Thunderball 4K 1965 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

The fourth movie about James Bond, an agent of the British secret service. Terrorists from the Spectrum organization hijack a bomber with two atomic bombs on board and threaten to detonate them unless the British government delivers them £100 million worth of diamonds.

Review 4K Movie

The legal battle over the copyright to the plot of “The Ball Lightning” dragged on until 2000! It would have been funny if it weren't so sad: the attacks and accusations of the main plaintiff, Kevin McClory, took away the last of the health of the creator of Bond and the novels about him, Ian Fleming, and he died in 1964. It all started when Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham asked Fleming to write a screenplay for a Bond film. Soon, thanks to their joint efforts, a solid plot was born, but McClory and Whittingham lost interest in it, and Fleming wrote a book based on the plot. This is how the novel Operation Thunderball came to be. Sensing an opportunity for financial gain, McClory and Whittingham filed a lawsuit, and the legal proceedings commenced. As a result, subsequent editions of the novel included the following note: “Based on a story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and Ian Fleming” (in that exact order). But the plaintiff, Kevin McClory, did not stop there: not only did he obtain the rights to produce the film Thunderball, but he also repeatedly attempted to remake it. In 1983, he and his lawyer Jack Schwartzman succeeded. This is how the film Never Say Never Again came into being. Not to mention his attempts to remake Warhead 2001! Vanity is a terrible thing after all. What other novels Ian Fleming could have created for the plots remains a mystery.

What is Thunderball?

“The Thunderball” is the fourth film in the Bond series, one of the best films about Agent 007, a hit as powerful as a sharp thunderball in real life. To this day, this film represents the triumph of one of the best plots in Bond's history, a triumph, no joke, divine visuals, showing the charming, innocent, pure beauty of the Bahamas, and I won't even mention the underwater scenes — they are simply the best, and although subsequent installments in the series will try to repeat their success, they will not be able to achieve such magnificent underwater battles. The Oscar for Best Visual Effects speaks for itself.

And the musical score! The title song by Tom Jones, Thunderball, is as Bond as it gets. Those familiar with English will understand that in the song, Bond is compared to a ball of lightning. John Barry and Monty Norman gave it their all, and their melodies in the film evoke such melancholy, especially the lingering melody when James Bond and Felix Leiter, the CIA agent who reappears after Dr. No, explore the islands by helicopter. It is also heard in other places.

I won't reveal all the plot twists in advance to avoid spoilers, but, speaking in purely non-literary language, the situations that Agent 007 finds himself in are simply thrilling, but they don't ruin the whole film or spoil its seriousness; on the contrary, they give the picture a light touch of subtle humor.

This time, Bond is once again teaching SMERSH agents good manners, and if we recall the previous films, their numbers have significantly decreased thanks to James' efforts. Now in his sights is number 2, Emilio Largo, a stately man with an eye patch (behind which, of course, is an X-ray, but shhh). Once again, Austin Powers has not left this colorful character alone, just like all the villains from the Connery films, with the exception of Dr. No. It is clear that Mike Myers is a big fan of the Connery Bond films. Perhaps Dr. No has been left for the fourth installment, although who knows.

Miss Moneypenny: But how will you recognize her?
Bond: Easy! She has a mole on her left thigh.

But closer to the stars, i.e., to Bond. Agent 007 shines in the film in all his glory, scheming, fighting, seducing a killer who wants him dead, and his girlfriend will be Largo's mistress. In general, he leads his usual lifestyle; he will certainly punish the main villain, smash his super-yacht to smithereens, return the nuclear warheads, and fly away with his girlfriend on a raft hooked to an airplane, just like in The Dark Knight. Batman picked up with a hostage, and then, lo and behold, Blofeld is within reach.

Domino: What sharp eyes you have!
Bond (to himself): Let's see what you say about my teeth.

The result: the most beautiful and one of the best Bond films. Haven't seen it yet? Then Thunderball is coming your way.

James Bond will return in the next film, You Only Live Twice.