Views on the Bond Villains ?

Thunderpussy

Not so much your favourites etc but rather how well you think they were
Portrayed on screen ? My opinions are .........

Dr No, really liked Joseph Wiseman in Dr No, he has a great voice, Commanding
Yet emotionless an almost machine like quality. Sometimes I feel because he was
In the first film, he sometimes gets over looked.
Rosa Klebb, a great performance from Lotte Lenya another cold woman and works
Well with Vladek Sheybal ( Kronsteen), with Grant. They form a trinity of evil.
Goldfinger, Gert Frobe is fantastic, can't read the Book with out thinking of him, even
If Fleming describes him differently. Frobe makes a lot of gestures like rubbing his
Nose and eyes while talking.
Thunderball, Largo looks like an aging Italian playboy, and I think A Celi fits Fleming's
Description quite well. He's charming but with an undercurrent of violence. I love the
Eye patch.
YOLT, Blofeld as played by D Pleasence , with the scared eye is a fantastic visual icon
Which has lasted for decades, just look at Dr Evil. Sadly for Me although I find him
An odd villain, I found him cruel but not very menacing.
OHMSS, Telly is my favourite Blofeld, a big guy who looks like he could handle himself
In a fight, full of menace, almost an underlying threat in everything he says.
DAF, a very camp Blofeld from Charles Grey. Very polite gut never really all that frightening
As a villain.
I'll stop here and run through the Moore villains etc later. Although all views, opinions are
Welcome.

Absolutely_Cart

Dn - really good but underdeveloped
Frwl - rosa redgrant and blofeld all deliver
Tb - largo is very good
Yolt - my favorite incarnation of blofeld
Ohmss - a more realistic blofeld. Very good
Daf - gameshow host drag queen blofeld. Very bad.
Lald - kananga is all around very good.
Mwgg - scaramanga is one of the best
Tswlm - stromberg is good enough
Mr - okay but underdeveloped
Fyeo - kristatos is good enough.
Op - kamal khan is alright
Avtak - walken really owns max zorin. Good stuff
Tld - juggles numerous villains. None good and none bad.
Ltk - sanchez is one of the better villains

Thunderpussy

Mr Big, Great villain ( especially after DAF) suave criminal, with an air
Of controlled violence.
Scaramanga, very different from the " Thug" of Fleming's novel,but I do
Feel the Christoper Lee seemed to have played Scaramanga as a man
Who may not of had much formal education but was self taught from
Travelling etc. Lee is great at giving a look filled with hatred and really
Does fill the screen.
Stromberg, in my opinion, almost a " paint by numbers" villain, He didn't
Have much to do, almost a ringmaster sending out Jaws to do his dirty
Work but lacking any big scenes to act.
Drax, like Stromberg he ended up in a big fantasy story so didn't have many
Big acting scenes. Although he does get a few scenes to act slightly mad,
Like shouting at Jaws.
Kristatos, a very interesting Villain, as he seems to be as interested in his
Legitimate "face" as his criminal schemes.
Kamal Khan, charming man, but really couldn't care who has to die to fulfill
His business deals. Nicley played byLouis Jourdan.
Max Zorin,one of my favourite villains, C Walken gives a great performance
Just enough, to give the impression Zorin is a little unhinged.

By the way Absolutely_Cart, I love your description of Blofeld in DAF )

Dutchfinger

Great thread TP! - -{

DN - Perfect combination of genius and menace (Not Chinese looking at all though...)
FRWL - Both villians seem to have the perfect combo of over the top/ realistic
GF - Classic, great actor, larger than life
TB - First villian to be more bland compared to previous villians, he's memorable enough but without the eyepatch he's pretty generic
YOLT - Classic Blofeld, both creepy and cartoony. Not really commanding though
OHMSS - More realistic Blofeld, good actor. (Anyone ever found it strange to see the way he holded his cigarettes ?:) ) He did seem to have earlobes though :P
DAF - Completely miscast Blofeld - Posh - very weird - the drag bit was redicilious
LALD - Very good and menacing, poor Mr. Big disquise and death scene though
TMWTGG - One of the best in the series, everything top notch
TSWLM - Good villian, commanding voice, his swimminghands (don't know the English word) are pretty original
MR - Great actor, larger than life , amusing dialoque
FYEO - Liked the twist that Kristatos was the villian, he's not very memorable but does his job fine
OP - Creepy and sneaky villian with some great dialoque
AVTAK - Max Zorin is actually one of the strongest factors in the movie, very memorable
TLD - Poor villian(s) not memorable, Jeroen Krabbé doesn't really have great acting skills
LTK - Best Bond villian, very menacing, but also charming, likeable and realistic. He also has some great humerous moments ("launder it" and "'Cause I know things.. " )
GE - Original villian, good actor, memorable
TND - Good concept, but no menace and doesn't really stand out (liked his Wai Lin impression though ) )
TWINE - Only main female villian, great actress, hot, manipulative
DAD - Might have been a great villian for inspector gadget, but not so much Bond....
CR - Great villian, a bit myserious, like the blood weeping touch
QoS - Worst villian in the series, completely forgetable, nothing distinguishing
SF - Great villian! Love Bardem's acting, brings new things to the table. His whole introduction scene is brilliant. Like the way he laughs, Bardem completely sells the character!

Here's my 2 cents!

Thunderpussy

Yes, I commented before about how Telly holds his ciggies. Although
I think it help give an " off kilter " element to Blofeld, as if he didn't
Do things in a conventional manner ?
I think though it was just how he smoked, I think I remember him doing
It in other films.

Gassy Man

Throughout the 60s and early 70s, the villains were great, but you can chart their decline as the years went on. What made villains like Dr. No and Goldfinger so great is that their egos defined their actions -- the capers grew out of their personalities, and their personalities defined how they dressed, spoke, lived, and associated. In a way, their larger-than-life qualities made having to have them on screen for long periods of time unnecessary. Later, the villains became copies of copies and just seemed to service the plot, generally forgettable. Bond films still suffer from this two-dimensional quality to the villains, who also seemed to get smaller in personality over the years. Now they can be on screen for much of the film and still seem so ordinary. Seriously, take away Silva's platinum blond hair and cyanide capsule whatever, and exactly how colorful is he? He's the Joker meets Alec Trevelyan, another two-dimensional villain.

Gassy Man

Thunderpussy wrote:

Yes, I commented before about how Telly holds his ciggies. Although
I think it help give an " off kilter " element to Blofeld, as if he didn't
Do things in a conventional manner ?
I think though it was just how he smoked, I think I remember him doing
It in other films.

I've met older Europeans who hold their cigarettes that way. Perhaps the cigarette burns slower that way?

Thunderpussy

You do raise some interesting points, Gassy Man. Then again the
earlier Villains came from the imagination of Fleming and I think
His imagination was superior to some of the later screenwriters.
I thought the cigarette holding thing might have something to
Do with not getting stained fingers.?

Thunderpussy

TLD, I quite like Jeroen Krabbé, he's sleazy in a charming way but I
Find Brad Whitaker, is almost a comic relief in a Sheriff JW way.
LTK, Sanchez is a great Villain. Plenty of Controlled violence in an
Understated way and a great performance from Robert Davi.
GoldenEye, S Bean is a fine protagonist for Bond , great idea to put
Bond up against another "oo" , and he gets a couple of great confrontation
Scenes with 007.
TND, I think Pryce does a good job, but the villain's plan is a bit weak although
I do like the few scenes he has with P Brosnan.
TWINE, another nice idea, I did like the bit of a twist as to who was the villain.
Evil as they were, I did feel a little sympathy for them.
DAD, going against many, I liked Toby Stephens ! Though he played Graves as
An obnoxious banker type. Full or arrogance, loved it when Bond got the Better
Of him.

Absolutely_Cart

Ge - very good villain
Tnd - decent concept of a villain, poorly executed
Twine - unique villains. overall good.
Dad - i actually enjoyed the plot twist for the villains.
Cr - le chiffre was well portrayed here
QoS - understated villain. all around decent.
Sf - quality acting from javier bardem.

Thunderpussy

The Craig Villians,

CR, le chiffre a very stylish guy, very violent when needed, but seemed to regard it
as part of business. Gets some great screen time in several major exchanges with 007.
QOS, I feel Greene never got the screen time he deserved, his few scenes with Bond are great
Both insulting each other.
SF, Silva, is a larger than life villain, gets some great lines and scenes, Javier Bardem is
obviously enjoying the role.

MilleniumForce

I, not going to go into detail of all the villains, but here's a top 10 of my favourite villains:

10. Gustav Graves - Okay, so he may not have been the ultimate iconic villain, but I liked the idea of a celebrity being a villain, taken from Moonraker I believe?

9. Elektra King - Just the idea of the villain being the woman bond has fallen for intrigues me. And her and Renard kidnapping M is a great plot line.

8. Blofeld - Unlike most bond fans, I don't think too much about blofeld. However, minus the drag, I like Charles Gray portrayal the most. I think it's the voice.

7. Scaramanga - Whilst the Character may nog have been great, Christopher Lee does a wonderful performance.

6. Goldfinger - He's just right in this film. The performance, his plan, it just creates a great villain.

5. Sanchez - The darkest of allmthe villains, Sanchez You just can not like. And that works.

4. Alec Travelyean - Alec is chilling, Bean's portrayal and scars are very memorable.

3. Silva - A modern Connery/Dalton villain, it really is enjoyable to watch Javier Bardem. Extra points for being the only villain to ever succeed as well.

2. Hugo Drax - I don't know what it is. Had he been in a less elaborate film, such as a Connery film, he wouldn't be on this list. But his whole plan is interesting and he is a very memorable villain.

1. Max Zorin - Christopher Walken. I love the scen where he is killing all his workers. It's just so dark, and him laughing when he knows he's going to fall off the bridge. It's very entertaining to watch Christopher Walken.

beatles5

My Top 5 Bond Villans are
1. General Arkady Ourumov: Goldeneye
2. Franz Sanchez: Licence To Kill
3. General Orlov: Octopussy
4. La Chiffre: Casino Royale
5. Mr. Big: Live And Let Die

75vette

Top 5 Bond villains:
DN – Dr. No
CR – LeChiffre
SF – Silva
GF – Goldfinger
AVTAK – Zorin

Good villains:
TB – Largo
FRWL – Rosa Klebb
OHMSS – Blofeld
TMWTGG – Scaramanga
DAD – Graves
LTK – Sanchez
LALD – Mr. Big
TWINE – Elektra King
QOS – Greene

Okay villains:
YOLT –Blofeld
DAF –Blofeld
MR – Drax
OP – Orlov & Khan
TLD – Krabbe
TND – Carver

Forgettable villains:
GE – Trevelyan
TSWLM – Stromberg
FYEO – Kristatos

imho

Barbel

Main villain-

DN- not as per novel, but a good choice.
FRWL- perfect.
GF- better than perfect.
TB- ok.
YOLT- ok.
OHMSS- fine.
DAF- adequate.
LALD- not as per novel but no problems.
TMWTGG- better than the novel, the right man for the job.
TSWLM- ho hum. Dreary.
MR- not as per novel, but fine nonetheless.
FYEO- fine.
OP- no problems.
AVTAK- fine.
TLD- ho hum (one of this film's few weaknesses)
LTK- fine.
GE- fine.
TND- ok.
TWINE- fine.
DAD- oh dear.
CR- perfect.
QoS- oh dear.
SF- fine.

+
CR54- fine.
CR67- Orson Welles would have been great in a different movie.
NSNA- Klaus Maria Brandauer: ditto

chrisisall

DN- perfect.
FRWL- perfect.
GF- perfect.
TB- ok.
YOLT- ok.
OHMSS- fine.
DAF- adequate.
LALD- very good!
TMWTGG- Very good!
TSWLM- Good.
MR- I liked him, if not the film itself.
FYEO- fine.
OP- Excellent.
AVTAK- fine.
TLD- Okay.
LTK- Excellent!
GE- fine.
TND- fine.
TWINE- fine.
DAD- Okay.
CR- perfect.
QoS- Very good.
SF- Okay.

Blackleiter

DN- good
FRWL- excellent
GF- excellent
TB- okay
YOLT- weak
OHMSS- excellent
DAF- weak
LALD- excellent
TMWTGG- very good
TSWLM- weak
MR- good
FYEO- okay
OP- good
AVTAK- very good
TLD- okay
LTK- excellent
GE- good
TND- weak
TWINE- good
DAD- okay
CR- excellent
QoS- weak
SF- excellent

hot crossed bond

now which one is the best looking )