Weekly Bond Poll: Round 59: secondary Bond girls & helicopter flights

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  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,483
    I could simply copy @pachazo 's comment. Quarrel is in my top 5 of the allies. Columbo is probably my No. 2, only topped by the great Kerim. Topol was a perfect choice. I would like to have a drink with Columbo one day...

    Pheasant shooting: Both put a smile on my face. I go with the MR one, because I liked the scene already as a teenager.
  • Posts: 19,339
    I could simply copy @pachazo 's comment. Quarrel is in my top 5 of the allies. Columbo is probably my No. 2, only topped by the great Kerim. Topol was a perfect choice. I would like to have a drink with Columbo one day...

    Pheasant shooting: Both put a smile on my face. I go with the MR one, because I liked the scene already as a teenager.

    Don't forget the Metaxa and pistachio nuts.
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,483
    I never tried Metaxa so far. Meeting Columbo would certainly be a good reason to change that.

  • Posts: 19,339
    I never tried Metaxa so far. Meeting Columbo would certainly be a good reason to change that.

    It's actually excellent stuff...well it was when I last had it in 1995 in Athens.
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    What an excellent idea for a thread @goldenswissroyale. Shame I've missed the first few opening rounds.

    Round 6:

    A) Quarrel

    I've always been a fan of the relationship between Bond and Quarrel in the novels, and it was most gratifying to see it translated so well to the silver screen.

    Quarrel is the quiet hero - how many black actors were represented that way, a courageous and charming manner, during the 60's? One could say that his fear of dragons, i.e. fear of the unknown, was a stock "black man trope" prevalent during that era. But, both Honey and Quarrel were should to be resilient and dare I say it, smart, of their knowledge of the natural world. The only thing one can say about both characters, is that they did not have a decent education. So it was only natural for them to fall prey to such superstitions.

    In my mind, Quarrel is an great character, played with enormous empathy and resoluteness by John Kitzmiller. (Kitzmiller sadly passed away in 1965 due "liver ailments, which I've just found out)

    B) Clay-pigeon shooting.

    I do enjoy the pheasant shooting*, but there's something so badass about uber-cool Connery Bond, tweaking the nose of Largo.

    (* is that a reference to Fleming's own aversion to blood sports, due you think? @Dragonpol, what do you think?)
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,483
    royale65 wrote: »
    What an excellent idea for a thread @goldenswissroyale. Shame I've missed the first few opening rounds.

    Thank you for the compliment and your well explained vote for Quarrel. Would be great to read your votes and comments for future rounds.

  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    edited November 2019 Posts: 4,483
    If no additional votes are coming in until the evening, then we have the follwing results for round 6:

    Columbo wins against Quarrel: 10 : 8
    Pheasant shoot destroys the clay-pigeon: 11 : 7
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,483
    Round 7: Blofeld week

    Which Blofeld do you prefer? Faceless Blofeld (FRWL/TB) vs. Blofeld in OHMSS

    If you prefer another Blofeld incarnation, please feel free to add this, too.

    Which final confrontation between Bond and Blofeld do you prefer? (Or in other words: which one is less disappointing?) Oil rig sequence (DAF) vs. London sequence (SP). From entering the MI6-building to Westminster Bridge.

  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited November 2019 Posts: 24,183
    Telly's Blofeld in OHMSS wins for me, though by the narrowest of margins.

    The London sequence of course. Now, I know the SP haters will naturally pick the DAF sequence just to emphasise once again how so not in touch with SP they are but come on. The script let us down in both cases, but the SP sequence isn't half as bad as the DAF climax.
  • BMW_with_missilesBMW_with_missiles All the usual refinements.
    edited November 2019 Posts: 3,000
    Faceless Blofeld was always the best.

    London. As many problems as I have with the finale of SP, it towers over the disappointing missed opportunity that was the ending of DAF. Should’ve been the salt mine.
  • Max_The_ParrotMax_The_Parrot ATAC to St Cyril’s
    Posts: 2,426
    OHMSS, although Donald Pleasance is my Blofeld.

    London. DAF is a lot of fun, and I do like fun Bond, but there’s something iconic about London and Bond. Whilst it doesn’t use the capital quite as well as Skyfall, it does have the advantage of being set at night, and the helicopter sequence along the Thames looked superb.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Faceless, but Telly is a definite second.
    The next one is a fight for the bottom of climaxes, but I'll go with the DAF ending, not as dull by a long shot.
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    The London sequence of course. Now, I know the SP haters will naturally pick the DAF sequence just to emphasise once again how so not in touch with SP they are but come on.

    Yes, it can't possibly be that they actually prefer the DAF scene.

    Well, I guess it's possible. ;-)
  • Major_BoothroydMajor_Boothroyd Republic of Isthmus
    Posts: 2,722
    Faceless Blofeld (my favourite representation of Blofeld) and London (DAF finale is perhaps the worst finale of the series)
  • BennyBenny Shaken not stirredAdministrator, Moderator
    Posts: 15,138
    OHMSS Blofeld - Both are wonderful, faceless Blofeld is actually one of my favourites. But Telly Blofeld is easily my preferred of the onscreen and seen Blofelds.

    London finale - Both of them are bottom of the barrel for me. But London's Blofeld finale we see the outcome of the situation. In DAF, Bond plays with Blofeld like a cat and mouse. The oil rig explodes, but the fate of Ernst Stavro is left unclear. Considering this would be the characters final appearance for so long, a better closure would've been better.
  • Posts: 19,339
    OHMSS Blofeld -Telly is sublime as ever.
    &
    LONDON FINALE - both crap but shooting a helicopter down wz a pistol while flying along the Thames in a boat ? Bog off.
  • M_BaljeM_Balje Amsterdam, Netherlands
    edited November 2019 Posts: 4,520
    Faceless Blofeld (FRWL/TB) . This said i thaught Blofeld not going to return in Spectre, but what Dominic Greene talk be a inspiration of elements of OHMSS Blofeld and Carver in new chacter. Strong heavy Blofeld. Partly he was and i liked it till i see the cats, whyle i already get bit bad feeling earlier. Because he remember me the moost to Hugo Drax (but this chacter was created when can't use Blofeld) and then the costume. Faceless Blofeld is almoost only thing i like from Thunderball.

    Oil rig sequence (DAF). But i dislike both. London in Spectre in split in two or three parts, overall to much remember me to Skyfall. Stil double feelings or i like that Mi6 bulding is destroyd. And iam not Spectre hater. We will see what NTTD wil inprove Spectre. Don't vergot DAF Blofeld stil can be inspiration. Loves QOS, but overall Goldeneye lover ;)
  • ThunderballThunderball playing Chemin de Fer in a casino, downing Vespers
    edited November 2019 Posts: 814
    I love Savales' Blofeld but I definitely prefer faceless Blofeld in FRWL and TB...over any incarnation.

    London over oil rig.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    I love Telly, but the win goes to FACELESS BLOFELD-- i've always loved the sinister creepiness of it, especially Blofeld, behind the screen in TB. Makes him seem more omnipotent.

    And OIL RIG for the win. Diamonds was cheap, but at least the silliness entertained, vs Bond running around in a building screaming for Madeleine, and then finding her tied up in some closet, like a damsel tied to the train-rails... he easily gets her out of the situation, and then they chase down a helicopter, and, once again, easily enough, shoots it down from the sky...
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,483
    barryt007 wrote: »
    OHMSS Blofeld -Telly is sublime as ever.
    &
    LONDON FINALE - both crap but shooting a helicopter down wz a pistol while flying along the Thames in a boat ? Bog off.

    This means you prefer the oil rig sequence?
  • Posts: 1,917
    I'll take Faceless Blofeld. To be honest, after his in-the-background buildup of the dangerous number one of SPECTRE in FRWL and TB, no casting could live up to that, although I guess Savalas is the best representation. Though as author John Brosnan described him as more of an American gangster than Blofeld, but would be fine as a henchman.

    Not a Spectre hater but the London finale has to be one of the worst climaxes of a Bond film. Overblown and underwhelming at once. Blofeld is arrested by the police. That's a sight I never thought I'd see in Bond in any form, to top it off.

    Oil rig isn't special at all, but at least it's visual and a place a villain would go. Besides, DAF is a sentimental favorite of mine. So I choose oil rig, but will prefer Diana Rigg if she's an option.
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    edited November 2019 Posts: 4,483
    Faceless Blofeld is perfect. Nevertheless, it was the right decision to show his face in later film. Telly was great, too. He was the Blofeld who was involved in the main action scenes. Although, this worked very well in OHMSS, "my" Blofeld is more the smart and ice cold man who pulls the strings from the secret base.

    London SP isn't that bad. The oil rig sequence is embarrassing. The final confrontation between Bond and his ultimate Nemesis (who killed his wife!) is a huge, very huge, disappointment: they chat almost like friends and this is followed by the most boring action scene in Bond history (the only (funny) highlight: Tiffany falling into the water).
    The London part in SP is disappointing, too. However, in comparison to the oil rig it is almost a masterpiece. The mini submarine should have been waiting for Blofeld in the Thames for his successful escape in SP (Blofeld captured = very bad idea)
  • AgentJamesBond007AgentJamesBond007 Vesper’s grave
    Posts: 2,632
    Faceless Blofeld and London
  • Posts: 3,336
    Really like both, but i will go with Telly.

    HATE both, but i will go with London.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    I'd definitely have to go with Blofeld in OHMSS, seeing as it's my second favorite installment in the series and I think Telly absolutely nails it as Blofeld (and is easily my favorite portrayal of the character).

    Just like @Crazysoul95, I think both are awful but I'd have to go with the oil rig in DAF - at least it has a couple of cheesy, humorous lines to admire.
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    Posts: 4,588
    OHMSS Blofeld for sure. Loved Telly in the role.

    Hmm for the other........................................sigh.......Oil Rig
  • OHMSS Blofeld
    and
    Oil Rig only for Barry's score (and that scene doesn't even have the good stuff like "007 and Counting").
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    Another tough choice from our host. I'm going with OHMSS Blofeld, but let it be known that all of the Blofleds mentioned here were perfect for their particular film. The thing I love most about Telly's version was that he wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He didn't just sit in his chair and give orders, although (again) that worked very well in FRWL and TB.

    As for the second option, it's the Oil Rig finale all day, everyday. Sure, it's underwhelming, but at least there's some fun to be had in the banter between Blofeld, Bond and Tiffany. The SP finale essentially gave us the villain twirling his mustache while the hero untied our distressed damsel from the railroad tracks. It's awful, and I'm not a SP "hater" as I picked the train fight in one of the previous rounds.
  • Faceless Blofeld
    &
    London
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,483
    Any last votes?
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    edited November 2019 Posts: 4,423
    In before voting closes!

    Savalas' Blofeld
    The ideal blend of the more cerebral side of Blofeld, as well as the physical side. Great chemistry with Rigg and Lazenby to boot. Though the faceless interpretation is classic, setting up the stage for his big reveal later on in the series.

    Oil Rig Finale
    I'll take Barry's music over Newman's reheated garbage any day. (Both climaxes are on the insipid side, so the music plays a bigger part in my enjoyment/tolerance of said climaxes.)
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