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^^ Makes me miss Luds even more.
There was a Bond Festival showing at one of our movie festival houses recently. The joys of living downtown means we enjoyed a summer evening walk there and back each night for a Bond double bill. The joys of festival cinemas means that we enjoyed beer and wine in the lobby between shows. :)
It was pretty amazing. 17 films (18 showings - OHMSS twice) in 12 days for $100 each. We could have seen a few others twice and we skipped NSNA and SF on purpose. Missed CR because it was playing on a night we had other plans. Still a good deal.
That really does sound like a tremendous deal. If something that was offered in this neck o' the woods, I'd be all over it like a duck on a junebug. Alas, I suppose I shall leave this world never having seen the majority of the Bonds on the silver screen.
When I asked them why a couple were not shown, they said they couldn't get permission. So it's clear that most are relatively easy to get.
Sadly, for fans who don't spend time on the internet, the Bondathon was poorly marketed and only a few showings had a semi-full house. There were some where only 20 people were present. And a few where there were fewer than 20.
I was happy to see that OHMSS was one that had a fuller house.
I found out about because a page I follow on facebook linked to it. That was the only time I'd seen an ad for it. And that was two weeks prior to it starting. So strange.
Talk to your local cinemas and see what they can do.
I sure like more TLD, but LTK has great qualities: Dalton's acting, Sanchez, the whole story of Bond infiltrating his organization, Dario is one of the greatest henchmen. It sure has some stupid things (the X-ray on the President's photo, the winking fish) and some not so good things (specially Hedison's awful acting).
From "So does England!" to "Keeping the British end up, sir", this was a pure, unadulterated joy. Sure it’s too implausible at times, but it also has a fair bit of introspection that balances out the fantasy. Moore establishes his legend in this film; not just in terms of his Bondian performance but also his stature as a leading man.
Binder, Hamlisch, Glen, Renoir and Simon go some way to making this a wonderful escapade, but the big two crew members that make this such a brilliant film, are Gilbert, whose direction is brisk and stylish, and Adam; the latter is a master of his craft. Simply stunning. Spy has one of my small, but favourite moments; it occurs when Bond is in Cairo, he is silhouetted against the sky, with a minaret behind him, with a superb cue from Hamlisch. Absolutely wonderful.
After the drab trio of films directed by Guy Hamilton, Spy is a breath of fresh air, that embraced being a Bond movie, instead of playing it safe with overt, predicable humour, and latching on to whatever current cinematic trends that were in this year. It recalls such classics as Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice, the definitive Bond films, the ones that has seeped into the public consciousness. Sure, superficially, it has some resemblance to Twice, but the dynamics of the film, especially the Bond/Anya are completely different.
Top notch!
It's my favorite of the big, fantasy Bond's, for sure
It has been months since I watched Bond. The last was SF, saw it twice in the cinema with my son, his first on the big screen. When I purchased it on bluray, he saw it another four or five times in as many days. And what an excellent film it is, could easily be the best yet.
and it's just about over now, as Bond and Romanova sail down the Venice canals as Matt Monro sings it out
And that's how Bond should be. No thrills or outlandish nonsense, just Bond being sensible and one of only four releases (others being Dr No, TLD and LTK) where the actor truly epitomizes how James Bond should be. Possibly the closest you'll come to how fleming truly envisaged his character to be. Connery at his absolute best
:)>-
I popped it on with the intent of only watching the first 15 minutes - but ended up watching the whole thing. TLD is a very good Bond movie with a ton of great elements. Dalton as Bond, Kara, a twisty-turny plot, some great action set-pieces (in particular that cargo net fight, what a fantastic scene) and a great score. I actually don't mind the Koskov/Whittaker duo, either. Sure, they're not the best of villains, but I think they hold their own. Necros on the other hand, is one of the series' best henchman.
The only really more-than-minor quibbles I have are: the Aston using the garage as cover (a pretty dumb scene, considering the rest of it was good) and good old John Terry as Felix (thankfully, he doesn't get too much screen-time).
A top ten entry, for sure.
8/10
I simply adore this movie. It's so brilliantly acted by Craig, Green, Dench, Mikkelsen and Giannini. The action is exciting, the story is great (how couldn't if it comes from Fleming?), the music has a good mixture of the title song, new themes (Vesper) and subtle renditions of the Bond theme.
In the past I have complainted a little about the lack of sophistication in Bond. But I began to realize this is a 2006 movie, not the 1953 book. So, even if Fleming's James Bond is not entirely snobbish, much of his behavior - if the portrayal was exactly as the book - would be read as that by contemporary audience.
Something new I noticed is the coherent script it has, having references to lines previously said in the movie. I specially liked when Bond talks about the 'big picture' when tortured by Le Chiffre, which was been utter by M, 'hardly the big picture, wouldn't you say?'.
Again, I talk about the acting but more than that what's impressive are the relationships or chemistry between characters, so wonderfully played: Bond-Vesper, Bond-M (and her screen time is balanced), Bond-Mathis, Bond-Le Chiffre.
This is one of the crown jewels of the Bond franchise...
Hadn't watched it in over five months but my enjoyment of it hasn't diminished. The first act is a little slow and could have done with a big set piece in Shanghai but certainly once Silva makes his entrance, the film moves up the gears and doesn't ever stop until the climax, which along with LTK and TSWLM may be my favourite third act of any Bond.
I wonder if there is another Bond film which polarizes opinion as much as this one.
Certainly. Chief among this forum are films like GF, QoS, and OHMSS, which have brought about rather intense debates. But I think any film, no matter how polarizing it is, is discussed for its first and second half to determine if it keeps us glued till the end. I think it is natural to debate that in every film, as one of the goals of a film is to keep the viewer interested in what is happening from the beginning shot to when the credits roll.
For me, the casino sequence, the Shanghai fight and Severine's death on Silva's island make the first half a clear cut above. The second half is fine, but the first is brilliant.
Well, it's been almost a month since I last posted on thread.
Anyway, Golden Gun, is one of my least favourite Bonds to pop in the DVD player, but as always, it impressed me. Golden Gun is really a straight laced film, apart from the middle third, from when Hip picks Bond up, schoolgirls in tow, and when Pepper makes his last, cringe inducing appearance, where by the movie is almost a slapstick comedy. The first and final thirds go in some way for making up for this humourless bit of the film.
When watching Golden Gun, I was struck by Moore's performance; I watched GG after Spy, and I don't think there's ever been such a steep quality drop, in terms of Bond's performance. It's not that I think Moore is bad here per se, but he defiantly improves by Spy. Some things that I did enjoy about Moore's performance were his nasty side to his persona, and the terser interpretation that Moore's gives Bond; it's almost as he is being haunted by the spectre of Scaramagna.
What with Moore's evolving portrayal, Chris Lee's legendary, and Maud Adams troubled
performances, there is more that meets the eye with GG. Coupled with Oswald Morris and Ted Moore's stunning cinematography this is a decent, fun outing for Mr Bond, and saves it from being last in my Bond rankings.
As popular opinion seems to be, most people find this Bond movie to be heavily flawed and unforgiveable in its campy, cartoon-loaded humor. While I cannot say that those opinions are false (because they're not), I can say that they typically don't affect my level of enjoyment with the movie as a whole! There are some scenes that I wish were taken out, such as the lame circus stuff and the pitiful moon buggy chase, and there are still some scenes that I wish had been greatly modified, such as the disappointing oil rig climax, but all in all, I don't hate this one as most fans do. Did it follow up well in response to the ending of OHMSS? Not entirely, no. Should Bond have been given a worthy showdown with his arch-nemesis that didn't involve slamming him around using a crane? Absolutely. However, it is what it is, and I can find a lot of enjoyment out of our 1971 Bond outing, particularly in the exceptionally sharp dialogue, the nifty locations and set pieces, the soundtrack, and many of the colorful characters, such as Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd. I used to have DAF in my top three, then my top five, but I'm not so sure it belongs there anymore. Its entertaining qualities don't make up for the fact that it is pretty corny, and for a Bond movie, that's not a quality to boast about. Still though, I always have a soft spot for this one!
Current Bondathon Movie Ranking
1. GoldenEye
2. License to Kill
3. SkyFall
4. A View to a Kill
5. Tomorrow Never Dies
6. Live and Let Die
7. Octopussy
8. The Living Daylights
9. The Spy Who Loved Me
10. From Russia with Love
11. Thunderball
12. Dr. No
13. The World is not Enough
14. The Man with the Golden Gun
15. Diamonds Are Forever
16. Casino Royale
17. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
18. Quantum of Solace
19. You Only Live Twice
20. Moonraker
DN looks almost as good on ultimate as it does on blu though.
I love this film. The young Sean and everthing else. The perfect casting of No, Honey, Quarrel. These early films reek authentic Bond. They were the originals after all.
I think I am launching another classic era Bondathon, even without the blu-ray player.