Best Looking Bond Film?

DieAnotherDay

Let's get a good old discussion going. What is the greatest looking Bond film of them all?

I agree with most that Skyfall has some of the greatest cinematography of the lot, especially the scenes up in the Highlands as some of those shots are seriously breathtaking. TSWLM may also be in with a shout though as that's definitely one of the most glamorous looking films, especially on Blu-ray where the colours pop right off the screen.

SpectreOfDefeat

I'll nominate You Only Live Twice. Fantastic cinematography here, from the bright lights of Tokyo to the sun setting over the mountains and the technical consistency of the aerial battles. Great cinematography on display all round in this Bond film.

Barbel

Seconded, YOLT for me too.

Higgins

Yolt, hands down, close second OHMSS

ichaice

Casino Royale for me. Bahamas, Italy etc beautifully filmed to my eye.

Number24

OHMSS, Skyfall, TLD, TSWLM

Manxman

OHMSS, followed by Skyfall. Stunning cinematography in both.

emtiem

Yeah I'd have to go for Skyfall too in terms of cinematography. Spectre isn't bad either but not as good. I think Moonraker is rather pretty too.

CoolHandBond

OHMSS, YOLT, TB all on a par.

Charmed & Dangerous

Thunderball for me. Those beautiful shots of Nassau, the beaches, the sea when Bond and Leiter are searching for the Vulcan... not to mention all of the scenes with Domino... OHMSS and YOLT come in close too.

I'm not so struck on the more recent films, which don't have quite the same lingering shots of beautiful locations as they used to have (with the exception of the scene in Skyfall when Bond and M pull off the road near Glen Etive). Perhaps the last great-looking Bond film was Moonraker.

Thunderpussy

Moonraker would get my vote -{

The Red Kind

I would go with OHMSS, MR, YOLT, TSWLM

Chriscoop

TB, yolt but I do love CR too it manages the capture a sense of the location, except Miami, which really could have been any airport anywhere in the world .

Matt S

It’s Moonraker for me.

DieAnotherDay

Looks like YOLT & MR are leading the pack -{

Lady Rose

For me it will be 'Octopussy' but for personal reasons.

I spent a bit of time in India and went to some of the locations. The 'Taj Lake Palace' in Udaipur was absolutely stunning and so romantic.

I get nostalgic every time I watch the film. Udaipur was a beautiful place.

walther p99

HowardB

Bond films attract outstanding DP's and they all tend to look very good, especially on a large cinema screen where they were meant to be seen. First let's talk about aspect ratios/film format. Let's look at the "non-scope" Bond films first. DR, FRWL, and GF were all shot 1.66 to 1 (but formatted to be projected up to 1.85 to 1). There was a brief return to non-scope with LALD and TMWTGG (which were both shot 1.85 to 1). IMO, the narrower aspect ratio suites DR and FRWL stories very well and the dye transfer Technicolor looks and "feels" great giving both films a heightened sense of reality. GF, being the template for the "epic" Bond films to follow I always wondered why it wasn't the first Bond shot in 2.35 to 1 Cinemascope/Panavision. That being said, the action in GF is beautifully framed and shot (especially the scenes in Switzerland w/ the DB5) and as usual, the use of Technicolor is beautiful. The only one of the non-scope Bonds I believe would have benefited from wider scope ratio was LALD. While LALD, IMO was well framed and photographed, the wider aspect ratio would have afforded the film a grander and more epic feel more befitting of the story. All the 'scope Bond films except one were beautifully shot IMO. The standouts for me are TB, YOLT, OHMSS (except for the over cranked PTS fight on the beach but it does have a certain charm) CS and Skyfall. The exception is LTK. With LTK it has much to do with the "Miami Vice" style (especially in the PTS/Florida scenes) which give it an old TV movie feel. I actually like LTK, but think if they used TB or even the early non-scope Bonds (especially DN or FRWL) as a style template, it would have been a better film.

lueth2048

OHMSS and SF. They both looked like art house films.

Jimmy Bond

Top ten:

Skyfall
Spectre
OHMSS
YOLT
MR
NSNA
FRWL
GE
CR
FYEO

Remington

In no particular order

Dr. No, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, The Living Daylights, GoldenEye, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, and No Time to Die

chrisno1

Great points by HowardB.
Having managed to watch all the Bond films in a cinema environment, I have to agree that the trio of Panavision movies, YOLT & OHMSS featured fantastic photography from Ted Moore (underwater Lamar Boren), Freddie Young & Michael Reed. They still hold up well today, even in comparison to Roger Deakins' & Hoyte van Hoytema's modern, swish & exotic takes of SF and SP.

Shady Tree

YOLT for me.

Napoleon Plural

Here is HowardB's post again:

"Bond films attract outstanding DP's and they all tend to look very good, especially on a large cinema screen where they were meant to be seen.

First let's talk about aspect ratios/film format. Let's look at the "non-scope" Bond films first. DR, FRWL, and GF were all shot 1.66 to 1 (but formatted to be projected up to 1.85 to 1). There was a brief return to non-scope with LALD and TMWTGG (which were both shot 1.85 to 1). IMO, the narrower aspect ratio suites DR and FRWL stories very well and the dye transfer Technicolor looks and "feels" great giving both films a heightened sense of reality.
GF, being the template for the "epic" Bond films to follow I always wondered why it wasn't the first Bond shot in 2.35 to 1 Cinemascope/Panavision. That being said, the action in GF is beautifully framed and shot (especially the scenes in Switzerland w/ the DB5) and as usual, the use of Technicolor is beautiful.
The only one of the non-scope Bonds I believe would have benefited from wider scope ratio was LALD. While LALD, IMO was well framed and photographed, the wider aspect ratio would have afforded the film a grander and more epic feel more befitting of the story.

All the 'scope Bond films except one were beautifully shot IMO. The standouts for me are TB, YOLT, OHMSS (except for the over cranked PTS fight on the beach but it does have a certain charm) CS and Skyfall.
The exception is LTK. With LTK it has much to do with the "Miami Vice" style (especially in the PTS/Florida scenes) which give it an old TV movie feel. I actually like LTK, but think if they used TB or even the early non-scope Bonds (especially DN or FRWL) as a style template, it would have been a better film."

Better with paragraph breaks, esp after a bottle of red!

IMO best looking films? Moonraker, with its Day of the Jackal cinematographer. Spectre.
Goldfinger. A bit chintzy in the Miami hotel scenes but Switzerland makes it a classic. Dr No for same kind of reasons.
FYEO has its own charm. I don't like it, but it's got something.

Off topic, but The Bourne Identity is a great looking film with Bond cinematography, as has Face/Off. These to me are great Bond films while not actually of course being Bond films. Pulp Fiction in with a shot too. Just something about them warms the soul. Superb.

Barbel

chrisno1 wrote:

Great points by HowardB.
Having managed to watch all the Bond films in a cinema environment, I have to agree that the trio of Panavision movies, YOLT & OHMSS featured fantastic photography from Ted Moore (underwater Lamar Boren), Freddie Young & Michael Reed. They still hold up well today, even in comparison to Roger Deakins' & Hoyte van Hoytema's modern, swish & exotic takes of SF and SP.

I also have seen all the Bond films in a cinema environment. YOLT was my pick earlier in this thread, and I stand by that. After all these years, I still remember sitting in a crowded cinema (yes, in the 60s- I'm old) when the SPECTRE rocket descends into the volcano and the full set is revealed. Jaws dropped and the intake of air was unbelievable.
The rest of the film is spectacularly beautiful and, again, has to be seen on the big screen for full effect.

JTullock23

Skyfall, QoS (I know, shoot me) OHMSS, and Casino. NTTD so far looks tremendous!

tshold

Skyfall would top the list for me - that film was beautiful start to finish!

Trigger_Mortis

I was thinking about this the other night as I was revisiting The Spy Who Loved Me and was impressed how brilliantly the film shows in HD. The Cairo scenes look terrific, particularly around the ruins. Meanwhile, and this probably has more to do with my TV, the contrast between "black" and "colour" is bold. Moore's tuxedo looks jet black, and I mean black without any colour fading in the upscale.