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It is time to begin our final 'official' day of this special tribute to Greg Ferrell/SirHenry. <:-P
We have been celebrating SirHenry by taking a look at some of the great things he wrote on this forum, and by sharing our remembrances of him and what he has meant to us. Greg was prolific. He had nearly 3,500 posts and a good deal of those were a little (or more than a little) lengthy. More importantly, what he said was "meaty" ... his posts were worthwhile - intelligent, witty, wry, encouraging, provocative, thoughtful, opinionated but in a literate way that did not cross over to being a nasty, foul-mouthed jerk. Greg was a strong personality and had great character. He was warm and often kind. He loved to share his experiences, his Bond and musical knowledge, love of good food and cooking, and his "give it all you've got" attitude towards life.
Greg is irreplaceable. But I like to think that I am a better person, even just a little bit, because of having known him. I mean that. And I, like many of you, will carry him in my heart and mind for the rest of my life. That's what a good friend is, isn't it? Someone who was honest, who made you think, who encouraged you, who made you laugh, and who put a spark in your life. That does not fade away. A true friend's spirit stays with you.
So today, I'll be sharing random quotes from SirHenry, and a look at the Originals ratings of Bond films - the pet project that was at the heart of this thread for Greg.
This final section, therefore, is called: "ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD" ... and here we go! :>
I'd like to share SirHenry's very first post on this new website, back in April 2011, when it restarted (He was formerly a member of Keeping The British End Up. Yes, we all wish it was true ...that he was back with us yet again):
SirHenryLeeChaChing
April 2011 edited April 2011 Posts: 3,494
I'm back fellow Bond brothers and sisters! Count me among those procrastinators who lost all their old posts, bad timing for me. I'll really miss the adventures of Sir Roger and Scashy. That's OK. I'm glad to be here and looking forward to discussing my views past, present, and future all over again. \m/
*******
And here is SirHenry's opening post on the Originals thread, along with his explanation of the thread and the reviews he challenged us to do: (bolding is mine, not Greg's)
This one is dedicated to the fans on this Forum who saw their first Bond movie starring Sean Connery in the theater. Fans who saw OHMSS as their first Bond movie in the theater can also join in, as you no doubt saw the Connery films as well during that time. The point of the thread is that it is geared largely to those of us around 50 and older who were the original fans of Bond and have witnessed the changes of lead actor and general direction over the years.
***
I definitely welcome questions from the younger fans such as about how it was to remember Bondmania at it's dizzying height when Bond was everywhere you looked, but I truly want this to be our special thread, our "hangout and refuge" amidst the craziness that this Forum sometimes becomes. The younger fans can see the features and all from that day but they can never truly experience what we did. Our support for the series kept it alive for them to enjoy, but there are fewer and fewer of us as time goes by and we deserve this place of honor even if it exists only here in this space.
***
Those who cannot remember are still welcomed.
That's why the thread was started, so we can also impart our knowledge by answering questions anyone might have. It's a very unique perspective we have, it's "agecentric" yes but as "aging agents" it comes with the territory. I often read many of the younger fans' perspectives and as Professor Joe would say "bless their hearts", they miss a lot of the little subtleties of living through each era, seeing the films from their inception in the theaters on old 35mm celluloid like I saw Goldfinger on Sunday, and how they correlate from then to now in all aspects. They can go back and watch the movies and see the features but they can't know our perspective because they simply were not born or aware of how truly big the phenomenon was. I know many of them wish they could have gone back in time to our time, but until they invent a time machine it isn't happening, so the best thing us originals can do for them is to tell our stories and do our best to capture it for them.
***
Anyone can participate here. But if you're not an original fan willing to do review all 22 films, your reviews won't count towards the ratings. Feel free to give your opinion at any time.
***
That's what's fun about this exercise in my opinion. Personal rankings are not featured and in addition, the format helps to identify where each particular film succeeded or failed. As much as we may love or loathe a particular film, I think we'd all agree that every Bond film has some good things going for it here and there. I was talking to @OHMSS69 about this very same thing regarding Moonraker. Neither of us can much stand the film and it ranks as worst or in my case 2nd worst. However, in a category such as locations, Moonraker films in some spectacular and breathtaking places and for that you have to give the film its due. That said, I'll predict the majority view in the end will have Connery's first 4 films and OHMSS in the top 10, where I feel they belong as a whole.
*******
And SirHenry was almost 100% right: As it turned out, Sean's first 3 films plus OHMSS are in our Originals rankings top 10, as you can see below (Dr. No was rather surprisingly lower).
The "Originals" Reviews of all Bond films:
SirHenry said:
OK fellow aging agents, as promised, we are about to undertake a series of 22 "official missions". Your task, should you choose to accept, is to evaluate each official Bond release in chronological order.
The point system here will be along the lines of movie ratings, 1 to 5 stars. Here are the categories and instructions-
BOND- Rate the performance and character impression of the actor in the role and give a 1-5 score. Female posters may consider sex appeal as well.
WOMEN- Rate their character, acting ability, and overall sex appeal.
VILLAINS- Rate their character, acting ability, and general effectiveness. This includes henchmen.
HUMOR-
ACTION-
SADISM- Rate the violence quotient here
MUSIC-
LOCATIONS-
GADGETS-
SUPPORTING CAST- This category will be for your view of M, Q, Moneypenny, and Felix Leiter should he appear. Plus any other good man or woman helping Bond on his mission.
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS- Add your overall scores from the above categories and please share your memories of first seeing the film on the big screen, even if you have done so before earlier in the thread. I'll keep track of everyone's scores and eventually we will create a "top 22" list.
*******
Nearly three years followed of great reviews, genuine camaraderie, memories shared, outstanding detail and trivia information given by SirHenry, debates and wit, and plenty of fun.
SirHenry left us in January of this year, and he did not have the chance to post the final group ratings from the Originals (7 total reviewers). Thank you to @Samuel001, who did put the totals together for us the end of January; I'm happy to share them here again.
Here are the final ratings that SirHenry was aiming for from the start. Reviewers were all "Originals" (having seen their first Bond film in the theater, one that starred Connery or Lazenby).
The Originals Ratings of 23 Bond Films (Dr. No through Skyfall)
1. Casino Royale- 4.36
2. Goldfinger- 4.30
3. From Russia With Love- 4.26
4. Skyfall- 4.20
5. The Living Daylights- 4.11
6. Thunderball- 4.09
7. The Spy Who Loved Me- 4.06
8. Licence To Kill- 4.03
9. On Her Majesty's Secret Service- 3.99
10. For Your Eyes Only- 3.91
11. You Only Live Twice- 3.90
12. Live And Let Die- 3.81
13. GoldenEye- 3.80
14. Octopussy- 3.73
15. Tomorrow Never Dies- 3.71
16. Dr. No- 3.57
17. Quantum Of Solace- 3.43
18. A View To A Kill- 3.31
19. The World Is Not Enough- 3.20
20. The Man With The Golden Gun- 3.09
21. Diamonds Are Forever- 2.99
22. Moonraker- 2.96
23. Die Another Day- 2.70
4.1+4.3+4.0+4.3+4.4+4.0+4.3=29.4/7=4.2.
As SirHenry would say, "Now that is ^:)^ !"
Sometime during the last year on this thread, SirHenry did say this: "These reviews have helped me revive old and wonderful memories from the back of my mind that I deeply treasure, and thus far this "project" of mine has exceeded my hopes."
*******
I will leave us on that note for now. A good deal more to come later today, as we celebrate Greg/SirHenry. Cheers!
For today, however, I thought I'd make it a little easier to find SirHenry's own reviews of the Bond films, as well as his awesome production/trivia notes. Therefore, I am listing the title of film and page # on this thread where you can go back and read SirHenry's reviews and production/trivia notes at your leisure.
I wish he had written his own book on Bond; he certainly could have done so. Keep in mind that we first reviewed all the films (except Skyfall), and then while waiting for Skyfall reviews to finish, we began to revisit different films in the series and discuss certain aspects. SirHenry gave us a treasure trove of many details - production and trivia info - that is a joy to read (including at last Skyfall). It is rather astonishing how much information he shared with us, just on this one thread.
Without further adieu, here is a list of where you can find SirHenry's rankings and reviews, as well as production/trivia notes when given. His ranking for the film is first, then his personal review is the first page # listed; and when he added a lot of trivia information about a film (only FYEO thru Skyfall), the second page # listed is for that info (lots of production notes and little known details).
SirHenry's ranking/review's page#
Dr. No - 3.4/ Page 3
FRWL - 4.2/ Page 3
GF - 4.5/ Page 4
TB - 4.2/ Page 5
YOLT - 3.8/ Page 6
OHMSS - 3.7/ Page 7
DAF - 3.0/ Page 7
LALD - 4.1/ Page 9
TMWTGG - 3.2/ Page 9
TSWLM - 4.0/ Page 10
MR- 2.8/ Page 11
FYEO - 4.1/ Page 12; trivia notes Page 45
OP - 3.5/ Page 13; trivia notes Page 47
AVTAK - 3.3/ Page 13; trivia notes Page 50
TLD - 4.1/ Page 15; trivia notes Page 51
LTK - 4.3/ Page 15; trivia notes Page 52
GE - 3.9/ Page 19; trivia notes Page 55
TND - 3.7/ Page 19; trivia notes Page 57
TWINE - 3.2/ Page 19; trivia notes Page 58
DAD - 2.6/ Page 20; trivia notes Page 59
CR - 4.4/ Page 21; trivia notes Page 62
QOS - 3.5/ Page 23; trivia notes Page 63
SF - 4.1/ Page 27; trivia notes Page 65
*******
I sincerely hope that this is helpful to you. I know that I personally will find it a good reference. Using this list is a rather convenient way to easily find and re-read many of SirHenry's reviews and great posts related to each Bond film.
Cheers! B-)
In the spirit of Greg's birthday (which was Nov. 4th) and celebrating his life, I'd like to again post this special artwork by @0BradyM0Bondfanatic7:
It is hard to see, but if you click on this drawing and enlarge it (I had to enlarge it 2 times) you can see the letters "GF" on the gunbarrel that Craig's Bond is holding. For SirHenry's favorite Bond film, Goldfinger - and also for Greg's own initials. It's perfect, Brady; thank you again.
One last round of "One More For The Road"
The NonOfficial Films
SirHenry said:
What did I think of the non-Bonds? Garbage, plain and simple. CR67 was a spoof, and NSNA was a remake. I've seen them, but I don't own copies of either nor will I ever.
It did bother me that McClory and Warner Bros decided to put NSNA up against Octopussy, greatly to be honest. I've never been sure whose idea it was to do that, but McClory's greed and hatred of EON is an open book. That was the year that I elected to see Octopussy instead because I knew NSNA was a remake and I felt very confident it would do nothing to improve what had been done in 1965, on which I was right. My Dad and brother went to NSNA and weren't real happy that they did afterwards. It was tough not to be with them because as I've said it was tradition for the 3 of us to go together. And I was even more vindicated in my choice when I saw NSNA myself and when they saw Octopussy.
EON needed Sir Roger badly for this film, he was the established Bond of the day and still popular. They were absolutely right to put him up against Sir Sean and it would have been a mistake to run a new Bond against a legend.
*******
Let's Get Physical, Mr. Bond
SirHenry said:
Sir Sean was a lot more physical in the early rather than later films, but even in DAF he had that terrific elevator fight which showed he could still do that. When speaking of George's physicality, I think Craig is right there with him. He's just been creaming people on screen. Plus he knows how to pull a punc - I hope poor Yuri Borienko got hazard pay for working with George. I've always seen George as more comparable to Chuck Norris as opposed to Sir Sean.
******
Not Pulling Punches over Moonraker
SirHenry said:
French actor Michael Lonsdale plays Sir Hugo Drax. The word "monotone" fits here too. Why do some people think Lonsdale is so great as Drax? I don't understand it. The outer space version of Stromberg, and third rate at that. Ever watch paint dry? How about timing how long a hunk of oatmeal will take to drop after throwing it against a wall? That's how compelling he is.
***
I had just graduated from high school and was really anticipating this film because the novel was among my favorite Fleming works. And 16 years later when it is more seriously revisited, it works just as well as I thought it would here. I didn't have a good feeling from the trailers as it looked to be copying Star Wars, which I never cared for. But I had faith. It couldn't be worse than even the marginal entries considering the source material. They'd never seriously let me down before.
Instead, 2 hours later I was beyond disappointment and embarrassed to be a fan. And amazed that it was a huge box office success. I couldn't believe people didn't see through this charade. OK, good for Cubby, but bad for me.
And 33 years later, I feel exactly the same way. The film fails miserably in every area that make for a great and classic Bond movie, a below average Moore showing, awful villains, plain Jane women with little acting skills, and even worse atrocious, appalling, juvenile humor that has no place in Bond movies. Even my son, whose age level this film plays well to, says this film isn't good. This "Matt Helm meets Austin Powers" cheesefest is dreck of the highest possible order for a Bond film, and rightly scores a miserable 28 out of 50 points for a score of 2.8
*******
Best Beatles Song Ever -
SirHenry said:
Personally, I think Helter Skelter is the best Beatles song of all time. There was a heavier guitar bandwagon just starting to bud at that time that they cashed in on early enough, yet the song stands out in it's own way that doesn't say they were copycatting. Many of the metal band remakes I prefer to the original 60's and 70's songs (Shark Island for example does a version of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" that destroys theirs in every good way), but when even Motley Crue's version of this Beatles classic couldn't beat it, it says something. The hallmarks of genius is exactly what.
*******
Which Bond girl would he have liked to have dated? (from that thread)
Oh go on, you can guess this one in your sleep ... ;)
SirHenry said:
Mie Hama circa 1960's. A living goddess. :x
*******
Back in a couple of hours for our finish. >:D<
Looking at the time, I'm still going to wait just one more hour. (And of course, we will continue to chat about him in the future. This special tribute just needs an official finish, final send-off). :)>-
Now a few, final words, before the official end. @SirHenry will always be remembered by those who "met" him. He was an amazing Bond fan, his knowledge in music was amazing. He was a great story teller, always willing to share a bit of his own life his Bond mates. He was a friend of his friend and I had enough proof of that, right until the end. His passing dug a hole in our Bond life. I couldn't believe how someone whom I'd never met in "real life" could make me (and many more) feel like this. Because @SirHenry as always there when we needed him and he was a real friend regardless of how far away we were. His passing brought a lot of us closer because it taught us that friendship cannot be measured by distance and can be built even from "a thousand miles and poles apart" as SF goes.
To Greg
Here we go; our FINAL SALUTE at the end of this special tribute ... B-)
First, a word from SirHenry about this website and this thread:
This is easily the best Bond site on the entire internet, no question. I wouldn't be anywhere else, everything I could want as a fan is right here. And I'd like to think that this thread is one of the very best continuous ones on this site. We just went over 1000 posts recently and I admit that when I created it, I never dreamed it would go this long and get so many compliments.
*******
SirHenry, Greg Ferrell, appreciated you - so many of you, here on this forum.
And I want to finish this tribute with these words from SirHenry (a tiny portion of which I have quoted earlier; all edited slightly). They were said in a regular post from him, on this thread, as well as from some things he said when he was honored on The Friday Salute appreciation thread about a year ago. They were spoken spontaneously from his heart. I think Greg would feel it quite appropriate for these particular words of his to be heard again today.
SirHenry said:
I want to say this to all the originals here, especially to everyone who has hung in there and committed themselves to doing every movie, even the thankfully very few that we don't much care for - I don't know how everyone else feels, but as each day goes by I feel like we are all, pardon the pun "bonding" with the other in ways past our love for these films. I feel like I've found long lost brothers in you, Nic, OHMSS, Kerim, and a sister in 4Ever.
How much fun it would be to gather around with all of you at an outdoor table on warm days, party like Fleming, and tell old war stories with all of you. No doubt we would be falling out of our chairs in laughter quite often. Remembering time with our personal families as kids, wide eyed and innocent, anticipating and counting down to the new adventure, practically squirming in our chairs waiting for the lights to go out and be transported into this magical world ...
***
These reviews have helped me revive old and wonderful memories from the back of my mind that I deeply treasure, and thus far this "project" of mine has exceeded my hopes.
***
Again, my appreciation for everything that has been said here is profound to say the least. It makes me feel incredibly good that my contributions to my fellow originals and the younger fans have been so appreciated. This site and Forum are a home away from home for me and a refuge where I know people genuinely care about me past what I contribute, and for that I am most grateful.
************************************
I think it would be great if we headed over to The Friday Salute appreciation thread to read some (or all) of the tributes to him once more and SirHenry’s responses from that time of well deserved appreciation.
So onwards we go. And we can still do a final toast now, can’t we? So let’s pour our own favorite drink and lift a toast today to our wonderful, much missed brother, the special and truly irreplaceable SirHenryLeeChaChing, Greg Ferrell: “To you, Greg, SirHenry! Here’s to you.” =D>
Greg and Patty :x
To Greg!
To Greg!
His sudden passing was a great shock and I (along with many who contribute to this thread) am grateful to @4EverBonded for continuing with such great enthusiasm and hard work. Cheers!
It is a great pity that we won't be hearing Greg's views on Bond 24, as I always found his reviews honest, insightful and a bloody good read.
Cheers Greg…SirHenry, wherever you are mate.
And thanks also, Brady, for posting those great photos of each Bond actor toasting Greg\SirHenry. I love that; a superb finish. :-bd
and my 21 (well, minus 20) gun salute to him:
The resemblance to Angus Young is striking!
Angus says,"To you fellow rocker, we salute you!"
Cue heavy guitar crunches!
Or rather Greg Ferrel
He joked on a moment's spur
Always made me feel well.
He was a loving father
And of his friends he took good care
My brother-from-another-mother
My mentor in times of despair.
When Greg passed away,
My heart no longer beat,
Instead it bled, and even today
I can't accept defeat.
This tribute by @4EverBonded
Was heart-warming to the max
I'm sure that Greg will love it
While drumming or playing the sax.
Try as I may, try as I might
When listening to crashing guitars
I can't forget you, not even slight
Live well, bro... among the stars.
Greg would have liked your 21-20 gun salute, chrisisall. And that is a lovely poem and moving photo, Dimi. Honest words spoken from your heart. Thank you for the time and care you put into that.
FYI: This current topic will not change for several more days. Just letting this tribute stand here. It seems like the right thing to do for now. Change will be late in the weekend. My deepest thanks to everyone.
So here’s what I have in mind for this thread over the upcoming week: a little game designed to stimulate some thoughtful conversation. I call it “Fix a Film.” If there’s one thing Bond fans enjoy, it’s playing Fantasy Producer. “THIS film would have been sooo much better if only they’d done things MY way. If only Sean had played Bond, if only the script had been closer to the novel, if only if only…”
Well, fine. For a week or so we can do that in a fashion that allows us to get a sense of where we agree or disagree…reasonably!…on this topic. Here’s the way I see the game working:
Every participant gets to choose 3 items to change from the entire run of the Bond series. Change the lead actor, or a supporting actor for that matter, from say OHMSS. Change ONE PARTICULAR ASPECT of the script in, say, MR. Change the conductor of GE. Or the special effects of DAD. Or…whatever. Change 3 aspects of one film, change 1 aspect of 3 films, whatever. Three changes, that’s all. It’s up to each participant to make the smartest use of their choices, to do the most “good” for the Bond franchise with their choices. Each film that gets a change suggested gets a point for that change. At the end of the week, we tally up the changes. The films with the most suggested changes are the films we have concluded would most benefit from some judicious tweaking. This would probably NOT be a list of the “Worst” films in Bond history…but rather, the films that have both positive aspects, and less desirable aspects, to them.
For example: I think DAD is probably the weakest film in the Bond canon. I couldn’t fix this one with 3 choices no matter how hard I tried! …and believe me, I’ve thought about it! If I ruled out all CGI special effects…insisted that science in this film had to be within the limits of science as we know it (ruling out invisible cars and identity switching by genetic modification)…and recast the character of Jinx so that we had an actress with some sort of rapport with Pierce Brosnan as our Main Bond Girl…we’d still have Madonna and John Cleese and a Jinx who thought that “Yo Mama!” was snappy repartee. So I’m not wasting my 3 precious changes on that one (probably hopeless) film. Instead, I’ll do my best with 3 different films, like so: For TMWTGG, all lame humor (as defined by me, of course) is hereby excised from the script. That single move would fix this particular film in multiple ways: JW Pepper is gone, gone, gone, never to have appeared in Cambodia at all; the much maligned slide whistle sound effect is unable to mar the stupendous corkscrew car leap; the kung fu school girls are unable to rescue Bond at the dojo, and unable to compound that error by LEAVING HIM BEHIND as they scramble into the car; and finally, Goodnight would not be depicted as such a hopeless dunce…and Bond would probably have to treat her with a bit of respect. There, see? Substantial changes for the better in TMWTGG, with one simple edict from the Fantasy Producer that is Me.
At this point, I‘d like to define the rules a little further: one cannot invoke the same change twice. If you want to change your Bond actor, you can only do so once per actor; if you want to change a supporting character or lead actress, you are able to do so as long as you’re only making one change per character. Therefore, you can only replace one Felix Leiter; not 3 of them, but you can change Mary Goodnight AND Stacey Sutton AND Holly Goodhead if you’d like…you’ll be using up all 3 of your changes if you want to do so but it’s your call. ALSO: you have to specify who you’ll be replacing them with, and it has to be a contemporaneous actor or actress. Therefore, you can replace your Lazenby Bond with a Connery…and your Moore Bond ONCE with that same Connery, probably in one of the earlier Moore films…but by the time of AVTAK, your Connery will be too old to realistically portray Bond (just as was the case for Moore) and by the time of TLD, Connery just won’t cut it even with the very finest toupee Cubby’s money can buy.
Additionally, you can only play the same card once. I can only decide that “Bad Comedy is OUT” for one film, I cannot come along and make the same declaration for a second film. I’m going to have to fix MR (my second choice for some substantial changes) some other way. I can use another script change….but I have to be creative about it. So in this case I will rule: James Bond doesn’t fit in space. Therefore, he does not get to put on the big yellow astronaut suit which just makes him look like a banana anyway, and go out onto the set for Star Wars. This move takes the script in a substantially different direction, wipes out the poor special effects of the outer space scenes…and not coincidentally, GIVES JAWS NO REASON TO SWITCH SIDES AND BECOME A GOOD GUY. He still gets to fall in love, the big ol’ galloot…but he has to remain a villain, which is much more his style anyway, “love of a good woman” or not.
Finally…I know there are plenty of people who just don’t like it, but as I’ve stated numerous times before, I have a soft spot in my head, er, HEART…for AVTAK. Still, I have to admit that it could use some improving. If Sir Henry himself were to play this game, the first move he’d make might very well be to write May Day out of existence, or at the very least to replace Grace Jones in the role. I’m not really inclined in this direction. I actually think the obvious distaste that Moore and Jones hold for each other makes for some amusing onscreen moments. Just chalk it up to my warped sense of humor, I suppose. I might be inclined to replace Moore as Bond entirely…he’s clearly too old for the role at this point…but that would eliminate the sparkling energy between Sir Roger and Patrick Macnee as Tibbet, one of the strongest points in this movie’s favor as far as I’m concerned. I’m afraid that Tanya Roberts as Stacey Sutton gets the boot from this Fantasy Producer. Her constant bleating of “JAAAMES! JAAAAAAAAAAAAMES!” makes her one of the most annoying actresses ever to appear in a Bond film. But who shall I replace her with? It’s got to be an actress who would be appropriate for a romantic role as of the time this movie was made… After thinking it over...I’m going with Marilu Henner. She’s both smart AND gorgeous…and as her role opposite Burt Reynolds in the TV series “Evening Shade” proves, she’s able to play the romantic interest to a substantially older leading man without the entire audience just thinking “ICK!” every time they snuggle up together.
Just a few more rules to put into place and we can get the game started. Once a change has been made, there’s no need for a second participant to make the same change. If you’d like to rule that Bad Comedy is Out for TMWTGG but that Mary Goodnight remains the same brainless bimbo she’s always been because, Hey, you LIKE her that way…well that’s just fine. But there’s no need to “Second” an existing change just yet…We’ll be doing that at the end of the week. When the game has run it’s course, each participant gets to state their approval of a change someone else has made…and the Top 3 recipients of a Seconds approval are awarded the title of “Executive Producers” in our Fix A Film game. There has to be something to win in every good game, right?
Okay then! Let the mayhem begin! Current Score: 1 point for TMWTGG, 1 point for MR, and 1 point for AVTAK. Who’s up next?
Replace the jovial Felix scene at the end of LTK with a sombre Felix scene, replace Serra with Barry on GE, and replace fun-and-games Bond with dead-serious Bond in the car park scene in TND. See? I don't ask for much... ;)
Have fun everybody! Looking forward to reading your ideas of "fixing" these films. You know there are things you'd love to change. Me, too; but I'll most likely join in at the very end.
No sloppy filmmaking in DAF! Which means no side-changing in the alley, no : moonbuggy wheels rolling through the screen, things like that:
http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/1335/a-script-reveals-a-lot-about-the-movie-daf-and-the-unfilmed-scenes
And yes I would change Moore in AVTAk. I love that film too and I think Timothy could indeed have the same chemistry with Patrick. Perhaps it would change TLD, but I don't think it would do too much.
Shorten the underwater scenes in TB a bit. It's my fav. Bond, but I know these scenes drag a bit, so much so that it takes it from the top spot for others.
And now AVTAK is back in the lead with 2 points, while DAF, GE, LTK, MR, TB, TND, and TMWTGG each have 1 point apiece. Step up, folks, don't be shy! Anybody can play...
FYEO - get Barry to do the score, already Moore's best Bond, this would just make it better!
I'd also get a different director for DAF, possibly Peter Hunt, who hopefully would have steered Tom Mankiewicz away from the silliness and self-referencing to something more Bondian (In fact I'd keep Hamilton away from any other Bond films - except, of course, Goldfinger).