OHMSS - 50TH

HEY - I had promised myself 
that I would celebrate 
my favorite Bond film's 
BIG 5-0 ANNIVERSARY 
in a big way... rrright? 
007 - 50! 
This never meant as much 
with the other feller...!

I admit it:
It took me a long, long time to discover that ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE was the greatest James Bond film ever made (in great part due to the absence of either Sean Connery or Roger Moore - but also because of the simply stupendous title sequence by master Maurice Binder (the best such sequence ever made), the awesome action sequences, their realism, the stunning soundtrack by John Barry, the masterful directorial debut of one Peter Hunt, the better use of the locales chosen to shoot in, the flair and panache that dastardingly (I'd say - decadently daring was such the approach of Peter Hunt, determined that he was to prove that *anyone could be Bond* - with just the right surroundings! Not into new words? So let's settle for ''daringly'') captures the true essence of the Ian Fleming beast throughout this film and, of course, the casting of Diana Rigg as the first and only Mrs. Bond! Very appropriate for a future Dame Diana...!)
It took me quite long to give the film a chance, alas; prior to 1980, I had considered this to be a film "that didn't count" - it wasn't "the real Bond", just an impostor! The real Bond was, to me, The Saint! Roger Moore - in other words, Lord Brett Sinclair, Simon Templar and James Bond were all one and the same to me! Sean Connery was himself a mere replacement in my mind - so what did George Lazenby hope to be rated as, when young film-goers such as me had this kind of "backwards logical thinking" going totally against themselves - eh?

The pleasant surprise that "OHMSS" is born to the world in the luminous year of 1969 was a major factor, I cannot deny it (plus, one of the locations it was shot in was Portugal - wow!) - but the film itself, in my more mature eyes, proved to be far superior on all technical levels that matter - once I finally gave it a chance, sat down and saw it, in 1980! (1980 something - as the Goldbergs say!)
I was stunned - this was waaaaaaaaay better than any Connery conk out on celluloid or any Moore merriment caught on film...! (And please spare me any Dalton or Brosnan talk - and that other guy now...! Yes; the preceding was a little wink-wink *clin d'oeil* to the pre-credits in-joke Lazenby so cleverly delivers in this one...! He remains the only spy with such wit - ever on film! ;) 
Enjoy the sights and sounds - and raise your glass to this 50th now!
THIS, my friends, is the true James Bond! Coupled with the Ultimate Bond Girl... ah, make it Bond Lady... too! 



DIANA RIGG: the ultimate Bond Girl - no question about it!
Most fully-capable critics will agree with me on that too!  Everyone else = doesn't matter!

And then there's that theme music too:  unquestionably the best Bond music ever!  .

Many kudos and thanks to the Propellerheads (with a fine helpful hand from another delightful dame; Dame Shirley Bassey, notable James Bond contributor in her own privileged right!) for resuscitating that unforgettable and unmistakably unique theme music concocted for Bond exclusively for this fine film
(the finer music, the meticulous approach to every detail, both in scriptwriting, cinematography and plain plausibility - it was all attributable to the casting of a neophyte 007 in this one! It was the nicest side-effect of all, in the end: in over-compensating for their apparent weakness -their leading man- the 007 team made this the best Bond film of all! More stills from it can be seen here.)