The Spy Who Loved Me - Overrated
Sweepy the Cat
Halifax, West Yorkshire, EnglaPosts: 986MI6 Agent
I always saw the end of TSWLM pre-creds as overrated.
You can clearly see the parachute on Bond's back before he ski's of the cliff-edge.
Somehow I'm the only one to notice these things
You can clearly see the parachute on Bond's back before he ski's of the cliff-edge.
Somehow I'm the only one to notice these things
Comments
He opened the thing. It's not as if we were suppsed to believe he went off the cliff without one. He was just overly prepared to make an aerial exit if the case arose.
You are calling one the greatest stunts in the HISTORY of movie-making as being over-rated (?!?!?) because of...oh, I get it, you're too focused on something so minute in detail that it prevents you from a simple case of enjoyment.
Congrats, Sweepy, you are the first Bond-fan I have ever encountered who has ever dissed the PTS of TSWLM for Nit-Pickers Anonymous.
Nit-Pickers Anonymous (James Bond Chapter) meet annually every year to gripe about such controversies like the geometrical discrepencies with the the laser beam in GF or the incredible continuity error in TB where Bond is wearing a watch and then next shot...HE ISN'T!!!!!!!!
Sweepy...all power to your opinion but...wow, you are allowing something not worth mentioning to spoil your pleasure. If the idea is to examine every frame of Bond to look for mistakes...we could be here for months. Imperfections are everywhere.
To be a stickler for detail is one thing...to focus on one detail and allow it prevent you from appreciating a thing of beauty (which the ski-jump certainly is) is one those "eye of the beholder" moments.
Rick Sylvester , John Glen and the gang STILL deserve a staning ovation 30 years later.
And yes, you're right, you ARE the only one to notice these things. Then again...maybe you're not.
"But James, I need you."
"So does England."
I'm going to say that the stunt is a BIT overrated, because, as Rick Sylvester himself has said, "gravity deserves half the credit." It is extremely dangerous, but at the end of the day, Mr. Sylvester didn't have to do that much (again, as he said) besides jump off the cliff. I find his bungee jump in FYEO more impressive.
The whole sequence in general, however, is absolutely breathtaking: the location, the snowscape, the stunt, the fact that it's all in one unbroken cut (maybe we can show this scene to Michael Bay?), and the Union Jack parachute just capping it off.
This perhaps brings up a broader discussion of what, exactly, makes a stunt great? Danger? The skill of the stuntman? Originality? How it's filmed?
When I watch any stunt, I often ask myself: if someone paid me enough, would I do that stunt? And my answer is often: I would do the TSWLM jump before I'd do something even as simple as Brosnan throwing my ass down the stairs on the satellite dish in GE, or hanging off a moving tanker in LTK, or performing just about ANY of the car/driving stunts in the whole Bond series.
But Sweepy, I do have to say, as far as seeing the parachute, I don't think that detracts from the stunt one bit. Why does it matter that you can see the parachute? It's not like Bond is making a secret of the fact that he's going over the edge.
I have no issue with the ski-jump as being over-rated in someone's eyes. That's the nature of having an opinion. What I am commenting on is Sweepy's REASON that it is over-rated.
If that's the only reason...well, lets just say he and I agree to disagree.
By the way I have no signature from TSWLM. All my posts end with different quotes. Hence:
"Is he dead?"
"I sincerely hope so."
I can definitely appreciate the fact that TSWLM stunt is held in such high regards. However, when your first exposure to James Bond is seeing him freefall and steal a parachute from someone else, it's always been less impressive to me that he skied off that cliff already with a parachute on his back.
I'm sure if I saw the movies in proper order, my opinion would be reversed.
The point is, no one knows it's a parachute, until it opens. You think it's just some napsack or something, maybe with some gadgets in to get him out of a hole.
Of course, maybe Sweeps knew about the whole sutunt beforehand so the surprise element is ruined.
So yes, you can see it, but the first-time viewer wouldn't know he's got a 'chute, esp as that was the first time that kind of stunt had been done in a Bond film.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=w2swpZhXOK8&feature=related
If you were a true fan you'd only count to 007!
You might if you didn't have an extra sweater.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
What I do think was overrated in the movie was the capabilities of Major Amasova, or lack therof. The best thing that happened to her was when Jaws slapped her silly in the train.
I could not agree with you more this is one of the most classic pts in the series, it sets the tone for the best Moore movie and any little discretion on how it was done is irrelevant.:s
I love TSWLM. It has a balance between drama and characterisation, and the uber scaled tech and bad guy's organisation. This went a bit pear shaped in Moonraker plotwise, before settling into the more dark / thriller aspect of FYEO.
The Ski Jump? Mr Rick Sylvester is both mad, and an extremely brave man. The first time I saw the jump I had a lump in my throat, because if one of the detached skis tore into the parachute, he would have had it, regardless of the wind direction.
- I respect men and women that work in the stunt field as they have to be tough, focused and extremely couragous to do what they do.
My personal favorite Bond stunt thus far? Indoors, the stairwell fight in CR.
Outside, its split between the Q Boat roll in TWINE, and the High crane jump in CR.
Selected simply because not only do I like the stunts themselves, but the aspects that go with them, such as cinemaphotography, music and editing.
The car roll in TMWGG, and the car chase in QS never had a hope in hell for the same reason!
Back on topic - TSWLM is not overated in my opinion. The tech is more apparant, but considering what Stromberg was up too, it is not blatent, and the effects used to create the Liparus, Atlantis and the Sub Lotus were all practical miniatures and full scale. - Not using CGI like today. Ms Bach is great as Major Amasova, - a female version of Bond in a lot of ways.
Its not my outright favorite Moore film, - the Sci Fi nerd in me loves Moonraker, and I always enjoy the thriller aspects of FYEO, but it forms a triangle with those two films.
Just don't talk to me about AVTAK! (Duran Duran excepted)
Battle scene with the submarine crews: Maybe the best large battle in any Bond film.
Underwater Car: One of the best things any Bond car has done.
Jaws.
XXX: The best and most intriguing love stroy of any Bond film IMO.
Barbara Bach is sexiest Bond girl IMO.
OVERATED!?!?!?!?!?!?!
I'm lost Sweepy. Does it matter if you see the parachute beforehand? Presumably Bond is wearing one before he jumps over the edge. It's not like Q designed one that would fit in his watch.