The James Bond books had been popular for a while before one was finally turned into a movie with Dr. No. After the success of that movie around the world, it was decided to make a second movie. From Russia With Love built on what had been started with the first movie.
From Russia With Love was set after Dr. No, though I’m not sure exactly how much time was supposed to have passed. The movies had different plots, but there were connected because of SPECTRE, so certain things will make more sense if the movies are watched in order. I will mention a few things that could be spoilers for Dr. No if that movie isn’t watched first.
Number 1, the man in charge of SPECTRE, wanted James Bond taken care of because of how things had worked out with Dr. No. Kronsteen, a master chess player, developed a plan to get rid of Bond that would also allow SPECTRE to get a Russian Lektor decoding machine. Rosa Klebb, Number 3 in SPECTRE, was put in charge of carrying out the plan. She picked Tatiana Romanov, a woman who worked at the Russian embassy in Istanbul, for the mission. Tatiana would claim she wanted to defect and would bring the Lektor with her, but only if she can go with Bond. Tatiana didn’t know that Klebb had defected and believed she was on a mission to help her country.
M and Bond both feel that the situation with Tatiana is a trap, but they couldn’t resist possibly getting a Lektor. Bond traveled to Istanbul where he met Ali Kerim Bey, an agent stationed there. Bond was being followed by Red Grant, a man trained to be an assassin by SPECTRE. Red kept interfering with what was going on, making the British and Russians each think that the other was behind certain acts.
I felt that the plot of From Russia With Love was a bit more complicated than the plot of Dr. No. It was clear right from the beginning that SPECTRE was behind what was going on. A somewhat elaborate plan was developed specifically to go after Bond while also allowing them to get possession of a Lektor machine while also manipulating a Russian agent. SPECTRE was not loyal to any country and would target them all equally if they felt it was necessary to further their own plans. Bond was being singled out because he had managed to take out Dr. No. I did think the plot was believable, especially when taking into considering the fact that it was made during the Cold War.
Instead of just one person as a villain, From Russia With Love had SPECTRE, an organization bent on taking over the world. A man only identified as Number 1 was in control and he put plans in motion through his various agents. The members of the organization came from different countries and they had no allegiance to any country. It was interesting to see that type of villain instead of just having the Russians once again be the bad guys. I have seen this movie a few times over the years on television, but I really noticed certain things in watching it this time that I think were influences on Mike Myers when he created the Austin Powers movies. Dr. Evil was clearly a version of Number 1, down to having a white cat.
From Russia With Love built on things that had been established about Bond in Dr. No while also adding a few new things. The first sequence was shown before the title and opening credits, something that would continue in future movies. The same first shot down a gun barrel was used as was the theme. I don’t remember hearing him order his martini, but I might have missed that. He was still a very suave, elegant man who had a way with women. Miss Moneypenny showed off her crush and all James did was banter with her a bit. James did have a gadget to use in the form of a briefcase that had some very interesting extra features thanks to the Q department and Major Boothroyd, who would be known as Q in the future movies.
There really wasn’t much mystery in From Russia With Love since certain things were predictable. There were only one or two things that I wasn’t sure exactly how they would work out. Even though there really wasn’t much in the way of surprises in the movie, I still thought it was very entertaining and enjoyable. There was a decent amount of action that involved some chases and a fight on a train. There was even a fight between two barely dressed women at one point that really didn’t add anything to the movie. I think there was a little more violence than there had been in the first movie, but it still wasn’t extreme or graphic.
James had his way with more women in From Russia With Love. He was with one woman when he was first contacted about going on the mission, and while not much was shown, it was fairly clear that he took time to have sex with her before reporting to M. Within minutes of first meeting her, James was in bed with Tatiana even though he suspected that she was setting a trap for him. At one point, he and Kerim went to a gypsy camp where they watched two women fight. Later James was with both women and it was strongly suggested that he had sex with both of them that night. Even though not much was shown, it seemed clear to me that he had his way with four different women during the movie. He was so busy bedding women, it was a wonder he had time to do his work. The way he jumped from woman to woman could upset or offend some people.
James was the main character and had the most to do throughout the movie. He was good at his job, though he did make some mistakes at times. I did wonder a few times if he was really that dense about something or just playing along. I did really like Sean Connery in the part. He made James likable despite his flaws. M and Miss Moneypenny turned up briefly again without much for either of them to do. Major Boothroyd also only made a small appearance.
Number 1 was the mysterious man in charge of SPECTRE. He expected a lot out of the members of the organization, and he had some unique punishments if he felt they failed. He was not someone to cross. Only his voice was heard, and he was only shown holding and petting his cat. His face was never shown and must was still a mystery about him by the end of the movie. Rosa Klebb was serving as Number 3 in SPECTRE after she defected from Russia to join the group. She was a hard, deadly, powerful woman who was focused on carrying out the mission. Lotte Lenya was great in the part. Kronsteen was a master chess player who was also part of SPECTRE. He had dreamed up the plan that was targeting James. Kronsteen was only briefly shown, so he wasn’t developed at all.
Tatiana was the young Russian woman that Klebb picked to be the pawn in the plan. Tatiana thought that she was on a mission to help Russia. She had been working in the Russian embassy in Istanbul. She did act too much like an air head at times to make a believable Russian agent working on a secret mission. She didn’t seem as capable as some of the other Bond women from other movies. Daniela Bianchi was fine, but nothing special in the part. The voice for the character was actually provided by Barbara Jefford. Red Grant was a man trained as an assassin by SPECTRE to kill James Bond. He was mostly just shown lurking while following James, so he didn’t have much to do.
Main Cast
Daniela Bianchi - Tatiana Sean Connery - James Bond Bernard Lee - M Lotte Lenya - Rosa Klebb/Number 3 Desmond Llewelyn - Major Boothroyd Lois Maxwell - Miss Moneypenny Robert Shaw - Red Grant
DVD Information
I have the two disc DVD of From Russia With Love that was part of the Ultimate James Bond DVD Set. There is also a short booklet that shared some information about the movie. The first disc has a commentary featuring Terence Young and some of the cast that I haven’t listened to. The rest of the features were on the second disc. Ian Fleming: The CBC Interview was filmed on his estate Goldeneye. The footage was in black and white and featured a narrator sharing some information about Fleming before getting to the interview. The whole thing didn’t last that long.
Ian Fleming & Raymond Chandler Featurette included a recording of the two men talking. There were black and white pictures of the men shown. Special effects were added to some of the pictures, most notably making a cigarette and pipe smoke. That was kind of odd. Ian Fleming on Desert Island Discs had a recording of Fleming talking about different things like his time in the military and the movies being made. There were more pictures shown. An animated story board sequence for a chase late in the movie was shared while the Bond theme played. It ended by showing a few short clips. There was an Interactive Guide to the World of From Russia With Love that would show clips from the movie associated with different things, like the women or villains of the movie.
Inside From Russia With Love featured different people talking about the decision to make a second Bond movie. Different crew members and some of the cast, including Connery and Bianchi, were shown talking about making the movie. The casting was talked about as well as the decision to make SPECTRE the agency in the movie instead of a Russian agency. There were several pictures from the set shared and it was explained how certain things were filmed. Harry Saltzman: Showman was about the man who produced nine of the Bond movies. His children as well as some people who had worked with him were shown talking about him. Saltzman actually came up with ideas that made it into the movies. It ended with a list of movies that he had produced. The trailers and ads that ran on television before the movie was released were also included.
From Russia With Love is considered one of the best Bond movies by many people. It had a strong, interesting plot though I did have some issues with believing Tatiana. The movie is very entertaining and definitely worth watching, especially for fans of other Bond movies.
Sean Connery returns as James Bond in this thrill-a-minute adventure featuring remarkable villains, beautiful women and exotic locales! This time, Bon...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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