The Bond movies with the Prettiest Picture?

chrisisall

Just in visual terms, what are your picks for the most lushly photographed Bond films?

TB, DAF, TMWTGG, TSWLM, TLD, and TND come to my mind, but that's just off the top of my head.

Thoughts?

DTReinsma

I'm surprised you mentioned DAF. I found that the least interesting backdrop. I'm with you on the others. I would also add Dr. No.

chrisisall

DTReinsma wrote:

I'm surprised you mentioned DAF.

There were many moments where the photography just leapt out at me- the Bambi & Thumper scene most notably. Yes, it was a little erratic, but the pretty parts outweighed the pedestrian bits IMO. But that may be coloured by my initial theatrical viewing being so deeply imbedded in my mind... 8-)

I would also add Dr. No.

Yeah, in many parts- it seems Bond movies made with grand seascapes can do no wrong in this area...

Hardyboy

How could you not mention You Only Live Twice? Hands down, that is most lushly photographed film in the series--all thanks to the great Freddie Young.

chrisisall

Hardyboy wrote:

How could you not mention You Only Live Twice? Hands down, that is most lushly photographed film in the series--all thanks to the great Freddie Young.

Top of my head, old boy.
Yes, it was beautiful now as I recall. -{

Higgins

YOLT has my vote and I can't wait to see the movie on BluRay
TMWTGG is second followed by OHMSS im my list.

The photography and the overall atmosphere is my priority #1 and influences my personal ranking list a lot.

chrisisall, I am not really surprised how you shoehorned TLD into this thread (I know that you do that with EVERY thread that you are starting) but I fail to see the movie being top in that regard

If we are talking about photography LTK with the beautiful Key West shots was definetly superior

Moore Than

I will add this film to the mix. Very difficult, I know, but put aside images of Jaws flapping like a bird, double-take pigeon, Bondola, and laser fight in space, then you should appreciate that Moonraker has plenty of great visuals, locations and sets that are a feast for the eyes. It may not be one of the best films but it certainly is one of the best looking.

Golrush007

You Only Live Twice does have the most lush visuals I think. Freddie Young was one of the great artists of cinematography in that era, noted particularly for his work with David Lean on Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago.

I also like the early Ted Moore style in the first couple of films, particularly Dr. No - lots of bold, saturated colours which made the most of the exotic location.

Thunderpussy

YOLT has some great photography But my personal favourite is OHMSS. The
aerial shots are fantastic and the dawn rising over the Mountain tops is spectacular.

BIG TAM

I feel the '60s Bonds have the most opulent look. But then I think a lot of '60s cinema had richer colour palettes than the decades that followed. Technicolor was proper Technicolor back then. I'm not a big fan of the trend for bleached visuals these days.

Napoleon Plural

Moonraker, lensed by the cinematographer who did The Day of the Jackel (which also starred Michel Lonsdale). Very lush indeed.

The classic Bonds did have a colour scheme of sorts, though the look of GF is a bit chintzy. TB is noticeably ahead of the game in terms of its look, of seeming more modern. Of course OHMSS looks great, almost a bit too chic, but it's great on the big screen, esp Imax a couple of years ago.

Didn't like the look of the Brosnan Bonds much, or the Dalton ones really.

SilentSpy

I want to enjoy all of them in HD to be sure. Right now, the classics are beautiful to me. Dr. No, Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice. What I've seen of FRWL and For Your Eyes Only was good. There are a few good scenes in The World is not Enough and Casino Royale. But I'm just picking scenes at this point.

Blackleiter

Absolutely correct!

Hardyboy wrote:

How could you not mention You Only Live Twice? Hands down, that is most lushly photographed film in the series--all thanks to the great Freddie Young.

chrisisall

Bondtoys wrote:

chrisisall, I am not really surprised how you shoehorned TLD into this thread but I fail to see the movie being top in that regard
If we are talking about photography LTK with the beautiful Key West shots was definetly superior

LTK was nice, but what impressed me more were Alec Mills' moody night time shots in TLD. A lot of night stuff in the movies gets over-lit, but TLD had suck rich blacks & dark tones in the night scenes.

chrisisall

BIG TAM wrote:

I feel the '60s Bonds have the most opulent look. But then I think a lot of '60s cinema had richer colour palettes than the decades that followed. Technicolor was proper Technicolor back then. I'm not a big fan of the trend for bleached visuals these days.

Agreed.

chrisisall

Napoleon Plural wrote:

Moonraker, lensed by the cinematographer who did The Day of the Jackel (which also starred Michel Lonsdale). Very lush indeed.

Agreed.

Didn't like the look of the Brosnan Bonds much

I love the movies themselves, but it's all digital transfer of film, digital edit, digital colour correction etc.- it just can't compete IMO

or the Dalton ones really.

They were still in the time of non-digital, and while Alec Mills was not on par with Freddie Young, he still provided some really nice images IMO.