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See my avatar? Who knows it? :P
All these years on I still enjoy watching it, it is good fun all the way through, with some cracking moments. In particular, the death of Corrine really stands out for me, the setting, the music, it has a Hammer Horror feel to it.
It is a grand movie, very much of the time with Star Wars to go up against but, for me, it is one of the most fun Bond movies of all, even though it isn't the best "Bond" movie.
Thank you a lot!
I feel that PTS is the most legendary moment for James Bond in the franchise. That's my James! :p
Here's a fun tribute to my favorite Moore Bond film:
Looking at it through an adult's eyes, there are definitely some moments that go too far, but it's still an enjoyable experience. As others have mentioned, the production values are so high (what a gorgeous looking and sounding film) that it should never be placed at the bottom of anyone's list just due to those factors alone.
I agree that Lonsdale is underrated. Perhaps if he'd been in a more grounded adventure then his performance would rate higher, but somehow his dour outlook in the face of such lunacy makes the whole thing work. Moore, for his part, is effortlessly charming throughout (although he is not without his serious moments - see the centrifuge scene) and makes for the perfect leading man in this particular film. Seriously, who else but Sir Rog could've pulled this off?
I wouldn't want every Bond film to be like this, just like I wouldn't want them all to be too dark either, but I'm appreciative that we can have such a variety coexisting together within the franchise. Fly me to the Moonraker indeed!
https://www.mi6community.com/discussion/17270/james-bond-songs-the-studio-album-mix-vs-the-film-version#latest
I agree with you on every account. Moonraker, while equally spectacular as Spy, has a better Bond girl, a better villain, better music and I'd argue even better sets.
Sure it has its ridiculous moments, but let's be honest Jaws was a spoof figure from the get go. He was never a character one could take seriously.
The wisest men were always able to make fun of themselves. With that in mind, although I'm a big fan of grounded episodes like FRWL, OHMSS and LTK, I do enjoy some self-referential escapism once in a while and MR is a perfect film to go to on such an occasion.
It sits comfortably at #11 for the moment.
What praise the film typically gets also applies: Tournier's cinematography, Barry's score, Adam's sets. Some additional things not praised enough: Gilbert's direction, Glen's editing, and Chiles's elegance.
Precisely. That's well-worded.
And as to your question -- no one. Can't see any of the others striking the right tone needed to carry this film off.
Now -- all that out of the way, here's something for an appreciation thread: supposedly there were some 70mm blow up prints of MR (for what it's worth, OP was also blown up to 70mm).
Anyone here who was around at the time and fortunate enough to attend one of these alleged 70mm screenings?
When MR is highly regarded it's usual in relation to the idea of its cinematic experience. I'd love to see on the big screen, and even more so on the extra big screen. Of course this wouldn't be like IMAX but I can still imagine the experience was quite something nevertheless.
I honestly think if you took out three minor moments of the film - jaws flapping his arms, the gondola and jaws falling for dolly then MR wouldn't be anywhere near as 'silly' as it is claimed to be. Is it any sillier then Bibi Dahl, promises of stainless steel delicatessens, killer Ice hockey players scoring own goals and Margaret Thatcher being seduced by a parrot in the next film the 'serious' For Your Eyes Only (often called a 'return to Fleming' no less!)a film which I love by the way and like more than MR.
I also think the true reason for the ludicrousness of the the gondola scene is not the gadget itself - but everyone's reaction to it. Sure it has a double taking pigeon but it also has double taking dogs and multiple double taking people. The way it is presented adds to the outlandishness of it all.
MR has one of the best villains of Moore's era - Drax is up there with scaramanga and zorin. The dialogue between villain and hero is actually my favourite of the Moore era. I think that Moore and Lonsdale strike the perfect balance of banter.
The Chang fight is underrated. The Opening stunt is amazing. The Rio setting wonderful. The centrifuge scene is excellent and Moore especially good in this scene. This is the last time where age isn't an issue for Moore. Holly Goodhead is a solid counterpart. The killing of Corrine is high on my list of Bond moments from the series - beautifully shot and scored - like a quality 70s European horror movie.
The music is marvellous - and that score when they go into space is perfection. While the final space battle isn't much chop - Drax's death is a great scene and the race to shoot down the pods milks the drama and tension for all its worth. In both these categories it actually trumps TSWLM for me (which I realise is blasphemy)
Overall MR is my fourth favourite Moore film behind LALD, FYEO and TSWLM. I can often rewatch MR and I get a fair amount of enjoyment from watching Drax failing to kill bond with his ever increasing attempts to plan an 'amusing death' for our hero.
Although im not sure if it will move up my list.
Are you suggesting there are people out there who don't?
I think I'm with you there. TSWLM has dull sections for me whereas MR defines the over the top Bond romp.
I'd go as far to say as there's very little to dislike about MR.
If you've put MR on you're not in Fleming or Craig mode you're in Roger on top form having a whale of a time and inviting you along for the ride mode. In that context who gives a toss about the circus tent, Bondola, double take pigeon and going into space?
Your watching MR FFS!! Sit back, crack open a beer and luxuriate in the sheer preposterous brilliance of it all.
I have to agree with you. Whilst TSWLM and GE will always top it terms of being iconic the sheer conceit of the sequence is unsurpassable. In the opening minute of the film our hero is pushed out of a plane without a parachute! And it only gets crazier from there folks!! Welcome to MR.
It's largely down to the impression MR made on Boxing Day in the 80s that I'm here today. After your first hit of MR how can you not want more of this world?
Of course this goes without saying. Even when he's plummeting to earth without a parachute or the globe is about to enter earths atmosphere deep down you just knew Rog had everything under control.
Yes we can all slag off the comic moments and say it's not Fleming but that's missing the point. Of course I'd love to see a straight adaptation of Fleming's MR (it's probably my favourite Fleming movel) but if you said the price to pay for this was erasing the version of MR we have I'm honestly not sure I could pay it.
Where other films promise you the earth MR truly does deliver.
It's definitely Bond at it's most decorative and shallow though.
For all it's daftness it does have some famous, suspenseful scenes that many others have pointed out.
Still a great scene almost 40 years later (I do cringe though when Chiles says "I don't know what could have happened" at the end).
A shame because the Venice and Rio scenes are among the best in the whole series. The cable car scene is a classic. Ignoring the hovercraft gondola driving around St Marks Square and it is almost faultless until the absurdity of Bond heading to an invisible space station, laser battles and shooting down the poison capsules. Thankfully they realised they had gone too far with it and returned with the far more sensible and better effort in FYEO.
They went too far with it....took it beyond silly and ruined potential shows throughout.
Nowhere near as bad as some make out but could have been so much better. The first half or so is excellent but then the awful humour kicks in. I think its the cheap gags rather than the space stuff (which is beautifully designed and shot) that lets it down.
Agreed. It was on ITV4 last night, couldnt resist. I much prefer watching it than TSWLM, which also has some awful humour, (mostly with Jaws)
The pts is splendid, and I have grown to love Basseys theme, overlooked imo.
Drax has some great lines in it too!
And I love that scene of Corinnes death, one of the most striking sequences in the series!
But I've grown to sort of love (with some reservations) MR, and probably more than maybe more obvious candidates like TSWLM. I'm not saying MR is any better. Either way, it is just another remake of YOLT (as is TSWLM), and common wisdom has it that the original is better. I'm just not too sure I like the first remake better than the second as well. I find TSWLM far more dated by now than MR, not least because of the somewhat-meh Marvin Hamlisch score of the former as opposed to possibly one of the best John Barry scores ever for the latter.
Once one engages to treat MR as more or less of a Bond parody one should be able to live with its shortcomings, meaning the all-too-banal jokes (Bondola, double-taking pigeon etc.) as well as the sudden conversion of Jaws. He was a joke figure anyway, from day 1 in TSWLM. I never found him threatening. He was always played strictly for laughs (I wonder what Richard Kiel thought about it, but then his compensation probably made up for it). So the enlightenment, the love interest and sudden urge to speak a whole sentence (actually, it isn't even that) is nothing to complain about. It's just silly in both films.
As much as I appreciate Ken Adam's tanker set in TSWLM, I do prefer his sets for MR. The scene with Bond and Goodhead under the Moonraker engines is fantastic, more so than much of TSWLM. Here we are back at Adam's expressionism of the Professor Dent reporting scene of Dr. No, and also his famous War Room of Dr. Strangelove, while the tanker belly may be giant and grandiose, but really nothing special in comparison. Also, the use of the Centre Pompidou and the set for the space station are nothing but pure genius.
One more thing that must be mentioned: Hugo Drax, or Mich(a)el Lonsdale, has some of the most priceless, original lines of any Bond villain. Funny as hell, and more so than the Bondola and the like).
MR keeps climbing in my list.