Tonight's Movie: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

I recall the movie year 1977 especially fondly.

1977 was the year I first saw both ROCKY (1976), which had been released in December 1976, and STAR WARS (1977) for the first time.

I actually saw both those films multiple times that year theatrically, which was especially common in the pre-cable, pre-home video era, both because there was no other way to revisit movies and because there was a relative dearth of viewing options.

1977 was also the year I saw my first James Bond movie, THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977), which was released in early August. I recall going with my parents, and we enjoyed it so much we returned for a second viewing of that one as well.

I also fondly recall later purchasing a copy of the first still below, featuring stars Roger Moore and Barbara Bach, while on a shopping trip for Hollywood memorabilia. It's still in my collection today.

I've seen THE SPY WHO LOVED ME multiple times in the years since 1977, whether as an '80s movie rental or later on DVD, but until the past week I don't think I'd revisited it since the beginning of this blog over two decades ago. Consequently the movie felt both fresh and very familar, as for the first time in years I revisited and enjoyed the humor, suspense, and all the film's famous set pieces. 125 minutes flew by!

The movie begins with one of said set pieces, as James Bond is "relaxing" with a beautiful woman in a ski chalet. When Bond is messaged that his services are needed immediately, he skis away, chased by enemy agents. I don't think it's spoilerish, nearly half a century later, to say that the culmination of the scene, involving a Union Jack parachute, is both spectacular and funny.

The film then immediately launches into the greatest of all the great 007 theme songs, "Nobody Does It Better" by Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager, sung by Carly Simon. It perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the film. Hearing it again made me very nostalgic, especially with both of my parents having passed on in the last handful of years.

The movie, in a nutshell, involves Bond uniting with Russian agent XXX, Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach), after UK and Russian nuclear submarines mysteriously disappear.

Stromberg (Curt Jurgens), the villain who has stolen the subs and their crews, is obsessed with the idea of an underwater world and has plans to use the submarines to nuke the world's major cities.

Complicating the joint mission is Anya's realization that Bond recently killed her lover during thea aforementioned ski chase. As James says to Anya in a rare moment of complete seriousness, "In our business...people get killed."

I love pretty much everything about this film, including the relationship of James and Anya, which goes from flirty to action-based humor to high drama, as needed.

This was Moore's third film in the role, and he had mastered the unique mixture of his character being both believably deadly and amazingly quippy. I'll add that Moore was my "first" Bond for several reasons, including being the right age to see some of his Bond films on first release and the lack of easy availability of Connery's movies; to reiterate, the '70s were pre-cable, pre-VHS!

The fact that Moore was also a star on my all-time favorite TV series, MAVERICK (1957-62), which I came to love via reruns, drew my interest as well. While over the years I certainly developed an appreciation for Connery, I guess my first James Bond will always be my favorite -- which seems to be the case for many viewers.

Some may complain that the U.S.-born Bach's Russian-accented dialogue delivery is stilted, but I think it completely works, giving the impression she's thinking about what she's saying, which makes sense if English isn't supposed to be her native language. It was honestly quite a while before I realized she was American! (No IMDb "back in the day" either. I'm "dating myself," but I used to research actors at the library!)

Bach completely delivers on the humor, including the great little scene in a bar where James and Anya disclose they know one another's favorite drinks, and also the hilarious sequence where she and Bond are trying to escape from scary Stromberg henchman Jaws (Richard Kiel) before he rips the vehicle apart.

I remember wishing "back in the day" that XXX and 007 would be reteamed in a later movie, but I guess that wasn't a realistic hope given Bond's track record with women in his movies.

It's also been a long time since I last saw MOONRAKER (1979), but I recall Kiel's character being a bit more of a joke in that film. Here he's the perfect blend of amusing and absolutely terrifying. There's one scene where his presence is suddenly revealed which still makes me jump!

The supporting cast is strong as well, especially Shane Rimmer as the American sub commander who teams with Bond in a big climactic action sequence. Caroline Munro is also notable as one of Stromberg's assassins. Series regulars Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, and Geoffrey Keen are, of course, on hand as well.

The movie's locations, especially Egypt, are perfectly utilized and filmed by Claude Renoir, who incidentally was the nephew of director Jean Renoir. And besides the Egyptian sequences, my favorite moment in the entire movie is the car which turns into a submarine. I still fondly recall our family laughing in surprise when we first saw it. 

The film was directed by Lewis Gilbert and written by Richard Maibaum and Christopher Wood.

Before becoming a prolific 007 screenwriter, Maibum worked on classic-era films, including some starring his friend Alan Ladd: O.S.S. (1946), THE GREAT GATSBY (1949), and HELL BELOW ZERO (1951).

While I'm mentioning older films, it struck me that THE SPY WHO LOVED ME would be great on a double bill with JET PILOT (1957), an ahead-of-its-time suspense romcom in which Janet Leigh plays a Russian pilot in love with American John Wayne. The movies have similar themes plus a goofy sense of humor mixed with romance.

I watched THE SPY WHO LOVED ME on a "Special 007 Edition" DVD which I purchased for our family way back in 2002. I have Moore's other 007 films in this DVD series, and I had such a good time rewatching this film that I'm planning to revisit his other Bond films as well.

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