The Spy Who Loved Me

release year: 1977
genre: James Bond
viewing setting: home Bluray 1/21/19 and 4/27/16 and 12/16/12 and home DVD 9/24/06 and home laserdisc 12/12/99

synopsis: British and Soviet subs are vanishing, necessitating teamwork between 007 and the beautiful XXX.

impressions: This is the one - Roger Moore's peak as James Bond. It had all the crucial elements: a gorgeous AND competent heroine, a larger-than-life evil henchman, a colossal evil stronghold, good fights, good chases and stunts and acting and plot...yes. Notable: the opening scene has Bond skiing off a cliff then opening a parachute, submarine-eating tanker, first appearance of Russian "M" equivalent Gogol, "Q" tells it like it is, steel-toothed bad guy Jaws, scenes in Egypt, a shark. One of my favorite parts is where Bond admits to XXX that he killed her lover in Austria.

acting: Roger Moore really hit his stride here. Barbara Bach was simply stunning. Richard Kiel did a good job as Jaws, and the guy who played Stromburg also turned in a fine show.

chase scenes: 1 ski, 1 car, 1 car-turned-into-boat underwater chase

mass fight at end: assorted united sub crews vs Stromburg's goons inside tanker

neat gadgets: microfilm viewer, portable Sea-Doo, and a Lotus that can become a submarine

confirmed Bond kills: 8

confirmed Jaws kills: 2

confirmed Bond seductions: 3, plus a couple more he had his eye on

obnoxious female names: Agent XXX

defining Bond moments:

uses woman as shield against bullets
tosses "out of order" sign on body
ogles Naomi in front of XXX
drives Lotus from underwater up onto beach

quotable:

woman: "But James, I need you!"

Bond: "So does England."

Bond: "When one is in Egypt, one must delve deeply into its treasures."

XXX: "You are very suspicious, Mr. Bond."

Bond: "I find that I live much longer that way."

Bond: "Thanks for deserting me back there."

XXX: "Like you said, every woman for herself."

Bond: "Still, you did save my life."

XXX: "We all make mistakes, Mr. Bond."

Q: (referring to the razor-edged serving tray) "I want that ready for Achmed's tea party."

M: (watching Bond and XXX in bed inside the escape pod) "Bond! What do you think you're doing?"

Bond: "Keeping the British end up, sir."

final word: Moore's best, and one of 007's best, a must-see.

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