The GEORGE LAZENBY Appreciation thread - Discuss His Life, His Career, His Bond Films

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  • edited December 2023 Posts: 346
    Good to hear on Mr. Lazenby. All best to him and his family.

    'Tis the season I'll be searching him out.

    ohmss.gif?resize=670%2C298&ssl=1

    George is a tough chap. I'm sure he'll recover. :)

    That shot of Lazenby smoking, along with John Barry's music... perfection. The opening to OHMSS is magical. It's the perfect combination of Ian Fleming/Cubby Broccoli Bond.
  • Posts: 1,708
    Jabbar broke his hip too now , both him & Laz were gonna be in Game of Death
  • SIS_HQSIS_HQ At the Vauxhall Headquarters
    edited December 2023 Posts: 3,789
    Tracy wrote: »
    Jabbar broke his hip too now , both him & Laz were gonna be in Game of Death

    @Tracy Laz needs you there, you can save him just like how you did it in the ice skating rink ;).
  • TheSkyfallen06TheSkyfallen06 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
    edited January 17 Posts: 1,103
  • Posts: 4,174

    God that looks terrible.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,431
    I hope Eric Roberts had a nice afternoon shooting his headline role :D
  • TheSkyfallen06TheSkyfallen06 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
    Posts: 1,103
    007HallY wrote: »

    God that looks terrible.

    I mean, it's a Z-movie so it makes sense.
  • edited January 17 Posts: 4,174
    007HallY wrote: »

    God that looks terrible.

    I mean, it's a Z-movie so it makes sense.

    Thing is, it really doesn't look cheap. It clearly has a level of production/costume design, varied locations, choreography, and indeed actors (ok, Daniel Craig isn't going to make a surprise cameo, but even Eric Roberts and George Lazenby require a certain amount of money). It simply has all the staples of a relatively well funded but badly made low budget movie - the bad colour grading, the bad ADR/dubbing, weirdly flat or overexposed lighting at points, and indeed the absolute scale of it despite how rubbish it looks. Reminds me of Uwe Boll films more than Tommy Wiseau or Neil Green (so boring and not worth watching).
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    edited January 18 Posts: 7,022
    Haha, the man with the shaven head and the beard at the very end is the prison inmate from Wishmaster 2, the one who wishes his lawyer to go eff himself, and yes, a truly ridiculous scene ensues.
  • SIS_HQSIS_HQ At the Vauxhall Headquarters
    Posts: 3,789
    His best films outside of Bond: The Man From Hong Kong, Who Saw Her Die, and Stoner.
  • FeyadorFeyador Montreal, Canada
    edited January 18 Posts: 735
    Wait, has no one's seen Saint Jack, the Peter Bogdanovich film (maybe his best) set in Singapore from 1978?

    Lazenby has a small part near the end as a closeted gay US senator set up for blackmail by the CIA, if memory serves. But it's a crucial plot point in a morality tale centered around the titular Ben Gazzara character, with a strong supporting cast (Denholm Elliott, James Villiers) and a seedy milieu fans of American Cinema from the pre blockbuster era will likely enjoy.
  • TheSkyfallen06TheSkyfallen06 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
    edited July 25 Posts: 1,103
  • Posts: 1,493
    Feyador wrote: »
    Wait, has no one's seen Saint Jack, the Peter Bogdanovich film (maybe his best) set in Singapore from 1978?

    Lazenby has a small part near the end as a closeted gay US senator set up for blackmail by the CIA, if memory serves. But it's a crucial plot point in a morality tale centered around the titular Ben Gazzara character, with a strong supporting cast (Denholm Elliott, James Villiers) and a seedy milieu fans of American Cinema from the pre blockbuster era will likely enjoy.

    Really rated Saint Jack. Will have to rewatch it asap.
  • Posts: 17,764
    I hope George will enjoy his retirement. Interestingly, the news was even picked up by one of the major newspapers here in Norway, which is where I first picked it up.
  • edited July 26 Posts: 346
    Hello Magazine report on George's retirement:
    This 007 is hanging up his pistol. A former James Bond has announced that after decades in the business, he is officially retiring from acting and all kinds of acting commitments.

    https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/709139/former-james-bond-announces-retirement-bittersweet-statement-george-lazenby/





  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    edited August 1 Posts: 4,638
    https://nypost.com/2024/07/31/entertainment/james-bond-actor-george-lazenby-seen-for-first-time-since-retirement/

    It saddens me that his book This Never Happened to the Other Fellow was never released.
  • zb007zb007 UK
    Posts: 87
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    https://nypost.com/2024/07/31/entertainment/james-bond-actor-george-lazenby-seen-for-first-time-since-retirement/

    It saddens me that his book This Never Happened to the Other Fellow was never released.

    Wasn't another documentary in the works too apart from the one that was released a few years back
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,638
    https://x.com/007/status/1831663821557030939

    Happy 85th birthday, George.
  • SIS_HQSIS_HQ At the Vauxhall Headquarters
    Posts: 3,789
    Happy Birthday, George! Have a great day! 🥳🎉🎊🎂🎁
  • Posts: 7,507
    George looks amazing for his age!
  • edited November 2 Posts: 346
    I love OHMSS opening gun barrel. It transports me into the world of Bond. It's absolutely magnificent.



    George was blessed to have one of the greatest Bond scores ever and to star in one of the best Bond films ever. I would rate the final act of OHMSS as one of the greatest in film history.





  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    edited November 2 Posts: 4,638
    bondywondy wrote: »
    I love OHMSS opening gun barrel. It transports me into the world of Bond. It's absolutely magnificent:



    George was blessed to have one of the greatest Bond scores ever and to star in one of the best Bond film ever. I would rate the final act of OHMSS as one of the greatest in film history.





    I agree. Telly Savalas is the best Blofeld. Diana Rigg is one of the best Bond Women. It's a shame above all else that Peter Hunt never directed another Bond movie. But he ended on a high note!
  • Posts: 7,507
    bondywondy wrote: »
    I love OHMSS opening gun barrel. It transports me into the world of Bond. It's absolutely magnificent.



    George was blessed to have one of the greatest Bond scores ever and to star in one of the best Bond films ever. I would rate the final act of OHMSS as one of the greatest in film history.





    Am looking forward, as always, to my annual Christmas watch of OHMSS!
    Regarding that opening gunbarrel, the story goes that the one used was Georges first attempt. The film makers weren't happy with it and asked him to do it again, George deliberately messed up so they would have to use that one!! Truth or myth, it's a great story, and a great gunbarrel in a magnificent Bond movie!
  • Posts: 2,000
    After five SC films, who was this interloper? And what was he doing in a really good Bon film? I didn't dislike him as much as I resented him. Then comes the much anticipated return of Sean. What the hell? Connery is back in a film nowhere near as good as the one starring the guy who replaced him. The sixties had ended and, frankly, the 70s was a weak excuse for a decade.

    Like the opinion of many, my attitude about GL changed. I don't find his performance as wooden as many claim. No, he's not as obviously casual on screen as Connery was, but he had big shoes to fill, big expectations to meet, and did it all in a big, big Bond film that occupies a place at the top of my list with GF and CR.

    I wish the sentiment for GL and his film had occurred much earlier. While I wish he could have done more Bond films, maybe it's best he didn't as DAF opened the door to an era of Bond films I don't care for.

    One and done, but what a great film.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 3,154
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  • HildebrandRarityHildebrandRarity Centre international d'assistance aux personnes déplacées, Paris, France
    Posts: 484
    You can put Peter Hunt as the director, as he was offered the gig first and turned it down, because Lazenby wasn't back.
    IIRC, Hamilton returned because the plan was to have a plot involving Goldfinger's identical twin (a returning Gert Fröbe) who's obsessed with diamonds. They wanted to go back to the mood of Goldfinger, and getting the director was an important step. Of course the twin idea was thrown out of the windows shortly after.
  • Posts: 1,372
    You can put Peter Hunt as the director, as he was offered the gig first and turned it down, because Lazenby wasn't back.
    IIRC, Hamilton returned because the plan was to have a plot involving Goldfinger's identical twin (a returning Gert Fröbe) who's obsessed with diamonds. They wanted to go back to the mood of Goldfinger, and getting the director was an important step. Of course the twin idea was thrown out of the windows shortly after.


    Young, Hamilton , Gilbert, Glen... all of them made more than one.

    And his next job as a director was an episode of The Persuaders!

  • Posts: 4,174
    You can put Peter Hunt as the director, as he was offered the gig first and turned it down, because Lazenby wasn't back.
    IIRC, Hamilton returned because the plan was to have a plot involving Goldfinger's identical twin (a returning Gert Fröbe) who's obsessed with diamonds. They wanted to go back to the mood of Goldfinger, and getting the director was an important step. Of course the twin idea was thrown out of the windows shortly after.

    I think the official line about Hunt was there was a scheduling conflict/he had another project. From what I’ve read in his interviews he’d have loved to direct Connery.

    Yeah, there’s lots of weird script ideas we know about with DAF, and a lot of it was about trying to replicate GF’s success (albeit on a lower budget). That’s why you get Hamilton being asked back and Goldfinger’s twin brother being written in.
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