James Bond Movies Peaked For You With (place movie(s) here)

chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,062MI6 Agent
edited November 2014 in The James Bond Films
The Living Daylights.
The stars alligned, Tim was cast & needed to do him literary, the budget was relatively small forcing a focus on character & not explosions, we still got the funny (animal scares & salt corrosion), quirky bad guys, the final Cold War thriller, Barry at his best, realistic romance, and a kick-arse final showdown between Bond & a henchman. Best movie since Goldfinger (an arguable peak in itself, and Blackleiter's obvious choice, heh heh).
Others might pick FRWL or TSWLM or SF or OHMSS...
Some might say they haven't peaked YET, but have been working up to it all along...

Thoughts?
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
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Comments

  • broadshoulderbroadshoulder Acton, London, UKPosts: 1,363MI6 Agent
    They haven't peaked yet

    To be honest a film series which has been going on for fifty years keeps its standards pretty high

    They have not been totally taken over by Hollywood. No sign of him being dumbed down, fighting high school battles, taking the girl to the prom - all would have happened under some studios.

    The thing is the Bond movies are international with a strong British bent. They go out and explore the world. You get Udaipur on the big screen, or Jamaica or the outer islands of Japan. People can go to these places. Its not another car chase round Los Angeles or a rom-com in New York - which seems to permeate most American films.

    Give me La Paz or Macau, Corfu, Chantilly or Karlmarxstadt. Hopefully they will never be bland...
    1. For Your Eyes Only 2. The Living Daylights 3 From Russia with Love 4. Casino Royale 5. OHMSS 6. Skyfall
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 38,104Chief of Staff
    Nicely put. +1.
  • JamesbondjrJamesbondjr Posts: 462MI6 Agent
    For me the series has peaked three times and has been allowed to do this with some serious dips in quality. The peaks for me would be:

    On Her Majesty's Secret Service - Four of the preceding Connery films are incredible and FRWL nears perfection but none of them reach the heights of OHMSS which is the crowning jewel of 60s Bond. script, story, direction, cast and design are all near perfect and despite the odds against them having just lost their leading man they pulled a masterpiece out of the bag.

    The Living Daylights - They years '71 - '83 served up a real mixed bag in terms quality but nothing there comes close to what followed when the series started to return to it's more serious roots. Elements of Moore's tenure remain but the balance between the real and fantastical are handled more maturely and it makes for a spectacular return to form for the series.

    Casino Royale - Between '89 and '02 we are again given a real mixed bag from the series, LTK is brilliant as is Goldeneye but Brosnan's films took a marked drop in quality after the first one. Then in 2006 we get Casino Royale. As with OHMSS, all the elements came together perfectly to create what could possible be the greatest film in the series (it jostles for position with OHMSS on my list).

    I look forward to the next peak :)
    1- On Her Majesty's Secret Service 2- Casino Royale 3- Licence To Kill 4- Goldeneye 5- From Russia With Love
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Agreed with "they haven't peaked yet" {[]
    My favourite Bond list has OHMSS and CR in it so that's a big gap in years
    But no drop in quality. -{ :)
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,926MI6 Agent
    OHMSS and TLD -{
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
  • Virgil37Virgil37 Posts: 1,212MI6 Agent
    Bond films are a 60s phenomenon, so I'm not going to say personal favourites. The Bondmania peaked at around 1965-1966 with GF and TB (both were released near Christmas and had their run the next year).

    However, in terms of the franchise working as an well oiled machine and releasing steadily one good film after the other, I always felt that the late 70s and 80s was the best period, even though the box office was declining as Moore got older. The cinematography, the editing, the stunts, the locations, the soundtracks, were all top notch.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,062MI6 Agent
    Jamesbondjr wrote:
    On Her Majesty's Secret Service - Four of the preceding Connery films are incredible and FRWL nears perfection but none of them reach the heights of OHMSS which is the crowning jewel of 60s Bond. script, story, direction, cast and design are all near perfect and despite the odds against them having just lost their leading man they pulled a masterpiece out of the bag.
    +1
    My first Bond was DAF and I loved it. I can't imagine what I would hav thought of it if OHMSS had been my first instead... 8-)
    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
  • BlackleiterBlackleiter Washington, DCPosts: 5,615MI6 Agent
    chrisisall wrote:
    Best movie since Goldfinger (an arguable peak in itself, and Blackleiter's obvious choice, heh heh).

    Sigh............I'm so predictable! :(
    "Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,926MI6 Agent
    The older you get...
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
  • BlackleiterBlackleiter Washington, DCPosts: 5,615MI6 Agent
    AlphaOmegaSin wrote:
    The older you get...

    I know, the wiser I get. But I wish I could still surprise you folks every once in a while. :D
    "Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,926MI6 Agent
    :)) Your true Love for AVTAK will surprise us yet -{
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
  • BlackleiterBlackleiter Washington, DCPosts: 5,615MI6 Agent
    AlphaOmegaSin wrote:
    :)) Your true Love for AVTAK will surprise us yet -{

    Perhaps that will come - when Alzheimer's has taken over completely! :))
    "Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,926MI6 Agent
    I thought it already had? :))
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
  • BlackleiterBlackleiter Washington, DCPosts: 5,615MI6 Agent
    AlphaOmegaSin wrote:
    I thought it already had? :))

    What already had???
    "Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,926MI6 Agent
    :)) :))
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
  • AdamOmegaAdamOmega Edmonton, AB, CanadaPosts: 297MI6 Agent
    This thread title had me a bit confused... so I'll provide two answers? :P

    James Bond movies peaked for me (myself) watching Moonraker or A View to a Kill at a very young age. This is roughly when I considered myself a serious fan of the franchise. -{

    Overall... while I'm tempted to side with the argument that the Bond movies never really "peaked" at all, with the franchise maintaining a consistency over a fifty-year period, the films that I feel best represent the peak would be:

    Goldfinger
    The Spy Who Loved Me
    GoldenEye
    Casino Royale

    With the exception of Goldfinger, the other three films I mentioned revived the franchise and rekindled public interest in the Bond movies after somewhat desperate circumstances. Much as I love On Her Majesty's Secret Service, which is in itself a high point in the series overall, I hesitate to consider it a "peak" mainly due to the (unfair) critical consensus at the time, which didn't do much for the franchise publicly. And though OHMSS is significantly better than You Only Live Twice, *that* film didn't really leave the series in dire straits...
    "The secret agent. The man who was only a silhouette..." -- Ian Fleming, Moonraker

    1) The Spy Who Loved Me 2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 3) GoldenEye 4) Casino Royale 5) Goldfinger
  • FiremassFiremass AlaskaPosts: 1,910MI6 Agent
    AdamOmega wrote:
    the films that I feel best represent the peak would be:

    Goldfinger
    The Spy Who Loved Me
    GoldenEye
    Casino Royale

    I tend to agree the highest grossing box-office hits are the best in the series. These 4 films represent the high points of the series in quality, production value, and popularity with audiences.

    Goldfinger
    The Spy Who Loved Me/Moonraker
    Goldeneye

    There's no denying the popularity of Casino Royale and Skyfall, however, for either of those films to be considered "peak 007" is a joke to me.
    My current 10 favorite:

    1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
  • broadshoulderbroadshoulder Acton, London, UKPosts: 1,363MI6 Agent
    OK, OK you have forced my hand. What I am looking for creatively. The best of the best. They would be

    From Russia with Love
    Goldfinger
    OHMSS
    Casino Royale
    Skyfall

    With "Spy" and TLD bringing up the rear. To be honest if James Bond roles on for a few films those films are what I would call the most creative. James Bond won't. As Anthony Burgess said "he's immortal"

    and I think the next two, helmed by mendes and craig are two we have to look at...
    1. For Your Eyes Only 2. The Living Daylights 3 From Russia with Love 4. Casino Royale 5. OHMSS 6. Skyfall
  • FiremassFiremass AlaskaPosts: 1,910MI6 Agent
    Why do you think it's "creative" to faithfully follow the Fleming novel ?
    My current 10 favorite:

    1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
  • broadshoulderbroadshoulder Acton, London, UKPosts: 1,363MI6 Agent
    Firemass wrote:
    Why do you think it's "creative" to faithfully follow the Fleming novel ?



    yes. I do. Those first four I really believe are very close to the novel. Also I think Skyfall would have been what Fleming would have written had he been around in 2012.

    Skyfall is very Flemingesque
    1. For Your Eyes Only 2. The Living Daylights 3 From Russia with Love 4. Casino Royale 5. OHMSS 6. Skyfall
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    To be honest, if you don't try and stay close to the spirt of Fleming
    Then, really what's the point ? You might as well watch Bourne. There's
    No Fleming in there.
    Fleming came up with the most extraordinary gentleman spy, millions
    Read his books and loved them. If it wasn't for the popularity of the books
    We would never of had the films.
    By all means sing the Praises of Sir Roger from the rooftops, but even he
    Read the books for research, mentioning the beginning of Goldfinger, where
    Bond says he dislikes killing, but that he takes a pride in doing it well. -{
    As the song says " Nobody does it better " {[]
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Virgil37Virgil37 Posts: 1,212MI6 Agent
    Thunderpussy wrote:
    To be honest, if you don't try and stay close to the spirt of Fleming
    Then, really what's the point ? You might  as well watch Bourne. There's
    No Fleming in there.

    +Great point!
  • AdamOmegaAdamOmega Edmonton, AB, CanadaPosts: 297MI6 Agent
    Firemass wrote:
    There's no denying the popularity of Casino Royale and Skyfall, however, for either of those films to be considered "peak 007" is a joke to me.

    I'll defend Casino Royale's placement in this particular case. But the notion of Skyfall -- a contrived, intellectually dishonest albeit successful film that is a mild improvement over Quantum of Solace -- as any sort of franchise re-starter, or "peak" if you will, seems laughable at best.
    "The secret agent. The man who was only a silhouette..." -- Ian Fleming, Moonraker

    1) The Spy Who Loved Me 2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 3) GoldenEye 4) Casino Royale 5) Goldfinger
  • AdamOmegaAdamOmega Edmonton, AB, CanadaPosts: 297MI6 Agent
    broadshoulder wrote:
    Firemass wrote:
    Why do you think it's "creative" to faithfully follow the Fleming novel ?



    yes. I do. Those first four I really believe are very close to the novel. Also I think Skyfall would have been what Fleming would have written had he been around in 2012.

    Skyfall is very Flemingesque

    Is it possible to be creative and faithful to Fleming? Sure, and there are plenty of Bond films that are. But I think the more "creative" Bond films are the ones that take liberties with the source material (Moonraker), or have no source materials to begin with (The Spy Who Loved Me & Skyfall).
    "The secret agent. The man who was only a silhouette..." -- Ian Fleming, Moonraker

    1) The Spy Who Loved Me 2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 3) GoldenEye 4) Casino Royale 5) Goldfinger
  • broadshoulderbroadshoulder Acton, London, UKPosts: 1,363MI6 Agent
    AdamOmega wrote:
    . But I think the more "creative" Bond films are the ones that take liberties with the source material (Moonraker), or have no source materials to begin with (The Spy Who Loved Me & Skyfall).

    As much as I love Moonraker.....can you honestly see a Fleming novel which has a bondola shooting across St Marks Square...

    Skyfall is very Flemingesque. Its treatment of Bond is exemplary. His treatment getting back inside the service etc. What is not creative is yet another set piece film with thousands of extras, multiple explosians. "Spy", as much as I love it is YOLT and consequently Dr No..

    They are repeating stories
    1. For Your Eyes Only 2. The Living Daylights 3 From Russia with Love 4. Casino Royale 5. OHMSS 6. Skyfall
  • BlackleiterBlackleiter Washington, DCPosts: 5,615MI6 Agent
    AdamOmega wrote:
    Firemass wrote:
    There's no denying the popularity of Casino Royale and Skyfall, however, for either of those films to be considered "peak 007" is a joke to me.

    I'll defend Casino Royale's placement in this particular case. But the notion of Skyfall -- a contrived, intellectually dishonest albeit successful film that is a mild improvement over Quantum of Solace -- as any sort of franchise re-starter, or "peak" if you will, seems laughable at best.

    I absolutely agree that Casino Royale should be considered among the group representing James Bond films at their peak. No "joke" at all about that.
    "Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,062MI6 Agent
    After watching DN, FRWL & GF, I have to say the first amazing peak was here. -{
    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
  • Gassy ManGassy Man USAPosts: 2,972MI6 Agent
    edited November 2014
    None of the Bond films after the Connery/Lazenby/Connery era were ever as good. Even Casino Royale, which I very much enjoy, isn't as good as any of those films.

    It's interesting, as I was meeting with a student yesterday. He was working on an evaluative paper, and we looked at clips to see how acting styles and quality have changed over the years, and his response after seeing a clip from Dr. No (the dinner scene and the Professor Dent shooting) was amazement. He could tell how much more expressive the actors were in the older films than the newer ones, and he chuckled, saying that by contrast, the newer films mostly just had the actors posing, with the camera doing most of the work. I agreed wholeheartedly.
  • BlackleiterBlackleiter Washington, DCPosts: 5,615MI6 Agent
    Gassy Man wrote:
    None of the Bond films after the Connery/Lazenby/Connery era were ever as good. Even Casino Royale, which I very much enjoy, isn't as good as any of those films.

    So true!
    "Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
  • AdamOmegaAdamOmega Edmonton, AB, CanadaPosts: 297MI6 Agent
    Blackleiter wrote:
    Gassy Man wrote:
    None of the Bond films after the Connery/Lazenby/Connery era were ever as good. Even Casino Royale, which I very much enjoy, isn't as good as any of those films.

    So true!

    I disagree with this so much... not least of all because Diamonds Are Forever is included in this category.
    "The secret agent. The man who was only a silhouette..." -- Ian Fleming, Moonraker

    1) The Spy Who Loved Me 2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 3) GoldenEye 4) Casino Royale 5) Goldfinger
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