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What Bond movie has the least bond in it? Im talking screentime here

MadAboutheHouseRobinMadAboutheHouseRobin Banned
edited August 2013 in Bond Movies Posts: 7
Hi mates, first post, Im doing an assignment on Bond for polytech (dont worry, majoring in food prep n cooking but doing a movie paper to make up the points, haha). Well long story short i talk a bit in one module about Bond not showing up much. Like in Goldeneye, he dont show up til after the Severnaya scene (basically).

So because i have a deadline in 2 days (haha bloody typical) i need a Bond nerd to help me out. What Bond movie has the least amount of Bond in it? When you give the answer, let me know if its proportionate to the movie on in terms of raw minutes on screen. Anyway im guessing Goldeneye but dont have the time to watch em all!) thanks mates.

Typing on a smartphone to apologies for the typing if there are mistakes. Bit of a Bond fan meself, feel right at home here haha

Comments

  • StirredNotShakenStirredNotShaken Toronto
    Posts: 2,402
    Wow, this is a great post. Really is making me think, which is loads more than I can say for 95% of the garbage the spambots and trolls have been posting.

    Anyway, I'm not quite sure which Bond film has the least Bond in it. The very early ones had a LOT of scenes that didn't feature Bond. Bond doesn't appear at all in Dr. No for about six or seven minutes I think. From Russia With Love is even more guilty; Bond doesn't appear for something like eighteen minutes! The PTS doesn't count, as that isn't Bond but rather a SPECTRE agent in a Bond mask.

    If I were to hazard a guess at it I would definitely say FRWL. There's just so much that Bond doesn't appear in. The PTS, the first ten minutes after the titles, the bombing of Kerim Bey's office, the scenes with Blofeld... quite a lot in there.

    Can't agree with your comments on GoldenEye. Bond is, essentially, in every single second of the PTS, then there's the DB5/Ferrari chase afterwards, the casino scene, the theft of the Tiger, and then he's even in London watching when Severnaya gets hit. You say Severnaya is when Bond is first there: you've got it wrong, my friend, Severnaya is instead the first time Bond ISN'T the highlight of the film. I'd chalk that down to the emphasis that Bond was back.

    GoldenEye is certainly a Bond-heavy film, he's more or less in every single scene of the film, save for actually being IN Severnaya, and the stuff immediately after with Natalya. I'd probably argue Bond gets more screentime in GoldenEye than in most if not all of the others. That generally rings true, in fact, for all four of Brosnan's, except maybe TND, which featured Carver in a LOT of scenes.

    Aside from that, the films have been pretty consistent with keeping Bond on screen for a vast majority of the film. My vote definitely goes to FRWL now that I think about it.
  • MadAboutheHouseRobinMadAboutheHouseRobin Banned
    edited August 2013 Posts: 7
    Yeah, maybe FRWL. Its a short movie too, so maybe in terms of raw minutes its the least Bond we see. Id be more interestef in proportion though: which bond movies devotes the lowest percentage of their runtime to Bond?

    Disagree on GOldeneye. Theres a lot of cutaways to other characters. Even Boris gets a storyline, haha. Feels more like a team effort to me, does Goldeneye. Opinions like and all, haha. Thanks for the input though.

    Octopussy when Gobinda gets hit by boiling steam

    Mod edit: language!
  • Pierce2DanielPierce2Daniel
    Posts: 4,409
    It has to be FRWL. I think TB is up there somewhere as well. Bond tends to disappear for a while in the first act. The big reason for this would seem to be that the established 'Bond formula' was still being honed. If you look at the first 3 Bond films they are all quite different. DN is a detective drama with Bond piling together the clues before the big grandiose finale. FRWL is a tight Cold War espionage thriller. GF was essentially the prototype for the big Hollywood blockbuster of today.

    What I think is more interesting is that for the first 50 mins of CR Bond is practically silent, he has maybe one big dialogue scene with M and even then he only says like 3 lines. I remember the first time I watched CR I was just sitting there waiting for DC to actually say something.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,125
    It has to be FRWL. And it was done very well too. TB does have a few long runs without Bond as well.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,125
    Pierce2Daniel wrote:
    It has to be FRWL. I think TB is up there somewhere as well. Bond tends to disappear for a while in the first act. The big reason for this would seem to be that the established 'Bond formula' was still being honed. If you look at the first 3 Bond films they are all quite different. DN is a detective drama with Bond piling together the clues before the big grandiose finale. FRWL is a tight Cold War espionage thriller. GF was essentially the prototype for the big Hollywood blockbuster of today.

    What I think is more interesting is that for the first 50 mins of CR Bond is practically silent, he has maybe one big dialogue scene with M and even then he only says like 3 lines. I remember the first time I watched CR I was just sitting there waiting for DC to actually say something.

    I think the relative discretion of Bond in the early movies has more to do with establishing his world and his enemies, and show what is at stakes. It was done masterfully I think. In DN it was a great way to build up his introduction. I wish they'd be a bit daring these days and do something similar sometimes.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    Ludovico wrote:
    It has to be FRWL. And it was done very well too. TB does have a few long runs without Bond as well.

    FRWL and TB probably have to be the ones although YOLT has most of the PTS and a couple of long scenes in the middle with the second space hijack coming to land and Blofeld talking with Osato and the Chinese blokes.

    When we say Bond on screen are we saying a scene he is in or when you can actually see him? Because in YOLT we have the sumo scene, the helicopter being carried off, the ninja camp and when it all kicks off at the end there are a lot of shots without him.

    I think its going to end up being FRWL though.

    We need someone (not me obviously) to go through every film with a stopwatch every time Bond appears.
  • MadAboutheHouseRobinMadAboutheHouseRobin Banned
    Posts: 7
    Haha, i was thinking the same thing! But who has the time? Maybe it can be a summer project for me. Ill posts the results here. Not for a few months though.
  • NapoleonPluralNapoleonPlural
    Posts: 512
    I'd agree it might be GE actually. At times it has a dual plot going on, as we follow Natalya and her escape from the complex, it jumps back and forth between the two like some episode of EastEnders of The Bill.

    TB is another good example though as so much is based around the plot machinations.

    With films like OHMSS and CR, we hardly ever get away from Bond the entire movie, it's all from his pov.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    NapoleonPlural wrote:
    I'd agree it might be GE actually. At times it has a dual plot going on, as we follow Natalya and her escape from the complex, it jumps back and forth between the two like some episode of EastEnders of The Bill.

    TB is another good example though as so much is based around the plot machinations.

    With films like OHMSS and CR, we hardly ever get away from Bond the entire movie, it's all from his pov.

    That's why CR and OHMSS are two of the best, along with SF.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    Dragonpol wrote:
    NapoleonPlural wrote:
    I'd agree it might be GE actually. At times it has a dual plot going on, as we follow Natalya and her escape from the complex, it jumps back and forth between the two like some episode of EastEnders of The Bill.

    TB is another good example though as so much is based around the plot machinations.

    With films like OHMSS and CR, we hardly ever get away from Bond the entire movie, it's all from his pov.

    That's why CR and OHMSS are two of the best, along with SF.

    Not SF Draggers. There are loads of scenes with M and Mallory, M at the select committee not to mention cutting between Bond/Eve/M in the PTS and Bond/Q in the tube sequence. As a proportion of the run time its probably not that much but there is a significant amount of time when Bond is off screen.
  • NapoleonPluralNapoleonPlural
    Posts: 512
    I think he just throws in SF as 'one of the best' not necessarily saying it has most Bond in it (though there is a fair bit, as we don't cut away to the villain much and his plans).
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited August 2013 Posts: 18,281
    NapoleonPlural wrote:
    I think he just throws in SF as 'one of the best' not necessarily saying it has most Bond in it (though there is a fair bit, as we don't cut away to the villain much and his plans).

    Yes, that's what I meant by including SF in that list. Plus, I've not seen SF often enough yet!
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,125
    Sometimes a lot of Bond presence is great, but sometimes when he is more discreet, it gives a very different but just as good texture to the movie.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    Ludovico wrote:
    Sometimes a lot of Bond presence is great, but sometimes when he is more discreet, it gives a very different but just as good texture to the movie.

    Look at the short story of 'Octopussy' where Bond only has a very marginal role, or 'Quantum of Solace' for that matter.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    MadAboutheHouseRobin wrote:
    Hi mates, first post

    You wouldn't be happiest, in the saddle, would you? :-?

  • WillyGaloreWillyGalore
    Posts: 6,396
    Any reason why @MadAboutTheHouseRobin was banned? Is he a previously banned member who tried to come back again?
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    Indeed he was. See @DarthDimi's post above.
  • WillyGaloreWillyGalore
    Posts: 6,396
    I'm guess @DarthDimi's reference was to someone with the user name Zorin? Must have been before I joined.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    WillyGalore wrote:
    I'm guess @DarthDimi's reference was to someone with the user name Zorin? Must have been before I joined.

    http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/dashboard/profile/comments/4500/Happiestinthesaddle (former troll)
  • WillyGaloreWillyGalore
    Posts: 6,396
    Murdock wrote:
    WillyGalore wrote:
    I'm guess @DarthDimi's reference was to someone with the user name Zorin? Must have been before I joined.

    http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/dashboard/profile/comments/4500/Happiestinthesaddle (former troll)

    Oh right. Just read one post of his. That was enough for me ;-)

  • Baltimore_007Baltimore_007
    Posts: 5,634
    This is a duplicate thread it seems, as adamant we were discussing this very issue at some time in the past ? "The shortest appearance of Bond on screen"

    Probably said From Russia With Love before, and see no reason to change it. If you think about it, more time is taken up with other characters, especially Bond's adversaries including Rosa Klebb, Kronsteen and Grant. Add to that, the Bond 'double' in the pre titles sequence. No other Bond releases really come to mind on this

  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    Baltimore_007 wrote:
    This is a duplicate thread it seems, as adamant we were discussing this very issue at some time in the past ? "The shortest appearance of Bond on screen"

    Probably said From Russia With Love before, and see no reason to change it. If you think about it, more time is taken up with other characters, especially Bond's adversaries including Rosa Klebb, Kronsteen and Grant. Add to that, the Bond 'double' in the pre titles sequence. No other Bond releases really come to mind on this

    Just a point for the interests of clarity - this thread was started by a well-known troll who was previously banned, returned to post this thread and was promptly banned again, so I would not lose too much sleep about it, really.
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