'A View To A Kill' - ripped off?
TheLazenby
Posts: 37MI6 Agent
Well, okay, perhaps "ripped off" is a bit harsh.... but I'm curious if AVTAK might've had a rather obscure inspiration.
A year before AVTAK was released, there was a Hong Kong comedy called "Our Man From Bond Street", the third in the 'Aces Go Places' (or in the US, 'Mad Mission') series. The villain of the film is in fact James Bond, played by Connery lookalike Jean Mersant, with one of his henchmen being Oddjob, and another henchman being played by Richard Kiel (sans silver teeth).
What's most striking, though, is that the whole Paris sequence, including a battle involving the Eiffel Tower's elevator, culminating in the main character parachuting from the top of the Eiffel Tower, seems right out of AVTAK.
The fact that a very similar scene appeared in *the very next Bond film* always seemed very, very odd to me. Any chance EON was inspired by this?
A year before AVTAK was released, there was a Hong Kong comedy called "Our Man From Bond Street", the third in the 'Aces Go Places' (or in the US, 'Mad Mission') series. The villain of the film is in fact James Bond, played by Connery lookalike Jean Mersant, with one of his henchmen being Oddjob, and another henchman being played by Richard Kiel (sans silver teeth).
What's most striking, though, is that the whole Paris sequence, including a battle involving the Eiffel Tower's elevator, culminating in the main character parachuting from the top of the Eiffel Tower, seems right out of AVTAK.
The fact that a very similar scene appeared in *the very next Bond film* always seemed very, very odd to me. Any chance EON was inspired by this?
Comments
Bound to use the tower.
Hell, that's even stranger than "Kaleidoscope", an MGM film with titles by Maurice Binder, having a remarkably (almost exactly) similar plot to "Casino Royale", and getting apparently no attention for that fact. (Not to mention, being released shortly after *another* psychedelic adaptation of "Casino Royale".)
Has anyone ever seen the Filipino comedy "For Your Height Only", starring Weng Weng (the smallest actor in history) as Agent 00? This film actually predates "For Your Eyes Only", but that phrase is general enough in spy films...... except that the recurring musical motif throughout the film actually resembles the opening melody of the theme from "For Your Eyes Only"! Weird, huh?
Sounds like a fun movie, I have to see it! Is it any good?
Yes - the whole "Mad Mission/Aces Go Places" series is excellent. The first is somewhat bland, but they get increasingly better - "Our Man From Bond Street" is the third. Besides the obvious Bond connections (well, and Bond being the villain), Peter Graves has a big role in it as well.
The dubbed "Mad Mission" version is easily available on Amazon - though I've been meaning to watch the original, subtitled "Aces Go Places" versions as I understand they're quite different. (I know for a fact that NONE of the character names are correct in the dubbed versions.)
That, I did know - I downloaded "Kiss The Girls..." at one point, but I'm not sure I ever watched it. I really should one of these days to see if I can spot the similarities.
Incidentally, if you want a great example of the inverse (Bond being ripped off), check out the Bollywood movie "Mr. Bond". Besides already being an unlicensed Bond movie - which they try to skirt by never mentioning his first name - the entire first portion of the movie is a direct rip-off of "Never Say Never Again", up to Bond being stabbed by the girl on the bed.
Do you think the EON producers actually watch all these foreign Bond knock-offs and parodies ?
TheLazenby posted a huge list of obscure "Bond related" films which most 007 fans have never heard of and will probably never see. There's likely to be several similarities and ideas floating around which we're not aware of.
Last night I watched "Kiss the Girls" and have to admit it was pretty good. Great fight scene on the Christ the Redeemer statue, funky colorful set designs, and a hilarious chauffeur who seriously kicks butt.
As for Moonraker stealing from it...well, I find the parallels amusing.
Do you think that because a Bond spin-off was filmed in Rio, that location should be off-limits for all future EON Bond films ?
The villains' schemes in both KTGAMTD and MR are similar in scope to Blofeld's plot in OHMSS. Sterilize livestock/humans with a nerve gas. I remember other sci-fi films that have also explored these concepts to varying degrees. (Humans with no sex drive, a world populated only by women, lifespans that end at 30, etc)
Just about everything is a remix of some sort. Nothing is completely original.
I don't value Moonraker for it's originality as it faithfully follows the Bond formula of YOLT and TSWLM.
Maybe Christopher Wood did nick a couple ideas from KTG, or maybe it was coincidence. Either way Moonraker is still a colossal work of high production value, stunning cinematography, and special effects. Nobody does it better.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK