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Would this Bond film have improved with another actor from the time ? : Quantum of Solace
After reading the latest posts on the Dalton in GE thread and seeing the comments by @getafix and @Birdleson re making a thread to encompass all the films and actors,i have decided to set this up.
We can discuss each film separately and whether another Bond actor could have made the film even more successful than the 007 actor who actually got the film.
I can change the film,say,every 2-3 weeks to another one,to keep things fresh,if members are still interested,but keeping everything in here,in the one thread,for future reference.
The film I've chosen is in the Discussion Title right now.
1.TMWTGG : 17/01/19
2. SP : 30/01/19
3. TLD : 26/02/19
4. OHMSS : 13/03/19
5. TND : 27/03/19
6. YOLT : 11/04/19
7. OP : 30/04/19
8. TWINE : 14/06/19
9. GF : 10/07/19
10.MR : 14/08/19
11.QOS : 20/09/19
We can discuss each film separately and whether another Bond actor could have made the film even more successful than the 007 actor who actually got the film.
I can change the film,say,every 2-3 weeks to another one,to keep things fresh,if members are still interested,but keeping everything in here,in the one thread,for future reference.
The film I've chosen is in the Discussion Title right now.
1.TMWTGG : 17/01/19
2. SP : 30/01/19
3. TLD : 26/02/19
4. OHMSS : 13/03/19
5. TND : 27/03/19
6. YOLT : 11/04/19
7. OP : 30/04/19
8. TWINE : 14/06/19
9. GF : 10/07/19
10.MR : 14/08/19
11.QOS : 20/09/19
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Comments
I wonder how different the film would have been with Connery in it x I suppose it would depend on how LALD was made.
I think Brozza is tailor made for this one over the others.
I mean TMWTGG matey x same format do you think ?
I think he would have done well in the scenes with Christopher Lee, and it would be really, really cool to see his take on this scene:
It's one of my favourite scenes with Roger as Bond, and he played it to perfection. I'd argue even Sean couldn't have pulled it off the way Rog' did here.
Really need to give TMWTGG a watch again soon.
When I look at this thread I would have to say if the film were the same could another Bond actor make a go of it. Lets leave the success factor out. For some reason I can't see Dalton, Brosnan or Craig making this work. I could see Connery, though not sure of Pepper scenes would work as well. I could also see Lazenby making this work or at least trying. The problem with Lazenby might be the gap between him and Christopher Lee might be too large.
He coped ok with Telly Savalas but because it was in small doses.
An intense dinner scene with Lee would be an acting test.
So back to your original point. I don't think Christopher Lee would have played Scaramanga had Lazenby been Bond. The age difference is closer to Moore and too big a difference for Lazenby. I believe the producers would be looking at someone younger, maybe Edward Fox fresh off his The Day of the Jackal hit or perhaps even John Cassavetes? Maybe other people have their own thoughts on who could've played a younger Scaramanga to Lazenby's Bond?
Personally, I believe Connery would've pulled that same scene off with more menace and sardonicism. That part where Moore leans in, raises his brow and says: "Francisco Scaramanga" it's too Simon Templar, not particular Bond. The rest of that scene is fine though, and I think it's Moore's best moment as Bond.
I wouldn't really want anyone else playing Bond in this film. I think Moore is absolutely perfect in every way here, including in the criticized Anders interrogation scene. He doesn't play that scene like Connery, who would likely approach it more like a brute (witness DAF PTS with Marie). Rather, he has a sort of finessed aggression which I find very appealing. The pressure is applied only to the extent needed. No more. It's exactly how I would expect someone like him to get the information he requires. Once he's satisfied there's nothing more to tell, the champagne comes out - vintage Moore.
I also don't think any other actor could have pulled off his mistreatment of Goodnight as well as he did. He's quite arrogantly dismissive of her throughout (understandably perhaps), but he does it with Roger'esque style. This is the kind of smooth touch I hope we get going forward from B26 onwards.
Cocksure,in more ways than one !!
I'm always curious as what and how the original duel between Bond and Scaramanga played out. Did Hamilton just shoot everything and anything to see how it turned out in the dailies? There's the curious Christmas teaser that shows a very different altercation between the two, with Moore hiding amongst the island rocks and throwing a Thermos flask no doubt full of fuel then firing at it.
Connery is the only other one who could have done it in my view, but adjustments would have been required.
The others? I can't see it. A certain classic gentlemanly charm combined with necessary lethality is required for this film as written. To be frank, for most of the earlier films (up until 1987, except for OHMSS) I can only see Connery or Moore playing Bond.
So perhaps I shall exit this thread.
His banter with Scaramanga would have been interesting to see,and he would have no problems with the ladies in the film.
I also think he would spar well with J.W and been better than Moore at the karate school scene.
I can still recall all the hype for LALD. It was huge. What with the title song being very popular, the TV advertising, posters, commercials for milk, Roger Moore presenting the winning Oscar for Brando in The Godfather, etc. The producers made sure this Bond picture couldn't fail. People were going to see it regardless, no matter what the critics said. You also have to take into consideration that movie attendances were extremely low when both OHMSS and DAF were released. This is often overlooked. It was in fact The Godfather that kick-started the revival of cinema.
Though I understand your sentiment, that's playing with the space time continuum. We could therefore make the same suggestion of a 32-year-old Connery appearing in 1987's TLD.
I'm really not all that familiar with all these actors from the older films and how famous they were when they appeared in their respective Bond films. For instance, was Telly famous when he appeared in OHMSS? Rigg was likely known for The Avengers, but that's probably it. Many of those actors were either from the continent or English tv stars (if that). I realize things have changed these days, where EON attempts to hire Oscar bait (or winners) and such like. Frankly in this case I still feel 'the old ways are best' because the best actors from the past 25 years in Bond films for me have been the relative unknowns (to native English speakers at least).
In terms of the effectiveness of this exercise, I think it works best when considering films that straddle a transition period, such as:
YOLT > OHMSS
OHMSS > DAF
DAF > LALD
AVTAK > TLD
LTK > GE
DAD > CR
The fact that there were changes always makes for interesting 'what could have been conversation'. Similarly I think it works for near transitions, when we know that possibilities were considered, such as MR > FYEO and even SP > B25 (just see the amount of comments on this subject on this forum as well as the contortions to see how things will fit within a Craig universe, including older Bond 'girls', continuation narratives etc.). I promise you that B25 won't satisfy everyone, and a thread about 'what could have been' is likely to spring up sometime next year.
-- I'm sure that title song was huge and helped things. Hopefully we get a similarly effective song to kickstart the next era too.
May I ask why movie attendances were low in the late 60s going into the early 70s? Was it a cultural change? The advent of colour tv or something?
Watching a bit TMWTGG now, and the bullet swallow/fight scene isn't half as bad as I remembered it to be, really. They could probably have filmed it more dramatically though.
I'm quite sure Connery could have done well in that scene, but it's Moore's charm turned menacing that sells it for me. Connery would have felt more menacing overall, but with Moore's more lighthearted approach, the switch to being menacing feels more effective, IMO.
I think Peter Hunt should have directed it, with Christopher Lee as Scaramanga.
My feeling is that it wouldn't make much difference: to put it another way, it could possibly be a bit better, but could certainly be much worse.
Of the various problems I have with TMWTGG, Moore is definitely not one of the them. I think he's in his prime here, convincing, charming, fun; he does the best he can with the material at hand. Hell, you could cast Laurence Olivier if you wanted, but that still wouldn't address things like the tedious return of JW Pepper, the slide whistle, the shoehorned Solex plot, Goodnight's tiresome pratfalling, the tricky treatment of the women in the film, and etc.
As much as we chuckle about the safari suits and so on, this to me was Rog's home turf as Bond: some slightly more colourful and exotic globetrotting than Connery, less physicality but more panache, and a cocked eyebrow never far away.
Ah, bless you, Sir Roger.
Perhaps rushing TMWTGG into production was the biggest mistake, as far as box office goes. The filmmakers wanted to capitalize on the success of LALD and cement Moore as Bond, but as TSWLM showed, a lengthy wait between Bonds isn't necessarily a bad thing.