Favourite Director(s)

DieAnotherDayDieAnotherDay Glasgow, ScotlandPosts: 460MI6 Agent
in The James Bond Films
Who is your favourite director(s) to direct a James Bond film and why?

My favourite director is definitely Martin Campbell, his movies are constantly hovering around the top of my list due to the fact that they both reintroduce Bond (in very different way) to the world again and are full of well directed action scenes along with excellent characterisation - which doesn't really happen much in a Bond. I think Goldeneye is the best directed Bond film as it gets everything right. Excellent action, characters, plot, finale, editing...and also a tone all of its own.
Mr. Campbell knows Bond inside out. If he returned for Bond 24 I would rest easy :)
....and the best he ever managed was a sermon on the mount.

Comments

  • davidelliott101davidelliott101 Posts: 165MI6 Agent
    Terrence Young and Peter Hunt... hands down!
  • DieAnotherDayDieAnotherDay Glasgow, ScotlandPosts: 460MI6 Agent
    davidelliott101 wrote:
    Terrence Young and Peter Hunt... hands down!

    I can understand Terrance young but why Peter Hunt? I thought OHMSS was extremely sloppily edited.
    ....and the best he ever managed was a sermon on the mount.
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 38,108Chief of Staff
    Young, Campbell, Gilbert, Glen, Hamilton for the "regulars", in that order. Of the one-shots my favourite was Apted.
  • MustonMuston Huncote, Leicestershire Posts: 228MI6 Agent
    My favourite director's were Peter Hunt (he made sure that he made a realistic down to earth film of the book), next is Martin Campbell, and finally Terence Young. The two I can't stand would be Lee Tamahori (what in the hell did he think he was doing with those crappy slow-mo shots?) and Lewis Gilbert (probably a nice guy but look at the Bond films he made! Two of them being my least favourite.)
    "Thank you very much. I was just out walking my RAT and seem to have lost my way... "
  • davidelliott101davidelliott101 Posts: 165MI6 Agent
    DieAnotherDay wrote:
    davidelliott101 wrote:
    Terrence Young and Peter Hunt... hands down!

    I can understand Terrance young but why Peter Hunt? I thought OHMSS was extremely sloppily edited.

    What Muston said about Hunt... he didn't edit OHMSS, but directed it!
  • DieAnotherDayDieAnotherDay Glasgow, ScotlandPosts: 460MI6 Agent
    It's the same with Marc Forster and the terrible editing in QoS...I still blame him.
    To be fair though it's only the action scenes in OHMSS which are edited badly IMO
    ....and the best he ever managed was a sermon on the mount.
  • walther p99walther p99 NJPosts: 3,416MI6 Agent
    Sam Mendes, because he was one of my favorite directors way before he was ever attached to Bond and made Skyfall into my favorite Bond film.
    @deanwdunlevy
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 38,108Chief of Staff
    DieAnotherDay wrote:
    It's the same with Marc Forster and the terrible editing in QoS...I still blame him.

    Me too. The editing settles down in the 2nd half of QoS, though, and it works well from there- IMHO if the first half had better editing the film would have been a classic (and of course if they'd used "No Good About Goodbye" instead of "Another Way To Die").
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,062MI6 Agent
    DieAnotherDay wrote:
    Who is your favourite director(s) to direct a James Bond film and why?
    For ME, this is the hardest question ever asked here.
    Favourite is not 'best', so this is highly subjective...
    I'm tempted to say Gilbert for his wide angle to tight close-up storytelling, but I'll have to go with Hamilton for his solid & quirky direction, though neither has directed my Bonds in my top five.
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • Mr_OsatoMr_Osato Posts: 398MI6 Agent
    Terence Young, obviously. His direction of the movies was fine, but more importantly: Young WAS Bond. He trained and coached Connery and made him in the legend that he is today. And of course, if he would have messed up Dr No, we would never have had the series. Young is number 1 and will remain number one. Always.

    My least favourite is probably John Glenn, because he managed to put silly things in otherwise solid movies. Plenty of examples and I think he is one of the reasons why Moore is not perceived as a great Bond, despite the fact that he had the capabilities. Only in LTK, the tone was consistent.

    Lee Tamahori and Marc Forster were both rubbish also. Both had no sense what Bond was about. Especially for Tamahori that was a bad decision with DAD having memories of the old Bond's. Some where done well, but the movie was, well, weird.

    Hamilton is a strange one. Directed my favourite Goldfinger and directed the bottom3 movie DAF. But unlike Tamahori and Forster, he did know what Bond was about, he put a lot of ' fun' in it, just like Gilbert. And unlike Glenn, the movies of Gilbert and Hamilton where fun all the way, not a mixed bag.
    OHMSS, FRWL, DN, GF, CR, GE, SP, YOLT, TB, TSWLM, LALD, TLD, TND, FYEO, SF, MR, TMWTGG, TWINE, OP, AVTAK, DAF, LTK, QOS, DAD

    1. Connery 2. Craig 3. Brosnan 4. Dalton 5. Lazenby 6. Moore
  • BlackleiterBlackleiter Washington, DCPosts: 5,615MI6 Agent
    DieAnotherDay wrote:
    Who is your favourite director(s) to direct a James Bond film and why?

    My favourite director is definitely Martin Campbell, his movies are constantly hovering around the top of my list due to the fact that they both reintroduce Bond (in very different way) to the world again and are full of well directed action scenes along with excellent characterisation - which doesn't really happen much in a Bond. I think Goldeneye is the best directed Bond film as it gets everything right. Excellent action, characters, plot, finale, editing...and also a tone all of its own.
    Mr. Campbell knows Bond inside out. If he returned for Bond 24 I would rest easy :)
    I, too, am in the Campbell camp. I think his two films are the most tightly, professionally directed Bond movies, and he has the best sense of pace IMO.
    "Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
  • DieAnotherDayDieAnotherDay Glasgow, ScotlandPosts: 460MI6 Agent
    Blackleiter wrote:
    DieAnotherDay wrote:
    Who is your favourite director(s) to direct a James Bond film and why?

    My favourite director is definitely Martin Campbell, his movies are constantly hovering around the top of my list due to the fact that they both reintroduce Bond (in very different way) to the world again and are full of well directed action scenes along with excellent characterisation - which doesn't really happen much in a Bond. I think Goldeneye is the best directed Bond film as it gets everything right. Excellent action, characters, plot, finale, editing...and also a tone all of its own.
    Mr. Campbell knows Bond inside out. If he returned for Bond 24 I would rest easy :)
    I, too, am in the Campbell camp. I think his two films are the most tightly, professionally directed Bond movies, and he has the best sense of pace IMO.

    Yep. The only reason I rank SF down out of my top 10 is because I think the movie goes at a snails pace at certain points. Quite a few directors got the pacing spot on I feel :
    FRWL - Overall the film has a slow pace but it is very consistent and builds up tension and suspense
    OHMSS - Very long but doesn't really feel boring, quite an achievement for a film in which an the middle section doesn't move from a certain location.
    FYEO - Just moves along briskly, slipping action scenes in and about quite an interesting story
    GE - The most well paced film out the series IMO. Doesn't just burst into an action scene every 5 minutes; instead it gives time for the story to unfold
    TWINE - Can't understand why people say this is slow or boring. I think it is much better paced that TND and has a more intriguing story for us to try and decipher.
    CR - Long but split up into 3 very clear acts. The first two being absolutely excellent. It's a shame the ending lets it down slightly.

    For me, Lewis Gilbert's films were had terrible pacing. YOLT is just a mess, but an entertaining one :)
    ....and the best he ever managed was a sermon on the mount.
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