Bondathon: The Spy Who Loved Me

The Spy Who Loved Me was considered one of the make-or-break films for the Bond franchise and seen by many as Roger Moore’s best. It is a film that deserves its reputation.

Two submarines, one British, the other Soviet, have disappeared when they were at sea. MI6 and the KGB send their best agents to investigate, James Bond and Major Anya Amasova, AKA XXX (Barbara Bach). The two must work together despite their nations being rivals and Bond had killed XXX’s lover in self-defence.

The Bond franchise was seen to be in a rut at this point. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was considered to be a box-office disappointment and The Man With the Golden Gun was a rushed production. Harry Saltzman had sold his share in EON Productions, leaving Albert R. Broccoli to produce The Spy Who Loved Me alone. This also marked the longest break between films at this point. So, there was a lot riding on this film.

The Spy Who Loved Me addressed a lot of the issues that affected The Man With the Golden Gun. The story and the villain’s plot were much bigger and the comedy was toned down. The biggest improvements were the portrayal of Bond and the Bond girl.

In the previous two Bond films Roger Moore’s Bond was portrayed as either a sleaze or an utter bastard. In Live and Let Die he tricked women into sleeping with him and in The Man With the Golden Gun Bond was slapping Andrea Andres and forced her back to her abuser. The Spy Who Loved Me aimed to make him more likeable. Moore was charming, cool under pressure and could still be ruthless. One of Bond’s best moments in the film was when Bond got information from an assassin and then lets him fall to his death.

Under Guy Hamilton the Bond franchise relied on ditzy klutzes. Tiffany Case and Mary Goodnight made things worse for Bond. Anya Amasova was the opposite because she was Bond’s equal in ability. She was a tough, no-nonsense type and she gave Bond good as she got. Bond and Amasova had a buddy cop relationship because they were representing opposing sides of the Cold War, had different personalities, and were forced to work together. There was tension between the two because Bond killed her partner and she promised to kill Bond when the mission was done. One of my favourite character moments in the film was when Amasova revealed all she knew about Bond and stated he was married. Bond was hurt during this conversation. Sadly, Amasova does turn into a damsel in distress in the final act because the villain took her and tied her to an ottoman. Still an improvement over the last few Bond girls.

The Spy Who Loved Me brought back Lewis Gilbert for the directing duties. Gilbert directed You Only Live Twice which was at the time the biggest scale Bond film because it featured Bond going to Japan, has the villain’s lair in a volcano and the villain had his own private space programme. The Spy Who Loved Me had some of You Only Live Twice’s DNA. Both films have a similar DNA. The Spy Who Loved Me had a similar set up to You Only Live Twice because it opened with the villain stealing a NATO vessel, the villains have elaborate lairs, and the villain’s plan involved starting World War Three. Like You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me had a fun adventure tone and was able to walk that thin line between serious and silly. When some Bond fans argue they want the series to be more fun again this is the type of film they had in mind.

The Spy Who Loved Me was meant to be Blofeld’s big return to the franchise, but legal issues prevented it. The villain ended up being Karl Stromberg (Curd Jürgens), a shipping industrialist who wanted to restart humanity in his undersea base. The element of Blofeld that remained in Stromberg was when he dispatches a traitor early in the film. Sadly, Stromberg was a lacklustre villain, he didn’t have the menace, cunning or physical threat that other villains had. He was even killed in an underwhelming way. After Stromberg’s introduction he disappears until the halfway point.

The more interesting villainous character was Jaws, played by Richard Kiel. Kiel was a huge man: he was over seven feet tall and had massive hands. He was intimating just for his sheer size. To show how tough Jaws was he was able to kill a shark with his teeth. Like Oddjob, Jaws is one of the most iconic henchmen in the series.

Iconic is a word that can be used to describe two other aspects of the film: the song and the car. Carly Simon sang the theme song, “Nobody Does It Better” and it can stand alongside “Goldfinger,” “Live and Let Die” and “For Your Eyes Only” as one of the best Bond themes. It was a ballad and loved the lyrics, especially how ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ was referenced. The Lotus Esprit was the most famous Bond car after the DB5. It got to show off its abilities during the car chase in Sardinia. The Lotus Esprit’s most famous feature was being able to turn into a submarine which I have vivid memories of when I was young.

The opening sequence must have been something to behold back when the film was released. When XXX was introduced, it was framed as a twist. Amasova was in bed with Sergei Barsov (Michael Billington) who looked like he could have been James Bond and when the KGB called them it was Amasova who answered. The opening sequence also had an exciting ski chase which resulted in the famous parachute. It was.a fantastic moment because the music stopped when Bond jumped off the ridge and the theme music started when the parachute opened.

The parachute jump was such an iconic moment that it has been parodied numerous times. The Simpsons, American Dad, Doctor Who, and xXx have all referenced the scene in some way.

The Spy Who Loved Me was released in 1977. That was the year of Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee and there was a lot of patriotic fervour in the UK. Crowds must have gone wild when they saw the Union Jack parachute. Stromberg referenced Détente which was the policy of relaxing tensions between the US and USSR. The Spy Who Loved Me played on this since it had Western and Eastern agents having to work together to stop a greater threat.

The Spy Who Loved Me was one of the more far-fetched Bond films, but it was done really well because it had strong characterisation, iconic scenes, and getting the tone just right. It’s a great example of how a grander scale Bond film should be made.