The fact that the Christmastime setting during a portion of ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE is fairly incidental to the plot doesn’t affect the fact that I make it a point to watch it every year during the holiday season. Yes, the mainstays such as IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, A MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL and DIE HARD are viewed as well, but OHMSS always seems a little more special to me. I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe the setting high atop a mountain in Switzerland makes it more fanciful to me, even if I have very little use for snow in the real world. Maybe it’s just the dream of Diana Rigg at her most beautiful and alluring in that environment which make it all the more enticing, no matter how many times I’ve seen it. As the end of the year approaches, it’s easy to take stock of certain things and while you can be aware of what is different in your life, some things never change and one of them is how much I love ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE. It’s how it stands apart from other entries in the series, from the casting of George Lazenby to the ending to the cool pulp feel that director Peter Hunt brings to it. I think of the views of people high up in the Alps skiing, living the high life, and it’s hard not to have dreams of that. Plus, in those few seconds when Diana Rigg’s Tracy makes her long-awaited reappearance in the film and gives James Bond that look she gives him, that devastating smile, it’s hard not to believe, if only for a few seconds, that all really is right with the world. I wish everyone reading this Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas.
That's a great movie and holiday moment, Mr. Peel. Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas to you, too.
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