From Russia with Love (film) Love" is the first Bond film in the series with John Barry as the primary soundtrack composer. The theme song was composed by Lionel Bart of "Oliver!" fame and sung by Matt Monro, although the title credit music is a lively instrumental version of the tune beginning with Barry's brief "James Bond is Back" then segueing into Monty Norman's "James Bond Theme". Monro's vocal version is later played during the film (as source music on a radio) and properly over the film's end titles. Barry travelled with the crew to Turkey to try getting influences of the local music, but
From Russia with Love (film) Love" as "an excellent, surprisingly tough and gritty James Bond film" which is "refreshingly free of the gimmickry that would characterise the later Bond films, and Connery and Bianchi play "real" people. We worry about them and hope their relationship will work out ... Shaw and Lotte Lenya are splendid villains. Both have exciting, well-choreographed fights with Connery. Actors play it straight, with excellent results." Film critic James Berardinelli cited this as his favourite Bond film, writing "Only "From Russia with Love" avoids slipping into the comic book realm of "Goldfinger" and its successors while giving us a sampling of