Bond films in packs.
Sweepy the Cat
Halifax, West Yorkshire, EnglaPosts: 986MI6 Agent
As we all know the bond films always seem to come in packs. Some films are stand-alone and some come together in ane entire era (PB). What's your fave era (1-4 films) I like the first couple of bond films (DN and FRWL). Although missing lots of the key bond moments they are still good films and close to the book. What about you?
Comments
The oddest era, for me, would have to be 1965-1971. These six years encompassed Thunderball, YOLT, OHMSS and DAF. And yet Bond's world is quite different in each of them, and each had a different director, lending a different flavour. There is little consistency, and OHMSS is a real oddball in comparison.
Of course, with hindsight we can see that Bond became more iconic during this time, though less human or recognisable. The old Bond, James Bond catchphrase, the Aston Martin returns, the tux. There's a greater emphasis on all this and in some ways it resembles Brosnan's stint, which saw each film with a different director and a different world each time.
For me, the first three films hang well together, though the excellent GF seems a disappointment when watched in close proximity to the first two.
Maybe they go:
Dr No + FRWL
GF + TB
YOLT + DAF
LALD + TMWTGG
YOLT + TSWLM + MR
and I'm afraid I'd lump all the 80s films together except for AVTAK.
OHMSS + CR, perhaps.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I also believe '77 to '83 was a marvelous run.
I would agree on this; TSWLM, MR, FYEO and OP were definitely the very best of Moore, and a good period for the franchise.
Personally speaking, I don't mind FRWL to YOLT. -{
DN-TB
YOLT-DAF
LALD-MR
FYEO-AVTAK
TLD-GE (This may be a little unorthodox to seperate the Brosnan era, but GE is much darker than the other Brozz films and fits in more iwth the Dalton era IMO.)
TND-DAD
CR-Bond 23(Assuming DC does 3 Bond films as his contract entails.)
It's far too early to tell, but i'd make a pretty safe bet that the Craig era will ultimately be my favorite after he has made a couple more Bonds.
As far as the other era's go, I'd have to say the dark and gritty TLD-GE era would be my fav. DN-TB would take an extremely close second (Long live Connery!!!).
DN and FRWL
GF and TB
YOLT, OHMSS and DAF
LALD and TMWTGG
TSMLM and MR
FYEO, OP and AVTAK
TLD and LTK
and
GE, TND, TWINE and DAD
Golden Age:
DN through OHMSS
Showing Its Age:
DAF
Sew-Age
LALD through AVTAK
Too Short an Age:
LD and LTK
New Age:
GE through DAD
True Bond-Age
CR
I rather like that, actually {[]
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I would pair up Dr No and FRWL, GF and TB (although I think that OHMSS could easily be grouped in with these two films), YOLT with TSWLM and MR, LALD with TMWTGG, FYEO with AVTAK, TLD and LTK, GE with TND and TWINE, DAF with OP and DAD, and I would probably pair up CR with OHMSS.
In terms of quality, this is how I would group the Bond films:
The Golden Age:
DN-OHMSS. Although YOLT was a slight disappointment, all of the films released during this era were masterpieces and five of the films released during this era were IMO among the six best Bond films of all time. DN-TB remain my all-time four favourite Bond films while OHMSS is sixth on my list. This is the era in which IMO Bond came closer to perfection than in any other era.
The Silver Age:
DAF-OP. Although TMWTGG and MR were disappointments, I consider TSWLM to be the fifth greatest Bond film of all time (and the greatest non-Connery Bond film) and I love LALD, FYEO & OP. However, even TMWTGG and MR had redeeming qualities. I think that this was an absolutely brilliant era, and the last era in which I would use the term 'absolute masterpiece' to describe a film (in this case TSWLM.)
The Bronze Age:
GE-TWINE. An inconsistent era, true, but IMO it is still an era that has produced brilliance. GE was a flawed masterpiece, TWINE was fantastic and TND had a couple of truly great scenes. Plus, of course, this era had Brosnan; IMO the second best Bond of all time. Boy, do I want this era back.
The Semi-Dark Age:
DAD-CR. DAD is my third least-favourite films and I'm not a big fan of CR. I don't think that this era is without redeeming features (DAD did have Brosnan, and I don't hate CR) but this is still an era which I hope will soon pass. Sadly, the news that Craig has signed on for four more films means that this era will continue on for quite a while.
The Dark Age:
AVTAK-LTK. AVTAK and TLD are my two least favourite Bond films, while LTK is fourth last. The disappointing thing about this era is that not only did we have to deal with Dalton, by far my least favourite Bond, but it provides evidence that nobody is perfect; that is, Moore, my third favourite Bond, should have stepped down after OP. ALthough LTK wasn't as horrible as the other two, it still has some nightmarish elements (such as Dalton's performance.)
I avoid these three films as much as possible, and in fact, along with DAD; AVTAK, TLD and LTK are three of only four Bond films, which if they were on TV, I would not go out of my way to watch. A horrible era; IMO this remains the worst era in the history of the Bond films. Ugh! X-(
Umm, he did.
An Average (but quintissential Bond movie):
DN
The Golden Connery Era:
FRWL-GF
The Not-so-golden Connery Era:
TB-YOLT, DAF
A Breath of fresh air:
OHMSS
Moore, Moore, Moore!:
LALD-AVTAK
The Apocalypse:
TLD-LTK X-(
The Best Bond Movie EVER:
GE
A subpar Bond movie that's a not-as-good ripoff of YOLT and TSWLM:
TND
A good movie, even if it is sort of a GF ripoff:
TWINE
The Apocalypse Revisited:
DAD-CR
The Eve of the Early Baroque period: OHMSS
Early Baroque: Diamonds Are Forever-The Spy Who Loved Me
Late Baroque: Moonraker-Octopussy
The Eve of the Dark Ages: A View To A Kill
The Dark Ages: The Living Daylights-Licence To Kill
Reconstruction: GoldenEye-Die Another Day
The New Age: Casino Royale-Bond #25
Classics - Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, Casino Royale,
Almost Classics - The Living Daylights, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only, Licence To Kill,
Also rans - Goldeneye, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die,
The Man With The Golden Gun,
The Spy Who Loved Me, Never Say Never Again, The World Is Not Enough,
AYFKM - Die Another Day, Moonraker, Octopussy, Tomorrow Never Dies, A View To A Kill,