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Comments
YOLT is a movie with great ambience.
It draaaaags soooo much for me...
It is not proper local culture though. It is pure cliché!
I'm not familiar with Japanese culture, so that might be true for all I know!
@Revelator
So do I. And I honestly think SP has a few of those.
Bond's journey to Blofeld's hideout in OHMSS is another beautiful example of that.
Perhaps my favourite example is Bond and Melina's visit to the local Greek market place, taking their time to watch people dance, to eat some fruit, and then to go to that beautiful little monument. After Ferrara's death, it's a quiet but much deserved moment.
Treated myself to a rewatch of TMWTGG yesterday, and it didn't fail to entertain. Always had a soft spot for this one, as it was the first Bond film I watched. Roger – his charming self, carries this entry wonderfully from start to finish, with Christopher Lee and Maud Adams delivering good performances as well. Always found Maud Adams to be THE Bond girl of the Moore era, as they were such a good match in both this film and OP. The same can't be said of Britt Ekland unfortunately. It annoys me how her Swedish accent is so noticeable in certain places, and her performance is wooden at best. Still, there's a lot to like about this one for me. It always is.
Diamonds Are Forever
Didn't want the fun to end with only watching TMWTGG, so I put on DAF late last night, finishing it this morning (morning viewings of Bond films will be repeated at some point!). Having a soft spot for TMWTGG, I absolutely LOVE DAF. It never stops surprising me how I almost seem to like this film even more with each viewing. Connery and Charles Gray are brilliant in their scenes together, there's brilliantly entertaining dialogue throughout, and the 120 minutes running time goes by so, so fast.
As a controversial opinion, I'm very likely to place DAF safely inside my top ten this time around. Bond films should be entertaining more than anything, and DAF never fails to deliver.
Updated ranking after these two films:
1. Thunderball
2. Live and Let Die/Diamonds Are Forever*
4. The Man with the Golden Gun
5. You Only Live Twice
*I'm undecided which film I should rank the highest right now. Will most likely have to watch them again before deciding.
Shocking. Positively shocking.
I've got to try this sometime. I think LALD/TMWTGG would make for a superb double bill too.
Well, what can I say; I decide my rankings according to how entertained I am, and how likely I am to rewatch the film of choosing anytime soon. DAF have always been a go-to film for me, so I see no reason to keep it out of my top ten any longer (even how controversial that may be!). There are several Bond films I find much more difficult to pick out of the shelf and put on.
I can't actually remember how much I liked DAF when I was younger. The fact that the film never bores me, and gets more entertaining the older I get, is quite interesting. It might also be a reaction to the current era – and particularly the latter films, that make me appreciate the lighthearted films even more.
Did the LALD/TMWTGG double bill some years ago. It was really fun!
What I find very enticing about these later Hamilton films is the fantastical elements in them. They are almost whimsical in nature to a degree, despite not being overly elaborate like the Gilbert entries. They exist in a hyper stylized reality. It's in the characters and the humour. I'm noticing that more and more these days as I revisit them.
LALD was a priority for me too when getting around to watching the Bond films again, along with TB. Continuing with TMWTGG and DAF was unintentional, but sort of makes sense, now that you mention it. They do have some fantastical and entertaining elements that perhaps make me enjoy them so much.
That's a good point, and one I've never thought about. It's also interesting how these films being fantastical and lighthearted is in contrast to how I see cinema of that period – when a lot of films were very dark and violent (like The French Connection, Get Carter, Dirty Harry etc.) Star Wars probably changed things a bit in the latter half of the decade, though.
EDIT: Come to think of it, the voodoo aspects of LALD play into that horror thing too. It could explain why it was a monster hit, apart from introducing a new Bond.
Good point re. Jaws. Didn't think of that film!
The voodoo aspect could certainly have been a factor to LALD's popularity. It also separated it from the previous films, with it's supernatural elements – also tapping into blaxploitation area. TMWTGG had the martial arts element, so it's obvious that the Bond films of the early 70's (and later on) explored the genres that were popular at the time, while remaining inside the Bond formula. Quite clever actually!
Some say clever... others say tacky... ;)
Well, yeah, you could say that too! Don't bother me one bit though.
TSWLM is another top ten film for me, ranking second on the list of Bond films I've seen so far this month:
1. Thunderball
2.The Spy Who Loved Me
3. Live and Let Die/Diamonds Are Forever
5. The Man with the Golden Gun
6. You Only Live Twice
If she doesn't, divorce her.
Or put her to sleep...
She has great taste!
That's why she's now an "ex" girlfriend.