I do think that final undeewater battle was rather self-indulgent.
It feels as though they wanted to cram as much footage in it as they could.
"Hostile takeovers. Shall we?"
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
A quick mention for one of my favourite scenes in the film. At the card table "I thought I saw a Spectre at your shoulder". Love how Bond goads Largo. Connery at his best. -{
Largo is a so-so villain for me. I do prefer him to Dominic Greene and Grey's Blofeld, but he's certainly not one of my faves.
"Hostile takeovers. Shall we?"
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
-Connery might not be as fiery as he was in FRWL but he still delivers pretty good imo
-Largo (I esp love the scene at the card table where Largo tries to warn Bond when he hints about SPECTRE , "where I come from we know how to deal with men like you"....or something to that extent)
-Fiona (Helga , Xenia and others all owe this character)
-the fake clone (foolish man , thinking he could strong arm Blofeld for money
-Domino
-Bahamas might very well be the location with the most Bondesque atmosphere :x
-Vargas (I found him less generic than other henchmen that came later , just cuz 007 killed him doesn't make him totally incompetent.....Bond is simply a clever fox and outsmarts most of the baddies :v
-John Barry (only minor nitpick but some of the non-action underwater cues can be a bit sleep enducing)
-great vehicles (Volante , Fionas bike and car....saw a replica of the car in Oslo , gorgeous)
-great poster campaign , this campaign is true Bond-style :007)
Cons :
-Underwater scenes (although personally they don't bother me that much)
-007 vs Largo aboard Volante (cutting TB some slack , it was the 60s after all)
I think it's just as good as FRWL and better than GF.
I think it's just as good as FRWL and better than GF.
Dunno about that, but I do know that I'd much rather watch GF.
To each their own.
"Hostile takeovers. Shall we?"
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
- PTS is great.
- Titles and title song is epic
- Molly Peters is beautiful
- Spectre meeting is iconic and classic
- Largo is a classy, well acted villain
- SC is in good form, looks fit, plays part well
- All girls, in particular Fiona Volpe are stunning
- Casino scene, lunch at Palmyra etc. are well done
- Good dialogue
- Widescreen looks great, Nassau is beautiful
- Underwater battle (while it drags) is very well shot and acted
- Film holds you in suspense for much of the way
- John Barry's score is lush and well done
- Scale is impressive and it's classy - well done T. Young.
- Awesome one-liners and some pretty funny jokes
Cons:
- Quite a few sped-up scenes are obvious, in particular the silly looking finale on Disco Volante, and general fight scenes/jumpy
- Underwater scenes do drag, lack structure/suspense
- Felix (Nutter) is a bit weak
Observations:
Appears the film is in quite bad condition despite restoration. There are some white-tracking lines in quite a few shots and black specs in wide shots at top right.
Clock in Shrublands is the same as on GF's Jet.
Felix Leiter's shirts!!
BluRay:
Great restoration, underwater scenes in particular are bright and clear. Obviously didn't want to go to the Vertigo level restoration and repair clear damage to the film.
Overall:
I've changed my opinion of Thunderball a bit. I now think it is better than Goldfinger - it just seems to be holding up better. It keeps me in suspense much more and despite both films having lagging final acts - I find Thunderball just has a bit more of the "I want to be there" magic. It feels a bit classier too.
I feel Young screwed up TB's pacing. I could rewatch this movie, but I'm in no hurry to do so.
I was baffled seeing that Clevver movies placed this film in their Top 5 (I think it was #3), and TLD wasn't even in the Top 15.
Even if I was being "objective", TB would be maybe at the #12 spot. I kinda agree with Calvin Dyson when he says that it's overrated.
"Hostile takeovers. Shall we?"
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
"Hostile takeovers. Shall we?"
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
Lol the reviewer appears to be a big TB fan .... As for the underwater sequences, they can appear tedious at times, however the details are shown nicely from how the bombs are acquired to stored .... it feels like a well crafted operation
On BR the movie looks great. And, it is easier to spot the double too in underwater sequences
"Hostile takeovers. Shall we?"
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
Largo is good as the villain. He is working in a team which includes Fiona .... He is usually calm but there are instances where he wants to act on instincts and kill Bond. He is reminded by Fiona that killing Bond would only make the secret service suspicious as to the whereabouts of the bombs .... He can be unforgiving too. There is an instance where he feeds one of his sharks with his employee. He also tortures Domino when he learns of her collaboration with Bond
So, overall, usually he is level headed. But he could lose it occasionally or be influenced by emotions or pressure situations. He is not the ice-cold type of villain in the mold of Drax, Stromberg, Blofeld, Scaramanga, etc. With the ice-cold types, you feel they have things under control. He is more in the lines of Sanchez, Silva, Zorin, etc. who can get emotional or even reckless
There are about three scenes where the pacing is a bit off, 1) Vulcan Scenes 2) Chase at the junkanoo 3) Underwater battle.
(1) Just drags a bit like the laying of the dynamite and lasering of the door in GF, telling the story with visuals for too long.
(2 and 3) TY just seems to get a bit carried away with thinking that the set-piece will carry the narrative enough - but it does just lose its structure.
But other than that, there are too many other redeeming features IMO.
I just looked at your ranking. Appears as if you have many of the iconic films lower down in your rankings .... However, it is good to see OHMSS, DN and TSWLM in your top 10
I just looked at your ranking. Appears as if you have many of the iconic films lower down in your rankings .... However, it is good to see OHMSS, DN and TSWLM in your top 10
Well thank you haha
I wouldn't call the films you talk about being necessarily lower in the rankings. The low rankings IMO for me are from 17 down, in particular the final 4.
I just looked at your ranking. Appears as if you have many of the iconic films lower down in your rankings .... However, it is good to see OHMSS, DN and TSWLM in your top 10
Well thank you haha
I wouldn't call the films you talk about being necessarily lower in the rankings. The low rankings IMO for me are from 17 down, in particular the final 4.
True, there is not much difference b/w some of the films, so at times ranking can be a mere exercise of handing out a number )
Largo for me falls into the good-but-not great category of BVs. He does come across well as a tough guy, but for me he's missing something.
I do tend to prefer the BVs that have some theatricality to them, which is possibly why I'm a big fan of Elliot Carver. I love the way Pryce portrayed him in TND and gave him that over-the-top touch.
Largo to me lacks that.
It's also probably why I like Pleasence the best of the Blofelds from the "YOLT/OHMSS/DAF Trilogy".
"Hostile takeovers. Shall we?"
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
Even though this isn't one of my fave Bond films, I will say that the score is imo one of its biggest strengths.
"Hostile takeovers. Shall we?"
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
Thunderball is just an epic production, an event movie, before we even had
event movies. All the money spent is up there on screen. If the Romans had
made films, they'd have made Thunderball ! -{
(Only the score lets it down ) .... only joking it's fantastic. Big,Bold and Bond.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Thunderball is just an epic production, an event movie, before we even had
event movies. All the money spent is up there on screen. If the Romans had
made films, they'd have made Thunderball ! -{
(Only the score lets it down ) .... only joking it's fantastic. Big,Bold and Bond.
I believe that to this day, when adjusted for inflation, TB made more money than any other Bond film.
"Hostile takeovers. Shall we?"
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
All US$700M+ .... SP will join the list. However, the $s for others will have to be adjusted to 2015 levels so their gross will increase too .... And you also have to consider that the old films did not have as wide a release as today's films
I think Thunderball may hold the record for the amount of people who
actually watched it at the cinema.
I think the formula for adjusting would be: number of tickets sold * current avg ticket price
When it comes to the western market, TB may have recorded a higher footfall. I am not sure if older films were as widely released internationally as today's films .... Globally, SF would have benefited from wider access to markets such as China, etc. .... So if we take various factors in to account including population growth rate, probably the older films would be hard to beat as they did more despite the relative limited market access
Comments
It feels as though they wanted to cram as much footage in it as they could.
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
LARGO...You know much about Guns Mr Bond
JB..........I know a lot about Women.
Class :007)
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
-the pts is pure classic pts , OTT yet bold -{
-Connery might not be as fiery as he was in FRWL but he still delivers pretty good imo
-Largo (I esp love the scene at the card table where Largo tries to warn Bond when he hints about SPECTRE , "where I come from we know how to deal with men like you"....or something to that extent)
-Fiona (Helga , Xenia and others all owe this character)
-the fake clone (foolish man , thinking he could strong arm Blofeld for money
-Domino
-Bahamas might very well be the location with the most Bondesque atmosphere :x
-Vargas (I found him less generic than other henchmen that came later , just cuz 007 killed him doesn't make him totally incompetent.....Bond is simply a clever fox and outsmarts most of the baddies :v
-John Barry (only minor nitpick but some of the non-action underwater cues can be a bit sleep enducing)
-great vehicles (Volante , Fionas bike and car....saw a replica of the car in Oslo , gorgeous)
-great poster campaign , this campaign is true Bond-style :007)
Cons :
-Underwater scenes (although personally they don't bother me that much)
-007 vs Largo aboard Volante (cutting TB some slack , it was the 60s after all)
I think it's just as good as FRWL and better than GF.
Dunno about that, but I do know that I'd much rather watch GF.
To each their own.
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
Pros:
- PTS is great.
- Titles and title song is epic
- Molly Peters is beautiful
- Spectre meeting is iconic and classic
- Largo is a classy, well acted villain
- SC is in good form, looks fit, plays part well
- All girls, in particular Fiona Volpe are stunning
- Casino scene, lunch at Palmyra etc. are well done
- Good dialogue
- Widescreen looks great, Nassau is beautiful
- Underwater battle (while it drags) is very well shot and acted
- Film holds you in suspense for much of the way
- John Barry's score is lush and well done
- Scale is impressive and it's classy - well done T. Young.
- Awesome one-liners and some pretty funny jokes
Cons:
- Quite a few sped-up scenes are obvious, in particular the silly looking finale on Disco Volante, and general fight scenes/jumpy
- Underwater scenes do drag, lack structure/suspense
- Felix (Nutter) is a bit weak
Observations:
Appears the film is in quite bad condition despite restoration. There are some white-tracking lines in quite a few shots and black specs in wide shots at top right.
Clock in Shrublands is the same as on GF's Jet.
Felix Leiter's shirts!!
BluRay:
Great restoration, underwater scenes in particular are bright and clear. Obviously didn't want to go to the Vertigo level restoration and repair clear damage to the film.
Overall:
I've changed my opinion of Thunderball a bit. I now think it is better than Goldfinger - it just seems to be holding up better. It keeps me in suspense much more and despite both films having lagging final acts - I find Thunderball just has a bit more of the "I want to be there" magic. It feels a bit classier too.
"Better make that two."
I was baffled seeing that Clevver movies placed this film in their Top 5 (I think it was #3), and TLD wasn't even in the Top 15.
Even if I was being "objective", TB would be maybe at the #12 spot. I kinda agree with Calvin Dyson when he says that it's overrated.
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
TB is definately one of the top and strongest Bond films. I would not be surprised even if it is rated at #1.
You might like this review then:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R36GR9WulzA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
Lol the reviewer appears to be a big TB fan .... As for the underwater sequences, they can appear tedious at times, however the details are shown nicely from how the bombs are acquired to stored .... it feels like a well crafted operation
On BR the movie looks great. And, it is easier to spot the double too in underwater sequences
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
Largo is good as the villain. He is working in a team which includes Fiona .... He is usually calm but there are instances where he wants to act on instincts and kill Bond. He is reminded by Fiona that killing Bond would only make the secret service suspicious as to the whereabouts of the bombs .... He can be unforgiving too. There is an instance where he feeds one of his sharks with his employee. He also tortures Domino when he learns of her collaboration with Bond
So, overall, usually he is level headed. But he could lose it occasionally or be influenced by emotions or pressure situations. He is not the ice-cold type of villain in the mold of Drax, Stromberg, Blofeld, Scaramanga, etc. With the ice-cold types, you feel they have things under control. He is more in the lines of Sanchez, Silva, Zorin, etc. who can get emotional or even reckless
There are about three scenes where the pacing is a bit off, 1) Vulcan Scenes 2) Chase at the junkanoo 3) Underwater battle.
(1) Just drags a bit like the laying of the dynamite and lasering of the door in GF, telling the story with visuals for too long.
(2 and 3) TY just seems to get a bit carried away with thinking that the set-piece will carry the narrative enough - but it does just lose its structure.
But other than that, there are too many other redeeming features IMO.
Well on my new ranking it moved from 19 to 14, so I don't rate it that highly. To me it fits into my "Very good" Bond film category!
"Better make that two."
I just looked at your ranking. Appears as if you have many of the iconic films lower down in your rankings .... However, it is good to see OHMSS, DN and TSWLM in your top 10
Well thank you
I wouldn't call the films you talk about being necessarily lower in the rankings. The low rankings IMO for me are from 17 down, in particular the final 4.
"Better make that two."
True, there is not much difference b/w some of the films, so at times ranking can be a mere exercise of handing out a number
I do tend to prefer the BVs that have some theatricality to them, which is possibly why I'm a big fan of Elliot Carver. I love the way Pryce portrayed him in TND and gave him that over-the-top touch.
Largo to me lacks that.
It's also probably why I like Pleasence the best of the Blofelds from the "YOLT/OHMSS/DAF Trilogy".
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
I tend to agree, could be to do with the fact that he isn't the actual villain and he's influenced by Fiona etc.
I just like how Largo is hospitable and relatively normal (like Goldfinger) instead of being a freak like DN, or Blofeld.
"Better make that two."
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
Oh yes, +1!
event movies.
made films, they'd have made Thunderball ! -{
(Only the score lets it down )
I agree. I recently got the Thunderball soundtrack and it is lush, beautiful and I love the Barry jazz base to it.
In fact, "Thunderball" the instrumental track on there is so good, it's made my dinner jazz playlist!!
"Better make that two."
+1
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
Based on 2012 $s (SF level), after adjusting for inflation, the top grossing films would be (in millions):
1. SF - $1121
2. TB - $1041
3. GF - $935
4. LALD - $846
5. YOLT - $776
6. TSWLM - $710
All US$700M+ .... SP will join the list. However, the $s for others will have to be adjusted to 2015 levels so their gross will increase too .... And you also have to consider that the old films did not have as wide a release as today's films
actually watched it at the cinema.
I think the formula for adjusting would be: number of tickets sold * current avg ticket price
When it comes to the western market, TB may have recorded a higher footfall. I am not sure if older films were as widely released internationally as today's films .... Globally, SF would have benefited from wider access to markets such as China, etc. .... So if we take various factors in to account including population growth rate, probably the older films would be hard to beat as they did more despite the relative limited market access