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

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  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,197
    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!

    Opinions vary on this. I personally prefer the PTS which is indeed one sequence and not a set of 3 or 4 sequences that already tell half of the plot. They should also be a little suspensefull, a teaser that makes you interested in the plot.
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,197
    tanaka123 wrote: »

    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'

    It is relevant but more for the new Bond character, not so very much for the plot of Casino Royal. It is not a problem for me. As I said it was a very well made introduction to a new Bond character.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,108
    FRWL: quintessential low-key PTS.
    GF: quintessential big-blast-ending-with-a-pun PTS.

    OHMSS, TLD and GE: fantastic introductions of respective Bonds.

    TMWTGG: great villain introduction.

    TWSLM, TWINE and QOS: great chase scenes.

    YOLT: Best. Music. Ever.

    Worst: LALD.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    @Birdleson

    Has there been an elimination game on the PTS lately? Would be interesting to see the end results. Or even start a new one, it seems on PTS most people think outside their liking of a movie or actor, luckily.
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    Posts: 5,080
    DAF is the worst, imo. Bad dubbing, cheesy as hell. I'll take LALD over it anyday.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    DAF is the worst, imo. Bad dubbing, cheesy as hell. I'll take LALD over it anyday.
    Cai...Cai...Cairo!

    Or did he just say... "Aaaaaaaa"?

    =))
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    The best two are SP & TND, in that order.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    chrisisall wrote: »
    The best two are SP & TND, in that order.

    Hmm...maybe...

    I say TSNPD. That's the bloody best PTS.
  • Posts: 7,407
    I would rate a pre-titles sequence on its entirety, therefore I always find it amazing how some rate TSWLM so highly. Now if this was the best stunt sequence, it would certainly rank high, but the whole pre-title scene is weighed down by tedium. The capture of the submarine, Orlovs phonecall, Triple X and her boring lover.The rest is great of course, but it doesn't make my top ranks.( MR is better, the hijacking of the Moonraker is well done, and the freefall stunts are fantastic, pity Jaws had to turn up and ruin it!)
    It has to be TLD. Great from start to finish, best intro of Bond after DN, cracking action, with Dalton doing most of his own stunts, and brilliant end (Love it when the land rover plunges over the cliff)
    Next it has to OHMSS. Again great intro of Bond (Lights cigarette, places sunglasses on seat etc) haunting scene with Tracys attempted suicide, explosive punch up on beach. Marred maybe by the line to camera, I think they should have faded out to Bond just walking back.
    Honorable mentions are GF, OP, QoS and SP.
    Worst, yeh it would have to be LALD. Great movie, poor opening!
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    chrisisall wrote: »
    The best two are SP & TND, in that order.
    I must correct myself...
    TLD, SP & TND...
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    Why do so many people rate LALD so low??

    I like that PTS very much, it is mysterious and has great atmosphere!
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Well, it's uninteresting.
  • Posts: 2,483
    Why do so many people rate LALD so low??

    I like that PTS very much, it is mysterious and has great atmosphere!

    I agree. It's striking and unique, too.

  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    @Birdleson

    Has there been an elimination game on the PTS lately? Would be interesting to see the end results. Or even start a new one, it seems on PTS most people think outside their liking of a movie or actor, luckily.

    CR won.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    edited March 2016 Posts: 1,984
    I've already explained in depth why I don't like LALD's PTS. For TMWTGG, well, I'm just not a fan of it. Besides, Scaramanga literally has his gun on for display (rather than concealed somewhere in his outfit, which is just stupid) and he comes down by changing the floor into a mini-slide that makes the thug miss two shots? Come on, now.

    It is pretty atmospheric, I'll give you that, but I'm not impressed with how Guy Hamilton skimped the use of Bond in the PTS twice in a row.
  • I've already explained in depth why I don't like LALD's PTS. For TMWTGG, well, I'm just not a fan of it. Besides, Scaramanga literally has his gun on for display (rather than concealed somewhere in his outfit, which is just stupid) and he comes down by changing the floor into a mini-slide that makes the thug miss two shots? Come on, now.

    It is pretty atmospheric, I'll give you that, but I'm not impressed with how Guy Hamilton skimped the use of Bond in the PTS twice in a row.

    Out of Hamilton's DAF-LALD-TMWTGG the PTS's are consistently awful. Actually now that I think of it they are the worst of the franchise. TMWTGG is sort of appreciable because of the 'back to the beginning' feel you get when watching the end duel but that's it.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    Posts: 1,984
    Yes, that's why I prefer it over LALD and probably DAF. It's a pretty stupid scene anyway.

    What amazes me is how out of touch Guy Hamilton is when he directs his final trilogy. They're such pale shadows of what he created in GF.
  • edited March 2016 Posts: 4,325
    I think it's important to point out that Tom Mankiewicz was involved in the scripts on those 3 Bonds too, I think he may be partly responsible for the silly direction those films took. Not saying he's necessarily a bad screenwriter and I always enjoy listening to him in interviews.
  • tanaka123 wrote: »
    I think it's important to point out that Tom Mankiewicz was involved in the scripts on those 3 Bonds too, I think he may be partly responsible for the silly direction those films took. Not saying he's necessarily a bad screenwriter and I always enjoy listening to him in interviews.

    Ehhh then in that case I blame him as well. And anyone else who did Bond work mostly in those films.
  • Posts: 4,325
    tanaka123 wrote: »
    I think it's important to point out that Tom Mankiewicz was involved in the scripts on those 3 Bonds too, I think he may be partly responsible for the silly direction those films took. Not saying he's necessarily a bad screenwriter and I always enjoy listening to him in interviews.

    Ehhh then in that case I blame him as well. And anyone else who did Bond work mostly in those films.

    At least Harry Saltzman didn't get his idea of Bond being trapped in a big washing machine approved :)
  • edited March 2016 Posts: 1,817
    tanaka123 wrote: »
    tanaka123 wrote: »
    I think it's important to point out that Tom Mankiewicz was involved in the scripts on those 3 Bonds too, I think he may be partly responsible for the silly direction those films took. Not saying he's necessarily a bad screenwriter and I always enjoy listening to him in interviews.

    Ehhh then in that case I blame him as well. And anyone else who did Bond work mostly in those films.

    At least Harry Saltzman didn't get his idea of Bond being trapped in a big washing machine approved :)

    I might have laughed at that. Maybe.
  • I suppose we can post our rankings for title sequences here? Because the old one got locked for a weird reason? When it wasn't obsoleted?

    http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/13203/title-sequences-your-rankings

    Classic
    1. GF
    2. TB
    3. FRWL
    4. CR
    5. DAD
    Excellent
    6. TSWLM
    7. LALD
    8. TND
    9. AVTAK
    Great
    10. YOLT
    11. GE
    12. FYEO
    13. MR
    Average
    14. SP
    15. SF
    16. QOS
    17. TWINE
    18. TLD
    19. DAF
    20. TMWTGG
    Poor
    21. OHMSS
    22. DN
    23. OP
    24. LTK
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    Least favourite is a good title as it is a matter of taste.

    For me it's definitely and still, QOS. A crime committed of highest level. How can a director let his editor destroy such great and beautiful footage?
    It is barely watchable and thankfully only 4 minutes long.

    People who tell me they can clearly see what's going on were probably fed on RedBull in their infancy.

    Besides that, I'd nominate CR. Also obviously very loved here. Still, I think the wanna-be artsy approach à la Sin City was wrong. Black and white, why for Christ's Sake? Also the gun-barrel more or less destroys it at the end. The worst gun-barrel ever, a disgrace.

    Thankfully Mendes brought back what worked so well since TSWLM. PTSs that rock and leave you breathless.
  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,996
    Least favourite is a good title as it is a matter of taste.

    For me it's definitely and still, QOS. A crime committed of highest level. How can a director let his editor destroy such great and beautiful footage?
    It is barely watchable and thankfully only 4 minutes long.

    People who tell me they can clearly see what's going on were probably fed on RedBull in their infancy.

    Besides that, I'd nominate CR. Also obviously very loved here. Still, I think the wanna-be artsy approach à la Sin City was wrong. Black and white, why for Christ's Sake? Also the gun-barrel more or less destroys it at the end. The worst gun-barrel ever, a disgrace.

    Thankfully Mendes brought back what worked so well since TSWLM. PTSs that rock and leave you breathless.

    I actually consider the free running chase to be CR's PTS! I know it comes after the credits but I think it was originally planned as the PTS.

    Sorry but the QoS PTS is awesome! Love the razor sharp editing and the frantic pace. Lean and mean with no silly stunts.

  • LeonardPineLeonardPine The Bar on the Beach
    Posts: 3,996
    LALD and TMWTGG are definitely the worst two.

    They're strange because from Goldfinger onwards the PTS was always a mini movie featuring Bond. Those two omit this and as a result are lame intro's into the films.

    YOLT was a bit of a meh PTS.



  • Aziz_FekkeshAziz_Fekkesh Royale-les-Eaux
    Posts: 403
    I mean, it's difficult for me to narrow down GF, TB, TSWLM, TLD, TND, and now SP as being my absolute favourite. I really love all six dearly. SP really surprised me at how amazing and memorable it is. Really the highlight of the film. I liked all the Broz and Craig ones except GE. OTT, lame sequence that is full of goofs and just really cheesy.

    Worst would definitely be LaLD, hands down. I've always thought TMWTGG was ok. Nothing great, bottom tier, but ok, same with YOLT and DAF in that regard. I do love Bond hitting the links in the chain successively (a homage/allusion to the diamond pipeline in the novel and film?)
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited May 2016 Posts: 7,108
    TOP 007
    1. Goldfinger
    2. GoldenEye
    3. Casino Royale
    4. Licence to Kill
    5. The Spy Who Loved Me
    6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    7. The Man with the Golden Gun

    GOOD

    8. From Russia with Love
    9. The World Is Not Enough
    10. You Only Live Twice
    11. The Living Daylights
    12. Skyfall
    13. Thunderball
    14. Spectre
    15. Tomorrow Never Dies
    16. A View to a Kill
    17. Quantum of Solace
    18. Diamonds Are Forever

    OK

    20. Octopussy
    21. Moonraker
    22. Die Another Day
    23. Live and Let Die

    I like TMWTGG a lot, it's a triumph in atmosphere. The music, the cinematograhphy, the sets and the three characters that are intoduced here have become legends whether you like the film or not: Scaramanga, Nick Nack and Miss Anders.

    That's what I like about OHMSS as well, the whole feel of the sequence. Also I love how Lazenby is introduced here, lightning up his cigarette and that agreeable noise he makes when a beautiful lady drives by.

    OP and MR I tend not to love as much as most fans. Though I appreciate the stunt work I can't really warm myself up to them for obvious reasons.
    The silly ending with Jaws, much as in the style of the rest of the film, cancels out the greatness of the whole scene.
    As for OP, I love the little plane but why does it have to come out of a horse's arse? And what Latin American country borders the US by land? Surely he wasn't blowing up Mexico, right?

    I realize AVTAK has the ridiculous Beach Boys moment, but the whole behind the Iron Curtain mission is something we haven't seen that often and that's why I like that one a tad better. And John Barry's "Snow job".
  • Posts: 12,462
    Going to re-rank, with Spectre included. Here we go:

    23. A View to a Kill - Just did not care for this one. Felt like a much lamer edition of TSWLM.
    22. You Only Live Twice - Blah. Just kind of dull; luckily a great title song follows it.
    21. Diamonds Are Forever - Connery's first scene back is meh. The silliness is immediately apparent, and it just doesn't sit well with me.
    20. The Man with the Golden Gun - Just kind of there. It's not bad, but not all that good. Meh.
    19. Live and Let Die - Again, just there. Found it a little more intriguing than TMWTGG's, though. "Whose funeral is it?" - "Yours." is the tiebreaker.
    18. Octopussy - Way over-the-top and silly, but still kind of fun. Ultra camp.
    17. Moonraker - Jaws coming back was cool. Decent PTS.
    16. Tomorrow Never Dies - Solid, action-packed opener. Not much else to say here.
    15. On Her Majesty's Secret Service - Used to have it much higher. I still do like it, but it's simply bested by several others.
    14. From Russia with Love - Decent PTS. I like the atmosphere and tension.
    13. Licence to Kill - Good introduction to Sanchez. Good action.
    12. Die Another Day - The film keeps getting worse, but DAD still has a pretty good PTS. It even ends with Bond losing; points for originality.
    11. The World Is Not Enough - Epic PTS. Perhaps a little too long? Very fun though.
    10. Skyfall - Fine way to start off SF. It ends up as my least favorite of the Craig era, but it's perfectly solid still. Again, Bond losing is a nice shakeup.
    9. Thunderball - First Bond PTS, thusly the first Bond scene, I ever saw, so nostalgia lands this one a little high. I really do love it though; classic Connery out of the gate for TB.
    8. Quantum of Solace - Love it. Intense, gritty car chase. Great scene.
    7. The Living Daylights - By far TLD's strongest moment is its opener IMO. It's an ideal introduction for Timothy Dalton's Bond. Just a very good action scene! The cut-off scream with the guy in the truck always makes me laugh, too (it just sounds funny!).
    6. For Your Eyes Only - The brief moment at Tracy's grave was really good, and I just love that Bond finally got to have his revenge on Blofeld. People call it too silly, but I found it very satisfying all the same.
    5. The Spy Who Loved Me - Darn awesome. Sets up the movie wonderfully, and still remains one of the most memorable scenes of the whole series.
    4. Goldfinger - James Bond summed up in a scene = GF's PTS. Love every bit of it.
    3. Spectre - Amazing! The Day of the Dead theme was so cool, and the action was terrific. Became an instant favorite for me.
    2. GoldenEye - Slick, action-packed debut scene for Brosnan's Bond. I love all of GE, and this PTS is certainly one of the best moments of the whole film.
    1. Casino Royale - Fitting that my favorite Bond film also has my favorite PTS. It's such a perfect introduction to Craig's Bond, and sets up the tone for the movie so well. Great, great scene.
  • Posts: 2,107
    The Living Daylights. Really sets the mood for Dalton's Bond. The action is good. Maybe the best in any Bond film to date. Really makes you believe in Bond.
  • Posts: 7,407
    1) TLD- Perfect from opening shot of Gibraltar to closing shot on boat!
    2) OHMSS- Love the way Hunt introduces Laz, great fight on beach!
    3) QOS- Sad some cant get by the editing-a real adrenalin rush, stunning
    4) CR- Great intro for Craig, brutal fight and clever intro of gunbarrel
    5) OP- Just sheer fun, great stunts, Roger being Roger, love the fade into title song
    6) TB- Great fight scene, loses points for the jet pack!
    7) MR- Love the shuttle hijack, and the freefall stunts superb
    8) SP- The tracking shot and the breathtaking helicopter action!
    9) LTK- Great opening -Even Chris Nolan homaged it!
    10) GF- Not as great as i remember but Connery sells it!
    11) TMWTGG- I like it, Stylish,No Bond but good intro of Scaramanga. and Nick Nack
    12) FYEO- Nice opener at Tracys grave.Great helicopter stunts, but blows it with ending
    13) SF- Too long ,but part on train is highlight
    14) TSWLM- for the ski jump..the rest is tedious
    15) AVTAK- Snow action is great, bad idea to use Beach Boys song!
    16) YOLT- Love the hijacking of Rockets, Bond being 'killed' must of been a shocker then!
    17) FRWL- Atmospheric opening, but could have been better
    18) TWINE- well made but waaaaay too long
    19) DAF- Daft and sloppy, but Connery is back
    20) TND- Vic Armstrong blows up a few things, Yawn!
    21) GE- Bungee jump great, rest is meh with terrible dialogue!
    22) LALD- Just poor and at least two of those agents look too old!
    23) DAD- well its DAD! Opening surfing ok, but the rest is Vic Armstrong being
    self indulgent again!
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