Last Bond Movie You Watched.

On my recent OHMSS watch I noticed just how much George acts with his eyes. It's absolutely brilliant and totally natural. I don't know if Hunt coached him on this or used takes that he was more active in but it absolutely works just as always. As always the bit where his leans back bemused at Blofeld's scheme is one of the great moments of the series for character. Then I get distracted by Diana as always.

The whole deleted London chase would have added to the drama but is ultimately unnecessary. There is plenty of setup to the insertion of Bond as Bray, mostly by Bond's narration to M in the transition to the College. Of course the hard cut transition is abrupt but is as usual a perfect Peter Hunt trademark way of getting around a problem. I think we are simply meant to infer the Switzerland remark as that it is neutral territory and thus a perfect hideout.

Pity the deleted scene isn't available as an extra on DVD/Blu-ray (or Lazenby's real voice for the Hilly scenes at that). The photo I got autographed by Lazenby was of him on the steps down from Queen Victoria Street and the College (where the Millennium Bridge now joins)...he said he hadn't seen it in a while and I said about his arm. That's the rub about the deleted scene, all that and the injury, not used.

OHMSS here, too. Couple of small observations ... was amused by the contrast between Q's extolling of miniaturisation at the start and the safecracking photocopier in Gumbold's office being one of the most cumbersome gadgets Bond's ever used, and his surprised-but-relaxed reaction to the hole burnt through the glass from the acid beaker thrown at him reminded me of Brosnan's cool-as-fuck head flick (when the bullets buzz the column he's taking cover behind) in GE.

Hunt totally put in the gadget putdowns. That was completely intentional as he stated as such. The radioactive lint was meant to be as ridiculous as it sounds and to show gadgets as stupid and totally unrealistic. Thus the one necessary item is shown as a monstrous beast that is completely without interesting features or fun. It is merely a tool and silly when compared to Bond's pocket sized safe cracker in YOLT. But back then photocopiers were hitech and enormous.

The real question is...why in the world wouldn't you break in after office hours as to have time to study all files without fear of discovery???

The double take at the sizzling acid glass is priceless and perfectly timed. While I used to hate how the Bray scenes were all dubbed, eventually I got over it and find it works fine. Plus it sets up one of the best gag lines in the series, when during the final assault, Bond slugs a guard while dropping Bray's: "Guns make me nervous!"

Blunt Instrument wrote:

OHMSS here, too. Couple of small observations ... was amused by the contrast between Q's extolling of miniaturisation at the start and the safecracking photocopier in Gumbold's office being one of the most cumbersome gadgets Bond's ever used,

A thought occurred to me when watching OHMSS regarding that safecracker. Considering the smaller version in Bond's previous mission still set Osato's alarm off, maybe it was a return to the older, more reliable model... Sometimes, old ways are the best...



Still, I really dig the careful planning the entire sequence suggests. Planning doesn't happen in Bond films anymore. Craig-Bond charges in without thinking.

Quote :

...and his surprised-but-relaxed reaction to the hole burnt through the glass from the acid beaker thrown at him reminded me of Brosnan's cool-as-fuck head flick (when the bullets buzz the column he's taking cover behind) in GE.  

The best. Both reactions.

HGTB wrote:

Hunt totally put in the gadget putdowns. That was completely intentional as he stated as such. The radioactive lint was meant to be as ridiculous as it sounds and to show gadgets as stupid and totally unrealistic. Thus the one necessary item is shown as a monstrous beast that is completely without interesting features or fun. It is merely a tool and silly when compared to Bond's pocket sized safe cracker in YOLT. But back then photocopiers were hitech and enormous.

The real question is...why in the world wouldn't you break in after office hours as to have time to study all files without fear of discovery???

Maybe to justify Bond sneaking the gadget into the office, since the crane at the construction site was used.

That never occurred to me. Usually it suggests it's a matter of urgency, no?

HGTB wrote:

The double take at the sizzling acid glass is priceless and perfectly timed. While I used to hate how the Bray scenes were all dubbed, eventually I got over it and find it works fine. Plus it sets up one of the best gag lines in the series, when during the final assault, Bond slugs a guard while dropping Bray's: "Guns make me nervous!"

It always amusing to hear Baker's voice re-emerge during the aerial assault.

The one time I like Baker's voice-over is during the Battle. Nice touch. That and Bond sliding down the landing on his belly. His face is perfect after he shoots the lab technician -"Are you fucking kidding?"

Skyfall.

"Emma" should have been nominated that year for an Academy Award. Her performance was nothing short of stellar and deserved recognition. However, because of it, in the one film for the current actor where the writing is on point for Bond himself, it shows how much Craig isn't up to the task. Dench, along with the rest of the supporting cast, runs circles around him. You can see the acting, and you shouldn't. No amount of money will get him over that - just look at SPECTRE.

It's very hard to comprehend how the team got it so right here and failed miserably in SP. I understand writer Buttersworth assumed we wanted more personal conflict for Bond to go up against but you know what's said about those who assume. This justification, though, isn't enough to encompass the sheer ineptitude of the creative decisions AND inattention to the script notes from studio heads, as the hacks revealed.

I've said everything else about the film but to recap: aside from Craig, Newman, and maybe the field agent backstory for Moneypenny (I'm still not sure how I feel about that), it's perfection.

FieldsMan wrote:

Skyfall.

"Emma" should have been nominated that year for an Academy Award. Her performance was nothing short of stellar and deserved recognition. However, because of it, in the one film for the current actor where the writing is on point for Bond himself, it shows how much Craig isn't up to the task. Dench, along with the rest of the supporting cast, runs circles around him. You can see the acting, and you shouldn't. No amount of money will get him over that - just look at SPECTRE.

It's very hard to comprehend how the team got it so right here and failed miserably in SP. I understand writer Buttersworth assumed we wanted more personal conflict for Bond to go up against but you know what's said about those who assume. This justification, though, isn't enough to encompass the sheer ineptitude of the creative decisions AND inattention to the script notes from studio heads, as the hacks revealed.

I've said everything else about the film but to recap: aside from Craig, Newman, and maybe the field agent backstory for Moneypenny (I'm still not sure how I feel about that), it's perfection.

For ultimately calling this film "perfection", you seem to struggle a lot to give this film compliments beyond specifically citing Dench.



Come on, Fields, tell us how much you really hate it.

Maybe reading this review will give that joy: http://n007.thegoldeneye.com/film_commentary/skyfall_review.html

There's only so many times you can say the same thing. The writing of Bond's character is like a latter Fleming novel, which is obviously a huge improvement on the previous two Bond films. Similarly, Severine feels like a Bond girl Fleming could have written. The cinematography is some of the series best. There's equal measures of sex, danger, geopolitical commentary, bizarre (mostly in the form of Silva, but also his cyber messages to M, neon jellyfish, komodo dragons, etc.) and a shade lighter than Craig's previous two. Mendes' direction is classy. I'm a huge fan of one-shots so I appreciate moments like Bond and Eve's rendezvous at the casino and Silva's entrance. And what more needs to be said of the Tennyson sequence? It's excellent. In fact, once Bond heads to Shanghai, until he reaches Scotland, it's classic Bond in my eyes.

I read what you've linked when I've got more time.

Dr. No was on tv.

That 3 blind mice thing in the very beginning makes me want to throw the remote at the screen.

Makeshift Python wrote:

Maybe reading this review will give that joy: http://n007.thegoldeneye.com/film_commentary/skyfall_review.html

I like SF, but was amused by this.

I’ve got to say I barely noticed the female leads, though I believe a character named Severine is one of them, wandering in murky sets. I did catch a glimpse of Naomi Harris near the beginning of the film, driving a land rover through a bazaar, and she reappears clutching a razor blade in another darkly lit room before she essentially disappears, along with the rest of the cast, in the inky blackness of the cinematography. I was, however, surprised to see Vladimir Putin visiting his family estate in Scotland—for how did the Russian statesman come to possess Scottish ancestry? Just as surprising, I have seen a bushy blonde wig on a greasy gay foreigner, who happens to be well equipped to conduct cyberterrorism from a ruined island. It is he who is the villain (though upon his introduction he resembles a hairdresser), flaunting homoerotic impulses in one of the kitschiest performances in the last 182 years.

Makeshift Python wrote:

Come on, Fields, tell us how much you really hate it.

Maybe reading this review will give that joy: http://n007.thegoldeneye.com/film_commentary/skyfall_review.html

He makes a good case for the Craig era as a whole, however he is totally off the mark regarding Skyfall. Sorry HGTB (if you authored it. The reviewer sounds a lot like you ).

He has a tendency to drone on before getting to the point, but the thing that amused me the most was the writer's inability to understand the scene with Bond meeting Silva. He thinks it would be more in character of Fleming's Bond if Bond acted utterly disgusted over Silva's advances rather than make that crack about "what makes you think it's my first time?". He thinks it's out of character that Bond would make light of his heterosexuality, but misses the point that the scene is about Silva trying intimidate and have power over him. Bond showing his sense of humor makes it clear Silva's tactics weren't gonna work, which is why he drops the act right after and moves onto a different game, this time involving Severine's life.

I did try reading his DVD review of SKYFALL, it's basically just one big long befuddlement over how well received the film was, him selecting hate e-mails that were supposedly sent to him to respond to, the series is ruined forever, blah blah blah. I couldn't finish it.

While I can agree with the overall idea...it's not proper analysis and if I go into it it would be a book for each one and be as if I were having to rip out pieces of my own shattered self. If I write something I go into proper analysis but try to leave out all the pretension that comes from the academia readings of films and the art world-but now there's Internet culture to deal with as well.


TSWLM which is always a joy. This time I noticed how well edited it is and how it seems to try and go for the big scale scope of YOLT while trying to get back some of the old school Young style realistic grounding and narrative focus. I think it strikes a near perfect balance that is still partially in MR but begins to deviate and fluctuate wildly. Spy is the first time the series became self aware and is knowing and lovingly admitting this fact to a paying audience. I'm now darn near convinced the final film we have has input from Maibaum as credited but also the handful of things from an uncredited Mankiewicz which explains why Spy has a different flavor to MR. The real irony is that Wood's novelizations are pure Fleming pastiche done so well they're amazing.

Finally getting to check out the rare original mono mix found only on the earliest video editions. I picked up the original pan n scanned Laserdisc which looks surprisingly good and has the mono but is so badly time compressed to fit on one disc that everyone hysterically moves on speed and has helium voices. It's hard to distinguish mix differences so I'll need to track down the old 80's VHS edition. I did notice a few things though but its primarily score and dialogue fluctuations that come from single channel mixing. I usually watch the 1989 letterbox pressing which was the debut of the stereo mix and has some unique qualities that got ironed out of the THX reissue later in the decade. It's not a perfect LD transfer but parts look quite excellent and very much like a 1977 film. (I like the earlier letterbox non-cleaned up MR for the same reasons.) Plus it is the original stereo mix and not a remix with the soundtrack version of the title song subbed in.

HGTB wrote:

TSWLM which is always a joy. This time I noticed how well edited it is and how it seems to try and go for the big scale scope of YOLT while trying to get back some of the old school Young style realistic grounding and narrative focus. I think it strikes a near perfect balance that is still partially in MR but begins to deviate and fluctuate wildly. Spy is the first time the series became self aware and is knowing and lovingly admitting this fact to a paying audience. I'm now darn near convinced the final film we have has input from Maibaum as credited but also the handful of things from an uncredited Mankiewicz which explains why Spy has a different flavor to MR. The real irony is that Wood's novelizations are pure Fleming pastiche done so well they're amazing.

I feel like TSWLM should have trimmed some of the Egypt section and replaced it with greater focus on Anya and Bond's relationship. After they escape Jaws' clutches, it slows down dramatically and doesn't pick up again until they reach Italy. The Anya/Bond dynamic should have been referenced a lot more prior to her confronting Bond about the death of her lover, and also brought forward (maybe the mid point of the film?) for their forced partnership to really crackle. It also doesn't help that Bach and Moore aren't strong enough here to sell this interesting dynamic. Connery/Dalton/Brosnan would have nailed it, and a Bond girl actress like Honor Blackman, Luciana Palazzi, Izabella Scorupcu or Sophie Marceau would have done an excellent job.

The Living Daylights

A spur of the moment decision, after having listened to the soundtrack for days. I recall discovering this film as a young'n and watching it so many times. It shot up to number 2. My top 4 were TND, TLD, OHMSS and FRWL.

It's such an underrated entry. Dalton is excellent but I always wonder about Brosnan being in the film. Would his era be more appreciated has he been in TLD as well? I digress.

I really appreciate the supporting characters as well. Kara is an excellent Bond girl and d'Abo is perfectly cast in the role. Saunders is also a hugely underrated ally thank to good writing and even better casting. Krabbe makes for a top Cold War-esque villain in Koskov, and while Don Baker's Whitaker is an excellent character, I feel an actor of greater gravitas should have been used for what was effectively a glorified cameo. Art department should be commended for the good dose of bizarre in his mansion. Don Baker is much more suited to Wade. Necros is a great variation of the Grant mould. His 'master of disguises' persona is both fitting for the greater emphasis on espionage as well as lending the film a little more eccentricity.

Enough can't be said about Barry's score. Where Has Everybody Gone is one of the great Bond songs in my opinion. I wish the sax solo in a-ha's The Living Daylight's made the titles sequence, which, by the by, seems a lot sexier than Binder's other efforts since the 60s.

Do I dare list a ranking? Skyfall and The Living Daylights are pretty interchangeable on my list. Anything in the top 12 could make the top 5. I think had more fun with TLD this time, so:

1. The Living Daylights
2. Skyfall

FieldsMan wrote:

It's such an underrated entry. Dalton is excellent but I always wonder about Brosnan being in the film. Would his era be more appreciated has he been in TLD as well? I digress.

If anything, US audiences, especially the US media, would have ADORED Brosnan in TLD. Coming right off of Remington Steele, many in the US simply saw him as the heir apparent that when he did not ultimately get the gig there was an unfair amount of resentment over Dalton, with the press often dubbing him as just a second choice to Brosnan, despite Cubby having eyed him since OHMSS. I have doubts that a LTK type film would have been made, but the rights over the film would have still stalled a third film of his. It certainly would have sent his career on a completely different trajectory, as he wouldn't have had to do cheap direct-to-TV films like he did between '87 and '94. Bond gave his career a needed boost, whether he was happy with the films he made or not.

There's a pic of Brosnan on the Rock Of Gibraltar with Wilson ... he was in his early 30s at the time, but looks about 25. Probably best that it was the mid-90s before he got to play Bond.

This is what he basically looked like in STEELE in 1986:

I love PB. I really do.

But him doing TLD would have been awful and not quite his fault. I buy him in Steele but couldn't as Bond in 1986. He was too young and absolutely perfect in GE in '95. He absolutely needed the extra time just as Dalton did when considered for OHMSS in 1969.

Dalton was spot on, the film is a masterwork and I say this often but truly feel it is the most underrated film ever made. It manages to blend Fleming with the film series and bring it into the modern reality of the 1980's and satisfy on all fronts. Sure the villains aren't larger than life but they are interesting and extremely grounded.


I do think that the more you watch Spy the better the Bond-Anya relationship comes across. As a whole I think it flows very well and since their relationship is used in more of a screwball comedy manner/battle of the sexes type of narrative function that it is not the entire focus of the film. There is a great subtlety to their interplay on the train and it is that sequence that finally melts the ice barriers between the two after Jaws is dispatched. This is also probably due to the insane amount of drafts and different story ides during the three year gap for this film that deviated wildly and trying to create a simpler through line for a large scale film where everything was on the line. Plus they still were casting for faces over acting chops as well of course. I think Anya comes across much stronger due to the interplay between Bach and Roger.

And the thing with Brosnan having sufficiently 'aged into' the part by Goldeneye works in reverse for how Bond was written in CR ... the petulance and hot-headedness would probably make more sense from a younger actor than the 38 year old Craig.

This is 1987.



He'd be older in TLD than both Connery and Lazenby in their debut films. He would have been great, especially with John Glen's focus on returning to the roots of the character.

Interesting to bring up Dalton not being ready for OHMSS, Brosnan not for TLD and maybe even earlier, Moore not for DN? Guess that's telling enough to suggest that Cavill may just as well end up as the next Bond, having not been for CR06?

BI wrote:

And the thing with Brosnan having sufficiently 'aged into' the part by Goldeneye works in reverse for how Bond was written in CR ... the petulance and hot-headedness would probably make more sense from a younger actor than the 38 year old Craig.

Nothing of the idea that Bond would ever be a rookie as a 00 agent makes sense, regardless of age.

Not sure if Moore auditioned for Dr No. On being asked by Cubby and Harry to lose some weight and get a haircut for LALD, he enquired why they hadn't just hired a thin bald man instead .

FieldsMan wrote:

This is 1987.

That's from THE FOURTH PROTOCOL, from a time when he had become disgruntled about STEELE and wanted to break away from that image by taking on more darker and gritty roles. That film certainly was, him playing a ruthless Russian assassin who's so cold he'll kill a woman after sleeping with her in bed. He's good in it. Not too much of him though as it's more centered on Michael Caine talking or shouting a lot.

I've never seen the movie TAFFIN, but this bit of overacting never ceases to make me laugh.





I think it's better he waited until the 90s. He'd grown into a much better dramatic actor by then, and I think only grew better as the years went by that DAD was his peak performance.

Makeshift Python wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

This is 1987.

That's from THE FOURTH PROTOCOL, from a time when he had become disgruntled about STEELE and wanted to break away from that image by taking on more darker and gritty roles. That film certainly was, him playing a ruthless Russian assassin who's so cold he'll kill a woman after sleeping with her in bed. He's good in it. Not too much of him though as it's more centered on Michael Caine talking or shouting a lot.

I've never seen the movie TAFFIN, but this bit of overacting never ceases to make me laugh.





I think it's better he waited until the 90s. He'd grown into a much better dramatic actor by then, and I think only grew better as the years went by that DAD was his peak performance.

Yep PROTOCOL's a great film, and Brosnan is solid, too. Glover's a bit wooden in it, though.

If only he booked TLD, then he wouldn't have had to work in films like Taffin.

That's a point RE: his performance in DAD, but that calibre might have happened sooner were he to have been cast in TLD, affording him the opportunities to work with other, more prolific directors in between his Bond films. Bit like how Connery worked with Hitchcock after FRWL and then many believe his best performances as Bond come in GF and TB.

What's got me thinking is how much of an impact Dalton had on TLD, and what would be lacking if any other actor had stepped in instead. Dalton was very irritated with Glen's directing style, always preferring to focus on plot mechanics and less on character and performances. Dalton reportedly picked up that slack by collaborating with other actors he'd work with to get richer performances when the time came to shoot. You take away Dalton's presence and replace him with any other actor including Brosnan, I wonder if we would have gotten lesser performances from supporting actors. We know that supporting cast was already set by the time Brosnan was selected, and the script Wilson and Maibaum wrote had Bond written more generically, so that whoever was cast would slip in easily with only a few rewrites to accommodate the actor. We would have largely gotten the same film, only the presence of the actor would have changed the way scenes played out.