Infamously chaotic production with offensively oversized budget, loose and considerably incoherent script, serious continuity errors often supposedly caused by misbehavior of actors (almost always of Peter Sellers), numerous writers and directors working without coordination and with incompatible views. Stated all those bizarre drawbacks, the film is deffinitely much more entertaining and nice than its terrible reputation. Making a camp spoof was not initially intended option, and has been decided after EON refusing to co-produce the movie and after Sean Connery asking for a huge payment to star the film; anyway, it worked somehow and David Niven was a good comedy James Bond. There are many funny moments, particularly in the beginning (the problematic chaos actually worsens in the final part). The very idea that many spies were being murdered by exposing themselves to unnacessery risk due their sexual compulsion was a brilliant one in a mockery version of a 007 movie (and so was the complement: the substitute of original and then retired Bond, using not only his number but also his name, was also a womanizer, just like in all non-spoof movies). I loved Mata Hari Dance and Spy School, a lovely expressionsit black and white set inspired in Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: simply perfect! There are also some nice colourful sets, very representative of the 60's, such as the tiger-themed room and the bright or patterned corridors in the Smersh headquarters. The film follows, in a top level, the franchise tradition of Bond girls, assembling several beautiful and skilled acresses in various roles, such as Deborah Kerr, Joanna Pettet (I loved the whole Orientalist exotic dance scene, with her first appearance and all the other dancers!), Jacqueline Bisset, Barbara Bouchet, Ursula Andress (as Vesper Lynd, five years after Dr. No!), Daliah Lavi, the dozen Smersh agents trying to seduce Bond in the beginning and the numerous others as Dr. Noah's henchwomen. Woody Allen is funny both in the shooting scene in the beginning and in the final part skapstick (although far from the best moments of his career, for sure). Orson Welles and Peter Sellers, who hated each other in the set, had consistent but not remarkable performances (and I could not understand why Chiffre made magic tricks!). Many gags in the film were very anti-communist, in the Cold War spirit which was also so common in non-spoof James Bond movies. To resume, I must additionally mention that I had very contradictory impressions on the nonsense brawl ending (but I did like how the fight finished).
Review of Casino Royale
