Hugo Drax as a Space-Age Hitler in Earth's Holocaust in Moonraker?

What do we think of the view of Hugo Drax as a Space-Age Hitler in Moonraker (1979)?

He creates a Super Race from the cradle of the heavens, he has a clear psychotic God-complex, he is interested in Perfect Aryan Specimens, he wants a new Holocaust - ending all human life on Earth, his "munificence is boundless", he has palatial HQ like Hitler, he wants to commit mass murder using poison gas globes (the new Zyklon B the Nazis used on the Jews and others?), he has the latest in military space technology, like Hitler's rearming. He is a neo-Hitler, promising, in a rather fascistic way that "there will be law and order in the heavens". He talks of the dynasty under Drax that he himself has founded.

Interesting Nazi connection with Sir Hugo Drax of the novel. Christopher Wood has Bond wonder what side Drax had fought on in WWII.

Thoughts?

Not Aryan.

j7wild wrote:

Not Aryan.

Yes, sorry. All Peoples Super Race, then!

Does that please you!

SILHOUETTE MAN wrote:

What do we think of the view of Hugo Drax as a Space-Age Hitler in Moonraker (1979)?

He creates a Super Race from the cradle of the heavens, he has a clear psychotic God-complex, he is interested in Perfect Aryan Specimens, he wants a new Holocaust - ending all human life on Earth, his "munificence is boundless", he has palatial HQ like Hitler, he wants to commit mass murder using poison gas globes (the new Zyklon B the Nazis used on the Jews and others?), he has the latest in military space technology, like Hitler's rearming. He is a neo-Hitler, promising, in a rather fascistic way that "there will be law and order in the heavens". He talks of the dynasty under Drax that he himself has founded.

Interesting Nazi connection with Sir Hugo Drax of the novel. Christopher Wood has Bond wonder what side Drax had fought on in WWII.

Thoughts?

Moonraker the movie could have been so much deeper...but it was a product of the 70's, so it was what it was. As I've said before, this is one film that could be remade and would be ostensibly better.

Movie-Drax is clearly no Nazi; if anything, he's very politically correct in his selection of sexy, young people from all different ethnicities. Maybe if Drax and Stromberg had teamed up, they could have actually pulled off their respective plans and defeated James Bond at the same time.

They were definitely hinting at Nazi-esque aspects. Guess they wanted to take Nazi Book Drax to a wacky, sci-fi level.

Hugo Drax was "diverse" before "diverse" was hip.

CJB wrote:

They were definitely hinting at Nazi-esque aspects. Guess they wanted to take Nazi Book Drax to a wacky, sci-fi level.

The big problem with adapting the book is that a large part of its plot centres on Britain establishing its military might in the years after World War II. Drax's plan works because Britain relies on him and him alone to develop the Moonraker missile. It would be harder to adapt that aspect thirty years later, when Britain's military might was firmly established.

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

CJB wrote:

They were definitely hinting at Nazi-esque aspects. Guess they wanted to take Nazi Book Drax to a wacky, sci-fi level.

The big problem with adapting the book is that a large part of its plot centres on Britain establishing its military might in the years after World War II. Drax's plan works because Britain relies on him and him alone to develop the Moonraker missile. It would be harder to adapt that aspect thirty years later, when Britain's military might was firmly established.

Drax, or Hashim Al Dhrahran, could be the motive force behind Great Britain developing an infallible anti-missile missile. Not that the UK is particularly endangered by ICBMs at the moment, but this McGuffin could possibly be made to work.

Holy crap -- the German Megalomaniac is a Hitler analogue? Congrats for picking up on the least subtle subtext ever.

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Holy crap -- the German Megalomaniac is a Hitler analogue? Congrats for picking up on the least subtle subtext ever.

Film Drax is clearly French and if it's so bleedin' obvious, why are there not more threads on it?

This aspect of the film is very rarely touched on at all, I think that you'll find!

SILHOUETTE MAN wrote:

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Holy crap -- the German Megalomaniac is a Hitler analogue? Congrats for picking up on the least subtle subtext ever.

Film Drax is clearly French and if it's so bleedin' obvious, why are there not more threads on it?

This aspect of the film is very rarely touched on at all, I think that you'll find!

I don't know how Drax was originally conceived by Maibaum and Wilson, so I have no way of knowing what impact filming in France had on the character. Obviously with the French government giving special concessions to the production in order to land the project, EON had to make some concessions as well. Happens all the time; no big deal. However, without the need to make concessions to the financiers, it would be interesting to think of where this film COULD HAVE GONE with the material at hand. What we end up with is a French actor playing an English character that was written by Fleming as a German....but that's 70's EON for you.

I still think MOONRAKER *THE CONCEPT* is still very rich in un-mined ideas and plot points. The book/film could easily be remade either as a period piece set in the late 50's, or a contemporary thriller. Maybe MOONRAKER should have been re-adapted in 2008 instead of QUANTUM; QOS touches up environmentalism and over-crowding on the planet in a rather pedestrian, boring way, whereas MOONRAKER could have brought something bolder to the table.