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"But I've looked in the cards. I've seen great riches there."
No point in going off half cocked
But which one? I own it (edit:) six times...
the regular single-disc version
the regular steelbook version
last year's Spectre steelbook version
the iTunesExtra version
the Bond50 Collection version
the 2015 James Bond Collection version
decisions...decisions...
Nothing has really changed since my last viewing of it, love it as always. Rog on top form, a great cast, top notch Glen era action and an engaging storyline; what more could you want from a Bond film? Top it off with a Barry score, an exhilarating PTS and the best climax in the series, Octopussy once again proves that it is deserving of a place in my top ten.
MayDay's Summer 2016 Bondathon:-
-Dr. No (1962)
Inside Dr. No
-From Russia with Love (1963)
Inside From Russia with Love
-Goldfinger (1964)
The Making of Goldfinger
-Thunderball (1965)
The Making of Thunderball
-You Only Live Twice (1967)
Inside You Only Live Twice
-On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Inside On Her Majesty's Secret Service
-Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Inside Diamonds Are Forever
-Live and Let Die (1973)
Inside Live and Let Die
-The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Inside The Man with the Golden Gun
-The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Inside The Spy Who Loved Me
-Moonraker (1979)
Inside Moonraker
-For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Inside For Your Eyes Only
-Octopussy (1983)
Inside Octopussy
Rank order-
-THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
-ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
-FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
-FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
-GOLDFINGER
-OCTOPUSSY
-DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
-LIVE AND LET DIE
-MOONRAKER
-THUNDERBALL
-THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
-YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
-DR. NO
May I ask what the climax is in your eyes? Is it the race to defuse the bomb or the final battle in the Monsoon Palace?
I was reminded with this viewing why I used to be such an enthusiastic advocate for this film. Watching it for the first time on my new TV with its new sound system, A View to a Kill once again entertains like it did in the past, with the blaring Duran Duran theme really getting me pumped for the rest of the film to come. With the best duo of villains in the series (the wacky coupling of Zorin and Mayday, who have always remained a firm favourite of mine), some exhilarating action sequences (Paris car chase, Eiffel Tower jump, Golden Gate Bridge fight, the horse steeplechase), one of Barry's best Bond scores and Rog on form despite his age, A View to a Kill is one of the strangest films in the series but that is precisely why I love it (the same reason I love DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, an equally zany entry). Granted, it can be a bit sloppy at times and the cinematography is underwhelming, but I can't help but admire the film. For the time being, it ties with DAF in seventh place in my ranking with perhaps only 3 or 4 films yet to come that could challenge its position.
I was disappointed to see that this film's INSIDE documentary is narrated not by the legendary Patrick Macnee but by some woman called Rosemary Lord. Despite this, the content is superb as always (that last little clip of Macnee being the highlight).
MayDay's Summer 2016 Bondathon:-
-Dr. No (1962)
Inside Dr. No
-From Russia with Love (1963)
Inside From Russia with Love
-Goldfinger (1964)
The Making of Goldfinger
-Thunderball (1965)
The Making of Thunderball
-You Only Live Twice (1967)
Inside You Only Live Twice
-On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Inside On Her Majesty's Secret Service
-Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Inside Diamonds Are Forever
-Live and Let Die (1973)
Inside Live and Let Die
-The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Inside The Man with the Golden Gun
-The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Inside The Spy Who Loved Me
-Moonraker (1979)
Inside Moonraker
-For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Inside For Your Eyes Only
-Octopussy (1983)
Inside Octopussy
-A View to a Kill (1985)
Inside A View to a Kill
Rank order-
-THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
-ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
-FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
-FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
-GOLDFINGER
-OCTOPUSSY
-DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER/ A VIEW TO A KILL
-LIVE AND LET DIE
-MOONRAKER
-THUNDERBALL
-THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
-YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
-DR. NO
Brilliant as usual. Sometimes because of Lazenby and at other times, in spite of him.
After a five month hiatus, this Bondathon is back in full swing! There has already been a change in last year's rankings. OHMSS claimed the top spot in 2015 but will not retain the title this time around. It's not a poor reflection of the film. There was just one that I happened to loved more this time around.
I've read some comments about the size of Bond's lock picking device compared to the previous film, YOLT. Let's not forget that this also doubles as a copy machine. Furthermore, 007 was not on an officially sanctioned mission at the time, so perhaps he had to use whatever gadget he could get his hands on.
Bond, Blofled, and Sir Hilary Bray all have a large mole on the left side of their face.
Diana Rigg gives one of the best performances of any actor/actress in the entire series. Tracy is a complex character who must convince the audience that she is worthy of being the one that James wants to settle down with. She pulls it off with great aplomb.
I think I will only post each era's rankings individually. That way I can save some surprises for the end. Here are this year's results for the classic, golden era.
2016
1) FRWL
2) OHMSS
3) GF
4) DN
5) TB
6) YOLT
http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/14333/bond-movie-meter-2016#latest
Overwhelmed :)
TLD is a stellar Bond film. An excellent portrayal of Bond in Timothy Dalton, my third favourite Bond actor only behind the legendary duo of Connery and Moore, some of the best action sequences in the series and one of Barry's best scores. I'm going to miss him for the duration of my Bondathon. D'abo makes for a good Bond girl, not one of my favourites, but I think she has good chemistry with Dalton. Her best scene is when she spikes Bond's martini and discovers Koskov's treachery. Speaking of Koskov, the villains are a bit of a mixed bag. Krabbé is suitably slimy as the lead villain, I have no problem's there, but Whitaker makes for an underwhelming villain. His inclusion in the film also makes the plot a little convoluted, so I would have preferred it if his role was written out. Elsewhere, the film moves along at a great pace, only stalling somewhat when the film first moves to Afghanistan, but it soon picks up again with the raid on the Russian airbase. My only other quibbles with the film is the inclusion of Felix Leiter (the scene where Bond is taken to Leiter in Tangier has to be the dullest scene in the series, thanks largely to Terry's depressing "performance") and the final scene with Whitaker (awful).
TLD just misses out on my top five, but sixth position is nothing to be sniffed at (then again, I think my top five are eternal).
The penultimate INSIDE documentary for this film is as informative as ever. I love the story about Barbara Broccoli having to be a nurse on set in Morocco.
MayDay's Summer 2016 Bondathon:-
-Dr. No (1962)
Inside Dr. No
-From Russia with Love (1963)
Inside From Russia with Love
-Goldfinger (1964)
The Making of Goldfinger
-Thunderball (1965)
The Making of Thunderball
-You Only Live Twice (1967)
Inside You Only Live Twice
-On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Inside On Her Majesty's Secret Service
-Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Inside Diamonds Are Forever
-Live and Let Die (1973)
Inside Live and Let Die
-The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Inside The Man with the Golden Gun
-The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Inside The Spy Who Loved Me
-Moonraker (1979)
Inside Moonraker
-For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Inside For Your Eyes Only
-Octopussy (1983)
Inside Octopussy
-A View to a Kill (1985)
Inside A View to a Kill
-The Living Daylights (1987)
Inside The Living Daylights
Rank order-
-THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
-ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
-FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
-FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
-GOLDFINGER
-THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
-OCTOPUSSY
-DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER/ A VIEW TO A KILL
-LIVE AND LET DIE
-MOONRAKER
-THUNDERBALL
-THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
-YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
-DR. NO
nice review and I agree on everything. I also enjoy the film very much and rank it even higher. There is a lot to like and I can easily overlook the silly stuff.
He's good in the scene with Bond outside the house and again when he's confronted by Sanchez's thugs, but his cheesy "Della" line when he comes to in LTK isn't all that convincing to me.
He also gets a weak final scene.
Another fine Dalton entry. This film fluctuates in my ranking, a while back making the top five but in recent viewings rounding out the top ten or even just failing to make the top ten. But I think with this viewing, Licence to Kill entertained enough to make it back into the top ten, joining The Living Daylights just outside of the top five (the Dalton films used to be inseparable in my ranking). There's so much to love in this film. Davi as Sanchez is a particular highlight, and just may well be one of my top three all time favourite Bond villains. Superb performance. I love how he mocks Krest after he recounts the story of Bond making away with the seaplane and money ("like a little bird"). Pam Bouvier is an excellent Bond girl, and I actually think she works better with Dalton's Bond than Kara in the preceding film. The film also boasts some great supporting characters; Krest, Dario (one of the most menacing henchman in the series), Sharkey, Q (I actually like his extended role in this film, the gadget briefing scene notwithstanding) and of course Professor Joe Butcher ("bless your heart!"). What stops this film from really challenging the top five is its overall drab aesthetic. It's easily the worst looking film in series for me. There are a few scenes that grate with me, too, such as the ninja scene and the crap that comes after with the "don't let them take you alive" nonsense. The subplot with the stinger missiles and Heller also unnecessarily convolutes the plot and it doesn't really go anywhere. I also find Kamen's score to be annoying at times- it's repetitive and I think it's sacrilege that Gladys Knight's belter of a theme song is not incorporated into the score. However, I do get excited when Kamen's rendition of the Bond film kicks in- no complaints from me there.
I'm saddened by the fact that from here on, there will be no more of those exquisite INSIDE documentaries. I'll have to settle for something else instead, perhaps have a browse of what's included on the discs. I know I will be disappointed nonetheless.
MayDay's Summer 2016 Bondathon:-
-Dr. No (1962)
Inside Dr. No
-From Russia with Love (1963)
Inside From Russia with Love
-Goldfinger (1964)
The Making of Goldfinger
-Thunderball (1965)
The Making of Thunderball
-You Only Live Twice (1967)
Inside You Only Live Twice
-On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Inside On Her Majesty's Secret Service
-Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Inside Diamonds Are Forever
-Live and Let Die (1973)
Inside Live and Let Die
-The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Inside The Man with the Golden Gun
-The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Inside The Spy Who Loved Me
-Moonraker (1979)
Inside Moonraker
-For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Inside For Your Eyes Only
-Octopussy (1983)
Inside Octopussy
-A View to a Kill (1985)
Inside A View to a Kill
-The Living Daylights (1987)
Inside The Living Daylights
-Licence to Kill (1989)
Inside Licence to Kill
Rank order-
-THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
-ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
-FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
-FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
-GOLDFINGER
-THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
-LICENCE TO KILL
-OCTOPUSSY
-DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER/ A VIEW TO A KILL
-LIVE AND LET DIE
-MOONRAKER
-THUNDERBALL
-THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
-YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
-DR. NO
Oh Goldeneye, how it has fallen from grace...used to be in my top six of yore. Now it is even lucky to break the top 15. Perhaps because it is such a visual bore, perhaps it is the "explosion--machine gun fire--another explosion--more machine gun fire" mentality of the film or perhaps some of the dodgy performances rife in the film (Bean's weird upper-class accent, Cumming's Boris character, even Brosnan's uninspired performance as Bond). Maybe it's the tacky 90s aesthetic of the film. The film does feel somewhat low budget (I mean, the orbiting satellite effects look like some bootleg videogame compared to the space effects in MOONRAKER). Whatever it is, Goldeneye just doesn't do it for me nowadays, and I don't think I'll be watching it again for sometime. There are a handful of some truly great scenes in the film nonetheless, like all Bond films. Bond and Natalya's escape from the armoured train is rife with tension, for example, and M's dressing down of Bond is a classic scene with some great dialogue. Ouromov and Onatopp make for a great pair of henchmen, with Xenia's killing of the admiral being a particularly uncomfortable scene to watch, but in a weird, funny kind of way. Serra's score is nothing special, but it is an improvement on Kamen's dull score in the preceding film.
It has some redeeming features, but for the time being I have to relegate GOLDENEYE to the bottom of the pile, shortly to be joined with, I suspect, the rest of the Brosnan entries (let's face it, his era doesn't get any better) and SPECTRE.
MayDay's Summer 2016 Bondathon:-
-Dr. No (1962)
Inside Dr. No
-From Russia with Love (1963)
Inside From Russia with Love
-Goldfinger (1964)
The Making of Goldfinger
-Thunderball (1965)
The Making of Thunderball
-You Only Live Twice (1967)
Inside You Only Live Twice
-On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Inside On Her Majesty's Secret Service
-Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Inside Diamonds Are Forever
-Live and Let Die (1973)
Inside Live and Let Die
-The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Inside The Man with the Golden Gun
-The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Inside The Spy Who Loved Me
-Moonraker (1979)
Inside Moonraker
-For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Inside For Your Eyes Only
-Octopussy (1983)
Inside Octopussy
-A View to a Kill (1985)
Inside A View to a Kill
-The Living Daylights (1987)
Inside The Living Daylights
-Licence to Kill (1989)
Inside Licence to Kill
-Goldeneye (1995)
Rank order-
-THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
-ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
-FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
-FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
-GOLDFINGER
-THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
-LICENCE TO KILL
-OCTOPUSSY
-A VIEW TO A KILL
-DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
-LIVE AND LET DIE
-MOONRAKER
-THUNDERBALL
-THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
-YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
-DR. NO
-GOLDENEYE
(so far in February/March: SP, DAF, TLD, AVTAK, YOLT, TSWLM, QOS, TND)
(in the last 7 days: SF, GE, LALD)
Live And Let Die - is the most unique of all Bond movies. The voodoo theme that is almost omnipresent and of course clairvoyant Solitaire who reads the Tarot cards.
I love the slightly supernatural touch of Live And Let Die, while it never goes beyond belief, Solitaire seems really to be clairvoyant, a fact that I like a lot.
Personally I love the direction of this movie. Guy Hamilton may have provided us with the most iconic of all Bond movies, GOLDFINGER, but he also provided us with the most unique film of the series.
Add one of the best, if not the best score of the series (non-Barry) and you get a superb mix of romance, engaging action themes and even rock influenced rhythms.
George Martin really did good.
"Bond meets Solitaire" - "Trespassers Will Be Eaten" - "Solitaire Gets Her Cards" all are amongst my most favourite score tracks of the franchise.
Roger Moore of course nails it as Bond right from the very first scene. He owns the character immediately but makes it his own too. No need ever to compare him to Connery and that is the greatest compliment one can give him I think.
LALD also has some truly unforgettable and classic scenes/sequences.
The unbelievably lengthy, fun, hilarious, action loaded chase sequence with speed boats and police cars.
And in the middle of it the real star of the movie. Incomparable Clifton James as Sheriff Pepper. His dialogue as priceless as it is even on paper becomes truly iconic when Clifton gives his all in a once-in-a-lifetime performance.
Future star Jane Seymour gives us the most innocent of all Bond girls. And truly one of the most beautiful too.
Also of note, the perfect introduction scene of Roger's James Bond in his flat. Flavoured with a hilarious appearance of Moneypenny and M. And let's not forget Miss Caruso!
If anything LALD, as do DAF and TMWTGG, suffers a bit from seemingly low budget and a bit of TV movie look.
Personally I don't mind it at all, the sets may not be the most sophisticated, but Solitaire's place, the Filet O Soul and of course the wonderful exotic San Monique which is in reality Jamaica are visually stunning in my opinion.
Last but not least I must mention one of the best moments in the franchise. The famous crocodile sequence with the unexpected but totally ingenious escape of Bond from certain death.
It's the safest Bond film in the series- it doesn't do anything daring and comes across as a bit of a run-of-the-mill affair as a result. I've used the word to describe TOMORROW ever since I first saw it: generic. It's never going to be a favourite of mine, what with it turning into an explosion and machine gun fire fest in the second half of the film and Bond being reduced to nothing more than your standard action hero, machine guns in both hands. Still, I once again found myself enjoying it a little but more than GOLDENEYE, and there is good to be found in this film. Pryce is so entertaining to watch as the OTT Carver and he has some great lines in this film; the PTS is very good, one of three exceptional Brosnan Bond PTSs; I pretty much enjoy every scene from the sinking of the Devonshire (reminiscent of the St George sinking sequence in FYEO) to Carver's Media party and Bond learning of Paris' death (the news report playing in the background is very unnerving).
MayDay's Summer 2016 Bondathon:-
-Dr. No (1962)
Inside Dr. No
-From Russia with Love (1963)
Inside From Russia with Love
-Goldfinger (1964)
The Making of Goldfinger
-Thunderball (1965)
The Making of Thunderball
-You Only Live Twice (1967)
Inside You Only Live Twice
-On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Inside On Her Majesty's Secret Service
-Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Inside Diamonds Are Forever
-Live and Let Die (1973)
Inside Live and Let Die
-The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Inside The Man with the Golden Gun
-The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Inside The Spy Who Loved Me
-Moonraker (1979)
Inside Moonraker
-For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Inside For Your Eyes Only
-Octopussy (1983)
Inside Octopussy
-A View to a Kill (1985)
Inside A View to a Kill
-The Living Daylights (1987)
Inside The Living Daylights
-Licence to Kill (1989)
Inside Licence to Kill
-Goldeneye (1995)
-Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Rank order-
-THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
-ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
-FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
-FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
-GOLDFINGER
-THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
-LICENCE TO KILL
-OCTOPUSSY
-A VIEW TO A KILL
-DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
-LIVE AND LET DIE
-MOONRAKER
-THUNDERBALL
-THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
-YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
-DR. NO
-TOMORROW NEVER DIES
-GOLDENEYE
As I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate the directorial touches that make some films, and sink others. Young and Connery nail the famous British spy's on screen persona in Dr No and it has not been bettered to this day. Licence to Kill rides the wave of the drug films of the 80's and unfortunately this, along with a score from Kamen which is far cry from the lush sounds we're used to from Barry, makes it a rather generic affair. Throw in M, Moneypenny, Q and a line about a martini and presto, you can call it a Bond movie. Dalton's performance is fine, but lacks any sense of style that we've come to expect from Bond. This is not helped by the abysmal wardrobe and lack of glamour throughout.
What I mainly like about LTK is the satisfaction of Bond avenging Leiter and Della, and the impressive stunts which are a regular fixture of the 80's. It remains an enjoyable film to watch, just not a very Bondian film and because of this, it has dropped in ranking throughout the years.
2016 rank (2015 in brackets)
1. Licence to Kill (15)
Next up is Octopussy, my current #2