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The Bond and M interactions that I think of, if I were to rate them highly, would have to include Bond and M going at it in OHMSS (as it was striking and powerful to see the two men break down their professional personas and let it all fly for the first time), or literally any interaction Judi's M and Dan's Bond had. My standouts are their first interaction on screen during Bond's break-in of her flat, for how much that moment solidified the boldness of Dan's Bond and the tough as nails ball-busting of Judi's M as a woman not to mess with, the hotel confrontation of QoS that pit the two of them in a battle of words that was quite scorching and powerful, with Bond on the defensive and M forced to strip him of his status, and the ending of that film which proved Bond was always on her side and his loyalty never strayed. And obviously SF has so many great ones, notably Bond's second break-in of her flat for how much it lays the groundwork of the pair of them being out of it with something to prove, and their interactions in Scotland that show a more tender side of their relationship as Bond goes back to his roots. M's death in Bond's arms is monumental not just for her death, but because her final words speak to how she has always believed in Bond, even if they could butt heads about the manner in which he got his results.
I would even throw some Mallory and Bond interactions up there, because I don't like Mallory and enjoy watching Dan's Bond dismantle him. Their prickly de-briefing after the SP PTS is a great one, as Bond is steadfast and sure in defending his actions and Mallory is just not having it, but nothing beats their NTTD reunion. That scene, as with the OHMSS one, is an interaction I love because Bond and M just let all their feelings ride, and don't hold anything back. Mallory screwed up royally, and it was refreshing to see Bond so indifferent about holding back his feelings anymore because he was no longer a 00. The scene is packed with so much beautiful passive-aggressiveness, from Bond digging about Mallory's drinking, to Mallory purposefully calling in the new 007 in an attempt to deflate Bond's ego. The interaction is explosive and truly game changing, not just for what we expect of a Bond and M meeting, but also for their dynamic of the characters that leans on their previous interactions and development beforehand.
I'll refrain from discussing further, however. It seems like the only times I post anything on this thread are when I disagree with the nominations, and that annoys even me. Genuine apologies for that...
I think the OHMSS confrontation would have been stronger with a Bond who had been in the role longer. For Connery's Bond to finally stand up to M might have given that sequence for me extra gravitas.
I don't mind people doing write in nominations and please know that all are welcome with their thoughts. In fact you are welcome to submit a category and nominees to me and I will post them here.
Agreed about the QoS ending......
My favorite M and Bond scene in OHMSS was the one where Bond goes to M's house, it's a great moment where they talked about M's hobby of Lepidoptery, Blofeld and the plan, then M assigned him to a mission to disguise as Sir Hilary Bray in Piz Gloria, (we got to see M's house for the first time, then Bond being called a Commander, then the bonding between the two was really great.). So, I definitely nominate that one.
Not a fan of confrontation scene that much either.
Not also a fan of the Goldeneye one, the way M confronts Bond, it's a bit off for me, not a fan of that "sexist, misogynist, dinosaur" line, I just wished they've cut that one off, and have just M called Bond of being a relic of cold war, that would be more an acceptable line.
I like GE but quite agree.
1.It should have been by the water. Would have been do-able easily.
2.It should have had a DN-ish ending. Bond and the lady lead get off the island, with a boat pre-arranged by his American buddy. A distance away, the American buddy and some military arrive so as to help Bond and the lady lead get into a bigger boat. Bond's boat need not be out of fuel, as in DN, but Bond declines the assistance, so as to give proper attention to the lady. The End, of Goldeneye, James Bond will return, in (I liked when they gave a title, and not just end the phrase after "return")
Instead, a bunch of soldiers and the American buddy spoil a moment. Brosnan's wide grin goes freeze-frame (What ? Bond films NEVER should have freeze frame or slow-mo), and that LAME ending song. Ugh.
But even after that speech about being a sexist, misogynist dinosaur you have a henchwoman who squeezes men to death with her thighs while getting pleasure out of it and the main woman who acts like more of a nagging wife at times than a companion for Bond.
Then two films later you have Dr. Christmas Jones who was put in to be nothing more than to fill the trope of having a sexy girl who nobody bought as a scientist because the producers didn't have enough confidence in themselves to just leave Elecktra as the only Bond woman and having her in the end and setting her up for being the butt of the joke of one of the worst lines in the series.
I completely disagree about Xenia and Natalya. Yeah Xenia is completely ludicrous, but that’s the whole point isn’t it? You can still laugh at the absurdity of her character, while still recognizing that she’s still a pretty strong female character who plays by her own rules, and Natalya never acts as if she’s nagging towards Bond at all. She shouts like three times, once for Bond to wake up in the Helicopter, the 2nd to diffuse the situation between Bond and Mishkin, and the 3rd to get Bond to work on an escape route for them from the train. All three examples are her coming across as a very strong female character. Not to mention Wai Lin from the next film. Now I’ll give you the points about Christmas Jones, but that still doesn’t take away anything from the fact that the Bond/M scene in GE arguably helps set the stage for the Modern Era of Bond.
I think my favourite whole M scene would be the one in CR in M's home.
Defintely no vote for DN. I love this movie and the M scene is good but I don't see anything outstanding compared to other M scenes. Especially because Boothroyd is a bit boring.
The winner of best Bond/M scene is....Doctor No!
Here are the results of the voting:
Lets turn our attention elsewhere for the next category. Suspense has always been a part of the series. Some times the tension is high and you really feel the danger and the trouble that our favourite secret agent gets into. Lets highlight some of the lesser known moments of tension in the film series. There were many to choose from, here is our list of nominees:
This might be another category that gets some write in votes. I have tried to get a good cross section of suspense within the series. Feel free to write in your favourite moment. Okay time for the academy to weigh in, what scene will take the Bondie for Best Suspenseful Scene?
Grant was truly Bond's equal and he proved it by casually and effortlessly eliminating seven people up to his final showdown with 007.
It was not only a question of how the hell Bond will manage to get the drop on him but also if he could actually beat him in hand-to-hand combat, considering Grant's top physical condition.
FYEO's mountain climbing gets an honorable mention for being a truly suspensful and well made sequence, although I think LALD's crocodile farm still reigns as Moore's most nerve wracking moment.
'Gumbold's Safe' is a wonderful track but I think it offers little in the way of suspense heightening.
I never found that scene particularly suspensful given that Herr Gumbold is not the most imposing or threatening character and I can't help but think Bond would have easily found a way to quietly dispose of him were he to be surprised by his unexepected return.
HIs mission would have probably been jeopardized but his life was hardly in any danger.
The Gumbold is fine but only really tense because of John Barry's brilliant work. As you say, R1s1ngs0n, the stakes aren't shockingly high, and the whole thing takes an hour (even though Bond could unlock a safe using a pocket gadget in ten seconds in the previous film! :D ). I guess if he's discovered then it might mean Blofeld would be tipped off and he'd lose him.
This is my 1000th post! Congratulations to me!
Anyway, back to the game.
Rocky climbing ahead FYEO, especially when a henchman starts removing those pitons, that's heighten the suspense even more, because Bond's in real danger, he could easily fall from that mountain.
It's one of the most suspenseful scenes for me.
I also liked the Gumbold scene, like it's really tense because Gumbold's going to arrive and if caught Bond there, his mission would be compromised, but like anyone's saying here, it's not a life threatening moment, it's not that different to the safe cracking scene in YOLT.
The most suspenseful scene for me in OHMSS was Bond trying to escape Irma Bunt, her men and even the Polar Bear mascot only to encounter Tracy in the skating rink. Bond was in real danger at that time and would have you thinking if he's going to get caught or would be saved?
OP lacked any suspense from me, because I know that he would make it, he's Bond, the bomb defusing scene in Goldfinger was way more suspenseful, because he's trying to find a way to diffuse it, but it's still not stoping from counting, until there's another man who diffused it from him.
Since, I've mentioned YOLT, I'd also like to write in the scene in YOLT where Bond was removing the cover of the button to push it to destroy SPECTRE's spacecraft, before it could hijack the American Vessel to start a war, now that's one of the most suspenseful moments.
Doesn't it even have a surprise birds moment ? Good grief, how many surprise birds appeared in the 80s and 90s ? Weren't there surprise birds in the PTS for TLD, too ? By the time we got slow-mo birds in the church in Face-Off it had become caricature, though the director seemed not to know. He reeeeeally like the birds. That church must have been awfully dirty/stinky/slippery ! Anyway, I sure no bond movie ever uses surprise birds again.
TLD. Barbary macaques of Gibraltar, sir.
For the Brosnan films, does Madonna count?
But rising above this one is one-of-many St. Cyril's. For someone with a fear of hights this definately does it (closely followed by the crane-jumping in CR. But that's more of an action scene).
btw, @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 , thanks for your deposition on the last catagory. A fascinating read!