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Having read the back cover image, I find the book almost irresistable. But $60 is pretty steep. Thanks for pointing this out.
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I will get it, but why is it so expensive?
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Agreed, utterly irresistable.
I wonder what John Cork thinks of this.
May I present to you, John Co[x]:
There have only been a handful of "Making of" James Bond books, and being official publications, they have not always provided a very satisfying look behind the scenes. Eon Productions do not open their doors very wide, something that Bond fans know all too well. In fact, the last two "making of" books have just been a collection of set photographs. That is why Charles Helfenstein's The Making of On Her Majesty's Secret Service is true manna from heaven for the James Bond fan. This is the most comprehensive look behind the scenes of a James Bond movie EVER.
Here is the complete story of the making of this particularly fascinating and unique James Bond film (now generally regarded as one of the best of the series). The author starts with the writing of the original 1963 novel, uncovering much never-before-revealed information from various Fleming archives and dispelling a few long-held myths (Bond's Scottish heritage was not a nod to Sean Connery). He also tracks the lengthy script development, which spanned many years as OHMSS was twice considered for production and then postponed. There's even a gatefold breakdown of all the scripts and their changing elements -- something you certainly will never find in any official "making of" book.
Casting of one-time Bond George Lazenby is covered in great detail, as is all aspects of the production. There is just too much here to go into, but know that there is, literally, a major revelation on every page. There is more information contained in the photo captions than you'll find in the entire text of most "making of" books. Even if you're not a James Bond buff, seeing the day to day production of a movie made in the swinging '60s is a real treat. The book is also jam-packed with never-before-published photographs, publicity material, and OHMSS collectibles. Visually, it's a mind blower!
If the book has a fault, it could be that the author doesn't really examine all that closely the conflicts surrounding star Lazenby and his legendary "bad" behavior on and off set (Lazenby, inexplicably, announced mid-way through production that he would not make another Bond film). Not that the legendary incidents aren't covered, but they are presented without much added information or embellishment (but also without judgment). The author spends more time explaining the challenges the production faced in getting a generator to work at the Piz Gloria elevation, which, actually, I found fascinating! So maybe this isn't a fault after all. All the "drama" of making OHMSS is presented in proper measure. Frankly, the generator might have been a bigger headache to the production crew than the antics of a wild star, which, the author speculates, may have been exaggerated by the press once Lazenby forsook the series.
The author completes with a chapter on the legacy of OHMSS, and just when you thought you heard it all, here comes another wave of tantalizing bonus info. Diamonds Are Forever pre-titles sequence with Irma Bunt. Photos of Pierce Brosnan's 1986 screen test using OHMSS scenes. And how about the original plot of Octopussy, using elements from a rejected OHMSS script, which has never been revealed...until now.
Expensive? Not when you understand and appreciate what this is. This is a life's work by THE leading expert on OHMSS -- a meticulously researched, rare gift to Bond fans and movie buffs that doesn't come along all that often. And because it is a small publisher (self-published?), it might not be around for all that long. It will, unquestionably, become one of the most hotly collectible James Bond books ever produced (I'm thinking of grabbing another copy as an investment). In fact, if you are reading this review and this book still shows as being available, consider yourself lucky. For all these reasons and many more you will discover on your own, The Making of On Her Majesty's Secret Service is an essential buy.
From his review on Amazon.com
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Agreed, utterly irresistable.
I wonder what John Cork thinks of this.
May I present to you, John Cork:
That review is by John Cox, not John Cork!
Right. I'm sorry for this mistake.
Hopefully, John Cork shares Mister Cox's views on this book, too.
But what counts more, is, what each reader of Mr. Helfenstein's book values the most in it.
I suspect that not every little (nasty) story around the making of... could be printed. I'll order the book when the $ dorps below one Swiss Franc which should be very soon.
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Despite the price, this looks to be a pretty unmissable book for anyone remotely interested in OHMSS so I've just ordered a copy.
Thanks Chris for bringing it to our attention.
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I've just ordered this five minutes ago after seeing an ad in Facebook. Look forward to reading about the unused pre-credits sequence with Irma Bunt from DAF. I remember seeing the original "A Christmas Present from James Bond" movie trailer with Lazenby dropping down on one knee in the gunbarrel sequence.
As an aside, I recently played the Battle at Piz Gloria sequence which I had downloaded from Youtube for my nephew to watch in between his military playstation gaming on my cell phone and he could not believe all of the action and editing. For some reason, this film holds up much better than some of the dated Connery Bonds. The only disappointment I had was using George Baker to dub Lazenby as Sir Hillary Bray in the film. Otherwise, "I have a slight stiffening coming on" every time I watch the film.
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