Behind the Scenes Video of SPECTRE

Looks stunning. I love the way there is a conscious effort to create a distinct visual feel. I think it was one of the major drawcards of SKYFALL, and I'm excited to see it here.

And those glasses give Craig a real 1960s vibe.

Does feel like they are really shooting for a classic Bond movie vibe with this one. Also worth noting the bald man in the cable car around the 1:29 mark, might be nothing but given the location I think we can speculate as to who that might've been.

First official still:



Quick, someone stick a shitty SPECTRE logo on it - do it in MS Paint - and call it fan art before someone at CBn does!

Δ

Yeah Craig's outfit is awesome. Looks like Mendes is really going for that old school/classic Bond film tone again which I'm happy to see. Those sensibilities were part of what made SKYFALL so great. Makiing Bond BOND, etc.

Fake.

All looking pretty, pretty, pretty good.

Yeah making me feel giddy…

Really liking Lea too :)

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

First official still:...

Quick, someone stick a shitty SPECTRE logo on it - do it in MS Paint - and call it fan art before someone at CBn does!

Done, complete with misspellings.

Control wrote:

Done, complete with misspellings.

Excellent work.

Now, let's take it over to MI6 and convince them that the film is a South African (Deniel Cregg being a well-known South African actor) production about Phil Spector.

Largo's Shark wrote:

That's German actor Detlef Bother who'll be playing a heavy.

Sadly, he'll end up looking more like Blofeld should than the actor actually hired to play Blofeld.

Yes, because Blofeld's character development was limited to "bald" ...

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

Yes, because Blofeld's character development was limited to "bald" ...

Well, it's a start. If he's not bald, stroking a cat and planning world domination then he's basically just any other run-of-the-mill villain. But I sometimes forget that getting the look of the character right is a non-issue for a lot of Bond fans, or else we wouldn't have Daniel Craig.

I disagree. Fleming had Blofeld change his appearance several times over the course of the novels, most notably for YOLT. I think that appearance is very much a product of the films. And don't forget that Mike Myers turned the physical elements - the bald look, the white cat - into a cartoonish parody. If our first shot of Blofeld is him turning around in a swivel chair and stroking a white cat, I think that the will lose a lot of fans and will have to work very hard to get them back on side.

I'm pretty confident that if the film includes Blofeld, then it will have some distinct element for him. After all, Sam Mendes and Javier Bardem put a lot of work into giving Raoul Silva a distinct physical look. Likewise, Le Chiffre had his dead eye and the weeping blood, which featured prominently in his introduction. I'm sure Mendes appreciates the value of capturing an audience's attention straight away.

Ultimately, I think the success will come down to the performative aspect. Le Chiffre worked because he's unbeatable in a staring contest. Silva gave an air of being equal parts unstable and disciplined. Even Amalric sold Greene's bug-eyed stare, swagger and Napoleon complex, though the script let him down.

On a character level, Blofeld works because he is the antithesis of Bond. Where Bond is loyal, Blofeld is duplicitous. Where Bond acts out of duty, Blofeld pursues profit. And where both characters exist in a world beyond conventional morality, Bond observes his own sense of right from wrong, Blofeld rejects it. I have always seen Bond as George Orwell in Rudyard Kipling's Raj - a cynic fighting to uphold the romantic's world (where Kipling presented the Raj as a period of enlightenment, Orwell believed it was regressive). Blofeld, on the other hand, will happily stand aside and let that cynicism wash over the romantic's world if it is in his interests. The Mao suit, Persian cat and bald head are window-dressing - Blofeld is a modern Richard III, the sum of every evil emerging into our world in physical form, able to flatter and beguile, but relentless and uncompromising in his ruthlessness.

I agree that the look of the character is important, but I don't think that the classical Blofeld look is right for the film.

I think if Blofeld resembles something like Telly Savalas's Blofeld in terms of villainy, persona, physicality and appearance, then it would be fine. If it's more in tune with Gray's or Pleasances' versions then it would harken to Austin Powers.

Gray's Blofeld didn't have much to do with Austin Powers though.

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

I disagree. Fleming had Blofeld change his appearance several times over the course of the novels, most notably for YOLT. I think that appearance is very much a product of the films. And don't forget that Mike Myers turned the physical elements - the bald look, the white cat - into a cartoonish parody. If our first shot of Blofeld is him turning around in a swivel chair and stroking a white cat, I think that the will lose a lot of fans and will have to work very hard to get them back on side.

Mike Myers was hardly the first person to parody and lampoon the Bond series. Saturday Night Live managed to squeeze four villains into one with Goldsting (Dr.No, Goldfinger, Largo, and Blofeld):

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/tightwad-007/n9621

The series can bring back Blofeld with his iconic look and still maintain credibility. I actually thought Max Von Sydow was a very good Blofeld. But I doubt EON will bother. They're too ashamed of their roots.

Largo's Shark wrote:

Gray's Blofeld didn't have much to do with Austin Powers though.

Yeah Austin Powers is taken purely from Pleasance.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

The series can bring back Blofeld with his iconic look and still maintain credibility.

Not when his presence in the film is limited to that look and that look alone, as you suggested:

Quote :

Sadly, he'll end up looking more like Blofeld should than the actor actually hired to play Blofeld.

Quote :

But I doubt EON will bother. They're too ashamed of their roots.

You keep making sweeping statements like this, but you never bother to provide evidence.

Largo's Shark wrote:

Gray's Blofeld didn't have much to do with Austin Powers though.

In terms of temperament, not just physicality.

Crazy idea:

Spoiler:

Δ

Or Hawai Five 0

Or BATMAN BEGINS.