If George Lazenby is your favourite Bond...

Brosnan_fan · October 2009

...Please tell me why this is so.

Mind you, I think OHMSS is a very good film - it has pretty much everything a Bond fan could ask for, and Lazenby does put in a good performance (I am not taking anything away from the man, if you were wondering :v ).

However, IMO it was a good film because of the COLLECTIVE efforts of everyone on both sides of the camera, so I can't say that Lazenby carried the film all by himself.

Higgins · October 2009

Are you really interested in hearing other peoples' opinion or has your thread just the purpose of clashing of different opinions?

Alex · October 2009

He's not my #1 007, but a film is hard to judge anybody.

Peter Hunt worked his collective a$$ off, and in the process, made Gl look excellent. Compared to the studs of today, I think George Lazenby is Olivier.

Yeah, there is that pesky annoying afterthought of an ego-strong 28 year old, thinking that the world owes him something. But in past interviews, George has admitted his headstrong & youthful ways to be the product of rash thinking.

I would have told them off at that age myself!

The movie's excellent, what more can a fan ask? :007)

Tobias · October 2009

There is plenty of action and a good soundtrack too.the battle at Piz Gloria is good too one of the best bond battles

zaphod · November 2009

Tobias wrote:

There is plenty of action and a good soundtrack too.the battle at Piz Gloria is good too one of the best bond battles

Agreed.

There seems to be a pattern, as with each new Bond we get a very high calibre entry as Eon go 'back to basics' and re focus to produce a much better film than the immediate predecessors. For example I am not a fan of Roger Moore's Bond, but LALD is streets ahead of the overblown DAF. Same was true of OHMSS, with a much closer alignment to Fleming, a trim and fit looking Bond, great locations, and of course the superb Dianna Rigg. I liked GL as bond, but he was really playing the younger Connerry playing Bond. Had he continued I think he may have made it his own and found his own voice, but alas we shall never know. What is clear to me is that his one shot at it is one of the highpoints of the series so far.

Wint and Kidd far-out · November 2009

OHMSS is a wonderful Bond film. The story is excellent and the action breathtaking. I would not find any fault with Lazenby's performance in itself. The thing is since it was the only time he ever played Bond, I really cannot relate as strongly to him as to any of the other actors. One movie just isn't enough for the actor to firmly grow on me. Even Timothy Dalton settles into Bond's role strong in my mind after his second outing.

Manxman · November 2009

George Lazenby is indeed my favourite James Bond. Obviously he was blessed in having the finest script of the series, but his performance is still impeccable. He succeeds for me because he has such great range, and is capable of capturing all the different facets of Fleming's character: the swagger, the poise, the charm, the anger, the self-doubt, the vulnerability and even the self-destructiveness. Of all the other actors to play Bond, only Dalton came close to covering all those bases.

Loeffelholz · November 2009

I'm a huge fan of OHMSS...and while Lazenby isn't my favourite, I have a great respect for what he was able to pull off with the bare minimum of acting experience. His final scene is momentous; and his physicality hasn't been truly rivalled (IMO) since Craig assumed the tux. A classic high point in the franchise.

CJ007Goldeneye · November 2009

I think George was the worst bond ever, a disgrace to the bond genre!

Dan Same · November 2009

I love OHMSS. :x IMO it's the sixth greatest Bond film of all time. Regarding Lazenby, I didn't particularly like him. While I love his physicality, and I think that his handling of the final scene is fantastic, I'm not convinced that he would have improved if he had more experience. I think it's just a bad performance full stop; the handling of the final scene (and his physicality) excepted.

Napoleon Plural · November 2009

Lazenby gets better as he goes on - was it filmed chronologically? Yes, the final scene is a knockout, however he's quite annoying in the first 45 minutes and the film's plush stuffiness makes the aussie seem even more brash and sort of straitjacketed. That said, he has more of Fleming's character about him at times.

Barbel · November 2009

Napoleon Plural wrote:

Lazenby gets better as he goes on - was it filmed chronologically?

The Swiss exterior scenes were shot first, then the interiors at Pinewood, then the Portugal scenes.

Dangerman009 · November 2009

While not my favorite Bond, I thought he did a good job. I also think Lazenby got a bad deal. On Her Majesty's Secret Service had a HUGE emotional range for a new actor to try to fill. And coming in on the coat tails of Connery like that would have been hard for anybody. I do think that he should have had the opportunity to do Diamonds Are Forever. I don't think one film is enough to judge how well a particular actor will do in a role like Bond.

Wint and Kidd far-out · November 2009

The way I've heard the story Lazenby only ever intended to play the role once.

I may be wrong, but I thought Sean was persuaded to come back for DAF after George put his foot down and refused.

Hardyboy · November 2009

Wint and Kidd far-out wrote:

The way I've heard the story Lazenby only ever intended to play the role once.

I may be wrong, but I thought Sean was persuaded to come back for DAF after George put his foot down and refused.

You're not wrong. Lazenby listened to a lot of people who told him that James Bond was dead and that he could go on to become a big star in other projects. Lazenby refused to sign a multi-picture contract and announced before OHMSS had wrapped that he wouldn't play Bond again. He's gone on record several times since that he regrets the decision.

Dangerman009 · November 2009

I heard him in an interview say that, basically, he wasn't offered the part again. We may never know for sure. I'll see if I can find the DVD that interview was on. I can almost see Lazenby in Diamonds Are Forever.

christotheman · November 2009

IMO I think that he was trying to be like Connery Too Much, So did RM early on, but later he became his own Bond. So I think if GL stayed on as Bond for A Little Longer, everyone would've come to like him.

Napoleon Plural · November 2009

He may have been fired. It suits both parties to make it look like he walked away from the role; it doesn't make EON look like they've killed his chances of a career and he comes across as ballsy. I know that's not the official line but he did rub everyone up the wrong way on a set that is usually meant to be a happy one.

Dangerman009 · November 2009

Here is Lazenby's quote from the interview:

"Without any doubt, I should have done another one. Just to take away the doubts that, that they fired me. Some people say they fired me and everyone whose known me or been around me knows that I walked away from it. Which, in retrospect, was not a clever thing to do. You know, career wise."

This is from the DVD The James Bond Story that came out about the time of The World Is Not Enough. Take it for what it's worth.

sharpshooter · November 2009

Loeffelholz wrote:

I'm a huge fan of OHMSS...and while Lazenby isn't my favourite, I have a great respect for what he was able to pull off with the bare minimum of acting experience. His final scene is momentous; and his physicality hasn't been truly rivalled (IMO) since Craig assumed the tux. A classic high point in the franchise.

I'm with you.

DaltonFan1 · November 2009

For me, Lazenby is currently vying with Connery and Craig for second place behind Dalton.
It is one of the great shames of the series that Lazenby did not continue and grow in the role.

The Domino Effect · November 2009

For what it's worth, I arranged to have Lois Maxwell come and speak to my class in about 1980. She gave a fantastic talk and then answered questions from my fellow classmates. Inevitably, someone asked about Lazenby. She said that Lazenby had refused to sign a multi-picture deal because he believed that OHMSS would be so popular that he could negotiate more money after it was released. Unfortunately, it wasn't as well received as had been hoped or expected and Lazenby wasn't invited back.

If George Lazenby is your favourite Bond...

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