Thunderball (1965)

James Bond heads to The Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by SPECTRE agent Emilio Largo in an international extortion scheme.

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

Richard Maibaum (screenplay), John Hopkins (screenplay)

Stars:

Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	James Bond
Claudine Auger	...	Domino
Adolfo Celi	...	Largo
Luciana Paluzzi	...	Fiona
Rik Van Nutter	...	Felix Leiter
Guy Doleman	...	Count Lippe
Molly Peters	...	Patricia
Martine Beswick	...	Paula
Bernard Lee	...	'M'
Desmond Llewelyn	...	'Q'
Lois Maxwell	...	Moneypenny
Roland Culver	...	Foreign Secretary
Earl Cameron	...	Pinder
Paul Stassino	...	Palazzi
Rose Alba	...	Madame Boitier

Storyline

James Bond continues on his fourth mission, with his aim to recover two stolen warheads. They have been taken by the evil SPECTRE organization. The world is held hostage and Bond heads to Nassau. Here, he meets the beautiful Domino and is forced into a thrilling confrontation with SPECTRE agent Emilio Largo, on board his boat, the Disco Volante. Will 007 prevent the killing of millions of innocent victims?

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Plot Keywords:

underwater battle | fiery redhead | official james bond series | domino | nassau | 

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Taglines:

Look Up! Look Down! Look Out! Here Comes The Biggest Bond Of All! ["Look" is formed from the 007 logo]

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

22 December 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

James Bond 007 - Feuerball

Filming Locations:

Avenue d'Eylau, Paris 16, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$63,600,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's World Premiere was held on 9th December 1965 at the Hibiya Cinema, Tokyo, Japan. The film's US Premiere was on 21 December 1965 in New York and this is sometimes mistaken as being the movie's World Premiere. United Artists arranged one of the Bell Jet-Pack pilots to fly off the marquee of the Paramount Theater at 1501 Broadway, Manhattan as a promotion at the launch. A number of United Artists publicity personnel and the pilot were arrested as no one had sought permission from the authorities. The UK launch held dual premieres in London on 29th December 1965 at the Rialto Theatre and Pavillion Theatre, Piccadilly Circus. The after-party was held at the Royal Garden Hotel and proceeds from the night went to benefit the Newspaper Press Fund.

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Goofs

Boom mic visible as Bond goes down the stairs while listening to BBC Overseas Service announcement that Big Ben struck seven times instead of six at 6pm.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Madame LaPorte: The coffin - it has your initials: J.B.
Bond: At the moment, rather him than me.
Madame LaPorte: At least you've been saved the effort of removing him. Colonel Bouvar passed away in his sleep, so they tell me.
Bond: Mm...
Madame LaPorte: You sound disappointed you did not kill him yourself.
Bond: I am. Jacques Bouvar murdered two of my colleagues.

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Connections

Referenced in Minority Report (2002)

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Soundtracks

Thunderball
Music by John Barry
Lyrics by Don Black
Performed by Tom Jones

User Reviews

So he strikes... like Thunderball

This is one of the TOP Bond movies of all time.

Sean Connery is at his peak of fame as 007 and his character of Bond works in an excellent way. His portrait of the suave sophisticated super spy is tough, ironical, glamorous and a bit cynical; physically he's in great shape. This is the definitive image of Bond -which entered the movie history.

"Thunderball" is the fourth 007 movie. Many things have changed since the small budgeted "Dr.No". Here we a have a larger than life adventure, full of gadgets and jokes.

When SPECTRE steals some nuclear weapons Bond has to investigate everywhere -also under the sea- to avoid World War 3. He does it, as usual, facing a spiteful villain -Adolfo Celi- and a femme fatale -Luciana Paluzzi-. The prize for his effort is Domino -Claudine Auger-.

The film is still exciting... 40 years after its release we always wonder how underwater scenes are so accurate. The film is a mix of revolutionary technology, British humor, sex and gorgeous women. In 1965 it was unbelievable to see such films. "Thunderball" in the Sixties was like "Matrix" in 2000, maybe with a stronger impact than the latter on audiences, popular culture and fashion.

"Thunderball" marks the peak of Bondmania in the Sixties and the beginning of the gadget era for 007 -although for someone the decline of the serious James Bond begins here...