Favourite Frames: GoldenEye

The man himself reminded me that such a thread should be created during the GoldenEye watchalong. Brosnan referred to a handful of shots as the iconic/recurring images of the film that he stumbles across every so often. Here are some of my favourite frames:


How the actors are arranged here is fantastic. Gottfried John's excellent pose (equal parts pissed off and disbelieving of the antics of these two spies), Alec on his knees facing imminent death, the multitude of obedient Russian soldiers. The situation looks impossible-- well perhaps for 006.. but not for 007.


I mean, really. Breathtaking.


As I started going through some of my favourite screen caps, I realised I might just end up posting all of the titles sequence. I probably will, eventually, but for now this is the representative. Turner's theme underscoring the girls movements, the beautifully coloured flames rushing through their bodies, the shadow of communism in the background... Danger is represented in the pistol, sex in the women, joie de vivre and fun in the colour. This has always sung out to me and will forever.


As I've probably said in past car chases choreographed by Remy Julienne, these swinging camera angles really up the excitement for me. Bonus points for the DB5 in such a shot alongside a Ferrari in a gorgeous location.


There's Connery in Bond's introduction in DN, Lazenby walking into the casino in OHMSS, there's Brosnan leaving Carver's factory in TND and there's this. Whichever order, this is another example of James Bond epitomising cool. And Brosnan, he's just a cool motherfucker.


Always liked this cutaway. Almost innocent and childlike in the camera work, edit and musical cue somehow... but we're looking at the most destructive getaway vehicle imaginable.  


Brooding Bond (and not overdone!), a gorgeous Bond girl, stunning beach, the camera placement for the establishing shot, Serra providing one of the most beautiful tracks in ANY Bond film - right up there with Wine with Stacey, Paris and Bond, Wai Lin's theme and all those superb lounge instrumentals from the Connery/Lazenby years... And just look at those colours!

Nice choices, Fields, I'll have to get stuck in this week. A handful at best.

Looking forward to it! If no one else does I might fill the thread myself.

I believe Brosnan's iconic images from the film are these two:





There's some nice symmetry with TWINE in the explosion in the KGB office with Christmas. She and Natalya also wear similar clothes:

Buckle up, people, I'm going to post many.
Phil Méheux and Terry Rawlings for GE were the biggest Oscar snubs ever!

EDIT: By the way, these pics are from a 1080p downscaled version of the Apple 4K master, which looks way better than BluRay and the UE DVD abomination.

Keep them coming Nicolas! Those are great. The opening shot, Bond on the beach, Bond and Natalya in the interrogation room, Mishkin looking out the window and the Monte Carlo shot in particular. But above all, that shot of Bond amid the Soviet statues... Classic James Bond.

Phil Meheux really did give GoldenEye a distinctive atmosphere. I was thinking about this yesterday actually: sometimes when one thinks of a film, it's less to do with the scenes or story but how it makes one feel when watching it - and that's what is conjured up when reflecting back on it. Despite GoldenEye having a huge collection of memorable scenes, moments and well thought out narrative, it's a sense of style, moodiness and overall ambience that I recall so fondly. And that's down to Meheux as you say, but also Eric Serra.

I'm not sure I articulated that very well, but sometimes love isn't something readily definable.  

It confidently sits alongside the likes of From Russia With Love and On Her Majesty's Secret Service as the films that manifest a complete world.

That's indeed right, MKKB!

The story was already brilliant, but the style and mood of the film enhance that brilliance. I adore Serra's score. It wouldn't have fit, say, TND or TWINE, but it's the right one for GoldenEye's mood. The film does look more expensive (well, it was) than the Glen films, which were great, but I often feel they lack that groundbreaking visual quality of Bond. With GoldenEye, every shot, editing, music track seems planned for the big screen and to pop your eyes out.

Since this is a "less censored" site, I'd say Famke Janssen reconfirmed my heterosexuality every day - and that's not just her, but the way she was dressed and made up for the role of Xenia. I go as far as saying I had a Summer of '42 kind of attraction when I first watched the film aged 7 (on the small screen!)

https://ns-writings.blogspot.com/2019/11/onatopp-of-things-famke-janssen-and.html

It's a shame with Glen's films, and especially because LTK turned out how it did, because capturing Cortina or Corfu, India,  San Francisco, or Bratislava as lensed by someone like Meheux (in his GoldenEye heyday) or Michael Reed, his films would jump much higher on my ranking. Still, there are some great shots, particularly in FYEO and TLD which resonate (and will reflect on in relevant threads!).

I showed GE to a younger cousin recently and he was overwhelmed by Xenia's beauty. Can't say I disagree with him - a lot of care has been taken to construct her character and she isn't iconic for no reason - however I've always been more drawn to Natalya. She's just so perfectly cast, and with smile that can light up any room. Always really liked these shots at the end of the film.

Well, here goes nothing said the Bishop

took me a while some of this but well...

Ah, Monaco



Onatopp?



Tux, shadows, etc



Weird psychopathic girl



Shit, she's behind me



Bond's utterly curious expression



The shadows, Zhukovsky in fore



Again it's the lighting but also Ouromov had some wicked expressions and it's the positioning of Mishkin too



I couldn't capture it right but when Natalya spins Bond around to face the goons coming upstairs



Everything popping off around them



got the next couple wrong way round but first, Bond's oh shit as the tank sails towards the alleyway




Boom.



Shadow, light, dust, grim



Ouromov's alcoholism hits the roof



First things first



gets all dreamy



Bond trying to figure it out, getting tense



Some classic expressions by Brosnan. These two could've done a Jewel of the Nile type film



Tried to capture Trevelyan with Bond lit up but the antenna room was staged well

Some excellent choices Hilly. Good call on the Zukovsky scene, the interrogation scene with Mishkin and Ouromov and that last frame with Alec - the light hitting Bean the way it does is excellent. The shot of Bond and Natalya after the train explosion I really like (and the fact there's no edit in that scene enhances it).

That shot of Bond running through the archives is again seemingly mirrored in TWINE, with Bond running down the caviar factory pier. As I said above with the train bomb in GE/KGB scene in TWINE, it's a bit of visual continuity between the two films.

I never thought about the symmetry between GE and TWINE but certainly can see it. Both scenes of course feature the patented 'Brosnan Run'

Until the recent watch I didn't really pay attention to the lighting. Back in the day I likely thought it looked too gloomy a film.

Ha I think the Brosnan run might overtake the Pain Face in popularity.

Interesting. It's that gloominess that I've always responded to. It's a romanticised version of gloominess, perhaps a visual representation of Bond's cynicism and the magnetism of his world; the male fantasy.

The gun barrel puts butterflies in my stomach. And then they breed with this shot.

In fact, collating these images is making me want to watch the film again!


Bond is back!


Mission accomplished and Bond flies away. I love how it transitions into the titles sequence.


I love the movement - both of the women and the camera - and how it marries with the theme song. Sex (the girls) and danger (flames, dramatic music) encapsulated perfectly. Another example of why it's best titles sequence of the series.


Point taken. Two words... but his performance says so much more. Side note, the suit he wears is sharp.

More solid choices Fields. Especially the one with Bond and the silencer. Would kind of hope whoever the next Bond is, he is revealed in similar fashions to Lazenby, Dalton and Brosnan. Sure, we know who the new actor is but let's have some build-up of reveal.

Where do I ever begin? Be careful, I might end posting the whole movie - frame by frame - because I love it from the beginning to the end. Not just my favourite James Bond film, but my favourite film of ALL TIME. Yep, I'm being subjective! ;)


The gunbarrel: Brosnan's still my favourite of all time. He walks with an unique elegance, turns and shots. That image stuck in the head of my 7-year-old self. I had seen the N64 game gunbarrel first and I was fascinated to see they had based it on a live-action sequence from the movie. Loved Kleinman's CGI efect, the barrel morphin as Bond walks.



The plane and the dam: This is just brilliant. The iris opens on a Pilatus Porter plane that takes us to the big picture - the dam. And the place looks breathtaking, huge, magnificient. I've talked in the Updated Edition of The World of GoldenEye about the importance of the plane on the technology chapter, but more than that, how Campbell gives us a hint at what will ultimately save Bond's life at the end of the sequence.





Shadow play: Bond's introduction is just brilliant: you know he's there, in the shadows, about to strike. Then he relaxes the tension with a little joke, and knocks the Soviet guard out







From the shadows, as a child: Oh boy. I did that A LOT as a kid when I first watched the movie. I mean, really, I imagined I had a silenced PPK and I broke into the classroom just like that. While everyone was into Dragon Ball Z, Knights of The Zodiac or anything else, I was a James Bond fan thanks to GoldenEye. What, James Bond Jr? Nope, James Bond. What, there is a James Bond? Yep, watch GoldenEye, it's on TV, there's also a game for N64. Oh, good old childhood memories. These have to be there just for nostalgia!







Hidden agenda: Our first glimpse at the film's villain, surfacing from the shadows for the first time and pointing a gun at Bond. "I'm alone", he says, as if he was (not knowing about it) acknowledging the fact that he actually *was* alone on this mission that would change the course of his life nine years later. Trevelyan reaffirms his double agenda by shooting down an innocent worker. He didn't need to do it, yet he does. While Bond would have let him live under his ethic codes of "not harming innocents", Trevelyan goes under his rules and shots him at point blank. This idea would somehow resurface in Mission: Impossible (1996) when Kriegler (Jean Reno) tries to stab a CIA guard during the infiltration and Ethan Hunt stops him, reminding to him: "Zero body count". Of course, Kriegler was the villain.


Ourumov appears: I always liked the effect on Serra's soundtrack and this shot at Ourumov marching with his troops to personally assess what's going on. It tells you that the big boss is here. While the other troops where shot like sitting ducks, the man pushes it to the limit and breaks the bulletproof glass and the electronically locked doors, anything to stop the invaders.



Horror: Bond took things lightly -business as usual- until he discovers with bemusement that his friend was captured. That steam of smoke gives it a special feeling to the whole thing.



Everything or nothing:First the wide shot showing where are we, then that breattaking shot of Bond betting his life once again upon the clear blue sky.


Success: Oh boy, this shot defines the word success accurately: not only Bond survived a certain death, but he also destroyed the Chemical Weapons plant. The place is blown to bits while he escapes safely.








Main Titles: Well, I adore them. Spent countless of hours drawing girls on top of Walther PPKs and guns coming out of girls' mouths shooting Soviet flags. I didn't have the film on VHS nor the resources to search for these images as much as I do now back in 1998, yet I could draw them one after another. Just imagine the impact they had on me at such a short age!

I'll be posting more frames I like overall without so much detail, but I wanted to name the best of the pre-credits and main titles so far.

Nicolas Suszczyk wrote:

Trevelyan reaffirms his double agenda by shooting down an innocent worker. He didn't need to do it, yet he does. While Bond would have let him live under his ethic codes of "not harming innocents", Trevelyan goes under his rules and shots him at point blank.

Would've been blown up anyway though...

Good choices there, Nicolas. That first ten minutes of Goldeneye still packs a memorable punch.

Hilly wrote:

More solid choices Fields. Especially the one with Bond and the silencer. Would kind of hope whoever the next Bond is, he is revealed in similar fashions to Lazenby, Dalton and Brosnan. Sure, we know who the new actor is but let's have some build-up of reveal.

Agreed. Tease it out. Even Connery's introduction is delayed until he says his name.

NS wrote:

The gunbarrel: Brosnan's still my favourite of all time. He walks with an unique elegance, turns and shots.

It's very good, I agree. Also the design of the gunbarrel itself is very sleek.

NS wrote:

The plane and the dam: This is just brilliant. The iris opens on a Pilatus Porter plane that takes us to the big picture - the dam. And the place looks breathtaking, huge, magnificient. I've talked in the Updated Edition of The World of GoldenEye about the importance of the plane on the technology chapter, but more than that, how Campbell gives us a hint at what will ultimately save Bond's life at the end of the sequence.

It truly is the perfect opening shot. Epic scope and carefully crafted, as you say, with the introduction of the plane that later proves to be the getaway vehicle.

NS wrote:

Shadow play: Bond's introduction is just brilliant: you know he's there, in the shadows, about to strike. Then he relaxes the tension with a little joke, and knocks the Soviet guard out

Perfectly captures the spirit of his Bond - stealth, danger, a bit of bizarre, humour and charm.

Similarly, the shots of Bond opening the door and descending the staircase underpins that danger and stealth while epitomising that cool factor. Brosnan glides through the frame.

NS wrote:

Hidden agenda: Our first glimpse at the film's villain, surfacing from the shadows for the first time and pointing a gun at Bond. "I'm alone", he says, as if he was (not knowing about it) acknowledging the fact that he actually *was* alone on this mission that would change the course of his life nine years later.

I never looked at it like that, I like it! Of course I read it only as insight to Bond's character but that extra layer you highlight is spot on.

NS wrote:

Ourumov appears: I always liked the effect on Serra's soundtrack and this shot at Ourumov marching with his troops to personally assess what's going on. It tells you that the big boss is here. While the other troops where shot like sitting ducks, the man pushes it to the limit and breaks the bulletproof glass and the electronically locked doors, anything to stop the invaders.

Yes! The musical cue, camera angle and John's walk (and sheer presence) is the perfect introduction to Ouromov!

Glad you've come back to post more. The titles sequence is my favourite in the series, too. The colours, the Soviet and James Bond iconography combining to create some powerful images. That shot of the girl with the gun in her mouth is so striking. The gun shot and breath of fire is excellent. And Bond and the woman walking on the sickle against the red smoke... Such great design work.

NS wrote:

And Serra's "That's What Keeps You Alone" fits perfectly there, a beautiful tune charged of romance, triumphalism and melancholy.

Precisely. When some fans say they hated Serra's work in GoldenEye I always point them to this track. Encapsulates so much so beautifully in those moments on the beach and in the transition.

That one of Onatopp in the car is a classic. She's pissed and Bond is cloaked in shadows.