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On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Perfect Bond film, perfect action film.
I do not understand why some people think that George Lazenby must "suck" because he only made one James Bond film. They assume he was a poor actor and was fired.
First of all, George Lazenby was not fired. He took some bad advice and did "Universal Soldier" (which if you can find, it is worth watching)instead of "Diamonds are Forever". This is a shame, because being a fan of the Fleming novels, I thought George was excellent. Unlike others who point out his "bad acting", I am unable to find any point in the film in which George's acting is sub-par. Producer Harry Saltzman thought George was good enough to offer a seven picture contract to him. That is very impressive for someone who hadn't acted previously.
The only mistakes of this film are made by the producers and the director. The main mistake is the dubbing of Lazenby's voice during the "Sir Hilary Bray" scenes, which is awful but excusable. The other mistake is the way the script was written to have Bond seduce the Piz Gloria girls just because he can,and not clearly to obtain information- as it played out in the novel.
Mistakes aside, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is an absolutely excellent film. The screenplay is beautifully written and close to the novel. The casting is perfect all around (especially Diana Rigg and Gabriele Ferzetti). The action scenes are choreographed and executed very well, and George Lazenby looks more believable in a fight than Connery did, I think. The ski chase obviously stands out as one of the best chase scenes in the franchise. The cinematography and the Swiss location are perfect portraits of the novel and executed very well indeed.
Some argue that the ending of the film should have appeared instead at the beginning of "Diamonds", but I agree with the decision to stay true to the novel. Tracy's death is a complete story arc that normally would set up the next film marvelously. Had the producers done a faithful adaptation of "You Only Live Twice" AFTER "O.H.M.S.S.", (and preferably with Lazenby) then it would have made an excellent revenge film.
All in all, I think that "O.H.M.S.S." is a perfect Bond film. I suggest that viewers watch the film without a bias as to what others say about the film or it's casting. If you have an open mind about it, I think you'll find "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" to be one hell of a good film.
Universal Soldier (1971)
Universal Soldier with George Lazenby
Most of my friends think I'm crazy, but I love this film.
Honestly, I don't know what it is about it, but I can't stop watching it. I became a George Lazenby fan when I watched 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' and naturally, I wanted to see what else he had done. I came across a couple footnotes in articles that George had done a film called 'Universal Soldier' instead of 'Diamonds are Forever'. I was curious about 'Universal Soldier' and the lack of information on the internet about it. I decided to try and find a copy. After some research, I found out that the film has been released on VHS twice. Once in Britain, and once in the United States. I found a good U.S. copy on Amazon and bought it for 10 dollars. When I first watched it, I realised that it was horrible, but there was something about it that intrigued me. I watched it several more times, and then it hit me.
This movie is not an Action, nor a Drama. It's a story, maybe not an exciting one, but it's brought to the screen in such a way- with the camera shots, and wonderful music by Phillip Goodhand-Tait- that it seems almost artistic. Also, it's really quite hilarious when you watch it. Pay attention to Smith, Jesse, and Bradshaw's characters, the ad-libbed tongue in cheek humour. I'm sure nobody will agree with me, but that's what I think about Universal Soldier.