James Bond investigates the hijacking of British and Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads, with the help of a K.G.B. Agent, whose lover he killed.
James Bond is targeted by the world's most expensive assassin, while he attempts to recover sensitive solar cell technology that is being sold to the highest bidder.
A fake Fabergé egg, and a fellow Agent's death, lead James Bond to uncover an international jewel-smuggling operation, headed by the mysterious Octopussy, being used to disguise a nuclear attack on N.A.T.O. forces.
The recovery of a microchip off the body of a fellow agent, leads James Bond to a mad industrialist who plans to create a worldwide microchip monopoly by destroying California's Silicon Valley.
Director:
John Glen
Stars:
Roger Moore,
Christopher Walken,
Tanya Roberts
Secret Agent James Bond and the Japanese Secret Service must find and stop the true culprit of a series of space hijackings, before war is provoked between Russia and the United States.
James Bond woos a mob boss' daughter and goes undercover to uncover the true reason for Ernst Stavro Blofeld's allergy research in the Swiss Alps involving beautiful women from around the world.
After capturing a drug lord, Felix Leiter is left for dead and his wife is murdered. James Bond goes rogue and seeks vengeance on those responsible, as he infiltrates an organisation posing as a hitman.
James Bond is back again and his new mission is to find out how a Royal Navy Polaris submarine holding sixteen nuclear warheads simply disappeared while 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.Written by
simon
Guy Hamilton was originally assigned to be the director of this movie, but left the project to direct Superman (1978) instead. Coincidentally, he also wound up dropping out of that movie. See more »
Goofs
In the ski chase at the beginning, right before James Bond goes over the cliff, the long shot shows a gentle slope to the edge. Then the closeup scene cuts to a steep dropoff which wasn't seen in the long shot. In addition, as he skis down to the edge you can see ski tracks which are obviously from previous takes. See more »
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.
[to crewman]
Young officer, HMS Ranger:
Keep 500 feet.
HMS Ranger crewman:
500 feet it is, sir.
See more »
Crazy Credits
First opening credit sequence to incorporate specially shot footage of the actor playing James Bond (in this case, Roger Moore). See more »
Alternate Versions
The 1992 RCA Videodisc version of the film fades before the credits end, omitting the title card that tells us that Bond will return in "For Your Eyes Only". See more »
The Spy Who Loved Me put the 007 epic back on truly epic grounds after the bitter disappointment of Diamonds Are Forever and the mixed measure of Live and Let Die and The Man With The Golden Gun. Spy adds vast new spectacle to the Bond epic along with strong interplay with some interesting new characters and a major improvement in the series' production values.
The idea of Bond meeting his match is the starting point for The Man With The Golden Gun, but here the match is in a rival and ally from the Soviet secret service, Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach, who admittedly is over her head here but holds her own overall). We see in Anya the direct counterpart to HMSS, complete with omnipresent leader in General Gogol (Walter Gotell, who becomes one of the series' best supporting characters) and a pretty secretary.
The Bond series also revisits the SPECTRE days in a sense, in that the antagonist is a self-contained independent force, shipping magnate Karl Stromberg (Curt Jurgens). Stromberg owns a vast experimental undersea headquarters, Atlantis, and the world's largest container ship, the Liparus. Stromberg becomes linked to the disappearence of several nuclear missile submarines, through a schematic of a submarine tracking system stored on microfilm. Just what Stromberg's role entails becomes the mission for both James and Anya, and both find allies in the US Navy attack boat USS Wayne, under the command of Captain Scott Carter - here is a rarity in film, a supporting character who steals the show, here thanks to the splendid performance of Thunderbirds' own Shane Rimmer.
Another supporting cast member steals the show as well, and would do so in the next Bond film. Richard Kiel joins Harold Sakata as the most memorable of James Bond's offbeat villainous henchmen - where Sakata's Oddjob killed with a rapier-sharp bowler hat, Richard Kiel's Jaws uses steel alloy teeth as well as his own gigantic height; Kiel even brings back memories of Robert Shaw's Donald "Red" Grant in one of the most memorable stages for a Bond fistfight - the Orient Express.
The film is scored by Marvin Hamlisch rather than John Barry, and Hamlisch adds a surprisingly effective disco touch to the Bond series, one that "modernizes" the series without disrupting the power of the tried-and-true music cues of before.
But the biggest quality in the film is the vastly improved production values. Shane Rimmer was not the only Thunderbirds alumni to work in the Bond universe - SFX master Derek Meddings had worked with John Stears on Man With The Golden Gun, but here he takes over the SFX unit and greatly improves the scope and quality of the effects work, aided greatly by enormous and effective sets at Pinewood Studios that combine the best of Dr. No, You Only Live Twice, and especially Thunderball.
The relationship between James and Anya is the primary drive in the tension of the film. At first both try to one-up each other, such as in decoding the microfilm, identifying an obscure logo on the microfilm, and in the famous Lotus chase sequence when she reveals she stole blueprints for the design years earlier.
But the real strain lies in the film's prologue, when Anya's lover, himself employed by Mother Russia's security service, crosses paths with James - a confrontation James may not live down now. His own feelings for Anya, however, put what is past fully in the past, and it leads to a showdown with Stromberg amid a threat of annihilation.
It all adds up to an enormously entertaining spectacle, a highlight of the Bond epic.
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The Spy Who Loved Me put the 007 epic back on truly epic grounds after the bitter disappointment of Diamonds Are Forever and the mixed measure of Live and Let Die and The Man With The Golden Gun. Spy adds vast new spectacle to the Bond epic along with strong interplay with some interesting new characters and a major improvement in the series' production values.
The idea of Bond meeting his match is the starting point for The Man With The Golden Gun, but here the match is in a rival and ally from the Soviet secret service, Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach, who admittedly is over her head here but holds her own overall). We see in Anya the direct counterpart to HMSS, complete with omnipresent leader in General Gogol (Walter Gotell, who becomes one of the series' best supporting characters) and a pretty secretary.
The Bond series also revisits the SPECTRE days in a sense, in that the antagonist is a self-contained independent force, shipping magnate Karl Stromberg (Curt Jurgens). Stromberg owns a vast experimental undersea headquarters, Atlantis, and the world's largest container ship, the Liparus. Stromberg becomes linked to the disappearence of several nuclear missile submarines, through a schematic of a submarine tracking system stored on microfilm. Just what Stromberg's role entails becomes the mission for both James and Anya, and both find allies in the US Navy attack boat USS Wayne, under the command of Captain Scott Carter - here is a rarity in film, a supporting character who steals the show, here thanks to the splendid performance of Thunderbirds' own Shane Rimmer.
Another supporting cast member steals the show as well, and would do so in the next Bond film. Richard Kiel joins Harold Sakata as the most memorable of James Bond's offbeat villainous henchmen - where Sakata's Oddjob killed with a rapier-sharp bowler hat, Richard Kiel's Jaws uses steel alloy teeth as well as his own gigantic height; Kiel even brings back memories of Robert Shaw's Donald "Red" Grant in one of the most memorable stages for a Bond fistfight - the Orient Express.
The film is scored by Marvin Hamlisch rather than John Barry, and Hamlisch adds a surprisingly effective disco touch to the Bond series, one that "modernizes" the series without disrupting the power of the tried-and-true music cues of before.
But the biggest quality in the film is the vastly improved production values. Shane Rimmer was not the only Thunderbirds alumni to work in the Bond universe - SFX master Derek Meddings had worked with John Stears on Man With The Golden Gun, but here he takes over the SFX unit and greatly improves the scope and quality of the effects work, aided greatly by enormous and effective sets at Pinewood Studios that combine the best of Dr. No, You Only Live Twice, and especially Thunderball.
The relationship between James and Anya is the primary drive in the tension of the film. At first both try to one-up each other, such as in decoding the microfilm, identifying an obscure logo on the microfilm, and in the famous Lotus chase sequence when she reveals she stole blueprints for the design years earlier.
But the real strain lies in the film's prologue, when Anya's lover, himself employed by Mother Russia's security service, crosses paths with James - a confrontation James may not live down now. His own feelings for Anya, however, put what is past fully in the past, and it leads to a showdown with Stromberg amid a threat of annihilation.
It all adds up to an enormously entertaining spectacle, a highlight of the Bond epic.