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Lazenby looked the part but his acting let him down. I mean George Baker should get credit for the lines he overdubbed for him when he pretended to be Sir Hillary Bray. And Lazenby was a good fighter. But his non-experience in film hindered his performance.
But OHMSS is super duper.
The funny thing is, Dalton reminds me of Dracula in the way he looks in LTK.
Man that is amazing. I always thought that but thought people will think I am mad. He is the vampyric James Bond and me liking classic horror loved the idea of his casting. Though he does suit Fleming's description mostly too!
Albert R Broccoli presents Timothy Dracula as James Bond 007. No wonder he was so evil and the public ran away!:) Dalton looked like a vampire needing blood in his expressions.
When i watch Live And Let Die, I always picture him in that movie. He would have suited the Voodoo theme better than Roger! He would have smiled more for sure!:)
Yes! A bond collector once told me that not casting Dalton as Dracula was Hammer films biggest mistake. The best option and I love Christopher Lee!
This is true. When the horror writer Anne Rice wrote Interview With The Vampire, she based Louis on Dalton in Wuthering Heights. In fact when they were supposed to make the film initially in the late 70's she wanted Rutger Hauer as Lestat and Dalton as Louis.
Man, Dalton gets better and better the more you talk about him! Many are missing out who dislike his Bond.
:P
"Listen to them, the children of the night, what music they make."
I think he would have made a fine Dracula, and quite an imposing one at that.
That is such a cool tidbit, I didn't know that.
That's what I am here for!:) I mean when I defend Dalton and his coolness, I know my onions. I am a huge Johnny Depp fan too. If Dalton is not cool then neither is Johnny. And how true is that?
And another untruth is the media lie that Dalton did not appeal to females. I once met a woman who could rival Monica Bellucci's looks and she was obsessed by him watching TLD every day. I said this before, but I would be Dalton any day after meeting her. Not that I got anywhere as I look nothing like Tim.
Also Indian women find him attractive. The ones I spoke to anyway. Culture and conditioning plays a huge role in attraction too.
I am going to rent it for sure!
http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/3302/the-daltonites-thread./p4#Item_113
Thanks!
It was said very well by someone earlier in this thread. DC lacks the experience that TD portays and that is where the difference in the characterisations lie. Now would they bring TD back as a Bond Baddie? I hope they don't, but it would make an interesting match in the current series!
I do love some of the elements Daniel has brought to his Bond. But his Bond is a bit machine like even before his heart is broken in CR. He shows little emotion even in the opening.
But Dalton had so many shadings to his 007. And Dalton in just two films changed Bond's image of 25 years. Dalton could use his eyes to express sarcasm. He did not have to act tough all the time to prove he is tough. But when he got angry, you felt it.
Dalton also played the romantic side of Bond more convincingly. The TLD fairground scene is perfect. I see more contrast between him and Kara. He is darkness and she is light. Opposites attract as they say. And the buildup was nicer as in how he slowly seduces her. Dalton looked great in the Aston Martin scenes with her. They looked close like an ideal couple.
I just did not see where Bond and Vesper get close. It felt like a working relationship and I do not feel the chemistry. I saw more conflict than harmony between the characters.
But they share similarities, but are different actors who cannot be compared. Modern Bond is different in attitude to Cold War Bond. Psychologically they are different in terms of the world they live in as regards events.
The thing is that Craig was almost the same age as Dalton when he was cast as Bond. Craig was 38 and Dalton 41. So I never bought the young Bond who was inexperienced.
Those who say Dalton has no presence and Craig does are mistaken. They both have it but employ it in different ways. Dalton in M's office looks the part and does not show off all his underneath strength. But I would not want to be on his hit list.
I have to say that I prefer Dalton. He knew what Bond he was going to be and was not groomed as much for the part as Craig was. I am actually more impressed with what Dalton achieved with the little preparation time he had for the role. He signed on and started filming in a ridiculously short space of time.
Craig did great too, but he had more preparation time before filming ! Dalton had to learn on the job. Daniel had choreography lessons in advance for action scenes they would do. In John Glen's book he admits he did not allow Tim to re-film some parts Tim was not happy with. I think that is where the clash started between Tim and John. Of course the schedule did not permit.
These are some facts that should be kept in mind. Had Dalton got Craig's preparation time for the role in his first movie, the film would have been even better.
And as an assassin, Dalton is more sinister than Craig. The scene where sets up the explosives by Sanchez's office window is a perfect example. Super cool and I have yet to see that aspect of Craig. Craig's Bond is a bit too trigger happy and not as much the spy who gathers intelligence.
Having said this I have not seen Skyfall yet so things could change. Daniel is a great actor.
Man that is amazing. I always thought that but thought people will think I am mad. He is the vampyric James Bond and me liking classic horror loved the idea of his casting. Though he does suit Fleming's description mostly too!
Albert R Broccoli presents Timothy Dracula as James Bond 007. No wonder he was so evil and the public ran away!:) Dalton looked like a vampire needing blood in his expressions.
When i watch Live And Let Die, I always picture him in that movie. He would have suited the Voodoo theme better than Roger! He would have smiled more for sure!:)
[/quote]
I actually agree with you here.
Thank you! Your assessment is spot on. I have heard many a real not casual Bond fan say that had Dalton the proper backing his acting deserves, his films would have reached incredible heights.
Many have remarked that Dalton is too good an actor and I must say that in Daylights some of the actors they put him with hardly challenged him. But he will shine with the right tailored script and director. Same with Licence.
I just saw an interview with Daniel Craig on Youtube where he says he could not have done the traditional Bond role from day one. He needed to build into the character by wiping the slate clean.
It takes little intelligence to deduce that Barbara Broccoli as well as Michael Wilson knew that without the proper care and attention, Craig could have easily been misunderstood in the role. Why they spend more time than ever before on development is exactly as a result of the mistakes of the Dalton years.
And to those who say that Daniel Craig would have been more accepted in 1987 like @Germanlady, I have this to make you think about. The media backlash would have been 10 times harsher on his casting than in 2005. The studio would have told Cubby to re-cast or no filming will take place. Craig would have been a bigger risk than Dalton in 1987.
And it is not secret that Cubby wanted any actor playing Bond to be 6 foot or taller. Craig being under 6 foot would be a no go. And Craig's look would not have been appropriate. So had he existed back then he would not have been a contender for the times. And that is not a put down of Craig but simple facts.
Also the cultural climate was right for Craig's Bond in 2006. Craig is the post 9/11 Bond and the post-Bourne revolution Bond too. He suits the world of today!
Given the circumstances I have to say Dalton did an amazing job and is a great Bond. The pressure must have been unbearable and to have the guts to try something never done before. And he totally carries his films.
Dalton's Bond will become greater over the years. Those who think I have my facts then bring it on. But Cubby's book is a good source for how he went about the casting of Bond and his requirements at the time.
This kind of goes with what I saw last night on the Everything or Nothing Documentary, where Barbara Broccoli herself says that Tim got blamed unfairly and that he was ahead of his time. She said that it wasn't him, it was the scripts... I think she is definitely onto something there.
Interesting to see the United Artists publicity director say that Dalton was, and I quote "Timothy Dalton was a very very good Bond, you saw him acting on the set and you said "Gee, boy... that is something", but that somehow people didn't seem to buy it, and that "How do you explain something like that?". Barbara then says that sometimes it just takes a while for audiences to catch up with the change.
I agree very much with you that the timing was off, the world just wasn't ready for such a grounded, dark, overall more badass and complex Bond at the time, not after a gajillion Moore movies. The tone was highly dissonant and all of a sudden Bond wasn't as "family friendly". You go from Moore, who is fine but really didn't "act" that much, but just delivered one-liners with ultra efficiency to this guy who is just "so intense" and "complex" and people might have been just a bit taken aback. It would have needed more time for audiences to really grasp it (there was barely a breather between AVTAK and TLD, only 2 years! Audiences needed to breathe between Bonds, like they did between Tim and Pierce and between Pierce and Craig.
But I think the real problem here was LTK. After TLD people were on their way, slowly but steadily and then LTK happened and it freaked people out. "OMG Bond has gone off his rocker, he's too violent, what is going on here". And then.. BAM, legal problems and a long-ass hiatus, and that's the note Tim left on.
Credit where credit is due, Craig is a very excellent Bond, but I am glad people are beginning to be fair to Dalton too and understand that he was very much ahead of his time and that someone of his caliber demanded, indeed, better scripting and production quality overall.
Man that is amazing. I always thought that but thought people will think I am mad. He is the vampyric James Bond and me liking classic horror loved the idea of his casting. Though he does suit Fleming's description mostly too!
Albert R Broccoli presents Timothy Dracula as James Bond 007. No wonder he was so evil and the public ran away!:) Dalton looked like a vampire needing blood in his expressions.
When i watch Live And Let Die, I always picture him in that movie. He would have suited the Voodoo theme better than Roger! He would have smiled more for sure!:)
[/quote]
I actually agree with you here. [/quote]
I do remember some remarking back when he was Bond that he looked too evil, especially in LTK. I mean in Sanchez's office he has so many similarities to the villain and they could easily be pals in different circumstances. In a way, Dalton is the true anti-hero of Fleming and his mass audience unlikeability is exactly why I love his approach and style.
Bond is like the villain as Dalton says but is on the so called good side as in the western world. That is a beautiful contradiction and why the character has survived 50 years. Dalton got it but the masses did not. So who was right all along in terms of character truth? Some would play Hannibal Lecter as a vegetarian as an analogy but was he conceived by the author as that?!:)
To the day I die, I will always stand by the fact that Dalton was always right for Bond. His non-acceptance by the media came years later when the reviews of his films for home video and television were less than stellar. But Piers Morgan who wrote for The Daily Mirror called Dalton "The best Bond since Connery." I saw The Living Daylights and many liked it. The dislike of his Bond came many years later when Brosnan was cast and the unflattering assessments were put forward.
But with the Brosnan era, the Dalton template did not fit the studio's agenda and it was too contrasted with the Bond of the 90's. The media goes where the money is as it were and are incredibly fickle.
And I say this too. If the next Bond actor has the looks of a Clive Owen and the acting chops of Daniel Craig, then they will praise him as the best as long as he pulls off the traditionalisms of the movie version. The only Bond who is untouchable is Sean Connery. The rest are fair game to some in media and all got criticised in some way. Look how quickly everyone changed their tune with Brosnan. By the way, I do not wish it that way and actually am turned off by the unfair comparissons between Bond actors. They were all of their time but Dalton was a Bond of the future in the era of the Bond of the past.
My above paragraph is because the media are shallow and despite 50 years of history, most media still do not understand the complexity of Bond and that it does not have to be a one dimensional role which it can come across as if you read a tabloid.
Connery is Connery. Moore is Moore. Dalton is Dalton. Brosnan is Brosnan. And Craig is Craig. But I see no point of praising a Bond actor at the denigration of another. I like to enjoy a Bond film in peace and can do without the needless poison words of others. I am my own judge and jury and not a slave of Mr Media Man's usually piiish poor opinions!
Thanks!
i never said that. you've quoted someone else there.
Dalton is already a veteran agent, and his emotions are locked away, very similar to how Craig's character changes at the end of C R after Vesper's betrayal, and throughout the under rated QoS - which I loved - I havent seen Skyfall yet (going Friday...) but I hope the character continues in the same vein
All said and done these two are the best...
sounds like the kind of thing BAIN would say. definitely not mev though. i noticed the quoting is not working very well recently so may be the site has a glitch.
Shame the mass media in general do not. I mean I hear them mentioning Fleming's Bond to Craig in interviews without mentioning Dalton. Come to think of it, I notice less talk of past Bond actors when journalists talk about Craig. I hardly heard Connery mentioned which did surprise me.
To me Craig's Bond is a Connery/Dalton composite with the Bourne influence in action. Yes, Craig has his own style and is a highly intellgent actor who does not play the role for his own vanity. I feel you can have a high level Bond discussion with Craig without talking about gadgets, girls and guns. Bond the character is the survival of the series and not the technology or superficialities.
People also forget that Craig is the first actor to not do the veteran Bond from the outset but slowly become that. It is much harder to be Bond from the outset. So credit to Dalton for giving such a rich multi-dimensional performance in just two films.
And the reason for me that Craig was easier to accept as Bond is because he respected Fleming's Bond and did not necessarily see the glamour of the role as the attraction. And being a Dalton fan, I understood him.
Celebrating Timothy Dalton's James Bond
Timothy Dalton may have only two Bond movies to his name, but he was, Mark argues, the quintessential secret agent…
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/james-bond/23192/celebrating-timothy-dalton’s-james-bond
I am over the moon at how much praise he is getting over the media in the recent months. I was going to quote an excerpt from this particular article, but really the whole thing is just too amazing to pick a single thing. Even the comments.
Edited to add: this was posted barely 1 day ago.