The points about the continuity are all well made (the SPECTRE trilogy etc) and I especially like the point of Blofeld recognising Bond and allowing his enemy to unravel his own identity - I never thought of that one. However, if you all watch YOLT carefully there is a very short section where Tiger Tanaka says that Bond must "Become like a Japanese" and is seen having skin grafts and his chest waxed. Could it be that Bond's disguise in YOLT worked even better than he thought and Blofeld really doesn't recognise him in OHMSS? Mind you, it then makes you wonder how Blofeld recognises him in YOLT.....
First off I apologize for resurrecting a six year old thread. This is a subject I've wanted to voice my thoughts on here for a while, and didn't want to beat a dead horse more than I had to.
I'm of the opinion they did recognize each other because of what's been said and seen before they met. M shows his disappointment over Bond not getting any closer to Blofeld after two years, second Bond's escort to Piz Gloria phones ahead presumably letting them know who Hilary Bray really is. Blofeld didn't meet Bond in a secluded part of the resort, and his scientists were working in the background, so to keep up appearances he probably couldn't start a confrontation.
Blofeld also had the upper hand due to controlling who could leave and enter Piz Gloria, so it would be unwise to just kill him on site if there's information to be pried from him. The line about it "taking more than a few props to disguise James Bond" makes it apparent he knows exactly who he is. Bond also tells Blofeld it takes more than chopping off his own earlobes to hide who he is.
Also From Russia With Love makes it more than a little apparent Blofeld knows everything about Bond a man in his position would be able to learn, so it's a bigger stretch to just brush this off as a continuity hiccup when there's on screen evidence showing it isn't so.
It's because Blofeld is a code name for the leader of SPECTRE. It doesn't actually represent a single person, much like the Bond alias is not referring to a single spy.
Ok, I jest, I jest
Willie Garvin hits the nail on the head. The "Inside..." documentaries do a good job of explaining the filming challenges and the intended ordering of the films.
I just pretend that OHMSS takes place after TB (it fits because Lazenby is pure physical in vein with Connery in TB) and that would of course explain why they don't recognize eachother in OHMSS.
Then comes YOLT like one or two years after OHMSS in the Bond - universe. Which would explain the lack of sparkle in Bond in the film and possibly why he suddenly aged so much. And after YOLTs end DAF takes place almost immediately in Japan.
One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
I just pretend that OHMSS takes place after TB (it fits because Lazenby is pure physical in vein with Connery in TB) and that would of course explain why they don't recognize eachother in OHMSS.
Then comes YOLT like one or two years after OHMSS in the Bond - universe. Which would explain the lack of sparkle in Bond in the film and possibly why he suddenly aged so much. And after YOLTs end DAF takes place almost immediately in Japan.
Even with that timeline they're still meeting for the first time in YOLT. Once being introduced to him in that film should've sparked the same intensity Bond had when searching for Blofeld in DAF if Tracy's murder already happened.
I just pretend that OHMSS takes place after TB (it fits because Lazenby is pure physical in vein with Connery in TB) and that would of course explain why they don't recognize eachother in OHMSS.
Then comes YOLT like one or two years after OHMSS in the Bond - universe. Which would explain the lack of sparkle in Bond in the film and possibly why he suddenly aged so much. And after YOLTs end DAF takes place almost immediately in Japan.
Even with that timeline they're still meeting for the first time in YOLT. Once being introduced to him in that film should've sparked the same intensity Bond had when searching for Blofeld in DAF if Tracy's murder already happened.
Well for that scene in YOLT, i just merely see it as a theatrics from Blofelds side. Just a bit show off to humiliate Bond once he's captured.
And what do we know, perhaps Bond and Draco went out on a hellraising vendetta tournament to find and kill Blofeld and Bunt after OHMSS? Perhaps Bond made that scar on Blofelds cheek and left him to die.
I like to think so, because after all. It's all just good fun and fantasy!
One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
I just pretend that OHMSS takes place after TB (it fits because Lazenby is pure physical in vein with Connery in TB) and that would of course explain why they don't recognize eachother in OHMSS.
Then comes YOLT like one or two years after OHMSS in the Bond - universe. Which would explain the lack of sparkle in Bond in the film and possibly why he suddenly aged so much. And after YOLTs end DAF takes place almost immediately in Japan.
Even with that timeline they're still meeting for the first time in YOLT. Once being introduced to him in that film should've sparked the same intensity Bond had when searching for Blofeld in DAF if Tracy's murder already happened.
Well for that scene in YOLT, i just merely see it as a theatrics from Blofelds side. Just a bit show off to humiliate Bond once he's captured.
And what do we know, perhaps Bond and Draco went out on a hellraising vendetta tournament to find and kill Blofeld and Bunt after OHMSS? Perhaps Bond made that scar on Blofelds cheek and left him to die.
I like to think so, because after all. It's all just good fun and fantasy!
Bond and Draco tearing apart the antagonist organization of four films would've been filmed if that did indeed happen. Again it's not so much of a stretch with things shown and said in OHMSS that not only it did happen between YOLT and DAF, but also Blofeld recognized him. I do feel that it was more subtle than it should've been though.
Well we all have our thoughts about the Bond-universe, that's what so great about it!
I re-watched the scene on YouTube of their second meeting in OHMSS. The conversation was obviously structured carefully enough that you can make it mean what you want. Also upon further reading it sounds like they wanted the fans to think what they wanted as far as their familiarity with eachother.
Not sure if you haven't got the wrong end of teh stick, Ayers. Blofeld only recognises Bond and knows who he is after he blows his cover with the gals, and supposedly his wrong bit of blurb regarding Blofeld's ancestors in the cemetary. (Neither in themselves frankly would definitively show Bond is not who he says he is). There's no evidence that Blofeld is onto Bond from the start and is simply biding his time. Mind you, to be fair, there's no dialogue referencing their previous meeting either so you have a point.
Not sure if you haven't got the wrong end of teh stick, Ayers. Blofeld only recognises Bond and knows who he is after he blows his cover with the gals, and supposedly his wrong bit of blurb regarding Blofeld's ancestors in the cemetary. (Neither in themselves frankly would definitively show Bond is not who he says he is). There's no evidence that Blofeld is onto Bond from the start and is simply biding his time. Mind you, to be fair, there's no dialogue referencing their previous meeting either so you have a point.
That's pretty much a rewording of what I said. It seems deliberate to where the viewer can put significance into certain things said to support one or the other. Also to disregard YOLT you would also have to disregard FRWL, and then we start getting into the confusion that comes from Godzilla continuity where you need a chart to explain which films acknowledge which films and disregard past ones too.
First off I apologize for resurrecting a six year old thread. This is a subject I've wanted to voice my thoughts on here for a while, and didn't want to beat a dead horse more than I had to.
I'm of the opinion they did recognize each other because of what's been said and seen before they met. M shows his disappointment over Bond not getting any closer to Blofeld after two years, second Bond's escort to Piz Gloria phones ahead presumably letting them know who Hilary Bray really is. Blofeld didn't meet Bond in a secluded part of the resort, and his scientists were working in the background, so to keep up appearances he probably couldn't start a confrontation.
Blofeld also had the upper hand due to controlling who could leave and enter Piz Gloria, so it would be unwise to just kill him on site if there's information to be pried from him. The line about it "taking more than a few props to disguise James Bond" makes it apparent he knows exactly who he is. Bond also tells Blofeld it takes more than chopping off his own earlobes to hide who he is.
Also From Russia With Love makes it more than a little apparent Blofeld knows everything about Bond a man in his position would be able to learn, so it's a bigger stretch to just brush this off as a continuity hiccup when there's on screen evidence showing it isn't so.
This is a very reasonable supposition, and OHMSS was made when the villains were still smart and crafty rather than just having high IQs.
Consider it from Blofeld's point of view. What advantage would there be to killing Bond outright rather than waiting to find out why he's there and what he knows? Blofeld is about to pull off his greatest caper, and so long as Bond doesn't contact anyone, there's no reason for reinforcements to act while Bond is alive and unharmed (more or less Goldfinger's strategy). From Blofeld's point of view, there's no reason to believe they're even sure who he is -- it's Bond's detective work through Gumbold that is the British's only lead.
Letting Bond go through the charade until he tripped himself up in its own way not only kept Bond occupied and any observers think all is well, but gave Blofeld a chance to humiliate him later when he's caught. Even killing Bond's assistant after having sweated him for information -- and making it look like an accident -- allows Blofeld to continue to operate without the expectation of a commando raid . . . which is one of the reasons he's so cavalier about the possibility when Draco does exactly that.
Now, it's been a while since I read the novel, but I recall they're pretty much on to him from the very beginning. They strongly suspect Bond isn't who he claims but have to wait until he screws up to finally pounce. If YOLT hadn't been filmed first, OHMSS, the film, could be viewed the same way. But I think there's room for both interpretations.
I also always assumed Blofeld did recognize him and was toying with him. But that still doesn't solve the continuity problem. I always thought that a much tougher question to answer than why Blofeld didn't recognize Bond is why Bond, M, and everyone else involved ever expected to get away with it. Aside from being unreasonably confident in the effectiveness of their disguise, there's no explanation. Which leaves us where we started with this thread six years ago - it's cause they filmed the books out of order, and they didn't expect people forty five years later to be scrutinizing the continuity.
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I'm of the opinion they did recognize each other because of what's been said and seen before they met. M shows his disappointment over Bond not getting any closer to Blofeld after two years, second Bond's escort to Piz Gloria phones ahead presumably letting them know who Hilary Bray really is. Blofeld didn't meet Bond in a secluded part of the resort, and his scientists were working in the background, so to keep up appearances he probably couldn't start a confrontation.
Blofeld also had the upper hand due to controlling who could leave and enter Piz Gloria, so it would be unwise to just kill him on site if there's information to be pried from him. The line about it "taking more than a few props to disguise James Bond" makes it apparent he knows exactly who he is. Bond also tells Blofeld it takes more than chopping off his own earlobes to hide who he is.
Also From Russia With Love makes it more than a little apparent Blofeld knows everything about Bond a man in his position would be able to learn, so it's a bigger stretch to just brush this off as a continuity hiccup when there's on screen evidence showing it isn't so.
Ok, I jest, I jest
Willie Garvin hits the nail on the head. The "Inside..." documentaries do a good job of explaining the filming challenges and the intended ordering of the films.
Then comes YOLT like one or two years after OHMSS in the Bond - universe. Which would explain the lack of sparkle in Bond in the film and possibly why he suddenly aged so much. And after YOLTs end DAF takes place almost immediately in Japan.
Even with that timeline they're still meeting for the first time in YOLT. Once being introduced to him in that film should've sparked the same intensity Bond had when searching for Blofeld in DAF if Tracy's murder already happened.
Well for that scene in YOLT, i just merely see it as a theatrics from Blofelds side. Just a bit show off to humiliate Bond once he's captured.
And what do we know, perhaps Bond and Draco went out on a hellraising vendetta tournament to find and kill Blofeld and Bunt after OHMSS? Perhaps Bond made that scar on Blofelds cheek and left him to die.
I like to think so, because after all. It's all just good fun and fantasy!
Bond and Draco tearing apart the antagonist organization of four films would've been filmed if that did indeed happen. Again it's not so much of a stretch with things shown and said in OHMSS that not only it did happen between YOLT and DAF, but also Blofeld recognized him. I do feel that it was more subtle than it should've been though.
I re-watched the scene on YouTube of their second meeting in OHMSS. The conversation was obviously structured carefully enough that you can make it mean what you want. Also upon further reading it sounds like they wanted the fans to think what they wanted as far as their familiarity with eachother.
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That's pretty much a rewording of what I said. It seems deliberate to where the viewer can put significance into certain things said to support one or the other. Also to disregard YOLT you would also have to disregard FRWL, and then we start getting into the confusion that comes from Godzilla continuity where you need a chart to explain which films acknowledge which films and disregard past ones too.
Consider it from Blofeld's point of view. What advantage would there be to killing Bond outright rather than waiting to find out why he's there and what he knows? Blofeld is about to pull off his greatest caper, and so long as Bond doesn't contact anyone, there's no reason for reinforcements to act while Bond is alive and unharmed (more or less Goldfinger's strategy). From Blofeld's point of view, there's no reason to believe they're even sure who he is -- it's Bond's detective work through Gumbold that is the British's only lead.
Letting Bond go through the charade until he tripped himself up in its own way not only kept Bond occupied and any observers think all is well, but gave Blofeld a chance to humiliate him later when he's caught. Even killing Bond's assistant after having sweated him for information -- and making it look like an accident -- allows Blofeld to continue to operate without the expectation of a commando raid . . . which is one of the reasons he's so cavalier about the possibility when Draco does exactly that.
Now, it's been a while since I read the novel, but I recall they're pretty much on to him from the very beginning. They strongly suspect Bond isn't who he claims but have to wait until he screws up to finally pounce. If YOLT hadn't been filmed first, OHMSS, the film, could be viewed the same way. But I think there's room for both interpretations.
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