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No I get what he wants, but what’s his scheme with the virus I don’t really get that
It was my first time seeing this.
Visually absolutely stunning. Incredibly well remastered in 4K.
I am amazed how much Bond is in this film. It may be a so called spoof but there's so much to discover.
As I love 60s cinema this film is a real treat for me. Many of the actors having big parts in this film are actually favorites of mine.
Deborah Kerr
Peter Sellers
David Niven
Jacqueline Bisset....to name a few.
And then all the past and future Bond actors!!
I'm almost ashamed to say that I haven't heard of this film before. Peter Sellers is a favorite of mine and A Shot in the Dark and The Party belong to my beloved favorites.
I learned from @Birdleson (amongst many things) that this had a bigger budget than YOLT and boy you see it on screen.
For me the many single segments of the film create an overall collage or mosaic that is very beautiful and nice to look at therefore.
The film may not be as funny as it probably should be but it's mesmerizing and fascinating and it created a few laugh out loud moments after all for me.
I have to give it to Sellers to be a quite suave James Bond, in a nerd-y kind of way.
His scenes with Ursula, playing Vesper, are many and a great joy to watch.
As a huge fan of Pink Panther it was pure joy to see Sellers and Niven again in the same film.
The score and the music in general are brilliant. Dusty Springfield happens to be, probably, my favorite singer and I knew The Look Of Love but never realized it's from a movie.
This film reinforces my believe that nothing beyond the 70s is worth watching really with only a very few exceptions. Bond excluded in that statement, naturally.
Glad you enjoyed it. I love most of the film myself. Have you seen Never Say Never Again yet?
I've got these to watch in my second Bondathon: LALD, NSNA, TLD, GE, TND, SF, SP
I had seen all of EoN's films in Spring/early summer 2017 for the first time. NSNA as well.
CR67 I only discovered yesterday. CR54 I've yet to see (and get).
I can sympathise with that. I think I'm putting TB at #4 on my list now.
I think it's Connery's best performance. Just consummate class and confidence and the ability to depict emotions well without going overboard. Not to mention Largo is a superior villain, Domino's a pretty good Bond girl and the stakes are very well established. I also underestimated Barry's input in this one.
Shame there's some editing black spots and I do agree somewhat with the critique of the excessive underwater scenes. The ones late in the film are fine but some of the middle ones drag a bit. Anything above water is pure excellence though, and there's some great cinematography above and below water.
I love him to bits in DAF. I don't mind him being older there. We can't look like young athletes all our lives.
Connery's charisma and screen presence has never left him. Not in DAF not in NSNA.
If I'm forced to choose, then I would have to say TB. The scenes when he is on the roof at Largo's estate for instance, it reminds me of my favorite film character of all time, John Robie.
Sean has comedic talent and timing that is almost unparalleled. That may not be too evident in TB maybe, but watch DAF for instance or GF.
I've come this far, which is not very far really, only seen the films twice (not even all of them) some three times.
Connery is unmatched to this day. I was thinking about Craig after CR, that he is close to Connery but in the end....not really. Connery shined in four consecutive films. Craig in but one.
Still, love them all. Each has had at least one very good film. We are so lucky really with this series!
Spectre
This is painful for me to say, but I think tonight was my worst viewing of Spectre thus far. When I first saw the film at the theater, it ranked as my #9 Bond film, and it has basically steadily declined since that time. I have very mixed feelings about SP as of today.
There are several minor problems, but two major ones that hurt it for me more than anything else: the lack of energy/suspense that was strong in Craig's first 3 (it all felt too easy!), and a very disappointing third act (sooo uninspired and predictable). Had these two things been fixed, the film would be a LOT stronger. Several of the minor problems (but I'm sure I'm forgetting some): a really dull car chase in Rome (should have been a highlight, but it's so meh), making Silva a SPECTRE agent (didn't mind Quantum being SPECTRE though), making Blofeld Bond's foster brother (qualifies as a major problem for many viewers, but to me it's just a dumb subplot that should have been dropped; didn't ruin the movie for me though), using too much of M/Q/Moneypenny, Tanner (really just a useless character in general), and inconsistent tone (blending Craig's darker era with the lightheartedness of the old ones doesn't always mesh well). The flaws of the film stood out to me more than ever tonight, and I'm ready to accept this will likely end up being closer to, if not, a bottom-tier Bond film for me now.
..that being said, I refuse to join the camp that say this film is a complete loss. There are genuinely really good things in SP still. What I really liked: PTS (actually don't love it as much as I used to, but I still do think it's a solid opener), settings, train fight (maybe my favorite fight scene of the Craig era; hard to say for sure, but it's a definite highlight), Mr. White's return (the best call-back to Craig's earlier films, by far; his character arc was completed in a satisfying way), the SPECTRE meeting, and the cast. Not all the acting is always great (Craig has a couple iffy moments, and Waltz's Blofeld leaves much to be desired), but I really believe that's more of a script problem. They chose good actors for the characters in this film, but the characters weren't always utilized in the best possible ways.
SP is really an up-and-down experience for me. I think this Bondathon is going to cement it as my least favorite of Craig's era (for the moment of course), but like I mentioned, it's not a total loss for me. I like a fair amount of things in the film, but it doesn't come together as well as it could have. Had they gone with the idea of making it a two-parter, it probably would have worked out a lot better - at least story-wise. Too much is bland and by-the-numbers. Sam Mendes wasn't joking when he said he felt like he did everything he could with SF, because SP plays it safe too much, and ends up as a very uneven Bond film. It could have been far better, but, it also could be worse.
2018 Bondathon Ranking
1. Spectre
Am always willing to give another chance to a Bond movie i am not particularly fond of, and yes, TSWLM fits into this camp. Revered as classic Bond and Rogers favourite, it doesn' t appeal to me! I recently voted it down in the best PTS thread and got attacked for it and i stand by my opinion. It has one of the best stunt sequences in the series in the ski jump, but the rest of its opener is tedious! And tedious is a word for the film itself. Everything is so slow in it, even the fight scenes!! Curt Jurgens, a fine actor delivers his lines like he' s reading a bedtime story. Barbara Bach, though easy on the eye, gives a speaking clock performance. Lewis Gilbert drags things along, the action is very ordinary, which is a surprise considering John Glen is involved, the final section, battles etc are too drawn out and that bomb diffusing scene grinds the film to a halt! Roger is great and looks terrific,
especially in the navy uniform but i would much rather watch any of his other Bond films!
It was meant to be bigger is better after TMWTGGs poor reception but i dont think it succeeded. Spy, as well as GE, were, for me, the Emperors New Clothes of the franchise. Everyone went along with the declaration they were highlights and they were "classics" but they are both weak entries in my opinion!
Same, and I guess it means I really don't like it, despite not having it at rock bottom.
It's very well done. You get glimpses of the OHMSS equivalent but he's never as overtly frightened as Lazenby is, and I prefer it that way.
I also just like the way he carries himself in TB. His interactions with Domino, Largo, Volpe, everyone really, are top-notch. Shame YOLT is such a considerable downgrade. Given the various other factors they got right, I wonder how highly I'd think of it if Connery was at his best.
I view TB as the moment where Bond is confronted by SPECTRE since the last time he really saw the organization's "face," and he's made it his mission not to be duped by them any more now that both No and Grant spilled their beans about the group through their own arrogance moments before death. So when Bond sees Largo at the tables with his ring, he instantly begins mocking him and his organization in a shockingly bold way, just as he does later with Fiona. It's thrilling to see Bond so ballsy, showing his hand to an enemy that, as far as he's concerned, has already revealed their cards to him before the game has even been played.
It's perhaps not the smartest thing for Bond to out himself as an agent so quickly, but he must be assured that sooner than later Largo and co. will recognize him for who he is (the killer of Dr. No and Grant, for one) and set their sights on him. Being the gentleman that he is, Bond paints the target on his back in his own ink and kicks off a film where the enemy and hero both know what game they're playing and subtlety manipulate each other to meet their own ends.
Didnt get to watch it at Christmas. But i just watched Becoming Bond today, so i had to put it on.
Still marvellous. I smiled as i saw Lazenbys gunbarrel pose as according to that documentary, he deliberately did it different to Connery, going down on one knee, even though Director Hunt didnt want him to. Stunning pts. Love how he's introduced gradually. Great beach fight. Barrys brilliant theme over the titles and his music in general. I have a renewed respect for Lazenbys performance. A little stiff at times, he still is impressive in many scenes, confronting Tracy after the hotel fight, his scene with Draco, his 'resignation' ( in fact all his scenes with M are excellent and he has great rapport with Lois Maxwells Moneypenny)
Director Peter Hunt does sterling work. Stylish and a good storyteller. Diana Rigg and Telly Savalas excellent, particularly their scene together just before the attack by Bond and Dracos squad.I really like the Angels of Death. They're amusing. Action sequences are some of the best they have ever staged. Exemplary ski stunts, the stock car chase is thrilling and the final bobsled chase is one of my favourites!
Brave of Hunt to fight for THAT ending. It could only finish that way.
All in all another excellent viewing! Each time its like watching it for the first time. My favourite Bond movie it continues to be!
Agreed on all counts. The film has Fiona Volpe even talking about how they can't kill off Bond too quickly; presumably Bond knows that as well.
I also loved the way he decorated his enemies' bodies after knocking them out/killing them in this one. :D
Then I switched to Goldfinger. Good decision.
Excellent choice.
I hate that it's five plus years and I still gripe about this, but the lack of an acceptable gunbarrel for a blurry shot of Bond in the corridor just doesn't cut it, IMO.
Often I can pop in any random Bond PTS and the gunbarrel itself will get me in the Bond mood and I'll end up watching the whole film. That never happens with the Craig era Bonds for me.
What's funny is that the CR gunbarrel segueing into the titles reminds me of DN a bit, so I tend to give it a pass.
I really should be put in the mood with the SP gunbarrel and PTS, I just don't find it to flow very smooth. By the time we get to Rome I'm in the mood for another Bond film. Two years on and SP is still my least watched film in the series.
And you're right about Fiona, she's by far the best agent of the film on the enemy side and one of the best of SPECTRE we've ever seen. She's smart to control Largo and not allow him to blow their plans and alert the Brits by killing Bond in his rage. I love that she slaps Largo on the wrists and says, "I'll take care of this." I further love that she uses a page out of Bond's playbook and sleeps with him to distract him and give her men time to get to the hotel and ambush him, much like Bond did with Miss Taro in DN while stalling for the police. Fiona gets so close to ending Bond, closer than most of his enemies ever have.
Yes, the story and characters are very nuanced in a way that I can't say for most other Bond movies. It's also darker and harder-edged than the prior Bond films, with Terrence Young's distinct style that we see in DN and FRWL but he's clearly taken a page out of what Guy Hamilton's produced in GF.
From the original Tomorrow Never Lies draft.