Thunderball [VHS]

Thunderball was the fourth James Bond movie and continued to star Sean Connery in the lead role. The story focuses upon SPECTRE attempting to steal nuclear bombs from Britain and NATO and hold them for ransom. It was the first Bond movie to really expand upon the use of gadgets and is still great fun to watch.Gadgets became a trademark of the James Bond films. While the previous three all had them they were not that prominent nor noteworthy beyond Bond’s Aston Martin in Goldfinger. In Thunderball he employed all kinds of technology. In the opening scene he kills a spy and escapes his henchmen by using a jet pack that lifts him off a roof and then to his Aston Martin. The car then puts up a bulletproof shield in the back and then shoots water at the attackers allowing Bond to get away. This announced that the series was going all in on the secret agent gadgets.Thunderball also had all the other elements of the Bond series. The new SPECTRE villain was Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi) who planned the theft of the nuclear devices. There were a series of beautiful Bond girls. There was Molly Peters as Patricia Fearing who worked at a health clinic Bond goes to, Luciana Paluzzi as Fiona Volpe a SPECTRE agent, Martine Beswick as Paula who had a brief role in From Russia With Love and this time played an MI6 agent in the Bahamas, and finally Claudine Auger as Domino Vitali Largo’s mistress. Bond has to deal with the SPECTRE femme fatale Volpe while seducing Domino. There’s spy work, fights, chases, explosions, sharks a deep sea battle, and all that good stuff. All together you have all the parts for another very successful James Bond movie.C

Bond, James Bond is alive and well, over 50 years after this film was done up for us as preteens. He has grown from the iconic Male chauvinist to the evensteven partner and sometimes even the lady's victim...ouch.Thunderball - this film's undersea battle is still rated among the top ones of all time - but I liked the "moments" - remembering how everyone on campus had a mink glove or access to one, after this film - fun memory.And how many of the "gimmicks" were brand new at the time - the amazing jet pack flying suit is still a topic of conversation and excitement for those who now chase the hoverboard; and then neat "discipline" gimmick for the embezzling Spectre agent #9 - and Domino's brother's lookalike surgery, and the bombs and their robbery, and the famous " Do you mind if my partner rests here for a moment - she'd "Just DEAD" when the villainess is shot by her own men aiming for Bond - and then Domino's " I killed him - I'm glad I killed him" line when she gets Largo . A perfectly perfect take from " you killed him - I'm glad you killed him" quoted from Melanie in Gone with the Wind , to Scarlett, when she shoots the home invading soldier as he tries to harm her - "right between the eyes" as her paw would have taught her.Yes - we are amused.

The title says it all! I've been a James Bond fan for many years, mostly for the Roger Moore films but I do like the Sean Connery films, as well and "THUNDERBALL" is one of them. I love the film for the beautiful scenery since a lot of the movie is filmed in the Bahamas. I also love the beautiful actresses that play in the film, especially Claudine Auger, who plays Domino, the main Bond girl. Boy, is she beautiful, especially when she's in a bikini, underwater, snorkeling or scuba diving. Those scenes made me resume swimming, completely submerged underwater, now with a mask & snorkel. I also like the wonderful acting job of Sean Connery in his 4th film as James Bond as well as the supporting cast. Also, praise goes to the crew on the fantastic job they did in making this film, especially Terence Young in his 3rd & final time directing. Lastly, I love the fantastic underwater battles. To sum it up, this is a terrific movie & I recommend it to every James Bond fan out there because, believe me, you'll enjoy it!

While I liked "Goldfinger" a little better, "Thunderball" is certainly a solid, entertaining and worthy part of the James Bond franchise. This is especially impressive considering this movie was made over 50 years ago. In "Thunderball", it feels as though the elements of what makes a Bond film a Bond film begin to emerge. While some things strain credulity (by this film, the paradox of James Bond's renown as a secret agent is becoming apparent), "Thunderball" does a nice job of capturing the style of James Bond without completely abandoning a sense of realism. And of course, the Bond women (eg, Domino), exotic locations and cool cars don't hurt when it comes to coaxing an audience into willfully suspending disbelief.

A great solid followup to Goldfinger, and the last of the really great Sean Connery Bond films (save Never Say Never Again, a retelling of this story later). Bond is recovering from his adventures in a spa and becomes entangled with SPECTER again.This time, SPECTER steals an atomic weapon and holds the world hostage, threatening to set it off pretty much anywhere. Bond has a suspicion the trail leads to the Bahamas, and off we go. Sharks, bullets, spear guns, and one of the most amazing underwater scenes ever filmed involving a war between silently struggling forces.A great entry into the Bond legend, and fairly close to the original book.

Two hours and ten minutes? For a Bond movie? Really? Now I know why I was so bored when my mom and dad took me to this film when I was six years old. Interminable underwater scenes, particularly the battle royale in the third act.Still, can't complain too much. The pacing in the first two acts is perky for the most part, and Aldo Celli with his eye patch is a better than average Bond villain. Lots of scantily clad beauties to enjoy, too, of course, and the SPECTRE secret briefing room is an eyeful to behold.Bottom line: GOLDFINGER and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (also available here on amazon prime) are both superior to this only slightly above average 007 movie.

This is a decent Bond film. It's got Sean Connery as Bond and he hasn't lost any of his appeal. It's also close to the book which I really like. And yet, it's never been one of my favourites in the series. Having seen it less often than most of the other Bond films, I decided to give it whirl last night. It kept me nicely entertained, especially the first half of the film with some of the more memorable moments of the franchise. There is the pretitle sequence with Bond attending his own funeral, the epic getaway with the jet pack, and who could forget Fiona Volpe on her golden motorbike, played by the bewitching Luciana Paluzzi? The scenes in the spa where Bond is whipped back into shape are fun to watch, Adolfo Celi makes a decent adversary, the Spectre lair is suitably intimidating. All good so far.What doesn't work quite so well for me is the second half of the film. Not the story line, mind you. That's solid enough. And the Bahamas locations are glorious. But there are these endless underwater sequences, and I can't help finding them just a bit dull. I'm sure technically they're brilliant, and back in the 60 probably novel and exciting, but I found them too long and too slow and was wishing for a good fast paced chase on land. Or some dialogue. But maybe that's just me.The DVD is good. Excellent picture and sound, subtitles for those who may need them and any amount of extra material (this latter refers to the 2 disc Ultimate Edition I purchased).

James Bond goes The Bahamas to investigate why two nuclear warheads were stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E..Connery's forth film is one of his most disappointing. Staring with the positives, Connery again impresses in particular the action scenes, Adolfo Celi makes for a formidable adversary and Luciana Paluzzi is a memorable Bond girl. The John Barry soundtrack and Tom Jones's theme are suitably big and dramatic (it would have been interesting to see & hear Dionne Warwick's alternate song Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang used in the film) & the pre-credits sequence is excellent one of the most memorable in the film. However the best thing about the film is the action and effects by John Stears, there are incredibly well made and put together.There are a few downsides though, Claudine Auger as the leading lady "Domino" is one of the least memorable Bond girls and is totally out shined by the villainous Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi), director Terence Young making last Bond has a few difficulties in keeping the pace up, in particular underwater stuff and quite a few other scenes which last a little too long. The main weakness is for me though the above mentioned underwater sequences, they go too long and in turn it does become confusing as too what's going on at times and I also thought that the climax could've been edited together a bit tighter.Given the 3 films that went before, this doesn't stand out nearly as much but, overall this is still a very and enjoyable good action adventure that's easy to watch. 3.5/5

This is review of the HD quality. Well worth the upgrade from the Ultimate Edition DVD . Picture is sharp and the colours vibrant, but not quite as good as Dr No . We know Laury labs did an excellent job of cleaning and restoring the bond movies to perfection, within the capability of DVD. This is the only scene i have found a flaw on the Blu Ray . It’s not on the Laury make over UE DVD. The HD quality is that enjoyable, that you quite taken a back when you see the obvious flaw. Don’t be put off, it makes you realise how much work had gone into cleaning this film up.Again as I said before, you are probably viewing this film better now than when it was first released

The last of the truly great 60's Connery outings, 1965's 'Thunderball' was the first aquatic bond of the series, and is still one of the very best. The welcome return of director Terence Young makes it feel much like the first two instalments, though there is definitely an emphasis on 'bigger'. The movies finale, a huge underwater battle sequence was ground breaking stuff, and still impressive today. This title was one of Ian Fleming's best literary adventures, and at this stage the movies were still following the books closely. In the years ahead 007 movies of this standard were to become increasingly sporadic, however in this glorious vintage, it was the fourth classic in a row. The blu ray transfer is quality too, for this one my own favourites.

I was reluctant to buy this after the DVD 2-disc ultimate edition thinking how much better can it be.The best improvement comes in the visual department where it actually displays 4K in the corner and then the film begins.Immediately the sharpness of the movie is that much better then the DVD restoration process.There is a big but, with the increased sharpness and detail comes increase grain in the picture.There seemed to be a massive problem with film studios using cr*ppy film stock of the time which has nothing to do with the film restoration.However this being the fourth in the series is less of a improvement than Dr. No so at the film technology was moving on at the time the film was made.It is just a shame ITV keep on hammering the Bond movies to the death.For a long time I didn't know or understand Thunderball especially after the success of Goldfinger but I watch it now and again recently and enjoy the opening 'health farm' segment with all the byplay going on. Claudine Auger is absolutely stunning looking leading lady but never saw her again.