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Yes, Brosnan perhaps deserves more praise and nideed at the time I found him very good. All the way up until Craig came along and walzed right over his performances. And yes, Lazenby's performance was part of why the film didn't score that good, or was it more because Bond din't fit into the counter culture and moreover Lazenby himself had stated before the film's release he wouldn't do another one because Bond was dead?
The fact that almost all actors have made films the general public and fans alike adore points to the position that the Bond-actor isn't all-out important.
@Beatles I Agree on the title villains beeing more memorable. For me, the only true exception is Emillio Largo, but that's perhaps more because of Celi's performance, and at the same time I know many don't agree with me on that.
The women I find more difficult to pinpoint. Thunderball again as an example shows the variety possible. Fiona Volpe is hotter than a black car in the desert. At the same time Domino is tentalizingly misterious. Two completely different ladies who make an enourmous impact. And where do we leave Severine?
I don't think the role the girls play is that important, the character more so. And Bond-girls are there as well to show Bond's weakness: never beeing able to settle down, always beeing seduced by the beauty/mistery/character of the Bond ladies. It's a too complex subject to devide the girls in categories, it's all about chemistry. They underline the story or they sink it.
Meanwhile, I ask some Originals here to post whatever topic they would like - keeping it totally spoiler free for No Time To Die - and have a chat here whenever they'd like to.
All members welcome to post - no spam, no fights, no snark. Keep the tone consistent with this thread, please. But yes, please do join in, everybody. B-)
One other topic I had in mind was looking at each country in Bond films, throughout the years. Discussing how each country was used (and used well or underused, etc.) in the films and if any personal trips to those places had ensued, etc.
Adieu for now, from this sister from Langley, but please know I shall return. But it may be many weeks from now. Thank you, especially to all Originals, who started this thread's journey with our founder and dear friend, Greg. (Keep the jacuzzi on for me, Rog; I'll be back.)
Here is a copy from the first page, SirHenry's own words:
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.
First up, let's find out exactly how many of us there are here. I know of a few of us like OHMSS69, Very Bond, sir seanisbond, and of course Bill who wrote the "Bond Unmasked" book, etc, but there are probably others. So if this fits you, stand up and be counted! We can all suggest various topics, Bond or not, and have some fun giving our views on them. I'll start thinking about my experiences over the years, and hopefully the younger generation of fans will enjoy and learn from what we have seen and done.
We go over all the films in this thread. All perspectives welcome, just an emphasis on civil discussion and that we want older fans to share their opinions here freely.
As an Original in the sense Sir Henry intended the term, I first became a Bond fan in the mid-Sixties when it seemed the whole world had gone spy-mad. Bond images & articles were everywhere: in general interest magazines like Look and Life, specialty mags like Scientific American and Photography -- and of course, in practically EVERY issue of Playboy! On TV, on the radio, everywhere you looked -- the "spy fantasy" embodied by Bond was all over the popular media. With the likes of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Get Smart everywhere you looked, spy storylines had briefly conquered the world!
In the late '60s and early '70s, opposition to the war in Vietnam made the whole "spy fantasy" genre seem a bit silly and perhaps dated. The actor chosen to play Bond for OHMSS was even openly expressing his own personal doubt that the series had much steam left in it...and I'll admit that I lost some degree of interest in most things Bond. A few years later, Roger Moore's tenure as 007 brought me back to the fold... but for a while there it seemed that Bond had indeed run low on juice...
The press coverage of the Bond films must've chnged in tone as well I take it, with the changes in politics. Again, nowedays with the internet we can find all opinions everywhere. I distinctly remember that there was plenty of doubt at the start of Brosnan's tenure: the cold war was over, who needed Bond? The film practically answers that question in the PTS. A smart move, if you ask me, of EON. But AFAK it's the only film that ever adressed it's own relevance.
I can see why you'd be uneasy about a new Bond in 69. And YOLT on the big screen! What a treat, I can definitely see how that's would capture a kid's imagination.
Child logic is rather like dream logic! Great post.
What he said ;-)
Thanks @Birdleson !
I see so many younger posters here who will talk about discovering the films from the GE videogame or from a video or something similar, but it's the ones on here that really seem to capture a special time when things seemed so different. Not to sound like the old guy talking about in my day, but I guess you just had to be there.
Well that's the purpose of this thread anyway, and as @Birdleson I'd be quite interested in your story, especially as it was so different from mine.
Moore definitely had an instant rapport with kids. He was like everyone's favorite, slightly-naughty uncle, whereas Sean was the sort of uncle who'd beat you if you scratched his records.
I now better understand your liking for TMWTGG (we always love our first Bond book).
What a different time it was to be a Bond fan in the 70s, before VHS tapes and even dial-up internet!
Avengers eat your hearts out! Do you still have this meeting of the Gods? And what sort of villains did they face?
Such a poster would definitely lure me into a cinema!
My recollections of my first impression - briefly - of Bond films ... okay, let me try a few:
DAF - My first film that I saw, with my parents (ugh!), and I was totally dazzled. And this in spite of my dislike for Las Vegas (we had visited it when I was younger). I wanted to be Jill St. John! In every way. I remember wearing hot pants to school (high school) and molding myself after her and Stephanie Powers (earlier in The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.). I thought DAF was great fun and I remember thinking Wint and Kidd were so great. It was kitschy and Sean was out of shape, which I did vaguely notice - but my enjoyment of the film overall was huge. I had already read at least one novel by then. I always felt the stories were serious and the films much more glamorous and fun.
LALD - my 2nd Bond film, and I loved Roger Moore in the role. I had read all the novels and short stories by now and I remembered Roger from The Saint - I did have an open mind as to who come possibly come after Sean, though I knew it would have to someone special who would really make me believe this was Bond. Roger brought a very suave, subtly ironic and cool sense of humor, and I had no doubts about him continuing as Bond. I also loved the music and thought it was overall a very fine Bond film.
TMWTGG - aha! I walked out of the theater totally disgruntled. I remember muttering to myself about him dropping the gun and how stupid much of it was. I went in a Roger Moore James Bond fan and came out fairly annoyed, even pissed off at the movie. I felt Mary was a complete dippy blonde, which also annoyed me a lot. At that time I was worried about the franchise continuing and what direction it would take.
TSWLM - Thankfully saved the series (I think more than just my opinion on that) and was a dream of a Bond film for me. I loved it. I forget how many times I saw it in the theater. I breathed a huge sigh of relief and thought Roger was at the top of his game; never more handsome, charming, relaxed (not forced), perfect balance. This film sparkled. I consider it a classic Bond film, nearly flawless.
I will stop for now and return later with other thoughts on my initial impressions from when I saw Bond movies in the theater, during first run. Thanks, @Birdleson.
Well not to offend at all, but in tone and storytelling I don't think it's that far off from the other films. That said I've got a hard time staying awake during that film, even though I love Christopher Lee in it and many parts of the film. i.e. I love LALD a great deal more but I don't really know why.
I will get to my other first impression recollections later today. I hope other folks here chime in - short and sweet, or longre, please let us know your first impressions when you saw Bond films in the theater during their first fun. Thanks! B-)
We all have to grease ourselves with patience.
The first thing a younger Bond fan needs to understand is that the media was much more “general interest oriented” in the early 60s than it is now. There were only 3 broadcast television networks. Plus, if one was lucky, a PBS station and maybe one or two local stations on the television dial. Each of these sources essentially covered the same stories, largely from the same middle-of-the-road viewpoint. The media we have today, with the internet, cable television, and so on, is far more niche-minded than was the case in 1962. (Or for that matter, in 1972.) Today we have left-leaning news stations, right leaning news stations, stations oriented towards science-fiction programming, and so forth. None of that was the case back then. Every station was trying to reach the largest number of consumers possible. Therefore, if something was considered to be interesting only to a fringe market, it was largely ignored by mass culture. But when something HIT, it hit BIG. Like the Beatles. Or James Bond.
Within a few short years after the release of Dr. No, James Bond was inescapable to anyone watching television or reading newspapers and magazines. The theme song to “Goldfinger” was in heavy rotation on at least 70% of the radio stations in the country. Sean Connery’s smiling face adorned the cover of nearly every magazine on the newsstands. There were half a dozen Bond knock-offs on television and in the movies. We still remember some, like the Man From U.N.C.L.E. ...but who out there remembers that “Burke’s Law” (a television series starring Gene Barry as a millionaire sleuth) briefly became “Amos Burke, Secret Agent” before disappearing from the airwaves entirely? Or how about the plot line of “The Beverly Hillbillies” when bone-headed Cousin Jethro decided he wanted to establish himself in a career as a Double-Naught Spy?
So how & where did I first encounter James Bond 007 as a 10 year old in 1964? EVERYwhere! You couldn’t avoid him! Bond lookalikes sold shaving cream and shoes on television and in magazines. Oddjob (or at least Harold Sakata in his Oddgarb) literally became a pitchman for a particular brand of cough syrup. Before I had ever seen an actual Bond movie, I knew the plots of the first four films because I had fanatically collected the bubble gum cards. Eventually I was able to see three of the first four films in one all-day theatrical marathon...but I was hooked on the series even before I ever saw Bond on the big screen.