Is Thunderball Overrated?

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  • Posts: 15,235
    The audience knows in the end. Until that point the bomb is still a threat. And again, it is a throwaway line to say to the audience that the bombs will not explode after credits roll.
  • edited December 2015 Posts: 2,015
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    I'm against the term, it's derogatory and suggests that Europeans are only capable of producing atrocious movies. Just say something like "trashy" or "lowbrow" instead.

    Oh come on.. it is a testimony to how much European countries helped their movie industries that some producers managed to benefit from tax cuts and funds by creating French-Italian-Spanish-Austrian-.... co-productions with zero artistic merit, but that could give work to some technicians and studios, and well, fill some late night TV spots for the quotas,and then in the end, earn (very) little money, mostly thanks to the (very) little budget.

    "If you like James Bond".. go and watch this trailer :

    http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8vyxi_panther-squad-trailer_shortfilms

    The name of the studio creating this useless movie was Eurocine.

    Of course co-productions could be use to obtain big budgets for real movies too, but then no one would call "Le Cerveau" (David Niven, Bourvil, Eli Wallach, Jean-Paul Belmondo) Eurotrash I think.
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Because in TB it is far more plausible. It was back in the 60s and it still is.

    Thunderball had the huge publicity of a real-life event : two weeks after its opening, the US Army lost a H Bomb in the ocean (the Palomares incident). It was unrecovered for two months. Incredible promotion for the movie. All these things are forgotten when people look at the "success" of movies only with Excel sheets full of figures. There's a French hit song which is a diary of 1966 which has a line about this incident and the movie :)




  • Posts: 1,098
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    I'm against the term, it's derogatory and suggests that Europeans are only capable of producing atrocious movies. Just say something like "trashy" or "lowbrow" instead.

    Oh come on.. it is a testimony to how much European countries helped their movie industries that some producers managed to benefit from tax cuts and funds by creating French-Italian-Spanish-Austrian-.... co-productions with zero artistic merit, but that could give work to some technicians and studios, and well, fill some late night TV spots for the quotas,and then in the end, earn (very) little money, mostly thanks to the (very) little budget.

    "If you like James Bond".. go and watch this trailer :

    http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8vyxi_panther-squad-trailer_shortfilms

    The name of the studio creating this useless movie was Eurocine.

    Of course co-productions could be use to obtain big budgets for real movies too, but then no one would call "Le Cerveau" (David Niven, Bourvil, Eli Wallach, Jean-Paul Belmondo) Eurotrash I think.
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Because in TB it is far more plausible. It was back in the 60s and it still is.

    Thunderball had the huge publicity of a real-life event : two weeks after its opening, the US Army lost a H Bomb in the ocean (the Palomares incident). It was unrecovered for two months. Incredible promotion for the movie. All these things are forgotten when people look at the "success" of movies only with Excel sheets full of figures. There's a French hit song which is a diary of 1966 which has a line about this incident and the movie :)

    Yes, that's true. I've read articles about the US military losing an H-bomb, at the time around TB's release.

    Bloody careless, if you ask me to lose an H-bomb. :-O
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited December 2015 Posts: 7,223

    Of course co-productions could be use to obtain big budgets for real movies too, but then no one would call "Le Cerveau" (David Niven, Bourvil, Eli Wallach, Jean-Paul Belmondo) Eurotrash I think.

    I hope not, it's one of my favourite movies. :D

    Nevertheless, point taken. I won't be offended next time. @TheWizardOfIce ;)
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,399
    chrisisall wrote: »
    If someone is SO into Pierce's performance, are in love with Halle Berry, come from a sci-fi background, and really dig sword fights it's conceivable that they could list DAD on top whilst still being a highly intelligent person.

    I think the number of people who fall into the category you describe are about the same as those who have their hearts on the right side of their body; one in a million - those are the odds.

    While its not perhaps impossible for someone intelligent to enjoy Halle Berry's performance it goes wildly beyond the probable that such a person would. Elements of DAD are an insult to the intelligence of people who watch Mrs Brown's Boys so to the average Oxbridge graduate Jinx saying 'Yo Momma' before Bond jumps in his invisible car must be downright offensive no matter how engaging they find Pierce's performance (probably the best element of the film by the way).
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    I don't want to ruin the mood here but the term Eurotrash does not come across as very respectful or intelligent either. @TheWizardOfIce

    I'm afraid many active members define others here by their country... :(

    but in this case, it refers to many European movies forgotten since then, made in the 60s/70s first because of the multi-country budgets, with no real direction then. Definitely made for money and tax cuts, not for art. With some exception, as always, obviously.

    If you are referring to films such as Hercules (1958) I must admit that it could qualify as "Eurotrash". Nevertheless, trash has been made in the Anglo-Saxon world as well and Europe has produced many of the finest film artists ever.

    I'm against the term, it's derogatory and suggests that Europeans are only capable of producing atrocious movies. Just say something like "trashy" or "lowbrow" instead.

    Oh please. Am I going to have to go and dig out Mr Pink's smallest violin in the world just for @GoldenGun?

    The discussion was about Adolfo Celi's CV and I would contend that the word Eurotrash aptly describes such classics as Confessions of a Frustrated Housewife and the seminal Operation Kid Brother.

    Its not a criticism of all things European. Its not saying all European cinema is trash. Its just a throwaway line to describe a certain genre of low budget film, originating largely in Italy.

    I would love to introduce you to the original Eurotrash on Channel 4 but that would probably give you a stroke given its sole existence was to laugh at you funny Europeans!

    If this term seriously upsets you then you have my sympathies because I honestly dont know how you get through the day and I'd certainly suggest you might want to stay away from the internet because there are a lot more people less affable than my good self on here.

    Instead of whining about being offended like a vegan, lesbian social worker who drives a Prius try and come back with some banter like Timmer does (even if his efforts at wit are, to coin a popular phrase, risible!)

    Perfect response, @Wizard.

    I've read elsewhere that Cubby deliberately tried to find actors that weren't as expensive.

    One thing I love about the Craig era is that his films have attracted stronger actors than ever before. It's become a calling card for an actor to be in a Bond film in a way it wasn't before.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,837
    TB had the most realistic plot, Connery at his best, crazy attractive girls, a fine Barry score, and it was all before the ramp up to the OTT/humour-driven nonsense of the 70's. How many folks here cannot love this flick on at least some levels is beyond me. @-)
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    chrisisall wrote: »
    TB had the most realistic plot, Connery at his best, crazy attractive girls, a fine Barry score, and it was all before the ramp up to the OTT/humour-driven nonsense of the 70's. How many folks here cannot love this flick on at least some levels is beyond me. @-)

    There are some superb moments in TB, but as a whole it falls short of its three predecessors. It's a film I watched a lot as kid, but when I say a lot, I mean I had it on in the background a lot. It's that kind of film to me. It's got a score that carries you along and some wonderful scenes, but is brought down by some turgid and elongated passages. Everyone is functioning at their highest level, Connery, Young, Barry, Adam etc, but as we've come to realise, sometimes the best of the canon occur when things go (sometimes inadvertently) off piste.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,837
    RC7 wrote: »
    as a whole it falls short of its three predecessors.
    Well. I can't entirely disagree here.... still, I find it very entertaining!
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