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Best of Bond's snobbery

GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
edited January 2016 in Bond Movies Posts: 7,131
We all know the snobbery is an essential part of the character. In this period of the year, in which one's expensive tastes can flourish, I would like to know: what do you consider to be Bond's most enjoyable moments of snobbery throughout the franchise?
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Comments

  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    Since I know virtually nothing about wine and champagne, I can't go with the expensive brands. Same with his taste in tobacco.

    I'd say OHMSS. The Beluga in his room, from which he takes but one portion and leaves the rest untouched. ;-)
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,122
    In the novels, his contempt for tea I always found interesting (and I hope to see it on screen). I love when he orders breakfast in FRWL, with the coffee "very black". Maybe the best moment of snobbery in the entire franchise.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,131
    Just of the top of my head, these little moments of snobbery came to my mind:

    FRWL: "Red wine with fish."

    GF: "My dear girl, there some things that just aren't done... ."
    GF: "She's a beauty." (referring to Goldfinger's Rolls-Royce)

    YOLT: "Siamese wodka."

    OHMSS: "Royal Beluga, north of the Caspian."

    DAF: "I was referring to the original vintage on which the sherry was based."
    DAF: "Mouton Rothschild is a claret."

    TLD: "I know a great restaurant in Karachi."
    TLD: "The brand on the list was questionable, ... ."

    LTK: "It's adequate." (referring to the hotel suite)

    QOS: "Maestros en año sabático que han ganado la lotería" ("Teachers on sabbatical who have won the lottery.")
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,122
    Apparently it is no longer wrong to have red wine with fish. It depends of the fish and the wine.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,131
    I know, but you still won't order a Chianti though. That one is more to accompany pasta. It's even mentioned in the TB novel, I think.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,122
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    I know, but you still won't order a Chianti though. That one is more to accompany pasta. It's even mentioned in the TB novel, I think.

    That's pretty much the only meal I have Chianti with.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited January 2016 Posts: 23,883
    Ludovico wrote: »
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    I know, but you still won't order a Chianti though. That one is more to accompany pasta. It's even mentioned in the TB novel, I think.
    That's pretty much the only meal I have Chianti with.
    Yes, Chianti is quite bold. I can have it with a strongly flavoured meat dish or pasta. I can't imagine drinking it with fish.
    GF:
    Banker: "Have a little more of this rather disappointing brandy."
    M: "Why, what is the matter with it?"
    Bond: "I'd say it was a 30 year old fined and indifferently blended, with an overdose of bon bois."
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    GoldenGun wrote: »

    OHMSS: "Royal Beluga, north of the Caspian."

    This is undoubtedly the best.

    Myself and Mrs Wizard treated ourselves to three tins of caviar over Christmas and after sampling all in quick succession I could tell by the end which was the Sevruga and which was the Beluga.
    But to just shove a spoonful in your mouth and be able to discern not only the type but the area of the Caspian it originates is pure class.

    The sherry one in DAF comes pretty close though.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,122
    I don't know why but I've never liked the sherry line in DAF. Or the brandy one in GF. Maybe because Bond comes off as too much of a know-it-all?
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    Posts: 11,189
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    I don't know why but I've never liked the sherry line in DAF. Or the brandy one in GF. Maybe because Bond comes off as too much of a know-it-all?

    I agree, that is where it goes too far and becomes a joke.

    The king of that has to be Moore's "Bollinger 75" in AVTAK

    "I'm pleased you approve, since you are paying the bill"
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,122
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    I don't know why but I've never liked the sherry line in DAF. Or the brandy one in GF. Maybe because Bond comes off as too much of a know-it-all?

    I agree, that is where it goes too far and becomes a joke.

    The thing is, you can't be snob about absolutely everything. if you are, you end up being downright pedantic. And while Bond is a snob is many aspects of life, he is not a snob about everything. That Bond knows his wines and what to drink with his dinner, fine, it makes perfect sense. That he considers tea downright barbaric and far prefer coffee, it is great, it works perfectly. That he is also a connoisseur of brandies or sherries, that is pushing it a bit. There should be things he should not know, or not care to know.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited January 2016 Posts: 7,131
    BAIN123 wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    I don't know why but I've never liked the sherry line in DAF. Or the brandy one in GF. Maybe because Bond comes off as too much of a know-it-all?

    I agree, that is where it goes too far and becomes a joke.

    The king of that has to be Moore's "Bollinger 75" in AVTAK

    "I'm pleased you approve, since you are paying the bill"

    Another great example which I forgot.

    This one, from TMWTGG, should be added to Moore's Bond as well: "I prefer the 52 myself. But it beats a bag of peanuts."
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    I don't know why but I've never liked the sherry line in DAF. Or the brandy one in GF. Maybe because Bond comes off as too much of a know-it-all?

    I agree, that is where it goes too far and becomes a joke.

    The thing is, you can't be snob about absolutely everything. if you are, you end up being downright pedantic. And while Bond is a snob is many aspects of life, he is not a snob about everything. That Bond knows his wines and what to drink with his dinner, fine, it makes perfect sense. That he considers tea downright barbaric and far prefer coffee, it is great, it works perfectly. That he is also a connoisseur of brandies or sherries, that is pushing it a bit. There should be things he should not know, or not care to know.

    Bond doesn't know a lot about diamonds ;-)

  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,131
    This article might interest some of you. It's about Bond's champagne consumption and it contains a nice little add by Bollinger.

    https://fandangogroovers.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/what-does-james-bond-really-drink/
  • SarkSark Guangdong, PRC
    Posts: 1,138
    At the end of TSWLM when Bond says "perhaps I misjudged Stromberg. Any man who drinks Dom Perignon 54 can't be all bad."
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    Posts: 1,984
    This reminds me of the interview where Connery calls Fleming a "shnob, a real shnob".
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited January 2016 Posts: 7,131
    @ForYourEyesOnly Any idea where to find that?
  • boldfingerboldfinger
    Posts: 5,767
    Since everybody mentions alcoholic beverages I´m not sure if my all-time favorite really fits the prescription:

    Moore: "I´m looking for Dr. Goodhead."

    Goodhead: "You´ve found her."

    Moore, shocked: "A woman?!"

    Never fails to crack me up :-)).
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    TheWizardOfIce wrote: »
    GoldenGun wrote: »

    OHMSS: "Royal Beluga, north of the Caspian."

    This is undoubtedly the best.

    Myself and Mrs Wizard treated ourselves to three tins of caviar over Christmas and after sampling all in quick succession I could tell by the end which was the Sevruga and which was the Beluga.
    But to just shove a spoonful in your mouth and be able to discern not only the type but the area of the Caspian it originates is pure class.

    The sherry one in DAF comes pretty close though.

    Good taste and good calls!
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    edited January 2016 Posts: 1,984
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    @ForYourEyesOnly Any idea where to find that?



    About 2:20
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited January 2016 Posts: 23,883
    Thanks @ForYourEyesOnly. That's a great clip. I've not seen that before.

    Notables
    3:28 - Connery in the car laughing his head off at the height of Bondmania with the crowd around him.
    5:30 - John Barry on Lazenby: "Well this is not Laurence Olivier we've got here" :)) . Apparently he overemphasized the Bondian elements and attitude in the score as a result to compensate - I'm glad that he did because OHMSS is his best imho
    8:15 - Ken Adam giving Roger Moore some love. Good to hear that from a master
    9:12 - Ken Adam talking about Barbara Bach panicking when the water floods the Atlantis set - I did notice that she appeared scared during that scene in the film.

    I have come away feeling that Saltzman may in fact have been the really creative one - I was not aware of that before.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    edited January 2016 Posts: 1,984
    @bondjames - Well, you're in luck, because it's part 3 of a 5-part interview, which includes Daniel Craig. Just watch it on Youtube and on the recommended list on the side there should be the other parts of the interview. In the fourth or fifth part, there's a hilarious scene of Connery during the filming of YOLT.

    Also, I love the way Ken Adam says "Barbara". He says it like "bah-bah-bah".
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    Thanks @ForYourEyesOnly. I will watch the whole thing later tonight. Cheers. Looking forward to it.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    Posts: 1,984
    @bondjames - Anytime.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,131
    @ForYourEyesOnly Thanks for that clip! I'll get to it in a few days.
  • AceHoleAceHole Belgium, via Britain
    Posts: 1,731
    Bond's pithy remark about the "...overdose of bon bois" in the Brandy during the GF dinner briefing scene is the high mark for 007 snobbery, imo
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Not really snobbery though is it, just knowledge and a good palet.
  • AceHoleAceHole Belgium, via Britain
    Posts: 1,731
    suavejmf wrote: »
    Not really snobbery though is it, just knowledge and a good palet.

    Ha! You'd have to be a bit of a snob to even have that in depth knowledge of fine spirits. It takes quite a budget to get that kind of palate (and nose)...
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Ok I take your point...a snobbish hobby/ interest to have I suppose.
  • AceHoleAceHole Belgium, via Britain
    edited January 2016 Posts: 1,731
    suavejmf wrote: »
    Ok I take your point...a snobbish hobby/ interest to have I suppose.

    It's merely my take on it, you know.
    I know nothing about Brandy, but I'm a Whisky (mainly single malt) enthusiast and I've found that those who have very well-developed palates & can make the sort of observations that Bond does are usually people who have either spent a LOT on this hobby or are in some kind of upper class circle where they have access to a lot of variety. That variety is rarely found in 'non snob' circles :D

    I'm not saying every wine/whisky/cognac/brandy connoisseur is a snob per se - just that there has to be a 'degree of snobbery' once you get into the kind of territory where you can tell a Brandy's age and blending merely by nosing & drinking it !

    Take Whisky for example:
    You will, on average, pay in the region of £70-140 for a bottle of premium Scotch, and it takes a couple of years of tasting, exploring and comparing before you can really discern the various distilleries, flavours and notes 'blind'... so that kind of knowledge does not come cheap I'm afraid.
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