Following the success of films likeReach for the Sky,Sink the Bismarck!, and theMichael CainecomedyAlfie, London-born film directorLewis Gilbertbecame attached to Eon’s James Bond series just as Bondmania ascended to the stratosphere. Gilbert directed three James Bond movies, one in theSean Conneryera and two forRoger Moore. All three of these pictures are among the more purely spectacular Bond offerings, and they follow a similar formula that’s rather specific even within the broader Bond formula that started to take shape inFrom Russia With LoveandGoldfinger. The following definitively ranks every James Bond movie directed by Lewis Gilbert from worst to best.
3’You Only Live Twice' (1967)
Starring Sean Connery, Donald Pleasence, Mie Hama
Of all 25 Eon Bond movies—which are obviously all high-quality film productions at a base level—it’s perfectly possible time has been the worst to Lewis Gilbert’s first outing (Connery’s third), the messy, derivative and generally lovableYou Only Live Twice. Connery reportedly had a miserable time near the end of his initial run, and he phones in his performance. Also, this is the movie where Bond turns Japanese. It’s a shocking bit of film history, from a series that’s generally aged rather well considering how long it’s been going. The Japanese procedure is absurd, and was clearly parodied rather well inTeam America: World Police.
Roald Dahlwrote some of the most timeless and beloved books for children ever,but why in the damned hell was he commissioned to write a Bond picture? It’s hard to single out just one reason whyYou Only Live Twicehas aged worse than any other picture in the canon, but most complaints can be traced toa screenplay that’s all over the place and totally lacking any kind of weight or grit.
Still, there are things to love and even by awed by here, andYou Only Live Twiceis still relatively rewatchable so long as you measure your expectations and don’t anticipateGoldfinger. A phoned-in Connery is still Connery, and the final action set piece is set inone of the greatest miracles of film production design ever: the volcano lair from series regular (and Stanley Kubrick collaborator)Ken Adam.
You Only Live Twice
2’Moonraker' (1979)
Starring Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale
The 11th Bond film was originally intended to beFor Your Eyes Only, but thenStar Warshappened. Released the same summer asThe Spy Who Loved Me,George Lucas' space opera obliterated contemporary box-office records and sent the film industry on a space race of its own. Love this movie or hate it,Cubby Broccoliand team rather shrewdly strippedIan Fleming’s third book of nearly everything but its name; Gilbert returned to direct an entry where Moore’s Bond goes full sci-fi.
Lois Chilesis a solid actress and obviously quite beautiful, but the character of Dr. Holly Goodhead never really takes shape; it’s unclear if she’s intended to be another “Bond’s equal” in line withBarbara Bach’s XXX, a funnier character, or what exactly.Corinne Cléry, stunning star of the infamous erotic French filmThe Story of O, is the sacrificial lamb here, getting one of the most brutal deaths of the entire series (she’s killed by Dobermans), ina movie that largely feels like it’s aimed at kids.It’s a striking total shift.
Then there’sMichael Lonsdale(The Day of the JackalandThe Name of the Rose) as villain Hugo Drax. It’s an understated, quietly hilarious (“Mr. Bond, you defy all my attempts to plan an amusing death for you”), and even genuinely menacing performance thatranks among the series' most underappreciated.Moonrakerhas a reputation as one of the series' weaker entries; it’s actually pretty okay though.It’s nowhere near as silly asDie Another Day, and it’s far more assured thanQuantum of Solace.
1’The Spy Who Loved Me' (1977)
Starring Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curd Jürgens
Though it’s perhaps more traditional logic to cite something like, say,Goldfinger,From Russia With Love,Casino Royale, or evenOn Her Majesty’s Secret Servicethese days as the single best entry inthe 60-years-plus Bond canon, there are plenty of diehard Bond fans out there who will tell youThe Spy Who Loved Meis as good as it gets. AfterGuy Hamilton’sThe Man With the Golden Gunfailed to catch fire at the box office, and caught plenty of flack from critics, Broccoli and company essentially delivered a Hail Mary to secure the future of the franchise. It worked.
Based in name only on one of Fleming’s weakest books,The Spy Who Loved MeseesRoger Moore’s Bond pursue a megalomaniac (Curd Jürgens) with webbed hands and designs of reshaping the world. From a jaw-dropping stunt that opens the film to what’s perhaps the series' best all-out, full-scale military battle in the film’s climax,Moore’s third outing is a breath of fresh air. It honors the past while feeling fresh and rather maniacally enthusiastic. It’s fun.
Gilbert’s direction here is muscular and witty; the action set pieces hold up remarkably well nearly half a century later.Still, perhaps the best thing aboutThe Spy Who Loved Meis the performance of Roger Moore. After a strong debut inLive and Let Dieand the rushed near-disaster that wasThe Man With the Golden Gun, theSaintstar made the role of James Bond entirely his own. This Bond was a little nimbler, funnier in a broader kind of way without losing sight of the dangerous assassin’s original appeal. Moore would be the people’s Bond for years to come.
The Spy Who Loved Me
NEXT:Every James Bond Movie, Ranked
