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Favourite Bond book vs. Favourite Bond movie...

chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
edited August 2013 in General Discussion Posts: 17,835
...which do you prefer?

For me-
Book- Moonraker (so serious, so quintessential early non-broader-appeal-focused Bond).
Movie- The Living Daylights (Dalton nailed it better than even Connery could, from a literary standpoint IMO).

TLD wins. The movie is a near religious experience for me, espionagically speaking. The seriousness of the novel MR mixed with a bit of the outlandish cinematic escapades of previous films.

I guess this divides the literary folk from the cinematic folk, but there might be some surprises... :-?

Comments

  • StirredNotShakenStirredNotShaken Toronto
    Posts: 2,402
    Book - FRWL
    Film - Casino Royale

    I say Casino Royale wins. One of the best movies ever vs. The best book ever. But I prefer films over books.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,271
    I can't decide. They're two different media; it's like comparing your favourite meal to your favourite song. ;-)
  • WillyGaloreWillyGalore
    Posts: 6,396
    DarthDimi wrote:
    I can't decide. They're two different media; it's like comparing your favourite meal to your favourite song. ;-)

    But music be the food of love! ;-)
  • thelivingroyalethelivingroyale
    Posts: 12,837
    Book- YOLT
    Film- LTK

    They're both similar in a way because both have the theme of revenge but I think LTK wins. I like Fleming's Bond but I prefer the films overall and I think the best Bond films are the movies that blur the line between film Bond and book Bond.

    LTK does this brilliantly. It mixes film Bond and Fleming's character perfectly then dumps them into a brilliant little 80s action flick with a fantastic villain, brilliant action and a good story that has themes of revenge and loyalty and which pushes the character past his breaking point, turning him into a pissed off rogue agent.

    Fleming hinted at this before. You got the sense that Bond was on the edge but he never went rogue. Even in YOLT when he was out for revenge, Tanaka had sent him to kill Blofeld anyway. LTK had the balls to go that step further and it did it brilliantly.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    thelivingroyale wrote:
    I think the best Bond films are the movies that blur the line between film Bond and book Bond.
    Fleming hinted at this before. You got the sense that Bond was on the edge but he never went rogue.
    LTK had the balls to go that step further and it did it brilliantly.
    Yes! Great observation.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    I haven't read all the Fleming books (though I plan to sometime soon), but so far my favorite book and Bond film are both Casino Royale.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    I haven't read all the Fleming books (though I plan to sometime soon), but so far my favorite book and Bond film are both Casino Royale.
    Cool. But which do you prefer?
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    chrisisall wrote:
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    I haven't read all the Fleming books (though I plan to sometime soon), but so far my favorite book and Bond film are both Casino Royale.
    Cool. But which do you prefer?

    Oh boy, that's a hard question to answer. The stuff I love most about the novel are the card game (which Fleming made absolutely thrilling), Bond battling torture, the creeping paranoia on location at the casino, Bond and Mathis's talk of good and evil near the end (one of my favorite literary passages ever), and Bond's actions post Vesper's suicide which are compelling.

    For me, the film brilliantly adapted and updated the source, has one of the best Bond performances we have yet to see, has the best Bond girl in Vesper, one of the best allies in Mathis, the best opening titles and song, the second best scene of the series (Bond meets Vesper), contains great villains and amazing tension, great action, brilliant dialogue, makes a character study of Bond again, and overall was blessed with a stellar cast and crew, including Martin at the helm in the director's chair. I also applaud the film's showcase of Bond and Vesper's relationship and growing love in the film, an infinitely more impressive presentation than found in the novel. You really feel like they are lost in love with each other onscreen, something I didn't really connect to when I read the novel. To be honest, I grew very tired of Vesper's constant whining as the pages thinned, and was slightly relieved when it was over. Literally the only thing I don't like about this film is the action sequence in Venice, because I would have rather seen an adaption of Vesper's death as it appears in the story, which I think is poetically done. Seeing Bond find Vesper dead and his reaction to that would have been masterfully portrayed by Daniel, and it is a real shame we missed out on it for one more action scene, though I do applaud its choreography and presentation onscreen.

    Conclusion:

    For now, I think I have to go with the film version, but I hope to read the novel more and more as time goes on, so I will get back to my feelings on this matter when they are more concrete.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    Conclusion:
    For now, I think I have to go with the film version, but I hope to read the novel more and more as time goes on, so I will get back to my feelings on this matter when they are more concrete.
    Fair enough to say. Thanks for a most well thought out & detailed post!
    =D>
  • TheBondFanTheBondFan
    Posts: 822
    Book: Dr. No
    Film: Goldeneye

    I can't really decide which is better, but I am leaning towards Dr. No, as good as Goldeneye is.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    chrisisall wrote:
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    Conclusion:
    For now, I think I have to go with the film version, but I hope to read the novel more and more as time goes on, so I will get back to my feelings on this matter when they are more concrete.
    Fair enough to say. Thanks for a most well thought out & detailed post!
    =D>

    Thank YOU for an engaging and thought-provoking thread topic!
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    Back in 2013 six people responded. I wonder if bumping this might get some more folk to weigh in on this...
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    FRWL and the film.
    So close to ideal for me, both. The film has a slight edge, though. But both are excellent.

    CR - As much as I enjoy some of the very fine, atmospheric passages in the book, I do prefer the film (especially regarding Vesper's death and consequences).
  • StirredNotShakenStirredNotShaken Toronto
    Posts: 2,402
    OHMSS (book)
    CR (film)

    As much as I think CR is one of the greatest films ever, I think OHMSS is THE best book ever. So I guess OHMSS wins by default? Then again, I do prefer film to literature as a medium... this is awfully complicated.
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    Book: Moonraker
    Film: On Her Majesty's Secret Service

    I'll have to go with the film, OHMSS, for this match up.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited September 2014 Posts: 17,835
    StirredNotShaken wrote: »
    this is awfully complicated.
    But fun to think about, eh?
    I remember OHMSS (book) being particularly great, and reading it made me appreciate the film better, but the film just wasn't quite as perfect as the novel IMHO, as much as they tried to be faithful... but Rigg nailed Tracy!
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited September 2014 Posts: 12,480
    Moonraker book vs. film - I prefer the book by some margin. But then, it is totally different from the film.

    I need to re-read all the stories, but my fav one was and probably will stay FRWL.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    4EverBonded wrote: »
    I need to re-read all the stories
    Me too, lass.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Favorite book is MOONRAKER (just about the perfect Bond tale), which happens to be one of the worst films.
    I read MR well after seeing the film (which I absolutely hated at the time back in '79), and I remember thinking WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?? A few small updates and it would seriously make the best Bond movie EVER!
  • JWESTBROOKJWESTBROOK
    edited September 2014 Posts: 5,745
    My favorite Bond book still holds as Moonraker, and my favorite film is Casino Royale.

    But as a whole, I think the literature of Bond will long remain relevant and exciting as opposed to the quickness of film to date and diminish over time. Moonraker today is just as great as Moonraker was upon release, and will continue to be onward. Yes Bond's opinions and views of the World may appear a stain of history in an otherwise relevant story. I think 'bad guy with a missile' and the current crisis in the Middle East are very similar and relevant themes, as well as the West vs. East battle that's been slowly brewing back into a boil recently.

    To sum it up, any single book will always outlast any single film, and for that, Moonraker wins.














    In my opinion of course, as I feel its now necessary to say in order to prevent any unwarranted reaction.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    Birdleson wrote: »
    It killed me. I went into the theatre with such good will, but after MOONRAKER, I could not get excited about an upcoming Bond film again for over three decades
    Seriously?? I got excited for NSNA, TLD, GE & TND!!!.... we must be near the same age, and I can't imagine going through my thirties & forties not being excited by the prospect of a new Bond film....

  • WalecsWalecs On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    Posts: 3,157
    My favourite movie and book is OHMSS... and I can't really decide whether I prefer the book or the movie.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I didn't even see TOMORROW NEVER DIES in the theatre
    What the... how.... OMG, I feel for you, bro....
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    GF the book or CR the film?

    If I could keep only one of those it would definitely be Goldfinger.
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