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I will always put OHMSS at the top of the pile, for me it is the pinnacle of the series, the film and almost definitely the score.
It's my favourite score period, although I don't massively rate YOLT the film but the score would be no.2 of the series, GF and FRWL would fight it out for 4, then not so sure.
I actually really rate MR score not so much the film, in fact and this is probably my controversial opinion but I don't think the later Moore films that have Barry scores would anywhere worshipped by the fan base if they had a Newman like aural nondescript wallpaper score.
I agree with @peter that for me Barry is one of the most important elements of Bond's success and its my overall favourite aspect of the series period.
For instance I will watch DAF in my marathon and no doubt will find it a chore although it would be much worse without the gold that Barry afforded it.
My least liked Barry Bond score I'd have to agree with @Murdock is MWTGG, least liked but it's still perfectly listenable and more than gets the job done.
Those films without Barry are at a disadvantage from the get go as Barry most definitely put the capital B in Bond films with so much aplomb and style that even the poorer entries are memorable just because of his participation.
MR, OP & VTAK would not be given so much slack without his participation, regardless of how charming Sir Roger, try imagine those films with a score as forgettable as SPECTRE got.
As for the non Barry scores LALD is one of the best, Martin really seemed to get the assignment and while taking obvious influence from what Barry did also stamped enough of his own sound on it for it to sound Bondian but also new.
SWLM is one of my favourite films of the series and to me Rog's best entry but I'd be lying if I said it wouldn't be better without the touch of Barry. Hamlisch does a fine enough job if not somewhat dated sound, for all its discotastic vibes I still love Bond 77", Ride To Atlantis and Tanker a real epic cue.
FYEO though is definitely not a favourite it when it comes to the score, Conti to me sounds like he's totally wrong for the assignment and while I have fond memories of Hamlisch's work, a lot of Conti's sound makes me cringe.
LTK is a mixed bag, some great cues around the PTS, the epic Bondian boat and plane sequence and also the tanker chase, although some dodgy pop music thrown in doesn't help it.
I don't hate Serra's contribution to G.E like some but I don't actually love it as well, quite indifferent really, while come to admire the film recently I don't find the score particularly memorable and that squelchy synth sound on the DB5 sequence is atrocious.
Arnold, now my opinion of his Brosnan era stuff is probably coloured by the fact all 3 films are bottom of the list for me and an over reliance on the Bond theme and just at times noisy beats with no melody.
Where CR showed he was starting to get somewhere, free of his safety net of JB theme he started to craft some real memorable and melodic cues. Although that Austin Powers moment in the Sky Plane inveiling sequence is embarrassing. Although definitely getting somewhere.
QOS as well as the film I've grown to like more and more and sits comfortably in my top 10, I think is also Arnold's best Bond score quite comfortably. Nothing embarrassing I can recall and Time To Get out and the cue from Bregenz sequence before the opera sequence as well as the desert climax are memorable and truly enrich the film.
It also makes me think that if he'd scored Skyfall the film would even more to my liking on the evidence of what he produced for QOS.
Which brings us to Newman, I love Skyfall despite its issues and TN's score is good to passable. It's has some good cues but nothing that I would say is memorable though compared to what was to come it was great.
Whereas as the cut and paste half assed job he did on SPECTRE makes me realise he should never go anywhere near Bond ever again.
My controversial suggestion is though, as some have experimented using more memorable and melodic cues over parts of the DC era, I'd like to see if anyone could be bothered to take some of Newman's music and stick over the not so great SC and RM films even TLD.
My point is it will become quite obvious how much Barry made those films what they are and a poor underwhelming score will show the likes of DAF, MR, OP & VTAK to be the where they are for some due to Barry contribution and the workman like feel that some of us feel and others ignore due to nostalgia will become even more noticeable.
Imagine CR with a Barry score ( it could have been possible) or even SF (after Barry's death but think of what he could have done for that film). I think you'll find that it strengthens the ideas that Barry was one of the most significant contributors to making those Bond films what they were, even the classics we love would be missing something.
Say for instance imagine if Monty Norman had become the in house composer for the series instead of Barry. It doesn't bear thinking about and I'd argue those films would be missing a magical ingredient that gave them their longevity. I mean Connery is the best Bond still but when he left Barry was still there and he always was at his least well above average.
I'm not suggesting it would sate those who have serious issues with the Craig era but I do think without Barry's touch DAF and the later Moore's which without Barry to paper over the cracks and sprinkle is gold over them would be far from how they are perceived by fans now.
I hazard a guess some would dispute this and I've heard it said by some that any quality composer would have made the films work but I don't think so. Barry invented a whole new sound for these films and it's been copied and parodied infinitum but when it's Barry there is no mistaking it and the series would not be here where it is without it.
So any of the films without his touch are missing something that makes them quintessentially Bond and those that do may well be as problematic but his participation allows some of us to give them a pass more than those that don't.
That's true @Ludovico. Speaking about Blofeld, it's also interesting how he consistently tries to punish Bond on an emotional level. Like he's trying to make Bond suffer just like he suffered when he felt Hannes was more attached to James than his "real" son. All Blofeld actions against Bond can be seen like an insane punishment for being "better" than him. His tremendous evilness is defined also by his crazy and creepy methodicalness. Something explained also by his torture methods. Plus, the notion that the was (in some form) behind both Vesper and M's deaths is something that tells you how creepy is this incarnation of Blofeld. Making people suffer for him is also like a crazy game*. For example, the way he handles Mr. Guerra execution during the meeting or how he plays with Bond when he trapped Madeleine - giving Bond a choice: die or live with the pain - in the MI6 building. He even used the death of Mr. White as a tool to bring Bond and Madeleine together ("out of horror, beauty"). In the end, it's also extremely satisfying that given all this evil efforts this immensely bad person always lose. His torture didn't work. His game with Madeleine didn't work. Bond is even able to make fun with him, telling that "he has better things to do than killing him" (in other words, banging one of his interchangeable women). He wasn't better than Bond when they were young. He isn't better than Bond even now with all his resources. After all, "nobody does it better" than 007.
*The way he plays cat and mouse games is also extremely fun on a meta level. If Bond, after confronting Silva, is the "last rat standing" Blofeld is of course the cat. A white persian cat. Funny.
EDIT: Even if the writing was sometimes lazy, especially in the torture scene, Waltz did an amazing job with the character. You can respectively see and feel the madness, the dudgeon and twisted envy in his eyes:
Great, well-thought-out post.
However, the only use I can see for Newman's five hours of score (roughly 1/3 of which is non-repetitive) is for an elaborate aural torture sequence of Bond...or is it torture for the viewer?
Both Mendes and Newman really "phoned it in" for SP; I couldn't believe he was already re-using his score in the PTS.
Barry, to his immense credit, never did that in all of his films. He was always innovating and coming up with new themes.
Barry used another Bond composer's (G. Martin) work in TMWTGG. That is technically worse than using your own score twice. Just saying.
Edit - Not disagreeing that the score in SP was lazy and dull.
Shirley you can't be serious? It's not technically worse if you are using another composer's work only for a little gag.
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I agree with Shardlake's point that the films are greatly elevated through Barry's music.
But honestly, it's a bit hypocritical to say Newman's reuse of a score is wrong but not for Barry.
:D
Well Barry used only four notes and created the rest of the score from scratch, with the South East Asian atmosphere benefitting greatly from his tunes.
Newman on the other hand never created much new for SP, he reused almost the entire SF score. The latter being already pretty poor to begin with.
I don't agree, but do find your post a fscinating read. Thank you. For me this whole idea is too 'stuck upon' to work. I don't see Silva work for Blofeld, nor him beeing manipulated to do so. And with Blofeld's tries to manipulate Bond he comes over more weak than strong. I also regret this very emotional Blofeld is what they've made of a calculating maniac in Fleming's incarnations, who only loses it when he's thwarted too many times because he can't stand losing (as in YOLT).
Thanks @CommanderRoss , I really appreciate it. I know a lot of people in here didn't like Blofeld's character, but I hope they could at least re-evaluate him in some forms.
Having said that I would like to talk about the connection between Silva and S.P.E.C.T.R.E. you just mentioned. Personally I never understood why many fans hated this little/loose connection. Based on what has been established in SP, Q discovers that Silva has had contact with S.P.E.C.T.R.E./Blofeld, based on the Q's toxicological tests and later in the film Blofeld reveals himself to be the author of the all Bond's "suffering". In SF we learned that Silva was a cyber terrorist who offered his services to the "highest bidder". So it is quite obvious that Silva was not an actual S.P.E.C.T.R.E. agent - like for example LeChiffre, who was a banker/financier of international terrorism - and Blofeld "simply" hired him for this job, mainly for two reasons. The first, for a matter of obvious business. Destabilizing the MI6 with a direct attack and stressing its aversion to public opinion by burning all their agents in the field is obviously in line with the evil masterplan of creating SP's Nine Eyes, with which Blofeld would have control of all the most important global intelligence. Second, Blofeld was interested in taking a plus advantage by Silva's desire for revenge against M, in a way to punish Bond for his continuous interference with his affairs.
I honestly don't see how this stuff could change SF's perception for the worse. Silva's motivations do not change, his feelings are 100% genuine because the fact that he wasn't an actual S.P.E.C.T.R.E. agent but a freelance terrorist, as he himself says, suggests that he was unaware of Blofeld's "double" plan. Blofeld just gave him the opportunity to fulfill his revenge in order to gain a diabolic double victory and at the same time Silva's personal motivations as established in SF remain perfectly intact. On the other hand, knowing as a fact that behind Silva and his incredible plan there were all S.P.E.C.T.R.E. resources and contacts makes everything in SF far more believable, in my opinion.
Random controversial Bond film opinion: DAF has the most overrated title song. It's decent, but not a favorite of mine by any means, and my least favorite of the ones from Connery's films.
Again I like your reasoning, but the collars and cuffs don't match. If Blofeld is the genius master planner, would he really be so pity to make Bonds life difficult without him knowing and at the same time risking his enterprises? It just doesn't fit character wise. I can believe the masterplan, but the 'I've been making your life hard because you came out of nowhere' makes no sense to me. If he wanted revenge, that would be his focus. If he wants the world, it's another focus. But somehow he managed to keep the big one working (world, nine eyes, getting the world's water supplies under control 'toppling dictators) AND at the same time get his little pityfull 'cuckoo brother' angle in there as well, and hence ending his big plans because he wanted Bond to be involved? Don't forget that he may have played Bond, but it was Bond who foiled his plans time and time again.
That's why it feels geniune when White says 'we could've had you too, I think you'd have done anything for her' (Vesper) works so well, and Blofeld's 'I did it' doesn't one bit.
That’s why I wish White was actually Blofeld. And it would have made their personal stakes that much higher in a shared history that we, the audience, were witness too (not some thin foster brother-type relationship): White was behind Vesper’s betrayal and suicide; Bond captures White; White escapes, but Bond foils their plan in Bolivia...
These two could have really been hating each other by the time they met again in Spectre!
So basically, Blofeld wasn’t ever directly targeting Bond in the first 3, but because of Bond always getting mixed up in the middle, Blofeld got a nice bonus whenever Bond suffered in his missions.
EDIT: Please note I am not defending the ill-advised retcon itself, but just the particulars of the matter.
I used to like the elevator fight then rewatched it and found it far more lightweight than I remembered. The PTS also has its flaws, but it's the very last time we glimpses of the proper Connery Bond.
Yes, that's exactly it. It makes logical sense, even though it's not an ideal situation from a storytelling point of view. Feels like a case of trying to eat your cake and have it too. Blofeld couldn't have actively pursued revenge since the beginning, otherwise his character would've been undermined; would've come across as childish. He only tried to exact some sort of revenge in Spectre because the opportunity arose. But because of that, the revenge is robbed of dramatic intensity; it feels halfhearted right from the beginning. It just wasn't a good match for Blofeld given the way the story had developed over the previous films.
But it does make logical sense...
The point is Blofeld wanted to make James suffer. The fact he didn't go for a classic revenge shows how twisted and diabolical this guy is. "A nice pattern developed. You interfere in my world, I destroy yours".
That's the reason why they spared his life in CR. The moment Vesper asked S.P.E.C.T.R.E* to spare James life for the money she knew (as M says in the "bitch is dead" dialogue) she was going to die. Plus, in SF Blofeld won. Both from a personal angle and a business perspective. M died in the hands of Bond and (almost) destroying the MI6 they paved the way to the Nine Eyes. The fact that Bond foiled his business plans in QoS and SP it's irrelevant. It's a Bond movie you know. The good guy in the end always wins.
*Another loose connection came to my mind. Yusuf, Vesper boyfriend, fake dead body was found in Morocco, as M told Bond in QoS. Both Mr White's liar and Blofeld's liar were in Morocco. Nice.
Exactly.
Excellent spot there Matt,and it ties in both QOS and SP to Morocco nicely !!
Which was exactly my attempt. :D
It might even push it up in my rankings from #24 to #22 above TLD & FYEO....*scratches chin thinking*.
I mean, surely Brothergate isn't as egregious a sin as KARA MILOVY?
Hahaha the thought had occurred to me !!