This review of From Russia with Love (1963) is part of a wider rewatch of the James Bond series to mark its 60th anniversary. 007 has always been my favourite movie franchise, and I wanted to see where each film ranks within the series. Please check out the main blog post for my rankings of this and the other twenty-four official films and links to the movie reviews for the rest of the franchise.
Long Review and Film Summary
Just over a year after Dr. No, Sir Sean Connery returns as 007 in a film I have never watched, From Russia With Love, with an increased budget of $2 million in 1963 ($19.4 million in 2022). The film opens with a training exercise for ‘James Bond Assassins’, the first pre-title sequence of the franchise and then moves into a classic silhouette and text over bodies opening titles. The theme song (composed by Lionel Bart and sung by Matt Monro) was a bit underwhelming with no lyrics, and we wouldn’t hear the one with vocals until the end of the film. According to From Rewatch with Love, most of the story was put together in post-production as the script wasn’t finished before production started. However, the film flows very well even with that. The story is interesting, with the British and Russians both being played by Spectre and Blofeld. The rear projection is back and this time is used way more, including most Turkey location backdrops with Bond and Tatiana Romanova (played by Daniela Bianchi), this is most noticeable when they are on the boat towards the latter half of the film. I do love a train car fight, and this film doesn’t disappoint, it’s on par for me with the ones in Skyfall or Spectre and includes the use of the first real James Bond gadget, the suitcase with tear gas inside, a definite upgrade from the simple gun in Dr. No. Although this is a much more polished 007 film, they are still overusing the Bond theme. For a film I’ve never watched, this is a solid movie and builds well on the foundations of Dr. No which adds a good well-executed storyline, more action, and the first real gadgets of the franchise – From Russia With Love is a solid Bond film, and one I’ll be watching more often.