Oh, those pesky & irritating Foreign Powers...

chrisisall

One thing I have always loved about the Bond movies is the high-minded world view they've taken. The Russians, Chinese & others have never been depicted as 'evil' so much as all players in the same game. The true evil lies with certain individuals & groups within these governments & countries.
It would have been so easy, especially in the first few films, to paint Russia & China as red Socialist thugs, deceivers of truth, and in fact the Devil's pawns.
That the films took the higher (& more narratively interesting) road is one of the many reasons for the series' long term success IMO.

So, thoughts?

Number24

You make a good point. Especially during the cold war it would have been so easy and natural to portray countries like the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, North Korea and obviously Norway as evil and a great treath to the UK and world peace in general. The way they have solved it is much smarter and more interesting. Such nations are portrayed as power players, or even brutal, but not really evil. One can only speculate what would've happened to EON and Daniel Craig if they made a movie where Bond is ordered to kill Kim Jong Il?

Thunderpussy

This all sounds like pinko commie talk to me )
I think they didn't want to hurt future film sales to
those countries ( smart move), it also kept Bond away
from real world politics.

Grindelwald

I'm convinced that Blofeld in YOLT is hinting that a SPECTRE led govt is to take over after US & Sovjet cease to exsist (with Blofeld as it's dictator ?)

chrisisall

Thunderpussy wrote:

This all sounds like pinko commie talk to me )

Thank you Archie Bunker.

I think they didn't want to hurt future film sales to
those countries ( smart move), it also kept Bond away
from real world politics.

Seriously, they could not have been thinking that far ahead back in '62 & '63.
Curiously, my current favourite Bond movie (TLD) flirted a bit with real world politics (what would become the pre-Taliban) and on my first viewing back in '87 I gritted my teeth... X-(

Thunderpussy

It's nothing personal, just business.

chrisisall

Thunderpussy wrote:

It's nothing personal, just business.

You earned it; you keep it.

Number24

Of cource it's a smart business move, but it's also smart politically and storywise. :007)

Thunderpussy

I remember reading The Saint had to be redubbed for the Chinese market
( obviously) but they also had to make the red Chinese less the villains as
In many episodes of the Saint they were the bad guys.
So I do think the producers were very clever in using Spectre as the real
Villains playing both sides against each other. Which also wouldn't hurt sales
In years to come.

chrisisall

Number24 wrote:

Of cource it's a smart business move, but it's also smart politically and storywise. :007)

Exactly! -{

Thunderpussy

These days I think it's not so much countries or their
political ideals that can be the villains, but rather the large
world wide companies. That can control millions of lives.

chrisisall

Thunderpussy wrote:

These days I think it's not so much countries or their
political ideals that can be the villains, but rather the large
world wide companies. That can control millions of lives.

Omni Consumer Products?

Thunderpussy

Yes and The Umbrella Corporation these may be fictional but like all
Good fiction, very close to the truth.

chrisisall

Thunderpussy wrote:

Yes and The Umbrella Corporation these may be fictional but like all
Good fiction, very close to the truth.

"Power isn't given, real power is something ya take!"

Thunderpussy

) ) )