I am not a Moore fan in general for all the obvious reasons, but I do like LALD.I particularly like the 'Englishman in new York' quality, and after the bloated Sean in DAF Roger looks trim and dapper, and for me gives his best performance in the role. Great theme tune and superb villain.
Great film, worthy entry, love the Bond by himself thing going on, it's very Jack Baer. Solitaire is beautiful and defiantly in my top five best Bond girls. Moore looks great, it's my 3rd fav Moore film behind FYEO and OP.
“The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. "
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
LALD had the misfortune of being made during the campy, low budget era of Bond from 1971-1975. However, it holds up far better than DAF and TMWTGG.
LALD used to rank among my favorites because of the cool voodoo theme, crazy car wrecks, and great villians, but I kinda got bored with repeat viewings due to the overlong boat chase and JW Pepper. Last night I revisited the film with the commentary track on and my interest in the film was mostly restored.
Roger's first attempt at Bond is a good one. A bit stiff in the role, but maintains a dry sense of humor and looks like a true Englishman.
Ordering bourbon was a nice touch. Perhaps Rog was closer to Fleming's Bond that most give him credit for? He is also quite resourceful on a number of occasions. The makeshift flame-thrower, using petrol can as a weapon, and the famous alligator hop after his rowboat idea failed.
The lack of Q hurts the film, especially since the alternative was the goofy visit to 007's flat. Despite this, Bond managed to get one of the neatest gadgets: The magnetic watch. (Also used in Goldeneye 64 as Watch Magnet Attract)
The hangliding scene is quintessential Bond. Smoking a cigar, kicking sentry off the cliff, and changing into his reversible jacket upon landing.
Moore also looks like a great action hero dressed in black and packing a .44 magnum. Meanwhile, Quarrel Jr. and Felix become some of Bond's most likable allies.
Kananga, Baron Samedi, and Tee Hee are all top notch baddies. LALD succeeds in integrating these talented black actors into a Bond film without a hitch, which is a big why the film holds up so well today.
I'd rank it a solid 7/10 with potential to rise up the rankings as the years go on. Or at least develop a cult-following!
My current 10 favorite:
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
I loved the film for years, for many of the same reasons you mention. I was 10 when I saw it, thought the Connery era (DAF) was getting stale, conservative, formulaic, pudgy,.... Liked Moore in THE SAINT reruns in syndication, and thought he'd bring a new flavour of C-o-o-l to the role (he did), looked and carried himself younger than his years. It had a swankodelic contemporary-flavoured soundtrack by Beatles producer George Martin, big hit song by McCartney & Wings, features really groovy Age of Aquarius Tarot paintings by Fergus Hall (I treasure my original set), Jane Seymour was good enough to eat, Geoffrey Holder was bizarre and menacing, Tee Hee was just menacing, Yaphet Kotto was a believable real-world icy cold crook (until the cordial end, I never liked his affable monologuing in the cave), liked how the villain died in a gruesome fashion like in the books, Quarrel wasn't a cartoonish buffoon played for laughs, New York was portrayed as gritty and dangerous,.... I could go on and on.
Great costuming (contemporary-snazzy, not conservative-frumpy), great production design, nice photography, and as usual pretty spectacular stunts. As usual, wherever Bond goes, mayhem and destruction isn't far behind. And he scores a babe any of us would give our left nut to share one night with.
Watched it again last week while suffering from bronchitis and NyQuil, it seems a little dopey in spots, but I still love the truly scary 'gator farm scene, and I do like the extended boat chase (INCLUDING J.W. Pepper with his "What the f--!" and "You tell Mrs Pearson to go take a flying ---- at that dog"; c'mon Hitchcock knew well that scary has to be balanced with funny to keep the audience involved). As a Bond film it sort of moves along too smoothly for me (Moore only seems earnestly worried a couple of times). I liked how he makes M this delicious, gourmet, true blue Italian cup of cappuccino and all M says is, "Is that all that [it] does?"
Hitchcock knew well that scary has to be balanced with funny to keep the audience involved). As a Bond film it sort of moves along too smoothly for me (Moore only seems earnestly worried a couple of times).
Two excellent points back to back.
1. Fans of the darker, edgier Bond don't seem to appreciate the bits of humor added to the mix. Even License to Kill had some lighter moments to help offset the extreme violence. Having just the right amounts of both usually leads to a successful Bond film. That being said, I have a very low tolerance for Jar-Jar Binks type of comic relief characters. JW Pepper would be a lot funnier if he only appeared briefly.
2. The ease at which 007 completes some of his missions has been bothering me lately. It's a factor which I never really considered before, but now becoming more of an issue.
My current 10 favorite:
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Comments
"I think I can lick her into shape"
1.SF 2.CR 3.OHMSS 4.DN 5.YOLT
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
James Bond- Licence To Kill
LALD used to rank among my favorites because of the cool voodoo theme, crazy car wrecks, and great villians, but I kinda got bored with repeat viewings due to the overlong boat chase and JW Pepper. Last night I revisited the film with the commentary track on and my interest in the film was mostly restored.
Roger's first attempt at Bond is a good one. A bit stiff in the role, but maintains a dry sense of humor and looks like a true Englishman.
Ordering bourbon was a nice touch. Perhaps Rog was closer to Fleming's Bond that most give him credit for? He is also quite resourceful on a number of occasions. The makeshift flame-thrower, using petrol can as a weapon, and the famous alligator hop after his rowboat idea failed.
The lack of Q hurts the film, especially since the alternative was the goofy visit to 007's flat. Despite this, Bond managed to get one of the neatest gadgets: The magnetic watch. (Also used in Goldeneye 64 as Watch Magnet Attract)
The hangliding scene is quintessential Bond. Smoking a cigar, kicking sentry off the cliff, and changing into his reversible jacket upon landing.
Moore also looks like a great action hero dressed in black and packing a .44 magnum. Meanwhile, Quarrel Jr. and Felix become some of Bond's most likable allies.
Kananga, Baron Samedi, and Tee Hee are all top notch baddies. LALD succeeds in integrating these talented black actors into a Bond film without a hitch, which is a big why the film holds up so well today.
I'd rank it a solid 7/10 with potential to rise up the rankings as the years go on. Or at least develop a cult-following!
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Great costuming (contemporary-snazzy, not conservative-frumpy), great production design, nice photography, and as usual pretty spectacular stunts. As usual, wherever Bond goes, mayhem and destruction isn't far behind. And he scores a babe any of us would give our left nut to share one night with.
Watched it again last week while suffering from bronchitis and NyQuil, it seems a little dopey in spots, but I still love the truly scary 'gator farm scene, and I do like the extended boat chase (INCLUDING J.W. Pepper with his "What the f--!" and "You tell Mrs Pearson to go take a flying ---- at that dog"; c'mon Hitchcock knew well that scary has to be balanced with funny to keep the audience involved). As a Bond film it sort of moves along too smoothly for me (Moore only seems earnestly worried a couple of times). I liked how he makes M this delicious, gourmet, true blue Italian cup of cappuccino and all M says is, "Is that all that [it] does?"
"Insomnia, sir?" "Instructions!"
“It reads better than it lives.” T. Case
Two excellent points back to back.
1. Fans of the darker, edgier Bond don't seem to appreciate the bits of humor added to the mix. Even License to Kill had some lighter moments to help offset the extreme violence. Having just the right amounts of both usually leads to a successful Bond film. That being said, I have a very low tolerance for Jar-Jar Binks type of comic relief characters. JW Pepper would be a lot funnier if he only appeared briefly.
2. The ease at which 007 completes some of his missions has been bothering me lately. It's a factor which I never really considered before, but now becoming more of an issue.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK