FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (FILM)

'''From Russia with Love''', released in 1963, is the second film in the James Bond series, and the second to star Sean Connery as MI6 agent James Bond. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. In the film, James Bond is sent to Turkey to assist in the defection of Corporal Tatiana Romanova, where SPECTRE plans to avenge the killing of Dr. No.
From Russia with Love is considered one of the best films in the James Bond series by many critics.^[1] Michael G. Wilson, the current co-producer of the series, stated "We always start out trying to make another ''From Russia with Love'' and end up with another ''Thunderball''." In 2004, ''Total Film'' magazine named it the ninth-greatest British film of all time.^[2]
In 2005, the film was adapted into a video game, ''. Produced by Electronic Arts, the game featured all-new voice work by Sean Connery as well as his likeness and those of several of the film's supporting cast.

Contents

Plot

Cast

Production

Soundtrack

Release and reception

Video game adaptation

References

External links

Plot

In a mansion garden late at night, James Bond is alternately stalking and being stalked by a tall, blonde assassin. Bond is captured and strangled violently to death by the man named Red Grant, using a garrot wire hidden in a watch. Suddenly, huge floodlights switch on and the dead person turns out to be a man wearing Bond's disguise. This completes SPECTRE's training exercise.

Kronsteen, a chess grandmaster and SPECTRE's planner has devised a plot to steal a Lektor decoding device from the Russians, and teach the British Secret Service a lesson for foiling their operative Dr. No's plans. Ex-SMERSH operative Rosa Klebb is placed in charge of the mission by the megalomaniac Blofeld and has already chosen a female operative, a Russian cypher clerk at the Istanbul embassy. Klebb departs to SPECTRE Island, the organisation's secret training base, and approves Red Grant as an assassin.
In London, M tells Bond that Tatiana Romanova, the cypher clerk at the Istanbul embassy, has contacted their "Station 'T'" in Turkey, asking to defect with a Lektor cryptographic device, which both MI6 and the CIA have been after for years. She has stipulated that she will only defect to Bond, whose photo she has allegedly found in a Soviet intelligence file. Bond flies to Istanbul to meet station head Ali Karim Bey, and he is followed from the airport both by an unkempt man in glasses, and by Red Grant.
The next day, after Bey's office is bombed, Bond and Bey spy on the Russian embassy using a periscope from an underground tunnel beneath the consulate. Seeing rival agent Krilencu, Bey takes Bond to a rural gypsy settlement, where Bey plans to lay low while deciding how to deal with Krilencu. However the camp is attacked by Krilencu's henchmen, who trigger gunfire and struggles with knives. Grant, lurking nearby, shoots a man who is about to kill Bond. Although he is wounded in the attack, Bey kills Krilencu the next night with Bond's sniper rifle. When Bond returns to his hotel suite, he finds Romanova in bed waiting for him. Bond and Romanova make love, unaware that they are being filmed by Grant and Klebb.
The next day, Romanova heads off for a pre-arranged rendezvous at the Hagia Sophia. Bond follows her and stalks the spectacled man who had followed him at the Istanbul airport. But unbeknown to Bond, the man is killed by Grant. When Bond finds the body, he finds the floor plans for the Russian Consulate that Tatiana was smuggling out for him. Bey and Bond plan to the day to steal the Lektor and smuggle it back to England. On the appointed day, Bond enters the consulate lobby. Immediately, Bey sets off an explosive charge in the chamber beneath the building releasing tear gas. In the resulting chaos, Bond is able to find Romanova and flee with the Lektor on the Orient Express. Bey and a Soviet security officer named Benz, who recognises Romanova, also board the train, but Grant stealthily kills both of them.

The train continues on its journey across southern-central Europe, arriving at Belgrade where Bond arranges for an agent Nash from "Station 'Y'" to meet him at Zagreb. Grant intercepts the real Nash first, boards the train, and meets Bond while impersonating the British operative. He drugs Romanova at dinner with a knock out pill, then overcomes Bond in their cabin. Grant taunts him that SPECTRE has been pitting the Russians and the British against each other. Bond offers to buy his last cigarette for 50 gold sovereigns, luring Grant to open his attaché suitcase, which releases tear gas. In the ensuing fight, Bond stabs Grant with a knife and then uses Grant's garrote wire to strangle him to death. At dawn, Bond and Romanova leave the train, hijack Grant's getaway truck and drive to a dock, eventually boarding a powerboat. Soon, they are chased by a fleet of SPECTRE's boats. When stray bullets puncture several barrels of fuel stored on his boat, Bond throws them overboard. Pretending to surrender, he fires a signal flare into the water, engulfing all the enemy boats in flames.
Bond and Romanova reach Venice and check into a hotel, where Rosa Klebb, disguised as a maid, attempts to steal the Lektor. In the climax, Klebb has Bond at gunpoint but the gun is intercepted by Romanova. Resorting to another plan, she releases her poison tipped toe-blade. Bond takes a dining chair and pins her to the wall with it, narrowly dodging the poison tipped toe-blade. Finally, Romanova takes aim with the gun and fires it at Klebb, killing her. Riding in a gondola, Bond throws the illicit film of him and Romanova into the canal, and they sail away.

Cast

★ 'Sean Connery' as 'James Bond': A British agent sent to Istanbul to obtain the 'Lektor' decoding device.

★ 'Daniela Bianchi' as 'Tatiana Romanova': A junior Russian Army officer forced to seduce 007 by Rosa Klebb, and lure him into the trap.

★ 'Lotte Lenya' as 'Rosa Klebb': A Secret SPECTRE agent.

★ 'Robert Shaw' as 'Donald 'Red' Grant': SPECTRE assassin entrusted with the task of killing Bond.

★ 'Pedro Armendariz' as 'Ali Kerim Bey': MI6's agent in Istanbul.

★ 'Walter Gotell' as 'Morzeny': SPECTRE officer.

★ 'Vladek Sheybal' as 'Kronsteen': Russian chess grand-master and secret SPECTRE planner.

★ 'Bernard Lee' as 'M': The head of British Intelligence. He knows he is sending Bond into a trap, but feels the lure of the 'Lektor' is worth the risk.

★ 'Lois Maxwell' as 'Miss Moneypenny': M's secretary.

★ 'Desmond Llewelyn' as 'Q': Armorer for MI6, and head of 'Q' Section.

★ 'Aliza Gur' as 'Vida': Gypsy girl and rival of Zora.

★ 'Martine Beswick' as 'Zora': Gypsy girl and rival of Vida.

★ 'Eunice Gayson' as 'Sylvia Trench': Bond's girlfriend in London.
The film features the first appearance of Desmond Llewelyn as Major Boothroyd, known as Q, the character he would play in all but two of the series' films until his death in 1999. The Q character appeared in the previous film, ''Dr. No'', portrayed by actor Peter Burton, and addressed by M initially as "Armourer," and as Major Boothroyd by Bond.

Production

As President John F. Kennedy had named Fleming's novel ''From Russia with Love'' among his ten favourite books of all time in ''Life'' magazine, producers Broccoli and Saltzman chose this as the follow-up to the cinematic debut of James Bond, ''Dr. No''. Ian Fleming's novel was a Cold War thriller, however the producers named the crime syndicate SPECTRE instead of the Soviet undercover agency SMERSH so as to avoid controversial political overtones.^[3] The film introduced the standard pre-title sequence and the line "James Bond will return" in the credits.
Although uncredited, the actor who played Ernst Stavro Blofeld, was Anthony Dawson, who had played Professor Dent in the previous Bond film, ''Dr. No''. Blofeld's voice was provided by Viennese actor Eric Pohlmann. In the end credits, Blofeld is credited with a question mark. It is rumoured that author and James Bond creator Ian Fleming plays a cameo in a location train scene, standing outside the train, wearing grey trousers and a white sweater.^[4]
The scene in which Bond finds Tatiana in his hotel bed was used for Daniela Bianchi's screen test, with Dawson standing in, this time, as Bond. The scene later became the traditional screen test scene for prospective James Bond actors. This screen test forms part of the Ultimate Edition DVD series, showing potential candidates auditioning for the role down the years: James Brolin, Sean Bean and Sam Neill along with future 007 Pierce Brosnan. The scene has also been used to audition several James Bond leading ladies, including Maryam D'Abo and Maud Adams.^[5][5]
Director Terence Young's eye for realism was evident throughout production. For the opening chess match, Kronsteen wins the game with a reenactment of Boris Spassky's victory over David Bronstein in 1960. Production Designer Syd Cain built up the "chess pawn" motive in his $150,000 set for the brief sequence. A noteworthy gadget featured was the attaché case issued by the Q-Branch containing a tear gas bomb that detonates if it is improperly opened, and a folding AR-7 sniper rifle with twenty rounds of ammunition. It also had a flat knife and fifty gold sovereigns, the latter being described by Bond so as to lure Grant and detonate the tear gas bomb. A boxer at Cambridge, Young choreographed the fight between Grant and Bond, a scene violent enough to worry some on the production. Yet, Robert Shaw and Connery did most of the stunts themselves. The fact that there was not as much light thrown on gadgets and vehicles as in future films has been critically appreciated, since it benefitted the storyline.
Pedro Armendariz was recommended to Young by director John Ford to play the role of Kerim Bey. After experiencing increasing discomfort on location in Istanbul, Armendariz was diagnosed with inoperable cancer. Filming in Istanbul was terminated, the production moved to England, and Armendariz's scenes were brought forward so that he could complete his scenes without delay. Though visibly in pain, he continued working to film his portions of scenes and post-production sound recording. After returning home, Armendariz took his life while under treatment at the UCLA Medical Center.³

The Hagia Sophia mosque

After the unexpected loss, production proceeded, experiencing complications from rewriting by Richard Maibaum during filming. Editor Peter Hunt set about editing the film while key elements were still to be filmed, helping to restructure the opening scenes. Hunt and Young conceived of moving the training exercise on a Bond double to preface the main title, a signature feature that has been an enduring hallmark of every Bond film since. The briefing with Blofeld was rewritten, and back projection was used to refilm Lotte Lenya's lines.
Behind schedule and over budget, the production crew struggled to complete production in time for the already-announced premiere date that October. On July 6, 1963, while scouting locations in Argyll, Scotland, for that day's filming of the climactic boat chase, Terence Young's helicopter crashed into the lake with Art Director Michael White and a cameraman aboard. The craft sank into 40-50 feet of water , but all escaped with minor injuries. Despite the calamity, Young was behind the camera for the full days' work. A few days later, Bianchi's driver fell asleep during the commute to a 6:00 AM shoot, and the actress' scenes had to be delayed two weeks while her facial contusions healed.
Most of the film was based in Istanbul including the Basilica Cistern and Hagia Sophia, with the initial MI6 office in London, England. SPECTRE Island and the interior scenes of the Orient Express were filmed at Pinewood Studios with some footage of the train. In the film, the train journey was set in Eastern Europe. The journey and the truck ride were shot in Argyll, Scotland, and Switzerland. The end scenes for the film were shot in Venice.

Soundtrack

Main articles: From Russia with Love (soundtrack)

From Russia with is the first Bond film in the series with John Barry as the primary soundtrack composer.^[7] The theme song was composed by Lionel Bart of ''Oliver!'' fame and sung by Matt Monro,^[8] although the title credit music is a lively instrumental version of the tune (segueing into "The James Bond Theme"). Monro's vocal version is later played during the film (as source music on a radio) and properly over the film's end titles.^[8]
In this film, Barry introduced the percussive theme "007" – action music that came to be considered the 'secondary James Bond Theme'. The arrangement appears twice on the soundtrack album; the second version, entitled "007 Takes the Lektor", is the one used during the gunfight at the gypsy camp and also during Bond's theft of the Lektor decoding machine.^[10] The completed film features a holdover from the Monty Norman-supervised ''Dr. No'' music; the post-rocket-launch music from ''Dr. No'' is played in ''From Russia with Love'' during the helicopter and speedboat attacks.

Release and reception

''From Russia with Love'' premiered on October 10, 1963 at the Odeon, Leicester Square in London. The following year, it was released in 16 countries worldwide. It grossed $24 million at the box office.^[11] It was received positively by critics, with many claiming it to be the best Bond film that starred Sean Connery. Lotte Lenya's performance as well as the action scenes along with gadgetry and machinery were highly acclaimed.^[12] On July 29, 2007, it became the first James Bond film to be broadcast on BBC.^[13]
The film's cinematographer Ted Moore won the BAFTA award and the British Society of Cinematographers award for Best Cinematography.^[14] Lotte Lenya stood third at the 1965 Laurel Awards for Best Female Supporting Performance. In the Action-Drama category the film secured second place.^[15]

Video game adaptation

Main articles: From Russia with Love (video game)

Sean Connery as James Bond in the ''From Russia with Love'' video game.

The ''From Russia with Love'' video game was developed by Electronic Arts and released on November 1, 2005 in North America. It follows the storyline of the book and film, albeit adding in new scenes, making it more action-oriented. One of the most significant changes to the story is the replacement of the organization SPECTRE to OCTOPUS because the name SPECTRE constituted a long-running legal dispute over the film rights to ''Thunderball'' between United Artists/MGM and the late writer Kevin McClory. Most of the cast from the film returned in likeness. Connery not only played Bond, but also recorded his voice to the character. Featuring a third-person multiplayer deathmatch mode, the game depicts several elements of the earlier Bond films such as the Aston Martin DB5 from ''Goldfinger'' (1964) and the rocketbelt from ''Thunderball'' (1965).
The game was penned by Bruce Feirstein who previously worked on the film scripts for ''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', ''The World Is Not Enough'', and the 2004 video game, ''. Its soundtrack was composed by Christopher Lennertz and Vic Flick.^[5]
The game begins with a standard pre-title sequence in which Elizabeth Stark, the British Prime Minister's daughter, is kidnapped by OCTOPUS while attending a party. Fortunately, Bond was assigned to attend the party; he defeats OCTOPUS' henchmen and rescues Stark. Soon, OCTOPUS conceives a plan to avenge the death of Dr. Julius No. The plan involves the theft of a Soviet encoding machine known as the Lektor with the help of a defecting Soviet agent, Romanova, being used by OCTOPUS to lure Bond into a trap; their ultimate goal is to let him obtain the Lektor and then ambush and kill him. Romanova is sent by Rosa Klebb, a KGB agent who has secretly defected to OCTOPUS. Her immediate subordinate, Red Grant, protects Bond through the first half of the game and attacks him in the second. The game ends with a final assault on OCTOPUS headquarters.

References

1. From Russia with Love at Rotten Tomatoes URL accessed July 29, 2007
2. Get Carter tops British film poll
3.
4. Does Ian Fleming have a cameo appearance in the film From Russia With Love? Bryan Krofchok
5.
6.
7. "From Russia With Love" (1963) at Soundtrack Incomplete
8. Listology: Rating the James Bond Theme Songs
9. Listology: Rating the James Bond Theme Songs
10.
11. From Russia, with Love (1964)
12. Film reviews at Rambles
13. "From Russia With Love" to make BBC TV debut ''Mi6.co.uk'' URL accessed July 30, 2007
14. Awards at Yahoo Movies
15. Awards won by From Russia with Love
16.

External links

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★ MGM's site on the film