1967 - Year of the Definitive James Bond Movie
Hopefully the recent release of the new Casino Royale will prompt some to watch the 1967 version. Considering that so many Bond "fans" try to cover up the existence of this old classic, it may be that it stays buried. What a tragedy.
You see, the 1967 production of Casino Royale is actually an art film. But it's an art film that is under no circumstances to be taken seriously. Every step of the way, the film is a strange combination of comedy, surreality, and just plain confusion, all built upon the improbability of the James Bond mythos. But, that's actually the point of the film. The whole thing is an exercise in craziness. The goal was to take the user from the comfortable convention of the English gentleman spy into a world that completely fails to hold any coherency. It does so slowly, at a walking pace. The layers of incomprehension are slowly added and woven in, all using the suspension of disbelief needed to enter into Bond's world in the first place.
All too often Casino Royale is dismissed, but it is a great and entertaining film. Just remember that there will always be this accomplishment in cinematic lunacy hidden under the new, far less imaginative, version of Casino Royale. Remember the zaniness.