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The Spy Who Loved Me
Artist: Marvin Hamlisch
Genre: Film Soundtrack
Year: 1988
Record Label: EMI-Manhattan
CDP-7-96211-2 (1988). Original soundtrack recording from the 1977 James Bond film
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. Music composed and conducted by Marvin Hamlisch. Stereo. CD running time: 36:17
Click on the album cover to order from Amazon.com
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The Spy Who Loved Me isn't the best-loved James Bond film, but it's the Bond film most crammed with the stuff we love. There's a madman, a monstrous plan and a menacing minion. Cold War politics predominate, but the East-West conundrum thaws in the bedroom (of course). And the finale involves Bond and a crew of brave soldiers storming an impenetrable fortress while the villain's henchmen, dressed in identical jumpsuits, die by the dozen. Who could ask for more?
Bond and his opposite number, Soviet (agent "Triple X") Maj. Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach), join forces to learn who's behind the hijacking of a couple of British and Russian submarines. Their search takes them to Egypt and to Sardinia, and the closer they get to megalomaniacal bad guy Carl Stromberg (Curt Jürgens), the more they spar with his deadly, steel-toothed assassin, Jaws (Richard Kiel is the silent giant with the foreboding choppers, and he's the only henchman to appear in two Bond films).
However, Jaws may be the least of Bond's worries. When Amasova learns that Bond was responsible for the death her lover, she swears to kill him as soon as their mission is over.
The stunt work and action set-pieces are exceptional in this film, arguably Moore's finest turn as 007. Bach scores on every level, portraying Amasova as a worthy adversary and equal partner. And Jürgens hits all the right bad-guy notes, from spewing bizarre apocalyptic philosophy to his penchant for elaborate deathtraps.
But the plot of The Spy Who Loved Me is the true star, and it's interesting to see how much of it was recycled for
Tomorrow Never Dies, Pierce Brosnan's second outing as Bond. (Synopsis from
Netflix.com)
Damned Rodan's
Album Review
Rating (out of 5):
Despite what I'm convinced is director Lewis Gilbert's honest attempt to make it otherwise, The Spy Who Loved Me is one of the better Bond films featuring Roger Moore. The story parallels You Only Live Twice down to
any number of details, and the film is much bigger in scope than either of the previous Moore
entries. For its time, the climactic battle aboard the tanker Liparus was the most ambitious cinematic spectacle ever presented in a Bond film, and Moore himself seemed comfortable
in the role, if hardly tailor-made for it. Still, there's an air of silliness pervading the film that's hard to overlook, and even the most outlandish aspects of You Only Live Twice often seem to work better simply because Connery's presence made the movie more
watchable. (As an aside, screenwriter Christopher Wood's novelization of The
Spy Who Loved Me is a serious and admirable homage to Fleming's style; had
the movie had been handled as capably, it might have been Moore's crowning
achievement as Bond.)
In this movie, we are introduced to the killer Jaws (Richard Kiel), who makes for an adequate
menace, mainly due to his astounding physical size and strength; while he is occasionally the butt of some unclever visual jokes, at least he is not played entirely for laughs, unlike in the subsequent film, Moonraker. The villainous mastermind Karl Stromberg (Curt
Jürgens) is suitably wicked, his lines agreeably melodramatic, his Germanic delivery convincing.
Barbara Bach portrays Russian spy Anya Amasova with just the right combination
of ruthlessness and vulnerability, and for her time she was one of the series'
strongest heroines. Bond gets to actually physically exert himself this go-round, and
he pulls off a couple of cold killings that give him a somewhat harder edge than
in previous Moore portrayals. However, comic touches like Bond riding on a camel in full Arab regalia,
a circus-like musical cue while an all-but-demolished van bounces over the desert terrain,
and the Lawrence of Arabia theme as a stranded Bond makes his way through
the desert back to civilization fall flatter than Tokyo under Godzilla's feet. If these, and several other thoroughly ridiculous interjections were edited out, The Spy Who Loved Me would succeed
far better as a 007 thriller. Bond film humor ought to inspire chuckles, not guffaws and/or groans, and this film, like all of Moore's, induces more of the latter.
Marvin Hamlisch seems an odd choice to score a Bond film; not that his credentials are in any way lacking, but his work for such recognized titles as A Chorus Line, The Goodbye Girl, The Way We Were, and The Sting would in no way suggest that his style might be successfully transferred to the (supposedly) taut and gritty world of James Bond. The title song certainly didn't seem much like a Bond theme at the time of its release. It still doesn't. I've always rather liked Carly Simon, but "Nobody Does It Better" is not a favorite of mine, either as a hit for her or as a title track for a Bond movie.
And sadly, Maurice Binder's opening title is his weakest work ever, consisting
of gaudy Union-Jack backgrounds, naked women parading as toy soldiers (whom Bond
pushes over like dominoes), and Roger Moore bouncing around on a trampoline. Oh,
please. Where are the spectacular montages that graced the opening of On Her
Majesty's Secret Service? The gorgeous, glittering images that adorned the
titles of Diamonds Are Forever? Alas, of the remaining six films for
which Binder would provide the title sequences, only For Your Eyes Only
achieved anything resembling the integrity of old.
Almost to my own surprise, I find that I enjoy listening to the soundtrack album. There's precious little resemblance to anything John Barry would have written, and indeed, a scarcity of the Bond theme itself.
However, the one track that does feature the Bond theme, "Bond '77," is an energetic little number, loaded with late 70s disco verve, complete with clanking guitar rhythms and jazzy saxophones. Though dated, it entertains the ears, and
it works rather admirably as the background music for the pre-credit ski chase that ends with Bond soaring over the edge of a precipice (not the one that Telly Savalas was going to head him off at) and parachuting to
safety.
Much of the album sounds like bachelor pad music, and although I am not a bachelor, I enjoy its nostalgic sound. "Ride to Atlantis" has an agreeable, lighthearted ambience, somewhat reminiscent of George Martin's scoring for Live and Let Die. The tempo increases for "The
Mojaba Club" (spelled "Mojave" on the CD track listing), complete with a Middle Eastern flair to highlight the scene of Bond attempting to track down Max Kalba (Vernon Dobtcheff), whom he believes has information about a submarine tracking system that was used against the HMS Ranger at the beginning of the film. The following jazzy instrumental version of "Nobody Does It Better" sounds like typical Hamlisch, which
I find highly appealing—although, again, it doesn't seem particularly at home in a Bond flick.
"Anya" continues in the vein of the preceding instrumental—another light, delicate composition tinged with the colors of
jazz, also very nice, very listenable, and perhaps a little more Bond-ish; it's
also an album stand-alone, as it isn't included in the movie. "The Tanker" finally provides a bigger, bolder sound, with the juxtaposition of heavy bass and sharp tenor instruments that are not dissimilar to some of Barry's action themes. Still, it's not memorable in the way of
Barry's comparably scaled pieces, such as "Bond Below the Disco Volante" from Thunderball or "Capsule in Space" from You Only Live Twice.
The following track ("The Pyramids") however, is a very sharp piece of music, its
heavy bass, blaring brass, and stark flutes reflecting the grandeur of the Pyramid of Gizeh, where Bond first encounters Anya.
"Eastern Lights" is a combination of Middle Eastern motifs and pure jazz, an interesting cut that conveys local color with a twist. "Conclusion" is not the conclusion of the film, but of the tourist presentation at the Pyramid of Gizeh, at which time Jaws dispatches the hapless Fekkesh (Nadim Sawalha) in his typical biting fashion. The end title features a
slow piano introduction to the vocal by Carly Simon, which is a vast improvement
over the ridiculous "Sailor Chorus" that leads into the theme at the end of the film.
Fans of John Barry Bond soundtracks may well be disappointed in The Spy Who Loved Me score because it is
so radically different and, for the most part, very mellow. Like the album to Dr. No, the music appeals to me more because of its style than its actual connection to the Bond film. Take that for what it's worth from an old lounge music fan.
Revised
12/27/12 16:45:22
Film Credits
Producer: Albert R. Broccoli
Associate Producer: William P. Cartlidge
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Screenplay: Christopher Wood & Richard Maibaum
Cinematography: Claude Renoir
Film Editor: John Glen
Casting by Weston Drury Jr. & Maude Spector
Production Designer: Ken Adam
Art Director: Peter Lamont
Title Designer: Maurice Binder
Music: Marvin Hamlisch; Monty Norman (James Bond Theme); Carol Bayer Sager (Title Song Lyrics)
Title Song Sung by Carly Simon
Film Running Time: 125 minutes
Cast
James Bond: Roger Moore
Major Anya Amasova: Barbara Bach
Karl Stromberg: Curt Jürgens
Jaws: Richard Kiel
Naomi: Caroline Munro
General Anatol Gogol:
Walter Gotell
Sir Frederick Gray, Minister of Defence: Geoffrey Keen
M: Bernard Lee
Captain Benson: George Baker
Sergei Borzov:
Michael Billington
Felicca:
Olga Bisera
Q:
Desmond Llewelyn
Sheikh Hoseim: Edward de Souza
Max Kalba:
Vernon Dobtcheff
Hotel Receptionist: Valerie Leon
Moneypenny: Lois Maxwell
Liparus Captain:
Sydney Tafler
Azis Fekkesh:
Nadim Sawalha
Log Cabin Girl:
Sue Vanner
Rubelvitch:
Eva Reuber-Staier
Admiral Hargreaves: Robert Brown
Stromberg's Assistant: Marilyn Galsworthy
Sandor: Milton Reid
Dr. Bechmann:
Cyril Shaps
Professor Markovitz:
Milo Sperber
Barman: Albert Moses
Captain Carter, USS Wayne Captain:
Shane Rimmer
Commander Talbot, HMS Ranger Captain:
Bryan Marshall
CD Tracks
1. Main Title: Nobody
Does It Better (3:32)
2. Bond 77 (4:23)
3. Ride to Atlantis
(3:30)
4. Mojaba Club (2:15)
5. Nobody Does It
Better (Instrumental Version) (4:48)
6. Anya (3:23) |
7. The Tanker (4:26)
8. The Pyramids (1:37)
9. Eastern Lights
(3:26)
10. Conclusion (1:34)
11. End Title: Nobody
Does It Better (3:25)
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Lyrics
Nobody Does It Better
Lyrics by Carol Bayer Sager
Sung by Carly Simon
Nobody does it better,
Makes me feel sad for the rest.
Nobody does it half as good as you,
Baby, you're the best.
I wasn't looking, but somehow you found me.
I tried to hide from your love light,
But like heaven above me, the spy who loved me,
Is keeping all my secrets safe tonight.
And nobody does it better,
Though sometimes I wish someone could,
Nobody does it quite the way you do,
Why'd you have to be so good?
The way that you hold me, whenever you hold me,
There's some kind of magic inside you,
That keeps me from running but just keep it coming.
How'd you learn to do the things you do?
And nobody does it better,
Makes me feel sad for the rest.
Nobody does it half as good as you,
Baby, baby, darling, you`re the best.
Baby you're the best...Baby you're the best...Baby you're the best...
Darling you're the best...Darlin' you're the best...
Baby you're the best...Baby you're the best...