Underplayed Gems

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

On Her Majesty's Secret Service poster
Directed by
Peter R. Hunt
Genre
adventure film, action film, spy film, crime film, thriller film, Christmas film
Country
United Kingdom
Runtime
2h 22m
Rated
PG
Rating
6.6 of 10 from 2,168 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

James Bond tracks his nemesis Blofeld who threatens global food supplies. Along the way Bond falls in love with and marries a woman named Tracy.

romantictragicfast-paceddramaticadventurousbittersweetsuspensefulglamorous

What happens

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is a 1969 spy film and the sixth in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions. It is based on the 1963 novel by Ian Fleming, whose title is a derivative of the term "On Her Majesty's Service". Following Sean Connery's decision to retire from the role after You Only Live Twice, Eon selected George Lazenby, a model with no prior acting credits, to play the part of James Bond. During filming, Lazenby announced that he would play the role of Bond only once. Connery returned to portray Bond in 1971's Diamonds Are Forever. In the film, Bond faces Blofeld (Telly Savalas), who is planning to hold the world to ransom by threatening to render all food plants and livestock infertile through the actions of a group of brainwashed "angels of death". Along the way Bond meets, falls in love with, and eventually marries Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg). The film marked the directorial debut of Peter R. Hunt, who had served as a film editor and second unit director on previous films in the series: it would be his only Bond film as director. Hunt, along with producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, decided to produce a more realistic film that would follow the novel closely. It was shot in Switzerland, England, and Portugal from October 1968 to May 1969. Although its cinema release was not as lucrative as its predecessor You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service was still one of the top-performing films of the year. Critical reviews upon release were mixed, but the film's reputation has improved greatly over time and it is now regarded as one of the strongest entries in the series as well as one of the most faithful adaptations of a Fleming novel. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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