From Russia With Love Ultimate Edition (Blu-ray) (1963)

"With a tight, witty script and unforgettable baddies, this is one of the very best entries in the series...  Channel 4 Film
"Classic Bond. More plot heavy, but still has a great gypsy fight, train fight and helicoptor boat chase.  Fred Topel, About.com
"A thrilling espionage adventure chock full of iconic characters, set pieces and one-liners.  Neil Smith, BBC Online
"...the most thrilling and entertaining Bond adventure ever and an action film like no other.  Paul Hidditch, MovieThing.com
"Bond number two and probably the best of the lot, with a remarkably gritty, wittily exciting plot.  Tom Milne, Time Out

Editor's Note Secret agent James Bond battles the all-enveloping tentacles of an international crime syndicate called SPECTRE. The organization's mad plan for world supremacy unfolds with the icy efficiency of a chessmaster's complex strategy, and if they succeed, the antagonism of the cold war will be pushed from deep-freeze to the supernova of atomic oblivion. But our man Bond dispatches sultry spies, madmen, and double agents with the same coolness he displays while downing martinis and making love to beautiful blondes. In this, the second of the series, Bond travels to Turkey to meet a mysterious Russian woman who claims to have fallen in love with his photograph. She offers him a secret translating device if he will join her, although he does not know that she has been put up to the task by Rosa Klebb, formerly of the KGB, who has gone to work for SPECTRE. It's Bond's assignment to get the girl and the machine back to England--and to do it, of course, in style.

	Daniela Bianchi
	Lotte Lenya
	Sean Connery
	Robert Shaw
	Pedro Armendariz
	Ian Fleming - Source Writer
	John Barry - Composer
	Terence Young - Director

Based on Ian Fleming's 1951 novel. The suave agent 007 is the object of an international conspiracy to humiliate the West. They use a voluptuous Russian girl to entice him into their trap. Classic fight scene between Connery and Shaw. Total Film
"...Hard and slick, it's a teasing glimpse of the series' possible future..." 09/01/2000 p.99

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"[E]nduringly rousing stuff..." 08/01/2000 p.130

Variety 8 of 10
From Russia with Love is a preposterous, skillful slab of hardhitting, sexy hokum. After a slowish start, it is directed by Terence Young at zingy pace...This one has to do with Sean Connery being detailed to go to Istanbul and lift a top secret Russian decoding machine from the embassy. British Intelligence senses that this may be a trap, but getting the machine is important...Bond has a glorious slap-up fight to the death with Robert Shaw, the killer detailed to bump him off. He is hounded by a helicopter as he runs across moorland clutching the decoding machine. He beats off his pursuers in a motor boat by setting fire to the sea. He referees a fight between two jealous gypsy girls just before the encampment is invaded by the crime gang...Connery is well served by some crisp wise-cracking dialog by Richard Maibaum [in his script adapted by Johanna Harwood]. Robert Shaw is an impressive, icy, implacable killer and the late Pedro Armendariz weighs in with a formidable, yet lightly played, performance as the man who knows the sinister secrets of Istanbul...The distaff side is less well served. Newcomer Daniela Bianchi is a good looking Italian girl with shapely legs and promising smile. Lotte Lenya has been lumbered with a part that doesn't fully come off. Disguised with an Eaton Crop and heavy pebble spectacles, she stands out as somebody up to no good from the first glimpse.

ReelViews 9 of 10
From Russia with Love, along with its successor, Goldfinger, represents Bond at his best. Although the series has run for more than thirty years with seventeen "official" entries, it has yet to better, or even equal, what it achieved in 1963-1964 with the release of these two films. By combining solid storylines, tightly-paced action sequences, memorable villains, and Sean Connery in top form, Russia and Goldfinger mark the cinematic apex for Ian Fleming's 007...The elements of From Russia with Love move the movie closer to the recognizable "Bond formula" than was the case for its predecessor, Dr. No. Here, the action scenes are more numerous and generate added tension, the title sequence has a familiar flavor, John Barry's distinctive score replaces the workmanlike music of Monty Norman, Q makes his first appearance, and Connery tones up 007's sophistication while downplaying his cold-bloodedness...From Russia with Love is among the most tightly-plotted of all the Bond films, and, as a result, is one of the shortest. It moves briskly, blending intrigue, romance, and action into an immensely satisfying whole. Russia exudes style...Standing at the pinnacle of the series, From Russia with Love shows how good a Bond film can be when all the ingredients mesh. This movie isn't just a fun popcorn-munching action adventure flick; it's a good motion picture by any standards. - James Berardinelli