The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

James Bond investigates the hijacking of British and Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads with the help of a KGB agent whose lover he killed.

Director:

Lewis Gilbert

Writers:

Christopher Wood (screenplay), Richard Maibaum (screenplay)

Stars:

Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curd Jürgens

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roger Moore	...	James Bond
Barbara Bach	...	Major Anya Amasova / Agent XXX
Curd Jürgens	...	Karl Stromberg (as Curt Jurgens)
Richard Kiel	...	Jaws
Caroline Munro	...	Naomi
Walter Gotell	...	General Anatol Gogol
Geoffrey Keen	...	Sir Frederick Gray
Bernard Lee	...	M
George Baker	...	Captain Benson
Michael Billington	...	Sergei Barsov
Olga Bisera	...	Felicca
Desmond Llewelyn	...	Q
Edward de Souza	...	Sheikh Hosein (as Edward De Souza)
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Max Kalba
Valerie Leon	...	Hotel Receptionist

Storyline

James Bond is back again and his new mission is to find out how a Royal Navy Polaris submarine holding sixteen nuclear warheads simply disappears whilst on patrol. Bond joins Major Anya Amasova and takes on a a web-handed mastermind, known as Karl Stromberg, as well as his henchman Jaws, who has a mouthful of metal teeth. Bond must track down the location of the missing submarine before the warheads are fired.

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Plot Keywords:

cult film | world war three | 1970s | official james bond series | submarine | 

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Taglines:

007 Blasts Back

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

UK

Language:

English Italian Arabic

Release Date:

3 August 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

James Bond 007 - Der Spion, der mich liebte

Filming Locations:

Medinet Habu Temple, Thebes, Egypt

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$46,800,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min 123 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When James Bond drives the Wet Nellie up onto the beach, a small boy points to the car in the water. This is Richard George Kiel, son of actor Richard Kiel who portrayed Jaws.

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Goofs

When the boat blasts out of Stromberg's hideout and lands in the water, dummies are clearly visible riding in it. It is obviously a small miniature, also.

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Quotes

[first lines]
HMS Ranger Navigator: Captain wants to keep 500 feet.
Young officer, HMS Ranger: [over PA] Maneuvering, Control. Come in shallow to 500 feet.
Young officer, HMS Ranger: [to crewman] Keep 500 feet
HMS Ranger crewman: Keep 500 feet, sir.

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Crazy Credits

First opening credit sequence to incorporate specially shot footage of the actor playing James Bond (in this case, Roger Moore).

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Connections

Referenced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Our Man Bashir (1995)

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Soundtracks

Nocturne No. 8 in D-Flat, Op. 27 No. 2
(uncredited)
Composed by Frédéric Chopin

User Reviews

One Of The Best Bond Movies (And Theme Song) Ever

What a nice surprise this was, a change for me since re-viewing some of these old Bond movies. With the exception of "Goldfinger," I've been disappointed in the rest....but not this one. This film seemed far better than I had remembered, one of the best James Bond movies I've seen. My first look in over 30 years at this stunned me. I couldn't believe how entertaining and fun it was to watch!

It's enjoyable right from the start and features my all-time favorite "Bond song" - "Nobody Does It Better," By Carly Simon. It's sung or palyd throughout the movie.

This was Roger Moore's third attempt at playing James Bond and he really hit his stride with this, being a natural as the suave spy. The action is plentiful but never seems too much or gets boring with an excess. It never quite crosses that line, although it comes close a few times.

Curt Jurgens is very low-key as the villain "Karl Stromberg." His role really isn't all that big. You don't see much of him until the end. Who you DO see is the seven-foot, two-inch giant "Jaws" (Richard Kiel) the main with the iron teeth. He is fun to watch, and is almost indestructible, like the evil cyborg in "Terminator 2." Jaws just keeps coming back no matter what you do to him.

Overall, this Bond film is attractive because it has just the right mixture of action, suspense and humor, and another pretty leading lady in Barbara Bach. I'm not sold on her Russian accent as "Major Anya Amasova" but she is nice the eyes. The accent made her appear sub- par as an actress. Otherwise, no complaints.

The cinematography in here, too, is above-average. There are very nicely-filmed scenes with interesting camera-work. Good work, all-around!