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Neither do I honestly. To me it just feels like they thought speeding up the footage would make the action flow better, and having actually watched Thunderball yesterday, it comes across as dreadful. I’m not sure which Bond film it was (either TB or YOLT), but there was another editor in place before Hunt came back aboard, it might’ve been TB, if anyone knows, please correct me!
I love the Hillary Bray dubbing. Hunt cleverly figured out how to improve his actor's acting.
Also, give me the sped-up Disco Volante sequence in TB over the langourous LALD boat chase any day!
But...But the boat chase has Sheriff Pepper, Louisiana State Pooooliceee
It was YOLT.
Thank you!!! Any idea as to the name? And why they ditched that editor?
Well, there's always someone who will like these things.... ;)
On YOLT Hunt had left because he felt he should have been given the directors chair. Eventually when they met up in Japan he came back to do the second unit (which the producers should have done in the first place) but the editing was being handled by the editor of Gilbert’s choosing. Eventually Peter wanted to get back in the editing room because the film wasn’t being cut with his established rhythms and the first editor seemingly felt the pressure and left.
Unfortunately it comes across as nothing more than a spoof, Naked Gun style. Its difficult to watch that scene with a straight face. It was the first of a few lowest points in the franchise for me. Over the years we would later endure double taking pigeons, slide whistle car stunts, Tarzan yells, invisible cars and ZX Spectrum rendered CGI surfing, but TB will always be remembered for being the first of these ridiculous moments.
Yep. It looks rubbish now, but then most rear projection does. If they had made more of an effort to match the movements of the actors to the direction the boat is supposed to be going on the screen behind (i.e. Largo steers one way, but the boat goes the other in one shot), it would be less jarring.
Good point. And this goes back to Young abandoning the film and the producers dumping the footage into Hunt's lap to hurriedly assemble before the premiere. As I recall even John Barry was pressed for time, as the incomplete soundtrack album demonstrates.
Lack of coverage by director might be true but the editing is not even done in a logical sequence as I mentioned above. Show us land far away, then cut to fisticuffs, then show us land closer, cut to fisticuffs,......
Yes, but again the most likely explanation for that is lack of coverage. Considering what a masterly job Hunt did of editing the three prior Bond films and the two succeeding ones, the most plausible case for the uncharacteristic editing defects in TB are that he was working with insufficient material, thanks to a director who jumped ship early and a production schedule that didn't allow for reshoots.
Again I don’t think Young walked off. He already had lined up Poppy is Also a Flower which being a film for the UN also had quite a bit of importance attached. The only thing I’ve ever found about his leaving was Hunt saying in one interview something to the effect of: Oh and Terence was off on something else. He left and said oh I think you can finish dear boy.
I do think Young was tired of the pressures and probably felt like others that the atmosphere had changed. TB is often labeled the “and the kitchen sink” film with good reason and it became the first time the success influenced the films negatively. Young had already had a bit of a falling out with the producers over money which is pretty much why he didn’t do GF and regretted it. (One of the great what if’s is a Young directed GF) Apparently he was having some of the same issues that Sean started to have where their salaries weren’t adjusted with the increasing successes.
Adding in McClory as another voice on the production probably didn’t help matters.
The more you look the more you find errors and goofs. I even found a few more dialogue differences in the mixes that aren’t in the official featurette. All this is because the post process was severely rushed and there was so much material to sift through from three units.
And to top this off Hunt tried a different style of editing which moves more slowly.
What makes me curious is are there any evidence of the original “James Bond will return in OHMSS” text that was apparently cut from the film? I haven’t been able to find any.
(If anyone could ever help me confirm the audio mix versions as being UK and US editions that would solve a longstanding mystery.)
The end credit edit was done apparently to remove the OHMSS credit which had also been put on the earliest GF versions before being removed.
It is possible but highly unlikely that it made it out to a few locations. (as I was shocked a year or two ago to find that the GF 003 bomb timer did make it into the early UK original release prints.)
Apparently the negative was cut because like the edit to FRWL’s ending on the gondola it is nowhere to be found.
Kevin McClory may have had an overall negative impact on the film production too, with his initial legal threats before EON got the rights to TB. The fact that Cubby and Harry had to concede and allow Kevin to be producer may have caused friction among the team. Maybe there were a few clashes between him and Young.
From all I've learned about McClory over the years, the guy sounded like nothing but a complete tosser, so having him suddenly lauding it as the producer may have ruffled a few feathers behind the scenes.
Apparently he was a dab hand with underwater photography, which is the why the film is massively dominated by these slow, dull, lethargic lengthy underwater scenes, which ruins most of the film, IMO.
Amongst other things, he made George Lazenby look like a million quid in the fight scenes.
It's funny because I am far from a TB defender and rank it as the lowest of the '60s films.
But I like the sped-up climax (ridiculousness and all) because it's a welcome change of pace from the preceding, ponderous half hour.
And I like Hunt's other (continuity?) fixes in the film. The endless wipes, etc. They give the film kind of a groovy vibe that I think Barry's score also enhances.
The Star Wars wipes I don't mind, but Barry's score once underwater is almost as monotonous as the scenes themselves, and I say this as Barry's No. 1 fan.
The groovy vibe I get when Connery is above sea level. Strolling around in camp collar shirts and Fred Perry polos, this is without doubt the coolest casual Bond wardrobe until Craig came along in CR 40 years later.
Agreed on all counts.