Obituaries

Thinking about the overall tone of the films at the time, I'm surprised that no 'You know, you look very familiar ... ' in-joke was attempted when Bond and Octopussy first meet.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Thinking about the overall tone of the films at the time, I'm surprised that no 'You know, you look very familiar ... ' in-joke was attempted when Bond and Octopussy first meet.    

Could have worked rather well actually. The in-joke is made and then quickly sidelined by the fact that Bond knew Octopussy's father, hence the reason for familiarity.

And now I'm thinking about Joe Don Baker being both Whitaker and Wade ... but seeing as Goldeneye was intended to show the world that there was still a place for the 'dinosaur' post-Cold War, maybe jokey nods back to the late 80s wouldn't have been ideal. And I guess they got a fair bit of comic 'business' out of him in GE/TND regardless.

Guess not, we could've had Brosnan driving the tank to another Beach Boys song.

Scattering double-taking St Petersburg pigeons in his wake .

Regret to share that as via the Beeb and elsewhere, Lewis Gilbert has passed aged 97.

Quote :

Lewis Gilbert, the British director of Alfie, Educating Rita and three James Bond films, has died at the age of 97.
Born in London in 1920, he started out as a child actor before directing war films including Reach for the Sky and Carve Her Name with Pride.
He made his Bond debut with 1967's You Only Live Twice, going on to direct The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.
The director's son, John Gilbert, spoke to the BBC and confirmed his father "died peacefully in his sleep".
Gilbert, who worked together in film with his father added: "He was a wonderful man with a great sense of humour. He was hard-working and we worked on many films together."
Gilbert said his father passed away on Friday in Monaco, where he had lived since 1975, after "suffering from dementia for close to a decade".

Bond producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli paid tribute to the director saying he would be "sorely missed".
In a statement they said: "It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of our dear friend Lewis Gilbert.
"Lewis was a true gentleman. He made an enormous contribution to the British film industry as well as the Bond films.
"His films are not only loved by us but are considered classics within the series. He will be sorely missed."
Comedian David Walliams was among those to pay tribute on Twitter to the film-maker "for all the joy you brought me & millions of others".

Gilbert was Oscar nominated in 1967 for directing Alfie, the film that made Sir Michael Caine a global star.
He was made a CBE in 1997 and received a fellowship from the British Film Institute in 2001.
Gilbert's other films include Shirley Valentine, which was based, like Educating Rita before it, on a play by Willy Russell.
One of his first directing credits was on The Ten Year Plan, a 1945 documentary about the post-war need for prefabricated housing.
His last film, 2002's Before You Go, saw him reunite with Dame Julie Walters, who was nominated for an Oscar for Educating Rita.
Gilbert's autobiography, All My Flashbacks, was published in 2010.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-43217513

aside from his Bond's, it is that link to the golden age of British cinema -Alfie, Educating Rita, even films like Sink the Bismarck, Reach for the Sky, Greengage Summer and Admirable Crichton (Kenny More films yes). A life well lived, a life well missed already.

YOLT has many memorable moments, and Spy remains one of my favourite Moore Bonds.

R.I.P. indeed.

Gilbert has been quite overlooked given his CV. Hollywood Reporter's obit:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lewis-gilbert-dead-alfie-james-bond-director-dies-at-97-1088811

This is very sad. Lewis Gilbert is one of the great classic Bond directors and they are all gone now :(
RIP Lewis Gilbert. You've given us three epic eternal classics.

Gilbert lived a long life, though that isn't necessarily a blessing. The great actor Kenneth Haigh died a couple of weeks ago; I was thinking he hadn't been in anything for quite a while so must have had a long and happy retirement, but not so:

Quote :

[Haigh] suffered the misfortune of spending the last 15 years in a care home as a result of brain damage incurred after swallowing a chicken bone in a Soho restaurant and suffering oxygen loss.

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/feb/13/kenneth-haigh-obituary

Very sad to hear, though a fruitful life it was. 

RIP.

Interesting that he assisted Hitchcock on JAMAICA INN as a teen, where he learned directing. The ultimate film school.

According to the BBC, he suffered from dementia for nearly a decade. Quite sad.

A good innings and a great legacy. R.I.P.

Sad to hear Soon-Tek Oh (Hip from TMWTGG) passed away. He was 85. 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/amp/news/soon-tek-oh-dead-mulan-man-with-the-golden-gun-actor-was-85-1100765

R.I.P.

Sad loss, chiefly remember him for Final Countdown and a host of guest spots in cop shows. RIP

I still use his wonderful rendition of the line "Forgot to tell you-their father runs a karate school!" on a daily basis. RIP.

Farewell to Eunice Gayson, the first Bond Girl.

R.I.P. Miss Trench.

She started the Bond girl tradition with a bang...

Requiescat in pace.

The first of many but one of the best. RIP Gayson, Eunice Gayson.

Though I really only know her for being Miss Trench and from Revenge of Frankenstein and a few other films it is always a treat to see her knowing glace at Sean every year in my series rewatch.
RIP.

Why was she dubbed? I understand why Andress and Hama were dubbed for their characters, but why Gayson? She sounds even more sultry in the trailer than the film. 

Dubbed? She wasn't dubbed that I'm aware of. The trailer seems to have the on set dialogue which was re-recorded for some reason-probably technical faults.

Yeah, Nikki van der Syl dubbed Sylvia (along with every other female character in DN, aside from Moneypenny and Miss Taro). The trailer showcases Gayson's actual voice (pretty close, actually).