Thunderball (1965)

Welcome back!  Continuing with my James Bond marathon, today I'll be reviewing Thunderball (1965), the 4th official James Bond film, and by far the most controversial film in the franchise!

SYNOPSIS:
A plane carrying two atomic bombs mysteriously crashes into the ocean.  Within a day, the evil international organization SPECTRE claims to have control of its nukes and demands NATO pay a ransom of £100 million within 7 days; otherwise they'll use them to wipe out a large city in the US or UK.  All nine 00 agents are brought in to investigate, but James Bond (Sean Connery) requests to pursue a clue in the Bahamas.  There, he meets Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), a sinister one-eyed man whom Bond begins to suspect is involved with SPECTRE.

REVIEW:
Once again, this film begets more famous supervillain tropes with the return of SPECTRE.  We see Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his white persian cat once again (well, all but his face) as he briefs a meeting room full of his SPECTRE agents.  Finding one guilty of embezzlement, he presses a button on his console to electrocute the man's chair and dispose of his body under the table.

The mysterious Blofeld holding a SPECTRE meeting

We're also introduced to Blofeld's Number 2, a.k.a. Emilio Largo.  He's a silver-haired villain who wears an eye patch over his left eye.  Obviously, he was the inspiration for Dr. Evil's Number 2 in the Austin Powers films.  Plus, Largo has a pool of sharks that he feeds his employees to when they displease him; another famous trope that Austin Powers adapted (sadly, no friggin' lasers attached to their heads in Thunderball (1965)).

Q (Desmond Llewelyn) makes an appearance half way through the film, choosing to arm Bond in the field this time.  He provides Bond with a Geiger counter disguised as a watch, a waterproof camera, a mini pistol that fires flares, a tiny pen-sized breathing device that would allow someone about 4 minutes of air underwater, and a radioactive pill that would send out a homing signal once ingested.  We also briefly see Bond's famous 1964 Aston Martin DB5, a relief considering he wrecked it in Goldfinger (1964) and then spent the rest of the movie as basically a captive.  Somehow, he recovered it and restored it (probably on the government's dime, considering it was a gov't-issued vehicle).

The SPECTRE logo has been refined in this film.  The last time we saw a SPECTRE ring was in From Russia with Love (1963), which looked like a goofy sketch of a 4-armed octopus/skull hybrid.  The logo in Thunderball (1965) was more detailed, creating a more menacing 8-legged octopus. Years later, in SPECTRE (2015), the logo would be redefined yet again, with a 7-legged octopus.  Here are the various iterations:

So let's get into the meat of this film's controversy.  Thunderball (1965) was originally supposed to be the first James Bond film.  In 1958, Ian Fleming hired on Kevin McClory (who also brought in Jack Whittingham) to assist him in drafting a screenplay for his novel series' titular character.  The three of them went to work writing the screenplay, but when the deal ultimately fell through, Ian Fleming took the unfinished draft and used it as inspiration to write his 9th James Bond novel, which he named Thunderball.  Upon reading an early release of the novel, McClory and Whittingham filed a lawsuit to stop the release of the novel, claiming that it was heavily plagiarized from their screenplay.

During the legal battle, Ian Fleming suffered a heart attack and decided he was too tired and weak to continue legal discourse.  He settled out of court with McClory, agreeing to give him certain rights to the screenplay, including characters, story, and film rights, but prevent him from creating a film with it for at least 10 years.  Meanwhile, Ian Fleming would maintain the rights to the novel he wrote, but would have to credit McClory and Whittingham as collaborators in subsequent printings.

Ian Fleming would suffer a second heart attack 9 months later, this time ending his life.  In 1964, after the success of the first three Bond films, McClory approached Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, the current owners of the film rights to the James Bond novels, and arranged a deal to adapt his screenplay for Thunderball into an official movie.  Per his legal agreement, he did not participate in the production of the film, but he received a writing credit.

To this day, there is still controversy over who exactly came up with SPECTRE and its leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld.  They first appeared in the original screenplay for Thunderball, long before any Bond films were made, but a note written by Ian Fleming for McClory and Whittingham make it almost appear as though Fleming himself came up with the evil organization.  Their exclusive rights would be contested by McClory for many years, until eventually, EON Productions dropped them from the franchise altogether, choosing to come up with real-world threats for Bond instead of continually battling a mysterious international terrorist organization.

Kevin McClory passed away in 2006.  In 2013, EON purchased the rights to Thunderball and all associated stories, characters, and organizations from his family's estate, allowing them to finally use the evil empire in their modern Bond films.  Blofeld would live again!  But I'm getting way ahead of myself.

Kevin McClory - The jerk who maintained lawsuits against the films for years

The soundtrack for Thunderball (1965) is absolutely beautiful!  The gorgeous orchestral works for the water-themed film has set a precedent for aquatic themes in future works.  I even noticed World of Warcraft, when creating their underwater realm Vashj'ir, used a similarly-styled theme for the background music.  Here's Thunderball's self-titled theme song and opening title sequence, but I recommend looking up the rest of the soundtrack for this film:

RECOMMENDATION:
Up to this point, Goldfinger (1964) had solidified the standard for international spy films, outperforming its two predecessors.  Thunderball (1965) continues to expand the world of James Bond and uphold the standard set by its previous title.  Bringing back the classic SPECTRE organization after a brief hiatus, we get to see just how involved this secret empire is in world affairs, and how resourceful they can be.  If you've been following the films up to this point, you definitely can't miss this one!  And just a reminder: Amazon Prime has apparently made all the Bond films previous to the Daniel Craig era available for free streaming as of April 1st.  So go check them out!  You can watch them along with me this month!

Goldfinger (1964)

Today, we continue my James Bond marathon with the third official film, Goldfinger (1964).  Now with pictures!  Go back to my previous James Bond reviews for some extra images to enjoy.

SYNOPSIS:
James Bond (Sean Connery) is tasked with tracking a self-made jeweler and gold bullion dealer by the name of Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe).  He's to find out if Goldfinger is importing his gold illegally.  But while casing the eccentric gentleman, Bond discovers a far more devious plot to raid the gold stores at Fort Knox and obliterate the world's economy!

REVIEW:
Q (Desmond Llewelyn) is back again, this time issuing James Bond his most famous car: a 1964 Aston Martin DB5.  But this is no ordinary car.  It includes high-tech gadgets such as rotating license plates, GPS tracking, bullet-proof rear plate, smoke screen and oil slick buttons, machine guns that pop out of the front, and of course, a button on the shift knob that ejects the passenger seat.  Q also hands Bond two tracking devices; one the size of a deck of cards that can be hidden in a vehicle, and a miniature version to put in a hidden compartment in the sole of his shoe.

The gold standard of Bond cars

Goldfinger is the first official Bond villain who is not associated with SPECTRE.  He was associated with them in the books, but for the film version, he was just an eccentric man who loved everything about gold and would do anything to increase the value of his gold collection.  As you may have guessed, Austin Powers' Goldmember was based on Goldfinger; although Goldmember was a lot more creepy.

Goldfinger does not approve of Goldmember

Goldfinger employs as his personal muscle, a short, mute Asian man by the name of Oddjob.  His specialty (besides being insanely strong) is throwing his steel-rimmed bowler hat to kill people.  He was also the inspiration for the Austin Powers henchman, Random Task, who would throw his shoe at people.  Anyone who played the multiplayer mode of the old Nintendo 64 game GoldenEye can attest that Oddjob is the absolute worst.  Being the shortest character, he was the hardest to hit in that game.  Screw anyone who chose to play as Oddjob!

Playing as Oddjob is cheating!

Ahem.  This film was far more successful than the previous two, and brought about its own share of recognizable tropes.  For instance, there's a scene where Bond is strapped to a table while a laser is slowly moving up between his legs.  A nervous Bond asks Goldfinger, "Do you expect me to talk?"  To which Goldfinger laughs, "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!"

That's gonna sting a little...

There is another famous scene where Bond finds a girl dead who has been painted gold from head to toe.  This scene was due to the old superstition that if you covered your entire body in paint, you would somehow suffocate and die.  It was believed that your skin needed to breathe, and covering all of your skin would kill you.  Fortunately, that's not a real thing.

What a way to go... suffocated by blocked pores

The Bond Girl in this film is a tough and feisty lady by the name of Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman), who is a pilot and has trained a team of female pilots known as Pussy Galore's Flying Circus.  So far, she's the toughest woman in the series.  She spends most of her screen time rejecting Bond's charm and fighting back when cornered.  It was definitely a different era when this film released, because the way Bond eventually seduces her is very rapey.  He ends up forcing her down to the ground, pinning her with his own body. She fights him the entire time, until he inevitably gets close enough to locks lips with her.  All of a sudden, her fight is gone and she finally gives in to him.  My wife and I joked that Bond's lips must be magical because no girl continues to resist him once he's kissed them.  And Sean Connery's Bond has been very forceful in initiating intimacy; sometimes with strangers he's just met!  He was a powerful sex icon in his day, but by today's standards, Bond would be in jail for sexual assault in a heartbeat.

This isn't creepy at all...

After the lighter, more romantic theme of the previous film, this film comes in strong with a powerful singer, cautioning against letting Goldfinger get too close.  Here's the film's opening title sequence:

RECOMMENDATION:
This film improves on the previous two, having finally found a good blend between secret agent and gentleman spy.  The story is exciting from start to finish and the battle of wits between Bond and Goldfinger keeps you entertained.  Not to mention, Goldfinger's plan, once laid out, is actually quite brilliant.  If you watch any of the early Bond films, you have to see this one!

From Russia with Love (1963)

My next installment of the James Bond marathon includes the second official film, From Russia with Love (1963).

By the way, I just found out yesterday that Amazon Prime just released all the pre- Daniel Craig Bond films in high def for free streaming.  If you have an Amazon Prime account, you can watch all the classic films along with me!

SYNOPSIS:
The international terrorist organization, SPECTRE, plans to get their hands on a decoding device known as the Lektor.  Their plot requires tricking a young Russian girl, Tatiana "Tanja" Romanova (Daniela Bianchi) into seducing James Bond (Sean Connery) into helping her "defect" to England with the Lektor; upon which SPECTRE plans to steal once it's out of Russian hands.  Tanja takes orders from Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya), a brutish lady whom Tanja doesn't realize has been relieved of her duties in Russia and is now working for SPECTRE.  Stalking in the background is Donovan "Red" Grant (Robert Shaw), a large blonde assassin for SPECTRE who is specially trained to kill James Bond and steal the Lektor.  Will Bond be able to rescue the girl and escort her and the Lektor safely to England...?

REVIEW:
This is the continuation of the (then-new) James Bond franchise, picking up shortly where the previous film left off.  We catch up to Bond "reviewing an old case" as he's having a fun picnic with Sylvia Trench (Eunice Gayson), the first girl Bond met with in the previous film.  He's called in to work immediately, where he's told of this very obvious trap that's been presented to him - a beautiful young girl wants to defect with a decoder, but only if James Bond himself comes to escort her.  MI6 is very intent on getting their hands on a decoder, so they send Bond to Istanbul to investigate and determine if there's a chance he could bring it home, despite the obvious set-up.

"Reviewing an old case"

We are introduced to Q (Desmond Llewelyn), a.k.a. the Quartermaster, head of Q-Branch.  A Quartermaster is one who provides rations and/or other provisions for a military, and Q is just that man, giving Bond his first gadgets.  He's given a briefcase with a tear gas can inside.  Open the case the wrong way and you get a face full of tear gas.  Also hidden in the lining of the briefcase is a knife, extra rounds for his gun, and 50 gold coins in case he needs something to barter with.  Side note: Desmond Llewelyn would continue to fulfill his role as Q in the Bond franchise for many decades, until his untimely death in a car crash in 1999.

Q meeting up with James Bond for the first time

This film is the first time the leader of SPECTRE is seen; although we never see his face.  We only see the white persian cat he lovingly strokes in his lap, which has become a supervillain trademark thanks to these early Bond films.  We also see the iconic SPECTRE logo on his ring, a black octopus.  He's referred to as Number 1 (a.k.a. Ernst Stavro Blofeld) and he's very displeased with James Bond killing Dr. No, one of his top agents.  Kronsteen (Vladek Sheybal), a.k.a. Number 5, presents a plot to steal a Lektor from the Russians, and Rosa Klebb, a.k.a. Number 3, offers to involve James Bond in their plot, giving them another chance to kill him.  She recruits Tanja, pretending to continue her role as an officer of SMERSH, a Russian anti-spy organization, and then recruits Red to kill both of them once the Lektor is secure.

The mysterious Ernst Stavro Blofeld, leader of SPECTRE (The man, not the cat)

Blofeld is uncredited in this film.  It was their intent to keep his identity a complete secret, so even his actor's name is unmentioned.  In the place of the actor's name in the credits, there is only a question mark.  It will be several films before we're finally able to put a face to the name.  But when we do, his revealed face ends up being the inspiration for Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers films.  Rosa Klebb is also a huge inspiration for Frau Farbissina, Dr. Evil's right-hand henchwoman.

SMERSH was an actual Russian organization in the mid-40s.  It's name was a portmanteau: Смерть шпионам (SMERt' SHpionam, a.k.a. "Death to Spies").  Coined by Joseph Stalin, it was intended to be a counter-intelligence agency, protecting the Red Army from infiltration and internal conflict.  Ian Fleming included a fictional version of SMERSH as his international terrorist organization in his novels, up until he wrote Thunderball, where the new acronym SPECTRE took over as their new name.  It was a better name for an organization with no political ties to any one nation; no longer feeding off their real-life Russian roots any longer.  But Thunderball also brought conflict with that new name, a story I will tell when I get to that film in a couple days.

This film was based on Ian Fleming's 5th novel: "From Russia, with Love."  It was surprisingly loyal to the original story, only changing up a few details here and there.  This would also be the last film that Ian Fleming would ever see, as he passed away a year later, just before the third film released.  From Russia with Love (1963) had its own self-titled theme song, which sets the mood just right.  You can watch/listen to it here:

RECOMMENDATION:
This was an excellent follow-up to Dr. No (1962).  Bond is assigned to escort a defector with a Lektor, and he ends up fighting for his life in the process.  The story keeps you engaged, but not overwhelmed with action.  Like its predecessor, it has quieter moments where you can breathe a bit and process the story so far.  Plus, they filmed on location in Istanbul, so you got to see some of the beautiful sights.  That's one of the best parts of James Bond films; seeing the beautiful locations around the world where he travels.  If you want some action and intrigue, as well as more insider info to the mysterious SPECTRE organization, this is the film for you!

Dr. No (1962)

Happy April, everyone!  Welcome back to my James Bond marathon!  Today, I'll be reviewing the first official Bond film, Dr. No (1962).

SYNOPSIS:
Strange radio signals have been throwing NASA's space rockets at Cape Canaveral off course.  British spies were investigating a potential lead down in Jamaica when they suddenly went missing.  MI6, the secret head department of British Intelligence, sends their best agent, James Bond (Sean Connery) - code name 007 - to investigate their disappearance.  Along the way, Bond meets up with a CIA agent, Felix Leiter (Jack Lord), a local fisherman named Quarrel (John Kitzmiller), and Honey Rider (Ursula Andress), a woman hunting for seashells who gets caught up in the action.  Together, the group must track down the mysterious Chinese man, Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman) and uncover his secret plot to destabilize the world!

REVIEW:
This film, being the very first official Bond film, introduced several characters who would continue to make appearances throughout the history of the films.  James Bond being the biggest, but also his American CIA agent counterpart, Felix Leiter; his boss at MI6, M (Bernard Lee); and M's secretary, Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell), who would spend years pursuing Bond but never getting more than flirtatious affection from him.

James Bond's first introduction to the big screen

This film also introduced the secret terrorist organization, SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion).  They would go on to become one of the greatest antagonists that James Bond battles with.  However, due to a real-world legal battle, they disappeared from later films.  But I'll get more in detail about that in later reviews.

This first Bond film is a classic, bringing you back to the simpler times of the early '60s.  There are no fancy gadgets involved.  James Bond is forced to give up his trusty Beretta handgun in exchange for the government-issued Walther PPK, which would become his standard-issue gun throughout the film series. And that's it; no other gadgets or secret toys.  He's sent on assignment to find out what happened to his fellow agents in Jamaica and uncover the secret radio disturbances.  The US is planning to send their next rocket to the moon, which requires very precise coordinates, so Bond is on a tight deadline.

Along the way, he seduces a couple women, bests a few assassins, and eventually finds himself in the secret lair of Dr. No, where he has to find a way to shut him down for good.

Honey Rider and James Bond

What I love about this film is the pacing.  Unlike modern action films that have non-stop action, only pausing to insert some exposition for the audience, this film takes its time.  You watch Bond go through the entire investigation process.  He finds clues that eventually point him toward his destination, but getting there is the story.  In this 2-hour film, he doesn't even meet Dr. No until the last 20 minutes!

There are wonderful stretches where you watch a process unfold, rather than cutting straight to the action.  For instance, there's a point where a henchman goes to warn Dr. No that Bond is on their trail.  But it doesn't cut to him talking to Dr. No.  Instead, you see him leave his office, go down to the docks, explain to a boatman why it's essential he "break protocol" and visit Dr. No, travel to an island, in-process on arrival, and be escorted to a dark room, where he FINALLY gets to talk to the boss.  It gives so much room to just observe the story and process it, without holding your hand from plot point to plot point.  Which is the whole point of a visual medium; show, don't tell.

Felix Leiter and James Bond meet for the first time

It's also interesting to note that in this film, which released in 1962, Cape Canaveral was trying to send a mission to the Moon.  It wouldn't be until 1969 when we actually land on the Moon.  So making a successful mission to the Moon was a big deal at the time of this film's release; part of the motivation for Bond to succeed in his mission, and a big motivator for the villain to ensure it didn't happen.

Dr. No himself is the first Bond villain with a sinister style/defect.  His hands are both metal.  I assume they're robotic, as he can move his fingers and grab things, but it's never clearly expressed.  He just refers to them as accidents caused in pursuit of his goals.  He also wears a traditional gray Asian suit with a high collar, which would later be the inspiration for Dr. Evil's gray jumpsuit in the Austin Powers films.  The character of Dr. Evil, however, would be based off the actual leader of SPECTRE, who we will learn about in tomorrow's review.

Dr. No and his metal hands

Finally, this film started the famous gun barrel opening scene, followed by the film's theme music set to dancing silhouettes of women.  Every James Bond film is known for their beautiful orchestral theme song that matches the time period in which it was released.  But the main theme for this film became the standard James Bond theme for the rest of the franchise.  Regardless of which film you're watching, the "James Bond Theme" song can be found playing in one form or another.  Easily one of the most recognizable musical riffs today.  Here's the title sequence for this film in its entirety:

RECOMMENDATION:
This film is a masterpiece, introducing the famous Ian Fleming novels to the big screen.  Despite being the first official movie, the story of Dr. No was actually Ian Fleming's 6th book in his series.  You'll learn that the movies definitely have a signature style for the stories/characters that differ from the books.  And in some cases only use the title of a book while presenting its own unique story.  Back then, loyalty to the source material wasn't a big deal.  What mattered was how moviegoers would enjoy the films, and they were a hit!  This film spawned a franchise that is still going to this day, 58 years later.  If you haven't seen this very first James Bond film, you should!

Random Trivia: Sean Connery started balding at 21 years old.  By the time he filmed Dr. No, he was 32 and had to wear partial wigs.  Throughout his entire time as James Bond (and most of his young acting career), he wore wigs.  It wasn't until he was really old and gray that he fully embraced his bald head.  For years, I didn't realize that Indiana Jones' elderly father in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) was the same actor as James Bond in these early Bond films.

Casino Royale (1954)

It's almost April and we're all still stuck in isolation at home, so why not marathon the entire James Bond franchise?  That's right, I'll be spending the whole month of April re-watching the entire James Bond library, in preparation for Daniel Craig's final Bond film, No Time to Die (2020).  Which has unfortunately been pushed back to a November release.

I'm beginning this marathon a day early with a little known episode of the old American show Climax! Mystery Theater, titled Casino Royale (1954).  I will be reviewing all the Bond films, both official EON Productions films and non-official films, in order of release date.

SYNOPSIS:
"Jimmy" Bond (Barry Nelson), American spy, goes to a casino where he's tasked with winning a game of baccarat against the crime boss, Le Chiffre (Peter Lorre).  In doing so, he will prevent Le Chiffre from winning the money he needs to pay off his debts to some dangerous organizations.  But with his life on the line, Le Chiffre will do whatever it takes to get that money...

REVIEW:
Adapting Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel by the same name, it was the first version of James Bond on TV, almost a decade before the first official James Bond film was released.  But being released on an American show, they made some slight changes.  For one, they made him an American and gave him a more American name: Jimmy Bond.  Plus he had an old-timey gangster accent.  His partner went by the name Clarence Leiter (Michael Pate), which is also an Americanized name.  In the original novels, James Bond's CIA counterpart was named Felix Leiter.  But I guess Americans thought Felix was still too British for an American name.

Jimmy Bond and Valerie Mathis

The hour-long episode is all black-and-white and would've been lost to time, if not for the fame that the official James Bond franchise brought to the big screen years later.  This single episode is one of only two that ever made it to video from the old Climax! Mystery Theater show, which ran for 4 seasons (165 episodes).  The rest, if available at all, can either be found as simple audio recordings or grainy home video recordings uploaded to YouTube.

This episode opens with Jimmy Bond being shot at while he's trying to enter the casino.  After the shooter flees, Bond moseys into the casino, joking about how badly some people don't want him to play.  He meets up with Leiter, who recognizes him immediately from his winning streak at the card table.  "Card-sense Jimmy Bond," he calls him.  His reputation has proceeded him.  He asks Bond to teach him how to play baccarat while also briefing him on his mission in private.  Which was a brilliant way to teach the audience the basics of the card game they're about to witness.

The show is relatively loyal to the original novel's story: Bond cleans out Le Chiffre, then finds himself captured and tortured for the money he won.  But the character of Bond is different from the novel, and this will be a common theme for almost all the films.

Bond (left) cleaning out Le Chiffre (right)

Ian Fleming, the original author who created James Bond, was a Commander in the Royal Navy during WWII, working for Naval Intelligence.  After the war, he worked for a major newspaper and would take three months of holiday during the winter to stay in a house he built in Jamaica. He named his home Goldeneye, after Operation Goldeneye that he had been in command of during the war.  At that home is where he wrote all the James Bond novels, using his experiences working in Intelligence and working with commandos in the field, as well as a little imagination.

Ian Fleming at his Goldeneye villa

Ian Fleming's Bond was a blunt instrument.  An extremely dull, uninteresting man whom things happened to.  He was dark and mysterious, cold and ruthless.  He was not witty or charming, nor particularly handsome.  He was interesting to read about, but such a boring man isn't entertaining to watch, so when Bond was transcribed to the big screen, they made a charming, handsome, quick-witted womanizer out of him.  He became a fantasy role for men and a dreamy hunk for women.  He always saved the day and always got the girl.  Novel Bond couldn't maintain relationships because of the horrible type of work he had to do.  He had long hardened himself against love and lived in such a dark, depressing world, love would never seek him out.  Film Bond, on the other hand, was a playboy, bouncing from one girl to the next without a care in the world.  He enjoyed his job and lived for the game of wits, both with his enemies and his women.  Even in a pinch, he always had some witty retort to throw out.

Ian Fleming's sketch of James Bond

And thus, Film Bond went down a much different path than Novel Bond.  So where I may make the occasional references to the books, I don't plan to do a compare/contrast review with this marathon.  Film Bond forged his own path, and most of the films don't share much in common with the books they're based on, except maybe the name and some basic plot details.

RECOMMENDATION:
This show's first taste of James Bond in video form gave the world a sample of what was to come.  You got a witty Bond who was loyal to his job, regardless of whose lives were on the line.  You got a ruthless villain who would do whatever it took to win.  You had a damsel in distress who would do anything for Bond.  And Peter Lorre as Bond's first villain was fun to watch.  He did not have a distinguishing evil feature like many of Bond's villains (although they referred to him as the "toad-faced" man at one point), but he came across as slimy and evil all the same.  This is a great introduction to what James Bond might have been like if he were American.  If you can find this episode, I would highly recommend you watch it! (Hint: It's available for free on YouTube)

Random Trivia: Climax! Mystery Theater was aired live for audiences, so when you do watch this episode, keep in mind that the entire thing was a live stage production, not a film.  It makes the cinematography and acting that much more fascinating, knowing that this was all done in one take.

Outbreak (1995)

I've spent a week in isolation with my wife thanks to the looming threat of the COVID-19 coronavirus outside, so what better way to pass the time than to watch relevant films?  A couple days ago, we saw Outbreak (1995).

SYNOPSIS:
An African village discovers a terrible virus that violently kills anyone infected within 48 hours.  The US government moves to contain the virus before it spreads, but a captured capuchin monkey from nearby is imported to northern California and ends up spreading a more deadly strain of the virus throughout a small town.  Colonel Sam Daniels (Dustin Hoffman) and his medical team, ex-wife Robby (Rene Russo), best friend Casey (Kevin Spacey), and Major Salt (Cuba Gooding Jr.), search desperately for a cure before the infection spreads to the rest of America. Meanwhile, his superior Generals (Morgan Freeman and Donald Sutherland) resist the Colonel's attempt to stop the pandemic, instead choosing to nuke the US city and be done with it.  Col Daniels is in a time crunch to discover a cure before the US military chooses to bomb its own citizens on US soil.

REVIEW:
This film is very loosely based on a novel called The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story, by Richard Preston, which itself is a non-fiction account of two extremely deadly African filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg) with no known treatment or cure.  Although the film deviates wildly from the novel, creating a highly-contagious US pandemic that the military seeks to contain via fire and destruction.  In reality, the variant of Ebola that was found spreading through imported lab monkeys in Reston, VA (known as the Reston virus) turned out to be relatively harmless to humans.

Unlike my previous review on the film Contagion (2011), which treats a worldwide epidemic like a serious drama, Outbreak (1995) is a very action-packed 90s film, heavily reliant on a sense of adventure and intrigue and never-give-up attitude.  This film is very clearly a work of fiction, keeping you entertained by all the running around, explosions, military procedures, and fear of the virus escaping into the greater public.  The previous film focused on how people dealt with a widespread virus in the real world; this one is a fantastical race against the clock to stop the virus from getting out in the first place.

Col Daniels and his ex-wife have a sub-plot about their difficult divorce to give a hint of romance to this film, as that was practically required in 90s films.  Their sassy best friend, Casey, seems to be there to keep them focused on their difficult task and not at each other's throats.  There's also Maj Salt, who behaves like a young, immature enlisted kid.  As a military member myself, it kind of broke the illusion to see this bright-eyed, bushy-tailed Major who jumped at the smallest scary thing.  By that rank, officers are usually pretty well-seasoned and mature.  But I digress...

RECOMMENDATION:
If you want a terrifying look at how bad our situation with COVID-19 could've been, I'd recommend watching Contagion (2011).  But if you just want some fun action and edge-of-your-seat excitement, all wrapped up with a happy ending, then maybe Outbreak (1995) is more your thing.  Although I would highly recommend reading The Hot Zone as well.  It was an incredible real-world look into some of the most deadly viruses known to man.  I first read it in 12th grade biology class and it was a captivating read from start to finish.

Contagion (2011)

Since my wife and I are shut in our home for the day (all week in her case! Lucky...), we decided to watch a topical film regarding a viral outbreak: Contagion (2011).

SYNOPSIS:
Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) finds herself sick while returning home from Hong Kong.  But the virus she's infected with is highly contagious and kills most people it comes in contact with.  Before long, there's a global pandemic and the worldwide medical community is racing to find a cure before panic and hysteria sets in.

REVIEW:
With the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spreading among our worldwide population, it was somehow soothing to see a film tackling the worst-case scenario of an outbreak.  Unlike COVID-19, which has mild cold/flu symptoms and a low risk of death unless you're old and have a compromised immune system, the MEV-1 virus of the film kills quickly, taking 1/4 of all infected people within 48 hours.  You get a chance to see what would happen in the case of a population-threatening outbreak.

The best part is that you get to see this pandemic from all sides.  The film doesn't just follow a team of doctors or researchers trying to find a cure.  You get Beth's husband (Matt Damon) as he deals with her illness.  You follow CDC doctors (Laurence Fishburne and Kate Winslet) attempting to find the source of the virus and develop a working vaccine.  You see a WHO epidemiologist (Marion Cotillard) get kidnapped in China and held for ransom, in order to provide a small village with the vaccine first.  You see the government's military response (Bryan Cranston) as they work closely with the CDC. You get a conspiracy theorist with a popular blog (Jude Law) who accuses the government of creating a bio-weapon and hoarding the cure.  He passes off a homeopathic cure derived from forsythias (a type of flower) as the solution, causing rioting and panic as drug stores are raided for the "cure."

As millions of people continue to die, public panic sets in and civil unrest unfolds.  There's rioting, stealing, murder, and those closest to finding a cure are even targeted.  The film presents itself more like a real-world tragedy than a fantasy story.  There are no zombies, there's not a happy ending for everyone, and for the most part, there are no heroes.  It's an incredible look at how bad it could really be.

The best part is at the very end, where they visually walk you through the origin of the virus and how it got into the human population.  I'd actually seen the end of this film shared around Facebook and Reddit when fear of the Coronavirus started spreading, as an example how easy it is to spread diseases by not washing your hands.  Practice basic hygiene and you'll be a million times safer, people!

RECOMMENDATION:
Depending on the type of person you are, this could either relieve you or upset you more.  I, personally, felt relief about our current pandemic because it's nowhere near as bad as this film presented; just a mild inconvenience for most of us.  But if you're prone to anxiety (like my wife), this film could up your panic levels.  Regardless of which direction you lean, this film is a great insight into the process of dealing with a pandemic and I'd recommend it to anyone.