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I always rather liked Koskov as a villain and thought Whittaker was the weaker link. Necros is an awesome henchman. One of the best
I'm in my early thirties, and it's definitely age for me. Too tired to do anything, can't keep up with all these newfangled whippersnappers.
I give credit to Arthur Wooster, who’s the one that actually delivered on the action sequences. Otherwise with scenes that Glen actually did, it’s only adequate at best on his part, which depend on the the actors having the elevate the scenes above what Glen was capable of and make them work, particularly with Dalton. It’s why Dalton had a falling out with Glen because he was too much of a technical director. Glen was fine when he only did second unit stuff. I think LTK suffered the most because that needed new blood. The scene with Dario for instance where he thinks he sees Pam’s ghost is some of the most awkward direction I’ve seen in Bond.
I was clearly joking, if you didn’t notice the smilie at the end of that sentence. How long have you interacted on the internet?
What's your source for that bit of info?
We had an interesting thread about Dalton and Glen's relationship a few years back. I think Glen mentioned them not getting on well in his autobiography. He put it down to "tiredness", I believe.
John Glen talked about it on his book. Dalton was at one point signed to star on the Columbus film but when the original director dropped out and Glen took over Dalton exited from it.
Scuttlebutt is that Dalton even asked Cubby not to hire Glen back for the third film, but I never saw confirmation of that. Maybe someone here can verify that?
https://ew.com/article/1991/11/08/celebrity-law-suits/
The Salkinds were clearly the problem there, not Glen.
I've never heard anything about Dalton not wanting Glen involved with his third film, nor do I believe it. I think that he and Glen were stressed out during the making of LTK and snapped at each other a couple of times, and that was about the extent of it.
"Shooting rounded off in November with some night filming of a party at the Baron [de Portinova]'s house. Bond jumped from the balcony to join Pam in a romantic clinch in the swimming pool...Things ended in a bit of a sour attnosphere, unfortunately -- I was feeling a little unwell and Tim wasn't in the best of moods either. The whole thing was a bit of an ordeal and Tim and I had a bit of a slanging match across the pool. I don't know whether to put it down to tiredness at the end of the schedule or the accumulated tension of what had been an unusually arduous shoot."
Glen also states that "During that hiatus period, shortly after the release of Licence To Kill, Cubby phoned me with some bad news. He told me that MGM/UA had decided that when the new Bond film went into production, it should have a new director at the helm."
That's the bit. Nice one.
Yes, on all counts. That is the only blow-up Glen mentions having with Dalton, and his autobiography is a candid one. He also knew he was a lucky man, and I doubt anyone else will have the honor of directing five Bond films. His middle film suffers from creative exhaustion (as did the series by that point), but Dalton's entrance proved revitalizing, and I wouldn't have minded a third Glen/Dalton outing, though preferably with a higher budget.
It's true that Glen's handling of actors could be awkward, but I don't find it worse than Lewis Gilbert's. Makeshiftpylon rightfully gives much-deserved credit to Arthur Wooster, but it should also be acknowledged that Glen was heavily involved in devising, setting up, and supervising the action sequences. His experience directing the second-unit in OHMSS (which shows he was an excellent action director) undoubtedly helped him get the best out of Wooster and the other second units. He was a very hands-on director, probably more so than many of his successors.
FYEO, TLD and LTK immediately come to mind in that regard.
Agreed. The scene where Bond has Loque at his mercy in FYEO is brilliantly directed.
As is the scene between Bond and Orloff on the train in OP.
Just two examples (and there are many others) that show his best work wasn't just 'second unit on OHMSS' which IMO is just insulting.
I may be harsh, but I can’t deny how naff some of his dramatic scenes are like when Moore forces himself on Octopussy “you’re right, we are two of a kind”, with Barry’s music trying to make something out of it.
But the Orlov scene works, which I’d put more on Moore and Berkoff elevating the moment with their acting. The strongest compliment I can give to Glen is that as uninteresting his camerawork is he can at least get his actors to rise to the occasion to make the scenes work even, if though he’s not always successful (”I love James SOO MUCH”).
But again, when stuff like Dario thinking he’s seeing an angel happens I have to call it what it is: inept.
Well, thank you! ;)
My pleasure. :))
Definitely. One of my favourite Bond scenes of the series.
+1
Dalton's intensity is amazing here. You genuinely believe he could be an assassin.
The entire first hour or so of TLD is arguably the best bit of cinematic Bond in the series. Or up there anyway.
The Glen bashing on here is ridiculous.
Give me Glen over Tamahouri or Mendes anyday of the week.