All I care about is that EON puts out the best Bond film they can for 25, whatever that takes.
Nice post, Howard, and I almost totally agree with your sentiments.
For me, pushing 60, I can't help but recall that initially the Bonds were one a year.... then every two years... then every three years... now we're lucky if it's every four years. Selfishly, I'd like to see as many Bond films as possible before I go to play my golden harp!
They were pretty low budget affairs when they were one a year!
Dr. No: 1 million (adjusted for inflation, this is around 8 million in 2017)
FRWL: 2 million
Goldfinger: 3 million
Thunderball: 9 million
That's when they jumped to every two years. Be thankful the delay wasn't commensurate with the increasing budgets!
good point, it takes longer to accumulate and spend all that money.
It also took increasing time to find all the needed locations, that was a delaying factor for both You Only Live Twice and On Her Majesties Secret Service. But they don't really take advantage of exotic locations anymore, and half the film is set in London.
Back in the 60's, when air travel to far off countries wasn't as common for the average person, those exotic locations were more of a selling point in the Bond films as they were in the Fleming novels.
Back in the 60's, when air travel to far off countries wasn't as common for the average person, those exotic locations were more of a selling point in the Bond films as they were in the Fleming novels.
The thing is, they can still be. If you travel a lot, you know there are many, many points of interest that are never shown in film. Movies today tend to use a lot of generic imagery rather than search for interesting geography/architecture.
I absolutely agree, Gass Man. Show new places or old places in a new way. Back in the 60's exotic det could be places like the Bahamas or Greece.
Now it might be Moscow Metro, Algerie, the Arctic, Zanzibar or most of China. EON just need to step more out of their comfort zone in terms of locations and not rely so much on Italy, the Alps, Bahamas and Turkey.
when I first saw Casino... at the theatre, one moment when there was noticeable audience reaction was the establishing shot near the end showing where Mr White lived
a couple of ladies in front of me slightly older than myself started pointing at the screen and chattering with sudden interest
I assumed they came to the new Bond movie hoping to see all those exotic locations theyd remembered from the classic films, and that one brief shot right at the end was the closest thing the film provided to satiate their desire
but my point was, the time spent trying to find real-life alpine fortresses and Japanese cliffside castles was one serious factor in the two year gaps between films starting in the late 60s
since the current generation of filmmakers barely make use of foreign locations, there is no longer that excuse for the increasingly long gaps
I know there are other factors
...but, if they are going to take another two years, maybe they could productively spend some of that time location-scouting?
when I first saw Casino... at the theatre, one moment when there was noticeable audience reaction was the establishing shot near the end showing where Mr White lived
a couple of ladies in front of me slightly older than myself started pointing at the screen and chattering with sudden interest
I assumed they came to the new Bond movie hoping to see all those exotic locations theyd remembered from the classic films, and that one brief shot right at the end was the closest thing the film provided to satiate their desire
but my point was, the time spent trying to find real-life alpine fortresses and Japanese cliffside castles was one serious factor in the two year gaps between films starting in the late 60s
since the current generation of filmmakers barely make use of foreign locations, there is no longer that excuse for the increasingly long gaps
I know there are other factors
...but, if they are going to take another two years, maybe they could productively spend some of that time location-scouting?
It took Lake Como to get the old birds interested?
I don't know if anything up to that point interested them or not. I didn't talk to them after the film, and only happened to notice at that point some sudden excitement from up front.
Thing to remember is different people get different things out of these movies, and Casino Royale was very different from what came before, not really ticking a lot of the boxes that people had come to expect from a new Bond-film.
My mum, for example, always said what she liked about James Bond movies was "the scenery". I'm sure for a woman of a certain age the violence and the sexism are not part of the appeal, but there are other aspects to the films.
I don't know if anything up to that point interested them or not. I didn't talk to them after the film, and only happened to notice at that point some sudden excitement from up front.
Thing to remember is different people get different things out of these movies, and Casino Royale was very different from what came before, not really ticking a lot of the boxes that people had come to expect from a new Bond-film.
My mum, for example, always said what she liked about James Bond movies was "the scenery". I'm sure for a woman of a certain age the violence and the sexism are not part of the appeal, but there are other aspects to the films.
Never really Eons target audience to begin with, frankly.
Lifestyle guide to the products and locations featured in the James Bond films.
I absolutely agree, Gass Man. Show new places or old places in a new way. Back in the 60's exotic det could be places like the Bahamas or Greece.
Now it might be Moscow Metro, Algerie, the Arctic, Zanzibar or most of China. EON just need to step more out of their comfort zone in terms of locations and not rely so much on Italy, the Alps, Bahamas and Turkey.
Although didn't the early rumours for Spectre also point
To a supposed remake of OHMSS ?
Absolutely. When the script got hacked, there even was an Irma Bunt character, if I recall correctly. This could just be recycled from those rumors, though the ending of SP did set up the possibility that they'd be going the OHMSS route . . . perhaps the two-film approach would've taken it that far. In a lot of ways, I hope they don't go that direction, as it's not only predictable but makes Craig's Bond far too tragic a character. When you think about it, he's never really had a Bond adventure that merely was an adventure. They're all heavy with personal tragedy. Of course, the Bond books had their share, but there were more than a dozen. Craig's Bond suffers terribly in only four outings.
And I thought that Dc's Bond was perfect for a mission, as much as I love his 4 I've always wanted that Bond adventure more and the tragic introspective story arcs less. Brosnan would have been perfect for the more personal stories imho.
And I thought that Dc's Bond was perfect for a mission, as much as I love his 4 I've always wanted that Bond adventure more and the tragic introspective story arcs less. Brosnan would have been perfect for the more personal stories imho.
In the modern thinking, there's no way to just allow Bond to be an agent, free of the personal baggage, and out to do the sort of escapist things the character is known for. That would require an especially strong and inventive script rather than the more shallow and formulaic fare the current Bond writing team is known for. Pity.
I think an early trailer for SPECTRE used the superb OHMSS soundtrack. An early draft of the script also used "We have all the time in the world" as Bond's last line. Thankfully they cut that one, but it seems OHMSS was on their mind when they worked on SPECTRE. Personally I don't want them to follow the OHMSS storyline. That story has been done allready and it was done very well. Craig's Bond has already lost the love of his life in CR and he did a revenge movie in QoS. Been there, done that.
Instead Craig's last Bond should be the story of his final confrontation with Blofeld. This conflict is more than enough personal already, so there is no reason to kill the love of his life twice to motivate him. This conflict should end in The Garden of Death. :007)
And I thought that Dc's Bond was perfect for a mission, as much as I love his 4 I've always wanted that Bond adventure more and the tragic introspective story arcs less. Brosnan would have been perfect for the more personal stories imho.
In the modern thinking, there's no way to just allow Bond to be an agent, free of the personal baggage, and out to do the sort of escapist things the character is known for. That would require an especially strong and inventive script rather than the more shallow and formulaic fare the current Bond writing team is known for. Pity.
It is a pity as when Dc debuted he was the blunt instrument, the physical action Bond, who after only 2 outings became the "old dog" tired and physically damaged bond and eventually the bond who's every personal grief was perpetrated by one man.
To go the ohmss route have Swann killed is just too much we've had that with Vesper, I hope to see an exciting actioneer with a witty script, some smart interplay between bond and M and some new and interesting locations.
I think we have to wait until the next Bond actor to see Bond get a mission from M and then do it, with no links at all to his family or his past. We also have to wait that long for Bond to see beautiful women more as a hobby (and vice versa) an not the love of his life.
Not necessarily, the bond franchise as always never rigidly stuck to any form of continuation boundaries particularly, Other than tracy or vesper no other Bond girl has continued on or been an issue and tracy only gets very infrequent mentions with Sir Roger twice I think and Dalton once. I don't think bond fans would be up in arms to see Bond 25 as a mission based film foregoing personal tragedy.
I think they can (and should) introduce a new Bond girl in Bond25 instead of Madeleine Swan, but I think they should continue and probably end Blofeld story.
Actually a OHMSS revamp might be alright. How awesome would it be to make a movie based on that story, called "The Majesty's Secret Service", being Craig's last movie and maybe the first Bond movie in which the titular character dies.
Sounds tragic and astonishing to me at the same time.
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But, I hope that your golden harp waits for a very, very long time.
They were pretty low budget affairs when they were one a year!
Dr. No: 1 million (adjusted for inflation, this is around 8 million in 2017)
FRWL: 2 million
Goldfinger: 3 million
Thunderball: 9 million
That's when they jumped to every two years. Be thankful the delay wasn't commensurate with the increasing budgets!
It also took increasing time to find all the needed locations, that was a delaying factor for both You Only Live Twice and On Her Majesties Secret Service. But they don't really take advantage of exotic locations anymore, and half the film is set in London.
McBarbel isn't as old as he likes to make out! He can still cut a demon bass line along with the best of them.
(I couldn't resist,
Now it might be Moscow Metro, Algerie, the Arctic, Zanzibar or most of China. EON just need to step more out of their comfort zone in terms of locations and not rely so much on Italy, the Alps, Bahamas and Turkey.
a couple of ladies in front of me slightly older than myself started pointing at the screen and chattering with sudden interest
I assumed they came to the new Bond movie hoping to see all those exotic locations theyd remembered from the classic films, and that one brief shot right at the end was the closest thing the film provided to satiate their desire
but my point was, the time spent trying to find real-life alpine fortresses and Japanese cliffside castles was one serious factor in the two year gaps between films starting in the late 60s
since the current generation of filmmakers barely make use of foreign locations, there is no longer that excuse for the increasingly long gaps
I know there are other factors
...but, if they are going to take another two years, maybe they could productively spend some of that time location-scouting?
Damn, you've seen through my crusty old man act....
It took Lake Como to get the old birds interested?
Thing to remember is different people get different things out of these movies, and Casino Royale was very different from what came before, not really ticking a lot of the boxes that people had come to expect from a new Bond-film.
My mum, for example, always said what she liked about James Bond movies was "the scenery". I'm sure for a woman of a certain age the violence and the sexism are not part of the appeal, but there are other aspects to the films.
https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/m/babd0a5b-748c-3100-a006-b6be5b232404/ss_surprising-plot-for-new.html
To a supposed remake of OHMSS ?
Instead Craig's last Bond should be the story of his final confrontation with Blofeld. This conflict is more than enough personal already, so there is no reason to kill the love of his life twice to motivate him. This conflict should end in The Garden of Death. :007)
To go the ohmss route have Swann killed is just too much we've had that with Vesper, I hope to see an exciting actioneer with a witty script, some smart interplay between bond and M and some new and interesting locations.
Sounds tragic and astonishing to me at the same time.
Once a new actor gets here an OHMSS remake would be a fantastic idea.