Favourite Bond film commentary

AndrewBond

So I’ve watched pretty much most of the blu-ray Bond film extras, but haven’t really tackled any of the commentaries yet (I’ve listened to the Roger Moore commentaries and Pierce and Pike’s DAD but that’s it). I keep thinking I must give them a try, but every time I sit down to listen to one I end up deciding to just watching the film again!

So as a bit of an incentive, does anyone have any recommendations for which of the commentary tracks (from any of the Bond films) are particularly good, and why you like them?

Equally are there any that you think should be avoided / not worth listening to?

TIA for any thoughts! -{

Matt S

Roger Moore's own commentary for The Man with the Golden Gun is one of my favourites!

hehadlotsofguts

^I liked Roger's impression of Hervé Villachaise ) The Moonraker commentary with Michael Wilson, William Cartlidge and Lewis Gilbert was good as well.

I liked it during the title sequence of MR, at some point, William starts complaining that everyone is ignoring his name because they are too busy looking at the girls. )

AndrewBond

Thanks guys, I’ve listened to the Roger Moore TMWTGG commentary - agreed nobody does a Herve Villachaise impression quite like Roger! )

I’ll definitely check out the Moonraker commentary -,one of my favourite films anyway! Thanks!

Licencetochat

AndrewBond wrote:

Thanks guys, I’ve listened to the Roger Moore TMWTGG commentary - agreed nobody does a Herve Villachaise impression quite like Roger! )

I’ll definitely check out the Moonraker commentary -,one of my favourite films anyway! Thanks!

Yes, and i liked the story from roger when they were shooting the briefing scene. Give the man a biscuit. ) )

superado

I’ve only listened to Peter Hunt for OHMSS and I think we’re really fortunate that these insights were captured for posterity. Hunt is particularly interesting for his passion project that was OHMSS and for him having been a Fleming purist arguably more than the other Bond directors. Now I’m curious if the other Bond directors have also been tapped for their commentaries...if only the EON disc menus were easier to navigate!

AndrewBond

superado wrote:

I’ve only listened to Peter Hunt for OHMSS and I think we’re really fortunate that these insights were captured for posterity. Hunt is particularly interesting for his passion project that was OHMSS and for him having been a Fleming purist arguably more than the other Bond directors. Now I’m curious if the other Bond directors have also been tapped for their commentaries...if only the EON disc menus were easier to navigate!

Thanks superado - yes I’m a big OHMSS fan so I really ought to give that commentary a go - like I say whenever I think to myself I’ll watch a film with commentary I always think “oh, I love this film, I can’t to have someone talking over it!” But Peter Hunt should be a treat to the ears, so I’ll put that at the top of my list!

I know John Glen has contributed commentary to his movies but whenever I’ve started them I’ve found it’s snippets of conversations from elsewhere edited together - to my mind, I’d much rather a commentary is done live as the movie unfolds.

PPK 7.65mm

The commentary for You Only Live Twice is one of my favorites, it features have director Louis Gilbert, actor Shane Rimmer, co-producer William Cartlidge, editor Peter Hunt, stuntman Alf Joint and more. Peter Hunt has a lot of great stories to tell, and Wing Cmdr. Ken Wallis has some interesting stories about filming Little Nellie as well.

Martin Campbell has a really good commentary for Goldeneye(unlike previous films, this is where EON productions started doing the live commentaries instead of the moderated ones with cast and crew). They were lots of fun stories on this one.

AndrewBond

PPK, thanks for your reply! YOLT is one of favourite Connery films so watch it quite often - I’ll definitely give the commentary a go the next time I’m in the mood for some Japan Bond action! Big Brosnan fan, so I really must make the effort to check out the Goldeneye commentary too!

Thanks again! -{

PPK 7.65mm

@ Andrew Bond, Your welcome. Also I really Sir Roger Moore's commentaries on The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only. Both of these had some very interesting stories about working the film. Thunderball has a fun commentary as well, Peter Hunt tells some really great stories on this one. I also enjoyed the commentaries for both The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill. Director John Glen is quite a storyteller, additionally the cast and crew memories from filming are pretty fun. I really liked the bit about how Robert Davi (Franz Sanchez) would play jokes on the cast and John Glen when they would least expect it.

MooseWithFleas

Echo the love for the Roger commentaries. So lucky to have these cherished recordings from the legend. Even as he admits to forgetting many moments of the filming with the commentaries well after the time the films were made, his anecdotes, friendly good-nature, and comforting delivery is like a grandfather retelling old stories.

I will say my favorite non-Roger is the Moonraker trio of Wilson, Lewis, and Cartlidge. Very humorous throughout and you could tell the three just had a blast making the movie.