Agreed, DAF was a weak effort by Connery and everyone else involved. The humor was so silly that it played more like a Roger Moore Bond than a Connery Bond. But contrast his fight in the elevator with the "real" Mr. Franks with any hand-to-hand combat Roger Moore ever engaged in. Sean Connery, even at his DAF low point, still gave the impression that he could be fearsome and formidable. Moore at his best never matched that level.
I agree that it started with Connery's humorous quips and asides, but the genius of Sir Sean is that he still managed to keep the elements of menance and danger intact as well. Moore was never able to pull that off.
The ironic thing is that the comic route didn't even begin with Moore. It began with Connery.
By the time DAF was coming round, Connery was looking tired and not particularly "dangerous". Also by DAF the humour was becoming a lot sillier ("I was looking for my pet rat and I seem to have lost my way")
Agreed, DAF was a weak effort by Connery and everyone else involved. The humor was so silly that it played more like a Roger Moore Bond than a Connery Bond. But contrast his fight in the elevator with the "real" Mr. Franks with any hand-to-hand combat Roger Moore ever engaged in. Sean Connery, even at his DAF low point, still gave the impression that he could be fearsome and formidable. Moore at his best never matched that level.
I agree that it started with Connery's humorous quips and asides, but the genius of Sir Sean is that he still managed to keep the elements of menance and danger intact as well. Moore was never able to pull that off.
By the time DAF was coming round, Connery was looking tired and not particularly "dangerous". Also by DAF the humour was becoming a lot sillier ("I was looking for my pet rat and I seem to have lost my way")
Maybe Moore would've done a good job on OHMSS, but I felt Lazenby's performance to be near-perfect, for the movie.
I feel like Lazenby had traits of both his predecessor and his successor. He had the masculine solid down-to-earth grounding of Connery, but he also had the politeness of Moore. This made for a perfect middle ground in the transition between the two.
I am almost sorry Roger did not portray 007 in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. If he had he would get a lot more respect than he does now in Bond forums such as this. If you are not convinced that he was capable of portraying the more emotional aspects (such as Tracy's death) then I invite you to watch The Man Who Haunted Himself, which was made around the same time as OHMSS. Arguably the performance of Roger's career, beautifully playing the two sides of Pelham, the confident/brash versus the weak/insecure.
Moore Not Less 4371 posts (2002 - 2007) Moore Than (2012 - 2016)
If you are not convinced that he was capable of portraying the more emotional aspects (such as Tracy's death) then I invite you to watch The Man Who Haunted Himself, which was made around the same time as OHMSS. Arguably the performance of Roger's career, beautifully playing the two sides of Pelham, the confident/brash versus the weak/insecure.
I actually agree with you about that. I think Moore would have fared very well with those aspects of OHMSS. On the other, I can't picture him pulling off the PTS fight on the beach convincingly. Lazenby does both quite impressively, IMO.
^ That's why I think Lazenby was the best Bond. If the Connery was 25%light / 75%serious and Moore was 75%light / 25%serious, Lazenby strikes a 50-50 balance. Just like OHMSS itself does.
With the final tragic scene for example, Lazenby didn't nail it perfectly, but I don't see Moore or Connery nailing it either. It would've been too grim a moment for Moore and Connery would've been to stoic for it. I do think Dalton would've made that into a memorable scene though.
For me Connery, Lazenby and Craig all look good in the
fight scenes. Brosnan and Moore are ok, with Dalton looking
very stiff ( oh er missus ) in the fights.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
If you are not convinced that he was capable of portraying the more emotional aspects (such as Tracy's death) then I invite you to watch The Man Who Haunted Himself, which was made around the same time as OHMSS. Arguably the performance of Roger's career, beautifully playing the two sides of Pelham, the confident/brash versus the weak/insecure.
I actually agree with you about that. I think Moore would have fared very well with those aspects of OHMSS. On the other, I can't picture him pulling off the PTS fight on the beach convincingly. Lazenby does both quite impressively, IMO.
Admittedly, the fight scenes were not a great strength of Roger Moore's. But having Peter Hunt behind the camera, and the use of his fast cut film editing technique, then Roger would surely have looked a lot better. I am surprised they never tried that while Roger was Bond. Maybe it would have made him look too brutal.
Moore Not Less 4371 posts (2002 - 2007) Moore Than (2012 - 2016)
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I'll give you that...the elevator fight was good.
I feel like Lazenby had traits of both his predecessor and his successor. He had the masculine solid down-to-earth grounding of Connery, but he also had the politeness of Moore. This made for a perfect middle ground in the transition between the two.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
I actually agree with you about that. I think Moore would have fared very well with those aspects of OHMSS. On the other, I can't picture him pulling off the PTS fight on the beach convincingly. Lazenby does both quite impressively, IMO.
With the final tragic scene for example, Lazenby didn't nail it perfectly, but I don't see Moore or Connery nailing it either. It would've been too grim a moment for Moore and Connery would've been to stoic for it. I do think Dalton would've made that into a memorable scene though.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
fight scenes. Brosnan and Moore are ok, with Dalton looking
very stiff ( oh er missus ) in the fights.
Admittedly, the fight scenes were not a great strength of Roger Moore's. But having Peter Hunt behind the camera, and the use of his fast cut film editing technique, then Roger would surely have looked a lot better. I am surprised they never tried that while Roger was Bond. Maybe it would have made him look too brutal.