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Moore was the Bond I knew as a child on tv. Dalton was my first cinema Bond. I have no problem with them co-existing. Probably my favourite PTS is FYEO. I think the scene with the helicopter is so witty and exciting. In my estimation far cooler than the PTS of CR. Roger's Bond was funny and could knock dead some so called modern comedians who forget a joke has to be funny and not intellectualised.
Dalton in the new documentary said Roger was brilliant and he could not do what he did. At least Dalton gave him the respect he deserves. That was classy of Dalton.
And sadly Roger is part of an era that still valued being classy. Now we have anything goes.
When some critics attack Moore or Dalton, they always forget the context of the era they were in and pit them against the present day Bond fashion. Very unfair and ultimately stupid. A lot of work goes into a Bond film and to just write it off with a few words is insulting. Cubby would never release a Bond film unless he was happy with it. Who am I to think I know better than him?
Yes, Moore and Dalton are too generalised by critics. Moore had a wonderful voice too and you paid attention. His humour fitted into the style of film being made as well as the scene context of where the joke comes from.
Moore being a modest man would talk of his Bond years sarcastically and some wrongly took that as a literal statement and wrongly judged him. Mr Moore can say Mr Craig is the best, but to me things are not that simple. The Bond you see today is always a creation of the Bond of yesterday. Most has been done already. The next Bond actor will probably have to have scenes on the toilet to express how different he is to the others!:) A continuation of the human side of Bond I guess!
So much for Dalton fans being seen as unreasonable. We get it!
That is a classic! @Bain123 I wish I went to see it!
The camp antics started in Diamonds are Forever, not with Moore's reign.
Moore was superb at delivering one-liners - but they were in the scripts from the start, with Connery.
Moore is brutal at times - shooting people, hitting women, executing Loque.
The infamous clown sequence in Octopussy really is a joke on those who saw Moore's Bond that way - the scene is deadly serious, and thrilling. Moore is frantic is that scene.
The idea that Moore played the role as a complete comedy and Connery took it deadly serious is utter nonsense. Connery was always playing it tongue-in-cheek. Lazenby played it tongue-in-cheek. As did Brosnan half the time.
It's too easy to stereotype Moore as an actor who didn't take the role seriously, but that's a complete misunderstanding of Moore, the character of Bond on film, and the way Bond films themselves work.
"In his 7 outings as Bond, Moore brought a light humor that set him apart from Connery's more serious, and at times, sadistic manner. No other Bond, from Timothy Dalton to more recent stalwarts Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig, has managed to make 007 quite as charming and endearing as Moore."
Yes, Roger was the right actor for his movies. TMWTGG is a style we will sadly never see again. I do miss the old Bond film charm. They looked more at ease and relaxed. And though the humour is campy, it certainly suits the way the films were made.
Some of those old movies have a beauty to them and poetry. And the way the music suits the images as well as storyline is another thing I miss. John Barry was a master of drama and intrigue. He cannot be beat.
I mean the tension Barry adds just before we see Maurice Binder's titles in TMWTGG is so out there and so Bond too!
If I had to choose between Roger in TSWLM and TMWTGG, it would be the latter where I liked him best. I prefer what Guy Hamilton did with him to Lewis Gilbert. I do like Guy Hamilton who is responsible for Goldfinger no less. He was a fine director and though his later Bonds were campy, they had a genius in how they were done.
I also love Roger's M scenes a lot. I have to say though some say Craig is the best, there are elements of what Roger does that are so unique to him, that I personally cannot say one actor is better than the other. Latest does not mean greatest.
I admire Roger's generosity to Mr Craig, but they are too different styles of actors to compare. There are things Roger does that Craig could not do and vice versa. That's why Bond has survived 5 decades.
I also think had Roger ended his Bond tenure on FYEO, he would be ranked higher than he is. Considering he had the opportunity to do 7 films, he had plenty of chances. Sometimes less is Moore!:)
Moore could do drama very well and Dalton even said he started out as a tougher Bond. Moore was my introduction to Bond and I thought he was the actual character. At the time I knew nothing of the literary version.
But for me the three Bonds I go back to watch the most are Connery, Moore and Dalton. They are all so unique and that is what I enjoy. If they were identical in approach it would be boring. Sometimes I like sweet and sometimes I like spicy!
And yes, the campness started with DAF. And this is strange, but I love that style too. I have no problem going from LTK to LALD. In fact they are related movies for me but not in the literal sense. They share the same Felix Leiter and elements from the novel LALD were used in both films. The shark scene in LTK is from Fleming's LALD.
And it was nice of Roger in his book Bond On Bond, to defend Dalton's approach to the character and respecting it was a return to Fleming.
Here is a great Roger interview and speaks so nicely of his fellow Bonds. That's the way it should be! http://entertainment.time.com/2012/11/09/sir-roger-moore-on-why-daniel-craig-is-the-best-james-bond-ever-and-what-007-role-hes-dying-to-play/
The only problem was his age. He should not have made the last two films. Although he was a bit too old already in For your eyes only, he did a brilliant job here and this is probably the best movie in the series. After that they should have picked a younger actor. Maybe Pierce Brosnan should have taken over already in 1983. He was 30 at the time, the same age as Lazenby in his brilliant film OHMSS and just a little younger than Connery in Dr. No.
Unlike Connery at 30, Brosnan looked too green and unripened to play Bond in '83. Baby Bond maybe.
Lazenby looked older as did many men back in those times.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01p22k9/Have_I_Got_News_for_You_Series_44_Episode_6/
I agree and understand your sentiment, but what people forget even more is that Bond movies are supposed to and are more often than not geared more towards adults and teens than little kids. People and some critics got so used to the kiddy fare of the Moore era that they complained when the better and more realistic Dalton era appeared, one that plays much better to the longtime fans of the series. I remember them complaining about FYEO in similar terms. If they had any clue they would have realized that FYEO is much more how Bond is supposed to be.
I certainly appreciate what Moore did for the franchise. Maybe, no definitely, outstayed his welcome by 1985, but even then Octopussy just before that, was a decent adventure and Moore did have some serious moments amid some of the other childish humor, but above all else, was simply too old for the part by the time of the 1980s, even though FYEO was a success
Moore was after all, Bond in my favorite release of the series, so he has that going for him, and there really was some fun to be had on route in the 1970s, but will always have the unwanted label of 'The Bond who went into space'. He had some great moments with Lee's M, but it never quite worked with Robert Brown, and he and Lois Maxwell had some great chemistry together on top of that. I never think he and Llewelyn never quite worked (well) together, as it did with Connery or Dalton, or even Brosnan in his later years though
Who would be my fourth ? Moore also, of all things..
So from that perspective, not a 'great' Bond. Anything but -
But every now and again, he did very well, here and there, but once again, the over emphasis on ill advised humor, in the end, was his ultimate downfall
James Bond should not be seen in 'croc disguises, doing Tarzan yells, hanging from a rope over San Francisco, or running around in clown suits..
Here endeth the lesson, but once again, every now and again, he did do well
Disagree. OP was the perfect final vehicle for Moore's Bond. AVTAK, on the other hand...
Probably about my third or fourth favorite Bond. Can't compete with names like Dalton or Connery but for his twelve year tenure, gave us a bit of everything
We was after all, Bond for my very favorite release, Live and Let Die, and did give a very good performance that year, it was only towards the very end that things turned a bit sour for Mr Moore. Not only a decent Bond at times, but a fine upstanding individual above all else
http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2013/01/02/movie-legends-revealed-was-roger-moore-really-ian-flemings-first-choice-to-play-james-bond/