Best Bond directors...
fire and ice
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IMO Campbell know's exactly what makes Bond work, after the success of CR and despite a questionable script GE. Campbell is up there with the like of Terrance Young.
Young would be my first choice, he created all the element's along with cubby that make bond what he is now.
your choice and reason...
Young would be my first choice, he created all the element's along with cubby that make bond what he is now.
your choice and reason...
'...exceptionally fine shot...'
Comments
1)Terrence Young (each of his films IMO were masterpieces, and he played a major role in creating the cinematic James Bond.)
2)Guy Hamilton (GF was IMO the single greatest Bond film of all time while LALD was IMO also a classic. Apart from that though, Hamilton was always in control of his material to such an extent that IMO he made DAF and TMWTGG better films than their scripts allowed.)
3)Lewis Gilbert (TSWLM was IMO an absolute masterpiece and YOLT wasn't too bad either. I think that MR can be equally be blamed on the script and the determination to remake what was so good in TSWLM as well as Gilbert's poor decision making. Apart from MR though, I think that Gilbert did a great job on both TSWLM and YOLT, and no matter what people may think, IMO he was one of the absolute greats. I think he was just one of the big three.)
4)Peter Hunt (he's not perfect, he helped cast Lazenby, but IMO OHMSS was a masterpiece. Hunt should definitely take much of the credit, especially since IMO some of the scenes, such as the skiing scenes and barn scene, were brilliantly directed.)
5)Michael Apted (the best modern director IMO since Gilbert. TWINE was IMO superbly directed, and I think that Apted should have been hired to make CR. What I love about Apted, is that unlike Campbell, he doesn't obsess over Bond's sexism.)
EDIT-I moved Gilbert ahead of Hunt. I have done so as I consider TSWLM to be both a better directed and superior film than OHMSS. Plus, I think YOLT was terrific.
One of the cornerstones of the early Bonds. SC had much respect for him. His first two Bonds have never really been beaten. And he set the template.
2. Peter Hunt
OHMSS is a masterpiece in his hands. But there are little artistic directorial touches that I like ie the ONISAC reflection in the swimming pool and the feeling of dusk at the beach at the beginning. Shame he didnt do more.
3. John Glen
THE action director who could handle actors. His editing experience allowed him to pace a film, ie the train sequence in OP, and ratchet up the action. But he was also very good with the actors getting good performances from Moore, Bouquet, Adams, Berkoff, D'Abo, Dalton, Rhys Davies and Robert Davi. A much underrated director.
4. Martin Campbell
Very very tight director whose masterpiece is Casino Royale. Very good with the splas hthat was Goldeneye. Handles action very well and can tell a good story.
Middling
5. Guy Hamilton
Very creative and imaginative. He came up with crocodile ponds, lift fights, Thai islands, and the role of Q. Was in charge of two of the most famous GF and LALD. Very good on chases and humour. Humour could overbalance as in TMWTGG but one of the most aesthetically pleasing.
6 Lewis Gilbert
You want your Bonds to be big in scope? You want armies clashing, explosians and the destruction of Ken Adams sets. Well, this guy is your man. Gilbert made some of the most spectacular of the Bonds. Everything was largere then life. But often humour went too far. How much was him and how much was Cubby/Script we wont ever know but it nearly derailed MR. Still, brought in the biggest earners of the Bond franchise though...
The very worst.
Lee Tamahori
I must admit I took against Lee when at the DAD premiere he said 007 "was the only thing the British have left..". But I do think his direction was terrible. Incoherent storytelling, ridiculous angles, non-sensical action pieces and an overreliance on cgi. And during this he forgot about the actors. Halle Berrys performance was clunky central. Lee Tamahori must take the majority of the blame for the crapness of DAD.
Terence Young - Defined the look and directed two of the best flicks around. Shaped and defined Connery as Bond, and for that he gets to be number two.
John Glen - Responsible for 5 Bond films. Good director and he places high on the list for some of the greatest Bond moments ever. A View to a Kill, and Octopussy are weak entries, but the rest of his movies are very good.
Martin Campbell - He is partly responsible for resurrecting the franchise twice. That alone places him at the top.
Guy Hamilton - Directed one of the finest Bond films, but also is responsible for some mediocre to bad Bond films as well.
Apted however, did fairly well with TWINE.
John Glen gave the series a definite and uniform "look" during the '80's
AND
Peter Hunt... really classy look that gave OHMSS a dignity that was missing in YOLT and DAF to MR
Wish Glen, Apted and Tamahori had never been allowed near the series.
I can think of two. GF & LALD. Goldfinger was the film where all the elements that define the cinematic James Bond came together for the first time. And with such great success.
LALD is a very enjoyable romp. The voodoo/blaxploitation theme works for me. It's full of wonderful characters, such as Tee Hee, Baron Samedi & Quarrel Jr. David Hedison is my favourite Felix Leiter. Jane Seymour's Solitaire is one of my favourite Bond girls. There's also some great action, Bond stepping on the crocodiles backs, the boat chase. The title song by Paul McCartney and the score by George Martin are very good indeed.
I adore GF. It's my favourite Bond film, but that should be obvious based on both my favourite film list and my sig.
I also love LALD. It was one of the first Bond films I ever saw and IMO it was one of the greatest Bond films ever made. The crocodile scene was itself a masterpiece of Bondian cinema. Oh, MNL, one last time, ROGER MOORE WAS THE BEST CANDIDATE FOR LALD! X-(
GF is pretty much the pure representation of the perfection of Bond, but it's not my favourite. That honour goes to TSWLM. For me, the only film that combines all the elements better than GF.
So, you do agree with me that LALD would still have been a terrific Bond film without Roger Moore. {[]
And yes, ROGER MOORE WAS THE BEST CANDIDATE FOR LALD!
I’d rate Terence Young and Guy Hamilton the highest because they helped define what Bond is to so many people with their contributions to the series. I don’t think I’ve seen anything they’ve done away from Bond so I can’t comment on their overall abilities as directors. Peter Hunt did a magnificent job with OHMSS, still IMO the best Bond film. I seem to remember liking ‘Shout at the Devil,’ but I haven’t seen that since I was a teenager so I can’t remember that much about it. I think these guys benefited from having Fleming’s novels to adapt. As did Lewis Gilbert who’s done some decent non-Bond films, ‘Alfie,’ ‘Educating Rita’ and ‘Shirley Valentine.’ ‘Haunted’ is not too bad either.’
John Glen made three of my favourite Bond films, (FYEO, TLD and LTK), but strangely I don’t rate him as a director. I think he benefited from having the Bond production team behind him, but he is not nearly as gifted as predecessors. Much as I like these films I think they would have been improved by having Lewis Gilbert, who was still active at the time, directing. Glen’s films without the Bond setup have been lamentable. ‘Christopher Columbus- The Discovery’ is unwatchable, while ‘The Point Men,’ is bad even by the standards of its star, Christopher Lambert. Martin Campbell is a safe pair of hands who can deliver an entertaining film, but I still think they could have done better for CR. It may be that I haven’t quite managed to forgive him for the awful ‘Beyond Borders.’ Roger Spottiswoode is a hack, although I’d quite like to see his adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s ‘Ripley Underground,’ which is apparently so bad that it won’t be coming to a cinema or even a DVD rental store any time soon. Michael Apted is a decent director, but TWINE had an awful script. Lee Tamohari is one of those directors who makes an acclaimed first feature and seems to do nothing else of value.
Hopefully we'll be hearing who the next guy is soon.
Young essentially invented and developed the "Bond style" while Gilbert brought pace and an epic feel to his films. Also, Young and Gilbert have the best record in providing a 100% rating of *** out of **** or better for each of their films. All 6 of them are in my (current) top 11 Bond films.
Glen brought us the height of the excellent TLD but also the series nadir with AVTAK. Campbell rocked with CR but GE is only average.