All 3 James Bond Movies Directed by Terence Young, Ranked

It took nearly a decade for Ian Fleming‘s British spy to move from the page to the big screen. Not counting an hour-long Casino Royale adaptation for television the author hated, it wasn’t until 1962’s Dr. No that James Bond truly arrived in the medium. British director Terence Young had a background in action, spy and war films, so it’s not hard to see why Bond producers Harry Saltzman and Cubby Broccoli settled on the filmmaker as a natural fit for the material. Young directed three of the first four 007 pictures. All of them are immortally iconic, thanks in no small part to Sean Connery, whose embodiment of the spy arrived fully formed from the moment he uttered, “Bond, James Bond.” Even in the moments before that, really.

The James Bond franchise is the source of many international headlines at the moment due to the shocking (“positively shocking” transfer of creative control to Amazon Studios. Many are offering their two cents on what path the franchise should take henceforth, few if any diehard Bond fans would dispute that Amazon should absolutely look to these formative Young films for inspiration. As the films are all at least 60 years old, they’ve perhaps aged in some ways, but it’s hard to overstate how influential and overall brilliant these action pictures really are. Young and the Bond “machine” of producers and other team behind the scenes laid a groundwork that proved durable as hell for the better part of a century now. It’s all part of an achievement that frankly dwarfs any other film franchise in comparison. The following definitively ranks every Terence Young James Bond movie from solid to arguably masterpiece territory.

3

‘Thunderball’ (1965)

Starring Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi

After an increasingly gripping, nearly flawless trilogy of spy action films that peaked with Guy Hamilton‘s Goldfinger, Thunderball is the first time the 007 franchise dipped in quality. Based on a novel that would become a legal nightmare for decades to come, the yarn is quintessential Bond, a premise that’s been replicated and spoofed into oblivion: SPECTRE obtains two nuclear weapons, extortion ensues.

Thunderball was the first James Bond film shot in ultra-widescreen, and it’s a welcome upgrade that naturally enhances the breezy setting. It’s a bit like going on vacation with 007, something that’s further—er,enhanced—by the bloated pacing. Another critical flaw here is the structure of the plot, or at least the screenplay: the villains’ plan is laid out in exhaustive detail in the early stretches of the film, so the tension that made From Russia With Love and Goldfinger so memorable is missing.

For all its imperfections and quirks, Thunderball is utterly essential Bond. It oozes with attitude, sex, wit and menace. Connery is just as good here as he was in the previous three. Thunderball received mixed reviews from critics, but won an Oscar for its groundbreaking underwater visual effects. It also became the highest-grossing film in the franchise. When adjusting for inflation, it held this record until Skyfall was released nearly five decades later.

Thunderball

Release Date

December 11, 1965

Runtime

130 minutes

Director

Terence Young

Writers

Richard Maibaum, John Hopkins, Jack Whittingham, Kevin McClory, Ian Fleming

2

‘Dr. No’ (1962)

Starring Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman

The first Bond film remains one of the best, if undeniably a little rough around the edges and fleetingly unassured. In Dr. No, Bond investigates multiple homicides in Jamaica, all leading to a nefarious string-puller named Dr. Julius No (Joseph Wiseman). Along the way, he meets iconic allies like CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jack Lord), fisherman Quarrel (John Kitzmiller), and the mysterious and beautiful Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress).

This is a detective thriller, rather slow-paced by today’s standards but rich in character. Connery’s Bond arrived fully formed. This is one of the greatest casting coups in history, and a great performance. Fleming was famously opposed to Connery’s casting, but was so impressed by the portrayal that he gave Bond a Scottish heritage on the page.

Dr. No is low on action in its early stretches. Some will call it dated in some ways, but there is something rather profoundly iconic and stirring about the whole thing, about watching Bond emerge on the cinema screen. In Dr. No, we see Bond upgrade his Beretta to a Walther PPK. He dispatches of a would-be assassin without breaking a sweat (or even standing up). He sleeps around. He outdoes a genius-level villain with mostly just his grit and tenacity. He rescues the girl. It’s a male fantasy for all time, and an essential movie of the ’60s.

Dr. No

Release Date

October 7, 1962

Runtime

110 minutes

Director

Terence Young

Writers

Ian Fleming, Berkely Mather, Johanna Harwood, Richard Maibaum

Producers

Harry Saltzman

1

‘From Russia With Love’ (1963)

Starring Sean Connery, Robert Shaw, Daniela Bianchi

James Bond (and Connery)’s second outing was made at a time when sequels were highly uncommon, and it’s basically a template for how to do a sequel right: made with more money and resources, and a boost of confidence stemming from Dr. No‘s leggy box office, From Russia With Love is a richer and superior film in every regard.

It doesn’t hurt that this, one of the most revered of all espionage films, is based on what’s often considered Fleming’s most gripping work. In From Russia With Love, Bond is walking into a trap laid by SPECTRE operatives (and SMERSH defectors) Red Grant (Robert Shaw) and Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya). The bait is beautiful operative Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi), who’s being duped as well. Bond and Romanova share one of the most convincing romantic subplots in the long-running franchise, and this is perhaps the most sympathetic Bond has ever been, greatly enhanced by his bromance with Ali Kerim Bey (Pedro Armendáriz).

From Russia With Love is the series at its absolute best, and is often even cited as the single finest entry (Barbara Broccoli and Connery, among others, have cited it as the personal favorite). Terence Young and the Bond producers wear an Alfred Hitchcock influence on their sleeves, but this is an all-time great thriller in its own right. The next generation of Bond would do well to take inspiration from this picture’s stripped-down, twisty and character-rich strengths.

From Russia With Love

Release Date

October 10, 1963

Runtime

115 minutes

Director

Terence Young

Writers

Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, Ian Fleming

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