I liked Léa Seydoux in this, and I find it's unusual for a French actress speaking English to sound animated, imo they can sound deathly dull. That said, didn't Caroline Bouquet get dubbed for FYEO and that being the case, couldn't they have found someone with a livelier voice?
I know what you mean about the chemistry, it didn't stink but I'm not sure Craig has much chemistry with any actress other than Dame Judi. Oh, okay, actually Naomi Harris. Maybe the main women's roles are written too generically and cast too late in the day to allow for it.
I mentioned this in my review, the scene where he gives her the watch heavily reminded me of the Casino Royale scene where Vesper couldn't resist waking him.
Don't know if this has been mentioned but the jump in the demolished MI6 building reminded me of the TND escape from Carver's tower.
Did FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE last night. For me, this is one of the peaks of the entire series. Connery has settled into the role and has all of the swagger down pat. The plot itself is very strong with a clear through-line to it and very little fluff or silliness to distract from the mission at hand. The villains are all strong (especially Robert Shaw as Grant), and all of the supporting characters are engaging and fun. Kerim Bey makes for one of the best allies that Bond ever has in the series.
Side note: I forgot about the nudity in this from Daniela Bianchi as she enters Bond's bed. I'm rather surprised that that made it past the censors in 1963.
Ditto on all your points. FRWL is on my next to watch list. Supposedly, Daniela Bianchi wore a body stocking for that scene. Would have been nice though if the nudity were genuine...for art's sake of course )
"...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.....
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,872MI6 Agent
Did FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE last night. For me, this is one of the peaks of the entire series. Connery has settled into the role and has all of the swagger down pat. The plot itself is very strong with a clear through-line to it and very little fluff or silliness to distract from the mission at hand. The villains are all strong (especially Robert Shaw as Grant), and all of the supporting characters are engaging and fun. Kerim Bey makes for one of the best allies that Bond ever has in the series.
Side note: I forgot about the nudity in this from Daniela Bianchi as she enters Bond's bed. I'm rather surprised that that made it past the censors in 1963.
Ditto on all your points. FRWL is on my next to watch list. Supposedly, Daniela Bianchi wore a body stocking for that scene. Would have been nice though if the nudity were genuine...for art's sake of course )
Wasn't it a body double (again, sadly)?
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
I watched FRWL recently as well. It has one of my favourite scenes in the film, with the Mi6 staff listening in on Bond and Tanya. Bond tells Tanya about an interesting experience with M in Tokyo. Seeing M leap out of his chair at that moment to turn the machine off, was funny. Bernard Lee had great comic timing.
I'm not well read in 1963 censorship rules, so i assume the plot with Bond being blackmailed with a sex tape of him and Tanya, was pretty taboo at that time?
The fight on the train, is one of my favourite fights in the series. A brutal fight with great choreography!
I much prefer the faceless Blofeld, pre OHMSS. We don't see his face. We see his upper half and close ups of him stroking a cat. Anthony Dawson was masterfully dubbed by Eric Pohlmann. He was the perfect voice for Blofeld! Deep and sinister. His way interrogating agents who failed missions, was unique. Focusing on the innocent agent, catching the real culprit off guard then BANG! (Or a kick in the shin from Morzeny's poison tipped knife shoe in this case.)
Desmond Llewellyn was great in his debut. I wonder what would've happened if Guy Hamilton hadn't wanted Q to be irritated with Bond and kept the friendly nature of Q, throughout Desmond's tenure.
Pedro Armendariz had great chemistry with Sean and made Kerim Bey a memorable character. We won't see anything like this again until OHMSS with Draco.
Have you ever heard of the Emancipation Proclamation?"
I was watching the gritty black and white film This Sporting Life from around the same era with Richard Harris (and another actor who co-starred with him in The Wild Geese as the drill sergeant) and as it is about a rugby hero, there are a lot of bare male bums in it as they go into the showers afterwards, so I guess it was on the same basis, not sure if that had a different rating.
I want to start a reviewseries on 007 soon on YouTube, so I watched Dr. No this friday. It's really incredible what they could do with 1,1 million, what even at that time wasn't much. There are a lot of little flaws like audio syncing, but I quite like the film more because of that. It cleary shows the beginning of the series in that way, there wasn't much they could start with so it's rather incredible how good the movie is. I like it's slower tone, it's a move where basicly doesn't happen very much, but it makes for a nice variaty is the series.
Don't confuse me with the other DutchBondFan, but be sure to follow his YouTube account. You can read my articles on James Bond Nederland: www.jamesbond.nl/author/gosse/
superadoRegent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,656MI6 Agent
Did FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE last night. For me, this is one of the peaks of the entire series. Connery has settled into the role and has all of the swagger down pat. The plot itself is very strong with a clear through-line to it and very little fluff or silliness to distract from the mission at hand. The villains are all strong (especially Robert Shaw as Grant), and all of the supporting characters are engaging and fun. Kerim Bey makes for one of the best allies that Bond ever has in the series.
Side note: I forgot about the nudity in this from Daniela Bianchi as she enters Bond's bed. I'm rather surprised that that made it past the censors in 1963.
Ditto on all your points. FRWL is on my next to watch list. Supposedly, Daniela Bianchi wore a body stocking for that scene. Would have been nice though if the nudity were genuine...for art's sake of course )
Wasn't it a body double (again, sadly)?
I think this was the body double they hired ) :
I've had a hankering lately to revisit the behind-the-scenes of FRWL, and the use of a body double for that scene is a bit fuzzy in my memory. I do remember reading that Terence Young did not like Daniela Bianchi's legs and used a double for the scenes in which Bond sees Tatiana's legs in a periscope.
"...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.....
there's also the decontamination scene in Dr No, where the filmmakers get to objectify both the lead actors bodies as they shower off all that radiation theyd been exposed to
for a brief split second Ursula Andress steps out from behind the screen then into a towel
when I fist got the dvd I used that as an opportunity to experiment with my pause button, only to be rewarded with a blur of pinkish pixels
maybe I should re-examine on a bigger tv?
As with LOTR instead of all that " epic story " rubbish.
Why not simply fly directly there on Eagles etc.
Would have saved a lot of time.
Or ROTLA, basically everything Indy does is pointless.
In fact he should have let Hitler open it )
( still Love Raiders and couldn't care less about logic ) -{
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
The last James Bond film I watched was Spectre. This was on television and it was the first time I have seen this film. I am not sure if I like this film or not. I have just bought the Spectre DVD and will now plan to watch Spectre again.
As with LOTR instead of all that " epic story " rubbish.
Why not simply fly directly there on Eagles etc.
Would have saved a lot of time.
Or ROTLA, basically everything Indy does is pointless.
In fact he should have let Hitler open it )
( still Love Raiders and couldn't care less about logic ) -{
I agree, logic can be overrated :007) however I do have a slight gripe that Bond is almost an incidental figure once they get to the Ranch. I know a lot of people regard GF as the quintessential Bond movie, and to be sure it has some mighty fine elements. I just wish that Bond fulfilled the 'Hero' remit by succeeding due to his own efforts, unless his contribution was in turning Pussey ( not a bad day at the office in my view)
Of that of which we cannot speak we must pass over in silence- Ludwig Wittgenstein.
As with LOTR instead of all that " epic story " rubbish.
Why not simply fly directly there on Eagles etc.
Would have saved a lot of time.
Or ROTLA, basically everything Indy does is pointless.
In fact he should have let Hitler open it )
( still Love Raiders and couldn't care less about logic ) -{
I agree, logic can be overrated :007) however I do have a slight gripe that Bond is almost an incidental figure once they get to the Ranch. I know a lot of people regard GF as the quintessential Bond movie, and to be sure it has some mighty fine elements. I just wish that Bond fulfilled the 'Hero' remit by succeeding due to his own efforts, unless his contribution was in turning Pussey ( not a bad day at the office in my view)
How could Dr Jones have known the ark would kill all the bad guys when they opened it? Had Hitler have got his hands on it he could have sent some minions to open it in the middle of London like some religious dirty bomb.
As for Goldfinger, I've always thought that Pussy changes sides when she learns the gas is lethal and doesn't just put people to sleep, she changes the cannisters and informs the good guys of Goldfingers dastardly plan.
How could Dr Jones have known the ark would kill all the bad guys when they opened it?
(puts on nerd hat)
There was supposedly a deleted scene (maybe it wasn't filmed) where Indy did some research and learned about the dangers of looking at the open Ark. I'll see if I can find more information on it, but I think it was cut due to pacing concerns (kinda like how the Indy riding the periscope scene was cut).
The dangers of the Ark
A plot element involving the Ark of the Covenant was cut from the film and is only hinted at during the finale when the Ark is opened. Basically, there were 2 rules about the Ark not mentioned in the final cut of the film:
If you touch the Ark, you die.
If you look at the Ark when it is opened, you die.
This is first explained in additional dialogue for the scene when Indy and Sallah visit Imam. Before translating the writings on the headpiece that give the height of the Staff of Ra, Imam warns Indy not to touch the Ark or look at it when it is opened.
The next scene involving this Ark subplot is when Sallah and Indy remove the Ark from the Well of the Souls. When Sallah first sees it he reaches out to touch it. Indy stops him before he does and reminds him of Imam's warning. Then they insert long poles through each side of the Ark to lift it out of its crypt.
Notice that nobody ever touches the Ark throughout the rest of the film until the finale.
Thanks for that, I was unaware of the deleted scene.
I also love the recurring battle theme that shows up in various scenes throughout the film (it's almost a secondary Bond theme all of its own).
It is! It's called "007" and John Barry wrote it during FRWL where it's heard during the fight at the gypsy camp and Bond's raid on the Russian embassy. After TB, it's in YOLT (Little Nellie scene), DAF (oil rig), and MR (boat chase).
Licence To Kill. I was heavily disappointed with it this time around, feeling cold, that this is not James Bond (something I've never felt before while watching this 8-) ), drab locations and cheap value, forgettable bond girls, forgettable soundtrack, no British Secret Service appearances of MI6 and a bad ending. The good points, Dalton's performance, Robert Davi as Sanchez (one of the best villains) and good henchmen. It was also good to see Felix Leiter return to Bond, but this is now my least favourite Bond film of the 80's - yes worse than AVTAK because at least that was a bond movie.
Comparisons between AVTAK and LTK
* Timothy Dalton does a WAY better performance in LTK than Roger Moore does in AVTAK.
* Carey Lowell is a better actor than Tanya Roberts, but Roberts is hotter in the beauty contest
* AVTAK has better action scenes - no I'm not kidding when I really think about it
* Sanchez and Zorin are awesome villains and two of my favourites in the series, but I think Zorin is more memorable in positive ways
* AVTAK has better locations AND score
* Both have stupid moments in them that don't make sense, LTK wins on this front having less of these scenes
* AVTAK has a better finale on the Golden Gate Bridge (possibly Moore's best final) whereas LTK goes on a bit too long
* Grace Jones is more memorable than Talisa Soto
* Much to the annoyance of many, I liked AVTAK's plot more than LTK. A revenge story is awesome, but like QOS and DAF, it didn't work too well because it left me feeling cold and MI6 hardly appear in LTK
* AVTAK is a bond movie. LTK feels too dark and lacks charm and emotional depth of a bond movie
Licence To Kill. I was heavily disappointed with it this time around, feeling cold, that this is not James Bond (something I've never felt before while watching this 8-) ), drab locations and cheap value, forgettable bond girls, forgettable soundtrack, no British Secret Service appearances of MI6 and a bad ending. The good points, Dalton's performance, Robert Davi as Sanchez (one of the best villains) and good henchmen. It was also good to see Felix Leiter return to Bond, but this is now my least favourite Bond film of the 80's - yes worse than AVTAK because at least that was a bond movie.
Comparisons between AVTAK and LTK
* Timothy Dalton does a WAY better performance in LTK than Roger Moore does in AVTAK.
* Carey Lowell is a better actor than Tanya Roberts, but Roberts is hotter in the beauty contest
* AVTAK has better action scenes - no I'm not kidding when I really think about it
* Sanchez and Zorin are awesome villains and two of my favourites in the series, but I think Zorin is more memorable in positive ways
* AVTAK has better locations AND score
* Both have stupid moments in them that don't make sense, LTK wins on this front having less of these scenes
* AVTAK has a better finale on the Golden Gate Bridge (possibly Moore's best final) whereas LTK goes on a bit too long
* Grace Jones is more memorable than Talisa Soto
* Much to the annoyance of many, I liked AVTAK's plot more than LTK. A revenge story is awesome, but like QOS and DAF, it didn't work too well because it left me feeling cold and MI6 hardly appear in LTK
* AVTAK is a bond movie. LTK feels too dark and lacks charm and emotional depth of a bond movie
It's called "007" and John Barry wrote it during FRWL where it's heard during the fight at the gypsy camp and Bond's raid on the Russian embassy. After TB, it's in YOLT (Little Nellie scene), DAF (oil rig), and MR (boat chase).
That theme needs to show up again, hopefully in Bond 25
I wanna hear the "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" music again, that toon is just so swank and elegant ... it really adds to that my-job-is-a-permanent-dream-vacation vibe they had going in Thunderball ... maybe CraigBond would chill out a little more if that music was playing while he picked up chicks in the casino
Licence To Kill. I was heavily disappointed with it this time around, feeling cold, that this is not James Bond (something I've never felt before while watching this).
this makes me sad too, Wadsy, I 've always admired your advocacy for the 80s-era films, and I hope we haven't made you lose faith in something you once loved thanks to all our overanalysing.
For comparison, I now see all sorts of issues in the Spy Who Loved Me that went over my head when I was 11 years old. But I would never want the 11 year old inside of me to lose the value that one film has always held for me. It still plays perfectly for me every time I watch it, despite my middle-aged cynicism.
Oh man... Don't want to upset anyone here in the community. I don't know, my opinion changes all the time guys and I mean too much. As for the 80's, it is still currently my favourite decade for Bond - because of For Your Eyes Only (opinion has NEVER changed - always been the best one in my eyes), Octopussy which is slowly going up in my rankings (used to be my least favourite 80's Bond), A View To A Kill has gone slightly down (only because Roger Moore's charm and sophistication isn't as good as most of his predecessors and the mangy stunt doubles), The Living Daylights remains stagnant at a solid second best of the 80's and Licence To Kill did go up but has gone down again.
Don't get me wrong, I really like Licence To Kill but for some reason because Timothy Dalton is my favourite Bond actor, I always go into it expecting it to be awesome but it just isn't. The cold war thriller entries seem to be the superior ones, despite having inferior villains. I just don't enjoy the Bond movies where Bond is practically on his own throughout as much and we don't have much from MI6. I always felt like Bond gets more support in FYEO, OP and TLD and it just sparks good emotions for me in it's likability factors. Then we have the Bond actor's performance, villain, locations, plot factor and soundtrack.
So right now, after having completed a full 80's run again - my best to worst rankings sits as follows:
For Your Eyes Only
The Living Daylights
Octopussy
Licence To Kill
A View To A Kill
Comments
I know what you mean about the chemistry, it didn't stink but I'm not sure Craig has much chemistry with any actress other than Dame Judi. Oh, okay, actually Naomi Harris. Maybe the main women's roles are written too generically and cast too late in the day to allow for it.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Don't know if this has been mentioned but the jump in the demolished MI6 building reminded me of the TND escape from Carver's tower.
Ditto on all your points. FRWL is on my next to watch list. Supposedly, Daniela Bianchi wore a body stocking for that scene. Would have been nice though if the nudity were genuine...for art's sake of course
Wasn't it a body double (again, sadly)?
I'm not well read in 1963 censorship rules, so i assume the plot with Bond being blackmailed with a sex tape of him and Tanya, was pretty taboo at that time?
The fight on the train, is one of my favourite fights in the series. A brutal fight with great choreography!
I much prefer the faceless Blofeld, pre OHMSS. We don't see his face. We see his upper half and close ups of him stroking a cat. Anthony Dawson was masterfully dubbed by Eric Pohlmann. He was the perfect voice for Blofeld! Deep and sinister. His way interrogating agents who failed missions, was unique. Focusing on the innocent agent, catching the real culprit off guard then BANG! (Or a kick in the shin from Morzeny's poison tipped knife shoe in this case.)
Desmond Llewellyn was great in his debut. I wonder what would've happened if Guy Hamilton hadn't wanted Q to be irritated with Bond and kept the friendly nature of Q, throughout Desmond's tenure.
Pedro Armendariz had great chemistry with Sean and made Kerim Bey a memorable character. We won't see anything like this again until OHMSS with Draco.
" I don't listen to hip hop!"
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I think this was the body double they hired
I've had a hankering lately to revisit the behind-the-scenes of FRWL, and the use of a body double for that scene is a bit fuzzy in my memory. I do remember reading that Terence Young did not like Daniela Bianchi's legs and used a double for the scenes in which Bond sees Tatiana's legs in a periscope.
for a brief split second Ursula Andress steps out from behind the screen then into a towel
when I fist got the dvd I used that as an opportunity to experiment with my pause button, only to be rewarded with a blur of pinkish pixels
maybe I should re-examine on a bigger tv?
Why not simply fly directly there on Eagles etc.
Would have saved a lot of time.
Or ROTLA, basically everything Indy does is pointless.
In fact he should have let Hitler open it
( still Love Raiders and couldn't care less about logic ) -{
I agree, logic can be overrated :007) however I do have a slight gripe that Bond is almost an incidental figure once they get to the Ranch. I know a lot of people regard GF as the quintessential Bond movie, and to be sure it has some mighty fine elements. I just wish that Bond fulfilled the 'Hero' remit by succeeding due to his own efforts, unless his contribution was in turning Pussey ( not a bad day at the office in my view)
We did???? It's supposed to be us old guys whose memories start to go!
As for Goldfinger, I've always thought that Pussy changes sides when she learns the gas is lethal and doesn't just put people to sleep, she changes the cannisters and informs the good guys of Goldfingers dastardly plan.
-{
It is! It's called "007" and John Barry wrote it during FRWL where it's heard during the fight at the gypsy camp and Bond's raid on the Russian embassy. After TB, it's in YOLT (Little Nellie scene), DAF (oil rig), and MR (boat chase).
"Better make that two."
Comparisons between AVTAK and LTK
* Timothy Dalton does a WAY better performance in LTK than Roger Moore does in AVTAK.
* Carey Lowell is a better actor than Tanya Roberts, but Roberts is hotter in the beauty contest
* AVTAK has better action scenes - no I'm not kidding when I really think about it
* Sanchez and Zorin are awesome villains and two of my favourites in the series, but I think Zorin is more memorable in positive ways
* AVTAK has better locations AND score
* Both have stupid moments in them that don't make sense, LTK wins on this front having less of these scenes
* AVTAK has a better finale on the Golden Gate Bridge (possibly Moore's best final) whereas LTK goes on a bit too long
* Grace Jones is more memorable than Talisa Soto
* Much to the annoyance of many, I liked AVTAK's plot more than LTK. A revenge story is awesome, but like QOS and DAF, it didn't work too well because it left me feeling cold and MI6 hardly appear in LTK
* AVTAK is a bond movie. LTK feels too dark and lacks charm and emotional depth of a bond movie
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Lazenby 5. Craig 6. Brosnan
This is a sad day.
-{
For comparison, I now see all sorts of issues in the Spy Who Loved Me that went over my head when I was 11 years old. But I would never want the 11 year old inside of me to lose the value that one film has always held for me. It still plays perfectly for me every time I watch it, despite my middle-aged cynicism.
Don't get me wrong, I really like Licence To Kill but for some reason because Timothy Dalton is my favourite Bond actor, I always go into it expecting it to be awesome but it just isn't. The cold war thriller entries seem to be the superior ones, despite having inferior villains. I just don't enjoy the Bond movies where Bond is practically on his own throughout as much and we don't have much from MI6. I always felt like Bond gets more support in FYEO, OP and TLD and it just sparks good emotions for me in it's likability factors. Then we have the Bond actor's performance, villain, locations, plot factor and soundtrack.
So right now, after having completed a full 80's run again - my best to worst rankings sits as follows:
For Your Eyes Only
The Living Daylights
Octopussy
Licence To Kill
A View To A Kill
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Lazenby 5. Craig 6. Brosnan