Just tried to watch Moonraker. Didn't make it past cable car. I can honestly not think of a good thing to say about it except the Cinematography, even the score is lackluster and a career low for Barry. I thought I'd try again as soon many here find it enjoyable fun.
This is my next re-watch. I think it has one of Barry’s best scores of all time, which I thought most people agreed on!
I may have been a bit harsh on the score...the title song is so weak it put me right off from the get go. I do agree that this is a Bond film where you can definitely see the money in terms of sets, cinematography and locations. For me the best score is YOLT. Never mind. I'll get me coat (again)
Of that of which we cannot speak we must pass over in silence- Ludwig Wittgenstein.
Barry's scores up to and including DAF were simply superb - they were some of the greatest movie scores of all time not just including Bond films. But TMWTGG was a disaster and MR and OP were just average compared to what had come before. AVTAK and TLD were just paint by numbers scores I truly believe that Barry had lost interest in Bond by that point - harsh perhaps and just like zaphod99 only my opinion and I respect others who think differently.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Dang, I just spent a total of $70 this week watching Bond movies on Amazon despite owning them all on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray. The reason? I was away from home.
TSWLM: In an all-out effort to make the ultimate Bond movie it's surprising to not have a John Barry score. However, this time I found myself tapping my feet and and practically head-banging to the soundtrack. The use of the James Bond theme in this one is so spot on as well. They use it to maximum effect when Bond is doing something cool, such as driving out of the water onto the beach. Aboard the Liparus, there is a brilliant bit of sound editing when Bond theme abruptly cuts out as the technicians change circuits.
My other perceived "weakness" of TSWLM was the main villain, but again my expectations were exceeded by Stromberg. He's not as eloquent at Drax, but still has some great lines. "For me this is all the world...their is beauty, there is ugliness, and there is death."
Also he has a great little private moment of being evil, when he decides to blows up the helicopter and cancels the money transfer.
Overall, this one gets a solid 9/10 from me. Maybe even a 10/10 if we're grading on a curve. No Bond film is perfect, but this one comes very, very close.
My current 10 favorite:
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
TSWLM: No Bond film is perfect, but this one comes very, very close.
I'm glad to see you say this, because I don't trust my own opinion on this one. the Spy Who Loved Me was my first Bond film, at eleven years old, so at an irrational, primordial level I expect them all to look like this one. I too believe this film is The Bond Film Perfected. (in fact I wish all films looked like this, and I sure wish real life looked like this)
My other deeply held bias, where I judge them by how close they stick to Fleming, postdates the first bias, and only resulted from me doing my homework and reading all the books before Moonraker came out. Thus it was an intellectually developed bias, as opposed to the deeper, pre-intellectual relationship I formed with ...Spy... . But if I had not seen ...Spy... first, at that impressionable age (same year as Star Wars), maybe I would be able to perceive it more objectively and would hate it?
After all, the two biases are 100% contradictory. And after reading all that Fleming and becoming a 12 year old Fleming snob, I hated Moonraker when it came out even though it looked exactly like the film I considered perfect. And I wasn't that impressed with You Only Live Twice either when I finally saw it, even though my perfect Bond film looked exactly like it. Damn these subjective irrational biases, how can I ever truly trust my own perception of reality?
For folk that were established Bond films since long before the Spy Who Loved Me came out, or those that got on board much later, do you see a different film than I do?
Watching Goldfinger today, I realised that if Goldfinger had have been successful in his plan. We'd still have around four years to go before all that gold could be used (2022)
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Decided to watch LALD on Blu-ray this morning. Looked absolutely stunning. I always have a good time with this one. The only reason it's ranked so low for me is because I love the other films just a little more.
-{
TSWLM: No Bond film is perfect, but this one comes very, very close.
I'm glad to see you say this, because I don't trust my own opinion on this one. the Spy Who Loved Me was my first Bond film, at eleven years old, so at an irrational, primordial level I expect them all to look like this one. I too believe this film is The Bond Film Perfected. (in fact I wish all films looked like this, and I sure wish real life looked like this)
My other deeply held bias, where I judge them by how close they stick to Fleming, postdates the first bias, and only resulted from me doing my homework and reading all the books before Moonraker came out. Thus it was an intellectually developed bias, as opposed to the deeper, pre-intellectual relationship I formed with ...Spy... . But if I had not seen ...Spy... first, at that impressionable age (same year as Star Wars), maybe I would be able to perceive it more objectively and would hate it?
After all, the two biases are 100% contradictory. And after reading all that Fleming and becoming a 12 year old Fleming snob, I hated Moonraker when it came out even though it looked exactly like the film I considered perfect. And I wasn't that impressed with You Only Live Twice either when I finally saw it, even though my perfect Bond film looked exactly like it. Damn these subjective irrational biases, how can I ever truly trust my own perception of reality?
For folk that were established Bond films since long before the Spy Who Loved Me came out, or those that got on board much later, do you see a different film than I do?
Maybe. I was a fan of Bond and 7 years old when I saw my first one at the cinema - TSWLM. But really, I'd only actually seen GF and TB on telly and they had a lo-fi setting, with the smashing Aston Martin, it kind of got to you on a particular level. Connery as well, of course, and all in black and white. TSWLM should have been okay but it is a different world, not the same kind of Bond. Jaws was silly and the whole thing had a nasty, hollow, expensive and unclassy vibe to it. The pts and credits were great and then it was all downhill. Mind you, I would have picked up on the disappointment of my parents too, who were a bit judgemental.
Later I saw YOLT on the telly and it was more the world of TSWLM. I think it premiered on UK telly Christmas 77.
On the other hand, we all loved Moonraker when it came out.
There's been a Bond film on GEM every week (in film order) for the past few weeks and last night was Thunderball. First time I've seen it on a decent size TV without those annoying black horizontal lines at the top and bottom of the screen. Apart from when I saw it at the cinema and was too young to remember.
As much as I like the film, I appreciated certainly from a visual perspective how good it really is. As nice as the DVD restoration process is, this went to another level. The PTS is fantastic and whether it was the sound clarity or not, I've never heard Tom Jones sound better. To say he was at the top of his game in 1965 would be a big call but I really felt he put his heart and soul in to singing Thunderball.
The film itself I believe has aged really well. Won't go in to the pros and cons as I've already done that but this still ranks as my No.1 Bond film closely followed by Dr. No.
"Everyone knows rock n' roll attained perfection in 1974; It's a scientific fact". - Homer J Simpson
The Summer is here and the time is right, spent the day in London yesterday visiting the usual haunts like Sunspel, JV, NPeal, Omega and a few other favourites all a short walk if you place Regent Street in the middle. Stopped at the Tower for an ice cream and amazed at how that helicopter flew between Tower Bridge and heade£ home for a dose of QOS (it’s been a bit of a QOS week as I remembered my love for the original P.O. 2500 and TF 108’s).
Perfect day and may go for SF or SP tonight with a Pimms in the garden.
Have a good one all.
Cheers :007)
My name is Bond, Basildon Bond - I have letters after my name!
I agree, and I think an element of that is the fact the female leads have such decent roles and the fashion is timeless. Unlike GF it lacks a campy suspension of disbelief and while the plot gets dragged down by storytelling the hijacking of a jet and extensive search (MH370 perhaps?) is relevant.
The only thing that ages the film IMO is the sped up green screen.
Octopussy just now on UK TV. Good grief it is truly awful.
That's one Bond film I don't really have any desire to watch again.
I tried, as I genuinely feel that there must be something wrong with me as so many Bond fans like the films of this period and I consider myself a Bond fan yet...
Of that of which we cannot speak we must pass over in silence- Ludwig Wittgenstein.
I tried, as I genuinely feel that there must be something wrong with me as so many Bond fans like the films of this period and I consider myself a Bond fan yet...
by "this period" do you mean the Roger Moore period, the overlapping but non-identical John Glenn period, or perhaps the very brief NSNA vs Octopussy Connery vs Moore "Battle of the Bonds" period?
I too have some Octopussy issues, although there's large chunks I like a lot.
The whole long sequence of chases leading up to the ticking time bomb/clown disguise scene I think is amongst the best things Moore ever filmed. Very suspenseful, played fairly straight, and some of Moore's best chases.
But Octopussy was the last Bond film I saw in the theatre until Goldeneye. The reason is what comes next: the troupe of circus girls attacking Kemal Khan's palace in costume, which already looks like a 1960s spy film parody, and then is topped by Bond and Q illogically arriving in the hot air balloon with the big union jack design. Moonraker looked like a serious spy film compared to that! That was so ridiculous I immediately forgot the solid chunk of very good stuff that preceded it, and was all I remembered leaving the theatre. That and the crocodile.
I tried, as I genuinely feel that there must be something wrong with me as so many Bond fans like the films of this period and I consider myself a Bond fan yet...
by "this period" do you mean the Roger Moore period, the overlapping but non-identical John Glenn period, or perhaps the very brief NSNA vs Octopussy Connery vs Moore "Battle of the Bonds" period?
I too have some Octopussy issues, although there's large chunks I like a lot.
The whole long sequence of chases leading up to the ticking time bomb/clown disguise scene I think is amongst the best things Moore ever filmed. Very suspenseful, played fairly straight, and some of Moore's best chases.
But Octopussy was the last Bond film I saw in the theatre until Goldeneye. The reason is what comes next: the troupe of circus girls attacking Kemal Khan's palace in costume, which already looks like a 1960s spy film parody, and then is topped by Bond and Q illogically arriving in the hot air balloon with the big union jack design. Moonraker looked like a serious spy film compared to that! That was so ridiculous I immediately forgot the solid chunk of very good stuff that preceded it, and was all I remembered leaving the theatre. That and the crocodile.
I like LALD and AVTAK but otherwise not so much.
Of that of which we cannot speak we must pass over in silence- Ludwig Wittgenstein.
I watched FYEO a few days ago. A back to basic Bond film, after the fantastical romp of MR. A great PTS sequence with a nice nod to OHMSS, when Bond goes to visit Tracy's grave. Great theme song and a novel idea to have Sheena Easton in the title sequence. The only time to date, that this happens in a Bond film.
Kristatos is forgettable villain. I didn't find him threatening. I did like his backstory with Milos Columbo, with both of them being war buddies during WW2 and then turning on each other. Eric Kreigler was a henchman in the Red Grant mould. Tall blond and strong.also a forgettable henchman. Idid like that he had a double life as a competitive ski shooter.
Melina Havelock was a great Bond girl. She was striking to look at and i liked that Bond tried to get her to realise that revenge wasn't the answer, because Kristatos killed her parents and it wouldn't bring them back.
RM shows a harder edge in this film, kicking Loque's car off the cliff. I'm gglad it was kept in as Roger was against it.
Love the 80s disco funk in the soundtrack. Runaway is an awesome cue!
Have you ever heard of the Emancipation Proclamation?"
I tried, as I genuinely feel that there must be something wrong with me as so many Bond fans like the films of this period and I consider myself a Bond fan yet...
by "this period" do you mean the Roger Moore period, the overlapping but non-identical John Glenn period, or perhaps the very brief NSNA vs Octopussy Connery vs Moore "Battle of the Bonds" period?
I too have some Octopussy issues, although there's large chunks I like a lot.
The whole long sequence of chases leading up to the ticking time bomb/clown disguise scene I think is amongst the best things Moore ever filmed. Very suspenseful, played fairly straight, and some of Moore's best chases.
But Octopussy was the last Bond film I saw in the theatre until Goldeneye. The reason is what comes next: the troupe of circus girls attacking Kemal Khan's palace in costume, which already looks like a 1960s spy film parody, and then is topped by Bond and Q illogically arriving in the hot air balloon with the big union jack design. Moonraker looked like a serious spy film compared to that! That was so ridiculous I immediately forgot the solid chunk of very good stuff that preceded it, and was all I remembered leaving the theatre. That and the crocodile.
As soon as Roger Moore puts on that Octopussy crew jacket I can feel the excitement building. Many Bond films have a stronger first half and weaker second half, but OP delivers the goods in a major way. The tunnel shootout, driving the car on the tracks, the rooftop train sequences, and the final race to the bomb is perhaps my favorite chain of events in the series.
The raid on the palace is so wildly over the top that it is easily my favorite big battle in the series. Compare this to the textbook battle in TSWLM with lots of explosions, gunfire, and military men. At this point in time, I'd rather just have some fun and see women in red spandex kicking butt in a stealth raid. Seeing Q out in the field in that UK hot air balloon is also a welcome sight. I can understand how all this can be too much for some Bond fans, but my advice would be to embrace OP for what it is. Creative, fun, colorful and wildly entertaining.
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 watched FYEO a few days ago. A back to basic Bond film, after the fantastical romp of MR. A great PTS sequence with a nice nod to OHMSS, when Bond goes to visit Tracy's grave. Great theme song and a novel idea to have Sheena Easton in the title sequence. The only time to date, that this happens in a Bond film.
Kristatos is forgettable villain. I didn't find him threatening. I did like his backstory with Milos Columbo, with both of them being war buddies during WW2 and then turning on each other. Eric Kreigler was a henchman in the Red Grant mould. Tall blond and strong.also a forgettable henchman. Idid like that he had a double life as a competitive ski shooter.
Melina Havelock was a great Bond girl. She was striking to look at and i liked that Bond tried to get her to realise that revenge wasn't the answer, because Kristatos killed her parents and it wouldn't bring them back.
RM shows a harder edge in this film, kicking Loque's car off the cliff. I'm gglad it was kept in as Roger was against it.
Love the 80s disco funk in the soundtrack. Runaway is an awesome cue!
I understand that view but cannot share it. For me the more serious tone only serves to expose limitations. For example the oft sited kicking the car off is weak, and poorly executed. It just looks awkward and for me lacks commitment and drama. Imagine how Connery or Dalton (or Craig for that matter) would have mined that scene.in fact I find myself wishing that this would have been the first Dalton movie. I realise that this is a minority viewpoint and it's not intended to inflame, just honestly held.
Of that of which we cannot speak we must pass over in silence- Ludwig Wittgenstein.
For example the oft sited kicking the car off is weak, and poorly executed. It just looks awkward and for me lacks commitment and drama.
I think the fact it's not over played by Moore adds to its impact because Bond's overall approach to this film is so much more subdued than any other. The look on Moore's face when he kicks the car is anything but weak, he owns it in his own way.
For example the oft sited kicking the car off is weak, and poorly executed. It just looks awkward and for me lacks commitment and drama.
I think the fact it's not over played by Moore adds to its impact because Bond's overall approach to this film is so much more subdued than any other. The look on Moore's face when he kicks the car is anything but weak, he owns it in his own way.
I know Roger is famed for his nuance. Afraid that I am Just not sophisticated enough to see the subtlety of the performance I guess.My bad. :007)
Of that of which we cannot speak we must pass over in silence- Ludwig Wittgenstein.
I'd also like to add that while this is a serious film, it had moments of humour. Loved it when Bond nodded to the henchman in the other car during the car chase in Madrid and the veiled swearing from the man in the JIM suit, before the bomb goes off. This is going to be controversial, but i don't mind the Thatcher gag. It's the end of the film and it's a bit of comic relief.
Have you ever heard of the Emancipation Proclamation?"
I also watched Goldeneye for the first time since seeing it in the cinema in the 90s. The Serra score annoyed the hell out of me. What a blunder.
But, there was also lots to enjoy, courtesy of some sterling work by Martin Campbell. The early scenes in the South of France/ Casino were nicely done. The tank chase was still great to watch. Some of the dialogue was sharp and on point. Famke was a standout, still. The energy of her performance stood out. Enjoying evil never looked so convincing. Brosnan was good, too. I think better in this than WINE and DAD. he just seemed really switched on throughout.
I also watched Goldeneye in honor of Pierce's Birthday, and no matter what others say about it, e.g. feeling like a TV movie, Boris and Onatop and being over the top (pun intended) etc., I still enjoy it immensely every time I watch it. It was the first "modern" Bond I saw as a kid, after some Connerys on TV, so perhaps there is some nostalgia involved... Anyway, Here's to Mr. Brosnan! -{
"I'm afraid I'm a complicated woman. "
"- That is something to be afraid of."
Comments
I may have been a bit harsh on the score...the title song is so weak it put me right off from the get go. I do agree that this is a Bond film where you can definitely see the money in terms of sets, cinematography and locations. For me the best score is YOLT. Never mind. I'll get me coat (again)
TSWLM: In an all-out effort to make the ultimate Bond movie it's surprising to not have a John Barry score. However, this time I found myself tapping my feet and and practically head-banging to the soundtrack. The use of the James Bond theme in this one is so spot on as well. They use it to maximum effect when Bond is doing something cool, such as driving out of the water onto the beach. Aboard the Liparus, there is a brilliant bit of sound editing when Bond theme abruptly cuts out as the technicians change circuits.
My other perceived "weakness" of TSWLM was the main villain, but again my expectations were exceeded by Stromberg. He's not as eloquent at Drax, but still has some great lines. "For me this is all the world...their is beauty, there is ugliness, and there is death."
Also he has a great little private moment of being evil, when he decides to blows up the helicopter and cancels the money transfer.
Overall, this one gets a solid 9/10 from me. Maybe even a 10/10 if we're grading on a curve. No Bond film is perfect, but this one comes very, very close.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Unfortunately, he was unable to do this film for tax reasons.
the Spy Who Loved Me was my first Bond film, at eleven years old, so at an irrational, primordial level I expect them all to look like this one. I too believe this film is The Bond Film Perfected. (in fact I wish all films looked like this, and I sure wish real life looked like this)
My other deeply held bias, where I judge them by how close they stick to Fleming, postdates the first bias, and only resulted from me doing my homework and reading all the books before Moonraker came out. Thus it was an intellectually developed bias, as opposed to the deeper, pre-intellectual relationship I formed with ...Spy... . But if I had not seen ...Spy... first, at that impressionable age (same year as Star Wars), maybe I would be able to perceive it more objectively and would hate it?
After all, the two biases are 100% contradictory. And after reading all that Fleming and becoming a 12 year old Fleming snob, I hated Moonraker when it came out even though it looked exactly like the film I considered perfect. And I wasn't that impressed with You Only Live Twice either when I finally saw it, even though my perfect Bond film looked exactly like it. Damn these subjective irrational biases, how can I ever truly trust my own perception of reality?
For folk that were established Bond films since long before the Spy Who Loved Me came out, or those that got on board much later, do you see a different film than I do?
on a big screen telly. -{
-{
Maybe. I was a fan of Bond and 7 years old when I saw my first one at the cinema - TSWLM. But really, I'd only actually seen GF and TB on telly and they had a lo-fi setting, with the smashing Aston Martin, it kind of got to you on a particular level. Connery as well, of course, and all in black and white. TSWLM should have been okay but it is a different world, not the same kind of Bond. Jaws was silly and the whole thing had a nasty, hollow, expensive and unclassy vibe to it. The pts and credits were great and then it was all downhill. Mind you, I would have picked up on the disappointment of my parents too, who were a bit judgemental.
Later I saw YOLT on the telly and it was more the world of TSWLM. I think it premiered on UK telly Christmas 77.
On the other hand, we all loved Moonraker when it came out.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
As much as I like the film, I appreciated certainly from a visual perspective how good it really is. As nice as the DVD restoration process is, this went to another level. The PTS is fantastic and whether it was the sound clarity or not, I've never heard Tom Jones sound better. To say he was at the top of his game in 1965 would be a big call but I really felt he put his heart and soul in to singing Thunderball.
The film itself I believe has aged really well. Won't go in to the pros and cons as I've already done that but this still ranks as my No.1 Bond film closely followed by Dr. No.
Perfect day and may go for SF or SP tonight with a Pimms in the garden.
Have a good one all.
Cheers :007)
I agree, and I think an element of that is the fact the female leads have such decent roles and the fashion is timeless. Unlike GF it lacks a campy suspension of disbelief and while the plot gets dragged down by storytelling the hijacking of a jet and extensive search (MH370 perhaps?) is relevant.
The only thing that ages the film IMO is the sped up green screen.
"Better make that two."
I tried, as I genuinely feel that there must be something wrong with me as so many Bond fans like the films of this period and I consider myself a Bond fan yet...
I too have some Octopussy issues, although there's large chunks I like a lot.
The whole long sequence of chases leading up to the ticking time bomb/clown disguise scene I think is amongst the best things Moore ever filmed. Very suspenseful, played fairly straight, and some of Moore's best chases.
But Octopussy was the last Bond film I saw in the theatre until Goldeneye. The reason is what comes next: the troupe of circus girls attacking Kemal Khan's palace in costume, which already looks like a 1960s spy film parody, and then is topped by Bond and Q illogically arriving in the hot air balloon with the big union jack design. Moonraker looked like a serious spy film compared to that! That was so ridiculous I immediately forgot the solid chunk of very good stuff that preceded it, and was all I remembered leaving the theatre. That and the crocodile.
I like LALD and AVTAK but otherwise not so much.
Kristatos is forgettable villain. I didn't find him threatening. I did like his backstory with Milos Columbo, with both of them being war buddies during WW2 and then turning on each other. Eric Kreigler was a henchman in the Red Grant mould. Tall blond and strong.also a forgettable henchman. Idid like that he had a double life as a competitive ski shooter.
Melina Havelock was a great Bond girl. She was striking to look at and i liked that Bond tried to get her to realise that revenge wasn't the answer, because Kristatos killed her parents and it wouldn't bring them back.
RM shows a harder edge in this film, kicking Loque's car off the cliff. I'm gglad it was kept in as Roger was against it.
Love the 80s disco funk in the soundtrack. Runaway is an awesome cue!
" I don't listen to hip hop!"
As soon as Roger Moore puts on that Octopussy crew jacket I can feel the excitement building. Many Bond films have a stronger first half and weaker second half, but OP delivers the goods in a major way. The tunnel shootout, driving the car on the tracks, the rooftop train sequences, and the final race to the bomb is perhaps my favorite chain of events in the series.
The raid on the palace is so wildly over the top that it is easily my favorite big battle in the series. Compare this to the textbook battle in TSWLM with lots of explosions, gunfire, and military men. At this point in time, I'd rather just have some fun and see women in red spandex kicking butt in a stealth raid. Seeing Q out in the field in that UK hot air balloon is also a welcome sight. I can understand how all this can be too much for some Bond fans, but my advice would be to embrace OP for what it is. Creative, fun, colorful and wildly entertaining.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
I understand that view but cannot share it. For me the more serious tone only serves to expose limitations. For example the oft sited kicking the car off is weak, and poorly executed. It just looks awkward and for me lacks commitment and drama. Imagine how Connery or Dalton (or Craig for that matter) would have mined that scene.in fact I find myself wishing that this would have been the first Dalton movie. I realise that this is a minority viewpoint and it's not intended to inflame, just honestly held.
I think the fact it's not over played by Moore adds to its impact because Bond's overall approach to this film is so much more subdued than any other. The look on Moore's face when he kicks the car is anything but weak, he owns it in his own way.
"Better make that two."
I know Roger is famed for his nuance. Afraid that I am Just not sophisticated enough to see the subtlety of the performance I guess.My bad. :007)
" I don't listen to hip hop!"
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Now that would've been great. Sure Rog would be better than Dennis.
"Better make that two."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Favourites of his tenure.
I watched Goldeneye 2 days ago. I feel it has not aged too well, perhaps the Eric Serra score played a part.
That gave me an itch to go back to basics, I will probably watch DN tomorrow.
But, there was also lots to enjoy, courtesy of some sterling work by Martin Campbell. The early scenes in the South of France/ Casino were nicely done. The tank chase was still great to watch. Some of the dialogue was sharp and on point. Famke was a standout, still. The energy of her performance stood out. Enjoying evil never looked so convincing. Brosnan was good, too. I think better in this than WINE and DAD. he just seemed really switched on throughout.
"- That is something to be afraid of."