Thunderball (1965)
83%RT Audience Score: 73%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
5 wins & 5 nominations total
Lavishly rendered set pieces and Sean Connery’s enduring charm make Thunderball a big, fun adventure, even if it doesn’t quite measure up to the series’ previous heights
Thunderball is a classic Bond film that’s slightly bloated with too much technology for some critics’ taste. However, the reported $5.5 million budget is visible in the posh scenery of the Bahamas and the handsome color of the film. The violence is funny, but the climactic slaughter is a little too mindless for some. Despite its flaws, Thunderball is still a more-than-worthwhile diversion for the action-loving escapist in us all. Plus, who can resist the frighteningly easy charm of Sean Connery as Bond and the beauty of Luciana Paluzzi? Overall, Thunderball is one of the good ones in the long-running franchise.
Production Company(ies)
Dreamworks Pictures, Kemp Company, Splendid Pictures,
Distributor
United Artists
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Sullivan Residence, Rock Point, Love Beach, off West Bay Street, North Shore, New Providence Island, Bahamas
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1965
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:6-Track Stereo
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 10m
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 29, 1965 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 6, 2007
Genre(s)
Action
Keyword(s)
starring Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Rik Van Nutter, Martine Beswick, directed by Terence Young, written by Ian Fleming, Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, Richard Maibaum, John Hopkins, produced by Kevin McClory, action, PG, James Bond, spy, adventure, underwater, nuclear warheads, SPECTRE, blackmail, Bahamas, sharks, Mono sound mix, Scope aspect ratio, United Artists, box office performance, $5.5 million budget, reviewed by Dave Kehr, Variety Staff, Bosley Crowther, Nick Hilditch, James Berardinelli, Matt Brunson, Grant Watson, Mike Massie, Kelechi Ehenulo, Alberto Abuín, PG rating, Ian Fleming as writer, Kevin McClory as writer, Jack Whittingham as writer, Richard Maibaum as writer, John Hopkins as writer, Sean Connery as James Bond, Claudine Auger as Domino, Adolfo Celi as Emilio Largo, Luciana Paluzzi as Fiona Volpe, Rik Van Nutter as Felix Leiter, Martine Beswick as Paula Caplan
Worldwide gross: $63,605,417
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $678,699,035
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 183
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 74,012,981
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $9,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $96,034,137
Production budget ranking: 431
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $51,714,383
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $530,950,515
ROI to date (est.): 359%
ROI ranking: 385
Claudine Auger – Domino
Adolfo Celi – Emilio Largo
Luciana Paluzzi – Fiona Volpe
Rik Van Nutter – Felix Leiter
Martine Beswick – Paula Caplan
Director(s)
Terence Young
Writer(s)
Ian Fleming, Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, Ian Fleming, Richard Maibaum, John Hopkins
Producer(s)
Kevin McClory
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
5 wins & 5 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (52) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (7)
Slightly bloated Bond, with too much technology for my taste and a climactic slaughter that’s a little too mindless to be much fun.
May 6, 2008
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
There’s visible evidence that the reported $5.5 million budget was no mere publicity figure; it’s posh all the way.
May 6, 2008
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
The color is handsome. The scenery in the Bahamas is an irresistible lure. Even the violence is funny. That’s the best I can say for a Bond film.
May 9, 2005
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
In this, the fourth instalment in the series from the original team, you have a classic Bond film that wants for nothing but a trim.
June 27, 2001 | Rating: 4/5
Nick Hilditch
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
Classic 007 — not the best picture in the long-running series, to be sure, but a more-than-worthwhile diversion for the action-loving escapist in us all.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/4
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
TOP CRITIC
The most overrated movie in the franchise. Of course, it’s not without its merits.
September 25, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
As one tends to say when movie franchise stretch well into the double-digits: this is one of the good ones.
April 23, 2021 | Rating: 7/10
Grant Watson
Fiction Machine
Each new Bond movie gains a larger budget, but the potential doesn’t equate to greater creativity or superior filmmaking.
August 27, 2020 | Rating: 3/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Exaggerated fun
July 16, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/5
Kelechi Ehenulo
Confessions From A Geek Mind
The film moves at a leisurely pace, but it still exudes Classic Bond and features some of the finest spy work in the series to date.
June 10, 2020
Jake Tropila
Film Inquiry
This features the ideal realisation of Blofeld – a disembodied voice with shutters obscuring his presence from the torso up. It’s far more chilling than in later Bonds.
October 31, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
PJ Nabarro
Patrick Nabarro
To Connery, who develops his character throughout the film with a frightening ease, demonstrating that the character fits him like a glove, adds the beauty of Luciana Paluzzi. [Full Review in Spanish]
September 4, 2019
Alberto Abuín
Espinof…
Plot
James Bond continues on his fourth mission, with his aim to recover 2 stolen warheads. They’ve been taken by the SPECTRE organisation, and the world’s held hostage as Bond heads to Nassau, Bahamas. Here, he meets Domino and is forced into a thrilling confrontation with SPECTRE agent Emil Largo on-board his boat, the Disco Volante.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny comments were found in the Fresh Kernels review for Thunderball.
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