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Continuing on with my Fleming inspired Bondathon...
Both Dr No and From Russia With Love have an air of seduction, of danger. They feel fresh and new, despite being over 50 years old. Which is why I can watch them and never get bored.
Dr No is a bloody marvelous film, which belies it's modest budget of $1 million, thanks largely to the contributions from Young, Moore and Adam. It feels and looks like a much bigger, expensive film, reflecting Cubby's and Harry's determination to put every penny up on the screen.
With a towering performance by Sean Connery; a great ensemble performances from each of the main cast; the visual flair provided by Terence Young's stylish direction; Ken Adam's futuristic sets and Ted Moore's exotic and sumptuous photography, Dr No was a breath of fresh air when it was released. Dr No introduced a new type of anti-hero, and enthusiastic fans clamoured for more; little did Ian Fleming know they would be clamouring for 007 over half a century later. Although lacking the flair and polish of latter efforts, there is great attention to detail to Dr No.
Take this scene -
M is briefing 007, on his upcoming mission. Realising that he's run out off matches, M stands up, ignoring the lighter that Bond has proffered, and picks up a new box of matches from the mantelpiece, and proceeds to light his pipe.
It is a small thing, but one which reminds the audience how the film-makers cared for this movie. For the readers off the Bond novels, it's gratifying to see this; M was always running out off matches when he had a “bee in his bonnet”.
Worst Bit – Brushing the musical score under the carpet for the moment, probably the countdown to the American's rocket launch.
Best Bit – Sean Connery's performance. I particularly like how much of a bastard he is – see his interactions with Pleydell-Smith and the Police Commissionaire - “I got the impression that someone was selling tickets”; when Bond and said commissionaire are walking round Strangway's apartment - “and it will stay dead”; roughly grabbing Honey by the hand when the machine gun boat is approaching and “Fetch my shoes”. This is a Bond that tolerates no fools. Very dominating. Very decisive. Very alpha male.
Royale's Ranking
From Russia With Love – 10/10
Casino Royale – 9.5
Dr. No – 9.5
Live and Let Die – 7.5
Moonraker - 7
Diamonds Are Forever - 7
Die Another Day - 7
CR
LALD
MR
DAD
DAF
FRWL
DN
GF
AVTAK
FYEO
QoS
GE
LTK
SP
OP
TLD
TSWLM
TND
TB
OHMSS
YOLT
TMWTGG
TWINE
SF
Dr No is No.1 in my book! \m/
Great to read your thoughts.
@Birdleson, I expect LALD to slip down somewhat. And don't worry about Goldfinger, as I love it too.
Connery makes me want to fist the air in celebration of his pure machismo, charisma and self confidence. He has a sense of sophistication, charm and danger that is unchallenged not only amongt the other 5 Bond's, but in Hollywood as a whole. During the entire film, not one character dares to cut him off mid sentence, nobody questions his orders. Wonderful use of an exotic locai, this film alongside TB and YOLT are the perfect Bond films to give you warmth on a cold, rainy day.
Enjoyed it very much. Strange.
After this viewing, you can count me as a QUANTUM fan.
I can't believe I ever had this film in my bottom five. It's exhilarating, it's visceral. It's got a soul (unlike SPECTRE), the action is inspired and palpable, and Craig is bloody awesome.
It's a rough diamond; there are some bits I would excise (the dog fight and parachute scene, some unecessary plot strands) but just about everything else is great stuff (the Tosca scene is especially glorious).
The film looks gorgeous, too. And kudos to Arnold for the only Bond score between 1995-2015 that is actually quite good.
Bondathon 2016 ranking-
OCTOPUSSY/THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
QUANTUM OF SOLACE
LIVE AND LET DIE
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
DR. NO
GOLDENEYE
Wow. I even liked it a little more than LALD.
In all seriousness, it really is a fantastic film. It probably is the biggest rise in my estimation a Bond film has made.
Have to agree it shows you how lacklustre and dull SPECTRE's car chase is. QOS PTS is a corker, Craig's era has been blessed with great PTS's.
This is indeed the way to do a car chase brief it maybe but utterly visceral and thrilling and the way Forster opens the film with the tracking shot across the lake garda straight into the action is genius.
Been several months since I last saw this in the cinema, and I enjoyed it just as much. I really like this film. It just works for me. I've enjoyed CR and most of SF, but I do feel the latter is sometimes overpraised. Personally I find SP to be the better film. But that's a matter of opinion.
Daniel Craig feels very at home in the role now, and in SP it's almost like they're (EON) are going back to the films of old for inspiration. I love the PTS. It's visually stunning with some excellent stunt work. The Blofeld reveal is hardly surprising and the foster brother angle just doesn't work. But I can overlook that. Christoph Waltz is a wonderful actor who is just slightly underused. But a memorable villain none the less. I hope he returns for Bond 25.
Lea Seydoux is not only attractive, but can also act. One of the better leading ladies of the series, and it's nice to have a Craig Bond film end on a high.
I know it's been used to death, and it probably will make an appearance again. But I love the end of Spectre. Bond gets the girl, the Bond them is blaring out and we see them drive off in the DB5. It's so Bondian. Leaves a massive smile on my face every time.
Looking forward to watching it a few more times shortly. Love going through the latest film a lot when it first comes out. Finding new things. Part of the joy of being a Bond fan.
In my opinion this is Craig's second best after CR, but could vie for equal top spot.
If it is to be Daniel Craig's last Bond film, then he's going out on a high.
Ok the battle with the small one man sub could have been removed but I never disliked it.
A very good outing, a total blast from start to finish. I'd rank it about #7 or #8. It does fell apart a bit during the London climax, but what comes before is pure Bondian fun. Bring on Bond 25!
Another fan :-h \m/ =D>
glad more people are liking this film it's top 10 for me
Thunderball is the next film I will be watching on sunday though honestly I am still on the fence about Casino Royale 67.... I have 2 weeks to decide if I will watch it Saturday the 26th or if I will skip it and go straight to You Only Live Twice.
Continuing on with my Fleming inspired Bondathon...
We reach the end of the Golden Trio of Bond films with Goldfinger, the other two being From Russia With Love and Dr. No. It makes sense for this portion of the Bondathon to be concluded with Goldfinger;
a) Starting with Diamonds Are Forever, and progressing to the Golden Trio, I've watched four Sean Connery pictures, with Diamonds Are Forever and Goldfinger the more overt of the foursome, sandwiching the relatively serious pairing of From Russia With Love and Dr No. Also it was nice to start of with and wind up my little Seannry marathon with Diamonds Are Forever and Goldfinger – you have the same crew on both films, and Diamonds Are Forever was trying to recapture that Goldfinger charm. Still I found it disconcerting to have the relative simplicity of Dr No then move to Goldfinger, however.
b) Moreover Goldfinger serves as a bridge to the next portion of my Bondathon, with the For Your Eyes Only anthology what with it's varying degrees of success at riffing off the Goldfinger template, especially A View To A Kill.
While Goldfinger may represent an artistic turning point for the series - of the first four Connery films this is my least favourite. Why? Compared to its brothers it lacks that slightly callous and hard edge. Then again it hits a sublime balance between the world of Fleming and the cinematic Bond. The tone of Goldfinger is more stylised than the Terence Young's films that bookend it - the filmic Goldfinger took its cue from Fleming's novel which, for me at least, is his most laid back and expansive. In the novel we get an iconic set of characters brought straight to the screen, not to mention Bond's first spy car and an extra emphasis on the hardware. Of course the way the film utilises these is really the difference between the cinematic and literary Bond's, but the spirit of Fleming's writing is retained, even if the context has been altered.
Still, Goldfinger has just the right proportions of escapism, coolness, sexiness, danger, tension, romance and espionage. In short, Goldfinger is one of the most perfectly balanced films in the canon; we get a superb Bond/M exchange; golden roles fleshed out by some great casting and Barry and Adam get into their stride. I adore the 60’s Bond movies because of these two geniuses. I can't say enough about Sean Connery's performance as 007 who is in magnificent form. Every line, every movement is perfect. In Goldfinger, Connery is really a pleasure to watch.
Luckily I wasn't afflicted with the most serious of diseases, "Goldfinger fatigue", which is brought about seeing Goldfinger too many times on TV, or on ones home entertainment system, where by one is overdosing on the film. I had it in the past. But recently I've been recovering. I always appreciated Goldfinger for its iconography, and what it has done for the series, but I've come to appreciate the film itself, again.
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.
Worst Bit – The dialogue from the “Hood's Convention”. Just awful. I'm glad they were gassed.
Best Best – Sean Connery's epic performance.
Ken Adam Watch – Ah dear Ken. One has got the Rumpus Room, the “Cathedral of Gold”, the Bank of England Dinner Room, The Laser Room etc. He's quite good isn't he....
Royale's Ranking
From Russia With Love – 10/10
Casino Royale – 9.5
Dr. No – 9.5
Goldfinger - 9
Live and Let Die – 7.5
Moonraker - 7
Diamonds Are Forever - 7
Die Another Day - 7
CR
LALD
MR
DAD
DAF
FRWL
DN
GF
AVTAK
FYEO
QoS
GE
LTK
SP
OP
TLD
TSWLM
TND
TB
OHMSS
YOLT
TMWTGG
TWINE
SF
=D>
@chrisisall
What on Earth makes you think he liked it :))
Bro, not counting CR, SPECTRE is the BEST Bond film since the Dalton years! =P~
Thank you my good sir
Uh.... Moonraker, not one of my favourites. But I will say that 'Flight Into Space' is one of the most awe inspiring tracks of any Bond film.
Random Bond Viewing 2016 (in order of viewing):
January:
1. You Only Live Twice
2. For Your Eyes Only
3. Tomorrow Never Dies
4. The Living Daylights
February:
5. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
6. From Russia With Love
7. Spectre
8. Octopussy
9. Diamonds Are Forever
March:
10. Quantum Of Solace
11. Goldfinger
12. Moonraker