On Her Majesty's Secret Service (PG)
007 in ski country -- and marriage territory?
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- Studio: MGM Home Entertainment
- Directed By: Peter Hunt
- Cast: Diana Rigg, George Lazenby, Telly Savalas
- Running Time: 144 minutes
- Release Date: 12/12/1969
- Video/DVD Release Date: 05/16/2000
- Genre: Action/adventure
- MPAA Rating: PG
- MPAA Explanation: violence and sexuality.
Parents need to know
Families can talk about the peculiar notion of James Bond getting married and settling down. This movie's cruel conclusion at least provides a clue to why 007 (or Indiana Jones, or Batman, or Lara Croft, or any action hero or heroine) never stays permanently with a love interest in the end. Parents might talk about the way moviemakers, novelists, and other pop storytellers ensure that their action idols stay single. Is there an unfair little message in there, that life's worthwhile adventures come to an end with monogamy, marriage, and child responsibilities? You might try to cite movies (most done only in recent years) that dare to suggest otherwise.
Message
Social Behavior:
Bond is -- as always -- the suave, arch British hero who indulges in recreational sex and gambling. Here he forms an alliance with a gangster. Heroine Tracy shows some fighting skills and strength of her own, though she needs rescuing by James more often than not. As throughout the series, physical attractiveness is equated with goodness, especially in females; the only unpretty woman is the villain's nasty, German-accented second-in-command.
Consumerism:
No problem, unless the parade of luxury '60s automobiles seems heavy-handed.
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:
Recreational drinking and smoking (mostly by the villain).
Violence
Lots of fistfights, gunfire, and car crashes. One character is shot at close range. A man on skis falls into a bladed snowplowing machine, which then spews blood-tinged snow. Other characters are engulfed in an avalanche. One man is skewered on a bed of spikes; another is blasted with a flamethrower.
Sex
As with many 007 movies of this vintage, the opening-credit sequence is an artsy montage featuring multicolored silhouettes of nude women. Though we don't see anything explicit, Bond beds a number of girls. At least this time he proposes marriage to one and insists they wait for their wedding night to consumate -- but then he changes his mind instantly. Bond also allows some characters to think he's homosexual.
Language
Common Sense says
What's the story?
Reviewed by Charles Cassady, Jr.
Is it any good?
The movie is a pretty bumpy but enjoyable roller-coaster of comedy, thrills, and ultimate tragedy, with the unaccustomed sight of a weeping Bond. Supposedly this film explored the "character" of James Bond as none had before, even down to his family crest and motto ("The World Is Not Enough"), though it's hardly Oscar-grade material -- the suave secret agent who cracks silly jokes and seduces lovely ladies is still a pretty cartoony figure.
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