Thunderball (1965)

James Bond heads to the Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E. 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 4 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 S.P.E.C.T.R.E. organization. The world is held hostage and Bond heads to Nassau, The Bahamas. Here, he meets the beautiful Domino and is forced into a thrilling confrontation with S.P.E.C.T.R.E. 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:

official james bond series | woman in bathtub | girl in a bikini | underwater battle | vodka martini | 

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Taglines:

Look Out!...Remember there is only one James Bond and Thunderball's the Biggest of them All! (Australian theatrical daybill poster)

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

22 December 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Thunderball

Filming Locations:

Atlantis Hotel, Bahamas

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$63,600,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$77,600,000

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

According to Behind the Scenes with 'Thunderball' (1995), in the scene were Bond climbs out of the shark tank right as a shark makes a run at him, the shark in question was dead and pulled by a wire.

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Goofs

Bond is shown walking down the stairs to Largo's divers launch point wearing only his Rolex Submariner on his left wrist. (with no place to keep anything else). In the continuation of that scene he suddenly has his Breitling, which Q handed him earlier, on his right wrist too.

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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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Alternate Versions

On some versions of the 1993-era MGM/UA VHS release (stock M202729), Sean Connery's name (as well as Broccoli & Saltzman) does not appear in the opening credits.

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Connections

Featured in Bond's Greatest Moments (2013)

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Soundtracks

James Bond Theme
Music by Monty Norman
Arrangement by John Barry

User Reviews

A kind of good Connery Bond

Rating-7/10

Thunderball is a Bond that may be slightly slower than the ones before it, but it still packs a punch in the franchise and stands tall among all the entries. With Connery continuing his suave but violent role, he manages to make this film fun yet plausible at the same time with the villain being not so insane as seen before. I felt that this film was solidly a Kind of good film film, and here below is why I felt so.

The story is good fun and the adventure although maybe not scraping every part of the world, still manages to get a lot of out of only one real location it is set in. It has some good action and good scenes that are quintessential to any Bond fans, with big weapons and an underwater scene that is one of the resounding images of this film, it is just all good stuff, and with a plot that isn't afraid to be both light and dark.

Connery comes back with maybe a film that wouldn't be his proudest Bond, but still manages to entertain and do a job that many think, no one can do better. Largo the villain is a good villain, maybe slightly stereotypically Bond but is still a bad one, which turns out good. I felt Adolfo Celi who plays him is very good and stands out for me as one of those villains who is evil when you least expect it, a cunning man indeed.

The stunts are good fun and some of the things involved go a long way to entertain you, I especially liked that this film didn't have to rely on car chases for fun, it has more thrilling chases and a lot of boats are involved too. It is written OK and the script doesn't really go anywhere to help the film although Connery uses it well to his advantage, overall it is Connery who helps this film to it's rating.

The only thing I could really find wrong with this film is that at times it can be slow and maybe just a bit boring, I feel this was only because the film has one setting for the majority of the film and although it is an interesting plot, maybe the over use of location effects it. It could also be said that the film lacks enough humour needed for early Bonds but that it is really up to you if you decide to watch it.

Bond fans should enjoy this and although I don't think this will be there favourite one, it will still serve to entertain. Those who like Bonds with a much more spy like feel will enjoy this as he seems to get into some hiding places and stake outs to root out his enemy. One more thing to say is that this film has some great characters throughout and who is good and who is bad is always hard to predict, good fun.

Overall I give this a 7/10, Solidly a kind of Good film, with this you have to just enjoy this and see exactly what Sean can do in a Bond film, I will mention the underwater scenes again because Connery executes them very well and it is one thing that sticks in your mind when you think about the film. Just see what you think with this and ignore all other ratings including mine, you might just love this.