Moonraker- A Feast For My Eyes
Firemass
AlaskaPosts: 1,910MI6 Agent
I had the pleasure of watching Moonraker on a big screen 42" HD TV the other night and was totally blown away by the huge sets and lavish locations. This is the biggest, most extravagant Bond film ever made. It makes For Your Eyes Only look like a low budget TV show in comparison. In fact most other Bond films crumble under the colossal production value of Moonraker. Seriously, this was made in 1979? It looks more like 2079!
The sets and models are phenomenal! The centrifuge, the orchid lab, Aztec temple and Drax's space station are a wonder. Complementing the stunning visual effects are real locations so beautifully shot it made my jaw drop: Cable cars above Rio, cascading waterfalls in the Amazon jungle, and the canals of Venice have never looked better.
My favorite Bond is The Spy Who Loved Me so I'm already geared towards this type of 007 blockbuster and Moonraker honestly came close to bumping TSWLM off my top spot. Roger Moore is in top form for both, but looks especially cool when he's all frazzled after a 16G centrifuge or falling from a cable car. "Have you broken something? Only my tailor's heart"
The title sequence showcases the the most impressive A-list of the Bond team ever assembled:
Production Design: Ken Adam
Miniatures: Derek Meddings
Editing by: John Glen
Music: John Barry
Title song: Shirley Bassey
Produced by Albert Broccoli and Michael Wilson
Also featuring the reoccurring favorites of Roger Moore, Lois Maxwell, Bernard Lee, Walter Gotell, Desmond Llewelyn, Geoffrey Keen, and Richard Kiel.
Moonraker has it ALL! There's no way that much talent could make a bad Bond film. I'm always shocked to see Moonraker ranked so low by fans. Fleming purists were definitely not the target audience for this one, but there should be some more appreciation for the sheer scope of the film.
Here's a few snippets from wikipedia about the filming of Moonraker:
The massive sets designed by Ken Adam were the largest ever constructed in France and required more than 222,000 man-hours to construct (roughly 1000 hours by each of the crew on average).[3] They were shot at three of France's largest film studios in Épinay and Boulogne-Billancourt.[5] 220 technicians used 100 tonnes of metal, two tonnes of nails and 10,000 feet of wood to build the three-story space station set at Eponay Studios.[5] The elaborate space set for Moonraker holds the world record for having the largest number of zero gravity wires in one scene.[3] The Venetian glass museum and fight between Bond and Chang was shot at Boulogne Studios in a building which had once been a World War II Luftwaffe aircraft factory during Germany's occupation of France.[5] The scene in the Venice glass museum and warehouse holds the record for the largest amount of break-away sugar glass used in a single scene.[3]
And a couple reviews from 1979:
The New York Times film critic Vincent Canby called Moonraker "one of the most buoyant Bond films of all. Almost everyone connected with the movie is in top form, even Mr. Moore. Here he's as ageless, resourceful, and graceful as the character he inhabits."[21] Canby subsequently said the film was, alongside Goldfinger, the best of the series.[22]
Whilst The Globe and Mail critic Jay Scott said Moonraker was second only to Goldfinger. "In the first few minutes – before the credits – it offers more thrills than most escapist movies provide in two hours." During the title sequence, "the excitement has gone all the way up to giddy and never comes down." Scott admired the film's theme song and cited with approval the film's location work. He also singled out Ken Adam's sets, dubbing them "high-tech Piranesi."[23]
The sets and models are phenomenal! The centrifuge, the orchid lab, Aztec temple and Drax's space station are a wonder. Complementing the stunning visual effects are real locations so beautifully shot it made my jaw drop: Cable cars above Rio, cascading waterfalls in the Amazon jungle, and the canals of Venice have never looked better.
My favorite Bond is The Spy Who Loved Me so I'm already geared towards this type of 007 blockbuster and Moonraker honestly came close to bumping TSWLM off my top spot. Roger Moore is in top form for both, but looks especially cool when he's all frazzled after a 16G centrifuge or falling from a cable car. "Have you broken something? Only my tailor's heart"
The title sequence showcases the the most impressive A-list of the Bond team ever assembled:
Production Design: Ken Adam
Miniatures: Derek Meddings
Editing by: John Glen
Music: John Barry
Title song: Shirley Bassey
Produced by Albert Broccoli and Michael Wilson
Also featuring the reoccurring favorites of Roger Moore, Lois Maxwell, Bernard Lee, Walter Gotell, Desmond Llewelyn, Geoffrey Keen, and Richard Kiel.
Moonraker has it ALL! There's no way that much talent could make a bad Bond film. I'm always shocked to see Moonraker ranked so low by fans. Fleming purists were definitely not the target audience for this one, but there should be some more appreciation for the sheer scope of the film.
Here's a few snippets from wikipedia about the filming of Moonraker:
The massive sets designed by Ken Adam were the largest ever constructed in France and required more than 222,000 man-hours to construct (roughly 1000 hours by each of the crew on average).[3] They were shot at three of France's largest film studios in Épinay and Boulogne-Billancourt.[5] 220 technicians used 100 tonnes of metal, two tonnes of nails and 10,000 feet of wood to build the three-story space station set at Eponay Studios.[5] The elaborate space set for Moonraker holds the world record for having the largest number of zero gravity wires in one scene.[3] The Venetian glass museum and fight between Bond and Chang was shot at Boulogne Studios in a building which had once been a World War II Luftwaffe aircraft factory during Germany's occupation of France.[5] The scene in the Venice glass museum and warehouse holds the record for the largest amount of break-away sugar glass used in a single scene.[3]
And a couple reviews from 1979:
The New York Times film critic Vincent Canby called Moonraker "one of the most buoyant Bond films of all. Almost everyone connected with the movie is in top form, even Mr. Moore. Here he's as ageless, resourceful, and graceful as the character he inhabits."[21] Canby subsequently said the film was, alongside Goldfinger, the best of the series.[22]
Whilst The Globe and Mail critic Jay Scott said Moonraker was second only to Goldfinger. "In the first few minutes – before the credits – it offers more thrills than most escapist movies provide in two hours." During the title sequence, "the excitement has gone all the way up to giddy and never comes down." Scott admired the film's theme song and cited with approval the film's location work. He also singled out Ken Adam's sets, dubbing them "high-tech Piranesi."[23]
My current 10 favorite:
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Comments
I was hoping you would see this thread. You're probably the most experienced filmmaker on ajb.. do you have any additional thoughts on the production of Moonraker? How has Moonraker influenced your own work?
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
The first hour is simply great and all space scenes are much better than comparable Si-Fi movies from that time.
Moonraker is a feast for the eyes - particularly on a big screen - and 42 " I don't call big
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Interesting factoid there. Some of the Moonraker space station props reappear in the Space: 1999 TV series also.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Yes, it was those black inverted tap things on Space: 1999 that they re-used on Moonraker, I think. That said, I'm not at all sure where I remember all of this from at all!
1. James Bond being in space
2. Runing a perfectly good henchman in Jaws and all the sillyness that came with his scenes
3. Bad acting from the Bond girl
4. Drax had no emotion in any of his scenes and was a pretty dull character
5. Bond riding in an unknown person's boat and somehow turning it into a hover craft
The only part I really liked was Bond falling out of the plane trying to get a parachute. That was intense.
I was kind of trying to avoid a critical review of Moonraker and instead focus on the film being a technical marvel. Just appreciating the sheer spectacle and amount of work that was put into it. A crowning achievement for the Bond producers in pushing the limits of their craft as far as it could possibly go. Whenever I hear someone call Moonraker the worst Bond film it implies the film was poorly made, which is clearly not the case.
To respond to your comments: 1-4 are just a matter of opinion and you're certainly entitled to them. However, on #5 I believe you are mistaken. The "unknown boat" was infact Bond's Mi6 gondola and the driver was also an agent working with Bond.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
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#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Such a (dare I use an over-used idiotic phrase) near miss. 8-)
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
And what is a good BluRay machine that also doubles as a DVD player?
The remastered DVD is good but somehow the space station didn't look as bright imo, I think they tinkered with it, as with the pts of OHMSS.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
A cheap R_R player starts at EUR 100,-- - many people go with a Playstation 3, which also plays perfectly DVDs or B-Rs. PS3 slims go at around EUR 200,--
Once that you have seen a B-R, you'll hardly want to play your DVDs again :v
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
You mean B_R player, not R_R? Is Playstation 3 a good one then, or are they sort of standard? Oh, and do they play American DVDs too, which are a different region?
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I am using a PS3 Slim for the European (german) market, which won't play B-Rs from the US but can play US DVDs.
Best advise is to order one from Amazon.co.uk and if it won't play anything that you have - just return it for a full refund.
But it should work with US DVDs.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Back on topic, the cinematography for MR was done by the guy who did Day of the Jackal, which of course also starred Michel Lonsdale.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Sets are stunning. One of my favourites is the meeting room Bond
and Goodhead are put in under Drax's shuttle. I love the way it all
folds down in to the Floor.
Also IMHO the special effects have stood the test of time and look
far better that some of the si-fi films made at the same time but used
early digital /cgi processing. Because now with age the colours look
faded to the rest of the Film and really standout.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Now am I going to have to step in and give everyone a smacked bum for not only going off topic but for having the temerity to 'diss' the fabulousness that is QoS ? :v
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!