The Making of on Her Majesty's Secret Service

I'm biased in favour of this film as being the best ever, although for overall stunts,drama and action CASINO ROYALE tops this.I was thirteen when i first saw this and curious over the chap playing Bond and amazed at the action.Lets not start on the shock ending either!It always cheeses me off how usually everyone in showbiz never tell a warts and all story despite the selfish attitude of the offending party.I'm not talking bitchy gossip, just tell it as it was..This book goes someway towards this and is the first to go into proper technical details showing how a film is made and how its still a job of work and not just a marvellous lounge-around for the production crew.Some cracking points of interest such as Lazenby's girlfriend at the time being cast as lead actress in DIAMONDS as a probable enticement to him re-appearing as Bond again.A short vignette/story or two which have escaped my eyes and knowledge as far as literally Bond is concerned which i was unaware of.If only Lazeby's own cockiness hadn't got the better of him i think we'd have got a Bond to remember, but then again in many ways he was just like Bond without the killing going on ! A superb book, don't miss reading it.Can we have a book over what went wrong with QUANTUM OF SOLACE now please?

This is a wonderful book by Charles Helfenstein about the much maligned James Bond movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". No stone has been left unturned in his quest to present all the possible information available on this movie. It is doubtful any other book could match the detail and presentation quality of this incredible work.It is divided into eleven sections, starting with an examination of Ian Fleming's novel of the same name as the film. Widely regarded as Fleming's best book, Helfenstein reveals where Fleming obtained inspiration for the plot, characters and place origins for his story.Next, the scripts and false starts to the movie's production are described, including changing a horse race on ice to the now famous car race on ice. And a full table of changes throughout the planning phase reveals some more rather wacky ideas, including that Gert Frobe should return to play Goldfinger's brother, Blofeld should be played by Max von Sydow, and a revealing interview with legendary screenwriter Richard Maibaum on how plans and ideas continually changed.The casting section describes how Sean Connery quit after "You Only Live Twice", and the frantic search for a new Bond unearthed the unknown non-actor Goerge Lazenby. He apparently walked into the producer's office and said "I believe you're looking for James Bond". His model looks, confidence/arrogance and his ability to energetically fight got him the job - and the fact he was on a very low salary. To balance the fact that the Bond actor was an acting novice, experienced actors like Telly Savalas, Diana Rigg and Gabriele Ferzetti were chosen for key roles.During the production and press conferences, Diana Rigg said about Lazenby "I'll sum him up in three words: He is gorgeous!". Helfenstein describes that everyone involved thought Lazenby was a great choice, which seems surprising now as he is not viewed by many in that light.Helfenstein fully describes the filming locations, including the dramatic and breathtaking mountains at Piz Gloria in Switzerland, the London locations where a major scene involving a chase through the capital city was eventually deleted, and the colourful and emotional wedding scenes which were filmed in Portugal. Many black and white and colour photos are used throughout - the book is overflowing with great images!The post production involved a battle to reduce the length of the film to a manageable level, and a frantic search for a theme tune ended with the iconic "We Have All The Time In The World" by the legendary Louis Armstrong, which has proved to be a timeless classic.Helfenstein also provides lots of information on the marketing of the movie, product adverts for toy cars and other items, movie posters from around the world, how the premieres unfolded and the rather mixed newspaper reviews. And, he describes the legacy of the movie, and what happened next - Sean Connery ultimately came back for "Diamonds Are Forever".To finish, Helfenstein has four interesting interviews with George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas and director Peter Hunt.Overall, Helfenstein has produced a masterpiece of a book. One possible criticism is that for the price it maybe should be a hardcover book. But for the James Bond aficionado, this book is everything you could ever dream of.

Bond movie books are usual lousy, self-indulgent retreads of well worn and well known facts. Chuck in the latest movie, reheat and serve. Most writers seem only to be in it to get their name on the Bond bookshelf and claim themselves as some kind of expert. An expert would know better than to publish.There have, however, been two classics we have been lucky enough to have enjoyed in recent years. Both are must haves.The first is Robert Sellers' "The Battle for Bond". Priceless.The second is Charles Helfenstein's book here. Absolutely marvellous.This is the perfect guide to the ultimate Bond film: imagine a literary version of Peter Hunt's labour of love and here it is. Full of indepth insight from the genesis of Fleming's novel, through production and, of course, the movie's notorious aftermath. Lovingly written and imaginatively illustrated, I doubt there is an image left that has not been reproduced here, showing the progress from Fleming's creation to today, the "feel" of OHMSS wonderfully recreated.A MUST have for the shelf of EVERY serious Bond fan.

With some trepidation I ordered this knowing that reviews can often overhype books, however in this case read them and believe because in spite of the hefty price tag this is as comprehensive a book on the making of a Bond movie as you could imagine. Whilst not printed on glossy pages, the heavy paper stock is good enough for the many colour illustrations that range from preproduction art through to the advertising posters. The prose itself is comprehensive and perfectly well written. Weighing in at almost 300 pages it is a hugely impressive effort. A pity the other movies in the series from this period have yet to warrant the same attention. However, as any fan of the Bond movies knows that even without Connery OHMSS remains the peak of the series. Get it!