Lewis Gilbert

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) was the highlight of my career.

[on Kenneth More] I was very fond of Kenny as an actor, although he wasn't particularly versatile. What he could do, he did very well. His strength was his ability to portray charm; basically he was the officer returning from the war and was superb in that role. The minute that kind of role went out of existence, his popularity as a box-office star began to go down. Show less «

[in a 1983 interview] In the Bond films characterizations are non-existent. Nobody's worried about what Bond did as a child or how his mother treated him--we don't even know if he had a mother! That's not what the Bond films are about. They're all action and fun. But with a film like [Educating Rita (1983)], it's you and the actors and the words. It depends on the characterizations and the interplay. You don't get to rely on exciting ploys--like a bomb going off. Instead, you rely on two people talking, so those people better be saying the right things at the right time. Show less «

[in a 1983 interview on the Bond films] What [Sean Connery] did, really, was to make James Bond in his own image--because he was not the Bond of the books. Of course, he was a very sexy, attractive, macho man--he still is. He also gave Bond a cynical edge. When his Bond shot someone, they were really dead. [Roger Moore], on the other hand, is more like the character in the books. He also gets along on a great deal of charm and friendliness. I don't think audiences ever believe Roger really kills anyone. Show less «

Paramount backed Alfie (1966) because it was going to be made for $500,000, normally the sort of money spent on executives' cigar bills. Show less «

If I have any claim to fame, I believe I've shot the three biggest sets ever built for motion pictures. Show less «

[on Michael Caine in Educating Rita (1983)] Over the years I'd lost touch with Michael personally, but I kept tabs on his work. It's been so varied--he's never been particularly typed. The characters in Alfie (1966) and "Rita" couldn't be more opposite, but there was no doubt in my mind that he should be the professor. Show less «