Technicolor is on hand as On Her Majesty’s Secret Service turns 50 with star George Lazenby – returning to some of the film’s original locations.
The James Bond films are one of cinema’s most successful and enduring franchises. Technicolor’s legacy in the industry includes a long history of providing color and VFX services to these iconic productions.
That history extends all the way back to the first Bond film in 1962, Dr. No – with Sean Connery, the original James Bond – and continued with 15 more in the franchise over the next decades. One of those films is the only one to star Australian actor George Lazenby as Bond, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
In May/June, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service celebrated its 50th anniversary when onthetracksof007.com staged events in Portugal and Switzerland, where much of the sixth Bond film was shot. Stars George Lazenby (007) and Terence Mountain (Rafael) returned to several of the film’s key Portugal locations including Guincho Beach, where they posed for photos and staged a “recreation” of their epic battle, which appeared in the film’s pre-titles sequence. Along with a gala dinner at the elegant Hotel Palacio in Estoril, where Bond stayed in the film, the stars also visited Zambujal, the legendary private estate where Bond got married, and the lonely stretch of highway where Bond’s wife Tracy (Diana Rigg) dies in the movie’s highly emotional climax.
Technicolor’s Chief Marketing Officer, Sandra Carvalho, was on hand to meet the stars in a number of the Portugal locations. “Being of Portuguese heritage, the opportunity to see the original actors in the exact locations of this important film was too good to pass up,” she enthused.
In 1969, Technicolor processed the film at their London facility. Fans now consider it one of the best in the entire series, especially with Louis Armstrong’s haunting theme song, We Have All The Time In The World, the last recorded work of his life.
The film premiered on December 18th, 1969 and grossed $82 million worldwide (over $580 million today). To date, the James Bond franchise has grossed over $7 billion. Although On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was Lazenby’s only outing as 007, he has been active in film and TV projects around the world and has just launched georgelazenbyofficial.com
Watch the official classic trailer and see why Variety called On Her Majesty’s Secret Service a “film of breakneck physical excitement and stunning visual attractions.”
Written by Mark Cerulli.
Photo by Fotostudio Sascha Braun. All rights reserved.
Photo by Mark Cerulli. All rights reserved.
Photo by Mark Cerulli. All rights reserved.