From Russia with Love (James Bond) [Blu-ray]

This stylish second entry in the Bond franchise features a less cold-blooded, more dashing 007, played to the hilt with campy savoir faire by the ever-classy Connery. Young streamlines the action, too, and in the absence of fancy gadgets (those came later), gave audiences thrilling, well-orchestrated chases and clashes, culminating in a heart-racing death match between Connery and deadly, dyed-blond assassin Shaw aboard the Orient Express. The kittenishly seductive Romanova is fetching as Bond's dicey love interest, but German chanteuse Lenya has the most fun springing poisonous blades from her shoes. Racy, exhilarating, and loads of fun, "Love" breathes flashy new life into Ian Fleming's classic novel.

From Russia With Love set the stage for all the James Bond movies that followed. With an excellent startup from Dr. No, James Bond gets into full swing battling SPECTRE up and down Europe, and has one of the best Bond fights on the Orient Express. Beautiful women, tough bad guys and just the right amount of Bond toys make it one of the best James Bond movies of them all!

Brimming with tension, suspense, and understated cool, From Russia with Love is one of the very best movies in the entire James Bond series. The plot, which revolves around the criminal organization SPECTRE and its attempt to steal a Soviet codemaking machine by manipulating and ultimatley murdering a certain British secret agent (guess which one), is clever and engrossing. Part of the movie's charm comes from simply watching SPECTRE's plan unfold. The film is also incredibly atmospheric: Bond travels to a lush, decedant Istanbul before heading back west on a train trip that hangs heavy with mystery and paranoia.

Sean Connery is, of course, incredible. To put it plainly, the guy simply IS James Bond. He's in complete command of the character, playing his role with absolute confidence, brimming with wit, charm, and ruthless intelligence. Connery's Bond is mesmerizing, his performance a masterpiece. The rest of the cast is fantastic as well: Lotte Lenya is unforgettable as the brutal Colonel Rosa Kleb, playing her part with relentless authority and barely subdued insanity. Ditto for Robert Shaw, whose portrayal of ruthless assassain Donald "Red" Grant is fiery and intense. Shaw turns his charater into an omen, a source of constantly escalating tension and nervous energy. Pedro Armendariz is superb as the exuberant, friendly, and loveable Kerim Bey, who befriends and assists Bond in Istanbul. The film also contains the first appearance of Desmond Llewelyn as Q, one of the series' most beloved characters (he'd appear in every subsequent Bond film until 1999's The World is Not Enough).

Throw in John Berry's tension-filled soundtrack and some of the sharpest one-liners ever found in a Bond film and you've got an absolute classic, and one of the finest entries in an excellent series.

It is almost hard to imagine, given the immense critical acclaim it has received, that FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE almost failed to make it to the big screen and could have caused the end of the series. Instead, largely thanks to the ingenuity of director Terence Young and film editor Peter Hunt, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE topped the success of the first film and solidified the success of the James Bond series in a single blow. Widely considered to be one of the best films of the entire series (if not the best), FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE manages to get everything right. Sean Connery is at his finest in this picture, confident in his sophomore performance. The plot is intricate and the action is well-paced. Indeed, not only was the second James Bond film a wonderful action movie, it was a good movie in its own right.

After the famous "gun barrel" sequence at the top of the film, we are treated to the first pre-credit `teaser" and made to believe that James Bond just might be killed. Initially planned as a later scene, editor Peter Hunt decided to show it before the credits as he completely reworked the order of the first twenty minutes of the film. Lasting only three minutes or so, it works perfectly to draw us once again into the dangerous world of Bond. It would, of course, set the tone for the Bond films to come, as the opening "teaser" would gradually become more and more elaborate, taking on a world of its own. The opening credits that follow are more stylized than in DR. NO, as we see the credits cast across the half-clothed bodies of women dancing (tying in a "gypsy" theme that is repeated later in the film). The music is a slightly re-worked version of the Bond theme by John Barry, including the "From Russia With Love" theme--the first ever popular song in a Bond film.

The plot begins with a nod to the Spassky/Bronstein chess match of 1960, widely considered one of the most inspired, brilliant chess matches of all time. Our competitors are Czechoslovakian Kronsteen and Canadian MacAdams. Kronsteen (Vladek Sheybal), whom we later find out is a member of the secret organization SPECTRE, receives a message mid-match informing him that he is required at once. Immediately, he makes his move, uncovering a deadly discovered check. MacAdams resigns and immediately Kronsteen is whisked off to a private, luxury yacht that serves as the command post for SPECTRE. It is here that we are introduced to Ernst Stavro Blofeld (or his hands, at any rate). Blofeld is the leader of SPECTRE and referred to, mysteriously, only as Number One. He busies himself watching Siamese Fighting Fish, explaining to Number Three, Soviet defector Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya), the parallel between the deadly fish fight and his current evil plans. Kronsteen enters the room and we learn that he is Number Five. Kronsteen, known for his brilliant chess play, has devised an evil plan that is perfect. He has considered every move and countermove and all that is required is proper execution.

The plan is wonderfully complex for a James Bond film and might seem rather down-to-earth compared to the evil plots of the later Bond films. As in DR. NO, there are no immediate plans of world domination. Instead, as demonstrated in the Siamese Fish Fight, suppose that two fish fight it out to the death. At the end of the fight, the victor will have exhausted himself and will not be able to fend off a third party who swoops in at the right moment for the kill. Kronsteen plans to lure the British Secret Service and Russia into a deadly game, making each to think that the other is the true enemy, all the while disguising the true puppeteer--SPECTRE. The bait is a Soviet Lektor decoding machine. The British Secret Service will jump at the chance to get their hands on such a machine and, no doubt, will send James Bond to retrieve it, allowing SPECTRE to exact revenge for the killing of Dr. No. All that is needed is a Russian agent to assist in getting the machine out of Turkey. This is where the newly defected Rosa Klebb comes in. Posing in her former role as a Soviet agent, Klebb enlists the help of Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi), who believes that she is working for mother Russia. Bond and MI6 will smell a trap, but will be forced to investigate the matter. And while Russia and Britain are trying to figure out each other's aims and motivations, SPECTRE will control the whole plan, like an elaborate chess game, using each as pawns for its own goals. While the British and Russians battle it out for the decoding machine, SPECTRE will swoop in and capture it for themselves.

As you can tell, no world domination is planned here. Just a little theft, blackmail, and revenge. While many people have found FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE to be a little slow-paced, it is precisely this down-to-earth style that lends the film genuine authenticity and appeal. I won't belabor the plot any further. Suffice it to say that what evolves is a wonderful series of events, elaborately controlled by SPECTRE, in which both the British and the Russians try to figure out what is going on. Everything is pulled off in fine style and the film works, so long as you keep track of exactly who is doing what to whom.

Ultimately, it is the memorable characters that make FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE so enjoyable. In particular, while the film gives us several villains to feast upon, the best is Red Grant (Robert Shaw). A homicidal maniac who has recently escaped to join SPECTRE, Red Grant is the man we recognize from the opening teaser of the film in which he strangles "Bond" with expert efficiency. What makes Red so compelling is the fact that he is so understated. Rather than rely on complicated devices or ridiculous ploys to tackle his opponents, Red is simply an efficient assassin--a man worthy of James Bond himself. Red is truly one of Bond's equals. He plays Bond's "guardian angel" throughout the film, making sure that everything goes according to SPECTRE's plans. When Bond and he finally meet in the climactic train fight (a fight known for its brutality and complexity), it is a true battle or equals. I only wish more villains of Red Grant's ability had come along later in the series. I was almost sad to see him go. But Bond must prevail.

Tatiana Romanova is our new Bond girl and she pulls off the part in fine style. Although not nearly as interesting as Ursula Andress in DR. NO, Tatiana manages to play her part convincingly and is the first Bond girl that is on the same playing field as Bond, given that she is a Russian agent. Of course, this does not stop Bond from winning her over and charming her into defecting. It would prove a constant challenge to the James Bond series to try and create an equal for Bond and a compelling love interest, while still allowing for the action to drive the story. And, of course, I can't review a Bond film without mentioning Sean Connery's fabulous performance of the protagonist. Connery looks far more confident in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and now seems to wear Bond's grace & wit naturally. When we first meet him in the film, we find him romancing Sylvia Trench, a woman we first met in DR. NO. She establishes the time of FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE as occurring six months after his previous adventure. Connery is as smooth as ever with the ladies and seems even more relaxed than in his first adventure. Wonderfully understated, Sean Connery manages to deliver all of the dry one-liners with perfect taste and there is nothing campy about them. The romance is all hinted at and nicely done. Connery truly is the best Bond. No question.

Major Boothroyd (later known only as "Q") makes his second appearance in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, this time played by Desmond Llewelyn. Of course, Llewelyn would go on to reprise the role a record seventeen times. This time, Q is armed with the first official Bond gadget: a Swiss-army briefcase containing a compact folding rifle, forty rounds of ammunition, fifty gold sovereigns to serve as currency and bribery money in a pinch, a hidden throwing knife, and (most importantly) a defensive mechanism designed to harm those who try and open the case. If the case is opened improperly, a can of tear gas explodes, disabling prying eyes. Naturally, the gadget is put to full use later in the film, where the circumstances just happen to require its unique properties.

On the whole, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE features more action than DR. NO, and yet many complain that it is slow-paced. The meeting of Red Grant and Bond on the train is the best action sequence in the entire film and is one of the most brutal encounters Bond would ever have on screen. In fact, the spectacular helicopter chase and boat chase that round out the end of the film pale in comparison to the suspense generated in the close quarters of the Orient Express. For my tastes, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE is perfectly paced and the film divides into several neat chapters.

If you're a fan of Bond films or espionage films in general, it doesn't get better than FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. Buy it today and don't delay. Just make sure that you skip this version for the Ultimate Edition DVD's.

I am really concerned about this being number 18 on the lists of bond films. I thought it was one of the best. The reason why I think it is because the many awesome characters-James Bond, Red Grant, Kerim Bay, and Tatiana Romanova. Another reason is all the cool things that happenned- the exact same face as OO7 gets killed as a training tool by the disturbed mind of Red Grant, a helicopter, a meeting with Red Grant on a train, etc. It is better than "A View To A Kill," I can tell you that!

P.S. Good enough to buy too.