I don't look for psychological realism in Bond films and imho the Bond films which work best are those which don't pretend to push too far into it. I do find it fascinating how the Leiter who suffers anguish in LTK (in the harrowing scene where Sanchez and Dario torment him with the news about Della and gloat as he's lowered into the shark cage) is the 'same' Leiter - David Hedison - who in LALD shares screen time (in one scene) with Sheriff J. W. Pepper, one of the franchise's most broadly humourous characters. If it hadn't been for his casting in LTK, Hedison would probably have remained among the series' most forgettable Leiters. The cheery tone of the convalescing Leiter at the end of LTK is nevertheless veering towards the 'middle ground' on a spectrum between the darkness of Sanchez-level Bond stuff and the cartoonishness of Pepper-level Bond stuff, looking for the right, summary note on which the character can exit not only this one film but, possibly - as it may have seemed at the time - the series as a whole.
Critics and material I don't need. I haven't changed my act in 53 years.
I'm watching Calvin Dyson's review od AVTAK and I got the idea that Sharon Stone would be better cast as Stacy Hutton in AVTAK than in LTK as Pam Bouvier. I think Carey Lovell did a good job in LTK, but if I could re-cast the role without thinking of cost I'd love to see Geena Davis as Pam. While she was very beautiful I don't think Tanya Roberts was well cast in AVTAK. Sharon Stone is a better actress and at that time she wouldn't have been very expensive - she was Police Academy and doing episodes of TV series like Magnum, Remington Steele and T.J. Hooker. Stone was three years younger than Roberts, but at 27 it wasn't robbing the cradle.
^ Perhaps, even though it is still a massive age gap, Tanya Roberts came across as slightly older (as she was 30 at the time) and Sharon Stone would've come across as either too young or competing too much with Grace Jones on the female strength/independence concept.
Onto the LTK question...the ending (minus the scene back in Ithsmus City with the winking fish) is clearly when they started running out of cash and interest in making a cohesive film. I can't stand David Heddison in LTK, he just feels like a TV actor and doesn't have a strong screen presence so the totally incorrect tone of the scene is made even worse. A much better ending would've been as suggested...M calling from London with a London backdrop basically saying "come back 007", it would've lifted the movie out of the cheapness of the production quality and reconnected us with the Bond universe that the film did so well at keeping us away from.
On the rest of the ending, I like how Bond drops Lupe (even though it's a touch sad) and goes for Pam in the pool - it's a sweet ending. Plus, a guilty pleasure is the pure-late 80s "If you asked me to".
I think I saw elements of that persona in T.J. Hooker and I seem to remember that persona in Total Recall too, so don't beat yourself up about it. But King Salomo's Mines show that she could play other personas well at the time, and in that movie (or at least in those scenes) she played a type not too far removed from Stacy Hutton. I also noticed her screeming in the action scenes, and it wasn't the type of screeming Tanya Roberts has been critizised for.
BTW: I'm changing the title of this thread because the topic of this thread has widened. I hope it's okay.
It's as well you changed the title of this thread, @Number24 I've done some sleuthing and it turns out there was a phone call from M regarding Felix Leiter at the end of LTK, it's just been unearthed but it wasn't actually filmed for some reason.
Comments
I don't look for psychological realism in Bond films and imho the Bond films which work best are those which don't pretend to push too far into it. I do find it fascinating how the Leiter who suffers anguish in LTK (in the harrowing scene where Sanchez and Dario torment him with the news about Della and gloat as he's lowered into the shark cage) is the 'same' Leiter - David Hedison - who in LALD shares screen time (in one scene) with Sheriff J. W. Pepper, one of the franchise's most broadly humourous characters. If it hadn't been for his casting in LTK, Hedison would probably have remained among the series' most forgettable Leiters. The cheery tone of the convalescing Leiter at the end of LTK is nevertheless veering towards the 'middle ground' on a spectrum between the darkness of Sanchez-level Bond stuff and the cartoonishness of Pepper-level Bond stuff, looking for the right, summary note on which the character can exit not only this one film but, possibly - as it may have seemed at the time - the series as a whole.
I'm watching Calvin Dyson's review od AVTAK and I got the idea that Sharon Stone would be better cast as Stacy Hutton in AVTAK than in LTK as Pam Bouvier. I think Carey Lovell did a good job in LTK, but if I could re-cast the role without thinking of cost I'd love to see Geena Davis as Pam. While she was very beautiful I don't think Tanya Roberts was well cast in AVTAK. Sharon Stone is a better actress and at that time she wouldn't have been very expensive - she was Police Academy and doing episodes of TV series like Magnum, Remington Steele and T.J. Hooker. Stone was three years younger than Roberts, but at 27 it wasn't robbing the cradle.
^ Perhaps, even though it is still a massive age gap, Tanya Roberts came across as slightly older (as she was 30 at the time) and Sharon Stone would've come across as either too young or competing too much with Grace Jones on the female strength/independence concept.
Onto the LTK question...the ending (minus the scene back in Ithsmus City with the winking fish) is clearly when they started running out of cash and interest in making a cohesive film. I can't stand David Heddison in LTK, he just feels like a TV actor and doesn't have a strong screen presence so the totally incorrect tone of the scene is made even worse. A much better ending would've been as suggested...M calling from London with a London backdrop basically saying "come back 007", it would've lifted the movie out of the cheapness of the production quality and reconnected us with the Bond universe that the film did so well at keeping us away from.
On the rest of the ending, I like how Bond drops Lupe (even though it's a touch sad) and goes for Pam in the pool - it's a sweet ending. Plus, a guilty pleasure is the pure-late 80s "If you asked me to".
"Better make that two."
I thought Sharon Stone's strong, domineering and independent woman persona was introduced with Basic Instinct in 1992, but it looks like I may have been wrong. This T,J. Hooker episode intended to start a new show competing with Miami Vice and starring Sharon Stone does show a tough and strong Stone: Sharon Stone Meets William Shatner | Failed T.J. Hooker Spin-Off | Behind the Backdoor Pilot - YouTube
But I found this video from the cheap Indiana Jones knock-off King Salomo's mines (released in the same year as AVTAK). I think it's easy imagining Sharon Stone as Stacey Hutton after watching this: King Solomon's Mines 1985 Sharon Stone & Richard Chamberlain - YouTube
And if Sharon Stone played Stacy Hutton as more capable than the one we got it woudn't have been a bad thing.
^ very fair and I thought after I posted this that my comment was only really based on that persona we've seen with the Verhoeven films.
"Better make that two."
I think I saw elements of that persona in T.J. Hooker and I seem to remember that persona in Total Recall too, so don't beat yourself up about it. But King Salomo's Mines show that she could play other personas well at the time, and in that movie (or at least in those scenes) she played a type not too far removed from Stacy Hutton. I also noticed her screeming in the action scenes, and it wasn't the type of screeming Tanya Roberts has been critizised for.
BTW: I'm changing the title of this thread because the topic of this thread has widened. I hope it's okay.
"Do you like to f--- on cocaine James?"
"Better make that two."
Pardon? 😲
"So why don't you ask me?"
I don't recognize the "Do you like to ...." quote from anywhere. Is it from somewhere and if you had a reason for posting it, what was it?
It's reimagined from the interview scene in Basic Instinct, Number24. I think Heartbroken is having a flight of Sharon Stone fancy.
Thank you. It looks like I didn't pay enough attention to the dialogue in that scene. Now I completely understand his post. 😁
Yeah, sorry to throw you guys off on that one! Chrisno1 is 100% correct...the interrogation scene in Basic Instinct.
"Better make that two."
I thought it was a good 'line'.
It's as well you changed the title of this thread, @Number24 I've done some sleuthing and it turns out there was a phone call from M regarding Felix Leiter at the end of LTK, it's just been unearthed but it wasn't actually filmed for some reason.
You can read it here:
https://www.ajb007.co.uk/discussion/52835/imaginary-conversations/p65
Roger Moore 1927-2017
A missed opportunity.