From Russia with Love (1963)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

Richard Maibaum (screenplay)
Johanna Harwood (adaptation)

Release Date:

27 May 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The world's masters of murder pull out all the stops to destroy Agent 007!

Plot:

James Bond willingly falls into an assassination ploy involving a naive Russian beauty in order to retrieve a Soviet encryption device that was stolen by SPECTRE.

Plot Keywords:

Russian | Spectre | Istanbul | Decoder | British Secret Service

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 6

2:30 PM

USA

Cast

Sean Connery	...	James Bond
Daniela Bianchi	...	Tatiana Romanova
Pedro Armendáriz	...	Ali Kerim Bey (as Pedro Armendariz)
Lotte Lenya	...	Rosa Klebb
Robert Shaw	...	Red Grant
Bernard Lee	...	M
Eunice Gayson	...	Sylvia Trench
Walter Gotell	...	Morzeny
Francis De Wolff	...	Vavra - Gypsy Leader (as Francis de Wolff)
George Pastell	...	Train Conductor
Nadja Regin	...	Kerim's Girl
Lois Maxwell	...	Miss Moneypenny
Aliza Gur	...	Vida
Martine Beswick	...	Zora (also as Martin Beswick)
Vladek Sheybal	...	Kronsteen

Also Known As:

Ian Fleming's 'From Russia with Love' (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Russian | Turkish | Romany

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Iceland:12 | Ireland:PG | West Germany:12 (nf) | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:12 | New Zealand:PG | UK:PG (2008) | Finland:K-16 (uncut) (1984) | UK:PG (video rating) (1987) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:(Banned) (uncut) (1964) | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:GP (re-rating) (1971) | UK:A (original rating) (cut) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1964) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

"The Canals", Venice, Veneto, Italy

Company:

Danjaq

Trivia:

Product placements, brand integrations and promotional tie-ins for this movie include Rolex Watches, James Bond wears a Rolex Submariner; Taittinger Blanc de Blanc Champagne; a billboard advertising another movie made by the Bond producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli called Call Me Bwana (1963) starring Anita Ekberg and Bob Hope; and Bentley motor vehicles, James Bond drives a Derby Bentley Mark 4 ½ Liter Sports Tourer convertible, the only time he drives a Bentley in the Eon Productions series.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Bond's flare causes the explosion during the boat scene, it's obviously a pre-programmed explosion effect (identifiable by the fact that the explosions on the water are simultaneous. In real life there would only be one explosion - where the flare struck the water, and the flames would spread. There would NOT be multiple, simultaneous explosions as seen in the film.)

Quotes:

[first lines]
Morzeny: [after Grant kills a look-a-like Bond] Exactly one minute, fifty-two seconds. That's excellent.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

Soundtrack:

James Bond Theme

Better than Fleming's Novel!

Hard to believe, but the movie is actually an improvement on Fleming's novel. Rather than have the Lektor operation be a simple Russian scheme to discredit Bond as Fleming did, SPECTRE takes a hand here in their first on-screen appearance as an organization. The plot is improved considerably because of this. The movie thrives on its supporting actors and Sheybal. Connery is somewhat outshone by these greater lights, but gives a credible performance. From Russia... is a different pace of movie: no one here is intent on wiping out the world's population, or destroying the gold supply, or stealing submarines. Basically, it's a quiet little plot focusing on an elaborate "sting" operation. Until the end, the pace is kind of slow, and might lose more "modern" audiences, particularly those used to incredible stunt sequences every 20 minutes.