw, and it probably warped me for life. I feel sad that it's just a real missed opportunity - in a different universe this could have been a great film, but instead we're left with this vindictive and sloppy version. Nonetheless, I rate Fatima Blush as on of the best Bond girls of all time.
Largo and Fatima Blush in this film are two of the best Bond villains
I honestly prefer the original Largo.
Max Von Sydow was used more here than he was in Conan. Still great even in small roles.
The only remake i know of that have the same actor as the original
Monty Norman wrote the Bond theme.
Fun fact, the health farm killer is plated by the same actor Pat Roach, as the German mechinic in Raiders of the lost ark.
And the big thugee in _Temple of Doom_ and a Gestapo agent in _The Last Crusade._
This movie has always gotten crap as a weak entry in the series or not even part of the series. I’ve always enjoyed it though. Used to watch it on HBO back in the day.
Back then I never got tired of watching this film.
Something that always bugged me is how... bland and unambitious this movie feels. It had a substantially higher budget than "Octopussy" but looks cheaper. It was directed by Irvin Kershner (who did "The Empire strikes back") and had cinematography by Douglas Slocombe (who lensed the original "Indiana Jones"-Flicks) but neither direction nor camerawork stands out. Michel Legrand was an established and experienced Film Composer who won three Academy Awards but his Score is horribly misjudged. And it had a great cast, but aside from Connery (who effortlessly slipped back into the role and had a lot of fun here, I think he did better work here than in his last two official Bond-Outings), Barbara Carrera (overacing at its finest) and Klaus Maria Brandauer (whose Largo is effectively creepy), they are either underused (Edward Fox, Max von Sydow) or bland (Kim Basinger).
I like Connerys' performance and most of his lines. I like the Fist Fight in the Spa (its sad that Pat Roach was never in an Official Bond-Film because he makes for an effective henchman), I like the Motorcycle Chase, the Q Scene and a few other bits... but still, when compared to the Official entries in this Franchise, it ranks near the bottom for me.
Should have been a much better film with the budget, tools and the talent they had
Kershner has suggested that the production's legal troubles had a significant impact on the film's quality. I can believe it, and I bet that this director could have made a much better film if he had been working for Eon rather than for Taliafilm.
Can't believe you cut the horse jump. 😕Actually I can.... 🙈
Late to the party......
Just putting it out there that another movie that some see as another unofficial Bond movie is 1996's The Rock, there's a TH-cam video that could explain the connection better and if you end watching the movie you should also check that out, even if you don't watch it as a Bond movie it's still a fun movie to watch with a few explosions too.
Decent movie thanks Shan! Also 1981 “Outland” with Sean Connery is much better in my opinion, really interesting space Sheriff film, thanks again!
This is my favourite connery bond film.....I know thats not a good thing but the earlier bond films never did it for me.
really wished u watched casino roy\le
Choked, without air!
Shan watching
The Bond Score is bad but I do like the music for the Tango Scene
Ya never really know Fatima Blush also probably is physically strong💪enough/physically tough 😤 enough of a fighter/villainess 2 survive/withstand being hit in the back torso/chest torso/on the sides torso by more than 8 8×22mm Nambu pistol rounds (bullets), more than 6 ricocheted .44 Magnum pistol rounds (bullets) from her own Smith & Wesson 29, more than 30 .45 ACP pistol rounds (bullets), more than 20 7.62×39mm rifle rounds (bullets), more than 10 .303 rifle rounds (bullets), more than 15 .44 Rimfire (RF) rifle rounds (bullets) & more than 5 7.92x57mm Mauser rifle rounds (bullets) without bulletproof/bullet resistant armor vest right 2 the point in the drive thru tunnel of Motorcycle/Bike Chase Scene Bond takes the Beretta 93R from 1 of her underlings as he's clearly/obviously going 2 shoot her in the chest with it Fatima Blush without bulletproof/bullet resistant armor vest is in a way like you'll never have enough bullets 2 kill me Mister Bond/I'm far 2 strong 💪/tough 😤 4 my underlings bullets Mister Bond no matter how many/much of them ya empty in2 my chest he shoots her burst fire mode using up most of the bullets then single shot mode multiple/several times in the chest with that same Beretta 93R she cackles like a hyena & continues cackling after/when getting hit in the chest by every round/more than every round from her underlings Beretta 93R hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Rowan Atkinson was famous long before Mr. Bean.
Bond didn't skip *head* day.
Legally, they could only make a straight up remake.
The beginning and ending is poor but the middle section is quite enjoyable. Particularly any scenes with Fatima Blush who is played marvellously over the top. Kim Basinger is too young and looks like she could be Connerys grand daughter
if it has lasers on it's head I'm going to laugh.
It's fun that you are checking out the non-official Bond films. Casino Royal is in a world of its own - no way to prepare you for it other than to say "Just Enjoy". David Niven, Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, Orson Wells and Woody Allen are all in it. I look forward to your reaction when you do find it.
They couldn’t use any of it. The original stuff was protected under United artist and the franchise
Largo's actor Klaus Maria Brandauer was originally cast as Marko Ramius in The Hunt for Red October before Connery took over the role.
18:15 - if I remember correctly this is Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer
Good reaction & review, Shan, as always :) As a great fan of Sean Connery I watched this movie in theater in 1983. I enjoyed it but it was not the Bond-feeling. Klaus Maria Brandauer is an Austrian actor and was very well known in Germany and - of course - in Austria. He also starred in Out of Africa (1985) with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford; won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for an Oscar. Brandauer co-starred with Connery again in The Russia House (1990).
Connery was in this movie 52
👉 _Outland_ (1981) - for *prime* early '80s Connery, you'd like this sci-fi action classic from Peter Hyams _(2010: The Year We Make Contact)._ Takes place in the _Alien / Blade Runner_ "universe".
_NSNA_ - brave man. Not without it's charms, Kirschner captures some Bond-esque flair in the camerawork & Connery is in better shape here than in _DAF_ but it's tough to be a Bond film without the mystique of the traditional EON elements.
I’ve been requesting Outland for over a year, I love that movie.👍
It's not great. For me the highlight is Barbara Carrera as Fatima Blush. She's fab and clearly having a ton of fun. Sadly she gets offed far too soon though.
Barbara Carrera made this movie special for me. Her enthusiasm for the role shone through a few times. Glamorous too.
Actually the very first “Casino Royal” and the very first appearance of Bond on screen is a 1954 production from an anthology series called Climax. Bond is played by American actor Barry Nelson. th-cam.com/video/ztsXWp0nj2c/w-d-xo.html