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Sam Mendes - Appreciation thread

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  • ResurrectionResurrection Kolkata, India
    Posts: 2,541
    Minion wrote: »
    SaintMark wrote: »
    RC7 wrote: »
    SaintMark wrote: »
    The director of Skyfall remark in the trailer made it immediate Bluray watching for me or at all.
    Ido not rate Mendes al that high.

    Mendes will be so upset.

    I know I was totally aiming for that. ;)
    giphy.gif

    :))
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    Minion wrote: »
    SaintMark wrote: »
    RC7 wrote: »
    SaintMark wrote: »
    The director of Skyfall remark in the trailer made it immediate Bluray watching for me or at all.
    Ido not rate Mendes al that high.

    Mendes will be so upset.

    I know I was totally aiming for that. ;)
    giphy.gif

    :D
  • Bentley007Bentley007 Manitoba, Canada
    Posts: 579
    I recently watched The Road to Perdition and could not help but notice the parallels to Spectre in the jealous son theme. If Sam could only have accomplished what he did in that film in Spectre I believe the Foster Brother element would have been more believable. I can say in my work I often see blended families and can attest to the resentment that can exist. A few more lines of dialogue could have made Blofelds vengence understandable.
  • 00Agent00Agent Any man who drinks Dom Perignon '52 can't be all bad.
    Posts: 5,185
    Bentley007 wrote: »
    I recently watched The Road to Perdition and could not help but notice the parallels to Spectre in the jealous son theme. If Sam could only have accomplished what he did in that film in Spectre I believe the Foster Brother element would have been more believable. I can say in my work I often see blended families and can attest to the resentment that can exist. A few more lines of dialogue could have made Blofelds vengence understandable.

    I agree, there is wasted potential there for sure. But we might still get something like that in NTTD.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 41,007
    I do always find it odd how much I enjoy Mendes' non-Bond fare but am not a fan of his Bond work whatsoever. 1917 looks to be like another film of his worth checking out, hopefully I can manage to catch it in theaters (a film that apparently demands a theatrical experience).
  • Bentley007Bentley007 Manitoba, Canada
    Posts: 579
    00Agent wrote: »
    Bentley007 wrote: »
    I recently watched The Road to Perdition and could not help but notice the parallels to Spectre in the jealous son theme. If Sam could only have accomplished what he did in that film in Spectre I believe the Foster Brother element would have been more believable. I can say in my work I often see blended families and can attest to the resentment that can exist. A few more lines of dialogue could have made Blofelds vengence understandable.

    I agree, there is wasted potential there for sure. But we might still get something like that in NTTD.

    I hope we do. Its a very interesting dynamic and not one that has been over done in film. Sibling rivalry and childhood jealousy is something that people carry with them.
  • 00Agent00Agent Any man who drinks Dom Perignon '52 can't be all bad.
    Posts: 5,185
    Bentley007 wrote: »
    00Agent wrote: »
    Bentley007 wrote: »
    I recently watched The Road to Perdition and could not help but notice the parallels to Spectre in the jealous son theme. If Sam could only have accomplished what he did in that film in Spectre I believe the Foster Brother element would have been more believable. I can say in my work I often see blended families and can attest to the resentment that can exist. A few more lines of dialogue could have made Blofelds vengence understandable.

    I agree, there is wasted potential there for sure. But we might still get something like that in NTTD.

    I hope we do. Its a very interesting dynamic and not one that has been over done in film. Sibling rivalry and childhood jealousy is something that people carry with them.

    I still think they had some good ideas about it in the beginning, how to approach it, but it got lost in the endless rewrites and the production.
    I remember Daniel saying he was against the idea initially, but was convinced in the end because it was too good not to do, but we can't even tell what this good idea was because it's nowhere on the screen. The Brofeld-Bond relationship has zero depth or purpose.
  • GetafixGetafix
    Posts: 11,425
    Vinther1991 wrote: »
    Skyfall is a great Bond film, one of the best in the franchise. Craig and Bardem are great, I like the similarities between the two characters. In general the chemistry between the characters in Skyfall is unrivaled.
    Spectre was the complete opposite, such a trainwreck of a film. Bad writing, direction and acting.

    Mendes finest film is still his phenomenal debut American Beauty, such a unique and layered film. I doubt he will ever top it.

    Agree with you about AB. Very good film. Great cast.

    I remember seeing Road to Perdition at the cinema and being totally underwhelmed. Amazing cast but it just feels all so ponderous and heavy. Never lifts off the runway.

    I enjoyed Away We Go but it's pretty light weight romcom fluff tbh.

    Yep, AB is his first and best film and can't see him ever topping it.
  • Pierce2DanielPierce2Daniel
    Posts: 4,410
    1917 has screened for Oscar voters and is being pegged as the frontrunner:



    Also, terrific new interview where he speaks a lot about Bond and 1917:

  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,722
  • Pierce2DanielPierce2Daniel
    edited December 2019 Posts: 4,410
    Arise Sir Sam......

  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Congratulations to Sam on becoming a knight.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,201
    Very cool. Did any other Bond director get that distinction? Lewis Gilbert?
  • Pierce2DanielPierce2Daniel
    Posts: 4,410
    MakeshiftPython wrote: »
    Very cool. Did any other Bond director get that distinction? Lewis Gilbert?

    Lewis Gilbert had a CBE and Michal Apted has a CMG.

    Mendes was previously awarded a CBE, but he has become the first Bond director to earn a Knighthood.

  • thelivingroyalethelivingroyale
    Posts: 12,837
    I like Mendes, and there are exceptions to this rule (Roger Moore), but in general I find it much more impressive when a celebrity turns down a knighthood. I mean, would you rather be in a club with David Bowie and Danny Boyle, or part of an outdated establishment with Jimmy Saville and now Ian Duncan Smith?

    You would have thought all the Prince Andrew stuff would have shaken our faith in these naff old institutions but I guess not. Good director but disappointed in him personally.
  • RogueAgentRogueAgent
    Posts: 12,526
    Congratulations to Sam Mendes on his upcoming knighthood!! =D>
  • Pierce2DanielPierce2Daniel
    edited December 2019 Posts: 4,410
    Question: Would Mendes be having this second wave to his career (acclaim and Oscar-buzz for 1917 and a knighthood) if it wasn't for Bond?

    I think it's directly because of Bond. If he hadn't tackled such a legendary British franchise and made a truck ton of money and got good reviews, he'd still be considered a former A-list director making plays and floated pretentious movies.

    American Beauty put him on the map, but the Bond franchise made Sam Mendes.

    Though, had Mendes failed with SF he would have been back to making under-seen films and held his B-list director status. So we should be thankfully he cared so much when making SF to make one of the best Bond films. (Less so with SP)
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,201
    I thought people here hated SF???

    ;)
  • muzz100muzz100
    Posts: 82
    Nothing succeeds like success, eh.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    success-breeds-jealousy-muffled-tea-sipping-in-the-distance-14190917.png

    ;)
  • marketto007marketto007 Brazil
    Posts: 3,277
    Last month, I had the chance to attend a Masterclass in Lisbon, with Tariq Anwar, editor of movies such as "The King's Speech", "Revolutionary Road", "The Good Shepherd" and of course "American Beauty".

    During his presentation and Q&A, we had the chance to watch a rough cut of "American Beauty" with some deleted scenes of the movie. A very cool experience.

  • Pierce2DanielPierce2Daniel
    Posts: 4,410
    marketto007 wrote: »
    Last month, I had the chance to attend a Masterclass in Lisbon, with Tariq Anwar, editor of movies such as "The King's Speech", "Revolutionary Road", "The Good Shepherd" and of course "American Beauty".

    During his presentation and Q&A, we had the chance to watch a rough cut of "American Beauty" with some deleted scenes of the movie. A very cool experience.


    Very cool!

    I believe Anwar was actually Skyfall's original editor:
    https://www.mi6-hq.com/news/index.php?itemid=9535

    I suspect that Mendes didn't get his way as Anwar is known for art-y dramas. Stuart Baird was more of an accomplished action editor. He was definitely an Eon hire. I suppose it was a concession in getting someone like Thomas Newman onboard.

    In the wake, of Dan Romer possibly leaving NTTD, this is evidence that not even Sam Mendes got everything he wanted from Eon............................
  • marketto007marketto007 Brazil
    Posts: 3,277
    Too bad I didn't know that when I was there, otherwise I would have asked him. :(
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,722
    Sam Mendes has won Best Director at the 2020 Golden Globes Awards.
  • 2Wint2Kidd2Wint2Kidd
    Posts: 698
    DaltonCraig007 wrote: »
    Sam Mendes has won Best Director at the 2020 Golden Globes Awards.
    Excellent news! Haven't been able to see 1917 yet, but it is always great to see a member of the Bond community achieve success!
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,722
    1917 has won Best Picture - Drama at the 2020 Golden Globes.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,230
    1917 grabbing those awards is quite surprising considering the competition in the respective categories. Especially surprised at Mendes winning the directing category. But, I'm looking forward to seeing it even more now.
  • Pierce2DanielPierce2Daniel
    Posts: 4,410
    CraigMooreOHMSS wrote: »
    1917 grabbing those awards is quite surprising considering the competition in the respective categories. Especially surprised at Mendes winning the directing category. But, I'm looking forward to seeing it even more now.

    Mendes winning in directing was a total shock....it's a very auteur-heavy year. He was up against the likes of Scorsese, Tarantino (two filmmakers who you won't get many more opportunities to award) and Bong Joon (Todd Phillips hardly counts).

    This pretty much puts Sam and 1917 in the hot seat for the Oscar. How very exciting! This will do wonders for the box office this weekend. I'm definitely going to the cinema to check this out.

    sam_mendes_onstage_golden_globes_0.jpg
  • RogueAgentRogueAgent
    Posts: 12,526
    Congratulations to Sam Mendes! =D>
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,201
    Considering the workload on 1917 and the actual results, it makes sense that Mendes would win the big award. I'd be very surprised if Deakins doesn't get a win on this.
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