Well, as I live in the UK, have a virtual glass of your finest non-alchoholic wine on me! -{ Cheero!
Will Vernors Ginger Soda suffice? It's my favorite non-alcoholic beverage, and I actually drink it more than all alcoholic beverages I drink COMBINED. )
By the way, are you gonna eat that?
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,865MI6 Agent
Well, as I live in the UK, have a virtual glass of your finest non-alchoholic wine on me! -{ Cheero!
Will Vernors Ginger Soda suffice? It's my favorite non-alcoholic beverage, and I actually drink it more than all alcoholic beverages I drink COMBINED. )
As a tee-totaller, yes!
Bottoms up!
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
I think The Living Daylights and Quantum of Solace have a lot of genuine quality invested into them, but seemed let down by (on paper) relatively dull masterminds and their vague semi-realistic schemes of misusing the trust of Western intelligence agencies (MI6 and the CIA) to ruthlessly exploit Third World woes (trading opium or cutting off the Bolivian water supply does not capture the imagination like volcano bases launching rockets, super tankers swallowing subs, giant antennas rising out of artificial lakes, or orbiting EMP bombs). Casino Royale was essentially just about international terrorists and criminals playing cards but somehow rose well above those latter two movies because of multiple factors, being more firmly based on a Ian Fleming novel, and Martin Campbell doing really well with stuff that perhaps would be dull or goofy in a lot of other people's hands.
The weirdly plotted Octopussy and GoldenEye had some big plotholes to imaginatively fill in, but still have many fun to watch action set pieces and memorable stuff going on (the latter instalment being better than the former, due to Marting Campbell being the first director that brought Bond properly into the MTV era visually and the novelty of Pierce Brosnan, a jack of all trades Bond).
'Alright guard, begin the unnecessarily slow moving dipping mechanism...'
I admit I never found TWINE to be confusing. Although DAF, TLD and OP have puzzled the heck out of me.
Does anyone else find it ironic that Q's biggest role is in the LTK film where Bond is a rogue agent? I don't understand how 007's abruptly quitting mi6 affected the plot of License to Kill. Seems like he carried out his mission in the 007 usual fashion...and with even more help from Q branch than he usually gets.
There was that great rooftop sniper scene and then a bunch of ninjas showed up. I was like "what ?????"
My current 10 favorite:
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Dr No said that the Americans and the East didn't employ him, so he's using a radio beam to ruin American space launches. Would the Americans accuse the Russians of sabotage. The film focuses on No's efforts to hurt the Americans. How are the Russians affected?
Have you ever heard of the Emancipation Proclamation?"
I think it's implied that they're next. Dr No says "they can both pay for their mistake" and that Crab Key is "an expendable little island" and "when my mission is accomplished, I'll destroy it and move on"- to do the same thing to the Russians?
Of course, this ambiguity is caused by Eon changing Fleming's plot in which No is working (on a freelance basis) for Russia against the USA.
in another Living Daylights related thread, Ornithologist suggested the inclusion of the Fleming story actually makes the film even more complicated and confusing than it would be without it
both of these two films begin with a short story from the Octopussy book, which then spins out into a larger story (and neither of them is the short story called Octopussy)
in each case, the Fleming content at first glance looks like I always pictured the short story (auction room, sniper in the distant window), but in fact the characters are completely different than who Fleming wrote, and what is supposed to be going on is actually completely different than what Fleming wrote, and yet it still doesn't actually flow logically into what follows (does anybody care about the fake Egg? why did there need to be a fake sniper at all?)
and yet in FYEO they were able to tie two other Fleming short stories together seamlessly, along with a big chunk of another novel, and Licence to Kill succeeds with a similar mélange, and its all the same director ...
maybe its just the stories in Fleming's Octopussy aren't that substantial to begin with?
Octupussy: As I understand it, Orlov believes that the Russian forces are stronger than NATO and would likely triumph if only they were bold enough to attack Europe. The Red Army, however, argue that any such attack would be suicidal as NATO are just as likely to respond with nuclear strikes which would result in a full-scale global war. Orlov, therefore, plans to avoid such an eventuality by forcing Europe into nuclear disarmament. To this end, he aims to smuggle a nuclear bomb onto an American air force base and detonate it. Europe will believe this to be an accident caused by an American bomb and this will result in NATO surrendering their nuclear arms in order for avoid such a disaster from occurring.
To smuggle the bomb, Orlov must involve himself with smugglers. They, of course, will want payment in some way. This payment will be made in jewellery. Orlov therefore sets upon a scheme in which Russian jewels can be smuggled out of the Kremlin Art Repository with the aid of its curator Lenkin. The real jewellery is replaced with fakes. It seems that Lenkin and Khan are forging such jewellery together. I say this according to the conversation that Bond later overhears between Orlov and Khan:
Orlov: Congratulations on the quality of your workmanship, Kamal Khan.
Kamal: Thank you, General Orlov. As you can see, each piece has been meticulously duplicated according to Lenkin's specifications.
This, therefore, is why Khan is here. The smuggling itself is arranged by Octopussy through her travelling circus. Unknown to her, however, a nuclear bomb is hidden in the circus cannon. The circus is set to perform at an American airbase in West Germany and it is here that the bomb will be detonated. Mischka and Grischka work for Orlov and are only part of Octopussy’s troupe in order to keep an eye on the bomb.
Things, however, do not go according to plan. M16 agent 009, presumably while investigating some other matter, uncovers the plot and, while undercover as a clown, steals a fake Fabergé egg as proof to show his superiors. He is hunted by Mischka and Grischka and knifed in the back, but not before he has reached the house of the British ambassador. We do not know how young 009 is – this may be the first time he has been confronted with such killers, which may go some way to explaining why he looks so terrified.
MI6 receive the fake egg and learn that a real one is set to be auctioned at Sotherby’s. At the auction, Bond notices Khan and tries to outbid him. Khan is annoyed – not because Bond is driving the price up, but because he may lose the egg to Bond. An inventory of the Kremlin Art Depository is to be held in a matter of days and Orlov has tasked Khan with winning the egg back so that it can be returned to the vaults before its disappearance is discovered. Bond takes the opportunity to switch the real egg with the fake one, presumably to frustrate whatever plan Khan has for it.
Bond follows Khan to India and, during a backgammon game, shows off the real egg in an effort to unnerve him. Khan, of course, believes this to be the fake one which he had previously thought to be lost in the river just before 009’s death. Knowing nothing good can come of Bond’s interest, Khan tries to have him killed and recover the egg.
Q installs a bug into the egg and Bond takes it back to his hotel. Magda wants it and Bond lets her take it as this will allow him to eavesdrop on Khan. Before he can even attempt to listen in, however, Bond is knocked out by Gobinda and taken to the Monsoon Palace. Khan is intrigued by Bond and wants to know what he knows. Orlov visits Khan and is given the (real) egg that has been recovered from Bond. The general, of course, believes the egg is fake and destroys it. Khan flinches – not because he knows the egg is real, but because of Orlov’s heavy-handed manner. The fake egg, assumed to be the real one, is bundled in with the counterfeit jewellery and taken to Orlov’s helicopter. Ordinarily, these fakes would have been smuggled back to Russia via the circus, but the egg fiasco has necessitated Orlov’s visit and he is taking advantage of this by returning the next cache of fakes to Russia – which will, in time, be swapped out for the real ones and smuggled out.
I love this film It has some of the best action in the series - Bond racing after the train by car, fighting on top of the train, hunted through the jungle, chasing after the plane on horseback etc. Plus the terrifically tense climax in which Bond has to dress as a clown and convince everyone that he is serious when he says that an atomic bomb will be going off at any minute! There's also several moments in which Bond has to face the irritations of real life when he is prevented from using a public phone box during an emergency, his radio-device is interrupted by a hair-dryer and a car of mischievous kids cheat him out of a ride. All of which is played straight.
It's an exciting, exotic and occasionally surreal adventure with a topical plot and a timeless feel. Like Kipling via Hitchcock.
The Living Daylights: I think this is it. The Soviets give Koscov $50 million to be used as a deposit on the purchase of weapons. However, instead of doing this, he buys diamonds from the Netherlands and uses this to purchase opium from an Afghan tribe named the Snow-Leopard Brotherhood (for their part, they want to use the money to buy their own weapons to fight off the Soviets). Koskov plans to sell the opium in America which – in only a matter of days – will earn him many millions of dollars. He will then be able to do what he was instructed to do in the first place and buy the weapons for the Russians.
It's sometimes said that Sotheby's sale of a Fabergé egg would likely draw attention from the Russians.
It just occured to me, however, that maybe the inventory for the Kremlin Art Repository was arranged because the Russians had heard about the Sotheby sale and wanted to make sure that their collection was still complete.
Comments
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Will Vernors Ginger Soda suffice? It's my favorite non-alcoholic beverage, and I actually drink it more than all alcoholic beverages I drink COMBINED.
As a tee-totaller, yes!
Bottoms up!
The weirdly plotted Octopussy and GoldenEye had some big plotholes to imaginatively fill in, but still have many fun to watch action set pieces and memorable stuff going on (the latter instalment being better than the former, due to Marting Campbell being the first director that brought Bond properly into the MTV era visually and the novelty of Pierce Brosnan, a jack of all trades Bond).
Does anyone else find it ironic that Q's biggest role is in the LTK film where Bond is a rogue agent? I don't understand how 007's abruptly quitting mi6 affected the plot of License to Kill. Seems like he carried out his mission in the 007 usual fashion...and with even more help from Q branch than he usually gets.
There was that great rooftop sniper scene and then a bunch of ninjas showed up. I was like "what ?????"
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
What about the other Chinese investors who go with him to the institute, were they part of the agency as well?
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Lazenby 5. Craig 6. Brosnan
" I don't listen to hip hop!"
Of course, this ambiguity is caused by Eon changing Fleming's plot in which No is working (on a freelance basis) for Russia against the USA.
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Lazenby 5. Craig 6. Brosnan
The more we talk about it, I find they're confusing for no reason at all in order to appear complex.
"Better make that two."
both of these two films begin with a short story from the Octopussy book, which then spins out into a larger story (and neither of them is the short story called Octopussy)
in each case, the Fleming content at first glance looks like I always pictured the short story (auction room, sniper in the distant window), but in fact the characters are completely different than who Fleming wrote, and what is supposed to be going on is actually completely different than what Fleming wrote, and yet it still doesn't actually flow logically into what follows (does anybody care about the fake Egg? why did there need to be a fake sniper at all?)
and yet in FYEO they were able to tie two other Fleming short stories together seamlessly, along with a big chunk of another novel, and Licence to Kill succeeds with a similar mélange, and its all the same director ...
maybe its just the stories in Fleming's Octopussy aren't that substantial to begin with?
These.
Octupussy: As I understand it, Orlov believes that the Russian forces are stronger than NATO and would likely triumph if only they were bold enough to attack Europe. The Red Army, however, argue that any such attack would be suicidal as NATO are just as likely to respond with nuclear strikes which would result in a full-scale global war. Orlov, therefore, plans to avoid such an eventuality by forcing Europe into nuclear disarmament. To this end, he aims to smuggle a nuclear bomb onto an American air force base and detonate it. Europe will believe this to be an accident caused by an American bomb and this will result in NATO surrendering their nuclear arms in order for avoid such a disaster from occurring.
To smuggle the bomb, Orlov must involve himself with smugglers. They, of course, will want payment in some way. This payment will be made in jewellery. Orlov therefore sets upon a scheme in which Russian jewels can be smuggled out of the Kremlin Art Repository with the aid of its curator Lenkin. The real jewellery is replaced with fakes. It seems that Lenkin and Khan are forging such jewellery together. I say this according to the conversation that Bond later overhears between Orlov and Khan:
Orlov: Congratulations on the quality of your workmanship, Kamal Khan.
Kamal: Thank you, General Orlov. As you can see, each piece has been meticulously duplicated according to Lenkin's specifications.
This, therefore, is why Khan is here. The smuggling itself is arranged by Octopussy through her travelling circus. Unknown to her, however, a nuclear bomb is hidden in the circus cannon. The circus is set to perform at an American airbase in West Germany and it is here that the bomb will be detonated. Mischka and Grischka work for Orlov and are only part of Octopussy’s troupe in order to keep an eye on the bomb.
Things, however, do not go according to plan. M16 agent 009, presumably while investigating some other matter, uncovers the plot and, while undercover as a clown, steals a fake Fabergé egg as proof to show his superiors. He is hunted by Mischka and Grischka and knifed in the back, but not before he has reached the house of the British ambassador. We do not know how young 009 is – this may be the first time he has been confronted with such killers, which may go some way to explaining why he looks so terrified.
MI6 receive the fake egg and learn that a real one is set to be auctioned at Sotherby’s. At the auction, Bond notices Khan and tries to outbid him. Khan is annoyed – not because Bond is driving the price up, but because he may lose the egg to Bond. An inventory of the Kremlin Art Depository is to be held in a matter of days and Orlov has tasked Khan with winning the egg back so that it can be returned to the vaults before its disappearance is discovered. Bond takes the opportunity to switch the real egg with the fake one, presumably to frustrate whatever plan Khan has for it.
Bond follows Khan to India and, during a backgammon game, shows off the real egg in an effort to unnerve him. Khan, of course, believes this to be the fake one which he had previously thought to be lost in the river just before 009’s death. Knowing nothing good can come of Bond’s interest, Khan tries to have him killed and recover the egg.
Q installs a bug into the egg and Bond takes it back to his hotel. Magda wants it and Bond lets her take it as this will allow him to eavesdrop on Khan. Before he can even attempt to listen in, however, Bond is knocked out by Gobinda and taken to the Monsoon Palace. Khan is intrigued by Bond and wants to know what he knows. Orlov visits Khan and is given the (real) egg that has been recovered from Bond. The general, of course, believes the egg is fake and destroys it. Khan flinches – not because he knows the egg is real, but because of Orlov’s heavy-handed manner. The fake egg, assumed to be the real one, is bundled in with the counterfeit jewellery and taken to Orlov’s helicopter. Ordinarily, these fakes would have been smuggled back to Russia via the circus, but the egg fiasco has necessitated Orlov’s visit and he is taking advantage of this by returning the next cache of fakes to Russia – which will, in time, be swapped out for the real ones and smuggled out.
I love this film
It's an exciting, exotic and occasionally surreal adventure with a topical plot and a timeless feel. Like Kipling via Hitchcock.
The Living Daylights: I think this is it. The Soviets give Koscov $50 million to be used as a deposit on the purchase of weapons. However, instead of doing this, he buys diamonds from the Netherlands and uses this to purchase opium from an Afghan tribe named the Snow-Leopard Brotherhood (for their part, they want to use the money to buy their own weapons to fight off the Soviets). Koskov plans to sell the opium in America which – in only a matter of days – will earn him many millions of dollars. He will then be able to do what he was instructed to do in the first place and buy the weapons for the Russians.
It's sometimes said that Sotheby's sale of a Fabergé egg would likely draw attention from the Russians.
It just occured to me, however, that maybe the inventory for the Kremlin Art Repository was arranged because the Russians had heard about the Sotheby sale and wanted to make sure that their collection was still complete.
Just a thought.