James Bond #13b - Never Say Never Again / 1983
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This series has been put out in honor of my favorite action hero - James Bond, Secret Agent 007.
Never Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball, which was previously adapted in 1965 under that name. Unlike the majority of Bond films, Never Say Never Again was not produced by Eon Productions, but by an independent production company, one of whose members was Kevin McClory, one of the original writers of the Thunderball storyline with Ian Fleming and Jack Whittingham. McClory retained the filming rights of the novel following a long legal battle dating from the 1960s.
The film was directed by Irvin Kershner and, like Thunderball, stars Sean Connery as British Secret Service agent James Bond, 007, marking his return to the role 12 years after Diamonds Are Forever. The film's title references how Connery said to the press in 1971 that he would "never again" play James Bond. As Connery was 52 at the time of filming, the storyline features an aging Bond, who is brought back into action to investigate the theft of two nuclear weapons by SPECTRE. Filming locations included France, Spain, the Bahamas and Elstree Studios in the United Kingdom in England.
Never Say Never Again was released by Warner Bros. in the autumn of 1983. It opened to positive critic reviews and was a commercial success, grossing $160 million at the box office, although this was less overall than the Eon-produced Bond film released in June of the same year, Octopussy. In 1997 the distribution rights of Never Say Never Again were purchased by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which distributes Eon's Bond films, and the company has handled subsequent home video releases of the film.
PLOT
After MI6 agent James Bond, 007 fails a routine training exercise, his superior, M, orders Bond to enrol in a health clinic in London to get back into shape. While there, Bond witnesses a mysterious nurse named Fatima Blush giving a sadomasochistic beating to a patient in a nearby room. The man's face is bandaged and after Fatima finishes her beating, Bond sees the patient using a machine which scans his eye. Bond is seen by Blush and an attempt is subsequently made to kill him in the clinic gym: however Bond manages to defeat the assassin.
Blush and her charge, a United States Air Force pilot named Jack Petachi, are operatives of SPECTRE, a criminal organisation run by Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Petachi has undergone an operation on his right eye to make it match the retinal pattern of the US President, which he uses to circumvent security at an American military base in England. While doing so, he replaces the dummy warheads in two cruise missiles with live nuclear warheads; SPECTRE then obtains the warheads to extort billions of dollars from NATO governments. Blush subsequently murders Petachi.
Under orders from the Prime Minister, M reluctantly reactivates the double-0 section and Bond is assigned the task of tracking down the missing weapons. Before leaving, he is outfitted with several gadgets by Q Branch, including a fountain pen that shoots an explosive dart. He meets Domino Petachi, the pilot's sister, and her wealthy lover, Maximillian Largo, another SPECTRE agent. Bond follows Largo and his yacht to the Bahamas, where he spars with Fatima Blush and Largo.
Bond is informed by Nigel Small-Fawcett of the British Consulate that Largo's yacht is now heading for Nice, France. There, Bond joins forces with his CIA counterpart, Felix Leiter. Bond goes to a beauty salon where he poses as an employee and, whilst giving Domino a massage, is informed by her that Largo is hosting an event at a casino that evening. At the charity event, Largo and Bond play a 3-D video game called Domination, which Bond ultimately wins; Bond then informs Domino of her brother's death. Bond returns to his villa to find Nicole, his French contact, dead, having been killed by Blush. After a vehicle chase on his motorbike, Blush captures Bond. Forced to write his memoirs putting her as his "Number One" sexual partner, Bond uses his MI6-issue fountain pen to shoot Blush.
Bond and Felix then attempt to board Largo's motor yacht, the Flying Saucer, in search of the missing nuclear warheads. Bond becomes trapped and is taken, with Domino, to Palmyra, Largo's base of operations in North Africa. Largo punishes Domino for betraying him by auctioning her off to some passing Arabs. Bond subsequently escapes and rescues Domino.
After her rescue, Domino and Bond reunite with Felix on a US Navy submarine and track Largo to a location known as The Tears of Allah, below a desert oasis. Bond and Leiter infiltrate the underground facility and a gun battle erupts between Felix's team and Largo's men in the temple. In the confusion Largo makes a getaway with one of the warheads. Bond catches and fights Largo underwater. Just as Largo tries to detonate the last bomb, he is killed by Domino, taking revenge for her brother's death. Bond then returns to the Bahamas with Domino.
CAST
Sean Connery as James Bond, MI6 agent 007.
Kim Basinger as Domino Petachi, sister of Jack Petachi and mistress of Maximillian Largo.
Klaus Maria Brandauer as Maximillian Largo; based on the character Emilio Largo, a senior member of SPECTRE.
Barbara Carrera as Fatima Blush; based on Fiona Volpe and a member of SPECTRE.
Bernie Casey as Felix Leiter, Bond's CIA contact and friend.
Max von Sydow as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE.
Edward Fox as M, Bond's superior at MI6.
Rowan Atkinson as Nigel Small-Fawcett, Foreign Office representative in the Bahamas.
Gavan O'Herlihy as Jack Petachi, a pilot used by SPECTRE to steal the nuclear missiles. He is Domino Petachi's brother.
Alec McCowen as Q (also known as Algy)
Pamela Salem as Miss Moneypenny, M's secretary
Saskia Cohen Tanugi as Nicole, Bond's MI6 contact in France
Prunella Gee as Patricia Fearing, a physiotherapist at the clinic
Valerie Leon as "Lady in Bahamas", a tourist in the Bahamas and Bond girl.
John Stephen Hill as Communications Officer
Milow Kirek as Kovacs
Pat Roach as Lippe
Anthony Sharp as Lord Ambrose
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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