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It was pretty clear that Quantum was a stand-in for SPECTRE, with colors (White, Greene, Slate) instead of numbers. Pretty clearly--and stay with me here--these colors were code names.
I think it would have been exciting to see White take over in a coup and rename the whole organization SPECTRE...and then reveal his real name as Blofeld. It would have been logical, believable, and dramatic because we would have watched it take place over three films.
Yeah I think there could be fun stories in there, you're right.
I don't think there's much point in deferred pleasure: if you've got a great idea now, do it now. There's no point in waiting ten years.
I do think they could have expanded upon the idea that Quantum was being taken over by SPECTRE though. I think running with that subplot would have been impactful than the idea that Bond and Blofeld knew each other as children. It certainly would have given the impression that Bond is essentially walking into this very dangerous civil war between warring factions of SPECTRE.
Maybe. But I think it made sense to beat the iron while it's hot, although they rushed things. They can correct the mistakes for the next Bond, which might be why they decided to go for it with Craig, if killing Bond was the end game.
Yeah I think there was something of that, at least for CR/QOS. I wished they had developed it more. I'm fairly surprised they didn't come off with a Mr Blue, or Signor Azzuro or de Bleuville for Blofeld.
I agree, for me Mr White is a field commander.
Them too.
I've always been curious why the writers chose Guy Haines as a name. They would certainly have been familiar with Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train.
Might be a way to find out what happened to General Pushkin. It’s a missed opportunity that JRD didn’t come back for LTK or GE.
Yes. Instead, of unique characters like them, EON decided to bring back Sheriff JW Pepper :( :((
Four if you count the officer in AVTAK.
Yes, I suppose they should have gotten Clifton James as Sheriff JW Pepper back in AVTAK.
The Southern Sheriff who is racist and bumbling. He is a buffoon and the screenwriter made him the butt of jokes.
The DAF and VTAK sheriff is a bumbling cop. He is worn down and broken down and is bumbling.
Lots of the movies of the 70's and 80's showcased these characters and Bond was one of them.
I am not sure that you can make a clear case that they are all one in the same.
I think Pepper and Jaws were examples of the producers doing fan service and putting the character back in the next film. Jaws required a script change to facilitate. We can argue the merits of both. I think they ruined a good thing with Jaws and they jammed Pepper into a film that really didn't need him as a character.
That would have been nice: a recurring adversary during the Dalton era. With a less comedic Koskov. I always thought they had the perfect actor for their villain, but the worst approach. Imagine Krabbe playing Koskov the way he played Handel a few years later in Farinelli.
Yes, that's very interesting in that the general thinking is that Bond followed trends (too much) in the 1970s.
Is this an example where '70s Bond started a trend?
Yes, it is.
You have the 70's bleak and dark humor? Check!
You have a popular trend of the Moon Landing (it's played up in the film), check.
First up Doctor No the first film adventure. The producers had to be economical when bringing this film to the big screen. They ended up with some great casting and of course made the great decision to have Sean Connery be their hero. BUT were there missed opportunities? We know that a crab sequence was attempted but didn't translate to the screen. Common feedback of the movie says they would have liked more of Bond in the pipes on the island. Does anyone wish we got a Connery vs Giant Squid battle? Is there something that should have been in the film? What would you do different with this film?
What are the missed opportunities of Doctor No?
I wish we had gotten a little bit more of Strangways, who was in the novel LALD, or perhaps a better actor.
I feel a lot more for his secretary, which could be down to the melodramatic music and screaming, than I do for him.
Less of a missed opportunity and more something they just hadn't figured out yet, is Bond's character in this one.. he's just a bit too much of a dick! It's kind of amazing how well they got that pinned down for the next movie and made him way more likeable.
The obstacle course is very much a missed opportunity. I do agree that Bond is kinda off in this one too. I think he’s much too wry and in control throughout the whole film, which is quite jarring when you consider the book (which I’ve always thought is about Bond slowly gaining his physical ability/confidence after his ordeal in FRWL. Him beating the obstacle course completes that circle I suppose).
Maybe trying to evoke that side of the literary Bond is a missed opportunity in DN - that sense of him being a bit more unsure about the situation he finds himself in. I think it was brought out much better in Connery’s subsequent Bond films.
The obstacle course is something that could definitely be brought out and fleshed out for a future film adventure. A villain that is interested in the lengths of pain that can be inflicted on another human is very interesting. A wonder that it hasn't be used to this point at all. I love the sound effects when he's in that piping. The steam coming off the metal, it was done so well.
I guess for me it’s that Connery’s Bond doesn’t really put a foot wrong throughout the entire film. Even when Mr. Jones is hired to take him out he easily figures out what’s happening and manipulates the situation. Same with Dent.
Connery’s performance sells it, and I’m not saying Bond shouldn’t be in control, but I think an important aspect of the character is that he often doesn’t know how each situation is going to play out. You often have moments in the novels and later films where Bond will, say, get himself into a tricky spot and have to find some way of using what’s around him to get out of it. He sometimes makes questionable decisions or even outright mistakes when getting into them, but it’s his ability to think on his feet that saves him. He’s not a Jack Reacher type who always knows well in advance how each situation will pan out even if it seems he’s at a disadvantage. I feel in DN’s first half Bond seems a bit too in control and confident, planning each situation in advance, and it takes away some of the tension you find in the novel where Doctor No is almost this powerful but invisible presence trying to kill him at every turn.
That’s kinda why the obstacle course could have been cool as well. It would have genuinely put Bond in a perilous situation and the idea of him using his wits to get out of it would have been emphasised even more. It is kinda there in the film (I think Connery’s Bond is at his most human towards the end of the film) but I feel FRWL is better in this area in the sense that Bond is not aware of SPECTRE’s involvement, he seems a bit uneasy about walking into a trap, and by the end has to get himself out of it with how he defeats Grant/the other agents.
Yeah he's rather humourless and very cold when he arrives at the embassy, dealing with the photographer etc. he orders people around a lot and is just kind of hard to like. Probably on the side of being arrogant more than just self-confident, as he is in later films, yeah. He also gets Quarrel killed with his mad plan and doesn't seem to show any sort of regret, plus I can never quite over him popping up out of the water in the river scene and murdering that guard despite not really needing to.
But come FRWL they've sorted all that out and got his character working perfectly.
I kind of feel it's hard to accuse them of missing opportunities in DN too much because they very clearly hadn't figured it all out yet, although I know the thread is a bit more light-hearted than that! :) I guess I'd like to see it more in the fashion of later Bond movies (I suppose a big missed opportunity is not just hiring John Barry to do the whole thing right then and there) but I can't dislike it on its own terms. It's just not a favourite of mine as I prefer where the series went after this.
In the film it just comes off as a bit weird with Bond randomly turning around when being held at gun point. The scene itself isn’t well shot in my opinion (it’s a bit too dark and the ‘dragon’ is simply a truck with a badly painted set of eyes/mouth). I think Connery was perfectly capable of such a moment and it would have humanised Bond a bit more.