NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983) Sean Connery: James Bond Revisited
Vložit
- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- The year 1983 was perhaps the biggest in the James Bond franchise's history, as it's the only time not one but two 007 movies hit theaters. One was the official Roger Moore/EON entry, OCTOPUSSY, which opened to blockbuster business worldwide, while the other was the one-off NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, which featured none other than Sean Connery slipping on his tux for the first time in twelve years. How did this come to be? The story is a complicated one involving lawyers, rights issues, copyright, and more.
Suffice to say it was an event or rather an anti-climax as the film was indifferently received by confused fans. A remake of THUNDERBALL, NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN is a unique Bond film in that, in many ways, it's not a James Bond movie at all. How so? Join us on this week's James Bond Revisited as we explore this Connery-led one-off, with Kim Basinger as his Bond girl!
For more MOVIE NEWS, visit: www.joblo.com
SUBSCRIBE for more of all the LATEST JoBlo Videos here: goo.gl/R9U81J
Check out all of the JOBLO CZcams channels below:
MOVIE TRAILERS: bit.ly/1GUxgxm
MOVIE CLIPS: bit.ly/31ByDAf
TV TRAILERS: bit.ly/2rgxfot
SUPERHEROES: bit.ly/2W1GS7r
ANIMATED: bit.ly/2Jd1moq
HORROR: bit.ly/2p5YhzR
ORIGINAL CONTENT VIDEOS: bit.ly/2MCQJh4
CELEBRITY INTERVIEWS: bit.ly/2W0EeyK
#JamesBondRevisited #SeanConnery007 #NoTimeToDie
Better than Diamonds Are Forever, Die Another Day, The World Is Not Enough, Golden Gun and even possibly just about Thunderball... but that isn’t saying much. The intro of NSNA is great, Connery back as Bond, the opening is pure gold. But it very soon goes downhill. Connery literally holds the film together because whenever he is on screen, it just about works. Also Maria Brandauer is fantastic, this incarnation of Largo truly is unhinged, and doesn’t go OTT.
the intro is absolute shite mate. the song is utterly atrocious, and the whole thing is bland and generic, action wise. load of shit, and i resent its meer creation to and against the far superior EON films
JoBlo had it right, this is a made for TV movie, no way you can match it up against any of the EON films.
@@The_Practical_Bond Was I comparing it to the EON films? No, I was saying its better than Diamonds, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, and Golden Gun. Are these all the EON films?
@@filmneek The song is atrocious as is the score. And yes the opening is generic and bland... but I prefer watching something bland and generic with a trim and fit Sean Connery than a flabby, uninterested Connery sporting a terrible wig, and making mud pies with rotten snot that’s supposed to be plastic surgery semen or something
@@spaceodds1985 Lol, id agree about connery and for me thats what makes basically half of his bond films almost unwatchable. His only three great ones, are his first three. the rest he's clearly bored which is such a shame, i don't even think he is the best bond tbh.
Imagine that, two bond films in a year - We're lucky to get two a decade now.
True
Make that 3, if you include George Lazenby's Bond esque appearance as "J.B." in Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E., also on that same year.
I agree. We have had one Bond film in 8 or 9 years and that was with the same actor playing Bond. There should really only be large gaps when there is a change in Bond actors. We need a Bond film every 2-3 years for at least the first 3 films when there is a new Bond actor. It seems like they have no idea of what direction to take the franchise in these days. They are trying to change the character to fit modern PC society to the point where they may as well not even call him Bond anymore.
These are the movies my dad took me to see as a little kid. Man I was disappointed when i learned adulthood wasn't all martinis, models and motorcycle chases.
As a kid I legit thought this was what being a grownup was.
Wait, what? It isn't?
@@JoBloOriginals What's the theme music that plays in the background of this vidoe, is it a remix of the james bond theme?
No kidding 😂. Dont drink. Every woman has been a flop or Dr. Evil.
Made up for that and still ride sportbikes
@@chaseroush6503 what? what are you talking about Chase? I asked what the remix theme song was that is playing in the background of this video?
Best part was when Bond forces a guy to hold his cigarette case all night making him believe it was a movement sensitive bomb.
The way he Delivers the line makes it 100 times funnier too
I liked it at the end when Connery broke the 4th wall and looked down the camera and winked.
Yes as it was his last film appearance as Bond. Then he'd later return to voice Bond for the 2005 From Russia With Love PS2 game.
Sean Connery will be always be my favorite James Bond.
one of my fav Bond-Connery movies. Connery is brilliant in this movie. His quips and quirks are some of the best.
NSNA is a seriously underrated film. I’m a purist, but can’t ignore it as I love Thunderball. Personally, Lani Halls theme tune is a massive favourite of mine, i love it.
Klaus Maria Brandauer was such a great villain and his freak out after he caught Domino cheating was one the best parts of the movie.
Apparently Connery did this movie just to piss off Brocolli after they had a falling out on Diamonds are forever.
YEP
As far as I know, Sean never had any further involvement with the 007 franchise. Even interviews are hard to find. I don't think he came back for anniversaries. Even years after Cubby died, he refused. Whatever happened between them must be pretty serious.
Krush28 he played bond in a 2005 video game
According to Barbara, Sean did make peace with Cubby shortly before the latter passed away.
@@filmneek YEAH he was in the From Russia with love videogame.
Having Sean Connery come back as bond in the seventh film can never be bad 🎰
I just want to point out a little fact: Connery's actual last time playing Bond was in the 2005 video game From Russia With Love which he returned giving his voice...for some reason.
Because while we've all seen him on VHS and DVD, his grandchildren were gaming and there was no Sean Connery Bond to be found in that medium.
It was Connery's favorite Bond film
He loved watching his grandkids play games and mentioned that video games could be the future of telling narratives, ironically he was right. He just didn't see it happen which is disappointing
@@charlessunkyst I could have sworn he passed away a while ago. My bad.
@@Kirkenburer74 Man though, that makes me thing he probably would've love to see a Goldfinger game happen.
Never Say Never was a fantastic Bond movie. One of my favorite!
This is for me one of the best Bond films ever. Like everything about it, the acting, the scenes, the massive Bond cliches. Love it. 1983 great year for Bond as Octopussy was in my mind the best film made by Moore. However, nobody will match Connery ever in this role.
Octopussy is a mixture of good stuff with awful.
Couldn’t agree with you more on your NSNA assessment. I need to watch Octopussy again, I think. Most people think these are two of the worst Moore Bond movies, but I love Moonraker & A View to a Kill. Sure, they’re campy & less serious Bond outings, and all I have to say is... exactly! Moore is perfectly suited to those types of Bond films with that mood/flavor. If one doesn’t think about high artistic merits too much as they watch stupider Moore Bonds, they might just wind up having fun for two hours. And what’s wrong with that again?? Oh yeah, nothing.
I thought that Sean Connery was about 70 years old when this movie came out... Turns out he was only 53 years old... Still a Great movie
Ha ha 70
When you have sean as 007 and remade thunderball one of the best movies in 007 universe it cant go wrong and it didnt... It was great movie and sean was still in great shape as bond.. I loved it
Barbara Carrera Is A Goddess!! The best part of this film is Fatima Blush!!
You're not her only admirer => czcams.com/video/P-AtY3r3vTM/video.html
I loved that outfit she had on before Bond killed her. I also liked the gal who was fishing. She was played by Valerie Leon. She was the same actress who played the receptionist at the hotel in "The Spy Who Loved Me." 1977
Huxzah Huzzah Huzzah!!
I'd definitely rather watch NSNA than a few of the official Bond's.
I'd probably take it over QoS.
Namely the Moore films.
Nahhhhhh
Scenery in this film is second to none.
I liked this movie. I watched the Bond films in the order of their release dates and was particularly happy to see Sean Connery playing Bond again. The script was adjusted well for Bond's return to a mission at an older age and the imperfections in him were very suitable.
Barbara Carrera rules in this. Total psycho goddess. She actually forces Bond at gunpoint to write and sign a document stating she was the best lay he'd ever had. Hysterical.
Without her, we would never have Mayday or Xenia.
The opening sequence is amazing, even if the music doesn't quite match. Klaus Maria Brandauer and Barbara Carrera are top notch villains. Kim Basinger is stunning, although acting-wise she doesn't do much in this one; while Barbara Carrera both looks stunning and is superb in her performance.
I have to agree that what is truly sad (almost tragic) is the wasted opportunity here to give Sean Connery a proper send-off as 007; still, this film is considerably better than Diamonds Are Forever, so there's that.
I love LOVE this film and never get tired of re-watching it. The ONLY thing's I truly miss are the gun barrel opening and the Bond theme tune. The guy who plays M is a bit over the top as a posh parody, but even that's acceptable since Judi Dench later on was over the top serious. From the opening rescue sequence to the fantastic title song to the gadgets to the beautiful women to the slimey villain to the fight scenes (choreographed by a then unknown Steven Segal!) to the clever "how's he going to get out of this situation" set pieces to the witty quips as can be delivered only by Sean Connery, this one has it all. Barbara Carerra's "Fatima Blush" is one of the all-time great villainesses (I wouldn't be surprised if Famke Janssen saw her performance before playing "Xenia Onatopp"), and Klaus Maria Brandauer was superb as psycho slimeball supreme. The unsung hero was Gavan O'Herlihy as the traitorous "Jack" who has some really nice scenes. Kim Basinger made for a smokin' hot Bond girl as did Hammer stalworth Valerie Leon returning to Bond once again after appearing in The Spy Who Loved Me. The underwater sequences, admittedly aren't for everybody since by their very nature they're slow as things move less fast in the water than on land, but the shark scene is gripping (and clever! something sorely missing in today's Bond films) and the underwater finale very exciting and well done for those who love underwater adventure. The fountain pen, the motorcycle, the spa scenes, the video game battle (sure that scene is dated but there's nothing wrong with classic films showcasing their era in fact that's to be cherished!), the hi-jacking scenes, all great stuff. It's a shame that some purists will never consider this an "official" Bond film since it was made by others but it's got more official ingredients and heart than quite a few of the official films. My only disappointment is that Dalton and Brosnan didn't get a chance to do unofficial Bond films like this one after they got shafted. I'd have been to the moon with joy to have seen that.
Dithery Judi Dench ruins the later stuff.
I’ve always had a soft spot for this movie, despite its flaws. It was actually the first Connery Bond film I ever saw as a kid, and I instantly became a big fan of him as a result. We also get a fun little supporting turn from Bernie Casey as the first Black actor to play Felix Leiter. It was apparently Connery’s idea to have a Black actor take on the role. Plus I love the fight in the health spa with Pat Roach, who’s probably most famous as the bald Nazi who gets shredded by a propeller in Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a fun Saturday afternoon movie.
Ditto on a lot of this. Was my first movie to see Sean as Bond as a kid too. I liked Roger Moore from Your Eyes Only but when I saw Sean Connery, I thought he was really cool. Remember seeing this with my dad in the theaters. Love watching these kind of movies with my dad.
I really enjoy these Bond film retrospectives.
I watch the new one every week!
This episode made me want one like these but for the movie The Rock which they say is "a secret final Connery Bond film" 😅
“Now write this! The greatest rapture in my life was afforded me in a boat in Nassau by Fatima Blush.”
Barbara Carrera definitely a top 3 Bond girl/villain.
Barbara Carrera is the number one femme fatale
The last time Sean Connery had more hair on his head than on his face.
Not real hair though.
The "lighter brown" hair color implies age without going with gray. A lot of caucasian people (myself included) see their hair get lighter before it grays. I don't know if it was intentional, but it does work with a fifty-something Bond who is considering giving up the game.
@@JoBloOriginals he always wore a piece when playing bond. thing is, bald sean is even more manly than hairpiece sean.
@@JoBloOriginals Actually possibly real hair, although Sean hadn't grown it from scratch.
@@thewkovacs316 Not always. Contrary to popular belief he wasn´t wearing a hairpiece in his first two James Bond films. In fact since Goldfinger (1964) that was the case.
This is one of my childhood favorites. The villainess was scary but also hot in an ..ahem ...dominatrix kinda way.
silly. love it
A strong women doesn't always mean she's a dominatrix.
Am I one of the few people who actually like the Lani Hall song during the opening?
I don’t mind it, the chorus is incredibly catchy. Very fitting.
Nope. I bought the CD.
No, i actually really enjoyed the song in the intro. Kinda gives Bond the 80s vibe which i really dug.
One of my favorite Bond tunes, love it. I think that it also fits the intro
No! I like it too, far better than the dross of Octopussy, fyeo, mwgg, spy, moonraker etc
Liam Neeson as Bond: "Bond..James Bond..and I have a particular set of skills."
But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, and a license to kill, that make me a nightmare for people like you...
It could be Liam Neeson..........actually after Never Say Never Again, Jack Schwartzmann and Kevin McClory plan to produce Warhead 2000 AD, another Thunderball adaptation to which they made Timothy Dalton and Liam Neeson to play OO7 outside of EON but then again it was abolished because Cubby Broccoli again bought and turned over Thunderball rights to EON once again.
I feel what with the music and the aesthetics, that this felt more like a James Bond on Holiday special than a proper James Bond film. Still it's a very enjoyable holiday special!
My favourite Bond. This movie is all about glamour.
I'm glad that made this because we got two more Roger Moore films
10:21 The most meta line in any Bond film with the most Bond remark ever!
i grew up watching connery as bond in the theatre...when moore took over, i liked him as the saint, but not so much as bond, so when this film came to the screen, it was glorious just to have connery back...i didn't care for octopussy at all, like most moore films, too hokey...so never say never again has a very special place in my heart, and yes, the motorcycle chase was great....peace....
I 100 % agree . When Moore took over I refused to watch his films in the theater till Dalton took over .
Awesome!!!
This is my favourite James Bond film.. no apologies
Regarding James Horner, don't forget that 1983 was *very* early in his career. The only really big movie he'd scored up to that point was Star Trek II. (And maybe 48 Hrs, I guess?) Otherwise, most of his work was on cheapo Roger Corman flicks. Hiring him for a Bond movie would have been a major gamble. We know in retrospect he probably would have nailed it, but I can understand the producers being a little reluctant to hire a relative newbie. Although that doesn't explain the terrible score they did go with.
Star Trek 2 score was amazing
Also there were probably lingering copyright infringement concerns has the score of NSNA been too similar to the Eon theme songs. Recall that the case law on copyright is, in fact, must more one-sided in favor of the "original" work based on the George Harrison case that found "My Sweet Lord" infringed on the copyright of "She's so fine". The theory was "passive influence through prior exposure" where you don't even have to copy the music, you just have to be "influenced" by have had some prior exposure which, through the kind of existential creative process only the greediest, sleaziest lawyers could argue with a straight face, the author of the new work goes to sleep and dreams up the new song, but the dream was really a subconscious copy of the original work. Yeah, no joke. So with their being tensions over deviating on story, you can be sure they told the composer, look, we don't want anything that's going to make us have to pull our release date again because of a last minute lawsuit over the music.
Really. I didnt know that. I wasnt too keen on the soundtrack but I think Herb Alberts ex wife did the title tune .
I absolutely loved it when it came out and I must have watched it at least 30 times ever since ( along at all the other Bond movies )
Moreover, my wife recently bought me the ENTIRE collection in Blu-Ray...
I know it's not legally feasible but I sometimes wish all the movies made between 1962 and 1973 could have remakes...
Just like this gem was a remake of Thunderball...
The great memories going to my dad's for the weekends and hitting the drive in every Friday night for every bond releases
It just shows the talent of some the actors to do the job they did with such restrictions. This is one of the movies I remember growing up seeing on TV on the Saturday daytime movies.
One could notice that Sean Connery started aging in this movie. Because of the character's lavish and flamboyant lifestyle, he is still made to look young. Beyond this movie Sean would truly age.
I love this one a lot, and I think it was better than many other official bond movies.
I learned a lot as I got older about how things broke down within the Bond franchise in the 70s. I remember the hard jab taken in 81's For Your Eyes Only with Moore dropping Blofeld down a chimney. Then two years later this film is delivered against Octopussy. You know you are in the big leagues when you can fight with films.
I was pleasantly surprised about how much I enjoyed this film after recently rewatching for the first time in 15 odd years. I think I had low expectations based on the bad press this film gets on the internet.
Sure it’s not perfect, but I prefer the pacing in this compared to Thunderball. It’s also great to have Sean Connery back.
One on my biggest take aways from Never Say Never Again, is seeing that Connery could have played Bond for many more (no pun intended) films after his leaving of the role due to the salary disputes with EON.
I don't think it was salary; he was the then-highest paid actor ever to reprise the part for Diamonds are Forever (which he put entirely toward a charity for Scottish artists), and supposedly the producers offered to double it for him to return for Live and Let Die (which he, obviously, refused).
Having read a lot of autobiographies by actors who become very closely associated with a pop culture character, it seems that many of them go through an arc (sometimes more than one) of first enjoying the adulation and financial benefits of being tied to a breakout character. Then they get tired of it; the public insists on conflating them and the character, studios typecast them, maybe they just want to try something else because they're actors. And for a while, they distance themselves from the part. Then they circle back around to a reasonably positive view of the character. Maybe they're just putting on a front because it's the only way to make money, but most cases that I'm aware of seem to be a genuine affection for the part and the fans.
The story goes that Sean Connery met with some Japanese press during the filming of You Only Live Twice and showed up wearing khaki slacks and sandals instead of a finely tailored suit, and the reporters gave him some grief "Is this how James Bond dresses?!" And his response was something like "This is how Sean Connery dresses!!" And that's how he decided to move on. In his intra-Bond Years, Connery's films were hit and miss, with even the "hits" only being modest successes at the Box Office (which is tough in an industry where only your last film's performance counts). And post-Never Say Never Again, Connery seemed warmer (if not absolutely loving) toward Bond. And he reprised the role again for the 2005 From Russia with Love video game. At the same time, the ensuing 20-ish years were solidly successful for him, so I'm sure that helped.
Connery left because he felt typecast as James Bond.
@@KonElKentConnery was knocking heads with the producers of EON who were a ton of money off Bond and he got pennies was another reason he left. He sued and won since billboards used to say : Sean Connery is James Bond .
It wasn’t so much the salary as he made 1.2 million for Diamonds Are Forever which was a lot back then in 1970-71. He was fed up with playing Bond and left the role first time after You Only Live Twice on his own when he resigned. His professional relationship with Bond producers at Eon Productions deteriorated so much he couldn’t in same room with producers or he wouldn’t film his scenes on You Only live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever
Even though it's unofficial, I think this is one of the best Bond films. Sean Connery was always the best Bond.
Yeah, this is "unofficial", even though it's licensed from the book, while Eon production which have nothing to do with Fleming and pee all over the character are "official". 🙄
I find gentle grandpa types talking about their plans for world dominaton pretty scary.
I was thinking the same. It's more sinister than an overly evil bad guy.
Love the way Sean look ok this film. The Man esa Fit.
The greatest thing Clement and La Frenais did for me was Auf Wiedersehen Pet. I hadn't realised until years later they worked on this film. I met Ian La Frenais outside the Newcastle City hall a few years back, a really great bloke.
Still Crazy.
That saxophone vs. brass stuff... Loved it :)
I saw this over a year ago, and consider it to be the best remake of Thunderball I've ever seen.
Its was made by Kevin McClory who sued Ian Fleming over the rights so he made his own version of Thunderball.
A fair and balanced vid. I love this movie, and definitely prefer it to many Bonds. But I love that you don't pretend it doesn't work at all, like so many fans do simply because its not an EON production. That doesn't really preclude it from being an interesting experiment on its own. Really, the villains are fantastic and in fact Brandauer might be the first post-modern Bond villain that helped spear the direction towards psychologically unbalanced villains in the long run. And Connery exits gracefully, I feel. The film's biggest flaws are the limited script and the score, and only the latter was their choice, since EON was threatening to shut production every shooting day. Anyway, good job!
“I made you all wet.”
“Yes, but my martini is still dry. My name is James.”
Such a great line and Connery’s delivery is perfect.
This is the best part of this film
I'm sure R. Moore would reply with some innuendo.
@@matusfekete6503 "Well maybe I should return the favour?"
I still have a soft spot for this one for some reasons
I'm surprised people don't make a connection between Fatima Blush and Xenia Onatopp more often. They're basically the same character.
They're both sadists.
Goldeneye stole everything from this movie.
@@eduardoestevezvalinas4737 minus the rouge agent and all the computer stuff. honestly the video game sequence is just like the card game in casino royal.
I have an outstanding fan edit of this that replaces the score with a John Barry score, uses a great opening song by Shirley Bassey and the Propellerheads as well as using the the gun barrel, etc. Had it been made as an official movie, this would have been excellent as no one has ever been able to replicate the Connery magic. Plus Atkinson's small role is hilarious.
Where can I see it?
@@giancarlogomez2134 I don't know, the gentleman who made it for me was from Wales, we both belonged to the alt.rec.james-bond group (late 1990's).
Finally your take on my favorite JB movie (Brandauer is so killing it. We'll have to wait until Carlyle to see another memorable villain)
I'm a huge Bond fan, and so I do enjoy Never Say Never Again, as I enjoy all (but a few) of the other Bonds. Even though it's a remake, it is different enough that it wasn't boring. *However*, I completely agree with you on the score. I also missed Q big time. In all, it did suffer a lot in quality from not being an official Bond. But if for nothing else, I like it because Sean Connery's Bond does get a happy sendoff. I like imagining him in his idyllic retirement with Kim Basinger, drinking his dry martinis.
It comes a third with me after TSWLM, Moonraker and thunderball 4th.
I agree, the film has the aesthetic of a TV film. Also the score... Worst Score Ever. I remember at Uni we were studying the French New Wave, where Michel Legrand provided a score or two to certain films of the movement. I remember just shouting out that he was responsible for the score to NSNA...and that his work on that film was atrocious
Agreed. That music during the motorcycle chase was just agony!
Phyllis Hyman had a great title song for this movie they didn't use.
Schwartzman wanted James Horner, it was Connery who got LeGrand.
I agree the music was worst than For your Eyes Only soundtrack ( not the title song )
A James Horner James Bond score would’ve been incredible
There was a Order on TV series where you could call to get the whole series from Dr. No to the Living Daylights and the company behind it also included Never Say Never Again.
IDK I kinda like it, I was always fascinated because my dad told me this was the story of a retiring Bond and that concept really blew my mind back then, of course I watched them in reruns during the early 2000's so I didn't knew that this movie came to compete with Octopussy, but thank you for reminding me this movie had an intro song no wonder why I forgot about it and yes the villain looks like flipping colonel Sanders
This was my first introduction to Sean Connery as James Bond. I didn't mind that it wasn't officially part of the Eon Canon.
This was directed by the guy who did the Empire strikes Back .
Same here. My sister and I grew up with Moore as Bond. Then one night my Dad was watching NSNA on hbo. I asked him what he was watching and he said James Bond. I said THATS not James Bond and he promptly schooled my nine year old self on who the REAL Bond was lol
It’s a good movie. I was expecting it to be bad but I actually enjoyed it.
I had totally forgotten that I watched this movie after it was released. That should tell you everything you need to know about Never say Never Again. 😅
Bizarrely, this one was my childhood Bond.
Same here I'm nearly as old this movie 😁
Actually, Casino Royale(1967) and You Only Live Twice came out in the same year too.
CR was released 8 to 14 weeks before YOLT, making that the FIFTH (#5) cinematic James Bond film!
I don’t have a big problem with this film. I think what hurts the film is that it is essentially a remake of one of the best Bond films of all time in Thunderball, and I know that NSNA had to be that way, but I’ve always thought it would be interesting if this would have been a remake of a Bond film that wasn’t very good like Diamonds Are Forever or Man With the Golden Gun, and it ended up being better than those films. And I think that had they put more care into the film instead of just trying to make money it could have been maybe not an improvement, but a worthy remake of Thunderball.
Love this theme song !
I’ve watched all the official ones a few times each recently. Still haven’t seen this one since it was new though. I guess I should check it out.
I liked it. Still do. Underrated.
Something that trips me out to learn here, I just finished watching Goldfinger with my wife. There were moves in a scene, which I said to my wife, “that is a Stevan Segal move”. Now I learn from this video, and years after Goldfinger, Stevan Seagal trained Sean Connery? WTF!
Yes! Been waiting for this...as you know❤️
I am really glad we got a Legrand score in a Bond film. I certainly understand why Connery went for Legrand over Horner (unless you wanted Titanic/Heart Must Go On). I agree Aliens and Flightplan were great scores, but I am not sure they would be right for this film. I would argue that NSNA had the best Bond music, but not the best bond soundtrack. I also think that Barry had a few insecurities (as many composers do) that he did not have a proper command of formal harmony and counterpoint - this is sort of hinted at in a documentary done on him. It is interesting though they went for a lot of jazz. I would have expected more a long the lines of Ice Station Zebra (talk about epic openings with strings and brass!). The song is brilliant (the music anyway). The problem was firstly the lyrics (too staid), the vocalist and the production (done by Bossa Nova artists - talented but not right for that song - although it would have, and did work, with Look of Love in the first Casino Royale). But for sure the biggest problem was the lack of connection between the music and the opening sequence (they could have done something really spectacular at the chorus especially). But I agree there was a little too much jazz. The climax was anti-climactic. I have a feeling though that Connery wanted a very south of France flavour to this film. When they are on the Cote d'Azur the movie really has the sounds from the area. And Connery had a personal connection to it. Connery had a house in the south of France and spent much of his adult life there.
I suspect that with cost and time overruns they ran out of time, and a lot of music was simply put over the top of the existing action series at the very end.
I do not think that the soundtrack was up to the level of For Your Eyes Only (which I think was the best). Interestingly that score also had a lot of flughenhorn (which is a bit like a saxophone) and was quite jazzy/funky in many respects. But overall despite its flaws, it had many strengths and NSNA is one of my favourite of the James Bond films and scores.
Saw this as a kid with my dad and as memory serves, this movie played. The audience, us included, ate it up.
The flaws that are apparent, obvious and unavoidable now were invisible and non-existent in the moment when it was happening in real time. So funny what is of it's time and perfect at capturing the zieguiest, can become so dated and a time capsule of a time so far removed from our own it might as well be about an alien civilization.
Expensive TV movie, great description of this.
Both films were so much fun and I had both films on VHS 📼 and DVD 📀
James Bond and Jazz go hand in hand. However, there’s good and bad jazz.
In that one sean connery was the opposite of diamonds. Back in business with sex appeal and serious. Pure james bond class again.
Kim Bassinger, hubba hubba!
Never Say Never Again Sean Connery all the fans around the world waiting for him back in action as James Bond 007
Now I've bought that massive Road to 007 book thanks to you, I have my summer cut out for me.....
I heard there were a lot of reshoots, resulting in Connery saying that this one felt more exhausting than his previous Bond films put together! "The Battle for Bond" is very good. The lawsuit against Ian Fleming might have hastened his heart attack (along with the liquor, his diet, and 70 cigarettes a day).
McClory was a bastard . Eon put him as producer of Thunderball but he still stuck it to them .
This film had the 1st black Felix Leiter...
I LIKE THAT SONG😂
The only time I know of that Connery returned to the role of Bond is in the From Russia with Love game. In likeness and providing voice acting. Fantastic game based on a classic movie.
I loved NSNA; it was a fun Bond movie.
Imo the best Bond movie.
To be honest, I hated the film because the biggest thing about 007 movies is the song. The story can change, the actors can change, even the whole character can change from a funny and charming Roger to a grumpy bitter Daniel and still you have a James Bond movie, but change the theme and what you get is a silly set of action clips with a basic spy story and lots of effects which can be any spy or even PI movie. Even with a nicely made Casino Royale, I really didn't feel like I was watching Bond until I heard the song at the end. I understand that with Never Say Never Again the music was licensed, OK. They didn't want to imitate the song either, that I can understand, too. But did they have to use the music that even would sound ridiculous on a Matt Helm film? I loved what you did by adding the Bond theme on a short scene, it shows how important the theme is for the franchise. It's a master piece.
havent seen this in over 30 years, i'll have to check it out again. i remember that femme fatale Fatima Blush was a real highlight of the show... and yeah the music was not on point. Great video, can't wait until the next episode.... Has James Bond finally met his match?
2:32 I had a big crush on Barbara Carrera, Fatima Blush is my favorite bond girl!!!
I literally grew up with James Bond. I was four years old when Dr. No came out. I didn't see it then, but there was a double feature, Dr. No and From Russia With Love, that I did see. The latter is my personal favorite. Goldfinger was re-released a few years later. So, I can boast that I saw every Bond film in a movie theater. So there were elements of a Bond film that I had grown to expect.
The thing I hated most about Never Say Never Again was that it did not have the much beloved score. Also, Sean looked much older than his 52 years. He didn't seem to age well. He looked too old for the part.
After Sean's death, I decided to give it one more chance. Trying to keep my emotions out of it as much as I could, I liked it much better this time. I agree with a lot of what you said in your pin regarding some of the later EON films that weren't as good.
I enjoyed your review very much and look forward to your next.
I saw BOTH in the theater that year...9 year old me was confused as to why two different people were playing Bond...because up until that point, I had only known Roger Moore. I like Never Say Never better than Thunderball...and Barbara Carrera was very...over the top as Fatima Blush.
I like the NSNA music video where they note the resemblance between Sean Connery and Lani Hall
At 8:45, you know that this is Claudia Schiffer, right? Or was this bit just for the "schwing"?
Are you shure?
One of the first Bond Movies I watched when it actually came out, I think Octopussy was my first. I new all the others from reruns in theaters, anyway I remembering liking this movie pretty much but also remember how shocked I was when there was no Gunbarrel at the beginning. Since it is a remake from Thunderball i can not put it above the original and for now it rest pretty low on my list.
1. Moonraker
2. For Your Eyes Only
3. Octopussy
4. From Russia with Love
5. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
6. Thunderball
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. Live and Let Die
9. Goldfinger
10. Dr. No
11. Diamonds are Forever
12. Never Say Never Again
12. You only Live Twice
13. The Man with the Golden Gun
Love these retrospectives!!!!
@8:47 I'm pretty sure that's not Kim Basinger but Claudia Schiffer in the Guess Jeans ad from "Wayne's World"...? 🤔
At the time this movie seemed very confusing, why were there two James Bonds? Are they brothers? But now everything is explained... Well, sort of... Kinda... Well, just live and let watch, I guess. Loving the series!! Great as usual, Thanx!!!
Film was crap, however Barbara Carrera was one of the hottest Bond girls.
She was the only one that look like she was having fun in this crap movie.
1. Dr No, Goldfinger, Thunderball, From Russia With Love, Casino Royale
2. You Only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever, Never Say Never, Spy Who Loved Me, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall
3. Licence To Kill, Spectre
An entertainment lawyer named Jack Schwartzman had the guts to produce this project, succeeding where Kevin McClory had failed. It was he who enticed Sean Connery to take on the role once more. In addition to his salary and percentages, Connery was given final say over script and casting. Eon continued harassing the production, keeping Schwartzman busy in the London High Court throughout the making of “NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN.”
For this old Bond fan, it was worth the wait. I enjoy this film much more than “Thunderball,” a film disdained even by its director, Terence Young. (He stated that you could hire a student at MIT to direct it, with all the machinery.) It is superior to the ridiculous “Octopussy.” Not to mention “Man With the Golden Gun,” “Moonraker,” and “A View to a Kill.”
The whole point of “NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN” was not to be like those films, and certainly not “Diamonds Are Forever”! Casting, script, pacing, cinematography, action - all superb! The music was fine, certainly better than John Barry going through the motions. Irvin Kershner said that James Horner pulled out at the last minute, and that the only composer available on short notice was Michel Legrand. He came through as well as he did on the original “Thomas Crown Affair” - and that includes the title song (co-produced by Herb Alpert & Sergio Mendez).
My only disappointment was with Connery, who blasted Schwartzman even after the latter’s death in 1994. It was, however, Connery’s best performance since “From Russia With Love.” He was more focused, enthusiastic, and in better shape. And Kershner always gave him credit for being a driving force behind the film.
By the way, McClory’s original contract with Eon stipulated that after 1976, he would have the rights to the ten Bond stories he had developed with Ian Fleming. (“Warhead,” which McClory wrote with Connery and Len Deighton, would have been a legal right.) So he was not limited to a remake of “Thunderball.” Not surprisingly, considering the profits involved, Eon fought hard even against the remake. Once McClory passed in 2006, Eon must have breathed a sigh of relief!
This old Bondophile gives “NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN” a definite 10!
Cool
Never Say Never Again is a great title, to be sure. Connery is jacked and the babes are plentiful.