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 & 7 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:

submarine | british | jaws | teeth | sea | 

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Taglines:

It's Bond And Beyond.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | 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:

La espía que me amó

Filming Locations:

Abu Simbel Temple, Abu Simbel, Egypt

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$46,800,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Danjaq, Eon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min 123 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First James Bond movie to be recorded in Dolby Stereo.

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Goofs

When major Amasova enters the bar in Cairo, the slit on her dress shows her thighs. When she and Bond are stalking Jaws in the ruins, the dress is clearly longer.

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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

"THE END of THE SPY WHO LOVED ME JAMES BOND will return in FOR YOUR EYES ONLY" - though in fact the next film in the series was switched to Moonraker in light of the success of sci-fi movie Star Wars. Thus Moonraker went unannounced and For Your Eyes Only was promised twice. For the other incidence in the series of the next film being announced in error, see Octopussy.

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Connections

Featured in 20 to 1: Movie Heroes & Villains (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Eastern Lights"
(uncredited)
Music by Paul Buckmaster

User Reviews

One of Moore's finest.

Undeniably one of the finest James Bond films to star Roger Moore, the film has plenty of excess, top notch special effects (for 1977) anyway, the humor less overt and left over for puns and one liners, and one of the first strong and independent Bond women, paving the way for future love interests like Jinx and Wai Lin. The Spy Who Loved Me scarcely puts a foot wrong. Sure the plot is far fetched to the extreme (an underwater building and a villain looking to repopulate the earth in his underwater city), but it has plenty of charm and is frequently enjoyable. Moore looks very confident in his performance as Bond, the one liners oozing effort and confidence, showing he has hit his stride in this, his third appearance as the character. His chemistry with Barbara Bach is in full swing, despite her odd Russian accent, and the two of them make for a great on screen couple.

This is a return to the values of many of the Bond films that were missing the last time around. The extravagant sets are back, the villain has plenty of henchman for Bond and the cavalry to fight and the gadgets are in full swing. Everything from a parachute with the Union Jack on it to the Lotus with just about every conceivable gadget at Bond's disposal. The emphasis on sight gags and overt comedy is gone and replaced with moments of genuine suspense, just check out Bond having to steal the detonator of a nuclear weapon, not to mention the superb theme tune Nobody Does it Better by Carly Simon.

It's an apt song for a series that found its footing and gave its lead actor his first classic Bond film.