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For Sean, I'd have to go with Thunderball, specifically the moment where he spearguns Vargas. "I think he got the point." Doesn't get much better than that for a death/quip combo, made all the better by the fact it relieves the strained atmosphere of Bond and Domino's conversation following their underwater rendezvous, and Domino's realisation that Largo killed her brother.
For Roger, this is a more obvious one, but it'd be The Spy Who Loved Me, specifically the Union Jack parachute open in the PTS. Not a fan of Rog's era overall, but there are plenty of moments in his first three films that I enjoy very much.
For Tim, it'd be The Living Daylights and it'd be a toss up between the scene following Saunder's death or his scene with Pushkin in the hotel room. Both are top tier Bond scenes, where Dalton fully became Fleming's Bond and everything just worked very well. The score, Glen's simple but efficient direction....
For Pierce, I'm going to go with his scene with Doctor Kaufmann in the Frankfurt hotel room. The Broz plays this scene perfectly, with a low key intensity that would be at odds with the tone of his later films but works very well here, and Schiavelli was his usual wonderful self.
Craig's best performance remains Casino Royale. The film is chock full of great little character moments, but a favourite is the glib smile he delivers after Carlos blows himself up at Miami Airport.
Sean Connery: Thunderball. Though YOLT and DAF were big dropoffs for Connery in performance, TB right before was the peak performance and perfect entry - the ideal blend of the styles of FRWL and GF. Connery is just insanely cool in it from start to finish. You can't go wrong picking any of Connery's first four though, all of which are 11/10 Bond performances. My favorite particular aspect is his chemistry with Fiona - from the seduction scene to Fiona's death. Their scenes together are amazing.
George Lazenby: On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Of course, the film choice is by default, but the very finest moment is certainly his reaction to Tracy's death. It's a perfect moment I don't think any of the other actors could have done better. Lazenby in general is a very underrated James Bond.
Roger Moore: For Your Eyes Only. TSWLM is the best and most well-rounded Moore film for my tastes, but FYEO has to be my favorite performance from Moore. He's known as the funniest Bond - which he indeed is - but he can pull off the serious stuff just as well. The famous car kick is my favorite moment.
Timothy Dalton: Licence to Kill. Dalton does fine in TLD, but I've always had a preference for the film LTK and Dalton's performance in it. His vendetta against Sanchez makes for seriously good drama, and there's clearly an unstoppable drive in Bond to get revenge. Favorite moment is him meeting Sanchez ("More of a problem eliminator"), but all their interactions are great (having them be pally for a bit was unique and well-done) - also very satisfying of course is when Bond finally offs him.
Pierce Brosnan: Tomorrow Never Dies. Though I prefer GE collectively as a film, TND features Brosnan's most comfortable and cool Bond performance. The scene with Dr. Kaufman is probably the best part, but I'd also like to give a shout-out to the car chase right after, which Brosnan clearly has a ton of fun in. TND has its issues, but thanks chiefly to Brosnan's slick Bond performance, it's a fun time for me.
Daniel Craig: Casino Royale. CR is my #1 Bond film, and Craig's performance in it to me is the greatest James Bond performance to date. He really gives it 110% throughout the film. The torture scene is probably his very best moment, which is as vulnerable as we've ever seen Bond. I just feel like Craig nailed all the aspects of Bond so wonderfully in CR, and though he also delivered great performances in QOS and SF, there's just no way to top what he accomplished throughout this film.
I've avoided contributing for the same reason. The question is open to interpretation. Best performance? Best moment? Favourite moment? Definitive moment??
Connery, GF - The mint tulip conversation or golf match. The epitome of snobbery and coolness. His best overall performance is in Dr No
Lazenby, OHMSS - I would say Tracy's death scene as well. People call him the 'human' Bond and this scene sums it up perfectly
Moore, OP - I prefer his overall performance in LALD, although I feel like he's playing himself too much. The scene that sticks out to me is with Orlov on the train and moments like that is why I love OP so much.
Dalton, TLD - The sniper scene is Dalton at his best. Calculating, cold, detached, professional.
Brosnan, TND - The scene with Dr Kaufman and the following car chase. Best overall performance is GoldenEye thanks to Martin Campbell. Most confident is DAD.
Craig, CR - Hard to pick one scene, but one of the contenders is the Stairwell fight and the aftermath of that - shows he means business but also some vulnerability
Once more, we are in total agreement. Well done, sir.
Sean
TB: 13
FRWL: 3
GF: 3
DN: 1
YOLT: 1
DAF: 1
Roger
TSWLM: 8
OP: 6
MR: 3
LALD: 1
TMWTGG: 1
FYEO: 1
Timothy
TLD: 14
LTK: 7
Pierce
TWINE: 8
TND: 8
DAD: 4
GE: 1
Daniel
CR: 10
QOS: 5
SP: 4
SF: 1
With all of George going to OHMSS, only two films haven’t been mentioned at all: NSNA and AVTAK.
Note: I could have miscounted here or there, I did it in a rush.
Even Gumbold's safe? It's probably an odd part of the film to highlight, but a perfectly executed scene, IMO.
This stat is particularly interesting. For a film that seems a little bit divisive looking at some rankings, it certainly doesn't seem to affect the opinion of Connery's performance.
Also very interesting is the success of TND, TWINE and DAD while GE, widely considered to be Pierce’s best film, got only mentioned once.
Curious how YOLT and DAF get a mention as well. Same for SP.
For me TB is indeed Connery s finest., for reasons mentioned here already often enough. George I'll skip, as I find too many scenes really well done by him.
Moore's finest to me is FYEO, indeed with the particular standout moment the car kick, but his relationship with Columbo and lisl stand out too. Actually I think in this film his true Fleming bond can be seen. TD I think has two equal performances, but I think it works best overall in ltk, even though I personally prefer tld.
Brosnan finally grows into the character in dad, only to be let down by ending up in a starwars film.
Craig s best I think is in QOS, allthough he's quite concistent from CR up until sf. His sp performance is a bit off.
Indeed, those are interesting stats as well.
Are the underwater scenes that lengthy to people? I think they're just perfect.
I came close to picking FYEO over TSWLM; there's a lot of great moments with Moore in that one, and the car kick is indeed the standout one. Really shows that his Bond could be serious and even cold.
Never had any issue with that sequence myself. Maybe I just like underwater scenes.
Very true. It's the small things that makes this such a cool performance from him, IMO; like helping himself to a grape before leaving Lippe's room:
It's these kind of small details I want to see in any Bond film.
Absolutely. Always loved that scene. And the attire he's wearing is just perfect. So is the music. Well, everything really. Simple. Effective. Bondian. Even the title is something out of a pulp novel - "Gumbold's safe". Perfect.
The perfect Bond film, IMO. I, for one, always go back to TB, at least twice a year. One in the winter, so I can think of the sun. And one in the Summer, so I can get in the mood.
THAT is the perfect answer and exactly what TB brings !
Sean Connery: Thunderball.
Roger Moore: For Your Eyes Only
Timothy Dalton: The Living Daylights
Pierce Brosnan: The World Is Not Enough
Daniel Craig: Skyfall
Good point about the title; never thought about that. As for Lazenby's clothes, it's arguably the best he looked in the entire film.
Timmy does it right first time out ;)