From Russia with Love

It's unbelievable how this film from 1963, which was already completely different in terms of filmmaking, managed to inspire and captivate me. Bond's lines and grimaces haven't aged even after 50 years. Some effects are naturally clunky, but the can be tolerated thanks to the pace and strong script. Excellent villains, a fantastic fight on a train, and above all, an incredible pace. Compared to the first installment, it's a huge leap forward. I expected to watch it more out of obligation, but I devoured it with unexpected enthusiasm. Even back then, they were able to beautifully utilize the settings – Istanbul and Venice – with a sense for excellent cinematography. (23/12/2013)

The most genuine spy film of all the Bond films. Connery's Bond met his match in Robert Shaw. SPECTRE and the Soviet Union got a proper hammering, without unnecessary frantic action scenes. It definitely belongs to the best of this genre. (03/08/2016)

The best Bond movie with Sean Connery. Or rather... The best Bond movie ever. Significantly different that the rest and more of a classic cloak-and-dagger movie. However it’s the most serious one and thrilling at the same time, a bit tongue in cheek with a lot of action and also quite realistic in places. For instance the fight in the train compartment is the type of a physical action which you don’t usually find in a standard Bond movie (well at least not until Craig’s arrival). (17/11/2004)

For a film that takes nearly an hour to really get going, and that the villains don't come up with a megalomaniacal plan to destroy half the world, it's still interesting throughout. This fact is aided by Young's brisk direction and the cleverly simple script that doesn't offer much in the way of action sequences, but I give respectful kudos for those few bits; particularly Bond's fight with Grant on the train is something that, given its physicality, is something that Bourne needed to rediscover 40 years later. (14/01/2012)

After the famous success of Dr. No, the Saltzman-Broccoli production duo thought about which book would be best suited as a continuation of Agent 007's triumphant journey on the silver screen. In the end, a rather unexpected factor spoke for From Russia with Love... J. F. Kennedy declared this book one of his favorites, sales rose, and guys from MGM knew what to do. And so, six months after the Cuban atomic crisis, a film appeared in movie theatres in which Russia and the West stand unknowingly on one side of the barricade, manipulated by the clever gambit of the Czechoslovak Kronsteen and the SPECTRE organization, headed by the mysterious Blofeld (note that there is a question mark next to his name in the headlines). The plot is very well tangled this time, but as a result it a fades out (or rather into other episodes). The myth of James Bond as a super agent is beginning to take shape, with Q, a multipurpose briefcase and a camera-recorder appearing on the scene, and yet this film takes place even more in the intentions of a classic spy film. A lot of dialogue, a few sympathetically-flowing action sequences (especially the fistfight with Grant on the express is worth it), even more ticklish scenes than in Dr. No, a beautiful Bond girl with a Russian accent... and a slightly weaker Connery, who just shadows his famous performance from the first movie. However, From Russia with Love has one of the best entangled stories of all the Bond movies and, of course, a sheer 1960s atmosphere, so I can't give less than Dr. No... actually, yes I can....a debut is a debut. Terence Young just knew how to make Bond movies. ___ Bond song: "From Russia with Love" (Matt Monro) (29/10/2004)