From Russia With Love (1963)

[©DURANMANIA Board Team]

Date of Release
World Premiere 10th October 1963, the Odeon Leicester Square, London.

the story

Sean Connery returns as James Bond in this thrill-a-minute adventure with blistering action, romance, and high-tech gadgetry. The evil organization SPECTRE has hatched a plan to steal a decoder that will access Russian state secrets and irrevocably unbalance the world order. It is up to James Bond to seize the device first, but he must confront enemies that include Red Grant and the ruthless Rosa Klebb, a former KGB agent with poison-tipped shoes. Even as Bond romances a stunning Soviet defector, he realizes he is being lured into a deadly trap, and he will need all of his courage, abilities and cutting-edge technology to triumph over the forces that seek to destroy him.

Bond’s Women
Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi)
Sylvia Trench (Eunice Gayson)
Gypsy Girls: Zora (Martine Beswick)
and Vida (Aliza Gur)

Bond’s Enemies
Donald ‘Red’ Grant (Robert Shaw)
Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya)
Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Anthony Dawson [voice: Eric Pohlmann])
Kronsteen (Vladek Sheybal)
Morzeny (Walter Gotell)
Krilencu (Fred Haggerty)

Bond’s Allies
Kerim Bey (Pedro Armendariz)
‘M’ (Bernard Lee)
Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell)
‘Q’ (Desmond Llewelyn) [his first appearance as the character]

Bond's Car
4.5 litre Bentley

Bond’s Gadget
Briefcase: which holds an AR-7 folding sniper’s rifle, 40 rounds of ammunition, an exploding tear gas cartridge disguised as a tin of talcum powder, 50 Gold Sovereigns, and a throwing knife.

Main Title Music
‘From Russia With Love’ (Instrumental)

End Title Music
‘From Russia With Love’ sung by Matt Monro

Music Score
John Barry

Art Director
Syd Cain

Main Titles Designer
Robert Brownjohn

Screenplay
Richard Maibaum & Johanna Harwood

Director of Photography
Ted Moore

Director
Terence Young

Producers
*Harry Saltzman & Albert R. Broccoli
The listing shown is contractual for the Eastern Hemisphere and is reversed for the Western Hemisphere

Filming Locations
Pinewood Studios, London, England
Istanbul, Turkey
Scotland, UK (Helicopter chase scenes)
Snowdonia, Gwynedd, Wales, UK
Turkey
Venice, Veneto, Italy

Budget
$2 million

Worldwide Box Office
$78.9 million

Worldwide Box Office Gross Income 2002 inflation-adjusted
$464 million

Review: Perhaps the most realistic and down-to-earth movie of the series, From Russia With Love portrays Bond as what he is: a spy. There are no over-the-top action scenes and Bond relies on his cunning and skill rather than gadgets and luck. The plot is brilliant yet simple at the same time; spies don’t spend their lives battling megalomaniac villains bent on world domination; rather, the espionage aspect of this film seems like something Bond would be more suited for in real life. Blofeld’s introduction and utilization is well done, not giving away too much of who he will become in the Bond universe. The battle between Bond and Red Grant aboard the Orient Express may well be the best fight in the series, if not in cinematic history. The movie takes its time, develops the characters and makes the viewer care for the people on the screen as well as the plot while moving quickly enough to not lose the viewer’s interest no matter how many times. In my opinion, From Russia With Love is the perfect Bond movie.






Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi), James Bond (Sean Connery)


Donald ‘Red’ Grant (Robert Shaw)

peace & love
SLIM K