The Spy Who Loved Me
Rent & Buy
Russian and British submarines with nuclear missiles on board both vanish from sight without a trace. England and Russia both blame each other as James Bond tries to solve the riddle of the disappearing ships. But the KGB also has an agent on the case.
What critics thought
Contemporary critics found the film entertaining but formulaic, acknowledging that its spectacular stunts and lavish production design carry it further than its recycled plot deserves. The debate centered on whether gleeful excess and self-mockery were enough to excuse the diminishing returns of the Bond formula — most landed on 'good enough,' but several felt the series was beginning to coast on its own legend rather than push it forward.
“The Spy Who Loved Me is an extravagant silliness, a high-cost undertaking in let's pretend which delivers a perfect formula. It may not be everyone's tonic, but it is what it says it is, rousingly.”
Charles Champlin·Los Angeles Times
“you begin to think Spy may turn out to be as good as From Russia with Love, the best Bond of all. No such luck. True, opening pace of Spy is impossible to sustain, but the rest of the picture is merely good, not great.”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“a tolerable disappointment. The Bond movies have been so successful that it may be commercially impossible to terminate the series. However, it's been quite a while since a Bond adventure appeared to set fashions in escapist, glamorous entertainment.”
Gary Arnold·The Washington Post
“After the opening sequence, much of the action in The Spy Who Loved Me, the tenth James Bond screen epic and the third starring Roger Moore as Bond, is somewhat downhill. But the film, shot in seven countries, is so rich in fantasy, so filled with beautiful scenery, gorgeous women, preposterous villains and impossible situations that it's easier to suspend disbelief entirely and escape inside the gadgetry and glamour.”
Maureen Orth·Newsweek
Accolades
Genres
Action, Adventure, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Lewis GilbertDirector
Roger MooreJames Bond
Barbara BachMajor Anya Amasova
Curd JürgensKarl Stromberg
Richard KielJaws
Caroline MunroNaomi
Walter GotellGeneral Anatol Gogol
Geoffrey KeenSir Frederick Gray
Bernard LeeM
George BakerCaptain Benson
Michael BillingtonSergei Barsov
Desmond LlewelynQ
Marvin HamlischComposer
Christopher WoodWriter
Richard MaibaumWriter
Ian FlemingWriter
Claude RenoirCinematographyThe Spy Who Loved Me
Russian and British submarines with nuclear missiles on board both vanish from sight without a trace. England and Russia both blame each other as James Bond tries to solve the riddle of the disappearing ships. But the KGB also has an agent on the case.
What critics thought
Contemporary critics found the film entertaining but formulaic, acknowledging that its spectacular stunts and lavish production design carry it further than its recycled plot deserves. The debate centered on whether gleeful excess and self-mockery were enough to excuse the diminishing returns of the Bond formula — most landed on 'good enough,' but several felt the series was beginning to coast on its own legend rather than push it forward.
“The Spy Who Loved Me is an extravagant silliness, a high-cost undertaking in let's pretend which delivers a perfect formula. It may not be everyone's tonic, but it is what it says it is, rousingly.”
Charles Champlin·Los Angeles Times
“you begin to think Spy may turn out to be as good as From Russia with Love, the best Bond of all. No such luck. True, opening pace of Spy is impossible to sustain, but the rest of the picture is merely good, not great.”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“a tolerable disappointment. The Bond movies have been so successful that it may be commercially impossible to terminate the series. However, it's been quite a while since a Bond adventure appeared to set fashions in escapist, glamorous entertainment.”
Gary Arnold·The Washington Post
“After the opening sequence, much of the action in The Spy Who Loved Me, the tenth James Bond screen epic and the third starring Roger Moore as Bond, is somewhat downhill. But the film, shot in seven countries, is so rich in fantasy, so filled with beautiful scenery, gorgeous women, preposterous villains and impossible situations that it's easier to suspend disbelief entirely and escape inside the gadgetry and glamour.”
Maureen Orth·Newsweek
Accolades
Genres
Action, Adventure, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Lewis GilbertDirectorRoger MooreJames BondBarbara BachMajor Anya AmasovaCurd JürgensKarl StrombergRichard KielJawsCaroline MunroNaomiWalter GotellGeneral Anatol GogolGeoffrey KeenSir Frederick GrayBernard LeeMGeorge BakerCaptain BensonMichael BillingtonSergei BarsovDesmond LlewelynQMarvin HamlischComposerChristopher WoodWriterRichard MaibaumWriterIan FlemingWriterClaude RenoirCinematographyRent & Buy