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What is your favourite/least favourite Pre-Title-Sequence?

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  • dominicgreenedominicgreene The Eternal QOS Defender
    edited August 2015 Posts: 1,756
    BondJasonBond006 wrote: »
    That's easy...

    1. TWINE
    2. GE
    3. TND
    4. TLD
    5. OP
    6. LTK
    7. DAD
    8. TSWLM
    9. MR
    10. DRNO...joke...AVTAK

    Least good:

    1. CR
    2. SF
    3. DRNO...joke...(I'm probably drunk :P ) FYEO

    I simply cannot fathom how anyone could dislike the CR PTS.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    dominicgreene wrote: »
    BondJasonBond006 wrote: »
    That's easy...

    1. TWINE
    2. GE
    3. TND
    4. TLD
    5. OP
    6. LTK
    7. DAD
    8. TSWLM
    9. MR
    10. DRNO...joke...AVTAK

    Least good:

    1. CR
    2. SF
    3. DRNO...joke...(I'm probably drunk :P ) FYEO

    I simply cannot fathom how anyone could dislike the CR PTS.

    Very simple, gun-barrel at the wrong end of the PTS, awful animated blood on gun-barrel, whole sequence in black and white which was unnecessary and really deviant.
    Too short, only blah blah except the flashbacks that showed some hand to hand fight in a restroom. I mean a restroom!! In a Bond PTS...nothing but a restroom...

    Even Dr.No PTS is better...
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    The last video I watched with two blokes in a restroom. Ended
    Very differently, they seemed to really get on ! :D
  • Garth007Garth007 Missouri, USA
    Posts: 61
    My top five
    1.CR
    2.SF
    3.DAD
    4.TLD
    5.TSWLM
    (Honorable mention) QOS
  • JohnHammond73JohnHammond73 Lancashire, UK
    edited October 2015 Posts: 4,151
    My favourite is probably The Spy Who Loved Me but there are some great ones really isn't there? As has been mentioned before, the words "mini movies" comes to mind.

    Least fave - LALD. Shame cos like the movie a lot.
  • tigers99tigers99
    Posts: 582
    Top 5:

    1. Casino Royale
    2. From Russia with Love
    3. GoldenEye
    4. The Living Daylights
    5. On Her Majesty's Secret Service

    Bottom 5 (1 being the worst):

    1. Diamonds Are Forever
    2. The Man with the Golden Gun
    3. Moonraker (Comedic moments wreck a great PTS)
    4. Live and Let Die
    5. You Only Live Twice

    I thought that the Pierce Brosnan ones became very samey, I like big action set piece PTS but it's good to vary it too, I like the idea of starting the film with some kind of intrigue - a la From Russia with Love, rather than always doing an all out action sequence a la the Brosnan Bonds
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    tigers99 wrote: »
    Top 5:

    1. Casino Royale
    2. From Russia with Love
    3. GoldenEye
    4. The Living Daylights
    5. On Her Majesty's Secret Service

    Bottom 5 (1 being the worst):

    1. Diamonds Are Forever
    2. The Man with the Golden Gun
    3. Moonraker (Comedic moments wreck a great PTS)
    4. Live and Let Die
    5. You Only Live Twice

    I thought that the Pierce Brosnan ones became very samey, I like big action set piece PTS but it's good to vary it too, I like the idea of starting the film with some kind of intrigue - a la From Russia with Love, rather than always doing an all out action sequence a la the Brosnan Bonds

    Nevertheless nothing beats TND.
    It has everything: Elaborate sets, action, a perfect gripping score, M worrying and arguing with that military imbecile, a threat of total nuclear distruction and Bond saving "the world" and a fight for life or death.
  • Perilagu_KhanPerilagu_Khan
    Posts: 2,483
    Least fav has to be AVTAK, which is screwed up royally by "California Girls."
  • MyNameIsMyBondRnMyNameIsMyBondRn WhereYouLeastExpectMeToBe
    Posts: 221
    "California Girls" is an oldie that always will be with us; perhaps oldies is a reflection on the timeframe that gave us some MooRe..!
  • Mathis1Mathis1
    Posts: 7,616
    I agree with comments about TSWLM. If you were talking about one of the best stunt sequences, then yes, it would be up in the top ranks. But I judge a pre-credits as a whole, and Spy doesn't make the grade. All that stuff with the submarines, and Triple x (yawn!) mars the opening. So therefore my top 5..
    !) OHMSS
    2) TLD
    3) OP
    4) GF
    5) QoS
  • IncompetentHenchmanIncompetentHenchman
    Posts: 1,817
    Exhilarating!

    1. SP
    2. TSWLM
    3. TWINE
    4. GE
    5. CR
    6. TLD
    7. OP

    Great!

    8. SF
    9. TB
    10. FRWL
    11. GF
    12. MR

    Good
    13. OHMSS
    14. TND
    15. YOLT
    16 FYEO
    17. DAD

    Ehhh
    18. LTK
    19. QOS
    20. AVTAK
    21. TMWTGG
    22. LALD
    23. DAF

    0. DN - difficult to judge something that doesn't exist...
  • WhoopsflootleWhoopsflootle
    Posts: 92
    1. Spectre: ambitious and grandiose like Skyfall but visceral like Quantum. This 12 min sequence is Bond perfection for me.

    2. Spy: Rog at his smooth best, the score, and the Union Jack of course.

    3. Living Daylights: that first shot of Timmy and you know you're in good hands.

    4. Goldeneye: for me and many others here, the first Bond thing we ever saw was that bungee.

    5-10: Goldfinger, Thunderball, YOLT, TWINE, Casino and Quantum.

    No dishonourable mentions.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Favourite: I'd go with either Goldfinger or Spectre.

    If the PTS only consisted of the Bilbao bank segment in The World Is Not Enough, it would've been a worthy contender, too.

    Least favourite: Live and Let Die.
  • Ottofuse8Ottofuse8
    Posts: 832
    Favorite: 1. The Spy Who Loved Me
    2. Octopussy
    3. Spectre

    Least: A View To A Kill by a longshot
  • IncompetentHenchmanIncompetentHenchman
    Posts: 1,817
    @Birdleson

    You don't even remotely like anything in OP's PTS? None of the plane stunts, missile shtick or even the 'fill 'er up' line? Nothing?
  • IncompetentHenchmanIncompetentHenchman
    Posts: 1,817
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I hate every aspect of it. The humor is the worst of the Moore era pubs and bad jokes, the bit with the soldiers in the jeep and Bond getting them to look at the broad's legs and the pulling the parachute ripcords was just stupid. And fast flying planes hold zero interest to me (same goes for explosions). And I never laughed at "Fill 'er up." Nothing.

    I love Roger most of the time, but I hate the quips and puns.

    Well. That is pretty damning. OP must not get much better in that regard then.

    Surely in your view FYEO must be far worse considering how Blofeld is being treated alongside Conti's disco music...
  • JohnHammond73JohnHammond73 Lancashire, UK
    Posts: 4,151
    This is not easy but my favourite of the series is probably On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The fight scene on the beach is quite excellent and a decent introduction to a new 007. The worst - probably A View To A Kill for me, spoilt severely by California Girls.

    With so many to choose from it's very difficult, TSWLM is also excellent along with CR and TLD. Others that I don't feel are close to being favourites are DAD, DAF and LALD.
  • IncompetentHenchmanIncompetentHenchman
    Posts: 1,817
    I'm convinced that even if AVTAK did not have California Girls it wouldn't have been very good. It's not at all as good as the ski chases before it, the location isn't too attractive, and there is no momentum to the chase. It stops and starts and stops and starts and ends with a very old Roger Moore doing things a very old Roger Moore shouldn't be doing.
  • AceHoleAceHole Belgium, via Britain
    Posts: 1,731
    Only three that I dislike. DAF, LALD and TMWTGG PTS' are kitsch and utter tripe.

    TLD probably takes the crown - all of John Glen's PTS' are good, nobody did them quite like him. AVTAK is well shot and still miles ahead of the three above, but granted it's the weakest PTS of the Glen era.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    edited March 2016 Posts: 1,984
    The best? Probably TSWLM, just for the parachute ending and the segue into the title-sequence (the best seguing into a title sequence of any PTS). Most of the PTS as a whole is actually pretty average, but those two parts alone win it for me - the actual ski chase is also quite nice.

    GF, TLD, CR and TB follow closely, then it's MR, SF and the Brosnan ones - except TND, which is good but not great (and for me, more unintentionally funny than anything else, given Brosnan's pain face).

    DAF, TMWTGG and LTK are among the worst, but for the crown in that segment, it's a toss-up between LALD and FYEO. For the former, we have a series of bizarre deaths and... that's it. No real action associated with Bond PTS's, and most importantly, Bond is nowhere to be found (he's introduced rather unceremoniously after the title sequence, too). You can't have a good PTS without Bond - I'm sorry, you just can't. TMWTGG skimps the use of Bond as well, since he appears only as a mannequin in Scaramanga's funhouse and the PTS is one of the moments invested solely into making Scaramanga look good at the expense of Bond (which really sums up the movie until the actual shootout at the end).

    LALD is even worse since Bond is nowhere to be seen. Yes, the deaths are eerie in a way and it's truly a cold open. It's just that we're hardly feeling tension since we're basically watching MacGuffins die in corny ways. Only Baines is mentioned more than once or twice afterwards, and even then he's forgotten about halfway through the film. The PTS just has no lasting effect whatsoever, and it's definitely not going to be remembered when you think of a good PTS (whereas some other unconnected PTS's such as the GF one are very good). Maybe that's more of a complaint for LALD itself, since the whole film has always felt largely unconnected to me - all the acts feel loosely tied up for the sake of having some sort of continuity. Still, that doesn't excuse a PTS where Bond doesn't appear in any way, shape of form, and we're instead treated to some cheesy deaths of some people we don't even care about.

    On the other hand, there's FYEO - a parody of Bond's greatest archnemesis. It's corny and pathetic, especially after the first moments of seeing Tracy's grave and a wheelchair-bound bald man stroking a cat inspire immediate excitement, only to disappoint in every way. I'm fine with Roger's more deadpan portrayal of Bond, but the idea of Bond having no emotion when he comes into contact with Blofeld (and meeting Blofeld right after visiting his wife's grave, for that matter) is just stupid. It's just an unflattering meeting between the pair that isn't satisfying in any way - and turning Blofeld into a comedy character, even as a middle finger to McClory, is something that should never happen.

    And, well, that's the end of my rant.
  • IncompetentHenchmanIncompetentHenchman
    Posts: 1,817
    ForYourEyesOnly wrote: »
    The best? Probably TSWLM, just for the parachute ending and the segue into the title-sequence (the best seguing into a title sequence of any PTS). Most of the PTS as a whole is actually pretty average, but those two parts alone win it for me - the actual ski chase is also quite nice.

    GF, TLD, CR and TB follow closely, then it's MR, SF and the Brosnan ones - except TND, which is good but not great (and for me, more unintentionally funny than anything else, given Brosnan's pain face).

    DAF, TMWTGG and LTK are among the worst, but for the crown in that segment, it's a toss-up between LALD and FYEO. For the former, we have a series of bizarre deaths and... that's it. No real action associated with Bond PTS's, and most importantly, Bond is nowhere to be found (he's introduced rather unceremoniously after the title sequence, too). You can't have a good PTS without Bond - I'm sorry, you just can't. TMWTGG skimps the use of Bond as well, since he appears only as a mannequin in Scaramanga's funhouse and the PTS is one of the moments invested solely into making Scaramanga look good at the expense of Bond (which really sums up the movie until the actual shootout at the end).

    LALD is even worse since Bond is nowhere to be seen. Yes, the deaths are eerie in a way and it's truly a cold open. It's just that we're hardly feeling tension since we're basically watching MacGuffins die in corny ways. Only Baines is mentioned more than once or twice afterwards, and even then he's forgotten about halfway through the film. The PTS just has no lasting effect whatsoever, and it's definitely not going to be remembered when you think of a good PTS (whereas some other unconnected PTS's such as the GF one are very good). Maybe that's more of a complaint for LALD itself, since the whole film has always felt largely unconnected to me - all the acts feel loosely tied up for the sake of having some sort of continuity. Still, that doesn't excuse a PTS where Bond doesn't appear in any way, shape of form, and we're instead treated to some cheesy deaths of some people we don't even care about.

    On the other hand, there's FYEO - a parody of Bond's greatest archnemesis. It's corny and pathetic, especially after the first moments of seeing Tracy's grave and a wheelchair-bound bald man stroking a cat inspire immediate excitement, only to disappoint in every way. I'm fine with Roger's more deadpan portrayal of Bond, but the idea of Bond having no emotion when he comes into contact with Blofeld (and meeting Blofeld right after visiting his wife's grave, for that matter) is just stupid. It's just an unflattering meeting between the pair that isn't satisfying in any way - and turning Blofeld into a comedy character, even as a middle finger to McClory, is something that should never happen.

    And, well, that's the end of my rant.

    Clearly FYEO beats LALD's PTS, I mean come on, the helicopter stuff is good for what it's worth. And it is quite a comedy but McClory did deserve that middle finger. LALD has nothing to compete with.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    edited March 2016 Posts: 1,984
    @IncompetentHenchman - Yes, FYEO has several positives over LALD (which really doesn't have anything), but for the same reason, FYEO's glaring negative of destroying Blofeld's character stands out (because again, LALD doesn't do anything - I don't rank it below others because it sucked, but because nothing's interesting). Blofeld becoming a comedy footnote is almost unforgivable, and I'm quite tolerant of Moore's comedic moments.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    There are many great PTS in the franchise, no wonder, it is one of the trademarks of the Bond movies.

    If I had to pick just one it would be TOMORROW NEVER DIES

    TND has it all: jaw dropping action, humour, Brosnan at his best, a gripping story, one of the best pieces of musical score in the whole franchise.

    SPECTRE has raised the bar to what it means to have a perfect PTS.

    Other simply irresistible ones: THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS, OCTOPUSSY, GOLDENEYE

    The worst definitely is QUANTUM OF SOLACE
    The theoretically best car chase in the series completely ruined by editing that allows only shots at maximum 2 seconds a piece. A 3 minute sequence shred to unrecognizable pieces.
    Even Dr. No has a better PTS.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    Posts: 1,984
    I forgot about Quantum of Solace. QoS is also quite bad because of the crappy cutting, but at least there's action - something happens to get you interested in the movie. Even if some people can't understand what's happening, at least something is happening - something to draw their interest despite their lack of understanding. There's a sense of octane and energy. LALD doesn't have any of that.
  • tanaka123tanaka123
    Posts: 4,325
    I actually think QoS has one of the best PTS in the series.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    I like Quantum of Solace fine, and it's certainly better than some of the others that came before. It's only let down by the awful chopping and editing of the frames and scenes.
  • tanaka123tanaka123
    Posts: 4,325
    Personally I think it's the editing that really helps it.
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,198
    Here is my list:

    01. The living Daylights: Just great from start to finish, great shots and score, great direction, great introduction of a new Bond, relevant to the plot.
    02. Golden Eye: Almost perfect, great action, maybe a little far fetched (airplane jump), great direction, great introduction of a new Bond, amazing stunt work, score is not that good, very relvant to the plot.
    03. The world is not enough: amazing Thames chase, great action sequence, great score, just a little too long.
    04. The man with the golden gun: Great and very suspensefull opening and introduction to the villain, villain lair, henchman and secondary Bond girl, very relevant to the plot, no Bond in here but that's ok.
    05. Goldfinger: great action, great direction, great fight sequence, great lines, not relevant to the plot at all.
    06. The Spy who loved me: The best stunt of the whole series, cool ski sequence, great move into the title sequence, relevant to the plot, however badly directed (the Lewis Gilbert PTS problem; too much content already in the PTS, we don't need to know everything before the titles)
    07. Moonraker: see TSWLM
    08. Skyfall: Great action, fight and chase sequence (maybe a little too overblown), very suspensefull train sequnece, relevant to the plot, great move into the title sequence, Bond pretended to be dead is a bit silly (Bond could not have survived the fall),
    09. Spectre: great opeining shot, great location, great chase through the crowd, very colourfull, intense helicopter fight, great direction a little too overblown (building collapses), obvious CGI, relevant to the plot.
    10. Octopussy: very funny PTS, great flight sequence and amazing stunt work, not relvant at all to the plot.
    11. A View to a Kill: Suspensefull opening, amazing score (best PTS score), great and innovative ski sequence, funny gadget (ice berg submarine), relevant to the plot, PTS partly ruined by a horrible CG songand silly snow board sequence.
    12. Thunderball: Intersting PTS, great opening at the funeral, great fight sequence, I am still not sure about that jetpack scene, the use of the DB5 gadgets are a bit silly, greatmove into the title sequence.
    13. On her Majesty's secret serveice: Great introduction for a new Bond, great fight sequence, great cinmatography, partly ruined by a horrible oneliner, great introduction to the main Bond girl, relevant to the plot.
    14. Casino Royal: very stylish and a good introduction to a new Bond, maybe a bit too gritty for a PTS (not my cup of tea), very well directed, great move into the title sequence, not really relevant to the plot.
    15. Tomorrow never dies: good but very generic Brosnan action, (not bad but also not very memorable), many explosions, uninteresting location, but very intense, not really relvant for the plot.
    16. From Russia with love: very suspensefull and a great introduction to the main henchman, a bit silly (How many people does Spectre kill for training?)
    17. Die another day: see TND, again too many explosions, untinteresting location.
    18. You only live twice: See TSWLM and MR but without great stunt work.
    19. For your eyes only: Amazing stunt work but very silly action, not related to the plot.
    20. License to Kill: too many things going on a the same time, too pathetic, a little silly (how slow can a plane be?)
    21. Quantum of Solace: Great and very intense car chase if you watch it with half of its speed, poor editing, the shots are way too short, relvant for the plot, starts directly after the encing of CR.
    22. Live and let die: Just bad, very uninteresting, no Bond (sad, since it's RM first Bond film), too many sequneces, badly edited.
    23. Diamonds are forever: very bad and not intense at all, Blofeld is suppsosed to be dead, but does anybody believe this??
  • tanaka123tanaka123
    Posts: 4,325
    GBF wrote: »
    Here is my list:

    01. The living Daylights: Just great from start to finish, great shots and score, great direction, great introduction of a new Bond, relevant to the plot.
    02. Golden Eye: Almost perfect, great action, maybe a little far fetched (airplane jump), great direction, great introduction of a new Bond, amazing stunt work, score is not that good, very relvant to the plot.
    03. The world is not enough: amazing Thames chase, great action sequence, great score, just a little too long.
    04. The man with the golden gun: Great and very suspensefull opening and introduction to the villain, villain lair, henchman and secondary Bond girl, very relevant to the plot, no Bond in here but that's ok.
    05. Goldfinger: great action, great direction, great fight sequence, great lines, not relevant to the plot at all.
    06. The Spy who loved me: The best stunt of the whole series, cool ski sequence, great move into the title sequence, relevant to the plot, however badly directed (the Lewis Gilbert PTS problem; too much content already in the PTS, we don't need to know everything before the titles)
    07. Moonraker: see TSWLM
    08. Skyfall: Great action, fight and chase sequence (maybe a little too overblown), very suspensefull train sequnece, relevant to the plot, great move into the title sequence, Bond pretended to be dead is a bit silly (Bond could not have survived the fall),
    09. Spectre: great opeining shot, great location, great chase through the crowd, very colourfull, intense helicopter fight, great direction a little too overblown (building collapses), obvious CGI, relevant to the plot.
    10. Octopussy: very funny PTS, great flight sequence and amazing stunt work, not relvant at all to the plot.
    11. A View to a Kill: Suspensefull opening, amazing score (best PTS score), great and innovative ski sequence, funny gadget (ice berg submarine), relevant to the plot, PTS partly ruined by a horrible CG songand silly snow board sequence.
    12. Thunderball: Intersting PTS, great opening at the funeral, great fight sequence, I am still not sure about that jetpack scene, the use of the DB5 gadgets are a bit silly, greatmove into the title sequence.
    13. On her Majesty's secret serveice: Great introduction for a new Bond, great fight sequence, great cinmatography, partly ruined by a horrible oneliner, great introduction to the main Bond girl, relevant to the plot.
    14. Casino Royal: very stylish and a good introduction to a new Bond, maybe a bit too gritty for a PTS (not my cup of tea), very well directed, great move into the title sequence, not really relevant to the plot.
    15. Tomorrow never dies: good but very generic Brosnan action, (not bad but also not very memorable), many explosions, uninteresting location, but very intense, not really relvant for the plot.
    16. From Russia with love: very suspensefull and a great introduction to the main henchman, a bit silly (How many people does Spectre kill for training?)
    17. Die another day: see TND, again too many explosions, untinteresting location.
    18. You only live twice: See TSWLM and MR but without great stunt work.
    19. For your eyes only: Amazing stunt work but very silly action, not related to the plot.
    20. License to Kill: too many things going on a the same time, too pathetic, a little silly (how slow can a plane be?)
    21. Quantum of Solace: Great and very intense car chase if you watch it with half of its speed, poor editing, the shots are way too short, relvant for the plot, starts directly after the encing of CR.
    22. Live and let die: Just bad, very uninteresting, no Bond (sad, since it's RM first Bond film), too many sequneces, badly edited.
    23. Diamonds are forever: very bad and not intense at all, Blofeld is suppsosed to be dead, but does anybody believe this??

    Isn't CR's PTS absolutely integral to the plot? The whole film is about Bond becoming Bond - i.e. bookended by gaining his 00 status and the line 'bond ... James Bond'
  • Lancaster007Lancaster007 Shrublands Health Clinic, England
    Posts: 1,874
    Least favourite has to be the two Hamilton efforts without Bond, LALD and TMWTGG - and TMWTGG gets 'worst ever' as it foreshadows the end, and is complete bollocks anyway!
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