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By
NICK ZEGARAC
At 140 minutes, "On Her
Majesty's Secret Service" (1969) represents
something of both a departure and a finale for the
James Bond series. Certainly, it is the longest of
the Bond adventure films. But it is also the last
of the stylish ultra 60s chic flicks from a
franchise increasingly more bent on developing
elaborate gadgetry and caricatures instead of
characterizations. After Sean Connery's contract
elapsed, producers Cubby Broccolli and Harry
Saltzman did their best to woo the bankable star
back into their fold but to no avail. Presented
with the daunting task of 'discovering' the next
J.B., Broccoli and Saltzman eventually settled on
fashion model, George Lazenby who had yet to add
film work to his list of professional credentials.
Fearful that Lazenby would be a jolt to the system
and the franchise, the pre-screen poster art
featured a faceless Bond as part of its marketing
campaign. What most people forget today is that
OHMSS is probably the single most detailed and
fully realized Bond film in the entire series. For
it treats the character of Bond, not as the
cardboard cutout of a superman, but as a genuine
human being with very real needs to love and be
loved.
From the onset the film is careful not to
replicate Connery's persona in Lazenby's
characterization. The pre-credit sequence features
a fight done mostly in silhouette, at the end of
which Lazenby's face is exposed with the glib
comeback, "This never happened to the other
fella." From that point on the plot diverges into
two very different ideas for the narrative
structure; the first, a traditional Bond action
flick, the other a rare opportunity to present
Bond as a man first, agent second.
In a plot entanglement very much reminiscent of
Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, Bond is
assigned the task of wooing sexually frigid
Contessa Teresa 'Tracy' Vincenzo (Dianna Rigg) by
her father, shipping magnet, Draco (Gabrielle
Ferzetti). Although Bond and Tracy's initial
meeting is both disdainful and action packed --
the eventually romance that blossoms between them
is quite genuine and moving. But before Bond can
pop the question, duty calls by way of
impersonating Sir Hilary Bray. Bray, it seems, is
scheduled to have his coat of arms reviewed by a
respected personage atop a mountain retreat.
Instead, what Bond finds is that his old arch
nemesis, Ernes Stavro Blofeld (on this occasion
cast as Telly Savalas) is plotting a toxic game of
mind control, using a bevy of neurotic lovelies as
his hypnotized harbingers of doom.
Director Peter Hunt must be given credit for
producing a very textually dense -- though never
boring -- film that seamlessly blends all of these
narratives threads. The action sequences are
masterful set pieces that rank among the best in
the series -- including a toboggan/ski run chase
and auto race that ends only after Bond and Tracy
have entered a legitimate motocross event. What
is, perhaps, the film's greatest oversight is that
Connery could not have been persuaded to partake
in this outing. As Bond, Lazenby is decidedly more
wooden than Connery. And yet, removed from
Connery's hype -- Lazenby is quite adequate in the
role. His emotional response to Tracy's murder is
a highpoint that neither Connery nor Moore ever
achieved in the role. Yet, there is no denying
that in keeping with the history of Bond as a
character, Lazenby is something of a road show
distillation, instead of becoming iconic and
galvanic in the part. When all was said and done,
OHMSS was a modest success at the box office, but
a decided disappointment to the franchise when
compared to the previous receipts for Bond films.
Hence, Lazenby was out and Connery reluctantly
returned for the next Bond outing, Diamonds Are
Forever.
MGM/UA's transfer on OHMSS is quite pleasing.
Colors are rich, saturated and well balanced.
Contrast levels appear somewhat bumped up during
several sequences with blooming whites and pale
blacks. Overall, however, the picture fairs very
nicely with fine detail realized throughout and a
general lack of age-related artifacts. There are a
few instances of edge enhancement but nothing that
will distract. The audio is mono -- a genuine
disappointment. Extras include a very thorough
documentary on the film and its place in the Bond
canon, audio commentaries, some promotional junket
materials and the film's theatrical trailer. |
