From Russia With Love

From Russia With Love, the second James Bond film released in 1963 starring Sean Connery again, has always ranked among my favourite of the series. What it lacked in tropical locations from its predecessor, it made up for in a great Cold War espionage focused story that followed the book closely and generally improved on the original on all fronts. This was still Ian Fleming's 1950s era Bond before the series moved with the times into the 1960s so for fans of the books, this is as close to an authentic period adaptation as we'll ever see. That is not to say the films would never do better but it is interesting to note as the franchise transformed over the decades to follow.

For many Bond fans, their ranking of the films can vary with each viewing; some have improved with age while others such as Die Another Day sit still as one of the weakest. FRWL has never really faltered in the few viewings I've had, it's always remained a consistent favourite but I was curious if I just had rose-tinted memories and if it would hold-up this time.

Dropping the chronological order of the books, FRWL sees Bond follow a supposed trap to Turkey where he hopes to meet a KGB agent, Tatiana Romanova, who plans to defect and bring with her a Soviet encryption device. This has all been orchestrated behind the scenes by S.P.E.C.T.R.E who plan to avenge their fallen comrade Dr. No and assassinate Bond by their own agent Red Grant, played by an almost albino blonde Robert Shaw.

Much like the book, FRWL has all the makings of a great spy thriller and no other Bond film has handled the 'espionage' elements better. Fleming wrote from what he knew and had experienced when it came to the Russian plotline, and director Terence Young succeeds in creating an engaging experience while operating on a smaller scale when compared to future Bond films. This means we're missing a few staples of the franchise such as a villainous lair and other quirks that we'd soon see in the next film, Goldfinger, but we still get a few humorous one-liners that keep the film entertaining. We're also treated to a great score by John Barry and the excellent Matt Monro who sings the film out in the closing credits. 

FRWL also boasts a terrific cast with Robert Shaw as Red Grant who makes for a perfect villain and his showdown with Bond is probably the best action sequence of the film, and a highlight from the whole series. Lotte Lenya was also a great choice as a KGB villain Rosa Klebb, neatly capturing Fleming's description of the cruel member of S.P.E.C.T.R.E. But the real standout is Pedro Armendáriz as the larger-than-life Kerim Bey who serves as Bond's local informant in Turkey and plays-off neatly against Connery's dour agent. Armendáriz was sadly battling against a terminal illness during filming but this is hardly noticeable and he leaves us with a great performance, although one he'd never get to see for himself on the big screen. 

Young's direction and the work with the crew during the troubled shoot ultimately leave us with a far more grounded Bond film that might not appeal to those who prefer to see the character against a larger scale but that still makes it no less exciting. The film does have its flaws though, particularly after the great Orient Express scenes when it quickly loses energy with a few tapped-on action sequences in order to attempt to spice things up but these are hardly as memorable. We're still also in the time when most of Bond's female co-stars were dubbed which is very distracting here with Daniela Bianchi and it ages the film.

I wouldn't say FRWL has aged badly in my last viewing and it still ranks as maybe my favourite of Connery's Bond films. The slower pace might not be for everyone as the series was still finding itself but this is still an easy recommendation if you're new to Bond and want to see how the series began.