Last Bond Movie You Watched? 2.0

The plane stunts are indeed breath-taking, but the the malarkey at the palace come off like a watered down Russ Meyer film. .

Love the bomb defusing and aerial climax, but I'm not too crazy about the circus raid at the castle (though that gag with Bond sliding down the rail is awesome).

I like how the girls quietly move about, and the accompanying score that Barry provides. Feels very mysterious.

Python wrote:

(though that gag with Bond sliding down the rail is awesome).

I did that at a friend's house with a plastic AK-47 when I was 10. Luckily there was no ornamental finial at the end of the bannister.

Largo's Shark wrote:

The plane stunts are indeed breath-taking, but the the malarkey at the palace come off like a watered down Russ Meyer film. .

a Russ Meyer Bond, now that's a thought. Titilating even.

What's especially nice about the 'slide-down-the-banister' stunt is that ol' Rog is (as far as I can see, anyway) doing it himself (well, most of it)..

Thunderball

This is the first time I watched Thunderball in about 7 years. Actually, it's been that long since I've seen most of the pre-Craig Bond films (with the exception of OHMSS, YOLT, AVTAK, LTK, and TND).

From 2002 to 2006, I watched them all the time. Too much in fact because I simply became burnt out. I wasn't able to enjoy them because I had seen them so many times. The initial plan was to step away from the Bond films for about a year and then get back to them. Well, that didn't quite go as planned!

So I have to say it was extremely fun to watch Thunderball again. It was honestly like watching a brand new film, almost as if I was seeing it for the first time. It brought back memories of the days when I finally tracked down a Bond film I hadn't seen and the anticipation to unwrap it and pop it into the DVD player. Felt great! The film still hold ups for me as one of the better Bond films, albeit just a tad bit too long/drawn out during the final act.

Watching Thunderball also made me appreciate what they've done in Skyfall. M, Moneypenny, and Q all seem like such fresh, interesting characters in Thunderball.. It's a shame how they developed into cardboard cutouts by the 70's. It's nice to see those characters back in the series again with substance. They are fresh and exciting again, they are interesting. I missed that during the 80's and 90's f ilms

More importantly this is the first time I watched the Ultimate Edition restoration DVDs. I bought them back when they came out, but since I took a break from Bond I never actually ended up watching them. Maybe it's just my imagination or the fact I've been away from the films so long, but Thunderball looked pretty damn sharp. It looked great. I'll have to go dig out my old copy of Thunderball tomorrow after work and compare to two, but it definitely seemed like an improvement.

Well, I'm pretty sure I've got the Bond bug again! So many films I haven't seen in years! The question now is which film to watch next! I'm kind of in a Connery mood... maybe From Russia With Love or Goldfinger.

Live and Let Die and The Man With The Golden Gun
The bluathon continues now that I have complete set.
Is Tom Mank one of the greatest screenwriters ever or what? He co-wrote DAF and Golden Gun with Maibaum, but LALD he wrote all by himself. His witty stamp is splashed all over the three movies. Mank and Hamilton I think are my favourite Bond production tag-team and I do think Harry Saltz impacted the tone of the three Hamilton/Mankiewicz films too. The Bond tone did change somewhat, once Cubby and Gilbert took control of the series with Spy and MR. The smart, edgy camp was replaced by a lighter camp. I think Ham,Saltz and Mank kept Rog under control somewhat. They made him do things their way.
Both movies are double-plus awesome Bond films. I can't get enough of these two films. They look really good on blu too.

A couple of Golden Gun questions that nag.
1. When Bond goes to meet Saida, why are the the local thugs that happen to be hanging around the nightclub, fully 5 years after Fairbanks took Scaramanga's golden bullet, suddenly interested in beating up on Bond?!
2. In the final battle with Bond, how did Nick Nack get out from under the brown couch that Bond chased him under? Was there a hole in the wall that we aren't aware of? He suddenly turns up in the hall on the other side of the wall.
Observation: Pepsi sure got some serious logo exposure, during the episode at the boxing ring, where Hip and Goodnight abscond with the Solex.
Observation 2. Amost 40 years later we are still waiting for our coal and oil to run out, as warned by M. Solar power hasn't exactly taken off either. The Solex tech was ultimately a bust I guess.
Observation 3: I do believe that Golden Gun is the first film in which we meet Chief of Staff, even if he doesn't get a credit, and only gets one line in the M-office meeting with Bond. Michael Goodliffe has since been credited with the role. I don't think he turns up again until FYEO, played by James Villiers.

Moore wrote:

Maybe it's just my imagination or the fact I've been away from the films so long, but Thunderball looked pretty damn sharp. It looked great. I'll have to go dig out my old copy of Thunderball tomorrow after work and compare to two, but it definitely seemed like an improvement.

You are not imagining. The Lowry pristeen digital restoration worked marvels with the old films.
I notice on my bluathon that the last old film to be credited with a 4k scan (whatever that means, any restoration experts feel free to explain) was LALD.
I also noticed that during the big-screen showings at the recently concluded Tiff Bond festival, that the old films with the 4k treatment also looked super sharp and hi-def clean spectacular on the big screen. Not so for everything from TMTGG forward though. Instead we got what looked like well preserved old prints - nowhere near the super quality of the older films. Maybe the 4k treatment was necessary to maintain the restoration look for the big screen as the Golden Gun blu-ray and other post 1974 films look a lot better on blu than the big-screen prints did.

It means the films DN-LALD were scanned from the original negatives, while the following films were simply taken from existing HD video masters. It's nothing you would notice too much on home video, but as you said it was apparent on the big screen showings.

Why did they stop after LALD? I'd like to know that too and I haven't come across any info on that. Maybe somebody here can help out on this. For the Indiana Jones blu-rays the only film that got 4k scan was Raiders but that was likely because it was prepped for theater screenings, and since the other films weren't going to get any screenings they didn't need 4k treatment.

Python wrote:

It means the films DN-LALD were scanned from the original negatives, while the following films were simply taken from existing HD video masters. It's nothing you would notice too much on home video, but as you said it was apparent on the big screen showings.

Thanks for the info. I wish Eon would get TMWTGG to LTK prepared the same way for the big screen.
YOLT, OHMSS and DAF in particular were a sight to behold in their restored big-screen glory. I am sure these films look a lot better now, than when they were originally released. DN is the film that probably benefited the most from restoration efforts. I saw it in 2010 during the Great Digital Film festival. Did it ever look good,in full widescreen presentation. It looked like a brand new release.
At Tiff I only checked out the films from 62-89. That's 16 films right there and I still only managed to see 9 of them. So there was no time for the later films which are fairly recent, and which I did already see in their big-screen cineplex glory when they came out. Tiff wouldn't have improved on the original screenings.

Moore wrote:

Thunderball

This is the first time I watched Thunderball in about 7 years. Actually, it's been that long since I've seen most of the pre-Craig Bond films (with the exception of OHMSS, YOLT, AVTAK, LTK, and TND).

From 2002 to 2006, I watched them all the time. Too much in fact because I simply became burnt out. I wasn't able to enjoy them because I had seen them so many times. The initial plan was to step away from the Bond films for about a year and then get back to them. Well, that didn't quite go as planned!

So I have to say it was extremely fun to watch Thunderball again. It was honestly like watching a brand new film, almost as if I was seeing it for the first time. It brought back memories of the days when I finally tracked down a Bond film I hadn't seen and the anticipation to unwrap it and pop it into the DVD player. Felt great! The film still hold ups for me as one of the better Bond films, albeit just a tad bit too long/drawn out during the final act.

Watching Thunderball also made me appreciate what they've done in Skyfall. M, Moneypenny, and Q all seem like such fresh, interesting characters in Thunderball.. It's a shame how they developed into cardboard cutouts by the 70's. It's nice to see those characters back in the series again with substance. They are fresh and exciting again, they are interesting. I missed that during the 80's and 90's f ilms

More importantly this is the first time I watched the Ultimate Edition restoration DVDs. I bought them back when they came out, but since I took a break from Bond I never actually ended up watching them. Maybe it's just my imagination or the fact I've been away from the films so long, but Thunderball looked pretty damn sharp. It looked great. I'll have to go dig out my old copy of Thunderball tomorrow after work and compare to two, but it definitely seemed like an improvement.

Well, I'm pretty sure I've got the Bond bug again! So many films I haven't seen in years! The question now is which film to watch next! I'm kind of in a Connery mood... maybe From Russia With Love or Goldfinger.

Good on you, Moore. Glad to see you've rediscovered an old flame. And just think--now you've got a veritable Bondian banquet awaiting you. You may even find your appreciation of the 80s films renewed after this prolonged hiatus.

tiffanywint wrote:

Live and Let Die and The Man With The Golden Gun
The bluathon continues now that I have complete set.
Is Tom Mank one of the greatest screenwriters ever or what? He co-wrote DAF and Golden Gun with Maibaum, but LALD he wrote all by himself. His witty stamp is splashed all over the three movies. Mank and Hamilton I think are my favourite Bond production tag-team and I do think Harry Saltz impacted the tone of the three Hamilton/Mankiewicz films too. The Bond tone did change somewhat, once Cubby and Gilbert took control of the series with Spy and MR. The smart, edgy camp was replaced by a lighter camp. I think Ham,Saltz and Mank kept Rog under control somewhat. They made him do things their way.
Both movies are double-plus awesome Bond films. I can't get enough of these two films. They look really good on blu too.

A couple of Golden Gun questions that nag.
1. When Bond goes to meet Saida, why are the the local thugs that happen to be hanging around the nightclub, fully 5 years after Fairbanks took Scaramanga's golden bullet, suddenly interested in beating up on Bond?!
2. In the final battle with Bond, how did Nick Nack get out from under the brown couch that Bond chased him under? Was there a hole in the wall that we aren't aware of? He suddenly turns up in the hall on the other side of the wall.
Observation: Pepsi sure got some serious logo exposure, during the episode at the boxing ring, where Hip and Goodnight abscond with the Solex.
Observation 2. Amost 40 years later we are still waiting for our coal and oil to run out, as warned by M. Solar power hasn't exactly taken off either. The Solex tech was ultimately a bust I guess.
Observation 3: I do believe that Golden Gun is the first film in which we meet Chief of Staff, even if he doesn't get a credit, and only gets one line in the M-office meeting with Bond. Michael Goodliffe has since been credited with the role. I don't think he turns up again until FYEO, played by James Villiers.

Agreed on Manky. He was probably the best. Certainly the wittiest.

Tom Mankiewicz is a hoot. He must have been splitting a gut while he wrote LALD.
===The bluathon continues with TSWLM and MR.
These are arguably the two greatest Bonds ever made. Nothing tops these two Lewis Gilbert/Ken Adam uber-Bond adventures for pure spectacle, except for the original Gilbert/Adam collaboration featuring the magnificent Spectre volcano.
Both films look gorgeous on bluray. Probably the two best looking films in the series. The explosion of colour which paints the screen from start to finish, combined with the soaring muscial scores, is a sensory feast.
Not to mention both films are Bond-girl banquets of pulchritude and glam.
Plus a bevy of Bond-worthy campish characters, chases, explosions, gadgets and breathtaking natural scenery to go with the great set pieces.
Spy and Moonraker are Bond on steroids. If the young Connery had managed to make both these films or even middle aged Connery, post Zardoz, I don't think I would have been able to take it. The experience might have been too overwhelming. Just the same I thank Rog for his exemplary efforts in both of these landmark efforts. Sir Rog indeed!!
Someday when I have a giant big-screen and surround system, I might invite some people over and have a Gilbert/Adam triple bill of the three blu-rays. Or maybe just rent a suitable AV room for the occasion.
===I notice with my blu-rays there is no mention of the Lowry restoration treatment at film's end of Spy, but there is with MR, including reference to a 4k digital scan.
However at the Tiff Bondfest, the MR screening was not of the same digital quality as the DN-DAF screening, which were all pristeen digital restorations. MR, like the other Rog and Dalts films that I saw, was simply an old but very good print, complete with the original pinkish-red UA intro logo, as opposed to the newer UA logos that we see on home video.
So I am not sure how the Bond film distributors prepare the films for festival showings and special screenings. At Tiff I didn't actually see LALD. It was sold out both times I tried to attend, but somehow I suspect the LALD screenings might have been an old print as well. It seems the first burst of 7 films are the ones that have been perfectly prepared for theatre showing. I have seen all of these films in special theatre screenings over the last 4 years, and they were all perfectly restored and enhanced digital versions.
Maybe its time to get the Rog and Dalts films spruced up for theatre showings too. Then again it's the orignal run of Connery/Laz films that seem to attract the special showings and the attention of general film buffs.

tiffanywint wrote:

Tom Mankiewicz is a hoot. He must have been splitting a gut while he wrote LALD.
===The bluathon continues with TSWLM and MR.
These are arguably the two greatest Bonds ever made. Nothing tops these two Lewis Gilbert/Ken Adam uber-Bond adventures for pure spectacle, except for the original Gilbert/Adam collaboration featuring the magnificent Spectre volcano.
Both films look gorgeous on bluray. Probably the two best looking films in the series. The explosion of colour which paints the screen from start to finish, combined with the soaring muscial scores, is a sensory feast.
Not to mention both films are Bond-girl banquets of pulchritude and glam.
Plus a bevy of Bond-worthy campish characters, chases, explosions, gadgets and breathtaking natural scenery to go with the great set pieces.
Spy and Moonraker are Bond on steroids. If the young Connery had managed to make both these films or even middle aged Connery, post Zardoz, I don't think I would have been able to take it. The experience might have been too overwhelming. Just the same I thank Rog for his exemplary efforts in both of these landmark efforts. Sir Rog indeed!!
Someday when I have a giant big-screen and surround system, I might invite some people over and have a Gilbert/Adam triple bill of the three blu-rays. Or maybe just rent a suitable AV room for the occasion.
===I notice with my blu-rays there is no mention of the Lowry restoration treatment at film's end of Spy, but there is with MR, including reference to a 4k digital scan.
However at the Tiff Bondfest, the MR screening was not of the same digital quality as the DN-DAF screening, which were all pristeen digital restorations. MR, like the other Rog and Dalts films that I saw, was simply an old but very good print, complete with the original pinkish-red UA intro logo, as opposed to the newer UA logos that we see on home video.
So I am not sure how the Bond film distributors prepare the films for festival showings and special screenings. At Tiff I didn't actually see LALD. It was sold out both times I tried to attend, but somehow I suspect the LALD screenings might have been an old print as well. It seems the first burst of 7 films are the ones that have been perfectly prepared for theatre showing. I have seen all of these films in special theatre screenings over the last 4 years, and they were all perfectly restored and enhanced digital versions.
Maybe its time to get the Rog and Dalts films spruced up for theatre showings too. Then again it's the orignal run of Connery/Laz films that seem to attract the special showings and the attention of general film buffs.

Oddly enough, Bach and Chiles may have been the least attractive women--save Maxwell--in their respective films.

Watched TLD last night. It just didn't melt my butter as much as it usually does. Bliss and her Manilow collection a quality Moneypenny do not make. And when exactly did the Q scenes become so silly? Ghetto blasters...**sigh**. The Q scene in GF was pitch perfection, as is the Q scene in SF. I trust these scenes won't descend into adolescent monkeyshines anymore.

Back to TLD, though. Really love Kamran Shah and Kara. d'Abo's performance is one of the very best among Bond girls. She hits the innocent, wide-eyed naivete out of the park, yet is still sexy as hell.

My favourite Bond girl in TLD is Virigina Hey, she of the expansive pantaloons.
FYEO and OP in blu-ray
I am more convinced than ever that Rog ideally should have been retired after MR, although oddly I find him much more convincing as Bond in OP at 55, than in FYEO at 53. He's way past that mandatory retirement age though. Maybe Connery or Laz pull this older Bond stuff off, because they were naturally athletic and moved well, but Rog moves like a lumbering ox in FYEO. He's better in OP though.
OP joins DAF and TMWTGG as the elephant Bonds (maybe some others that I am forgetting too).
I do have one livestock concern with the OP pts. There is a scene where the enemy vehicles careen off the road scattering hapless chickens and roosters. This scene is far too realistic for my liking. That poor rooster by the left front wheel does seem to be in distress.
Hi-def blu-ray does allow one to get a much sharper long-range focus on Maud Adams exposed derriere as she emerges in birthday suit from the OP swimming pool.
Both films got the Lowry restoration treatment but not 4k scanning. MR looks to be the last of the 4k scan jobs.
Helicopters in both films. DN and TMWTGG might be the only Bond films not to feature at least one helicopter. hmmm. Not sure though.

Watched The Spy Who Loved Me the other night for the first time in 7 years.

This was one film that used to border on good to average for me depending on my mood. My opinion of it now is that I highly enjoy it. I feel that it really nailed the perfect balance for Roger's Bond.... the lighthearted Bond who has his serious moments (the mention of Tracy, Anya confronting him over the death of her lover) and a serious plot line. You feel like there is a threat and Bond might fail. I felt like that feeling is really lost in most of Moore's films. Bond might be a more prone to make a joke, but he still takes his job seriously and knows he has a job to do. I wish more of his films had that kind of balance.

I would say visually, Spy is one of the nicest looking Bond films of the Moore era. Perhaps, one of the best looking since the early Connery films and perhaps not matched until the Craig era. Some nice locations, some great shots especially in the early Egypt stuff. Too bad the dull 80's films didn't take a page from this film.

I still find Bach to be a bit weak in the film, but she's tolerable.


Also, watched Skyfall on DVD for the first time. It definitely holds up pretty well on a second viewing. Craig is damn good in this film. And for it's lengthy running time, the film flies by. I think the pacing of Skyfall is pretty well done. I would say it's a lot smoother than Casino Royale which gets bogged down at several points.

Yeah, CR just feels long at all the wrong times. And it's oddly NOT in the slow-paced card game scenes!

Casino Royale

My 3 disc collector's edition arrived yesterday. Only reason I "upgraded" was because I got CR on DVD as a git after the film came out and that person gave me a Full Screen edition. I felt it was time to get rid of that junk and finally get myself a proper widescreen copy.

Film still holds up well. Still not sure whether I prefer this or Skyfall as Craig's best. Might need to see Skyfall a few more times before deciding.

I'm sure I'll be watching more Bond films shortly. Just ordered the last two volumes of the Ultimate Editions. I never got around to it when it came out, but after getting back into Bond recently and watching the restorations of TB and the TSWLM I was pretty impressed, so I felt it was worth it to get the rest.

A View to a Kill

Moore may be long in the tooth here but he's still got a lot to offer and I think there is much to enjoy here besides. Walken and MacNee are a joy in their respective support roles, Jones is a striking presence (she'd scare the hell out of me) and the production team seem to have genuinely matured in their craft. The Beach Boys intrusion and the disintegrating car aside the humour in general is probably more restrained and appropriate than any other Moore entry. Maybe I am mellowing in my old age but even Tanya Roberts seemed ok for this viewing. The story is a bit ho-hum but offers some great moments, sadly as with OP though the climax, while spectacular, just isn't one of them.

The Blu Ray is rich and sharp, though perhaps not quite as stunningly HD as some of the other titles in the series, likewise for the audio it is the best I have heard for this film but some of the other Bonds offer more immersive mixes.

After Moonraker this and TSWLM vie for my 2nd Moore spot, I'll have to renew my acquaintance with the latter picture to decide soon.

Watched Moonraker last night for the first time in 7 years.

I really, really liked this film after not watching it for years. Back in the past Moonraker never really stood out to me. I watched it during my Bond marathons and that was it. It was neither bad nor good, it was just meh.

There's something about this film...I don't know what it is.... but I like it a lot. And it surprises me because when you look at it on paper, it sounds like an awful Bond film. Bond in outer space? Ridiculous. The Jaws love story? Atrocious. The horrible acting of the lead ladies that is on par with Kristen Stewart? Forgettable. But on this viewing I really enjoyed it despite everything it has working against it.

I love the whole mystery aspect of the film, Bond really has no clue whatsoever as to what Drax is up to. And it's not until very late into the film that he finally figures it out. The locations look great. I think despite the silliness of Bond in space, I give the producers credit for being a little daring and doing something crazy like that. The film definitely stands out and has a different vibe and feel to it when compared to the rather dull and bland 1980's,

While the Jaws love story is pretty crap, I really don't mind the fact he turned into a good guy. It could have turned out poorly, but they handled it pretty well. In any other Bond film it probably wouldn't have worked, but the whole idea of him not being perfect/pure works quite well as an excuse for him to switch sides.

I really loved the scene where Drax unleashes the dogs after Corinne and Barry's score accompanying it is brilliant. Also loved the scenes between M and Bond in this film. It kind of reminded me of the early Bernard Lee/Connery scenes, it was nice to see that again in a Bond film. Shame he died before he could do FYEO because I think it would have been nice to see that continue.

Overall, despite the ridiculous idea of the film.... it works. It doesn't pretend to be anything it is not. It doesn't try to be Goldfinger or Thunderball, it's just sheer fun. My only major gripes are the horrific yellow space outfits and the laser battle in space. I think if they had just had the action take place inside the space station it would have looked a lot better, I think that was just a little unnecessary. Also, it does seem like Rog is slowing down a bit in this film. I think his performance in TSWLM was better. He seems a bit more wooden in this film whereas in the TSWLM he seemed really relaxed.

The product placement is also amusing. The Marlboro stuff isn't bad... the billboard, the pack of cigarettes in the drawer. But the 7 up stuff is pretty amusing. Oh... a cable car just crashed the through a building and destroyed it... that's okay... those 7 up cans just happened to fall with the logo facing the camera and that 7up cooler is standing tall despite its brush with a speeding cable car and debris.

With that said, I really enjoyed Moonraker this time around and my view of it has changed significantly. I definitely feel it is a solid film with a few flaws, but since the film was made in the spirit of fun, it works.

Good review, Moore. And I pretty much agree with it. Now the film does go through a terrible silly patch (Bond bowling out Goodhead in her Venice hotel room to the Magnificent Seven ride scene), but otherwise, I like Moonraker.

Moore wrote:

I love the whole mystery aspect of the film, Bond really has no clue whatsoever as to what Drax is up to. And it's not until very late into the film that he finally figures it out.

Interesting how this appears to be a flaw in TWINE.

The flaw in TWINE is that it's incompetently executed.

In TWINE it gets bogged down in all that soap opera drama nonsense.