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The Bizarre Death of Dr Kananga in Live and Let Die (1973)

DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
edited March 2014 in Bond Movies Posts: 18,348
This thread is designed to discuss a very specific area of the debut Roger Moore James Bond film Live and Let Die where the villain of the piece, Dr Kananga, as played by Yaphet Kotto is made to swallow a shark gun compression pellet and thus expands to roughly the size of a barrage balloon before hitting the ceiling and exploding in a rubbery bang accompanied by a loud farting noise.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this scene and its links with the similar, yet more graphic scene that showed something similar happening to Milton Krest in Licence to Kill (the uncut version).

Was this scene a step too far into comedy and the bizarre or did it fit the overall campy tone of the film LALD?

As always, I'd really love to hear your views on this one...

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Comments

  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,234
    it could have looked far more gritty than it was. Maybe a waste of a villain's death, but now they can still use the novel's death of Mr Big, and even use his name for a villain: Buonaparte Ignace Gallia.
  • KanangaKananga
    Posts: 368
    Best death ever.
  • baronsamedi76baronsamedi76
    Posts: 174
    One of the funniest deaths in any movie, I love it.
    I hardly stop smiling or laughing when watching LALD, which is what's great about it and other Moore Bonds.
    Escapism at its best.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    Its a great idea for a death but the execution is embarassing.

    Also theres no way that something that size could hold such an amount of compressed gas.
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 14,696
    I like the scene, but I find it a bit too cartoonish for the rest of the film- perhaps even for Moonraker. But let's say if the pellet in LALD actually could hold that amount of compressed gas- Kananga wouldn't fly up to the roof, his chest would just explode while underwater, leaving him bobbing around in the shark pit. The same goes for Krest's death in LTK, which had the right amount of blood spillage for the film- but the execution wasn't realistic. Perhaps he could've just bled from his eyes, ears etc.
  • forgotmyusernameforgotmyusername
    Posts: 2,782
    Most fun amd most racist Bond film.....Moore should have choked him on his white powder....which would have made the black v white symbolisim in this film complete....

    Names are for tombstones baby....take this honky out and waste him....lol =))
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    For whatever reason, I can only watch this film through the eyes of the little boy that saw it for the first time back in the late 80's. I taped it and must have watched it a hundred times. This scene absolutely fascinated me then and now, while it does seem a little silly, I still love it.
  • JamesBond_007JamesBond_007
    Posts: 36
    I remember thinking, "where's all the blood and stuff?", when I first watched LALD. Still puzzles me now but it would have been a hell of a gory seen especially in '73.

    However, still a good scene from a movie I do enjoy.......
  • RogueAgentRogueAgent
    Posts: 12,526
    First Bond film i saw and main villain death! I thought how cool! I look at it today and now it does make me laugh more, but i still love the film dearly! ;))
  • myworldisenoughmyworldisenough
    Posts: 1,143
    Arguably the most ridiculous over the top death of a villain ever. Perhaps the intention was to shock and surprise but it comes across as lame and silly. Maybe I'm blowing things out of proportion ;)
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,348
    Am I the only one who sees a similarity between the death of Kananga and the death of Oddjob in the novel version of Goldfinger? It's equally ridiculous, you could say, although this fate was of course reserved for Goldfinger himself in the film version. It looked pretty ridiculous too, in my opinion.
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    Personally, I've always thought this villain death was incredibly stupid. If they were going for a comic approach, I mean yeah, it's certainly laughable, but come on, really? If anything, it's fuel for the fire of critics of the series! I'd rather see Bond somehow trick Kananga into getting eaten by his own sharks when he and Bond fall into the pool after their little mini-fight.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,234
    Executed differently, it could have been a really gruesome death. The veins popping out, the guts and eyes bursting... It could have been Scanner before Scanner. Ridiculous yes, but in a sinister way.
  • EllisEllis
    Posts: 224
    Back in the day, the unexpected was expected from Bond. This fit that formula.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,362
    Kananga should have been eaten by the shark, but I didn't mind. It was the 70's.
  • Sammm04Sammm04
    Posts: 479
    At least he didn't get head bitten by an Alien, now that would have been embarrassing, oh wait.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    Sammm04 wrote:
    At least he didn't get head bitten by an Alien, now that would have been embarrassing, oh wait.
    Heh heh, very droll.
    They did the 'popping' thing much better in Big Trouble In Little China IMO.
  • 002002
    Posts: 581
    his death in the book was better
  • Baltimore_007Baltimore_007
    Posts: 5,634
    It's maybe the very worst thing, about the very best Bond entry (apart from a legitimate complaint that we don't see enough of Jane Seymour)
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited May 2013 Posts: 18,348
    Some very thoughtful replies. Thank you so much.

    Did Kananga's death in LALD influence Milton Krest's more gory death scene in LTK, I wonder?

    Also, nice reference to Big Trouble in Little China - will have to scour You Tube to remind me of the villain there exploding through general rage.
  • OHMSS69OHMSS69
    Posts: 2,341
    Kananga's death was stupid and unbelievable. Bodies don't inflate like that. Krest's death was more realistic. Kananga was a good villain and deserved a more serious and noble death similiar to the death of Mr. BIG in the book. Of all the Bond deaths, this one was the most silly. Hated to see them kill him in such a "played for laughs" manner. I guess this was all in keeping to the direction the films were taking in the 1970's.
  • identigraphidentigraph
    Posts: 1,052
    The critisicm of this classic villian death has left me rather deflated.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited May 2013 Posts: 11,189
    identigraph wrote:
    The critisicm of this classic villian death has left me rather deflated.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=bcYppAs6ZdI&feature=fvwp
  • Matt007Matt007
    edited May 2013 Posts: 1,314
    All that's missing is Roadrunner going "beep beep"

    It's ridiculous.

    Every time I've watched this film with someone who hasn't seen it their reaction is always the same.

    What. The. F@ck?
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,348
    Yes, from DAF I think that the films became more cartoonish, up to and including MR. So, basically the whole of the decadent 1970s, sadly.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    Matt007 wrote:
    All that's missing is Roadrunner going "beep beep"
    Totally.
    :))
  • X3MSonicXX3MSonicX https://www.behance.net/gallery/86760163/Fa-Posteres-de-007-No-Time-To-Die
    Posts: 2,635
    Well, when i first saw his death, it almost had me in tears. It may be ridiculous but i like it. I like surreal things.

    With the exception of DAD, of course.
  • Baltimore_007Baltimore_007
    Posts: 5,634
    It's a real shame when (from my perspective) people decide to berate or ridicule this particular release. Ok it's not one for everyone and was hardly Bond release of the century, but it's my own favorite and there's tons of fun to be had. Fair enough, the Kananga exit is ridiculous, on an otherwise quite outstanding adventure
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    Baltimore_007 wrote:
    Fair enough, the Kananga exit is ridiculous, on an otherwise quite outstanding adventure
    A little blood splattering would have gone a long way towards making his cartoonish demise a bit acceptable IMO.
    CGI augmentation, anyone?

  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    Baltimore_007 wrote:
    It's a real shame when (from my perspective) people decide to berate or ridicule this particular release. Ok it's not one for everyone and was hardly Bond release of the century, but it's my own favorite and there's tons of fun to be had. Fair enough, the Kananga exit is ridiculous, on an otherwise quite outstanding adventure
    I love LALD and most people in this thread have said positive things about it with a few criticisms along the way. I hear what you're saying though. The Kanaga death scene seems to attract a lot of negative attention to the point where it seems like that's all anyone wants to talk about. It's certainly silly but it doesn't ruin the movie for me.
    chrisisall wrote:
    CGI augmentation, anyone?
    I think most people, myself included, would be against changing the original films by enhancing them with CGI but if there was ever a candidate for it this would have to rank near the top of the list!
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