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MR and TSWLM are my favourite epics. TSWLM will over time probably end up higher than MR (I do think TSWLM is the better film) but MR's scope, special effects and tight storyline wins me over each time I watch it. I watch it in awe. TSWLM is just excellent - everyone knows that haha.
To ME, there are three epic Bond movies- YOLT, TSWLM & MR. YOLT is MY favourite epic Bond... but it's all good. -{
The perfect Bond film for me, this film had the feel of a down to earth espionage film but also has over the top elements such as Spectre themselves, also the briefcase being one of the most simple but effective gadgets in the franchise. It also has an Hitchcockian feel to its style, which helps it stand out.
2. The Spy Who Loved Me
The quintessential over the top Bond film and Roger Moore's best, this movie proved that Bond can survive without Connery.
3. Casino Royale
The most bare bones, down to earth and gritty installment in the franchise and still Craig's best Bond film, while being influenced by the success of the Bourne films I think CR took those elements and forged its own identity and while taking liberties was still faithful to the source material that started it all.
4. Goldfinger
The film that truly cemented Bond as a pop culture phenomenon and introduced several iconic elements to the franchise notably the special equipped vehicles and the Bond song.
5. GoldenEye
This film had the toughest task of all the Bond films had to face, prove that Bond was still relevant in a post Cold War world and to say it succeeded would be an understatement. It brought Bond into the 90s with a bang and of course inspired a game tie in that had a major impact on first person shooters for the years to come.
The film that truly cemented Bond as a pop culture phenomenon and introduced several iconic elements to the franchise notably the special equipped vehicles and the Bond song.
The perfect Bond film for me, this film had the feel of a down to earth espionage film but also has over the top elements such as Spectre themselves, also the briefcase being one of the most simple but effective gadgets in the franchise. It also has an Hitchcockian feel to its style, which helps it stand out.
2. The Spy Who Loved Me
The quintessential over the top Bond film and Roger Moore's best, this movie proved that Bond can survive without Connery.
3. Casino Royale
The most bare bones, down to earth and gritty installment in the franchise and still Craig's best Bond film, while being influenced by the success of the Bourne films I think CR took those elements and forged its own identity and while taking liberties was still faithful to the source material that started it all.
4. Goldfinger
The film that truly cemented Bond as a pop culture phenomenon and introduced several iconic elements to the franchise notably the special equipped vehicles and the Bond song.
5. GoldenEye
This film had the toughest task of all the Bond films had to face, prove that Bond was still relevant in a post Cold War world and to say it succeeded would be an understatement. It brought Bond into the 90s with a bang and of course inspired a game tie in that had a major impact on first person shooters for the years to come.
Have to say that you've essentially selected the Bond: Greatest hits across the 60 years - nice write up and agreed with all your points.
My top five (in order) are CR, OHMSS, GF, SF, and FRWL.
They all have a level of emotional engagement that most of the other films lack. The emotional engagement in GF is that Bond truly hates Goldfinger, more so than any of the other villains (he should hate Blofeld in DAF, but, well, that's another story). There's far more personal interaction between Goldfinger and Bond than between Bond and any other villain. LTK comes the closest (and it's No. 6 on my list).
superadoRegent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,656MI6 Agent
edited September 2017
Limiting it to 5 is hard, because I could have a list of 8 or 9 and there would be a huge gap between the rest. Nonetheless...
OHMSS, Fleming’s utmost labor of love, interpreted by Hunt’s labor of love.
FRWL, captured the feel of the Cold War ala Fleming. The story and setting were also quintessential Fleming, more so than the superior OHMSS, if that makes sense.
FYEO, such a romantic theme song + the appearance of Sheena Easton, Greek locales, Carole Bouquet. :x Sir Rog's toughest rendition of Bond ever with no major gadgets.
TLD, Fleming’s Bond come to life, updated for the then contemporary 80’s, tall, dark, handsome…and young with just the right amount of neurosis (or maybe too much for Higgins ) ) carried over from his literary counterpart. TD's Bond was also a nice, fresh contrast to the lighter, latter ageing Bond of the late Sir Rog.
GE, the return of Bond that brought back so many elements from both the films and books (and then some, like my personal secret agent ideal of Bond in proper assault gear) that were near and dear to my heart, which includes the toughening of 007 in fight scenes, a ruthless Bond (karate chopping Xenia), the DB5, encountering a female driver at speed, Bond taking on an army of Russians in an unprecedented manner…with a machine gun and a rampaging tank, a young, handsome and well dressed Bond, etc.
"...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
Four different Bonds in my top 5 with Brosnan just missing the cut at number 6. Craig’s first entry in my list is at number 9 with Casino Royale but that is a movie that I love too. I just have a list of 24 favourite Bond movies! What is there to analyse? Not really biased towards a certain actor although Moor is my favourite Bond. Do I like a more serious Bond? Not really I guess, as I wouldn’t call Octopussy or The Spy Who Loved me really serious movies. Gadget laden? No, not that either, TSWLM has a lot of gadgets but FRWL and OHMSS are devoid of them. I love Ken Adam’s sets but in only one of my top 5 movies was he the art director. A certain decade? Nope, ‘60s, ‘70s ‘80s are all there with the ‘90s and ‘00s close to the top 5. I am however a John Barry fan with 4 out of 5 soundtracks scored by the master himself.
Have to say that you've essentially selected the Bond: Greatest hits across the 60 years - nice write up and agreed with all your points.
Thanks, I had a bit of trouble deciding number 5 whether it was GoldenEye or On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
I really like OHMSS, I liked the way it was shot, the action choreography is top notch especially in the fight scenes, Diana Riggs is my favorite Bond girl and Tony Savalis is my favorite Blofeld (I like the idea of Blofeld being a mastermind who isnt above doing the dirty work himself if all else fails and from what I understand this was close to the Fleming Blofeld) and the ending is one of the most memorable and heart wrenching moments in the franchise.
However what made it miss my top 5 apart from some continuity issues (which occured because director Peter Hunt wanted to stay faithful to the book) was Bond himself George Lazenby, don't get me wrong I don't think he's as bad as many make him out to be, considering at the time he was a model who's biggest acting gig at the time was starring in an ice cream commercial, in fact he really nails the scenes where Bond was doing the action stuff especially since Lazenby was confirmed to be former a combat instructor in the Australian Army and he did a more than commendable job in the scenes where Bond was venerable but what hurts his performance is that he couldn't pull off the "Bond" charm at least at that time, who knows he could've improved a lot if he stuck around.
However as it stands, it slightly misses the top 5.
This looks interesting, self-analyzing the movies that work best personally.
Top ones for starters:
Goldeneye, TLD, GF. Movies that are nearly perfect. I like just about all the movies that debut a new James Bond, and I feel like there's something "pure" about having Bond face off with or deal with Russia. Sure, GE is post-Cold War, but I like Russia as a source of danger. Not sure what that says about me. I really like a gadget laden car sequence, so that's where TLD and GF win points (although I can't explain why TND's car sequence doesn't work for me).
So I'll add in:
FYEO for the Cold War angle, and
Casino Royale for being such a strong debut movie for Daniel Craig...and James Bond.
I will say though, once the car has been expended, I still like gadgets, but kept minimal. Dalton's key ring + finder is an amazing compact thing, my favorite. Live and Let Die is a close one for the list because it plays with expectations with a compact gadget (the watch that he is unable to use to bring a boat to him). LTK is really close for my list, I want to say that FYEO takes a spot that LTK would have had. For me, with LTK, I like the darkness, except for one thing: Della. What happens to Della is just one step too far for me, going dark. If it was just Leiter, then I could take pleasure in enjoying Robert Davi as Sanchez; what he does to Leiter and Lupe's boyfriend at the beginning is enough to tell me he's got to go down. But Della, that's just too cruel and sick and callous. Without that taint, LTK is such an engaging movie with excellent action sequences and shaking the image of how much you can leave 007 in a bloodied mess at the end for his efforts, and that haunted look in Bond's eyes after offing Sanchez. Q's role is utterly delightful. LTK is nearly perfect, but I have to tune out something from early in the film that's just way too ugly. Benecio Del Torro's character getting chopped up/pulverized is a great punishment, but it doesn't make up for his crimes.
So I guess in all I like a lot of the films that are a good balance of fun and darkness, minimalist with gadgets, a good vehicle, a solid beginnings. It doesn't surprise me that I like beginnings a lot, I've known that preference about myself for a while.
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
4. The Living Daylights
5. Skyfall
CR, OHMSS, and TLD are essentially love stories, so I believe I sway towards the stories that put the romance between Bond and the lead female in focus. All three are also the first of that actor's tenure as Bond.
All five films are fairly serious and Flemingesque, with only TSWLM straying from the source material and including a bigger sense of humour. But even that is restrained in comparison to the film it follows and precedes in the 70s. All five films feature the best performances by their respective actors too. Further, all five films occurred during a transition period in the series, whether it was the introduction of a new actor (OHMSS, TLD, CR) or a follow up to a film that flopped (TSWLM, SF).
CR, OHMSS, and SF are epic in their scope, being three of the longest running films in the series. TSWLM also has a grand scale of its adventure if not its running time.
Music is also an important feature of these films. OHMSS and TLD feature two of Barry's best scores, while CR and SF feature great scores by David Arnold and Thomas Newman. TSWLM is the oddball out here.
Daniel Craig features in two of my top five, while Lazenby, Moore, and Dalton feature in each of the others. Connery and Brosnan just miss out (FRWL and GE are numbers 6 and 7). I wouldn't call Craig my favourite but I do enjoy his blunt portrayal of Bond.
4 out of the five films show Bond vulnefable. Hell, even Spy has a brief moment of vulnerability at the end of the film.
True, I didn't think of that. The scenes on the boat in Egypt in particular stand out now I think about it. And of course there's the "lovers tiff" when Anya learns Bond killed her boyfriend. I still don't think the love motif is as prominent as the other films in my top 5 though. But its good to see it fits the pattern. ☺
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
4. The Living Daylights
5. Skyfall
CR, OHMSS, and TLD are essentially love stories, so I believe I sway towards the stories that put the romance between Bond and the lead female in focus. All three are also the first of that actor's tenure as Bond.
All five films are fairly serious and Flemingesque, with only TSWLM straying from the source material and including a bigger sense of humour. But even that is restrained in comparison to the film it follows and precedes in the 70s. All five films feature the best performances by their respective actors too. Further, all five films occurred during a transition period in the series, whether it was the introduction of a new actor (OHMSS, TLD, CR) or a follow up to a film that flopped (TSWLM, SF).
CR, OHMSS, and SF are epic in their scope, being three of the longest running films in the series. TSWLM also has a grand scale of its adventure if not its running time.
Music is also an important feature of these films. OHMSS and TLD feature two of Barry's best scores, while CR and SF feature great scores by David Arnold and Thomas Newman. TSWLM is the oddball out here.
Daniel Craig features in two of my top five, while Lazenby, Moore, and Dalton feature in each of the others. Connery and Brosnan just miss out (FRWL and GE are numbers 6 and 7). I wouldn't call Craig my favourite but I do enjoy his blunt portrayal of Bond.
4 out of the five films show Bond vulnefable. Hell, even Spy has a brief moment of vulnerability at the end of the film.
I'm no fan of QOS, but even I can't descrbe it as a flop. True it performed less well than CR and the critical reception was mixed/muted. It has a loyal and passionate fanbase here and elsewhere and still made a ton of money. I get that Eon don't see it as a high watermark and neither do I but not a flop
Of that of which we cannot speak we must pass over in silence- Ludwig Wittgenstein.
Comments
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
The perfect Bond film for me, this film had the feel of a down to earth espionage film but also has over the top elements such as Spectre themselves, also the briefcase being one of the most simple but effective gadgets in the franchise. It also has an Hitchcockian feel to its style, which helps it stand out.
2. The Spy Who Loved Me
The quintessential over the top Bond film and Roger Moore's best, this movie proved that Bond can survive without Connery.
3. Casino Royale
The most bare bones, down to earth and gritty installment in the franchise and still Craig's best Bond film, while being influenced by the success of the Bourne films I think CR took those elements and forged its own identity and while taking liberties was still faithful to the source material that started it all.
4. Goldfinger
The film that truly cemented Bond as a pop culture phenomenon and introduced several iconic elements to the franchise notably the special equipped vehicles and the Bond song.
5. GoldenEye
This film had the toughest task of all the Bond films had to face, prove that Bond was still relevant in a post Cold War world and to say it succeeded would be an understatement. It brought Bond into the 90s with a bang and of course inspired a game tie in that had a major impact on first person shooters for the 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
Have to say that you've essentially selected the Bond: Greatest hits across the 60 years - nice write up and agreed with all your points.
"Better make that two."
They all have a level of emotional engagement that most of the other films lack. The emotional engagement in GF is that Bond truly hates Goldfinger, more so than any of the other villains (he should hate Blofeld in DAF, but, well, that's another story). There's far more personal interaction between Goldfinger and Bond than between Bond and any other villain. LTK comes the closest (and it's No. 6 on my list).
OHMSS, Fleming’s utmost labor of love, interpreted by Hunt’s labor of love.
FRWL, captured the feel of the Cold War ala Fleming. The story and setting were also quintessential Fleming, more so than the superior OHMSS, if that makes sense.
FYEO, such a romantic theme song + the appearance of Sheena Easton, Greek locales, Carole Bouquet. :x Sir Rog's toughest rendition of Bond ever with no major gadgets.
TLD, Fleming’s Bond come to life, updated for the then contemporary 80’s, tall, dark, handsome…and young with just the right amount of neurosis (or maybe too much for Higgins
GE, the return of Bond that brought back so many elements from both the films and books (and then some, like my personal secret agent ideal of Bond in proper assault gear) that were near and dear to my heart, which includes the toughening of 007 in fight scenes, a ruthless Bond (karate chopping Xenia), the DB5, encountering a female driver at speed, Bond taking on an army of Russians in an unprecedented manner…with a machine gun and a rampaging tank, a young, handsome and well dressed Bond, etc.
4. TSWLM
3. OP
2. FRWL
1. OHMSS
Four different Bonds in my top 5 with Brosnan just missing the cut at number 6. Craig’s first entry in my list is at number 9 with Casino Royale but that is a movie that I love too. I just have a list of 24 favourite Bond movies! What is there to analyse? Not really biased towards a certain actor although Moor is my favourite Bond. Do I like a more serious Bond? Not really I guess, as I wouldn’t call Octopussy or The Spy Who Loved me really serious movies. Gadget laden? No, not that either, TSWLM has a lot of gadgets but FRWL and OHMSS are devoid of them. I love Ken Adam’s sets but in only one of my top 5 movies was he the art director. A certain decade? Nope, ‘60s, ‘70s ‘80s are all there with the ‘90s and ‘00s close to the top 5. I am however a John Barry fan with 4 out of 5 soundtracks scored by the master himself.
Thanks, I had a bit of trouble deciding number 5 whether it was GoldenEye or On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
I really like OHMSS, I liked the way it was shot, the action choreography is top notch especially in the fight scenes, Diana Riggs is my favorite Bond girl and Tony Savalis is my favorite Blofeld (I like the idea of Blofeld being a mastermind who isnt above doing the dirty work himself if all else fails and from what I understand this was close to the Fleming Blofeld) and the ending is one of the most memorable and heart wrenching moments in the franchise.
However what made it miss my top 5 apart from some continuity issues (which occured because director Peter Hunt wanted to stay faithful to the book) was Bond himself George Lazenby, don't get me wrong I don't think he's as bad as many make him out to be, considering at the time he was a model who's biggest acting gig at the time was starring in an ice cream commercial, in fact he really nails the scenes where Bond was doing the action stuff especially since Lazenby was confirmed to be former a combat instructor in the Australian Army and he did a more than commendable job in the scenes where Bond was venerable but what hurts his performance is that he couldn't pull off the "Bond" charm at least at that time, who knows he could've improved a lot if he stuck around.
However as it stands, it slightly misses the top 5.
Top ones for starters:
Goldeneye, TLD, GF. Movies that are nearly perfect. I like just about all the movies that debut a new James Bond, and I feel like there's something "pure" about having Bond face off with or deal with Russia. Sure, GE is post-Cold War, but I like Russia as a source of danger. Not sure what that says about me. I really like a gadget laden car sequence, so that's where TLD and GF win points (although I can't explain why TND's car sequence doesn't work for me).
So I'll add in:
FYEO for the Cold War angle, and
Casino Royale for being such a strong debut movie for Daniel Craig...and James Bond.
I will say though, once the car has been expended, I still like gadgets, but kept minimal. Dalton's key ring + finder is an amazing compact thing, my favorite. Live and Let Die is a close one for the list because it plays with expectations with a compact gadget (the watch that he is unable to use to bring a boat to him). LTK is really close for my list, I want to say that FYEO takes a spot that LTK would have had. For me, with LTK, I like the darkness, except for one thing: Della. What happens to Della is just one step too far for me, going dark. If it was just Leiter, then I could take pleasure in enjoying Robert Davi as Sanchez; what he does to Leiter and Lupe's boyfriend at the beginning is enough to tell me he's got to go down. But Della, that's just too cruel and sick and callous. Without that taint, LTK is such an engaging movie with excellent action sequences and shaking the image of how much you can leave 007 in a bloodied mess at the end for his efforts, and that haunted look in Bond's eyes after offing Sanchez. Q's role is utterly delightful. LTK is nearly perfect, but I have to tune out something from early in the film that's just way too ugly. Benecio Del Torro's character getting chopped up/pulverized is a great punishment, but it doesn't make up for his crimes.
So I guess in all I like a lot of the films that are a good balance of fun and darkness, minimalist with gadgets, a good vehicle, a solid beginnings. It doesn't surprise me that I like beginnings a lot, I've known that preference about myself for a while.
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
4. The Living Daylights
5. Skyfall
CR, OHMSS, and TLD are essentially love stories, so I believe I sway towards the stories that put the romance between Bond and the lead female in focus. All three are also the first of that actor's tenure as Bond.
All five films are fairly serious and Flemingesque, with only TSWLM straying from the source material and including a bigger sense of humour. But even that is restrained in comparison to the film it follows and precedes in the 70s. All five films feature the best performances by their respective actors too. Further, all five films occurred during a transition period in the series, whether it was the introduction of a new actor (OHMSS, TLD, CR) or a follow up to a film that flopped (TSWLM, SF).
CR, OHMSS, and SF are epic in their scope, being three of the longest running films in the series. TSWLM also has a grand scale of its adventure if not its running time.
Music is also an important feature of these films. OHMSS and TLD feature two of Barry's best scores, while CR and SF feature great scores by David Arnold and Thomas Newman. TSWLM is the oddball out here.
Daniel Craig features in two of my top five, while Lazenby, Moore, and Dalton feature in each of the others. Connery and Brosnan just miss out (FRWL and GE are numbers 6 and 7). I wouldn't call Craig my favourite but I do enjoy his blunt portrayal of Bond.
4 out of the five films show Bond vulnefable. Hell, even Spy has a brief moment of vulnerability at the end of the film.
8. TMwtGG 9. AVtaK 10. TSWLM 11. SF 12. LtK 13. TND 14. YOLT
15. NTtD 16. MR 17. LaLD 18. GF 19. SP 20. DN 21. TB
22. TWiNE 23. DAD 24. QoS 25. DaF
I would say TSWLM also featured an above-average amount of focus on the relationship between Bond and Anya.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
8. TMwtGG 9. AVtaK 10. TSWLM 11. SF 12. LtK 13. TND 14. YOLT
15. NTtD 16. MR 17. LaLD 18. GF 19. SP 20. DN 21. TB
22. TWiNE 23. DAD 24. QoS 25. DaF
I'm no fan of QOS, but even I can't descrbe it as a flop. True it performed less well than CR and the critical reception was mixed/muted. It has a loyal and passionate fanbase here and elsewhere and still made a ton of money. I get that Eon don't see it as a high watermark and neither do I but not a flop