Bond Performance - This week; Roger Moore as James Bond, 007 in A View To A Kill

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  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    timmer wrote: »
    Sean Connery as James Bond 007
    In
    Ian Fleming's

    Diamonds Are Forever

    My favourite Bond performance of them all.
    A sheer pleasure to watch the classic Bond at his self assured best!
    You are a true fan of the absurd, bro!
    :D
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Connery's debut was rock solid, amazing, mesmerizing and totally convincing. An assured performance that actually looked lived in seemed quite experienced. A fantastic effort and the whole reason why we have this series. If Dr. No had another actor, I cannot see it having the same impact.
  • Posts: 4,622
    Connery as 007 in DN is doubleplus awesome!
    Yes, the dinner standoff with No is one of the most chilling on-screen moments in all of Bond.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Up until a little over a week ago I would have named FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE or GOLDFINGER as featuring Connery's definitive portrayal of the character, but after this latest marathon I am convinced that we get the man's best, most pure portrayal in DR. NO. He oozes authority, confidence and danger, yet there is an underlying humor to almost everything he does and says, as well. Not campy or buffoonish in the least, just sharp and perceptive. He's like some jungle cat, coiled and ready to pounce. The way he deals with friend and foe is a pure joy to watch, he treats both with equal arrogance and superiority. There is probably nothing in his oeuvre to compare to the scene his taunting, antagonizing and belittling of No in their classic dinner exchange. With each performance Sean become slightly less of this powerful man of purpose. After THUNDERBALL he drops off dramatically.

    Well said, @Birdleson. Very much agreed on all of that.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Thank you.

    My pleasure - we seem to agree on most things concerning James Bond. :)
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Up until a little over a week ago I would have named FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE or GOLDFINGER as featuring Connery's definitive portrayal of the character, but after this latest marathon I am convinced that we get the man's best, most pure portrayal in DR. NO. He oozes authority, confidence and danger, yet there is an underlying humor to almost everything he does and says, as well. Not campy or buffoonish in the least, just sharp and perceptive. He's like some jungle cat, coiled and ready to pounce. The way he deals with friend and foe is a pure joy to watch, he treats both with equal arrogance and superiority. There is probably nothing in his oeuvre to compare to the scene his taunting, antagonizing and belittling of No in their classic dinner exchange. With each performance Sean become slightly less of this powerful man of purpose. After THUNDERBALL he drops off dramatically.

    Well said, @Birdleson. Very much agreed on all of that.

    I think I will also have to agree @Birdleson, I've always regarded DN highly, but it's one of those that feels more and more definitive with every passing year.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Yes @RC7 time has been the factor.
    Yes, as a kid I appreciated DN, but felt it was lacklustre in many areas (fights, explosions and such), but as an old geezer I find that writing matters, and that DN was a fantastic effort in all but the mindless blockbuster trappings.
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    Excellent guys 'n dolls! Any other opinions on Connery's performance in Dr No?
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    I just got the Blu Ray, but I don't know if it will make his performance any better... ;)
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    Well, you'll have to find out won't you? ;-)
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    Good to see this thread going again! :)
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    There is no way anyone will beat Connery in his first three. If I have to pick one, it will probably be GF.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    royale65 wrote: »
    Well, you'll have to find out won't you? ;-)
    Well his performance was no better than the perfect it was already, but wow was it all so more beautiful to see..
    and Connery had blood on his knuckles after beating up the phoney House driver- never saw that before.
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    The miracles of high def hey? :-)

    Now, this may be sacrilegious in some quarters, but are there any weaknesses in Connery's portrayal?

    Is there a bit of "uncouthness" in the way he handles other characters? Is Connery slightly ever so, a rough diamond? (In particular his rough treatment of the Police Commissioner). Or as people have mentioned, Connery suffers no fools, be it ally or foe? (Which makes sense from a literary standpoint, as Fleming's 007 was rather hard on his teammates - think Thunderball and the crew of the submarine. He was a professional, and expected everyone else to hold the same standards.)

  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    royale65 wrote: »
    Now, this may be sacrilegious in some quarters, but are there any weaknesses in Connery's portrayal?
    Just a bit of impatient youth-related stuff. I thought it all worked very well. Remember, he might have looked late thirties here, but he was barely into them.
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    edited November 2014 Posts: 5,080
    I just had to share this wonderful photo from the set of DR. NO.

    mhvb10.jpg

    He's pretty much perfect in DR. NO, but I would have to say that my personal favourite Connery performance was in FRWL.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    Lovely! :)
  • Posts: 1,092
    Dalton in both of his, Connery in his first three, GF topping it out, and Moore in Spy, FYEO and a special place for OP. Watch that train scene and tell me the guy can't act. He's tough as nails and spot on.

    Craig has been great in all of his thus far. It's really hard to pick only one performance but overall I gotta go with Connery in DN b/c that set the standard for the whole thing. He's really great.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited November 2014 Posts: 23,883
    At the risk of restating what's been said before, I believe Connery in FRWL & to just a slightly lesser extent in TB is the epitome of what James Bond is and what he should be. Just purely sublime performances from the man that defined the on-screen Bond. Dr. No deserves an honourable mention because he started it all with this one, but he really hit his stride with FRWL for me. Just perfect.

    All the other actors have had their moments however, but none quite came up to this standard yet.

    I think Daniel Craig is off to a great start. Personally, I liked his performance in CR & QoS better than his SF Bond. More rugged.....more dangerous....more believable. I found SF a little neutered. Perhaps its the crying at the end that hurts.... Nevertheless he hasn't made a bad one yet (in terms of his Bond portrayal). I'm sure he'll deliver with Bond 24 and this will solidify his position as one of the greats.

    Roger Moore hit the nail on the head with TSWLM. While still infused with Rog's patented humour, he delivered in his portrayal of Bond here. Many say FYEO was a better reflection of Bond, but I still prefer Spy, with FYEO a close second. Like others, I have a soft spot for OP just because he's so damn relaxed in it, but also like his first two outings, although he was obviously getting his feet wet there. Quite frankly, I found his slapping around of Maud Adam's character in TMWTGG to get information a throw-back to old school Bond (Connery/Lazenby) and loved it.

    Timothy Dalton also did very well with TLD. Many have said that this was the closest to Fleming's Bond. I'm not going to go that far, but it certainly was a great debut. I was really looking forward to seeing where he took this after that film. I found LTK to be a bit of a detour. While it's a super Bond film, arguably one of the best, perhaps they should have waited for Tim to get a few more under his belt before going in that direction. He was not properly established yet.

    George Lazenby did very well in OHMSS as well. Interestingly, he did not have much acting experience, and yet demonstrated 'hurt' better than some other actors have during the tender & vulnerable moments in that film. Again, I would have liked to see where he would have gone with his Bond. Shame..

    Pierce Brosnan did quite well with GE, although a bit restrained. I thought he was full of potential in this one. As was said before, the pretitles & Hamburg parts of TND are superb demonstrations of Bondage by Pierce. In the early parts of DAD he also captured Bond very well.

    So they've all had their moments, but only Sir Sean has found the holy grail (arguably twice). Craig is the closest to getting there again, and Dalton may have found it with time (some say he did find it with his debut).
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited November 2014 Posts: 23,883
    On a related note, I think both Brosnan, Dalton & Craig suffered from not having Bernard Lee or Lois Maxwell to work with.

    I think Judi Dench in particular, great actress though she is, has hurt the series with her motherly M portrayal and its impact on our perception of Bond.

    I'd have loved to see Brosnan work with Bernard Lee, and am looking forward to seeing what Craig does with Fiennes. The early indications in SF were very positive.
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    Thank you for your insights @bondjames

    As we've already got a thread dedicated to Connery's performance in From Russia With Love, I thought we'd skip to Goldfinger

    Goldfinger is the gold standard of Bond films. It is an ideal blend of both the literary and cinematic 007's, fusing them together to create a 64 carat piece of film history.

    Sean Connery is in magnificent form as 007. Every line, every movement is prefect. In Goldfinger, Connery is really a pleasure to watch. He moves slightly away from the Fleming Bond, and into a more cinematic 007. But he's just as magnetic as ever.
  • Posts: 1,146


    Im sorry if my opinions hurt anyone feelings on this site but last time I checked we're on a James Bond message board where we're supposed to speak our minds. Daniel Craig and Roger Moore get alot a criticism too. But I don't go around throwing a hissy fit. I just so happen to think Brosnan was an absolute joke as both James Bond and as an actor. Sue me. And then if that wasn't bad enough he went on to show that he has the maturity of your average 10 year-old by whining and complaining endlessly after EON decided to hire a real to play the part.[/quote]

    Amen.

    Don't entirely agree with you, but think that critical thinking is important.

    Don't think this should be a cheerleader site.

  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    royale65 wrote: »
    a 64 carat piece of film history.

    Nicely phrased.
    Goldfinger brought Bond movies a wider audience, and Sean was magic in it.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited November 2014 Posts: 12,480
    So, we are now (hopefully) critiquing Connery's performance in Goldfinger, right? I was not sure at first, based on one above off topic comment. (re: "cheerleader site": it is not, but constant bashing of any Bond actor in unrelated threads gets old)

    I think Connery was great in Goldfinger. Everything gelled, he oozed confidence with a real menace underneath. I loved the way he one upped Goldfinger, I enjoyed his chemistry with the women, and I feel it was just a super smooth, excellent portrayal. It is the film that send Bond into the stratosphere, made Bond totally iconic. That theme song and Shirley being painted gold: to this day, those are things people think of when they think of James Bond. I cannot fault his performance in Goldfinger; it was solid. I would be surprised if anyone had some real criticism of Sean in this one.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    I would be surprised if anyone had some real criticism of Sean in this one.
    There were moments when his hair looked a little too closely cropped compared with the rest of the film.
    That's all I got.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited November 2014 Posts: 12,480
    :D Yes - oh! And that terrible terrycloth (whatever material it is) romper. Yech! Okay, but that is really my only criticism of him in Goldfinger. http://operationgrandslam.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/playsuit.jpg
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    Birdleson wrote: »
    But I do see a slight lessening in intensity, as happens progressively with each Bond film he is in.
    I'd say that's more a result of the scripts & direction than any acting choices by Connery.
  • Posts: 1,146
    So, we are now (hopefully) critiquing Connery's performance in Goldfinger, right? I was not sure at first, based on one above off topic comment. (re: "cheerleader site": it is not, but constant bashing of any Bond actor in unrelated threads gets old)

    I think Connery was great in Goldfinger. Everything gelled, he oozed confidence with a real menace underneath. I loved the way he one upped Goldfinger, I enjoyed his chemistry with the women, and I feel it was just a super smooth, excellent portrayal. It is the film that send Bond into the stratosphere, made Bond totally iconic. That theme song and Shirley being painted gold: to this day, those are things people think of when they think of James Bond. I cannot fault his performance in Goldfinger; it was solid. I would be surprised if anyone had some real criticism of Sean in this one.

    Might be the quintessential portrayal of the character.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    We shall never agree on a quintessential portrayal based on the novels because each reader will have formed their own unique impression of what that truly quintessential Bond would be like.
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    Sorry I haven't been around much this week, but you were quite correct my dear @4EverBonded - this week we're focusing on Connery's uber-cool portrayal in Goldfinger.

    Personally, I felt Connery started to shift his interpretation to the "cinematic" 007 instead of the "Fleming" 007. I guess this was in large part to Guy Hamilton and Paul Dehn stylistic choices concerning 007.

    As to the quintessential Flemingequse 007 performance, the closest we have got is Connery's FRWL and Dalton's TLD. But as @4Ever said, every reader has our own personal take on Bond's character, which is evident in the six different actors portrayal of our dear Commander Bond.
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