Never Say Never Again (1983)

A SPECTRE agent has stolen two American nuclear warheads, and James Bond must find their targets before they are detonated.

Director:

Irvin Kershner

Writers:

Kevin McClory (story), Jack Whittingham (story),

Stars:

Sean Connery, Kim Basinger, Klaus Maria Brandauer

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	James Bond
Kim Basinger	...	Domino Petachi
Klaus Maria Brandauer	...	Maximilian Largo
Barbara Carrera	...	Fatima Blush
Max von Sydow	...	Ernst Stavro Blofeld (as Max Von Sydow)
Bernie Casey	...	Felix Leiter
Alec McCowen	...	'Q' Algy
Edward Fox	...	M
Pamela Salem	...	Miss Moneypenny
Rowan Atkinson	...	Nigel Small-Fawcett
Valerie Leon	...	Lady in Bahamas
Milos Kirek	...	Kovacs (as Milow Kirek)
Pat Roach	...	Lippe
Anthony Sharp	...	Lord Ambrose
Prunella Gee	...	Patricia

Storyline

SPECTRE agents under the command of Ernst Blofeld infiltrate a US air force base situated in the UK and steal two Tomahawk cruise missiles. When NATO is held to ransom, the British reactive their "00" agents and send James Bond to recapture the warheads and kill Blofeld.

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Plot Keywords:

nuclear warhead | british | bahamas | u.s. air force | missile | 

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Taglines:

Sean Connery is back as James Bond 007 [USA poster]

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

UK USA West Germany

Language:

English French Spanish Arabic

Release Date:

7 October 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Warhead

Filming Locations:

Alpes-Maritimes, France

Box Office

Budget:

$36,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$55,500,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

PSO International, TaliaFilm II Productions, Woodcote

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min 121 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actor Manning Redwood, who appears as General Miller in this film, Also appeared in the franchise's next Bond Film, A View to a Kill, as Bob Connelly, one of Max Zorin's associates. Redwood shares the distinction of appearing in back-to-back Bond films with different Bond actors playing both a good guy and a bad guy. (Walter Gotell and Joe Don Baker played good guys after playing bad guys.)

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Goofs

The nuclear warheads fly very low and very loud, yet, nobody seems to notice them.

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Quotes

Fatima Blush: Now darling must do his little trickie in eight seconds. Then nursie will give baby his candy.

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Connections

Referenced in Operación Mantis (El exterminio del macho) (1985)

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Soundtracks

"Never Say Never Again"
Music by Michel Legrand
Lyric by Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman
Sung by Lani Hall
Produced by Herb Alpert & Sergio Mendes (as Sergio Mendez)

User Reviews

The only Bond remake. Pointless but fun.

Never Say Never Again got its title because Sean Connery had said in the 1970s (shortly after Diamonds Are Forever) that he would "never" do another Bond film. However, in 1983 he was persuaded to return to the role for a one-off special, a remake of his fourth entry Thunderball, and his wife rather humorously said to him that in the future he should make a point never to say never again. This film actually came out close to a Roger Moore entry in the series (Octopussy), and although Connery had more admirers as 007 than Moore, it was surprisingly Octopussy that scored a bigger box office hit.

Connery's Bond is older and more vulnerable than we remember him. His boss, M, doesn't hold him in very high regard and actually suggests that he take some time off in a plush health spa. During his time here, Bond uncovers a strange plot and the further he delves into the mystery the more he discovers. It seems that his old adversaries SPECTRE, fronted by the nefarious Blofeld (Max Von Sydow) have stolen two nuclear warheads which they will detonate if they are not paid an extortionate ransom. Chief overseer of this hideous plan is Emile Largo (Klaus Maria Brandeur), and Bond pursues Largo around the globe in an attempt to stop him, visiting such places as Monte Carlo and North Africa during the course of the mission.

The music by Michel Legrand is poor by series standards. It sounds rather similar to his music for the sleazy 1981 movie Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid, and is really ill-suited to this Bond production. However, in terms of villains, they've come with a couple of great ones for this film. Largo, as personified by Brandeur, is smooth but deadly, and hench-woman Fatima Blush (the sensual Barbara Carrera) is uncommonly disturbing. Rowan Atkinson also has a fairly good role as a dim-witted agent assigned to "help" Bond. The big action sequences are quite good, especially the horse chase around the North African sea-fortress and the motorbike chase, although some of the underwater moments are tough to understand because it's hard to figure out who is who behind the diving masks.