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Is From Russia With Love Connery's best performance ???

moore45moore45
edited November 2014 in Bond Movies Posts: 47
With a success of Octopussy is Moore's best performance??? I create this spin-off thread. :)
What do you think Is from russia with love Connery's best performance ??? or Goldfinger ???

I think From Russia with Love was the best made Connery Bond film. All of the others were flawed in performance, story, or production.
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Comments

  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    One word answer: Yes

    Two word answer: Definitely, yes

    He looked his best here, and in my opinion, defined James Bond here.

    It is the James Bond from FRWL, or rather Connery's Bond from FRWL, that Daniel Craig is trying so hard to recapture. He is getting there slowly, but even now, Connery's FRWL performance is better than anything Craig's done in my opinion. It is definitely his defining performance.

    I think TB comes a close second. He's super confident in that one and has still not dropped to the phone-in performances he delivered in YOLT, DAF & NSNA.

    Goldfinger is up there too, but I personaly prefer his work on FRWL and TB
  • Dalton12Dalton12
    Posts: 1,107
    I completely agree. =D>
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    Aside from the silly mask thing in the beginning, and the Popeye hat near the end, FRWL is gold.
  • jobojobo
    edited October 2014 Posts: 7,507
    I would agree, yes. For me it would have to be one of his two first films. I think Connery never gets the credit he actually deserves for his debut performance, which for me was quite exceptional. With Goldfinger, although still good, I think he started a gradual decline. Connery was at his most ruthless and intense in Dr No, and combined it with smooth, suave elegance in Russia. Which of the two is my favourite interpretation varies. Usually I prefer him in the last one I saw :P
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited October 2014 Posts: 23,883
    Good point. He did define the cinematic Bond with his first portrayal in Dr. No and so it deserves credit. Of course he got better as he matured in the role, but the first cinematic interpretation of James Bond is not something to scoff at. After all, it created a movie character that has lasted for 50+ years. Amen to that.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Some would debate FRWL vs. Thunderball, but for me FRWL is Connery's best performance. He was very fine in Dr. No, too. But I place this as his best, yes.
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 14,690
    I agree. There's still traces of DN there when he slaps Tania and the look he gives her just prior to that when he enters the cabin, but no DN 'fetch my shoes'/'cover up that boat' wtf moments or snapping at people; no goofy, creepy GF grins; no childish antics from GF or later entries (where'sh the kickshtarter?). This is Connery at his besht. \m/
  • AceHoleAceHole Belgium, via Britain
    Posts: 1,731
    bondjames wrote: »

    Goldfinger is up there too, but I personaly prefer his work on FRWL and TB

    Wholeheartedly agree.
    I can rewatch FRWL & TB over and over for Connery's performances alone. His line-delivery, physical acting and timing are near-on perfect.

    That being said, yes I agree that FRWL is Sean's very best stint as 007.
  • Dalton12Dalton12
    Posts: 1,107
    All the Connery movies are excellent. Even if the Cold War politics and social attitudes are a bit outdated, these movies blazed new ground in action-adventure. If I'm in the mood for a "serious" Bond, FRWL is the best . But it's hard to argue with the blending of plot, supporrting cast, music, setting, cinematography, plus that outlandish volcano, which together push YOLT to the top and over. But in FRWL Connery's performance was the best of all his Bond Films I think.
  • RogueAgentRogueAgent
    Posts: 12,526
    I think it may well be although i have great fondness for Dr No!
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited November 2014 Posts: 18,348
    I think Dr. No is his best and most pure performance, with FRWL a close second.
  • Gustav_GravesGustav_Graves
    Posts: 11,119
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    I think Dr. No is his best and most pure performance, with FRWL a close second.

    I really find it a difficult question to answer. I really like to treat Terence Young's Bond films as a trilogy. They all have the look and feel of what Terence Young intended. And then "Goldfinger", by Guy Hamilton, comes across as the most cheesy one. "Thunderball" was perhaps the biggest on-screen production until then, 1965, but it was also the one with less gadgets IMO. Thank God the gadget-laden Aston Martin only had an understated performance. Foremost what mad "Thunderball" work for me, was the villain's plot: Hijacking atomic boms. It's at least way more believable than...uhm....making the US-gold-supply radio-active??

    Having said that, I think Sean Connery was at his best...and felt at complete ease....in the Terence Young-trilogy "Doctor No"-"From Russia With Love"-"Thunderball". And then I can't choose if Connery gave his best performance in either FRWL or TB. But I'd go for TB. For me that is Connery's best performance. After that it all went downhill. Although I did like Connery in DAF until the end of the first half of the film.

  • KerimKerim Istanbul Not Constantinople
    Posts: 2,629
    I'm tempted to go with YOLT and DAF, but I would agree that FRWL was SC's best performance.
  • fire_and_icefire_and_ice
    Posts: 6,432
    Definately his best performance, my joint top Bond movie along with OHMSS and TB.
  • MooseWithFleasMooseWithFleas Philadelphia
    Posts: 3,370
    He looked his best and definitely fit the role of a spy in a cold war thriller. Probably his technically best performance. Though if you were to say what is his most Bondian performance, it would likely be TB. Both phenomenal!
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,348
    Kerim wrote: »
    I'm tempted to go with YOLT and DAF, but I would agree that FRWL was SC's best performance.

    To me those would be his lesser performances as Bond but everyone has their own view. That's what makes these discussions so interesting. :)
  • GetafixGetafix
    Posts: 11,425
    The first three. But FRWL is probably the most sublime.
  • Campbell2Campbell2 Epsilon Rho Rho house, Bending State University
    Posts: 299
    For me TB hands down.
  • GetafixGetafix
    Posts: 11,425
    I always thought he seemed a bit bored in TB.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    Posts: 11,189
    Is FRWL Connery's best performance?

    No GF is!
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    YES
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    "Getafix wrote:
    I always thought he seemed a bit bored in TB.

    That is true. He did seem bored, but he had nailed the role by then, and the confidence was just coming out of him. The real boredom for me started to show in YOLT when he appeared to be going through the motions, although you could argue it may have started in TB.

    Similar to Moore in MR (despite that movie's failings, Moore was in top form & exuded confidence).
  • Campbell2Campbell2 Epsilon Rho Rho house, Bending State University
    Posts: 299
    You might say a bit of amused boredom is part of James Bond, you know, just enough to tackle the assignment with hopes for a little change of pace and action. That's Bond's state of mind to a degree.
  • AceHoleAceHole Belgium, via Britain
    edited November 2014 Posts: 1,731
    bondjames wrote: »
    "Getafix wrote:
    I always thought he seemed a bit bored in TB.

    That is true. He did seem bored, but he had nailed the role by then, and the confidence was just coming out of him. The real boredom for me started to show in YOLT when he appeared to be going through the motions, although you could argue it may have started in TB.

    Similar to Moore in MR (despite that movie's failings, Moore was in top form & exuded confidence).


    Connery was at his most cavalier in TB, certainly - but to my mind it doesn't come across as boredom, per se. He is at his most insolent & most arrogant ever in Thunderball. Downright 'bad arse', if you like :D
  • moore45moore45
    Posts: 47
    I think never say never was connery's strong performance too wayy better than TB or YOLT.
  • ThighsOfXeniaThighsOfXenia
    Posts: 1,596
    Getafix wrote: »
    I always thought he seemed a bit bored in TB.

    I don't see it. The twinkle is still there. Super confidence and swagger by that point.

    To answer the OP: Yes. But I see his first four performances as equally perfect, so pick one.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 14,003
    He was rough around the edges in Dr No (even with the help he was given by Young), in Goldfinger / Thunderball / You Only Live Twice he lacked that edge that Bond needs, in Diamonds Are Forever he waddled around and in Never Say Never Again he looked redder in the face than a raddish. But in From Russia With Love, he was at his speak, it is his best movie and performance, and it's the one film of his that I would want to watch, if I were not having a Bond season.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited November 2014 Posts: 11,189
    Does he lack an edge in GF?

    goldfinger-main11-e1349131680905.jpg
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    edited November 2014 Posts: 14,003
    BAIN123 wrote: »
    Does he lack an edge in GF?
    I wrote:
    in Goldfinger / Thunderball / You Only Live Twice he lacked that edge that Bond needs

    Yes, yes he does. In From Russia With Love, it's there, but stating with Goldfinger, that edge has gone.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    I agree with GF the formula was starting and Bond became more of eon's idea than Fleming's. So I'd say Connery was at his best in FRWL.
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