I imagine when Roger Moore is fighting Necros on the cargo net while hanging from the back of the plane, at one point Moore attempts a head butt that doesn't hurt Necros, but gives Bond a brief headache. Necros pauses for a moment while Bond places a hand on his forehead and moans from the pain, then the fighting resumes.
I can definitely picture Roger during the Aston Martin ice chase; raising an eyebrow or two at the 'optional extras' and 'salt corrosion' lines, smarming politely at the Russians in a similar manner to his reactions in the FYEO Citroen getaway...
Yeah there's literally not a moment I can't imagine! Kara would have had to have been a bit older perhaps, and there would have been more stunt double stuff here and there (such as the pre-title sequence on the Land Rover), but I think he would have fitted into it just fine. The opening sniper stuff is perhaps the least Roger-like sequence in there, but still not a million miles from stuff in FYEO for example: he'd have been fine in it. Tonally it's not a massive departure from AVTAK.
I sometimes wish Roger had been born a couple of years earlier as we would've had him for slightly longer as Bond. Certainly, when you look at his late '40s and '50s career, there isn't anything worthwhile, but maybe he needed those years to become the actor we know.
Saying that, of course, I think he looked great up to and including OP.
Ironically, TLD is a low-key film and could have been a good vehicle for an older actor.
Yeah, in a way I can kind of imagine it as a 'Bond's last mission' story, with him retiring to be with Kara at the end (perhaps having to run away together as she can't leave come across the Iron Curtain legally). He's very world-weary in the defection opening to the film and you could imagine the grubby arms dealing/drug smuggling plot of the villains actually making him want to leave it all behind.
I have a difficult time imagining Roger holding a sniper rifle, especially in his older years. Even if he’s not killing with it, a large gun that isn’t a hunting rifle just isn’t his thing. I can picture a younger Roger in most of the film, otherwise. I can also picture Lazenby or Brosnan doing it too. Maybe even Connery.
My biggest trouble with picturing films with different Bond actors is that I can’t think of them at a different time. I can’t picture a 1963 Sean Connery or a 1969 George Lazenby in 1987. A 1975 Roger Moore would be perfect in TLD, but I just keep thinking of 1987 Roger when picturing him in the film. I think 1969 Roger is my ideal Bond. He’d have been perfect in any Bond film through TLD, and TWINE as well.
I think there are a few moments of cynical darkness on show in AVTAK; Zorin machine-gunning the mine workers comes to mind. The rendezvous with General Gogol at the raceccourse and his line "No-one ever leaves the KGB" could well work as a cold Dalton-esque scene, in the mould of TLD.
I think 1969 Roger is my ideal Bond. He’d have been perfect in any Bond film through TLD, and TWINE as well.
Do you think Roger looked different in '69 compared with '73?
I certainly can't image Roger doing TLD. It's a very cynical film, so works well with Dalton's sombre demeanor.
Roger looked quite different thanks to a different haircut. But I was thinking more about how he played ST at the end of the series. He had the right attitude and right physicality for Bond at the time.
I think 1969 Roger is my ideal Bond. He’d have been perfect in any Bond film through TLD, and TWINE as well.
Do you think Roger looked different in '69 compared with '73?
I certainly can't image Roger doing TLD. It's a very cynical film, so works well with Dalton's sombre demeanor.
Roger looked quite different thanks to a different haircut. But I was thinking more about how he played ST at the end of the series. He had the right attitude and right physicality for Bond at the time.
Comments
"The spectre of defeat..."
Saying that, of course, I think he looked great up to and including OP.
Ironically, TLD is a low-key film and could have been a good vehicle for an older actor.
My biggest trouble with picturing films with different Bond actors is that I can’t think of them at a different time. I can’t picture a 1963 Sean Connery or a 1969 George Lazenby in 1987. A 1975 Roger Moore would be perfect in TLD, but I just keep thinking of 1987 Roger when picturing him in the film. I think 1969 Roger is my ideal Bond. He’d have been perfect in any Bond film through TLD, and TWINE as well.
When you mention 1969 Roger that always makes me think of him in OHMSS: I really think he’d have been so much better.
Do you think Roger looked different in '69 compared with '73?
I certainly can't image Roger doing TLD. It's a very cynical film, so works well with Dalton's sombre demeanor.
"The spectre of defeat..."
Roger looked quite different thanks to a different haircut. But I was thinking more about how he played ST at the end of the series. He had the right attitude and right physicality for Bond at the time.
I see, and I love The Saint too