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Arts & Entertainment

Roger Moore Nailed James Bond In 'Spy'

As we look at Bond movies with the release of 'Skyfall,' we conclude one of the best 007 movies stars the often picked-on Moore in the lead role.

With the opening of the 23rd official James Bond movie, Skyfall, this month, I thought I would look back on some of the best Bond movies from each of the different Bond eras, which also happen to correlate with the different actors who have played the iconic British super-spy. 

The Spy Who Loved Me is by far my favorite Roger Moore “Bond” outing…and, even one of the best in the entire Bond series.

The Spy Who Loved Me begins very similarly to another one of my favorite Bond films…You Only Live Twice with Sean Connery. Both films start with the capturing of crafts…in You Only Live Twice, it is a space rocket and in The Spy Who Loved Me, it is a submarine.

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Obviously, we know that these “stolen” crafts are not the work of a sane person or entity. But, who is it? Is it Russia? Is it China? Basically once the craft is captured, it is up to 007 to save the day, as usual.

Where both films differ is in the villain. You Only Live Twice has the ever-popular Blofeld, who by the time You Only Live Twice came out, was getting a little passé. But, in The Spy Who Loved Me, Curd Jürgens plays Stromberg…one of the best Bond villains. His evilness is intense and not prolonged…if he wants to kill someone, he just does it (unlike the other Bond baddies who talk and talk and talk about killing before they actually get around to it). Moore also has excellent chemistry with his Russian counterpart…played by Barbara Bach. They play well off of each other, even though Bach is a little stiff at times. Moore's quips usually get to be too much after a while, but Bach does a good job of countering his jibes with some of her own.

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The Spy Who Loved Me: 1977, PG, 125 minutes, directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curd Jürgens, Richard Kiel, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, and Lois Maxwell.  The Niles Public Library owns this title on DVD. 

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