The Modern Classics
MilleniumForce
LondonPosts: 1,214MI6 Agent
What are the modern classic bond films? The most recent 'classic' by the non bond fan standards were TSWLM. So, any bond film that comes after that is a modern classic.
What I think are the modern classics:
- TLD : in the future, I imagine TLD will be as much loved as TWSLM or GF due to its similar tone to current films.
- GE : Same goes for this one
- CR : Not my favourite of bond films, but I imagine this one will be looked at at the same way we currently look at FRWL or DN, in that it is basic but has some great highlights.
- SF : Same reasons as above really, it has a similar tone to GF and is very muched liked at the moment.
What I think are the modern classics:
- TLD : in the future, I imagine TLD will be as much loved as TWSLM or GF due to its similar tone to current films.
- GE : Same goes for this one
- CR : Not my favourite of bond films, but I imagine this one will be looked at at the same way we currently look at FRWL or DN, in that it is basic but has some great highlights.
- SF : Same reasons as above really, it has a similar tone to GF and is very muched liked at the moment.
1.LTK 2.AVTAK 3.OP 4.FYEO 5.TND 6.LALD 7.GE 8.GF 9.TSWLM 10.SPECTRE 11.SF 12.MR 13.YOLT 14.TLD 15.CR (06) 16.TMWTGG 17.TB 18.FRWL 19.TWINE 20.OHMSS 21.DAF 22.DAD 23.QoS 24.NSNA 25.DN 26.CR (67)
Comments
Dalton's films, in my eyes, are superb, but that doesn't make them "classics".
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Classic?
DN - Yes
FRWL - Yes
GF - Yes
TB - Yes
YOLT - Maybe
OHMSS - Yes
DAF - No
LALD - Maybe
MWGG - No
TSWLM - Yes
MR - No
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
I agree with all these apart from Skyfall. Funny how the first three are the first Bond film for that particular actor.
TLD
GE
CR
-{
Then, maybe GE...
Then just maybe LTK, TND, CR & QOS... 8-)
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
TLD
LTK
CR
SF
Skyfall (I'm on the fence; it's a good Bond film, but I don't think it's as brilliant as people tell me it is).
Casino Royale (Absolutely -- the best Bond film since the 1960s)
Goldeneye (I'm not impressed, but it is a fan favorite)
The Living Daylights (While I don't think it will rise to OHMSS level, I do think more people will rethink this film in the future.)
For Your Eyes Only is conspicuously absent. First, it's outside of the 30 year mark. But more importantly, while it's a fan favorite, I'm not sure the general public feels that way or ever will. For many, it's a slower moving film than ones with more explosions and gags.
Lastly, I believe SPECTRE will be an outstanding film. It certainly has the best cast of any Bond film since Casino Royale, and I think now that he's settled in, Sam Mendes will work even harder to produce a memorable Bond film. This one could be Craig's Goldfinger, if they play it right. I'm not expecting it to be better than Casino Royale, but if they get the emotional qualities correct, it could be its equal as a different sort of Bond film . . . a more traditional one with modern sensibilities and the appropriate aesthetic. If that's the case, it could well be a classic in 30 years.
Think of Thunderball. Even if a sizeable portion of the Bond community think it's total crap, it's still a classic.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Moonraker - a marvel of cinematography, technology, set design, and pacing. All involved with the Bond series at the very height of their creative powers.
The Living Daylights - Dalton's popularity as 007 continues to grow.
Licence to Kill - Impressively dark and violent.
Goldeneye - Such a massive hit. There's no way this one will ever be forgotten. Especially if you grew up playing the N64 game.
Why these won't be considered classic:
FYEO - Dated soundtrack and fashion.
OP - Too many gags and goofy humor
AVTAK- Too much prejudice against this fine film. Admittedly Bond is also too old.
TND & TWINE - For some reason not as popular as Goldeneye. This is a mystery to me.
DAD- Maybe a cult classic because it contains so many bad moments.
CR - Over reliance on close-up shots of cellphones has already badly dated the film. Craig's re-boot will gradually go out of favor.
QoS- People just don't like this film for some reason.
SF - Too many plot holes and bad writing to hold up for the next several decades.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
GE - After the six year hiatus that followed Dalton's two films, this one brought us back to the type of Bond films a lot of fans enjoyed in the 70s and early 80s with a fresh, new Bond and slightly less silliness. A good debut for the new kid, a hard-nosed female M, a memorable villainess and a setting during the last vesitiges of the Cold War, GE fills the bill as a modern classic for me.
CR - Definitely a clean break from the past, with a story based on the Fleming novel that started it all and that many fans wanted to see be given the proper film treatment for years. Craig's gritty, yet refreshingly human portrayal of Bond at the beginning of his stint as a Double-O add to the appeal of this exceptionally well-made film. Add to that a Bond Girl for the ages in Eva Green's Vesper, I can see CR being highly thought of for many years to come.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
I don't like that. Ticket sales do not make a film a classic.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
How come Diamonds are forever is more of a classic than Octopussy?
Do you mean classic insofar as it is older and therefore looks more classic in style?
Or do you mean classic as in a film that the fans love and hail as a classic of it's genre/ type?
Either way, I don't believe ticket sales mean anything in this context.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
Right, in that case ticket sales would count if it was the highest earning Bond ever (which I think it was?).
But as far as it being a classic Bond film or a classic in it's genre, I would have to say no.
For example GoldenEye had the added benefit of having a very well known and popular video game made of it. A LOT of people my age (I'm 29) got into Bond because of that Nintendo 64 game.
Two of Brosnan's other movies were also turned into games. Tomorrow Never Dies on the Playstation, which has the unfortunate title of being one of the worst games ever produced. The controls were clunky, the graphics patchy at best.
The other was The World is Not Enough on both the N64 and PS1, the N64 version was sort of mirrored after GoldenEye, the Playstation version had a lot of the same issues that TND did, but it did have clips from the actual movie.
Personally, I think Die Another Day would have been a fun video game.
So I think the "classic" title for the modern James Bond movies can certainly be attributed to the added bonus of coming out at a time when video games had become really mainstream entertainment.
1: Brosnan 2: Craig 3: Moore 4: Dalton 5: Connery and 6: Lazenby
That's kind of what I'm thinking. Since GoldenEye is the first film back after the hiatus, I consider that to be the threshold movie.
1: Brosnan 2: Craig 3: Moore 4: Dalton 5: Connery and 6: Lazenby