Post by klep on Jun 5, 2017 6:46:04 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 6/5: The Spy Who Loved Me
JAMES BOND WEEK!
By the end of his tenure as James Bond, Roger Moore was showing his age. Cast in the role when he was already in his mid-40s, his tenure was always going to be limited, but he was still hale and hearty in the mid-1970s for one of the greatest films in the Bond franchise The Spy Who Loved Me.
The formula for a Bond movie had long been established by this point. Bond has an initial mission, then reports to HQ for new assignment. M gives it to him, Q gives him some gadgets, Bond discovers the plot is world-threatening, and stops it. The initial mission proves relevant in some way, and Bond has sex with multiple women before all is said and done. Moore's Bond had already tried a number of ways to inject some fresh energy into this formula with the blaxploitation elements of Live and Let Die or the Orientalism of The Man with the Golden Gun, but with The Spy Who Loved Me they decided to shake up the formula itself.
Because James Bond isn't the only protagonist of the film. He is joined by Barbara Bach's Anya Amasova, a Russian agent assigned to what turns out to be the same mission: discovering the fate of missing nuclear submarines and acquiring the technology used to track them. And Bach proves a match for Bond, beating him to their initial contact and getting a leg up on him at several points. They strike up a natural rapport, which makes the revelation that Bond has just weeks ago killed her then-lover in the course of a mission so painful.
Unfortunately the film still falls prey to some of the demons and necessities of the Bond franchise. Bond can never be allowed to truly be taken advantage of by a woman; consequently every time Anya (Agent XXX, no less) gets an advantage on him it is swiftly taken undermined. The contact she meets first dies, but Bond finds the information he needs on the corpse. Anya is the last to hold the critical microfilm, but Bond had already determined it was worthless. And let's not forget that Bond is literally offered a woman by a host like a complementary mint on his pillow (a moment which left me feeling physically ill). The misanthropy and misogyny that the franchise has only just recently started to engage with are fully present, and it takes away from the film.
But that said, the efforts to shake things up are still largely successful. Giving Bond a female frenemy who is supposed to be his equal adds a fun tension to the film, and the romance they strike up feels genuine. Add to that the phenomenal production design and effects work on Stromberg's vessels and the introduction of Richard Kiel's Jaws and you have one of the strongest entries in this long-running franchise.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 6/12: We Need To Talk About Kevin
IT'S LADIES' WEEK!
After a tie vote, I've selected for our next Movie of the Week Lynne Ramsay's acclaimed We Need To Talk About Kevin because unlike Stories We Tell, I have not yet seen it. Tilda Swinton stars as a mother who has to cope with one of the worst things that can ever happen to a parent, and I can't wait to find out what all the fuss is about. We Need To Talk About Kevin is available on Netflix Instant and for rent on Amazon Video, though it is only free for Prime members with a Shudder add-on.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 6/1: Baywatch
The Next Picture Show podcast completes its look at film adaptations of cheesy older TV shows with the new Baywatch, which is still in theaters. We'll have a thread to talk about it Wednesday.
JAMES BOND WEEK!
By the end of his tenure as James Bond, Roger Moore was showing his age. Cast in the role when he was already in his mid-40s, his tenure was always going to be limited, but he was still hale and hearty in the mid-1970s for one of the greatest films in the Bond franchise The Spy Who Loved Me.
The formula for a Bond movie had long been established by this point. Bond has an initial mission, then reports to HQ for new assignment. M gives it to him, Q gives him some gadgets, Bond discovers the plot is world-threatening, and stops it. The initial mission proves relevant in some way, and Bond has sex with multiple women before all is said and done. Moore's Bond had already tried a number of ways to inject some fresh energy into this formula with the blaxploitation elements of Live and Let Die or the Orientalism of The Man with the Golden Gun, but with The Spy Who Loved Me they decided to shake up the formula itself.
Because James Bond isn't the only protagonist of the film. He is joined by Barbara Bach's Anya Amasova, a Russian agent assigned to what turns out to be the same mission: discovering the fate of missing nuclear submarines and acquiring the technology used to track them. And Bach proves a match for Bond, beating him to their initial contact and getting a leg up on him at several points. They strike up a natural rapport, which makes the revelation that Bond has just weeks ago killed her then-lover in the course of a mission so painful.
Unfortunately the film still falls prey to some of the demons and necessities of the Bond franchise. Bond can never be allowed to truly be taken advantage of by a woman; consequently every time Anya (Agent XXX, no less) gets an advantage on him it is swiftly taken undermined. The contact she meets first dies, but Bond finds the information he needs on the corpse. Anya is the last to hold the critical microfilm, but Bond had already determined it was worthless. And let's not forget that Bond is literally offered a woman by a host like a complementary mint on his pillow (a moment which left me feeling physically ill). The misanthropy and misogyny that the franchise has only just recently started to engage with are fully present, and it takes away from the film.
But that said, the efforts to shake things up are still largely successful. Giving Bond a female frenemy who is supposed to be his equal adds a fun tension to the film, and the romance they strike up feels genuine. Add to that the phenomenal production design and effects work on Stromberg's vessels and the introduction of Richard Kiel's Jaws and you have one of the strongest entries in this long-running franchise.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 6/12: We Need To Talk About Kevin
IT'S LADIES' WEEK!
After a tie vote, I've selected for our next Movie of the Week Lynne Ramsay's acclaimed We Need To Talk About Kevin because unlike Stories We Tell, I have not yet seen it. Tilda Swinton stars as a mother who has to cope with one of the worst things that can ever happen to a parent, and I can't wait to find out what all the fuss is about. We Need To Talk About Kevin is available on Netflix Instant and for rent on Amazon Video, though it is only free for Prime members with a Shudder add-on.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 6/1: Baywatch
The Next Picture Show podcast completes its look at film adaptations of cheesy older TV shows with the new Baywatch, which is still in theaters. We'll have a thread to talk about it Wednesday.