Best Blofeld- Charles Gray

Polar Bear 0007

)

I know I am very much alone, but I really enjoy Charles Gray's Blofeld. The man has great confidence and style. His use of the English language is beyond entertaining. To me he is the ultimate leader of SPECTRE, ruthless, confident, and self assured.

Personally, I find Telly's Blofeld a simple thug and while I enjoy Donald's, his borders on a lunatic.

I wish they had been able to cast Gray and Blofeld in TSWLM.

Hardyboy

Sorry, but I find Gray's Blofeld to be a HUGE disappointment. In The Devil Rides Out, Gray played the villain opposite Christopher Lee's hero, and he was chilling and brilliant; sadly, not an iota of that kind of performance is in his Blofeld. I don't think this is Gray's fault: the series was moving toward comedy, and it looks as though Guy Hamilton and company directed him to camp it up. Pity--he could have been great.

chrisisall

Polar Bear 0007 wrote:

)

I know I am very much alone,

You are not alone- I like Gray's Blofeld better than any other as well.

Blackleiter

Savalas's Blofeld all the way for me. Charming, intelligent, arrogant and menacing, as a Bond adversary should be. Gray's Blofeld was about as menacing as a limp rag. And that's before he put on the drag! Sean Connery vs Telly Savalas would have been a memorable match-up. Connery vs Gray - a joke! (But I quite enjoyed Gray's turn as Henderson in YOLT).

Golrush007

I'm afraid I find Charles Gray the most disappointing Blofeld. I think it is true that Savalas is a little thuggish but at least he has the appropriate amount of menace.

I personally feel that none of the three Blofeld's are as effective as the more mysterious Anthony Dawson Blofeld in FRWL and TB.

Higgins

Grays Blofeld is more camp than any sequence in the Moore Bonds - Tarzan yell excluded

James Suzuki

I'm surpised you guys haven't mentioned the you only live twice Blofeld, with the scar down his face... now he is the REAL blofeld and he casued the making of Dr.Evil

Thunderpussy

Blackleiter wrote :

Savalas's Blofeld all the way for me. Charming, intelligent, arrogant and menacing, as a Bond adversary should be. Gray's Blofeld was about as menacing as a limp rag. And that's before he put on the drag! Sean Connery vs Telly Savalas would have been a memorable match-up. Connery vs Gray - a joke! (But I quite enjoyed Gray's turn as Henderson in YOLT).

Savalas has always been my favourite Blofeld, as BL says Menacing and intelligent. He also
looked like he could hold his own in a fight with Bond.
Then again I'm sure C Grey was probably told to play it Light, as Others have pointed out
He could play a good menacing villain when needed.

BIG TAM

I'm with Blackleiter & Thunderpussy. Telly Savalas is the best Blofeld for me. He has a sense of menace the others don't & slips in nice little touches such as the way he holds his cigarette & his attempts to woo Tracy.

That said, I think Charles Gray does deliver Tom Mankiewicz's dialogue with great relish.

Manxman

The Blofeld of the books, as established in Thunderball, is a pompous thug with delusions of grandeur who sees himself as adhering to a lofty code of conduct; Savalas captures this perfectly. I like Charles Gray as an actor, and would have loved his performance had the character he was playing not been Blofeld.

Scrummy64

I do think Charles Gray made a brilliant villain, and every time I watch Diamonds are Forever he always seems to come off to me as the best of the three Blofelds, but I'm really not sure why. He just seemed to be much more charismatic than both of the other two, although as Blofeld, I don't think he cut it, mostly because he was so different from the already-established Blofeld. Savalas gave a very sinister (and believable) 'Lex Luthor' kind of vibe, although like you said, I can't really picture him as the head of a massive criminal organisation, whereas Pleasence and Gray both handled the 'mastermind' role nicely, but Savalas is still my favourite villain of the three when I think about it, probably because Gray did have those really camp moments.

Higgins

Polar Bear 0007 wrote:

Best Blofeld- Charles Gray

You have a weird taste, beary,

What's your next topic?

Best Bond- Timothy Dalton ? :v

Polar Bear 0007

Weird topic? Have you looked at some of the topics on here recently? 8-)

You're drinking to much Warsteiner.........

James Suzuki

Polar Bear is right, its not weird!! I don't mind Charles Gray, and I can see how Bear likres him above the other 1's.

Virgil37

Savalas´ Bloefeld is the best by a long shot. Gray´s Bloefeld would have been better opposite Roger Moore. Actually I consider DAF the first Moore movie in tone, style. Only Rog is missing.

chrisisall

Virgil37 wrote:

Savalas´ Bloefeld is the best by a long shot. Gray´s Bloefeld would have been better opposite Roger Moore. Actually I consider DAF the first Moore movie in tone, style. Only Rog is missing.

Fair enough to say.

Scrummy64

Bondtoys wrote:

Polar Bear 0007 wrote:

Best Blofeld- Charles Gray

You have a weird taste, beary,

What's your next topic?

Best Bond- Timothy Dalton ? :v

That awkward moment when you read an allegedly "weird" headline and realise that you agree with it...

Bodie

For me Blofeld, like Leiter, has never been cast correctly as per the character in the books. Telly Savalas is the best of the cinematic Blofelds. Charles Grey was a terrible Blofeld. More urbane than Bond himself. Blofeld should not be upper class English, and any modicome of menace he had went totally out the window with the drag scene. Its a pity because I have seen Charles Grey play a good villian in a number of other movies. Can only assume it was the producers and the first slide on the slippery slope of stupid comedy that didn't abate until Dalton arrived.

Watchers Film Show

WOW! oh so wrong - so very wrong!

Donald Pleasance obviously the best and I wish he returned for the role & i might add the best thing to come out of the Thunderball remake - Max Von Sydow in NSNA?

Agent007jamest

1. Donald Pleasence- when I think of Blofeld thats my image of him. Bald head, scared face and a bright white pussy on his lap
2. Max Von Sydow
3. Charles Gray
4. Kojak

Blood_Stone

Look wise yes (he's the closest of the three actors that resemble book Blofeld). Portrayal wise, absolutely not.


Had he acted like Donald Pleasance in terms of ruthlessness, it would've perfect. Instead, Guy Hamilton had the leader of SPECTRE dress up as a transvestite! FAIL.

chrisisall

Blood_Stone wrote:

Instead, Guy Hamilton had the leader of SPECTRE dress up as a transvestite!

A sweet transvestite.
)

It's just a jump to the left....