Never Say Never Again
Encyclopedia
Never Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film
based on the James Bond
novel Thunderball, which was previously filmed in 1965 as Thunderball
. Unlike the majority of Bond films
, Never Say Never Again was not produced by Eon Productions
, but by an independent production company, one of whose members was Kevin McClory
, one of the original writers of the Thunderball storyline with Ian Fleming
and Jack Whittingham
. McClory retained the filming rights of the novel following a long legal battle dating from the 1960s.
The film was directed by Irvin Kershner
and, like Thunderball, stars Sean Connery
as British Secret Service agent James Bond, 007
, marking his return to the role 12 years after Diamonds Are Forever
. The film's title references how Connery said to the press in 1971 that he would "never again" play James Bond. As Connery was 52 at the time of filming, the storyline features an aging Bond, who is brought back into action to investigate the theft of two nuclear weapons by SPECTRE
. Filming locations included France
, Spain
, the Bahamas
and Elstree Studios
in England.
Never Say Never Again was released by Warner Bros.
in the autumn of 1983. It opened to positive critic reviews and was a commercial success, grossing $160 million at the box office, although this was less overall than the official Bond released in June of the same year, Octopussy
. In 1997 the distribution rights of Never Say Never Again were purchased by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, which distributes Eon's Bond films, and the company has handled subsequent home video releases of the film.
, orders Bond to enrol in a health clinic in London to get back into shape. While there, Bond witnesses a mysterious nurse named Fatima Blush giving a sadomasochistic beating of her patient in a nearby room. The man's face is bandaged and after Fatima finishes her beating, Bond sees the patient using a machine which scans his eye
. Bond is seen by Blush and an attempt is subsequently made to kill him in the clinic gym: however Bond manages to defeat the assassin by using a sample of his own urine
.
Blush and her charge, a United States Air Force pilot named Jack Petachi, are operatives of SPECTRE
, a criminal organisation run by Ernst Stavro Blofeld
. Petachi has undergone an operation on his right eye to make it match the retinal
pattern of the US President, which he uses to circumvent security at an American military base in England. Whilst doing so, he replaces the dummy warheads in two cruise missile
s with live nuclear warheads; SPECTRE then obtains the warheads to extort billions of dollars from NATO governments. Blush subsequently murders Petachi.
Under orders from the Prime Minister
, M reluctantly reactivates the double-0 section
and Bond is assigned the task of tracking down the missing weapons. Before leaving, he is outfitted with several gadgets by Q Branch
, including a fountain pen that shoots an explosive dart. He meets Domino Petachi, the pilot's sister, and her wealthy lover, Maximillian Largo, another SPECTRE agent. Bond follows Largo and his yacht to the Bahamas, where he spars with Fatima Blush and Largo.
Bond is informed by Nigel Small-Fawcett of the British Consulate that Largo's yacht is now heading for Nice, France. There, Bond joins forces with his CIA
counterpart, Felix Leiter
. Bond goes to a beauty salon where he poses as an employee and, whilst giving Domino a massage, is informed by her that Largo is hosting an event at a casino that evening. At the charity event, Largo and Bond play a 3-D video game called Domination, which Bond ultimately wins; Bond then informs Domino of her brother's death. Bond returns to his villa to find Nicole, his French contact, dead, having been killed by Blush. After a vehicle chase on his motorbike, Blush captures Bond. Forced to write his memoirs putting her as his "Number One" sexual partner, Bond uses his MI6-issue fountain pen to shoot Blush.
Bond and Felix then attempt to board Largo's motor yacht, the Flying Saucer
, in search of the missing nuclear warheads. Bond becomes trapped and is taken, with Domino, to Palmyra
, Largo's base of operations in North Africa
. Largo punishes Domino for betraying him by auctioning her off to some passing Arab
s. Bond subsequently escapes and rescues Domino.
After her rescue, Domino and Bond reunite with Felix on a US Navy
submarine and track Largo to a location known as The Tears of Allah, below a desert oasis
. Bond and Leiter infiltrate the underground facility and a gun battle erupts between Felix's team and Largo's men in the temple. In the confusion Largo makes a getaway with one of the warheads. Bond catches and fights Largo underwater. Just as Largo tries to detonate the last bomb, he is killed by Domino, taking revenge for her brother's death. Bond then returns to the Bahamas with Domino.
had worked together on a script for a potential Bond film, to be called Longitude 78 West, which was subsequently abandoned because of the costs involved. Fleming, "always reluctant to let a good idea lie idle", turned this into the novel Thunderball which did not credit either McClory or Whittingham; McClory then took Fleming to the High Court
in London for breach of copyright and the matter was settled in 1963. After Eon Productions started producing the Bond films, they subsequently made a deal with McClory, who would produce Thunderball, and then not make any further version of the novel for a period of ten years following the release of the Eon-produced version in 1965.
In the mid-1970s McClory again started working on a project to bring a Thunderball adaptation to production and, with the working title Warhead, he brought writer Len Deighton
together with Sean Connery to work on a script. The script ran into difficulties after accusations from Eon Productions that the project had gone beyond copyright restrictions, which confined McClory to a film based on the Thunderball novel only, and once again the project was deferred. Towards the end of the 1970s developments were reported on the project under the name James Bond of the Secret Service, but when producer Jack Schwartzman
became involved and cleared a number of the legal issues that still surrounded the project he brought on board scriptwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr to work on the screenplay. Connery was unhappy with some aspects of the work and asked British television writers Dick Clement
and Ian La Frenais
to undertake re-writes, although they went uncredited for their efforts because of a restriction by the Writers Guild of America
. The film underwent one final change in title: after Connery had finished filming Diamonds are Forever he had pledged that he would "never" play Bond again. Connery's wife, Micheline, suggested the title Never Say Never Again, referring to her husband's vow and the producers acknowledged her contribution by listing on the end credits "Title "Never Say Never Again" by: Micheline Connery". A final attempt by Fleming's trustees to block the film was made in the High Courts in London in the spring of 1983, but these were thrown out by the court and Never Say Never Again was permitted to proceed.
for the part of Bond, although the project came to nothing because of the legal issues involved. When the Warhead project was launched in the late 1970s, a number of actors were mentioned in the trade press, including Orson Welles
for the part of Blofeld, Trevor Howard
to play M and Richard Attenborough
as director. In 1978 the working title James Bond of the Secret Service was being used and Connery was in the frame once again, potentially going head-to-head with the next Eon Bond film, Moonraker
. By 1980, with legal issues again causing the project to founder, Connery thought himself unlikely to play the role, as he stated in an interview in the Sunday Express "when I first worked on the script with Len I had no thought of actually being in the film". When producer Jack Schwartzman became involved, he asked Connery to play Bond: Connery agreed, asking (and getting) a fee of $3 million, ($ million in dollars) a percentage of the profits, as well as casting and script approval. Subsequent to Connery reprising the role, the script has several references to Bond's advancing years – playing on Connery being 52 at the time of filming – and academic Jeremy Black has pointed out that there are other aspects of age and disillusionment in the film, such as the Shrubland's porter referring to Bond's car ("they don't make them like that any more"), the new M having no use for the 00 section and Q with his reduced budgets.
For the main villain in the film, Maximillian Largo, Connery suggested Klaus Maria Brandauer, the lead of the 1981 Academy Award-winning Hungarian film Mephisto
. Through the same route came Max von Sydow
as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, although he still retained his Eon-originated white cat in the film. For the femme fatale
, Director Irvin Kershner selected former model and Playgirl
cover girl Barbara Carrera to play Fatima Blush – the name coming from one of the early scripts of Thunderball. Carrera's performance as Fatima Blush earned her a Golden Globe Award
nomination for Best Supporting Actress, which she lost to Cher
for her role in Silkwood
.
Micheline Connery, Sean's wife, had met up-and-coming actress Kim Basinger at a hotel in London and suggested her to Connery, which he agreed upon. For the role of Felix Leiter, Connery spoke with Bernie Casey, saying that as the Leiter role was never remembered by audiences, using a black Leiter may make him more memorable. Others cast included comedian Rowan Atkinson
, who would later parody Bond in his role of Johnny English
.
Former Eon Production's editor and director of On Her Majesty's Secret Service
, Peter R. Hunt
, was approached to direct the film but declined due to his previous work with Eon. Irvin Kershner
, who had achieved success in 1980 with The Empire Strikes Back
was then hired. A number of the crew from the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark
were also appointed, including second unit
director David Tomblin
; director of photography
Douglas Slocombe
and production designer
s Philip Harrison and Stephen Grimes
.
Filming for Never Say Never Again began on 27 September 1982 on the French Riviera
for two months before moving to Nassau, the Bahamas in mid-November where filming took place at Clifton Pier, which was also one of the locations used in Thunderball. The Spanish city of Almería
was also used as a location. For Largo's ship, the Flying Saucer, the yacht Nabila, owned by Saudi billionaire, Adnan Khashoggi
, was used. The boat, now owned by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal
, has subsequently been re-named the Kingdom 5KR. Principal photography finished at Elstree Studios
where interior shots where filmed. Elstree also housed the 'Tears of Allah' underwater cavern, which took three months to construct. Most of the filming was completed in the spring of 1983, although there was some additional shooting during the summer of 1983.
Production on the film was troubled with Connery taking on many of the production duties with assistant director David Tomblin. Director Irvin Kershner was critical of producer Jack Schwartzman, saying that whilst he was a good businessman "he didn't have the experience of a film producer". After the production ran out of money, Schwartzman had to fund further production out of his own pocket and later admitted he had underestimated the amount the film would cost to make.
Many of the elements of the Eon-produced Bond films were not present in Never Say Never Again for legal reasons. These included the gunbarrel sequence, where a screen full of 007 symbols appeared instead, and similarly there was no 'James Bond Theme' to use, although no effort was made to supplement another tune. Never Say Never Again did not use a pre-credits sequence, which was filmed but not used; instead the film opens with the credits run over the top of the opening sequence of Bond on a training mission.
, who composed a score similar to his work as a jazz pianist. The score has been criticised as "anachronistic and misjudged", "bizzarely intermittent" and "the most disappointing feature of the film". Legrand also wrote the main theme "Never Say Never Again", which featured lyrics by Alan
and Marilyn Bergman
- who had also worked with Legrand in the Academy Award winning song "The Windmills of Your Mind
" - and was performed by Lani Hall
.
s $8.9 million ($ million in dollars) from June that year. The film went on general release in the US in 1,500 cinemas on 14 October 1983 and had its UK premiere at the Warner West End cinema in Leicester Square
on 14 December 1983. Worldwide, Never Say Never Again grossed $160 million in box office returns, which was a solid return on the budget of $36 million.
Warner Bros. released Never Say Never Again on VHS
and Betamax
in 1984, and on laserdisc
in 1995. After Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
purchased the distribution rights in 1997 (see Legacy, below), the company has released the film on both VHS and DVD in 2001, and on Blu-Ray in 2009.
, writing in the Daily Express
, said that Never Say Never Again was "one of the better Bonds", finding the film "superbly witty and entertaining, …the dialogue is crisp and the fight scenes imaginative." Christie also thought that "Connery has lost none of his charm and, if anything, is more appealing than ever as the stylish resolute hero." David Robinson, writing in The Times
also concentrated on Connery, saying that: "Connery...is back, looking hardly a day older or thicker, and still outclassing every other exponent of the role, in the goodnatured throwaway with which he parries all the sex and violence on the way". For Robinson, the presence of Connery and Klaus Maria Brandauer as Maximillian Largo "very nearly make it all worthwhile." The reviewer for Time Out summed up Never Say Never Again saying "The action's good, the photography excellent, the sets decent; but the real clincher is the fact that Bond is once more played by a man with the right stuff."
Derek Malcolm
in The Guardian
showed himself to be a fan of Connery's Bond, saying the film contains "the best Bond in the business", but nevertheless did not find Never Say Never Again any more enjoyable than the recently released Octopussy (starring Roger Moore), or "that either of them came very near to matching Dr. No
or From Russia with Love
." Malcolm's main issue with the film was that he had a "feeling that a constant struggle was going on between a desire to make a huge box-office success and the effort to make character as important as stunts." Malcolm summed up that "the mix remains obstinately the same-up to scratch but not surpassing it." Writing in The Guardians sister paper, The Observer
, Philip French
noted that "this curiously muted film ends up making no contribution of its own and inviting damaging comparisons with the original, hyper-confident Thunderball". French concluded that "like an hour-glass full of damp sand, the picture moves with increasing slowness as it approaches a confused climax in the Persian Gulf."
Writing for Newsweek
, critic Jack Kroll
thought the early part of the film was handled "with wit and style", although he went on to say that the director was "hamstrung by Lorenzo Semple's script". Richard Schickel
, writing in Time
magazine was praising of the film and its cast. He wrote that Klaus Maria Brandauer was "played with silky, neurotic charm", whilst Barbara Carrera, playing Fatima Blush, "deftly parodies all the fatal femmes who have slithered through Bond's career". Schickel’s highest praise was saved for the return of Connery, observing "it is good to see Connery's grave stylishness in this role again. It makes Bond's cynicism and opportunism seem the product of genuine worldliness (and world weariness) as opposed to Roger Moore's mere twirpishness."
Janet Maslin
, writing in The New York Times
, was broadly praising of the film, saying she thought that Never Say Never Again "has noticeably more humor and character than the Bond films usually provide. It has a marvelous villain in Largo." Maslin also thought highly of Connery in the role, observing that "in Never Say Never Again, the formula is broadened to accommodate an older, seasoned man of much greater stature, and Mr. Connery expertly fills the bill." Writing in The Washington Post
, Gary Arnold was fulsome in his praise, saying that Never Say Never Again is "one of the best James Bond adventure thrillers ever made", going on to say that "this picture is likely to remain a cherished, savory example of commercial filmmaking at its most astute and accomplished." Arnold went further, saying that "Never Say Never Again is the best acted Bond picture ever made, because it clearly surpasses any predecessors in the area of inventive and clever character delineation".
The critic for The Globe and Mail
, Jay Scott
, also praised the film, saying that Never Say Never Again "may be the only instalment of the long-running series that has been helmed by a first-rate director". According to Scott, the director, with high quality support cast, resulted in the "classiest of all the Bonds". Roger Ebert
gave the film 3½ out of 4 stars, and wrote that Never Say Never Again, while consisting of a basic "Bond plot", was different from other Bond films: "For one thing, there's more of a human element in the movie, and it comes from Klaus Maria Brandauer, as Largo." Ebert went on to add, "there was never a Beatles reunion...but here, by God, is Sean Connery as Sir James Bond. Good work, 007."
said that 1967's Casino Royale
and Never Say Never Again "exist outside the 'official' continuity, [and] are excluded from this list, just as they’re absent from MGM's
megabox. But take my word for it; they’re both pretty awful." Of the more recent reviews, opinion on Never Say Never Again is still mixed: film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
lists the film with a positive 65% ‘fresh’ rating from 34 reviews; among the reviewers listed in "Top Critics" the score rises to 71% from 7 reviews. The score is still more positive than some of the Eon films, with Rotten Tomatoes ranking Never Say Never Again 16th among all Bond films in 2008. Empire
gives the film three of a possible five stars, observing that "Connery was perhaps wise to call it quits the first time round". IGN
gave Never Say Never Again a score of 5 out of ten, claiming that the film is "is more miss than hit". The review also thought that the film was "marred with too many clunky exposition scenes and not enough moments of Bond being Bond".
In 1995 Michael Sauter of Entertainment Weekly
rated never Say Never Again as the ninth best Bond film to that point, after seventeen films had been released. Sauter thought the film "is successful only as a portrait of an over-the-hill superhero." He did admit, however that "even past his prime, Connery proves that nobody does it better". James Berardinelli
, in his review of Never Say Never Again, thinks the re-writing of the Thunderball story has led to a film which has "a hokey, jokey feel, [it] is possibly the worst-written Bond script of all". Berardinelli concludes that "it's a major disappointment that, having lured back the original 007, the film makers couldn't offer him something better than this drawn-out, hackneyed story." Critic Danny Peary
wrote that "it was great to see Sean Connery return as James Bond after a dozen years". He also thought the supporting cast was good, saying that Klaus Maria Brandauer’s Largo was "neurotic, vulnerable…one of the most complex of Bond’s foes" and that Barbara Carrera and Kim Basinger "make lasting impressions." Peary also wrote that the "film is exotic, well acted, and stylishly directed…It would be one of the best Bond films if the finale weren't disappointing. When will filmmakers realize that underwater fight scenes don't work because viewers usually can’t tell the hero and villain apart and they know doubles are being used?"
in the lead role, but this was eventually scrapped. In 1997 the Sony Corporation acquired all or some of McClory's rights in an undisclosed deal, and subsequently announced that it intended to make a series of Bond films, as the company also held the rights to Casino Royale
. This move prompted a round of litigation from MGM, which was settled in an out-of-court settlement in which Sony gave up all claims on Bond, although McClory still claimed he would proceed with another Bond film, and continued his case against MGM and Danjaq; on 27 August 2001 the court rejected McClory's suit. McClory died in 2006.
On 4 December 1997, MGM announced that the company had purchased the rights to Never Say Never Again from Schwartzman's company Taliafilm. The company has since handled the release of both the DVD and Blu-Ray editions of the film.
Spy film
The spy film genre deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy . Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, John Le Carré, Ian Fleming and Len Deighton...
based on the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
novel Thunderball, which was previously filmed in 1965 as Thunderball
Thunderball (film)
Thunderball is the fourth spy film in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham...
. Unlike the majority of Bond films
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
, Never Say Never Again was not produced by Eon Productions
EON Productions
Eon Productions is a film production company known for producing the James Bond film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom...
, but by an independent production company, one of whose members was Kevin McClory
Kevin McClory
Kevin O'Donovan McClory was an Irish screenwriter, producer, and director. McClory was best known for the 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again, which was the result of a long legal battle between McClory and Ian Fleming over the writing credits and later the film rights to...
, one of the original writers of the Thunderball storyline with Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
and Jack Whittingham
Jack Whittingham
Jack Whittingham was a British playwright, film critic, and screenwriter. He was educated at Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford....
. McClory retained the filming rights of the novel following a long legal battle dating from the 1960s.
The film was directed by Irvin Kershner
Irvin Kershner
Irvin Kershner was an American film director and occasional actor, best known for directing quirky, independent films early in his career, and then Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. -Background:...
and, like Thunderball, stars Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
as British Secret Service agent James Bond, 007
James Bond (character)
Royal Navy Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the main protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games...
, marking his return to the role 12 years after Diamonds Are Forever
Diamonds Are Forever (film)
Diamonds Are Forever is the seventh spy film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, and the sixth and final Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film is based on Ian Fleming's 1956 novel of the same name, and is the second of four James Bond films...
. The film's title references how Connery said to the press in 1971 that he would "never again" play James Bond. As Connery was 52 at the time of filming, the storyline features an aging Bond, who is brought back into action to investigate the theft of two nuclear weapons by SPECTRE
SPECTRE
SPECTRE is a fictional global terrorist organisation featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, the films based on those novels, and James Bond video games...
. Filming locations included France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, the Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
and Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
in England.
Never Say Never Again was released by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
in the autumn of 1983. It opened to positive critic reviews and was a commercial success, grossing $160 million at the box office, although this was less overall than the official Bond released in June of the same year, Octopussy
Octopussy
Octopussy is the thirteenth entry in the James Bond series, and the sixth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's title is taken from a short story in Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights...
. In 1997 the distribution rights of Never Say Never Again were purchased by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, which distributes Eon's Bond films, and the company has handled subsequent home video releases of the film.
Plot
After MI6 agent James Bond, 007 fails a routine training exercise, his superior, MM (James Bond)
M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
, orders Bond to enrol in a health clinic in London to get back into shape. While there, Bond witnesses a mysterious nurse named Fatima Blush giving a sadomasochistic beating of her patient in a nearby room. The man's face is bandaged and after Fatima finishes her beating, Bond sees the patient using a machine which scans his eye
Retinal scan
A retinal scan is a biometric technique that uses the unique patterns on a person's retina to identify them. It is not to be confused with another ocular-based technology, iris recognition.-Introduction:...
. Bond is seen by Blush and an attempt is subsequently made to kill him in the clinic gym: however Bond manages to defeat the assassin by using a sample of his own urine
Urine
Urine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...
.
Blush and her charge, a United States Air Force pilot named Jack Petachi, are operatives of SPECTRE
SPECTRE
SPECTRE is a fictional global terrorist organisation featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, the films based on those novels, and James Bond video games...
, a criminal organisation run by Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character and a supervillain from the James Bond series of novels and films, who was created by Ian Fleming and Kevin McClory. An evil genius with aspirations of world domination, he is the archenemy of the British Secret Service agent James Bond and is arguably...
. Petachi has undergone an operation on his right eye to make it match the retinal
Retinal
Retinal, also called retinaldehyde or vitamin A aldehyde, is one of the many forms of vitamin A . Retinal is a polyene chromophore, and bound to proteins called opsins, is the chemical basis of animal vision...
pattern of the US President, which he uses to circumvent security at an American military base in England. Whilst doing so, he replaces the dummy warheads in two cruise missile
Cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...
s with live nuclear warheads; SPECTRE then obtains the warheads to extort billions of dollars from NATO governments. Blush subsequently murders Petachi.
Under orders from the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, M reluctantly reactivates the double-0 section
00 Agent
In Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the derived films, the 00 Section of MI6 are considered the secret service's elite. A 00 agent holds a licence to kill in the field, at his or her discretion, to complete the mission...
and Bond is assigned the task of tracking down the missing weapons. Before leaving, he is outfitted with several gadgets by Q Branch
Q (James Bond)
Q is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. Q , like M, is a job title rather than a name. He is the head of Q Branch , the fictional research and development division of the British Secret Service...
, including a fountain pen that shoots an explosive dart. He meets Domino Petachi, the pilot's sister, and her wealthy lover, Maximillian Largo, another SPECTRE agent. Bond follows Largo and his yacht to the Bahamas, where he spars with Fatima Blush and Largo.
Bond is informed by Nigel Small-Fawcett of the British Consulate that Largo's yacht is now heading for Nice, France. There, Bond joins forces with his CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
counterpart, Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter is a fictional CIA agent created by Ian Fleming in the James Bond series of novels and films. In both, Leiter works for the CIA and assists Bond in his various adventures as well as being his best friend. In further novels Leiter joins the Pinkerton Detective Agency and in the film...
. Bond goes to a beauty salon where he poses as an employee and, whilst giving Domino a massage, is informed by her that Largo is hosting an event at a casino that evening. At the charity event, Largo and Bond play a 3-D video game called Domination, which Bond ultimately wins; Bond then informs Domino of her brother's death. Bond returns to his villa to find Nicole, his French contact, dead, having been killed by Blush. After a vehicle chase on his motorbike, Blush captures Bond. Forced to write his memoirs putting her as his "Number One" sexual partner, Bond uses his MI6-issue fountain pen to shoot Blush.
Bond and Felix then attempt to board Largo's motor yacht, the Flying Saucer
Disco Volante (ship)
The Disco Volante is a fictional ship in the James Bond novel Thunderball and its 1965 film adaptation of the same name. It was a hydrofoil craft owned by Emilio Largo, an agent of SPECTRE. It was purchased with SPECTRE funds for £200,000. The craft plays a pivotal role in the seizure and...
, in search of the missing nuclear warheads. Bond becomes trapped and is taken, with Domino, to Palmyra
Palmyra
Palmyra was an ancient city in Syria. In the age of antiquity, it was an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert...
, Largo's base of operations in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
. Largo punishes Domino for betraying him by auctioning her off to some passing Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s. Bond subsequently escapes and rescues Domino.
After her rescue, Domino and Bond reunite with Felix on a US Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
submarine and track Largo to a location known as The Tears of Allah, below a desert oasis
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
. Bond and Leiter infiltrate the underground facility and a gun battle erupts between Felix's team and Largo's men in the temple. In the confusion Largo makes a getaway with one of the warheads. Bond catches and fights Largo underwater. Just as Largo tries to detonate the last bomb, he is killed by Domino, taking revenge for her brother's death. Bond then returns to the Bahamas with Domino.
Cast
- Sean ConnerySean ConnerySir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
as James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
, MI6 agent 007. - Kim BasingerKim BasingerKimila Ann "Kim" Basinger is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again , and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman . Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture...
as Domino Petachi, sister of Jack Petachi and mistress of Maximillian Largo. - Klaus Maria BrandauerKlaus Maria BrandauerKlaus Maria Brandauer is an Austrian actor, film director, and professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna.-Personal life:...
as Maximillian Largo; based on the character Emilio LargoEmilio LargoEmilio Largo is a fictional character and the main antagonist from the James Bond novel Thunderball. In the novel he is depicted, according to the British stereotypes about Italians, as a large, heavyset, olive-skinned, powerful man exuding animal charm, with the profile of a Roman emperor, and...
, a senior member of SPECTRE. - Barbara CarreraBarbara CarreraBarbara Carrera is a Nicaraguan-born American film and television actress as well as a former model. She is best known for her roles as Bond girl Fatima Blush in Never Say Never Again and as Angelica Nero on the soap opera Dallas.-Early life:Barbara Kingsbury was born in San Carlos, Río San Juan,...
as Fatima Blush; based on Fiona VolpeFiona VolpeFiona Volpe, played by Luciana Paluzzi, is a fictional character in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball. The character is a creation of the film-makers, an addition to Ian Fleming's original plot...
and a member of SPECTRE. - Bernie CaseyBernie CaseyBernard Terry "Bernie" Casey is a professional actor who initially had a career as an interscholastic, intercollegiate and professional football player. Casey was also a record-breaking track and field athlete for Bowling Green State University...
as Felix LeiterFelix LeiterFelix Leiter is a fictional CIA agent created by Ian Fleming in the James Bond series of novels and films. In both, Leiter works for the CIA and assists Bond in his various adventures as well as being his best friend. In further novels Leiter joins the Pinkerton Detective Agency and in the film...
, Bond's CIA contact and friend. - Max von SydowMax von SydowMax von Sydow is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more...
as Ernst Stavro BlofeldErnst Stavro BlofeldErnst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character and a supervillain from the James Bond series of novels and films, who was created by Ian Fleming and Kevin McClory. An evil genius with aspirations of world domination, he is the archenemy of the British Secret Service agent James Bond and is arguably...
, the head of SPECTRE. - Edward FoxEdward Fox (actor)Edward Charles Morice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor.He is generally associated with portraying the role of the upper-class Englishman, such as the title character in the film The Day of the Jackal and King Edward VIII in the serial Edward & Mrs...
as MM (James Bond)M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
, Bond's superior at MI6. - Rowan AtkinsonRowan AtkinsonRowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
as Nigel Small-Fawcett, Foreign Office representative in the Bahamas. - Gavan O'HerlihyGavan O'HerlihyGavan O'Herlihy is an Irish actor.O'Herlihy was born in Dublin, the son of Elsa Bennett and Irish actor Dan O'Herlihy. In his youth, he was an avid tennis player, and even became Irish National Tennis Champion...
as Jack Petachi, a pilot used by SPECTRE to steal the place and Domino Petachi's brother. - Alec McCowenAlec McCowenAlexander Duncan "Alec" McCowen CBE is an English actor. He is known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. He was awarded the CBE in the 1985 New Year's Honours List.-Personal:...
as QQ (James Bond)Q is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. Q , like M, is a job title rather than a name. He is the head of Q Branch , the fictional research and development division of the British Secret Service...
(also known as Algy) - Pamela SalemPamela SalemPamela Salem is a British film and television actress.She was born in Bombay, India, and educated at Heidelberg University in Germany and later at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England...
as Miss MoneypennyMiss MoneypennyJane Moneypenny, better known as Miss Moneypenny, is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. She is secretary to M, who is Bond's boss and head of the British Secret Service...
, M's secretary - Saskia Cohen Tanugi as Nicole, Bond's MI6 contact in France
- Prunella GeePrunella GeePrunella Gee is an English actress.She studied at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art where she won the Spotlight Award for Best Actress...
as Patricia FearingPatricia FearingPatricia Fearing is a fictional character in the James Bond novel Thunderball. For the 1965 film of the same name she went by the nickname 'Pat' and was portrayed by Molly Peters.-Biography:...
, a physiotherapist at the clinic - Valerie LeonValerie LeonValerie Leon is an English actress who had roles in a number of high profile British film franchises, including the Carry On series.-Early life:...
as "Lady in Bahamas", a tourist in the Bahamas and Bond girl. - Milow Kirek as Kovacs
- Pat RoachPat RoachFrancis Patrick "Pat" Roach was an English actor, wrestler and author, from Birmingham. His most famous role is that of West Country bricklayer Brian "Bomber" Busbridge in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. He also played a memorable role as General Kael in Willow...
as Lippe - Anthony SharpAnthony SharpAnthony Sharp was an English actor cast for roles on television and film principally from the 1950s onwards....
as Lord Ambrose
Production
Never Say Never Again had its origins in the early 1960s following the controversy over the 1961 Thunderball novel. Fleming, along with independent producer Kevin McClory and scriptwriter Jack WhittinghamJack Whittingham
Jack Whittingham was a British playwright, film critic, and screenwriter. He was educated at Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford....
had worked together on a script for a potential Bond film, to be called Longitude 78 West, which was subsequently abandoned because of the costs involved. Fleming, "always reluctant to let a good idea lie idle", turned this into the novel Thunderball which did not credit either McClory or Whittingham; McClory then took Fleming to the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
in London for breach of copyright and the matter was settled in 1963. After Eon Productions started producing the Bond films, they subsequently made a deal with McClory, who would produce Thunderball, and then not make any further version of the novel for a period of ten years following the release of the Eon-produced version in 1965.
In the mid-1970s McClory again started working on a project to bring a Thunderball adaptation to production and, with the working title Warhead, he brought writer Len Deighton
Len Deighton
Leonard Cyril Deighton is a British military historian, cookery writer, and novelist. He is perhaps most famous for his spy novel The IPCRESS File, which was made into a film starring Michael Caine....
together with Sean Connery to work on a script. The script ran into difficulties after accusations from Eon Productions that the project had gone beyond copyright restrictions, which confined McClory to a film based on the Thunderball novel only, and once again the project was deferred. Towards the end of the 1970s developments were reported on the project under the name James Bond of the Secret Service, but when producer Jack Schwartzman
Jack Schwartzman
Jack Schwartzman was an American producer and husband of actress Talia Shire. Among the films he produced was the 1983 unofficial James Bond film Never Say Never Again, starring Sean Connery, and the 1986 cult favorite Rad, starring Bill Allen.Schwartzman was born Jacob Schwartzman in New York...
became involved and cleared a number of the legal issues that still surrounded the project he brought on board scriptwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr to work on the screenplay. Connery was unhappy with some aspects of the work and asked British television writers Dick Clement
Dick Clement
Dick Clement, OBE is an English writer.Born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England, Clement was educated at Bishop's Stortford College and is best known for his writing partnership with Ian La Frenais. Generally, Clement and La Frenais write comedies, or dramas with a comic tone...
and Ian La Frenais
Ian La Frenais
Ian La Frenais, OBE, , is an English writer best known for his creative partnership with Dick Clement. They are most famous for television series including, The Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Porridge, Lovejoy and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.They have also written various other work...
to undertake re-writes, although they went uncredited for their efforts because of a restriction by the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
. The film underwent one final change in title: after Connery had finished filming Diamonds are Forever he had pledged that he would "never" play Bond again. Connery's wife, Micheline, suggested the title Never Say Never Again, referring to her husband's vow and the producers acknowledged her contribution by listing on the end credits "Title "Never Say Never Again" by: Micheline Connery". A final attempt by Fleming's trustees to block the film was made in the High Courts in London in the spring of 1983, but these were thrown out by the court and Never Say Never Again was permitted to proceed.
Cast and crew
When producer Kevin McClory had first planned the film in 1964 he held initial talks with Richard BurtonRichard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
for the part of Bond, although the project came to nothing because of the legal issues involved. When the Warhead project was launched in the late 1970s, a number of actors were mentioned in the trade press, including Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
for the part of Blofeld, Trevor Howard
Trevor Howard
Trevor Howard , born Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith, was an English film, stage and television actor.-Early life:...
to play M and Richard Attenborough
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
as director. In 1978 the working title James Bond of the Secret Service was being used and Connery was in the frame once again, potentially going head-to-head with the next Eon Bond film, Moonraker
Moonraker (film)
Moonraker is the eleventh spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The third and final film in the series to be directed by Lewis Gilbert, it co-stars Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Corinne Clery, and Richard Kiel...
. By 1980, with legal issues again causing the project to founder, Connery thought himself unlikely to play the role, as he stated in an interview in the Sunday Express "when I first worked on the script with Len I had no thought of actually being in the film". When producer Jack Schwartzman became involved, he asked Connery to play Bond: Connery agreed, asking (and getting) a fee of $3 million, ($ million in dollars) a percentage of the profits, as well as casting and script approval. Subsequent to Connery reprising the role, the script has several references to Bond's advancing years – playing on Connery being 52 at the time of filming – and academic Jeremy Black has pointed out that there are other aspects of age and disillusionment in the film, such as the Shrubland's porter referring to Bond's car ("they don't make them like that any more"), the new M having no use for the 00 section and Q with his reduced budgets.
For the main villain in the film, Maximillian Largo, Connery suggested Klaus Maria Brandauer, the lead of the 1981 Academy Award-winning Hungarian film Mephisto
Mephisto (1981 film)
Mephisto is the title of a 1981 film adaptation of Klaus Mann's novel of the same name, directed by István Szabó, and starring Klaus Maria Brandauer as Hendrik Höfgen...
. Through the same route came Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more...
as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, although he still retained his Eon-originated white cat in the film. For the femme fatale
Femme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
, Director Irvin Kershner selected former model and Playgirl
Playgirl
Playgirl is a print quarterly adult magazine published in the United States that is marketed mainly to heterosexual women, but has also gained a considerable gay following...
cover girl Barbara Carrera to play Fatima Blush – the name coming from one of the early scripts of Thunderball. Carrera's performance as Fatima Blush earned her a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
nomination for Best Supporting Actress, which she lost to Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
for her role in Silkwood
Silkwood
Silkwood is a 1983 American drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen was inspired by the true-life story of Karen Silkwood, who died in a suspicious car accident while investigating alleged wrongdoing at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant where she...
.
Micheline Connery, Sean's wife, had met up-and-coming actress Kim Basinger at a hotel in London and suggested her to Connery, which he agreed upon. For the role of Felix Leiter, Connery spoke with Bernie Casey, saying that as the Leiter role was never remembered by audiences, using a black Leiter may make him more memorable. Others cast included comedian Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
, who would later parody Bond in his role of Johnny English
Johnny English
Johnny English is a 2003 British action comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre. The film stars Rowan Atkinson as the incompetent titular English spy, with John Malkovich, Natalie Imbruglia, Tim Pigott-Smith and Ben Miller in supporting roles...
.
Former Eon Production's editor and director of On Her Majesty's Secret Service
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the sixth spy film in the James Bond series, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. Following the decision of Sean Connery to retire from the role after You Only Live Twice, Eon Productions selected an unknown actor and model, George Lazenby...
, Peter R. Hunt
Peter R. Hunt
Peter R. Hunt was an English film editor, television producer and director. Hunt was known for his work on the James Bond films with his innovative editing style.-Career:...
, was approached to direct the film but declined due to his previous work with Eon. Irvin Kershner
Irvin Kershner
Irvin Kershner was an American film director and occasional actor, best known for directing quirky, independent films early in his career, and then Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. -Background:...
, who had achieved success in 1980 with The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
was then hired. A number of the crew from the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
were also appointed, including second unit
Second unit
In film, the second unit is a team that shoots subsidiary footage for a motion picture. Its work is distinct from that of the first unit, which shoots all scenes involving principal actors...
director David Tomblin
David Tomblin
David Tomblin was a producer and assistant director born in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England. He was probably best known as the producer, director, and writer of The Prisoner .-Director:...
; director of photography
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
Douglas Slocombe
Douglas Slocombe
Douglas Slocombe OBE, BSC, A.S.C. is a British cinematographer who has enjoyed a long career in the British film industry...
and production designer
Production designer
In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...
s Philip Harrison and Stephen Grimes
Stephen B. Grimes
Stephen B. Grimes was an English production designer and art director. He won an Academy Award and was nominated for two more in the category Best Art Direction.-Overview:...
.
Filming
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
for two months before moving to Nassau, the Bahamas in mid-November where filming took place at Clifton Pier, which was also one of the locations used in Thunderball. The Spanish city of Almería
Almería
Almería is a city in Andalusia, Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the province of the same name.-Toponym:Tradition says that the name Almería stems from the Arabic المرية Al-Mariyya: "The Mirror", comparing it to "The Mirror of the Sea"...
was also used as a location. For Largo's ship, the Flying Saucer, the yacht Nabila, owned by Saudi billionaire, Adnan Khashoggi
Adnan Khashoggi
Adnan Khashoggi is a Saudi Arabian arms-dealer and businessman. He is also noted for his engagements with high society in both the Occident and Arabic-speaking worlds, and for his involvement in the Iran–Contra and Lockheed bribery scandals, and numerous other affairs...
, was used. The boat, now owned by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal
Al-Waleed bin Talal
Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal is a Saudi Arabian billionaire and member of the Saudi royal family. He is the nephew of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. An entrepreneur and international investor he has amassed a fortune through investments in real estate and the stock market.He is founder and CEO of...
, has subsequently been re-named the Kingdom 5KR. Principal photography finished at Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
where interior shots where filmed. Elstree also housed the 'Tears of Allah' underwater cavern, which took three months to construct. Most of the filming was completed in the spring of 1983, although there was some additional shooting during the summer of 1983.
Production on the film was troubled with Connery taking on many of the production duties with assistant director David Tomblin. Director Irvin Kershner was critical of producer Jack Schwartzman, saying that whilst he was a good businessman "he didn't have the experience of a film producer". After the production ran out of money, Schwartzman had to fund further production out of his own pocket and later admitted he had underestimated the amount the film would cost to make.
Many of the elements of the Eon-produced Bond films were not present in Never Say Never Again for legal reasons. These included the gunbarrel sequence, where a screen full of 007 symbols appeared instead, and similarly there was no 'James Bond Theme' to use, although no effort was made to supplement another tune. Never Say Never Again did not use a pre-credits sequence, which was filmed but not used; instead the film opens with the credits run over the top of the opening sequence of Bond on a training mission.
Music
The music for Never Say Never Again was written by Michel LegrandMichel Legrand
Michel Jean Legrand is a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist...
, who composed a score similar to his work as a jazz pianist. The score has been criticised as "anachronistic and misjudged", "bizzarely intermittent" and "the most disappointing feature of the film". Legrand also wrote the main theme "Never Say Never Again", which featured lyrics by Alan
Alan Bergman
Alan Bergman is an American lyricist and songwriter.-Life & career:Born in Brooklyn, New York, he studied at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UCLA. His involvement in the entertainment industry began in the early 1950s as a director of children's television shows...
and Marilyn Bergman
Marilyn Bergman
Marilyn Bergman is a composer, songwriter and author.She was born Marilyn Keith in Brooklyn, New York and studied psychology and English at New York University...
- who had also worked with Legrand in the Academy Award winning song "The Windmills of Your Mind
The Windmills of Your Mind
"The Windmills of Your Mind" is a song performed by Noel Harrison, with music composed by Michel Legrand and English lyrics written by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, which was used as the theme for the 1968 film, The Thomas Crown Affair, starring Steve McQueen alongside and ultimately versus...
" - and was performed by Lani Hall
Lani Hall
Lani Hall is an American singer and the wife of Herb Alpert.-Music career:Her first public appearances occurred in Old Town Chicago in early 1966. At one of those performances, she was heard by Brazilian Bossa Nova pianist/bandleader Sérgio Mendes, who happened to be on tour in Chicago...
.
Release and reception
Never Say Never Again premiered in New York on 7 October 1983, grossing $9.72 million ($ million in dollars) on its first weekend, which was reported to be "the best opening record of any James Bond film" up to that point and surpassing OctopussyOctopussy
Octopussy is the thirteenth entry in the James Bond series, and the sixth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's title is taken from a short story in Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights...
s $8.9 million ($ million in dollars) from June that year. The film went on general release in the US in 1,500 cinemas on 14 October 1983 and had its UK premiere at the Warner West End cinema in Leicester Square
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
on 14 December 1983. Worldwide, Never Say Never Again grossed $160 million in box office returns, which was a solid return on the budget of $36 million.
Warner Bros. released Never Say Never Again on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and Betamax
Betamax
Betamax was a consumer-level analog videocassette magnetic tape recording format developed by Sony, released on May 10, 1975. The cassettes contain -wide videotape in a design similar to the earlier, professional wide, U-matic format...
in 1984, and on laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
in 1995. After Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
purchased the distribution rights in 1997 (see Legacy, below), the company has released the film on both VHS and DVD in 2001, and on Blu-Ray in 2009.
Contemporary reviews
Never Say Never Again was broadly welcomed and praised by the critics: Ian ChristieIan Christie (film scholar)
Ian Christie is a British film scholar. He has written several books including studies of the works of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, Martin Scorsese and the development of cinema. He is a regular contributor to Sight & Sound magazine and a frequent broadcaster...
, writing in the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
, said that Never Say Never Again was "one of the better Bonds", finding the film "superbly witty and entertaining, …the dialogue is crisp and the fight scenes imaginative." Christie also thought that "Connery has lost none of his charm and, if anything, is more appealing than ever as the stylish resolute hero." David Robinson, writing in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
also concentrated on Connery, saying that: "Connery...is back, looking hardly a day older or thicker, and still outclassing every other exponent of the role, in the goodnatured throwaway with which he parries all the sex and violence on the way". For Robinson, the presence of Connery and Klaus Maria Brandauer as Maximillian Largo "very nearly make it all worthwhile." The reviewer for Time Out summed up Never Say Never Again saying "The action's good, the photography excellent, the sets decent; but the real clincher is the fact that Bond is once more played by a man with the right stuff."
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm is a British film critic and historian.Malcolm was educated at Eton College and Oxford University. He worked for several decades as a film critic for The Guardian, having previously been an amateur jockey and the paper's first horse racing correspondent. In 1977, he was a member of...
in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
showed himself to be a fan of Connery's Bond, saying the film contains "the best Bond in the business", but nevertheless did not find Never Say Never Again any more enjoyable than the recently released Octopussy (starring Roger Moore), or "that either of them came very near to matching Dr. No
Dr. No (film)
Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
or From Russia with Love
From Russia with Love (film)
From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
." Malcolm's main issue with the film was that he had a "feeling that a constant struggle was going on between a desire to make a huge box-office success and the effort to make character as important as stunts." Malcolm summed up that "the mix remains obstinately the same-up to scratch but not surpassing it." Writing in The Guardians sister paper, The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, Philip French
Philip French
Philip French is a British film critic and former radio producer.French, the son of an insurance salesman, was educated at the direct grant Bristol Grammar School, read Law at Oxford University. and post graduate study in Journalism at Indiana University, Bloomington on a scholarship.He has been...
noted that "this curiously muted film ends up making no contribution of its own and inviting damaging comparisons with the original, hyper-confident Thunderball". French concluded that "like an hour-glass full of damp sand, the picture moves with increasing slowness as it approaches a confused climax in the Persian Gulf."
Writing for Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, critic Jack Kroll
Jack Kroll
John Kroll – known as Jack Kroll – was an award-winning Newsweek drama and film critic. His career spanned 37 years – more than half the publication's existence.-Biography:...
thought the early part of the film was handled "with wit and style", although he went on to say that the director was "hamstrung by Lorenzo Semple's script". Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
Richard Warren Schickel is an American author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. He is a film critic for Time magazine, having also written for Life magazine and the Los Angeles Times Book Review....
, writing in Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine was praising of the film and its cast. He wrote that Klaus Maria Brandauer was "played with silky, neurotic charm", whilst Barbara Carrera, playing Fatima Blush, "deftly parodies all the fatal femmes who have slithered through Bond's career". Schickel’s highest praise was saved for the return of Connery, observing "it is good to see Connery's grave stylishness in this role again. It makes Bond's cynicism and opportunism seem the product of genuine worldliness (and world weariness) as opposed to Roger Moore's mere twirpishness."
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
, writing in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, was broadly praising of the film, saying she thought that Never Say Never Again "has noticeably more humor and character than the Bond films usually provide. It has a marvelous villain in Largo." Maslin also thought highly of Connery in the role, observing that "in Never Say Never Again, the formula is broadened to accommodate an older, seasoned man of much greater stature, and Mr. Connery expertly fills the bill." Writing in The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, Gary Arnold was fulsome in his praise, saying that Never Say Never Again is "one of the best James Bond adventure thrillers ever made", going on to say that "this picture is likely to remain a cherished, savory example of commercial filmmaking at its most astute and accomplished." Arnold went further, saying that "Never Say Never Again is the best acted Bond picture ever made, because it clearly surpasses any predecessors in the area of inventive and clever character delineation".
The critic for The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
, Jay Scott
Jay Scott
Jay Scott was the pen name of Jeffrey Scott Beaven , a Canadian film critic.Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Scott fled to Canada in 1969 as a draft dodger. He settled in Calgary, and began writing film reviews for the Calgary Albertan a few years later...
, also praised the film, saying that Never Say Never Again "may be the only instalment of the long-running series that has been helmed by a first-rate director". According to Scott, the director, with high quality support cast, resulted in the "classiest of all the Bonds". Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film 3½ out of 4 stars, and wrote that Never Say Never Again, while consisting of a basic "Bond plot", was different from other Bond films: "For one thing, there's more of a human element in the movie, and it comes from Klaus Maria Brandauer, as Largo." Ebert went on to add, "there was never a Beatles reunion...but here, by God, is Sean Connery as Sir James Bond. Good work, 007."
Reflective reviews
Because Never Say Never Again is not an Eon-produced film, it has not been included in a number of subsequent reviews. Norman Wilner of MSNMSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
said that 1967's Casino Royale
Casino Royale (1967 film)
Casino Royale is a 1967 comedy spy film originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre, and is loosely based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.The film stars David Niven as the...
and Never Say Never Again "exist outside the 'official' continuity, [and] are excluded from this list, just as they’re absent from MGM's
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
megabox. But take my word for it; they’re both pretty awful." Of the more recent reviews, opinion on Never Say Never Again is still mixed: film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
lists the film with a positive 65% ‘fresh’ rating from 34 reviews; among the reviewers listed in "Top Critics" the score rises to 71% from 7 reviews. The score is still more positive than some of the Eon films, with Rotten Tomatoes ranking Never Say Never Again 16th among all Bond films in 2008. Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
gives the film three of a possible five stars, observing that "Connery was perhaps wise to call it quits the first time round". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave Never Say Never Again a score of 5 out of ten, claiming that the film is "is more miss than hit". The review also thought that the film was "marred with too many clunky exposition scenes and not enough moments of Bond being Bond".
In 1995 Michael Sauter of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
rated never Say Never Again as the ninth best Bond film to that point, after seventeen films had been released. Sauter thought the film "is successful only as a portrait of an over-the-hill superhero." He did admit, however that "even past his prime, Connery proves that nobody does it better". James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
, in his review of Never Say Never Again, thinks the re-writing of the Thunderball story has led to a film which has "a hokey, jokey feel, [it] is possibly the worst-written Bond script of all". Berardinelli concludes that "it's a major disappointment that, having lured back the original 007, the film makers couldn't offer him something better than this drawn-out, hackneyed story." Critic Danny Peary
Danny Peary
Danny Peary is an American film critic and sports writer. He has written many books on cinema and sports-related topics.-Biography:...
wrote that "it was great to see Sean Connery return as James Bond after a dozen years". He also thought the supporting cast was good, saying that Klaus Maria Brandauer’s Largo was "neurotic, vulnerable…one of the most complex of Bond’s foes" and that Barbara Carrera and Kim Basinger "make lasting impressions." Peary also wrote that the "film is exotic, well acted, and stylishly directed…It would be one of the best Bond films if the finale weren't disappointing. When will filmmakers realize that underwater fight scenes don't work because viewers usually can’t tell the hero and villain apart and they know doubles are being used?"
Legacy
In the 1990s, McClory announced plans to make another adaption of the Thunderball story, Warhead 2000 AD, with Timothy DaltonTimothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
in the lead role, but this was eventually scrapped. In 1997 the Sony Corporation acquired all or some of McClory's rights in an undisclosed deal, and subsequently announced that it intended to make a series of Bond films, as the company also held the rights to Casino Royale
Casino Royale (novel)
Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
. This move prompted a round of litigation from MGM, which was settled in an out-of-court settlement in which Sony gave up all claims on Bond, although McClory still claimed he would proceed with another Bond film, and continued his case against MGM and Danjaq; on 27 August 2001 the court rejected McClory's suit. McClory died in 2006.
On 4 December 1997, MGM announced that the company had purchased the rights to Never Say Never Again from Schwartzman's company Taliafilm. The company has since handled the release of both the DVD and Blu-Ray editions of the film.
See also
- Differences between James Bond novels and filmsDifferences between James Bond novels and filmsThe James Bond novels, written by English author, journalist and World War II intelligence officer Ian Fleming, and the later James Bond films, often differ in tone and detail, a trend which increased with each new movie production. The James Bond novels, written mainly in the 1950s and early...
- List of henchmen in Never Say Never Again