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He's unquestionably THE definitive Bond, much like Chris Reeve is THE definitive Superman or Shatner is THE definitive Kirk- but all are of their time, and time marches on... :-?
Yes, at the end of Craig's run, I agree that he'll be the overall popular favourite. Connery's films will be looked on as quality period pieces, much like Hitchcock films, Moore's will be the 60's Batman of Bond, Brosnan's will be new Moore's, and Lazenby's & Dalton's will only be remembered by serious Bond fans as excellent entries they were.
I agree with all of this except the last part. At least with Dalton I feel he'll get the recognition he deserves; it's been slowly changing with time, it seems. Lazenby will probably never get a fair shake but OHMSS is already widely considered to be one of if not quite the best Bond ever by the GP.
And the npeople will like the next Bond actor best and DC will become one of the previous actors and the new guy will be the 007 for a new generation. And Connery will always be THE original item.
Am I correct in assuming by 'GP' you mean 'general public'?
Because if so I'm not sure how you arrive at such a conclusion.
Yes, please elaborate @StirredNotShaken.
Whilst there is no doubt that OHMSS has improved over time and receives much love from the Bond community and certain critics and film publications, I haven't see any evidence to suggest it is considered the best by the general public. In fact, I think a straw poll would probably put it in the bottom half.
It's currently scoring an average of 6.8/10 from 42,113 users on IMDB. That doesn't indicate much love to me.
Plus I remember in 2002 Tracy's death was voted in at #8 (I think) of Best Ever Bond moments.
I still think films like FRWL, GF, TSWLM, GE, CR and SF are all more likely to be considered the best ever Bond film by the general public before OHMSS.
Correct.
Critics have come on board in recent years (although that's still many years since the true fans realised OHMSS's brilliance) and there even seems to be a tendency nowadays to prove your credentials as a critic you have to pretend you're the first guy to stand up and say OHMSS is the best.
But as Willy and Bain state that's a far cry from the general public.
Ask Joe Public their opinion and they will have heard of Laz but all they will be able to tell you is 'He's the guy that only did it once, right?' or if you're really lucky 'Isn't he in the one where his wife died?'
Any public poll will bring the same results with minor fluctuations based on the current actor playing Bond.
So the average public top 5 if asked today I would say would be something along these lines:
GF - unshakeable in top spot for another 20 years, at least until everyone who was around in the 60's dies off and the generation weaned on Brozza and Craig are in their 40's.
SF - recent and massive.
CR - not quite as recent and not quite as massive but a seismic shift from what went before and still at the forefront of the public conciousness.
GE - still recent enough to be remembered and there are lots of iconic moments (bungee, tank chase, Xenia, a new and popular Bond.
Probably LALD or TSWLM - the public will always remember Roger but they would have a mashup of remembered moments rather than bring able to name a specific film. LALD stands a chance as the voodoo, bus stunt and boat chase are quite iconic but it's main bonus is that it has a title song that still gets regularly aired today. TSWLM is the other option for a Rog film as it is his most iconic with the ski jump, Jaws, the Lotus.
It would be a similar tale with the actors; Sean and DC would scrap for 1st and 2nd based on legendary status/being the incumbent. Rog & Bros would be 3rd and 4th based on legendary status/well liked and more recent. Tim and Laz would battle it out for 5th and 6th with, I would venture, Laz being the better remembered because of his solo crack at the role meaning most people know him from being the answer to a quiz question for the last 30 years.
Actually I've got a controversial view:
I think LALD is the most overrated film in the series. It has some good moments but its sooo dated.
Well, that's IMDb for you; hardly a grand basis for any kind of evidence. Likely just a bunch of Connery lovers (myself not included, thank you) who voted down the film by giving it a 1, as is common on the site. I never pay attention to the statistics, and rely more on what those I trust and respect say and of course my own opinion.
While I am sure many of the general public would scratch their heads in unison when George Lazenby is mentioned, though OHMSS has a bigger following in other circles, I think it is most recognized amongst the casual viewers as "the one where Bond gets married." I find it to be very compelling, and on the whole a great addition to the franchise, but of course I am a fan and can't think in any other way but that. I don't know on average how much those less accustomed to Bond like it, as I have never really spoken with anyone about it beyond this site save a few people.
It seems to be usually rated lower-mid pack, so it's not highly rated to begin with. Having said that, I think it's a bit underrated.
I've just noticed that quite a few people seem to rate it fairly highly. That might have more to do with the song than the actual film though.
I think it's also one of the most memorable of the canon. Aside from the obvious films, I have a lot of friends and acquaintances who regularly cite LALD and AVTAK as being films they enjoyed as kids and still remember fondly.
Pierce Brosnan was a better Bond then Timothy Dalton.
The film is good but I much prefer the book in all honesty.
I seem to remember that it is the 'highest grossing' as it were Bond film on UK TV and a quick google seems to bear this out:
http://eustonfilms.blogspot.com/2012/02/the-james-bond-films-uk-audience-facts.html?m=1i
And if you scroll down to the UK here:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_watched_television_broadcasts
LALD ranks as the highest film ever watched and us only beaten by live events such as the a Royal Wedding and 66 World Cup final.
It's no wonder LALD is so well remembered given that getting on for half of the population saw it on TV in 1980. Until another 20 or 30 years have passed and people of my generation start dying off then it's highly likely that LALD will still ride high in public lists.
As for the reasons why LALD did so well? I'm struggling to be honest. It wasn't even shown at Christmas as was usual so it could take advantage of a captive audience.
I can only speculate that it was perhaps surfing the wave of MR's success 6 months earlier, with Rog at his peak and people hungry for more coupled with the fact the country was still in the doldrums after 'Labour's not working' and that the Thatcher boom had yet to take effect. If you factor in that people were even more strapped after Christmas then it's understandable why people chose to stay in and watch a film on telly rather than go to the cinema. Also it was a Sunday which back in those days meant there weren't many options available for going out anyway.
In addition the Yorkshire Ripper was at his peak and people were genuinely scared to go out. Why not just curl up in front of the fire with a nice comforting slice of Rog instead?
Despite being only 5 I'm pretty sure I must have been amongst those 24 million although my first hazy memory of Bond is the title sequence for TMWTGG almost a year later and then what must have been my first proper viewing of a Bond film where I followed what was going on must have been TSWLM in 82. And I was hooked. Interesting to be able to put a date to such a seminal moment of your life.
None of us can see the future though. The series is going to carry on after Craig leaves, chances are for a very long time with lots of new actors. For all we know Craig's successor (or the bloke after him, or the bloke after him, etc), could become much more popular than Craig ever was.
I'd say Craig probably is the most popular Bond now, or at least definitely will be in a few years time. But once the series has ended? We have no way of knowing.
Brace yourselves, mate X_X
Not controversial. Lots of people feel that way.
adj Chiefly Brit
1. Informal foolish, simple, or stupid
2. a slang word for insane
:))
Proof is in the pudding. Pierces films were more successfull, they made a lot more money. Fans were disappointed when Pierce had to drop out of playing Bond for TLD. Daltons films did poorly at the box office which I believe I had to do with fans just not getting behind Dalton as Bond because they wanted Pierce. Dalton is a good Bond dont get me wrong I just think Pierce was better
I will agree that Broz has more screen charisma than Dalton, who I've always felt is better suited to high-brow TV (a claim I stand by).
That said I wonder whether Dalton's intentions to make Bond less the superhero and more the reluctant spy make him better. I admit im not always fond of his dramatic acting style but he TRIED to give the character a more believable feel and he must be at least admired for that.
I also think Dalton's 2 films are better than at least 3 of Brosnan's.
Personally I wouldn't go down the 'money' route, as frankly it doesn't stand up as an argument. You might find more luck on here if you can justify the attributes and qualities you feel Brozzer brought to the role, that elevate him above Tim.
I'll tell ya, Dalton's two & Brosnan's first two are basically my go-to Bonds.