Explain why You like your favorite Bond Movie
Pierce_Brosnan
Posts: 329MI6 Agent
From Russia With Love, I have to say is most likely my favorite since when I was young I saw it and it being my 2nd Bond movie (GF being my first to see)I was just gone into another world with the twisting story and "cool action" at least for a young boy. I remember when I was young I used to have a "crush" on the character I only knew as Tatiana Romanova. It is what got me into 007 films and now I have seen it 20+ times. I still like it know, when I have seen all the other 20 out (and Nelson in CR).
Now FRWL has all the making, because it is based on one of my favorite books- FRWL by Ian Fleming. So how do you execute a great story to make it better for the movies- well you add what they added. I will say what they added was a beautiful miss universe runner up- Daniela Bianchi as the main bond girl. They also added Pedro Armandez (or whatever his last name is!) as Ali Kerim Bey a.k.a. Darko Kerim. Why is that good? Because he is just like the book describes him, and I love his character. It is too bad the person playing him, Pedro, died at the middle of production. I also love Red Grant's OLD MAN! in your face type.
Rosa Klebb was memorable also. The movie also showed the scenic places of Istanbul, and the rare charms of Turkey.
So now we have a great story, pretty girl, great villains, and a good side-kick, and very scenic places, so what does that equal! A great movie.
Now FRWL has all the making, because it is based on one of my favorite books- FRWL by Ian Fleming. So how do you execute a great story to make it better for the movies- well you add what they added. I will say what they added was a beautiful miss universe runner up- Daniela Bianchi as the main bond girl. They also added Pedro Armandez (or whatever his last name is!) as Ali Kerim Bey a.k.a. Darko Kerim. Why is that good? Because he is just like the book describes him, and I love his character. It is too bad the person playing him, Pedro, died at the middle of production. I also love Red Grant's OLD MAN! in your face type.
Rosa Klebb was memorable also. The movie also showed the scenic places of Istanbul, and the rare charms of Turkey.
So now we have a great story, pretty girl, great villains, and a good side-kick, and very scenic places, so what does that equal! A great movie.
Comments
It is the creative standard of the Bond franchise. It has everything: the romanticism, the escapism (but in a realistic way), the class, the tough and complex hero who is is both charming and brutal, a the best single-movie Bond performance ever by Connery that may never be matched, the beautiful woman, the danger, the suspense, the imposing (but realistic) villains... everything is here and is at its best. I would say that it, along with Licence to Kill, are probably the closest movies to Fleming's creation.
First off it has always been my favourite film ever since i was like 10. After viewing it recently i began to remeber why i liked it so much in the first place. I thought that the pts was mysterious in the way they introduced the new bond and exciting while hes fighting on the beach. While this film may not be as action packed as FRWL i still find that when the action does come around it is just breath taking the ski chase is one of my favourite scenes from any movie, as well as the helicopter storming of the Piz Gloria. I find that OHMSS has the perfect blend of action and storyline and is deeply enthralling mostly due to the fact that it is one of the few novels that got adopted to screen almost word for word and scene for scene give or take a few
WHY OHMSS IS GREAT
1) The gunbarrel; groovy wah-wah guitars, the return of the "Saltzman and Broccoli" with the ampersand in the dot, and Lazenby dropping to one knee. Right from the start, to quote the trailer, this Bond's... different.
2) The understated PTS. Tracy is suicidal, and Bond rescues her. That's not the beginning of a thriller. That's certainly not the beginning of a Bond film. It's innovative, and different, and to be honest, the astonishingly brutal and well-cut fight that follows is secondary to the beauty of the "Seascape with Figures".
3) "This never happened to the other fellow." I love this, and if I'd seen it in 1969 and not been the merest hint of a twinkle in my father's eye, I think I would have whooped for joy. That's why I love Bond; they are always winking at the audience.
4) The OHMSS theme. If you don't know how it goes, buy the soundtrack now.
5) The casino scenes; pure Fleming.
6) Diana Rigg's cleavage when she reappears.
7) The fight with Che Che. I'm sorry, but for all the kudos for "modern" editing styles in today's movies - look at the way this is edited. John Glen and Peter Hunt were at least thirty years ahead of their time here, with fast, shocking cuts, brutal close ups, intimations of violence.
8) Tracy in a dressing gown top with a gun. Breasts on show, but an implication of violence and desperation; the character in a nutshell. "Suppose I were to kill you for a thrill?" - is there any more heartbreakingly empty line in the series?
9) Bond and Draco. Two people, in a room, have a conversation about a third character which is not only relevant to the plot, but also fills in valuable character details about all concerned. Something rarely seen in the series.
10) Bond/Moneypenny/M. This is how office relationships are; people flirt, and adapt with long-standing employees, and reward good work; this is Moneypenny at her most maternal ("Why don't you read it?") and her most sexual ("My problem is you never do anything with me..."). M's response is exactly what a distant/affectionate father should be; the behind the scenes acknowledgement of mother's good work.
11) We Have All The Time In The World. Yes, it's corny, and cliched, and cheesy, but you know what? I love it. It actually shows Bond as a human being, talking to someone, connecting with someone. Fleming's novel does not have a montage, for obvious reasons, and I actually believe that this makes the difference; suddenly we understand why Bond and Tracy have connected. There's a real implication that the two of them have connected on a more than physical level, and that's what I like.
12) The break in at Gumbold's office. I admit, I'm biased; as a UK Bond fan, I had to do without this scene for years, and so I get a certain thrill whenever it's on screen. But it is superb suspense material. Little things like Gumbold patting his pockets because he's forgotten something, or the photocopier taking forever to copy anything, all underscored with a wonderfully relentless score. The best suspense sequence in 20 films, bar none.
13) Lepidoptery. M, you old queen
14) The fact that Campbell's newspaper mentions Luton Town football club.
15) Ilse Steppat. She's Rosa Klebb II (The Revenge), but Fleming's descriptions have so rarely been put on screen so accurately.
16) Piz Gloria is exactly what it should be, a wonderful set and a wonderful location.
17) The Angels of Death. All great little actresses, all sexy as hell, and Joanna bleeding Lumley in amongst them - what more could you want? Special mention to Angela Scoular as the only working class Bond Girl, ever.
18) The writing on the thigh. An undeniably sexy moment.
19) Ruby topless in bed.
20) Bond repeating the same old lines to Nancy; a witty comment on Bond the sexual predator.
21) Irma Bunt in Ruby's bed. Logically, it makes no sense, but it's a fantastic image, and the subsequent zooming in of the Christmas tree is a great directorial flourish.
22) Blofeld's What I Intend To Do speech. I'm not so keen on Telly Savalas; put him with Donald Pleasance and Charles Gray, and he's the best of a bad lot, but I love his megalomaniacal speech. And the bizarre way he smokes cigarettes.
23) Bond escapes from Piz Gloria. He pulls on the ski outfit, the orchestra strikes into the theme, and we are plunged into the most exciting ski chase ever.
24) The fast paced, tense battle through the crowds at the Ice Rink. The man in the polar bear suit is just plain scary.
25) Tracy's appearance in her skating outfit. God, she's fantastic.
26) The car chase and stock car crashes. See above.
27) The barn proposal. Not at all mawkish, not nauseating; two adults finding a connection. I particularly like Tracy's "Are you sure?" We understand that there are two individuals who have found one another.
28) Tracy is dragged away from the avalanche, and Bond sees it in flashback. Flashbacks! In a Bond film!
29) Bond doing what the hell he likes and launching one hell of a fantastic assault on Piz Gloria.
30) Tracy kills Grunther, even if it is through the medium of conveniently designed art work.
31) The bobsleigh chase. For reasons too obvious to mention.
32) The wedding. With special mention to (33) Moneypenny catching Bond's hat as a pseudo bouquet. I'm sorry, but this is just about the ultimate "Bond Family" moment, and I think if you don't find Lois Maxwell heartbreaking at this point, you shouldn't actually be watching this film.
(34) Tracy is killed. Still, thirty odd years on, a shock and a horror. The thing is, you know it's going to happen; Bond wouldn't be Bond with the Little Woman in tow. But it tears you up when you see her face with that sad bullet hole. And when he has to, Lazenby absolutely rises to the occasion. Any disparaging remarks about his past performance are destroyed by a final scene that I'm still convinced Connery or Dalton could never have pulled off.
35) The fact that I listed the previous 34 reasons without ever having to refer to a reference guide, or a DVD; the film is so burned in my psyche I can do it from heart.
@merseytart
You make a great case jetsetwilly! Makes me want to go away and watch it right now, if I hadn't done so already a couple of months ago. I'm going to post hopefully tomorrow on my fave, TLD if I have the time.......
Sorry but, ditto !
jetset has listed everything I love about this film - number 14 aside
Even if Connery appeared as Bond, this film could not be improved - in fact I think his appearance would detract from the film.
Best story.
Best Bond girl.
Best director.
Best musical score.
Best Blofeld.
Best action.
Best chase scene.
Best.
Best.
Best.
I agree with everything in your post, except I think Dalton could have pulled off the final scene as well as Lazenby did. None of the others could have come close, IMO. {[]
First of all, this movie has everything... Blofeld is played by pleasance very well. The volcano lairs is the eigth wonder of the world. In addition, Japan is an excellent locale for this movie. The fact that Osato is a plot twist is plausible and well done. In addition, Connery is in one of his best movies.
However I have to go with FRWL, the paradigm of the low-budget bond. Why?
Intelligent plot.
Great locations.
Most memorable henchman.
Credible cold-war setting.
No plot holes or gratuitous twists.
No implausible narrow escapes
I've always preferred Bond films that entail undercover and intelligence work. Sadly our hero isn't always a very able investigator. Too often his strategy consists of getting caught by the villain, getting him to boast about his plan and then making a last minute escape.
I prefer a Bond who doesn't rely on the villain giving him a fair chance to escape when, under normal circumstances, the villain would just shoot him at point-blank range. For these reasons I also admire TLD and FYEO which continue the FRWL legacy
This was...beautiful-- it almost brought tears to my eyes as a matter of fact. Needless to say, as another lifelong devotee of this wonderful, engaging and unique film, agreed 100%.
Telly Savalas was not the right choice for Blofeld. He comes across like an effete American gangster. The cigarette waving, snide,
bully he portrays just isn't Blofeld. Also, Blofeld would never take part in the ski chase sequence. That's a job for henchmen.
George Lazenby sadly falls short in his performance as 007. He's not really bad in the role. Just not very good. I think, had Connery done the role, OHMSS would be my favorite despite Telly Savalas' Blofeld. Lazenby's frilly tuxedo shirt, his polyester golf togs,
the flask in his desk drawer, are all very un-Bond. Lazenby has a flat delivery of his lines as well. An inexperienced actor at the time he
made the film, he might have grown into the role given the opportunity, but his performance here falls apart, not when he's angry or upset so much as when he is just delivering a line in conversation. He becomes wooden. Listen closely to his first conversation with Draco and then try to imagine Connery's delivery. I think you'll agree, nobody does it better than Sean.
My favorite remains From Russia with Love.
Sean Connery, Robert Shaw, Pedro Armendariz,
Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell and Desmond LLewllyn all give superlative performances. Daniela Bianchi gives a fresh, un-actressy and ver sincere performance as Tatiana. That laugh when
Connery slaps her bottom, her tears when she learns of Kerim's death and when Bond strikes her, her killing of Klebb, all fantastic. Special mention has to be given to Lotte Lenya's
performance as Klebb. She perfectly underscores the character's toadlike qualities.
Of course, the real hero of FRWL was Pedro Armendariz. Seriously ill, during filming, he often collapsed in agony after his scenes were shot, yet he gives a strong, humorous, warm performance as Kerim, betraying nothing of the pain he obviously felt.
OHMSS is a fine film and remains one of my favorites for its sincerity and closeness to Fleming's original. It just can't beat Russia, though.-{
So that's why I shall be devoting this post to my joint third favourite Bond movie...that's right...Moonraker!
*cue menacing stares from the Flemingists*
*cue Sidewinder not being bothered in the slightest by said menacing stares*
OK, enough fooling around, here we go.
1) The Bond: Roger Moore. Moore stepped right out of Sean Connery's shadow in TSWLM with a confident, suave, and balanced portrayal. His performance here isn't quite as excellent, but it's very much in the same vein. One of his best scenes is when he emerges from his high-speed ride in the centrifuge. Bond simply looks completely defeated here, and much of the credit must go to Sir Roger.
2) The Girl: OK, Lois Chiles' acting style might not be to everyone's taste, but I thought she pulled off the 'ice cool' character of Dr. Goodhead fairly well. A worthy successor to XXX.
3) The Villain: Hugo Drax is my pick for the best villain of the movie franchise. Cultured, soft spoken and quietly menacing, Michel Lonsdale's performance is a superb example of low-key acting.
4) John Barry's soundtrack. Very definitely among his best - his instrumental version of Shirley Bassey's theme song is wonderfully fitting, and his work on the space scenes give the whole film a grand, luxuriant feel. Mr. Barry truly never will be replaced.
5) Corinne Dufour. Not only does she have some real chemistry with Bond, but she gets the best death scene of a secondary Bond girl ever. Ironic how a film with a reputation such as Moonraker's contains a scene involving a woman getting ripped to death by Dobermans. Is MR really a iron fist in a velvet glove? I think it might be.
4) Actual spywork! For all the gadgetry and technology, it's easy to forget that Bond really does act like a spy in this film. At Drax's chateau he breaks into the safe. In Venice he infiltrates Drax's lab - without the assistance of gadgetry - and then discovers the link (albeit accidentally) to Rio de Janeiro. Then, on Drax's space station, he takes a proactive role by turning Jaws against Drax, by using Drax's own ideology. Compare this with the supposedly more down-to-earth FYEO, where a Bond finds out the single most important piece of info in the entire movie from a...parrot. Yeah.
5) Ken Adam's sets. From Drax's chateau, to the poison gas lab in Venice, to Drax's launch site in the Mayan ruins, to the space station, it's all superb. Particarly the space station, which looks great even today.
6) Jaws. OK, here, he's clearly been downgraded a bit from TSWLM. And yes, Dolly should have been left on the cutting room floor where she belongs. But him changing sides at the end has always struck a chord with me - it shows a nice bit of character development and shows that Jaws, for all his dimwittedness, really isn't anyone's fool.
7) Irony. Not a reason to like the film in itself, but I thought I'd mention it anyway: MR may not be particularly faithful to the novel, but I always found it funny that while Drax was a Nazi officer in the book, in the film, he's essentially Hitler in space.
8) Tension. Say what you like about the ending shooting-down-the-globes sequence, but I always found this scenes to be bursting with tension...particularly when the laser gun malfunctions, meaning only Bond's aim stands between 100 million people and certain death.
And I think all of us were worried for Bond when he was being spun half to death in the centrifuge.
9) "I think he's attempting re-entry, sir..."
10) The whole re-occuring theme of Bond encountering Drax's beauties. Nicely done and understatedly creepy.
OK, that's it, I've said my piece. It's not up to the standards of Jetset's impassioned homage to OHMSS, true, but if I've made an MR-supporter out of at least one person here, then my work is done.B-)
A noble defense, and well put!
I love Moonraker. Yes, Jaws could have been a little less silly; his flapping of his arms in the PTS is regrettable. I could have done without the romance with Dolly as well. But there is a lot of great stuff here: Free falling without a parachute, the centrifuge trainer, pheasant hunting with Drax, the fight in the glass museum, the cable car fight, the boat chase, the battle in the space station.
One thing I still don't understand is why people don't like the Bondola. I think it's great! :007)
Moonraker also has one of the best endings in the series, IMHO. Plus, Shirley Bassey's dance version of the title theme is sheer bliss.
Always brings a tear to my eye to hear others sing the praises of MR.
-Roger Moore
Dr. No remains one of my favourite, if only because of the enigmatic Doctor.Not to mention Honey Ryder surging from the waves like some Goddess.
YOLT has some of the best music and another enigmatic Donald Pleasance.
I didn`t like any Bond as of 1984. Sorry but I`m old fashioned
Too bad it didn't have the same effect on Moore.
To be honest, I prefer Bond to have a physique like Moore (or Connery or Lazenby) rather than like Danny "Bodybuilder" Craig. It's more...befitting a secret agent.:)
I completely agree. People often criticise Moore for his physique, but it has never mattered as I have always been convinced that that is how an M16 agent would look within the reality of the films.
1) The tanks chase through St Petersburg. Probably my favourite scene in any Bond movie. It's just brilliant. Exciting and larger than life, but still believeable (apart from nodoby leaves the key's in the ignition of a loaded tank in the Middle of St Pb.
2) Trevelyan. Believeable villain with some very interesting character traits and a history with 007.
3) Xenia Onnatop. Probably the best hencewoman in any Bond film IMO. Larger than life and very sexy. Crushing victims with her thighs another interesting character trait, although it is a bit kinky just how much enjoyment she gets out of killing.
4) The plot is believeable. Nuff said.
5) The finale on the satellite dish. Tense and exciting
6) The grenade pen. I just like that scene.
1) The best Bond, Sean Connery, at his peak form. He was never better than in this film and this is the greatest performance as James Bond by any actor in any of the films. He is extremely comfortable in the role and in his element and also at the point where he still seems to enjoy the role. Little touches like flowing the flowers over the corpse and stopping to grab some fruit while eluding a gunman are great.
2) An excellent plot. One of my favorites. Seems to follow pretty closely to the novel while adding in a bit of the Bond films of the '60s flair. In other words the perfect mix.
3) Fantastic dialogue. Some of the best lines of the series are from this film such as the "Do you mind if my friend sits this one out, she's just dead" or the "no but I know a bit about women" line.
4) Underrated Bond girls. No, Domino is not the best Bond girl in the series. But I don't think she gets the credit she deserves. I like her a lot and the other girls in the film are nothing to sneeze at either. Of course no one can forget about Fiona. A very underrated group of Bond girls that I like a lot.
5) The locations are beautiful. Count me among those who enjoys the underwater scenes. The locations are beautiful and it often feels like you are actually there. Nice tropical climate and little touches like people celebrating on the dock at night really adds something to the film.
6) The parade. Enough said. Very very tense.
7) The Shrublands sequence. One of my favorite parts of any Bond film. I loved the interaction between Pat and 007 and the sneaking around that Bond did at night. The guy with his face all wrapped up added a bit of creepiness. And Connery's line after hitting the fire alarm "could it be the doorbell?" always cracks me up.
8) The villains. Largo is a suitably menacing villain and of course Fiona is also great. But what really makes the villains in this film stand out to me is the fact that these are only a few members of the sinister SPECTRE. This film is SPECTRE at peak form. You know that Bond will probably succeed in stopping Largo but the shadowy presence of this organization is always there in the background. Hidden Blofeld is awesome and the whole organization seems very dangerous in this film.
9) The score for this film is one of my favorites. The music really adds to the tone of the film.
10) It's hard to describe but there's a feel to this movie that none of the others have. It seems to balance everything perfectly. There is tension and a certain eeriness to parts of it. Some people complain that the film is slow moving. I say that the pace is perfect. I enjoy the scenes where the various MI6 agents assemble to hear Blofeld's threats and other similar scenes that I feel add to the general feel of the film. It makes me sad that this was the last film that Terrence Young directed. But he did go out on top.