Some of you may recall my review of the 1930s film The Lost Horizon and how some of it was borrowed for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Well, what the film didn't take from that, it took from the somewhat similar She - a similar tale of intrepid adventure seeking for the secret of eternal life. It was remade in the 60s with Ursula Andress in the leading role - 'She Who Must Be Obeyed...'
This one stars Randolph Scott, Nigel Bruce (who was Watson in all the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies, plus a star of more respectable fair like The Thief of Bagdad and Hitchcock's Rebecca) and Broadway star Helen Gahagan in her one film role. Much of her look and what she does must have inspired Disney's Wicked Queen in Snow White - or did that come earlier? Later on her delivery is not unlike that of Lileth in the US sitcom Frasier.
My DVD turned up as a needlessly colourised version and I grumped a bit about this for 15-20 minutes until I realised I could just turn the colour down on the TV and it would be black and white.
This is a film that made a big impression on me as a kid when it was shown on telly but now it never ever is. It holds up quite well though in contrast to The Lost Horizon it's quite elementary in its plotting. Max Steiner does the score and the look and set design is impressive - then again, King Kong was the same era so it's not unprecedented.
The titular character takes a shine to our main adventurer but wants him to stay in the newly discovered kingdom forever and enjoy the so-called benefits of eternal life. The carrot is off set by a stick of human ritualistic sacrifice and smoky fires attended by primitive tribesmen - that's the bit they borrowed for Temple of Doom, it seems. Once projected scene is in fact highly sadistic.
My copy is in b&w though I did watch a colourised version on YouTube once- stick to the original, I'd say.
Since you mention King Kong it's worth pointing out that many of the sets & costumes are from that earlier production, and many of the crew worked on it. Not as many as on The Most Dangerous Game which was filmed almost simultaneously and even had Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong in the cast- early cost saving measures, which Hammer would rely on many years later.
The 1935 version is a grand adventure, well worth watching. I have a sneaking preference for the Hammer 1965 version though- anything with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee floats my boat!
Just checked out The Most Dangerous Game on imdb - shades of Octopussy I'd say - though that in itself 'borrowed' from Bond scribe's Flashman novel. I'll have to check it out - which means buying it of course as again, such films are just never shown on telly ever.
with a middle aged Michael Caine as the good guy and a boyish looking Pierce Brosnan as the bad guy
Though based on a book by Frederick Forsyth, this could easily be a Harry Palmer adventure. Same insubordinate attitude, same lousy surveillance gigs, then seconded to even more humiliating duties after he's lipped off to his boss one time too many. And his name's not 'Arry, either, so that proves it.
Super convoluted le Carre type plot with shadowy spymasters on both sides conspiring evil schemes that have nothing to do with the official goals of the Cold War. At least there's exciting and more easy to understand typical spywork being done in the foreground by our two main characters, but I was completely lost what was really going on behind the scenes.
Brosnan appears here about the time he coulda been making the Living Daylights. How come he could do this one then? I thought Remington Steele meant he had no time to make big screen spy movies? He's playing a Russian spy with a posh English accent who nobody suspects even though he's actings rather weird in his new neighbourhood, moved in next door to an American airbase. I wonder if Alec Trevelyan knew about this?
say you know how BrosnanBond made his debut in a men's room? Well in this film, Brosnan actually picks up a guy in a men's room and goes back to his car with him! its not what you're thinking, the stranger unwittingly witnessed a handover between Brosnan and another spy, so Brosnan had to get him alone to dispose of him, and an anonymous mens room pick-up was the logical way to do it. As a cold ruthless highly efficient spy with more evil things to worry about, he's not going to let any homophobic squeamishness get in the way of chance for a neat kill. But he does it so coolly, you'd assume this was not his first time! ...and yet people are still arguing about that scene with CraigBond and Sylva, as if CraigBond could not have really meant what we all heard him say. A good spy's going to do whatever is needed, not worry about what narrowminded folk in the audience might think.
There's also a long drawn-out bomb-assembly scene thats dripping with sexual tension and literal techno-fetishism.
@caractacus potts I am a big fan of The Fourth Protocol. I find it a thrilling, if a bit workmanlike, spy thriller. I watched the film many times before reading the Forsyth novel, but I eventually did read it and loved it also. There are big chunks of the book which didn't make the transition to film, including a section set in my home country, South Africa.
As you say, the behind the scenes spymaster stuff is a little hard to get ones head around but the actors employed in those senior intelligence roles are first rate and I find you go along with all that stuff without really worrying whether or not you understand the finer details. Ian Richardson is a particular favourite of mine.
You asked "Brosnan appears here about the time he coulda been making the Living Daylights. How come he could do this one then? I thought Remington Steele meant he had no time to make big screen spy movies?" Wasn't it Cubby Broccoli who said that as long as Brosnan is playing Remington Steele he didn't want him to play Bond?
Braun were sponsoring Bond's razors at this time and didn't want an actor associated with Remington - little known fact.
Oh alright, I read that Brozzer's contract for Remington was renewed because of all the publicity about him being Bond made him appealing. Then they didn't go ahead with it anyway.
Maybe there was another reason, like Dalton was always first choice and he became available. You'd think Cubby could buy Brosnan out of his contract if he were that keen.
Re the men's room pick up in The Fourth Protocol, a similar gambit was used in Forsyth's Day of the Jackal of course, with the assassin copping off with a guy in an Amsterdam sauna because he needed a place other than a hotel to kip, he knew he was on the radar of the authorities then. Man, that was a great, great film.
If you liked that, check out oh, that film with Denholm Elliott and Gabriel Byrne and Greta Scacchi from the early 80s, British thriller, you know it.
The Elton John musical biopic which came on the heels of the Freddie Mercury musical biopic. Under Lee Hall's screenwriting and Dexter Fletcher's direction, Rocket Man is a warts and all snapshot of fat boy from Pinner Reg Dwight's rise to global superstardom as Elton John, his friendship with Bernie Taupin, his awful family, his horrid manager, his addictions, regrets and triumphs.
Framed as a proper musical, not a biopic with songs, Taron Egerton plays and sings Elton and is a revelation. A supremely accomplished performance. He's matched by Jamie Bell's softly spoken, thoughtful turn as Taupin. When they are on screen together you really get a sense of kindred spirits. The songs are spaced rapidly and appropriately into the narrative, although not at the correct moments in time - that's not really expected as the movie offers a window into Elton John's life, not an accurate history. I love the way the lyrics represent the trials, hopes and despairs of the characters.
As success beckons, the tantrums start, the heart breaks and heart attacks come, rehab beckons. The movie starts in magnificent fashion, as Elton savvies into addiction therapy still kitted in his concert outfit, a devil-with-wings, and announces "OK, I know how this goes: my name's Elton Hercules John and I'm an alcoholic..."
The film doesn't pull punches. His early home life is devoid of love. He struggles with being gay - as many did in 1969. He hurts those he loves most - which neatly reflects his parents attitudes - although it is obvious neither of them love him unconditionally. The scene where his Dad offers more attention to his new family than he ever did to Elton's is crushing. The joy's of early success, exemplified by a fantasy concert at the Troubadour, are brilliantly presented. The sudden regrets hurtle at him as fast as the success: as Bernie abandons him for an exotic Californian lover, Elton trembles the words of Tiny Dancer, reflecting his feelings for Bernie as well as Bernie's for his lover. The long climb down inevitably becomes more of a soap opera, rescued by the fine musical staging.
Above all Egerton exudes confidence in the title role: vulnerable as a youngster, then overworked and over indulged, finally desperate and lonely - we believe in him whole heartedly. He's in almost every scene. The moment where he attempts suicide is affecting as we've noted how everyone has abandoned him, how he's thrown them away with the abandon he throws pills down his throat. Ethereal strangers come to his rescue, accompanied by his own music. When he embraces his own younger self, we understand he has finally reconciled his world and where he stands with in it, the highs and lows, the people, how even that younger self has contributed to who he is and where he is, that the little fat boy needed love and friendship, which he never got from those closest to him.
An outstanding film with great musical numbers set to songs we of course recognise and full of urgent exciting and attentionful performances.
Loved it.
I was smiling at the end and that hasn't happened recently.
I've only just got round to watching this clip from The Big Bang Theory which ties together the problems with the plot of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's brilliant! But yes spoilers re the ending of Raiders if nobody's seen the film (unlikely)....
You could do something similar for Casino Royale however, I feel... Without Bond, Le Chiffre lives but so does Vesper and so does that nice Venetian house at the end - Quantum make off with the cash anyway.
Tonight I re-watched (1991) with my nephew. He liked it. The movie's villan is played by Higgins' favourite actor, Timothy Dalton. The leading lady is played by Jennifer Connelly whom I've been in lust with since I saw her .... the movie in the cinema. It's a charming and fun movie. I noticed a detail this time. Someone (not Dalton) says: "..... scared the living ..... crap out of him".
I'd say the fight in the nightclub was a pretty big action scene and the airship finale was absolutely a big action scene. It struck me how well structured and inventive the story is.
Already in 1991 I imagined a sequel involving the Japanese. The finale would be a chase scene involving fighter planes and the Rocketeer on Manhattan.
Jennifer Connelly is one of those lucky actresses who are blessed with both great looks and great talent. She's one of the actresses who should've been Bond girls. She would've been a perfect Christmas Jones. Connelly was 29 at the time and was making movies like "Inventing the Abotts" and "Dark city".
I've only just got round to watching this clip from The Big Bang Theory which ties together the problems with the plot of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's brilliant! But yes spoilers re the ending of Raiders if nobody's seen the film (unlikely)....
You could do something similar for Casino Royale however, I feel... Without Bond, Le Chiffre lives but so does Vesper and so does that nice Venetian house...
This movie wiled away a couple of hours on Sunday night. It's directed by Gary Ross who twenty years earlier made the fantastically beautiful and emotionally satisfying fantasy drama Pleasantville, one of my favourite films of the 1990s. Ross is not ever going to be Oscar material, but he makes serviceable movies. Ocean's 8 is a sideways spin off from the George Clooney / Brad Pitt Ocean's Trilogy which Steven Soderbergh related so superbly, albeit with diminishing returns. He's in the producer's chair, but you rather wish he'd been involved behind the camera and not just behind the money as the film leans to flat and uninvolving.
Debbie Ocean [Sandra Bullock] is Danny's sister, fresh out of gaol and looking to steal a $150m Cartier necklace from the shoulders of Anne Hathaway's society banner Diane Kluger. She's aided by an all-female crew comprising Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Rhianna, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina and Helena Bonham Carter. The characters are as shallow as their male counterparts. They are also just as skilful, resourceful and successful [no surprises]. The film is mildly amusing. It's good to see a female cast, but it isn't a strong female cast and the women are all stereotypical - harassed mother, bratty geeks, streetwise skater girl, daft as a brush middle-aged English woman for comic relief - you know the kind of thing. It's disappointing Quin Shaobo pops up as Yen the Contortionist, as it rather defeats the point of an all girl's blazing movie only to have the heist performed by a man, but hey...
It was great to watch a modern film which entertained me without obscenities, sex, endless scenes of violence, tremendous background noise, horrendously long-winded backstories, no sequels or prequels or universe to bother about, no flashy camera work [not much anyway], and generally a good all-round show. It could have done with a lighter touch, for the scenes tend to lumber when they should fizz - this was Soderbergh's problem with Ocean's 13 as well. The humour for the most part is only smile inducing until James Corden's put-upon insurance agent flies in from London to investigate the heist. I don't like him, but he's quite good here. The robbery itself is a trifle of delight, despite being hopelessly unlikely, and I do like Sandra Bullock, one of the few Hollywood actresses able to "do plain" and yet still look gorgeous, and "do gorgeous" by looking remarkably plain.
Steve Martin is in top form here as the father, George Banks, who does not want to let go of his daughter when she announces that she is to marry. Martin Short co-stars as the wedding coordinator, Franck, in many hilarious scenes. I particularly like the reaction to George’s shock at the price of the $1200 wedding cake when Franck says “ welcome to the 90’s Mr. Banks” 😂
Very funny and, if like me, you have had a daughter who has married, there are some poignant scenes and reflections on life which resonate with real life.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
There is a new cable channel over here called Tap Action Flix HD, it’s replaced the Fox Movie channel which no longer broadcasts in Asia. They appear to have the screening rights to the Bond movies and are showing 2 per night from 8pm. I have all the films on Google Play but I did watch them last night and they were uncut with no adverts! As Mrs CHB is away at the moment I think I will tune in every night 😃
LALD is a decent middling entry and TB is top drawer stuff, Connery at his very best as Bond. TB holds a special place in my heart as the build up to its release was immense and I still have the bubblegum trading card set and the Bond vs Largo board game from that time along with the original UK quad movie poster. I was 9 when it was released and even at that young age I fancied Fiona Volpe so much 😂, Luciana Paluzzi is the horniest Bond girl of them all.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
THUNDERBALL ... holds a special place in my heart as the build up to its release was immense and I still have the bubblegum trading card set and the Bond vs Largo board game from that time along with the original UK quad movie poster.
These sound exciting, like the STAR WARS merchandise of my own impressionable youth. Any more details on the board game or other collectibles? What type of game was it, a variation on Snakes and Ladders or such?
Was Thunderball the BondFilm with the most merchandising?
CoolHandBond also said:
I fancied Fiona Volpe so much 😂, Paluzzi is the horniest Bond girl of them all.
This would be a good topic for discussion, a welcome variation to yet again debating the scenes where Bond was the unwelcomed aggressor. Just thinking through the first seven movies or so, Fiona Volpe may indeed be the most sexually aggressive, the most uncompromisingly proactive in getting our hero into the sack. Who else could compete? Does the record still stand til this day?
(and of course Luciana Paluzzi led Napoleon Solo into her bedroom a year earlier, so yes this actress specialised in such characters)
@caractacus potts The board game looks spectacular, it is a 2 player chess style game which recreates the underwater battle at the end of the movie. One player plays Largo and his men who attempt to get the bombs to Miami and the other player plays Bond and his men trying to stop them. There are also submersibles and sharks pieces. When I’ve got time I will post some pictures. On reflection, I think the game was called 007 Underwater Battle. There were many collectables produced for TB, I also had some jigsaw puzzles and the soundtrack album from TB but I sold these (and a host of other memorabilia from movies of the 60’s and 70’s) before I emigrated to the Philippines as there simply was too much to transport. I wish I hadn’t now and filled a few more boxes, but that’s life!
Your question of whether TB was the Bond film with most merchandising - probably, but I’m sure someone else would be able to confirm?. The build up to the movie was huge, it really was the Biggest Bond of All.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
@CoolHandBond IT REALLY WAS THE BIGGEST BOND OF ALL.
Slightly off topic, but in terms of watching Bond in a cinema the only films which genuinely excited me and left me feeling I have just had a true cinematic experience were Thunderball and Moonraker.
MR I was only a kid, but when I saw it a few years ago, all those childhood feelings flooded back and I left the show uplifted and smiling and loving Roger Moore's suave interpretation. The music, the sets, the non-stop action, the jokes, the beautiful photography, the gorgeous girls, hell, I could even forgive the bloody pigeon.
Thunderball, having watched it several times on TV, was simply amazing in the cinema. The Panavision 70mm screen, the sound effects, the visuals, the women, the fights, the music, Connery with probably his smoothest, most effortless and unaffected performance, OMG I was blown away. This film was simply huge. Its hard for anyone who hasn't seen it in the cinema to "get" it, how it operates as a visual and audio experience. Superb.
Moonraker was the real deal. It seemed to build on previous Bonds in subtle way - in particular YOLT, as this time Bond actually goes in to space, and the reptile pool - only this time it's Bond taking a dip.
It wasn't just the Star Wars thing that was big - the whole Buck Rogers in the 21st Century - which personally I preferred - made sci-fi all the rage then, and Moonraker came with its bubblegum trading cards, I never bothered with the gum. Actually, I think they were cigarette sweeties.
The film came out in the summer, as was tradition then, so I associate it with the school holidays and chlorine at the local swimming baths.
They show re-runs of MR at the BFI Southbank but the screens there are never cinematic, if the Imax were to show it again I'd be there like a shot. OHMSS was great on that screen.
I did catch Thunderball at the Empire Leicester Square but it was a rubbish print and I have to say it didn't assist my impression of the movie, I preferred it on the flatscreen with a glass of rose.
There has been many versions of Dickens' famous books on TV and movies, but I don't think any of them succeded like this movie to make the story come alive and be entertaining.
Dev Patel plays Copperfield. As we know Patel is etnically Indian and the character in the novel isn't. I'm a history nerd and often find this kind of casting difficult. Many historical movies made today cast one or two non-white actors in parts where the people were obviously white in real life. The black ambasador and east Asian lady in waiting in "Mary Queen of Scots" are examples of this. I assume it's done to give non-white audiences someone to relate to and not just the servant or the slave. This is in some ways understandable. But I fear audiences who don't know much history are tricked into a false idea of what (in this case) Victorian England was like, while history nerds like me grind their teeth at the historical incorrectness. This politically correct stunt casting sticks out like a sore thumb.
I like the way this movie solves the problem. "The personal history ...." cast a lot of non-white actors and spread them all of the sosio-economic landscape. The movie seems to say "We know it wasn't like this and we don't care!". The movie openly disregards realism in other ways too. The movie starts with Copperfield on a theatre stage telling his story to the audience before walking towards the stage backdrop painting and into his movie. Adults litterally reach into David's childhood fantasies and destroy them. Adult David turns up in the childhood scenes to comment on what's going on. All of this works.
The acting by everyone is very good. Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi and Ben Whishaw all play characters different from their typical onscreen personas and breathe life into them. For example Whishaw plays Uria Heep, a rare villanous performanse from an actor who usually play likeable characters.
The whole movie is lively, colourful, imaginative and very entertaining. If you or someone you know isn't into Charles Dickens or period drama in general, this movie is a great way to be introduced to the genere.
I too sort of agree with the above review. It's a decent movie, it's just... something about it is a tad hard going and it's typical of almost all such adaptations for the big screen be it Dickens or Austen. There is still nothing of the guilty pleasure going on, in contrast to David Lean's Great Expectations or the Laurence Oliver/Greer Garson Pride and Prejudice of old days.
Comments
@Napoleon Plural pity you didn't catch my review on page 352 might have saved you the trouble of watching it.
https://www.ajb007.co.uk/discussion/comment/1018023#Comment_1018023
Well, that's it. You can write my review for No Time To Die. It's bound to be better than what I come up with.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
She (1935)
Some of you may recall my review of the 1930s film The Lost Horizon and how some of it was borrowed for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Well, what the film didn't take from that, it took from the somewhat similar She - a similar tale of intrepid adventure seeking for the secret of eternal life. It was remade in the 60s with Ursula Andress in the leading role - 'She Who Must Be Obeyed...'
This one stars Randolph Scott, Nigel Bruce (who was Watson in all the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies, plus a star of more respectable fair like The Thief of Bagdad and Hitchcock's Rebecca) and Broadway star Helen Gahagan in her one film role. Much of her look and what she does must have inspired Disney's Wicked Queen in Snow White - or did that come earlier? Later on her delivery is not unlike that of Lileth in the US sitcom Frasier.
My DVD turned up as a needlessly colourised version and I grumped a bit about this for 15-20 minutes until I realised I could just turn the colour down on the TV and it would be black and white.
This is a film that made a big impression on me as a kid when it was shown on telly but now it never ever is. It holds up quite well though in contrast to The Lost Horizon it's quite elementary in its plotting. Max Steiner does the score and the look and set design is impressive - then again, King Kong was the same era so it's not unprecedented.
The titular character takes a shine to our main adventurer but wants him to stay in the newly discovered kingdom forever and enjoy the so-called benefits of eternal life. The carrot is off set by a stick of human ritualistic sacrifice and smoky fires attended by primitive tribesmen - that's the bit they borrowed for Temple of Doom, it seems. Once projected scene is in fact highly sadistic.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
My copy is in b&w though I did watch a colourised version on YouTube once- stick to the original, I'd say.
Since you mention King Kong it's worth pointing out that many of the sets & costumes are from that earlier production, and many of the crew worked on it. Not as many as on The Most Dangerous Game which was filmed almost simultaneously and even had Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong in the cast- early cost saving measures, which Hammer would rely on many years later.
The 1935 version is a grand adventure, well worth watching. I have a sneaking preference for the Hammer 1965 version though- anything with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee floats my boat!
I've never seen the 1935 version. With sets from King Kong, music from Steiner and the Merian C Cooper touch, it sounds quite exotic.
Just checked out The Most Dangerous Game on imdb - shades of Octopussy I'd say - though that in itself 'borrowed' from Bond scribe's Flashman novel. I'll have to check it out - which means buying it of course as again, such films are just never shown on telly ever.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I wrote an in depth review of it a few months ago. I love it. A great movie. Occasionally The Most Dangerous Game crops up on Talking Pictures.
Shang chi.
this film met my expectations of, it didn’t exceed them(not in the slightest). But didn’t lower them either. This film is average.
The Fourth Protocol, 1987
with a middle aged Michael Caine as the good guy and a boyish looking Pierce Brosnan as the bad guy
Though based on a book by Frederick Forsyth, this could easily be a Harry Palmer adventure. Same insubordinate attitude, same lousy surveillance gigs, then seconded to even more humiliating duties after he's lipped off to his boss one time too many. And his name's not 'Arry, either, so that proves it.
Super convoluted le Carre type plot with shadowy spymasters on both sides conspiring evil schemes that have nothing to do with the official goals of the Cold War. At least there's exciting and more easy to understand typical spywork being done in the foreground by our two main characters, but I was completely lost what was really going on behind the scenes.
Brosnan appears here about the time he coulda been making the Living Daylights. How come he could do this one then? I thought Remington Steele meant he had no time to make big screen spy movies? He's playing a Russian spy with a posh English accent who nobody suspects even though he's actings rather weird in his new neighbourhood, moved in next door to an American airbase. I wonder if Alec Trevelyan knew about this?
say you know how BrosnanBond made his debut in a men's room? Well in this film, Brosnan actually picks up a guy in a men's room and goes back to his car with him! its not what you're thinking, the stranger unwittingly witnessed a handover between Brosnan and another spy, so Brosnan had to get him alone to dispose of him, and an anonymous mens room pick-up was the logical way to do it. As a cold ruthless highly efficient spy with more evil things to worry about, he's not going to let any homophobic squeamishness get in the way of chance for a neat kill. But he does it so coolly, you'd assume this was not his first time! ...and yet people are still arguing about that scene with CraigBond and Sylva, as if CraigBond could not have really meant what we all heard him say. A good spy's going to do whatever is needed, not worry about what narrowminded folk in the audience might think.
There's also a long drawn-out bomb-assembly scene thats dripping with sexual tension and literal techno-fetishism.
@caractacus potts I am a big fan of The Fourth Protocol. I find it a thrilling, if a bit workmanlike, spy thriller. I watched the film many times before reading the Forsyth novel, but I eventually did read it and loved it also. There are big chunks of the book which didn't make the transition to film, including a section set in my home country, South Africa.
As you say, the behind the scenes spymaster stuff is a little hard to get ones head around but the actors employed in those senior intelligence roles are first rate and I find you go along with all that stuff without really worrying whether or not you understand the finer details. Ian Richardson is a particular favourite of mine.
You asked "Brosnan appears here about the time he coulda been making the Living Daylights. How come he could do this one then? I thought Remington Steele meant he had no time to make big screen spy movies?" Wasn't it Cubby Broccoli who said that as long as Brosnan is playing Remington Steele he didn't want him to play Bond?
Braun were sponsoring Bond's razors at this time and didn't want an actor associated with Remington - little known fact.
Oh alright, I read that Brozzer's contract for Remington was renewed because of all the publicity about him being Bond made him appealing. Then they didn't go ahead with it anyway.
Maybe there was another reason, like Dalton was always first choice and he became available. You'd think Cubby could buy Brosnan out of his contract if he were that keen.
Re the men's room pick up in The Fourth Protocol, a similar gambit was used in Forsyth's Day of the Jackal of course, with the assassin copping off with a guy in an Amsterdam sauna because he needed a place other than a hotel to kip, he knew he was on the radar of the authorities then. Man, that was a great, great film.
If you liked that, check out oh, that film with Denholm Elliott and Gabriel Byrne and Greta Scacchi from the early 80s, British thriller, you know it.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Crikey, @Gymkata where did you pull that one from? I haven't seen it since I about 12 - it's as good as I remember, then ! 😀
ROCKET MAN (2019)
The Elton John musical biopic which came on the heels of the Freddie Mercury musical biopic. Under Lee Hall's screenwriting and Dexter Fletcher's direction, Rocket Man is a warts and all snapshot of fat boy from Pinner Reg Dwight's rise to global superstardom as Elton John, his friendship with Bernie Taupin, his awful family, his horrid manager, his addictions, regrets and triumphs.
Framed as a proper musical, not a biopic with songs, Taron Egerton plays and sings Elton and is a revelation. A supremely accomplished performance. He's matched by Jamie Bell's softly spoken, thoughtful turn as Taupin. When they are on screen together you really get a sense of kindred spirits. The songs are spaced rapidly and appropriately into the narrative, although not at the correct moments in time - that's not really expected as the movie offers a window into Elton John's life, not an accurate history. I love the way the lyrics represent the trials, hopes and despairs of the characters.
As success beckons, the tantrums start, the heart breaks and heart attacks come, rehab beckons. The movie starts in magnificent fashion, as Elton savvies into addiction therapy still kitted in his concert outfit, a devil-with-wings, and announces "OK, I know how this goes: my name's Elton Hercules John and I'm an alcoholic..."
The film doesn't pull punches. His early home life is devoid of love. He struggles with being gay - as many did in 1969. He hurts those he loves most - which neatly reflects his parents attitudes - although it is obvious neither of them love him unconditionally. The scene where his Dad offers more attention to his new family than he ever did to Elton's is crushing. The joy's of early success, exemplified by a fantasy concert at the Troubadour, are brilliantly presented. The sudden regrets hurtle at him as fast as the success: as Bernie abandons him for an exotic Californian lover, Elton trembles the words of Tiny Dancer, reflecting his feelings for Bernie as well as Bernie's for his lover. The long climb down inevitably becomes more of a soap opera, rescued by the fine musical staging.
Above all Egerton exudes confidence in the title role: vulnerable as a youngster, then overworked and over indulged, finally desperate and lonely - we believe in him whole heartedly. He's in almost every scene. The moment where he attempts suicide is affecting as we've noted how everyone has abandoned him, how he's thrown them away with the abandon he throws pills down his throat. Ethereal strangers come to his rescue, accompanied by his own music. When he embraces his own younger self, we understand he has finally reconciled his world and where he stands with in it, the highs and lows, the people, how even that younger self has contributed to who he is and where he is, that the little fat boy needed love and friendship, which he never got from those closest to him.
An outstanding film with great musical numbers set to songs we of course recognise and full of urgent exciting and attentionful performances.
Loved it.
I was smiling at the end and that hasn't happened recently.
I've only just got round to watching this clip from The Big Bang Theory which ties together the problems with the plot of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's brilliant! But yes spoilers re the ending of Raiders if nobody's seen the film (unlikely)....
You could do something similar for Casino Royale however, I feel... Without Bond, Le Chiffre lives but so does Vesper and so does that nice Venetian house at the end - Quantum make off with the cash anyway.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Tonight I re-watched (1991) with my nephew. He liked it. The movie's villan is played by Higgins' favourite actor, Timothy Dalton. The leading lady is played by Jennifer Connelly whom I've been in lust with since I saw her .... the movie in the cinema. It's a charming and fun movie. I noticed a detail this time. Someone (not Dalton) says: "..... scared the living ..... crap out of him".
wait, did you forget to include a title, or is 1991 the title?
I know the film 1941, that's a classic, and of interest to all historians of course, but I've never heard of 1991.
Yes, I forgot the title and it's Rocketeer. 🤣
It's a shame that movie never got sequels.
I'd say the fight in the nightclub was a pretty big action scene and the airship finale was absolutely a big action scene. It struck me how well structured and inventive the story is.
Already in 1991 I imagined a sequel involving the Japanese. The finale would be a chase scene involving fighter planes and the Rocketeer on Manhattan.
Jennifer Connelly is one of those lucky actresses who are blessed with both great looks and great talent. She's one of the actresses who should've been Bond girls. She would've been a perfect Christmas Jones. Connelly was 29 at the time and was making movies like "Inventing the Abotts" and "Dark city".
She was. That was in 1998, one year before TWINE.
I wasn't over-impressed with Anna
https://www.ajb007.co.uk/discussion/comment/1023781#Comment_1023781
I've only just got round to watching this clip from The Big Bang Theory which ties together the problems with the plot of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's brilliant! But yes spoilers re the ending of Raiders if nobody's seen the film (unlikely)....
You could do something similar for Casino Royale however, I feel... Without Bond, Le Chiffre lives but so does Vesper and so does that nice Venetian house...
Roger Moore 1927-2017
OCEAN'S 8 (2018)
This movie wiled away a couple of hours on Sunday night. It's directed by Gary Ross who twenty years earlier made the fantastically beautiful and emotionally satisfying fantasy drama Pleasantville, one of my favourite films of the 1990s. Ross is not ever going to be Oscar material, but he makes serviceable movies. Ocean's 8 is a sideways spin off from the George Clooney / Brad Pitt Ocean's Trilogy which Steven Soderbergh related so superbly, albeit with diminishing returns. He's in the producer's chair, but you rather wish he'd been involved behind the camera and not just behind the money as the film leans to flat and uninvolving.
Debbie Ocean [Sandra Bullock] is Danny's sister, fresh out of gaol and looking to steal a $150m Cartier necklace from the shoulders of Anne Hathaway's society banner Diane Kluger. She's aided by an all-female crew comprising Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Rhianna, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina and Helena Bonham Carter. The characters are as shallow as their male counterparts. They are also just as skilful, resourceful and successful [no surprises]. The film is mildly amusing. It's good to see a female cast, but it isn't a strong female cast and the women are all stereotypical - harassed mother, bratty geeks, streetwise skater girl, daft as a brush middle-aged English woman for comic relief - you know the kind of thing. It's disappointing Quin Shaobo pops up as Yen the Contortionist, as it rather defeats the point of an all girl's blazing movie only to have the heist performed by a man, but hey...
It was great to watch a modern film which entertained me without obscenities, sex, endless scenes of violence, tremendous background noise, horrendously long-winded backstories, no sequels or prequels or universe to bother about, no flashy camera work [not much anyway], and generally a good all-round show. It could have done with a lighter touch, for the scenes tend to lumber when they should fizz - this was Soderbergh's problem with Ocean's 13 as well. The humour for the most part is only smile inducing until James Corden's put-upon insurance agent flies in from London to investigate the heist. I don't like him, but he's quite good here. The robbery itself is a trifle of delight, despite being hopelessly unlikely, and I do like Sandra Bullock, one of the few Hollywood actresses able to "do plain" and yet still look gorgeous, and "do gorgeous" by looking remarkably plain.
I'm not complaining.
FATHER OF THE BRIDE (1991)
Steve Martin is in top form here as the father, George Banks, who does not want to let go of his daughter when she announces that she is to marry. Martin Short co-stars as the wedding coordinator, Franck, in many hilarious scenes. I particularly like the reaction to George’s shock at the price of the $1200 wedding cake when Franck says “ welcome to the 90’s Mr. Banks” 😂
Very funny and, if like me, you have had a daughter who has married, there are some poignant scenes and reflections on life which resonate with real life.
LIVE AND LET DIE and THUNDERBALL
There is a new cable channel over here called Tap Action Flix HD, it’s replaced the Fox Movie channel which no longer broadcasts in Asia. They appear to have the screening rights to the Bond movies and are showing 2 per night from 8pm. I have all the films on Google Play but I did watch them last night and they were uncut with no adverts! As Mrs CHB is away at the moment I think I will tune in every night 😃
LALD is a decent middling entry and TB is top drawer stuff, Connery at his very best as Bond. TB holds a special place in my heart as the build up to its release was immense and I still have the bubblegum trading card set and the Bond vs Largo board game from that time along with the original UK quad movie poster. I was 9 when it was released and even at that young age I fancied Fiona Volpe so much 😂, Luciana Paluzzi is the horniest Bond girl of them all.
CoolHandBond said:
THUNDERBALL ... holds a special place in my heart as the build up to its release was immense and I still have the bubblegum trading card set and the Bond vs Largo board game from that time along with the original UK quad movie poster.
These sound exciting, like the STAR WARS merchandise of my own impressionable youth. Any more details on the board game or other collectibles? What type of game was it, a variation on Snakes and Ladders or such?
Was Thunderball the BondFilm with the most merchandising?
CoolHandBond also said:
I fancied Fiona Volpe so much 😂, Paluzzi is the horniest Bond girl of them all.
This would be a good topic for discussion, a welcome variation to yet again debating the scenes where Bond was the unwelcomed aggressor. Just thinking through the first seven movies or so, Fiona Volpe may indeed be the most sexually aggressive, the most uncompromisingly proactive in getting our hero into the sack. Who else could compete? Does the record still stand til this day?
(and of course Luciana Paluzzi led Napoleon Solo into her bedroom a year earlier, so yes this actress specialised in such characters)
@caractacus potts The board game looks spectacular, it is a 2 player chess style game which recreates the underwater battle at the end of the movie. One player plays Largo and his men who attempt to get the bombs to Miami and the other player plays Bond and his men trying to stop them. There are also submersibles and sharks pieces. When I’ve got time I will post some pictures. On reflection, I think the game was called 007 Underwater Battle. There were many collectables produced for TB, I also had some jigsaw puzzles and the soundtrack album from TB but I sold these (and a host of other memorabilia from movies of the 60’s and 70’s) before I emigrated to the Philippines as there simply was too much to transport. I wish I hadn’t now and filled a few more boxes, but that’s life!
Your question of whether TB was the Bond film with most merchandising - probably, but I’m sure someone else would be able to confirm?. The build up to the movie was huge, it really was the Biggest Bond of All.
@CoolHandBond IT REALLY WAS THE BIGGEST BOND OF ALL.
Slightly off topic, but in terms of watching Bond in a cinema the only films which genuinely excited me and left me feeling I have just had a true cinematic experience were Thunderball and Moonraker.
MR I was only a kid, but when I saw it a few years ago, all those childhood feelings flooded back and I left the show uplifted and smiling and loving Roger Moore's suave interpretation. The music, the sets, the non-stop action, the jokes, the beautiful photography, the gorgeous girls, hell, I could even forgive the bloody pigeon.
Thunderball, having watched it several times on TV, was simply amazing in the cinema. The Panavision 70mm screen, the sound effects, the visuals, the women, the fights, the music, Connery with probably his smoothest, most effortless and unaffected performance, OMG I was blown away. This film was simply huge. Its hard for anyone who hasn't seen it in the cinema to "get" it, how it operates as a visual and audio experience. Superb.
That board game sounds fun too.
Moonraker was the real deal. It seemed to build on previous Bonds in subtle way - in particular YOLT, as this time Bond actually goes in to space, and the reptile pool - only this time it's Bond taking a dip.
It wasn't just the Star Wars thing that was big - the whole Buck Rogers in the 21st Century - which personally I preferred - made sci-fi all the rage then, and Moonraker came with its bubblegum trading cards, I never bothered with the gum. Actually, I think they were cigarette sweeties.
The film came out in the summer, as was tradition then, so I associate it with the school holidays and chlorine at the local swimming baths.
They show re-runs of MR at the BFI Southbank but the screens there are never cinematic, if the Imax were to show it again I'd be there like a shot. OHMSS was great on that screen.
I did catch Thunderball at the Empire Leicester Square but it was a rubbish print and I have to say it didn't assist my impression of the movie, I preferred it on the flatscreen with a glass of rose.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
The personal history of David Copperfield (2019)
There has been many versions of Dickens' famous books on TV and movies, but I don't think any of them succeded like this movie to make the story come alive and be entertaining.
Dev Patel plays Copperfield. As we know Patel is etnically Indian and the character in the novel isn't. I'm a history nerd and often find this kind of casting difficult. Many historical movies made today cast one or two non-white actors in parts where the people were obviously white in real life. The black ambasador and east Asian lady in waiting in "Mary Queen of Scots" are examples of this. I assume it's done to give non-white audiences someone to relate to and not just the servant or the slave. This is in some ways understandable. But I fear audiences who don't know much history are tricked into a false idea of what (in this case) Victorian England was like, while history nerds like me grind their teeth at the historical incorrectness. This politically correct stunt casting sticks out like a sore thumb.
I like the way this movie solves the problem. "The personal history ...." cast a lot of non-white actors and spread them all of the sosio-economic landscape. The movie seems to say "We know it wasn't like this and we don't care!". The movie openly disregards realism in other ways too. The movie starts with Copperfield on a theatre stage telling his story to the audience before walking towards the stage backdrop painting and into his movie. Adults litterally reach into David's childhood fantasies and destroy them. Adult David turns up in the childhood scenes to comment on what's going on. All of this works.
The acting by everyone is very good. Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi and Ben Whishaw all play characters different from their typical onscreen personas and breathe life into them. For example Whishaw plays Uria Heep, a rare villanous performanse from an actor who usually play likeable characters.
The whole movie is lively, colourful, imaginative and very entertaining. If you or someone you know isn't into Charles Dickens or period drama in general, this movie is a great way to be introduced to the genere.
I too sort of agree with the above review. It's a decent movie, it's just... something about it is a tad hard going and it's typical of almost all such adaptations for the big screen be it Dickens or Austen. There is still nothing of the guilty pleasure going on, in contrast to David Lean's Great Expectations or the Laurence Oliver/Greer Garson Pride and Prejudice of old days.
Roger Moore 1927-2017