Bond VI - On Her Majesty's Secret Service

This is the one Bond film I've never seen so there will be more notes. One predictable Bond thing is that the movies get too gadgety and then reset. So this more straightforward movie was a bit necessary after the borderline silliness of You Only Live Twice.

Before watching the film I watched a bit of the DVD extras to hear about the Connery/Lazenby thing.
Not only is Lazenby an Australian who played a Brit, he now has an American accent. He sounds a lot like Mel Gibson and is a handsome gent. Heck, he wasn't even an actor before OHMSS and, well, he seems like an awful genial fellow given the flack he took.
It's worth bearing in mind that while the film didn't do as well as the Connery flicks it was still a box office success.

Anyway:
-The opening theme is a bit groovier. During the opening they take their time showing his face, keeping him in sillhouette mostly. My first impression is that Lazenby is a leaner, suaver guy...doesn't seem dangerous, per se. But he fights okay.

-Two oddities during the opening are the wonky day-for-night shooting and the car making a brake screech when it stops on the sandy beach.
And, of course, the big third oddity which is Bond losing the girl, looking at the camera and saying, "This never happened to the other guy." It's a bit on the nose but they pull it off okay.
-You can always tell a classy casino by the purple wallpaper. (And they're playing my fave game - "BANCO!" which I think is just baccarat.)

You can also tell, throughout this film, that it's 1969. The peculiar fashions are creeping in around the edges. Witness Bond's silly, frilly tux shirt which will eventually be followed by an odd Austin Powersy getup/kilt.

-Diana Rigg, who I really only know from The Great Muppet Caper is a heck of a looker.

-Her character's father is pretty messed though. I gather this from the fact that he tells Bond that his daughter, "Needs someone to make love to her, to dominate her!" And from the fact that, later on, he will punch her and knock her out. No hard feelings, however.

-Bond almost resigns! He and M need to communicate better. They're both lucky to have Moneypenny around.

-The opening theme, by the way, had no lyrics. Given the film's title that was probably a smart choice. Now, however, we get a Louis Armstrong love song (nice) and a lovey montage (weird).
-Bond's safecracking machine is the only gadget in the movie. Plus he steals a Playboy. Slick.

-I had no idea M collected butterflies. What a sissy.

-The alpine scenery in this flick is as gorgeous as in any Bond movie so far. Overall this seems to be the most cinematic so far with some nice camera work, purty shots and even a li'l flashback.

-Blofeld's lair, Piz Gloria is cool too. Apparently it's actually a resaturant that let them film there when they proimsed to finish building it. It's STILL a restaurant and they kept the Piz Gloria name.
-There are about 20 hot girls (each a cultural stereotype) in Blofeld's lair and they all think that Bond (in disguise!) is gay. So he hooks up with the Brit chick who, with all due respect, is the least-hot one there. Luckily he makes up for this by making two double entendres (one about having four gold balls and another about some stiffness coming on) and then by screwing a second chick on the same night. Take THAT Connery!

-Blofeld! Finally! And it's...Telly Savalas? This is probably the only time I've seen that guy ACT. Mostly he's just a joke. And he's not bad. He's not a cartoony creep like Donald Pleasance was - plus he smokes his ciggies in this cool, European way. He doesn't seem very EEEVIL but that's okay.

-After Bond gets knocked out there is a weird montage that could only have been filmed between 1969 and, say, 1972. Then he wakes up, makes a daring, sweet escape and gets into a nice smackdown of a fight.

-Skiing that fast at night is dangerous. Luckily they're in front of a bluescreen. The skiing footage here is about as cool as the SCUBA footage in Thunderball. Well done. Bond even invents the snowboard when one of his skis is broken.

-I just drove in a winter storm so the whole smashup derby on ice seems a bit redundant, but it's well done. All of the action here is. It's enough, in general, that you really don't miss Connery.
-Bond proposes - showing how truly whipped he is. I already know that it doesn't end well (it's the one thing I know about this film).

-I like that Blofeld goes in with the troops and if the avalanche he triggers seems a bit much, at least it looks cool. That doesn't excuse him missing a wide open shot at Bond back in his lair, however.

-I can't believe that dude has a bobsled run for escaping! If there's something more dangerous than skiing at night it's driving a bobsled and turning around to shoot someone. Asking for trouble, I tell ya.

-The wedding is nice but then...she gets killed. And the director cut the takes where Lazenby cried (chickens!). I knew she died but I can't believe that's how it ENDS. Damn, that's harsh.
-Luckily, I've checked ahead and by the beginning of the next film (with Connery) he's over it.

-Overall, Lazenby did a great job. Another film or two and he could have been a very solid Bond. He got a bum rap and whatever his flaws it's lame they went back to Connery who (I'm guessing) just did it for the money.