Herve Villechaize’s portrayal of henchman Nick Nack in The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) packs a pint-sized punch, but is a bit of an enigma. The bizarre setup of the start of the movie with Nick Nack as ringmaster in assassin Scaramanga’s survival-of-the-fittest circus is difficult at first to understand. But eventually, their interactions exhibit an almost trainer/trainee relationship, unique for a character pair relationship in any other James Bond movie.
Villechaize is such an interesting choice for the role, and it always makes me wonder how it’d differ with a traditional actor cast. And the more I think about it, the more I believe it was a casting that paid off. Villechaize’s unnerving voice and nuanced French accent is perfect as a vulnerable but all-knowing sidekick to Christopher Lee’s seemingly untouchable Scaramanga. There are a few times where we see Scaramanga’s annoyance with his minion, but it always ends with Scaramanga (if not begrudgingly) appreciating Nick Nack’s tests to hone the world class assassin’s skill. As in the clip above, that teasing Nick Nack voice only pushes Scaramanga harder to overcome the odds set before him, and implies that Scaramanga’s successes are a direct result of Nick Nack’s efforts.
There are a few scenes where Nick Nack uses his small stature to his benefit, but in the later scenes of the movie it does in part lead to his eventual demise…or at least his “caging” in the final boat scene. We always have to have to remember, however, that he was *this* close to killing the world’s greatest secret agent, James Bond, by way of a drop-in stabbing. Even though his mouth knife-holding method always gave me pause! Ouch!
This is a great 30 second summary of Live And Let Die (1973), from a short 30 second scene from itself – the scene where Bond (Roger Moore) and Solitaire (Jane Seymour) escape San Monique. Bond summarizes that the entire Kananga operation and voodoo mystique on the island was a front for heroin smuggling. I’ve always said that the simpler a Bond villain’s plot in any James Bond movie, the better.
Also, now that Solitaire has finally lost her “magic,” she is horny. Really horny.
I love when we get a glimpse into how “to get” to a villain’s physical location. It’s one thing to hear a villain’s speech or sit in on a SPECTRE meeting scene, but a whole other bit of awesomeness to take into account setup location shots and see where you would actually find a world-class villain. Not necessarily in a hollowed-out volcano or some other stereotypical villainous “lair” that Bond laymen refer to, but as in the case here in From Russia With Love (1963), an unassuming, anchored luxury yacht (steamship?) off a beautiful coastal city.
In the scene, we see SPECTRE Number 5 Kronsteen summoned from his victorious chess match to this luxury liner to meet his faceless and heavily guarded boss, the movie’s villain and head of SPECTRE – Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Alongside Blofeld is the uncharacteristically nervous Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) whose pointy shoes won’t help her out here. She’s chopped liver in this scene, and she knows it.
Blofeld’s boat in From Russia With Love (1963)
The faceless Blofeld is effective here, even though his fascination with the fighting fish is a bit disconcerting. He seems to have properly small-sized and compartmentalized tanks for betta fighting fish, but they look to be halfway filled and raise so man questions as to their maintenance and upkeep on the boat. (he likes these kinds of fish *that* much?
Klebb would agree to the oddity, and can only muster that his comparison of SPECTRE to a lurking fighting fish killing a weakened one was “amusing.” Blofeld is trying to say that SPECTRE as a whole “strikes” when they are most effective – regardless if it’s up against a weakened or oblivious opponent, it’s at the right time.
Russia‘s villain’s eccentricity is on display here a bit, but what I wouldn’t give to check out that awesome bar/lounge combo in that boat!
The Draco/Bond raid of Piz Gloria at the end of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) is definitely a highlight of the movie. Lazenby’s Bond is dressed in a tactical navy jumpsuit in what many would say is his best outfit (no puffy shirts or kilts here) and the surprising use of the original Monty Norman James Bond theme sets the tone of the action sequence. Yes, you can enhance any James Bond movie scene by playing the original theme, but the addition of it here was a pleasant surprise and added just enough nostalgia to, in my opinion, truly cement George Lazenby as the character James Bond in his first and only appearance as 007.
Over the last 30 years, I’d also say that OHMSS has made the most stunning turnaround (at least for fans in my generation – I’m a late 90’s James Bond) in best-of lists – from a forgotten write-off of a James Bond movie to one of the most revered. It only gets better with each viewing.
This all=time one-liner at the end of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) gets me every time. As Bond (Roger Moore) and Triple X (Barbara Bach) are caught in the act in an escape pod, a stunned General Gogol (Triple X’s boss), M (Bond’s boss) and Sir Frederick Gray (Bond’s boss’s boss) can’t believe their eyes.
The exchange is legendary: “Bond!” “Tri-PULL X!” “Bond! What do you think you’re doing?” make the men sound more like disappointed parental figures rather than government intelligence. A speechless Q can only watch in awe, almost jaw-dropped.
And then 007 quickly quips a legendary James Bond line of lore. It ends with a celebratory-sounding chorus line version of the movie’s theme, declaring “nobody does it better” in a hilarious double entendre. HA! So awesome!
I hear Max the Parrot’s stupid line in my sleep after watching For Your Eyes Only (1981). Why even have the bird in the movie? Was it *really* that important to have this kind of slapstick comic relief in a James Bond movie? Let alone animal slapstick comedy? It’s one of the questionable scenes in FYEO that puzzle me to this day alongside the “hockey” scene that holds its own in the eye-rolling department.
Sure – like all James Bond movies – FYEO has some good parts, but overall I’m not its biggest fan.
At the start of For Your Eyes Only (1981), we see James Bond (Roger Moore) visit the grave of his late wife, Teresa Bond:
The inscription reads:
TERESA BOND
1943 – 1969
Beloved wife of
JAMES BONDWe have all the
time in the World
Although I like the fact that they finally acknowledged the death of Bond’s wife, it’s puzzling that it took a full 12 years (an entire six Bond movies) since On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) when she was murdered, to do so. Surely such a traumatic death would have affected Bond greatly, and I’d say Diamonds Are Forever (1971) (the follow-up to OHMSS) is flawed at the outset for at least not referencing it while Bond traipse around Las Vegas.
Maybe they decided to put it on the backburner because it’s obviously a sad event, and nobody wants to be sad watching a James Bond movie (ahem, NTTD). Or maybe the death was such a big event in the series they decided to avoid acknowledging (or forgot?) it until a lot of time had passed…was this Bond’s first visit to the grave?
Kind of a missed opportunity in my eyes, regardless. They could’ve worked a graveside visit later into the movie (who wants to see Bond graveside visit in a movie’s opening sequence anyway? ahem, again, NTTD!) or weaved it into a joint revenge plot with Melina Havelock’s revenge of her parents’ death. All in all, I’m glad they made the reference to Tracy’s death but the method could’ve been better. And a pity it was rather forgotten after this scene until NTTD really.
There isn’t a more brutal James Bond villain than Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) from Licence To Kill (1989). In this scene alone, Sanchez shows his true self: a murderer, torturer and abuser.
Unlike other Bond villains, Sanchez is intimately involved in the cruel ways he shows his power. He doesn’t sit on a throne and stroking a white cat or avoid conflict by pushing a button in an escape pod. No – without hesitation, Sanchez orders a murder and tortures a defenseless woman.
Lupe’s somber “por favor, Franz” and the unsettlingly compliant way she bows to him for punishment is just awful and an obviously regular occurrence. And it’s telling that Sanchez comes with the small whip on his person – he knew Lupe’s fate before listening to any explanation.
Although disturbing, it’s scenes like this that define a Bond villain. It distinguishes Sanchez’s darker persona from other villains that take a more hands-off approach to evil.
Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) in Licence To Kill (1989)
You’ve gotta love Baron Samedi’s (Geoffrey Holder) menacing laugh at the end of Live and Let Die (1973). This along with a few other Baron Samedi scenes add a feeling of mystique and almost introspection to the movie, which really isn’t present in any other James Bond movie. The ever-present voodoo references in the movie also contributes to this feeling, in my opinion, and add to its overall creepy/scary vibe.
I also think this end scene also technically breaks the fourth wall of the movie, which is a rare occurrence that has only happened a few other times in the series.
Skyfall (2012) is easily the most beautiful James Bond movie. Of course, we have cinematographer Roger Deakins to thank for that. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography after all, and as most of us know, Oscar talk for James Bond movies is rare. There are several scenes in the movie that are some of the most visually appealing in all of the James Bond movies ever, but the Shangai scene takes the cake.
At over 9 minutes long with barely any dialogue, the focus is truly on the visuals for the entire sequence. From the blue-hued rooftop Bond swimming session to the seemingly “dance” of a fight set against a fluid neon advertisement in the skyscraper, it’s so easy to just sit back and enjoy this part of what many consider Daniel Craig’s best James Bond movie.
A visually stunning fight sequence from Skyfall (2012)
