It's especially amusing to see Bernard Lee in this film as Le Carre famously hated the James Bond series, and his own work was very much an attempt to disillusion people from its extremely untrue depiction of what espionage work is like. It's pretty interesting to see two genuine spies turned authors take such radically different approaches.
Even more amusing for anyone to refer to Ian Fleming as a "genuine" spy. Especially in comparison to David John Moore Cornwell aka John le Carré that's a stretch carried to the breaking point. Working mostly admin in Naval Intelligence hardly qualifies someone as a Genuine spy.
@@austinwalker2000 M is partly based on Rear Admiral John Henry Godfrey, Royal Naval Int. Division. Fleming served as his A-D-C. Godfrey later complained ''Fleming turned me into that unsavoury character, M''.
IMO this is the best spy thriller of all time. Right from the first shot of the barbed wire all the way to the last of the light shining, then delluminating on the Berlin Wall in conjunction with Sol Kaplan's score I was not only hooked, but I felt involved with this film. Oswald Morris' cold stark cinematography is absolutely sensational and very much reflects the ice cold world of espionage. The editing is also phenomenal just take a look at the fade out when Lemas and Control's meeting in the latters office, the scene beautifully fades out just when the conversation is steering towards the mission, and then fading in on South Kensington (?) Kaplan's score overwhelms the scene and the camera centres in on a broken down Lemas. I absolutely loathe Cinema Verite, but it certainly led to many great inspirations. Burton and Bloom are Lemas and Perry, and they both give riveting performances. I mean the way Lemas exclaims; "How big does a cause have to be before you kill your friends?!" chills you right to the bone and, along with Harry Lime's dialogue on the Parter wheel scene in The Third Man is the defining quote of the political meaning of the latter half of the 20th Century. Cynical, twisted and above all greed. Cyril Cusak as Control absolutely steals the film IMO, he is cold, calculating and most of all aloof mixed in with venom, whilst Horden and Hardy are fantastic in their brief roles. The only drawback here is Rupert Davies as Smiley. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold may leave many cold, but the film completely drew me in the first time I saw it in a film studies class, a screening I will never forget where by the end of the film my classmates were letting tears fall down their cheeks, but they were almost too scared to let out a sob.
It’s interesting that Burton felt that this performance was the one he felt he should have received the Oscar for and looking back the fact that he didn’t is stunning compared to the other nominees for sure. It was the anchor of this film and one of the most interesting spy films of all.
Richard Burton is absolutely brilliant in this movie! There is an apocryphal story (which I believe is true) that during the briefing scene, it took 20 takes or something ridiculous to do, and with each take Burton drank a glass of whiskey as seen in the scene and didn't even get sloshed. And I absolutely love his monologue at the end of the film. So cold, yet true.
I think this is a really decent film. Richard Burton is magnificent, the rest of the cast are pretty good too. Yes Calvin it is very cold, it can be downright depressing. I believe overall it works. It’s was nice to see a rather youthful Robert Hardy in this, who I like in just about everything, I only wished he had a bit more too do. But yes indeed, it’s a great spy film which is fantastically shot and framed. Another winner video Calvin, please keep them coming their a real highlight of the day when they appear.
Love this film and the fantastic novel. Burton is born to play this role. The love interest wasn't well written in the novel [very naive and a bit annoying] so Claire Bloom brings a lot to the part. The end twist is fantastic. Probably my favorite Le Carre novel/film. The film is very faithful to the novel.
It is interesting that Burton was considered a "film star" at this point in his career. He was indeed becoming well known in film, but he wasn't an opener. His relationship with Liz Taylor in the film "Cleopatra" is what made him a media figure beyond his acting ability. He had been in films since the early fifties. More than anything, his screen presence is completely due to Taylor, who taught him how to act on screen. He reciprocated by teaching her how to act on stage. She did not make her debut until the early 80s, but it was Burton who was able to stretch her. Irrespective of their personal relationship, but did manage to stretch the abilities of the artist.
Very interesting to read. As an side, the love interest was called Liz in the book but was changed to 'Nan' in the movie because they didn't want people to think she was some stand in for Liz Taylor [or take lines out of context for the tabloids].
Thank you. I always enjoy when you cast your review net a bit wider. For me the clinical coldness was really established in the scene with Cyril Cusack as Control. This is way beyond the professional objectivity of a character like 'M'. Control is depressingly stripped of any human capacity beyond icy intellect and watchfulness. That performance really set the tone for what was to come. Robert Hardy reminded me of Nicholas Parsons in this movie (see 3.49). It's about 10 years since I've seen this, so I only remember the rough plot outline.
I had just watched Goldfinger before seeing your The Spy Who Came in From the Cold review. I think while the two films are polar opposites when it comes to spy films both are brilliant in their own right.
The thing is Fleming fully admitted that his espionage is fictional in an interview at goldeneye and said that the reason for that is that he would get in trouble with the official secrets act if he wrote it exactly how it is. So it was much easier for him to do it the way he did it
Man how time flies. It has been about 20 years since I last watched this film. It may be time to give it a rewatch. Yes, it can seem dull and/or oppressive but that is the point. People who know that going in should be fine.
Calvin, "Charade" (1963) is my all-time favorite film. In my view, it comes close to cinematic perfection. I look forward to your review. And when you do, I'll share my thoughts as to my sheer affection for it.
This quickly became a favorite of mine. I love the book just as much. I recommend both highly to anyone who has yet to give a see or read. It's easily one of the best spy thrillers out there.
Yeah Smiley is both a lead character in numerous stories such as the Karla Trilogy and a recurring character in numerous others (resulting in him being portrayed numerous times on screen outside of the famous depictions with Guinness and Oldman). A common element throughout his appearances is the price he continually has to pay for having a conscience in an utterly amoral profession. For example you're given hints he's not happy about the plan in this story (keeping it vague to avoid spoiling) and in the excellent BBC radio adaptation (where all the Smiley stories up until that point were adapted with Simon Russell Beale portraying Smiley) he outright urges Leamas not to do it... But ultimately once it is set in motion, Smiley plays his part to see that it succeeds, because while he may have moral qualms about it, now that it's in motion his duty is to see that it works.
Calvin, if you'd like a warmer LeCarre watch the film of The Tailor Of Panama. It's an easy going funny satire on spies, geopolitics, and principally ulterior motives. A very easy watch, and benefits from some great performances including Geoffrey Rush as the title character, and not to mention Pierce as a lazy, hedonistic version of James Bond, with no loyalty except to himself and what he can get. And he even has a scene at MI6 HQ, as featured in his Bond films.
On the coldness of the story, I first read the book all the way through recently during a very boring day. I was engaged right the way through, but I found the ending the most depressing thing I’d read. It was only afterwards that I realised that was entirely the intended reaction.
Very much so. The info reveled in the much later novel, Legacy of Spies [2017] makes it even worse. Spoiler: As part of the mole's revealed in Tinker Tailor... betrayal, Mundt was sent to Moscow and never seen again, making the operation ultimately a failure.
@@ryanreid3818 Exactly. His 'victory' at the end fails which makes his manipulation of Leamas and Liz/Nan even more rotten. And given the mole's betrayls eventually leads to Controls fall from power/death in Tinker Tailor, the failure of this gambit could be considered to contribute to that and everyone [bar perhaps Karla's] loses. Definition of a downer ending?
I think there's a thematic reason for casting reasonably attractive people as the love interests. The audience has to feel what they feel for each other, so in a sense Burton and Bloom are how they see each other.
I loved the film. Burton's monologue in the car towards the end is ferocious. I just finished the book and am not sure which I like more, which is a testament to how great both are.
This film and the book it was based on is an intentional rebuke of the James Bond character and the James Bond vision of what spying is. That is never more clear than in the monologue at the end of the film
Fleming did admit that his espionage is purely fictional or being taken case files that have occurred a long time ago across the world and that he can add in his books from that goldeneye interview that when he asked about the details that he writes in the books. He also said that if he writes the espionage exactly how it is in real life he would get in serious trouble with the official secrets act so he fictionalised it.
This is such a classic cold war spy thriller, I'm really happy to see you were able to get around to watching it! The acting is superb, the story is superb, the whole thing is amazing. I'd really like to see you review Charade, as with you being a Hitchcock fan, I think you'd really like it. It's very much got a North By North West type feel to it, despite being directed by the same guy who did Singing In The Rain.
2:44 Said tonal whiplash is probably nothing compared to the whiplash Dehn must have gone through going from the 60s where he wrote primarily Spy-thrillers to the 70s where he wrote primarily Planet of the Apes sequels.
I watched this “ back in the day”, yes things moved more slowly in movies and TV. Today shorter attention span’s, no judgement it’s just a different time.
Having read a lot of Le Carre, the majority of them are quite like detective novels [an early George Smile novel, 'A Murder of Quality', is literally a mystery away from the spy world] with an espionage theme which are quite tricky to adapt for the screen. This movie and the tv show of 'Tinker Tailor...' did it well as did the TV show of 'Little Drummer Girl [with Florence Pugh]. The Night Manger TV Show/Book has less procedural elements and more the hero driving the plot on which is quite different for Le Carre and hope you get around to that some day.
My understanding is Le Carre originally intended George Smiley to be the lead in a series of "detective" novels as a retired spy. The success of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and his outing by Kim Philby led him to retire from MI6 and write proper espionage novels.
@@jbard9892 Interesting. Makes sense given the detective nature of many of his story lines. It does explain why 'Murder of Quality' is such an oddity in the Smiley series [and other than 'the naive and sentimental lover' his bibliography in general]
There were plans to remake this as a tv show on the BBC but since being announced in 2017, nothing further has emerged so presumably it will never see the light of day.
It’s been a long time since I saw this movie and I enjoyed it very much as depressing as it is and the book is a good read not sure if it’s a novel or novella, a quick read and worth it.
My first recommendation would be for you to watch and review the 60's tv series "The Saint" with Roger Moore (1962-1969). I know that you are a fan of Moore's portrayal as Bond. So you will certainly find the "Saint" very exciting and interesting. It was what made Moore famous and an icon back in the 60s. I am not personally a huge fan of Moore's era as 007. But i have watched all 118 episodes of "The Saint" and i think that he was excellent in this. In fact i(n my opinion of course) Roger seemed a lot more "Bondian" in "The Saint" than when he actually portrayed Bond. It would be very interesting to the Bond fans and a lot of fun for you and your viewers to make a "marathon" of the series and maybe do a review of each season for instance. Moreover it's a "must" for a Moore fan to see hin as the "Saint" and i am sure that you will enjoy the ride pretty much ... My best regards Calvin
Pretty sure it's being made [given it's next up in the Bond marathon]. Don't want to speak for him or anything but I'd expect it to be sometime this summer, maybe as the next long video.
I don’t know about your feelings on Star Trek, but I think you’d have a lot of fun watching the Deep Space Nine episode “Our Man Bashir”. It’s probably one of the most lovingly made Bond homages/parodies I’ve ever seen.
Definitely one of my favourite non-Bond spy films, this one. Richard Burton was such a phenomenal actor. Should you be interested in some foreign language spy stuff, here are a few recommendations: - The Lives of Others (2006, Germany, won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film) - Nikita (1990, France, with music by GE’s Eric Serra) - The Conformist (1970, Italy, from renowned director Bernardo Bertollucci)
Hey, have you seen the OSS 117 movies with Jean Dujardin? It's based on an actual book series but the movies were adapted into James Bond parodies. Unfortunately they weren't dubbed in English but I think they may have subtitles.
Thank you for this. In fact, I tend to prefer more nitty-gritty spy stories, my favorite continuing to be the BBC's Tinker Tailor, as well as real-life stories found in movies like 2007's Breach or 2010's Fair Game. That said, I will always love many of the Bond movies, looking to them not so much for spycraft as for sheer adventure, and I've made my peace with that for a long time. Smiley saves the Circus, Bond saves the world.
Burton is absolutely outstanding in this. It's a very interesting film, and I took away the same thing I always take away from le Carré adaptations - I'm just not sure whether I liked it or not! Really glad I watched it though, and the Blu Ray transfer is looks amazing!
Richard Burton is great. It's sort of a spy/action movie but he did a good one called where eagles dare set in ww2. Also it's not a spy movie at a it's an action movie but one of my favorite movies of all time has Richard Burton with Roger Moore called Wild Geese.
Your taste is your own of course, and you have been clear you like the less “gritty” Bond films. Even so, I feel some disappointment you didn’t “warm to” this classic film. On a small point, yes Karla is the long running evil villain (albeit often in the background) throughout much of Le Carré’s Cold War novels.
Alec Guinness's George Smiley a number of times flashes of humanity and even compassion. That added a little touch of warmth to the overall grim coldness of the story.
I bet you’d like the Smiley novels, Calvin. They’re often cold, but can also be super funny and are much better read than watched imo. Smiley is practically a joke to everyone in his world, despite being a really capable guy. I couldn’t get into the TTSS movie but the book is one of my favorites. When I read The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, I imagined Daniel Craig in Skyfall as Leamas. He’s a beaten down, tired agent who can’t imagine being let down yet again and is ready to be done with it, and on his last mission, he is once again fucked over by the Circus. I also love how Control and George Smiley are darker background figures pulling the strings here than in the other novels, where they’re the main characters and given more warm, round characterizations.
This is a really great film in my opinion, superb performances all round and I love the look of this film, especially in the scenes around the Berlin Wall. I hope to get my hands on that excellent looking Masters of Cinema blu-ray in the near future. I think this film certainly deserves the upgrade from my old DVD. @Calvin, I hope you will get round to reviewing some of the post-Cold War Le Carre works such as The Tailor of Panama and The Night Manager at some point. Hopefully they might help to thaw out some of your cold Le Carre vibes.
Hey Calvin, sorry for the bother, but seeing this review it seemed like the more kitchen sink less adventurous spy stuff is not your cup of tea, but you seemed to be a great fan of the TV "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", did I overread that you liked it more than this one or did I get it right and what would you say is the difference for "Tinker..." not hitting the "wall" on your patience on drier spy stories in comparison? In advance, regards, take care.
This film is a hard dive into the geopolitics of the era. Life with the immediate threat of nuclear war. Le Carre's films can be a bit anti climax for us Bond fans. The lead characters aren't as engaging or glamorous as Bond or even a Felix Leiter. But the realism is worth it. We get a sanitize version of geopolitics in "From Russia With Love" but the gloves come off here !!! Covert opts can turn deadly behind the Iron Curtain. A Most Wanted Man is another great Le Carre adaptation as is "The Tailor of Panama" with our man Pierce Brosnan. It has one of the few happy endings for a Le Carre film. A plot inspired by Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana.
@@jbard9892 Yeah the pharmaceutical industry gone rogue and the exploitation of Africa. Great story but a bit too heavy. Our Kind of Traitor (featuring Naomie Harris aka Moneypenny) was entertaining and had a satisfactory ending. The Russian House (Sean Connery) was pleasant adaptation also but not for the action oriented viewer.
@@the16thGemini I remember liking Our Kind of Traitor but it didn't have much of a lasting impact on me. It was lacking a strong emotional core I think. Russia House is one of my favorite adaptions and one of the few of his novels I've actually read. The Constant Gardener wasn't just heavy it was oppressive. I don't want to spoil it here cause it I liked it a lot despite the obnoxious shaky cam and dour tone. Ralph Fiennes and especially Rachel Weisz were absolutely fantastic with a great supporting cast of British regulars. It certainly wasn't lacking an emotional core, which is why I think it'll stay with me for awhile. But it opens with (not much of a spoiler) the brutal gang rape and murder of the most likable character in the story and somehow manages to keep that tone going all the way to its bleak end, so it's not a really fun watch. The trailer made it look like a Bourne-esque conspiracy thriller, so I'm not surprised people didn't like it.
@@jbard9892 Yeah that scene involving the woman was a bit jarring. I wish they could have done without it. What I like about Le Carre is he didn’t rest on his laurels. He kept creating till the very end. His later works reflected the world around him. At some point I like to see The Deadly Affair aka Call For The Dead. Though the filmmakers get a bit removed from the source material.
@@the16thGemini There was no rape scene, for those who haven't seen, it happened off screen, thank god. But the horrifying manner of her death just permeates the whole movie as it explores her secret life and his complicated love for her. I've seen A Call for the Dead. It's a nice little spy movie working within the limits of british cinema at that time. It looks like a TV show and consists exclusively of people talking to each other. If you're ok with that, A Call for the Dead is just fine. And you get more than just one scene with Ann, or her equivalent.
Totally agree with you on Burton, Calvin. He makes even the worst material watchable. I recently saw him in The Medusa Touch (1978), a supernatural thriller where he made the most of what a lesser actor would struggle with. Michael Hordern has a minor role in it too. Looking forward to when you get a chance to do Charade!
Although you weren't a fan of 'The Ipcress File' you should get to 'Funeral in Berlin', and 'Billion Dollar Brain' to finish the 60's Harry Palmer films.
Good review. Haven't seen the film but the book is my favourite Le Carre, much more satisfying than Tinker Tailor. Recommend it if you haven't read it.
Hey Calvin! Love your videos and love Bond as much as you....Think you will ever do a ranking of your top 25 bond.gunbarrels? I know in some ways there isn't a ton of diffetence (Roger Moore is wearing the same bell bottom pants in A View to a Kill that he filmed in the 70's for God's sakes), but each have different music and tone in some cases (License to Kill)...Either way, great work!
My local library just got a copy of the new book by Anthony Horowitz, "With a Mind to Kill". It's his third, and apparently last, 007 novel. Have you reviewed any of them?
Try the Sandbaggers. Burnside ( SIS's Ops Director ) makes even Smiley look a good guy. He even contemplates having one of his own officers girlfriend killed because he hasn't the staff to replace him if he resigns to marry her.
Calvin, you might be interested in 13 Rue Madeleine, a 1947 spy thriller. James Cagney plays a spy trainer and we get an extended sequence going through spy school. Among other things, though, the OSS demanded that the film change the name of the secret service....so the movie called its spy division 077. Not a great film, but it has its moments, and worth seeing for the spycraft.
If you ever get round to The Night Manager it would be great if you compared it to Licence to Kill, which I'm 99% sure inspired Le Carre despite (or maybe because) of his axe to grind against the Bond movies as they have the same basic premise and TNM the novel was released only. couple of years after that movie.
Given Le Carre's well know distaste for Bond it probably would be a big 'take that' to LTK [especially in how the novel ends], but maybe it's just a coincidence [given taking an organisation down piece by piece is a fairly familiar premise-the novel of Man on Fire came out in 1980 for example]. LTK may come up in the discussion for comparison sake given Roper and Sanchez are very different character but serve a similar purpose and make the fatal decision to take the hero under the wing [early drafts of TNM indicate Roper was partly based on LeCarre's own father but this was reduced in re-writes].
@@jamesatkinsonja I think Sanchez was actally based on the novel version of Scaramanga, as the plot of The Man With the Golden Gun book is pretty similar too, with Bond going undercover and the bad guy befriending him.
@@jonathancampbell5231 Maybe but I think he had more to do with Pablo Escobar [who Davi said actually praised his performance!] with bits of Al Pacino's Scarface and Colonel Noriega [with the puppet president element].
Best spy film ever. Cold... perhaps, but I've rewatched it many times and am excited just knowing certain incredible scenes and performances are coming up. There isn't a less than perfect performance in this film and Martin Ritt knows how to hold back and never go for cheap impact. The newer version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy just seems trivial and fake next to the chilling claustrophobia of this film.
It took a little effort to get through but once done I thought it was magnificent! The acting, directing and screenplay were masterful done and it's a great portrayal of real spy work and what it took to be a spy in the Cold War. It's more the anti-Bond than Harry Palmer is. Will you review Charade? How about The 3rd Man as well? That way you'll have reviews of all 3 of the top former spy tuned spy novelists film adaptations, Fleming, le Carré and Graham Green.
I have never read a Le Carre book before, and neither have I ever read an Ian Fleming/Bond book. I will defintely check out this one - it is a movie/book title I have always known about. And when Burton was on top of his game, he was one of the best, that's for sure. Thanks for the recommendation Calvin, and have a fabulously wonderful long weekend........ 👍🙂❤📚📚
Great video! The next spy movie you should do is Three Days Of The Condor from 1975. Obviously Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway were never in a Bond movie but Max Von Sydow was Blofeld in Never Say Never Again so you have that tie in. It'd be interesting to compare that movie with the Roger Moore movies of the era because Three Days Of The Condor has a much more realistic approach to spy craft. Especially next to The Spy Who Loved Me haha.
@@spencerkindra8822 Netflix. It's been out since about 2018. Its simply called Condor. It might follow the same mode of storytelling as the Jack Ryan Amazon series with a bunch of interconnected episodes.
Funny thing... this is one I watched with my dad as one of his "great movies from back in my day" that he hadn't seen in years... what's funny is he hated it upon revisiting and I loved it as a first time viewer.. excellent film, Richard Burton was ahead of his time as an actor and the Cinematography was also ahead of its time. One of the most real feeling cold war films ibe ever seen
You might like the series Danger Man. Patrick McGoohan was one of the top choices to play Bond and you can really see why. There will never be another actor like him.
The problem with McGoohan from what I know of him is be probably wouldn't have been okay with showing Bond's sexual side onscreen, and that's a key part of the character. He was a brilliant actor and The Prisoner is rightly considered one of the greatest shows of all time but probably wrong for Bond due to his personal beliefs.
@@andynystrom1519 Apparently his moral objection to Bond was why he made it know he didn't want to be considered for the part despite speculation at the time. Better he went on and did his own thing with 'The Prisoner'.
@@jamesatkinsonja No argument. If anything the notion of someone trying to be a free man (or woman) and not just a number is even more relevant today than it was a half century ago. Regardless of how he came to that choice, it was the right one.
You REALLY need to check out the old itv series Sandbaggers (yorkshire television no less 😅) Despite some ropey elements (symptoms of the time it was made) it is a real spy/cold war treat!
When I first say this movie, the first thing I thought was what it'd be like if Burton had been cast as Bond, I love him. Calvin, can you review The Flying Geese? It's an international special ops action movie that stars Richard Burton, Roger Moore(!) and Richard Harris. It's got some 70s cheese but I love it because the African bush setting. And the ending is awesome!
I can't agree on 'if Burton was Bond'. Leamas is a wreck of a man whose life is riddled with failure [including in his novel an ex-wife and two kids he has no contact with], the polar opposite of Bond and Burton is perfect. Agree on Wild Geese being a fun review. Moore and Burton were good friends in real life which comes through.
Always loved this film. Some great "two hander" scenes between Burton and Werner. In your review you made a joke about Karla. - you weren't far off the mark. Check out Sidney Lumet's '' THE DEADLY AFFAIR"' wherein James Mason plays Smiley. In some ways its a prequel to Tinker, Tailor
"The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" is a very British film, made during the Cold War, and at the peak of the James Bond spy mania of the mid-60s. It is a very good film. But unlike James Bond, Richard Burton's spy is isolated, unglamorous, lonely, and lives a quite sad, detached life. James Bond movies make one want to be a spy, whereas Spy Who Came makes one thankful that one is not a spy. I must admit, I don't really understand the ending. I don't quite get the female librarian character: is she innocent, a sacrificial lamb? Is that the point of the ending? I don't really understand who the good guys are vs. who the bad guys are, but perhaps that ambiguity is the whole point.
The ending explained [Spoilers]: Lemas' mission to convince the East German authorities that Mundt is a traitor giving secrets to the British in a 'false flag' operation in which the service not only eliminates an enemy but Lemas gets revenge on the man who's killed his agents [as show at the start] and can redeem his life. But... the twist is that Mundt is indeed a double agent working for the British and is about to be rumbled, so Control cooks up this scheme so Lemas fails, Mundt looks like an innocent man wrongly accused and Mundt's rival Fielder [who was about to expose him] is eliminated instead. The woman [Liz in the book, Nan in the movie] is an innocent pawn, used to undermine Lemas' story to show that his deflection was faked [by showing he intended to go to prison]. Lemas is set up to fail the whole time which is emotionally devastating to him, leading to his outburst 5:20. He has been cheated to help a man he despises and he and Liz/Nan were dispensable. Le Carre described the aim of this book, angered by the Cuban Missile Crisis as 'a plague on both your houses' and viewed both sides as bad as each other over the event. He even said he somewhat regretted ending with Lemas' death with Liz/Nan as it looked too romantic.
I read (but can't be bothered to check the progress on) the people who made Little Drummer Girl and The Night Manager were going to do a remake of this.. Should be pretty decent.
I'd love to see his take on that, especially as he wasn't overly impressed on the movie in his review from a few years ago-be interesting to see if he think's the show was an improvement.
I think that final speech is representative of the cynicism of those who feel that standing up for yourself is basically immoral - because you should always be willing to sacrifice yourself - therefore, defending your country is something that the people who choose to do it must somehow resent - therefore the best people to do such a thing must somehow be broken. This is an accusation that critics of the Bond franchise have been using from the get-go. It certainly manages to insert itself into the franchise most overtly in "Casino Royale" when Bond and Vesper trade quips about each other's character on their initial meeting. But Bond has always gone against this as someone who is portrayed as enjoying his life - and his work. This lends itself to a theory of my own about Bond's popularity. If life is worth living it's worth standing up for. There's nothing immoral about that. So why wouldn't someone like Bond enjoy standing up for his country, particularly if he agrees with his country's values - especially the freedom that enables him to enjoy his life? Why wouldn't audiences find that attractive?
I get exactly the opposite. He's perfect as Leamas but I could never see him as Bond [and his castings going for 'anti-Bond' much like Alec Guinness later]. His role in 'the wild geese' is much more suitable to him.
He was considered for Dr No, and supposedly for OHMSS as well. Charles Feldman also apparently had him in mind for Casino Royale, back when it was going to be a serious adaptation.
@@davidjames579 I just can't see it fitting myself. I think he was considered as he was a big name at the time [similar to how Oliver Reed was in contention for OHMSS or Burt Reynolds for LALD] but despite Le Carre's initial doubts, he was born to play Leamas.
@@davidjames579 It's a bit like how Spielberg wanted to direct a Bond film but was persuaded by George Lucas to do Indiana Jones instead. I'm sure Burton/Spielberg would do a professional job but by not doing Bond they got to do something much more suitable for there skills.
@@jamesatkinsonja The big problem with these star name ideas goes all the way back to Cary Grant in Dr No. They wouldn't want to do multiple pictures. And they'd also want input. Bond played by a relatively unknown actor, I think works mutually well for Eon and for audiences.
I too found the oppressive and bleak nature of the story to be compounded the languid pace. Is it a case of a yarn where the whole is less than the sum of its parts? Because so many of the individual scenes were stunningly put together I'm still mesmerized by it. More than once Leamus' darting looks between arguing characters shows that he rather enjoys noticing and analyzing who is truly dominant and who is submissive to whom. Burton's character is in a way analagous to his own shattering cravings for alcohol. Like Leamus he was deeper, smarter, quicker, and more powerful than all but a few of us, but hidden within was a man doomed to die young because he was his own worst enemy. Thanks for this review. I wouldn't mind if you slowed down your speech a bit. Lavish attention on English words. There's no hurry.
The agonizingly prolonged scenes of Burton establishing Alec as a discontented drunk sink _Spy's_ shot at greatness. So unnecessary, and quite surprising coming from a director with Martin Ritt's experience. It violates one of film's tenets: You don't need to convey boredom by putting a ten minute shot of paint drying in your film. ---Unsurprising that Burton thought his navel gazing here deserved an Oscar. Actors always think the roles the camera isn't built to capture constitute their best work.
I was listening to you praise Richard Burton and it brought to mind those hilarious books from the early 80s by Harry and Michael Medved. Their first was The Golden Turkey Awards, an academy-award satire in book form with categories such as, The Most Embarrassing Movie Debut Of All Time, The Worst Performance by an Actor as Jesus Christ and The Most Obnoxious Child Performer of All Time... There is one category which is especially cruel, The Worst Performance by Sonny Tufts. At the end they have three "life achievement awards", worst director, actress, actor of all time. For each award they have four candidates and the winner is... turn the page. For the worst actor of all time they have John Agar "during his halcyon days as Mr. Shirley Temple", Richard Burton "emoting for the ages in The Assassination of Trotsky", Tony Curtis "the dynamic star of Black Shield of Falworth" and Victor Mature "protects Heady Lamarr from a ravenous beast in his epic role in Samson and Delilah". And the winner is... Richard Burton "as Mark Antony pleads with the audience to accept his celebrated shlock-buster, Cleopatra." I quote, "A typical performance by the likes of Agar, Curtis or Mature can provide an audience with an evening of unintended jollies, but to watch Burton at his worst is positively painful. Please remember: his long list of stinkers is not comprised of quickie westerns or Ali Baba movies, but of arty, ambitious, heavily financed productions involving some of the best talent in Hollywood. Anyone can make a bad film when working with hack directors and inane scripts, but it takes a true genius like Burton to come up with garbage when teamed up with serious artists like Vincente Minelli (The Sandpiper), Peter Ustinov (Hammersmith is Out!), Vittorio de Sica (The Voyage) and Joseph Losey (Boom! and The Assassination of Trotsky). King Richard has developed a sort of Midas syndrome in reverse: nearly everything he touches turns to trash. In terms of wasted opportunities, of promising projects soured through his personal efforts, no one in Hollywood can equal him." They Do say: "when he is good, he is very very good; but when he is bad... well, he's just the pits." Unfortunately they don't mention his very very good performances but no doubt they'd include this one and Virginia Wolf. They have another book, The Hollywood Hall Of Shame (ie. films that lost the most money) and in it they have "The Elizabeth Taylor Wing". PS the above is not necessarily my personal opinion. I just thought I'd share it for laughs. Although Boom! - well, that is a legend.
I suggest if you are looking for a good sort of spy thriller (With a Bond Connection in Director Martin Campbell), you track down "Edge Of Darkness" With Bob Peck from Jurassic Park and Joe Don Baker (Another Campbell Bond connection) - NOT the inferior Mel Gibson remake that Campbell also directed.
If we thought we had it tough with No Time To Die's delayed releases, Top Gun: Maverick puts it in perspective. It was supposed to come out in Summer 2019!
Terrific movie Burton’s best performance ever great cast Bloom Werner Cusack Van Eyck Lee Hardy Hordern Wanamaker and along with maybe Doctor Strangelove the best film ever made about the Cold War. ‘Goodbye Leamas’.
