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Blofeld of your choosing??

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  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Telly Savalas for me - shame he was priced out of DAF due to his sudden fame .If he was in it then it would have been a more serious film even if Connery came back,rather than the cross-dressing,totally mis-cast Charles Gray.

    Agreed. His more physical Blofeld was more Fleming. Grey was terrible.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Updated:

    1. Anthony Dawson/Eric Pohlman (FRWL,TB)     - The unseen Blofeld is still the best. This version is decisive, ruthless and scary. The mystery adds so much to the inhuman threat that this character is. He is feared by all, his authority is never questioned. His voice is almost robotic, but underneath it one gets a sense that he takes a perverse enjoyment in the "punishments" he meets out to his underlings. There is even menace in the way he strokes the cat. The character was never so frightening as when he was unseen and unmoved.

    2. Telly Savalas (OHMSS)     - To me, this is by far the coolest and most magnetic of the Blofeld's that we fully see on screen. He was the first screen Bond villain to come across as an actual human being, not a caricature of villainy (which I don't have any problem with either, by the way). Savalas seems to truly enjoy being a charming asshole. He's right in there when it comes to the action, he is as merciless as his predecessor, and just as willing to sacrifice the hired help. His speech about wiping out all forms of vegetation and love stalk forever is wicked cool. And I love the way he holds his cigarette!

    3. Christopher Waltz (SP) - I wish we had gotten more of him, amend I wish the script had risen to Walt's potential, but that potential is evident. The Oberhauser connection is utter crap, but I'm not going to involve that aspect into my evaluation. I completely accept him as Blofeld. His Blofeld is quietly sinister, he commands attention, and is obviously deranged. Let us hope that (regardless of Craig's, Mendes' or the current writers' future), that he will return with a picture and plot that is worthy of the character. In addition I am overjoyed that we get the cat, and the scar, back.

    4. Charles Grey (DAF) - I know a lot of people see this guy as too campy (I say take a look at my # 4 for that), but I dig his charm and just barely understated humor in all of his actions and words. I don't even mind him dressing in drag to get-away. It must have been a smart idea if so many fans think that it was way out of character. Who would suspect? I'm not crazy about the film, and I definitely think that the ending was disappointing, and the plot was fairly silly, but I think Grey gave us a solid interpretation of the character; confident, sophisticated, witty and ruthless.

    5. Donald Pleasence (YOLT) - I admit that when I first saw him in 1968 at the drive-in, at the age of six, I thought that Pleasence's Blofeld was scary. But that was basically because of his facial deformities. As the years go by I think increasing less of this version. He's a joke. He is not threatening in a physical sense as at all, and I don't just mean because of his physical stature (though that is a factor, he looks like a joke standing next to Connery). It's the way he carries himself, his wide-eyed, permanent look of fear. Where as all of the Blofelds listed above kept their cool in (almost) all situations, this guy is constantly wired and on edge. He looses how shit and never seems to know how to handle any unexpected development. Even in the earlier scenes where he is unseen, he seems to be thrown way too easily and exposes his panic to those under his authority, "Kill Bond,now!" , in a whiny fashion that my #1 pick never did. Even the way he handles the cat is unimpressive. He clutches it to his chest like a shield or a security blanket. I cannot take this guy seriously. No sense of menace.

    6. Max Von Sydow (NSNA) - What a waste of one of the most talented actors of the past 60 years.

    7. John Hollis/Robert Rietty - If you saw it, you know why it's here. This could have been great. What an excellent set up at the grave stone.

    Updated:

    I agree with pretty much everything.
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    edited December 2015 Posts: 4,399
    .
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Charles Gray, so far, who was really amusing to watch in the role. Telly Savalas was very great in physical shape and psychological order. But, there was something, some kind of a magic (or mojo, if you like) that he didn't have brings up second to Gray.

    That said, I did like Christoph Waltz's Blofeld, too. Give him a little more expansion and make him physically threatening, he might end up being my favourite Blofeld.
  • OHMSS69OHMSS69
    Posts: 2,341
    I must go with Savalas. He actually takes part in the dirty work and held his own in a fight with Bond on the bobsleigh.

    Von Sydow should have been in the EON films.

    Pleasance was just not right. I liked the scar but he just sat there looking. For such an iconic villain, the character was not well served in YOLT, hench the change for OHMSS

    Gray was the worst. He acted like Noel Coward and walked around like a dainty. And the drag outfit was just the end for me. Matter of fact DAF is the most campy of all the Bond films...
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited November 2015 Posts: 11,189
    It used to be Donald Pleasance but now its Telly.

    "Oh poor fellow...he was restless too. Every year dozens of amateur climbers wind up in the same predicament. A kind of...waxworks show for morbid tourists. (tut tut tut) dear dear me"

    Plus he's got a deformed finger. Something I can personally identify with.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    A small question, by the way. I know it has nothing to do with the thread but... I noticed Joseph Wiseman's name replacing Eric Pohlman's in the original post on the Thunderball segment. It's the first time I'm hearing of it, however, is there really a source in which it's told that Wiseman voiced Blofeld in the fourth film?
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    edited December 2015 Posts: 4,399
    .
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I agree. Sounds just like Wiseman.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Credits don t always reflect the truth.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,106
    HASEROT wrote: »
    ClarkDevlin wrote: »
    A small question, by the way. I know it has nothing to do with the thread but... I noticed Joseph Wiseman's name replacing Eric Pohlman's in the original post on the Thunderball segment. It's the first time I'm hearing of it, however, is there really a source in which it's told that Wiseman voiced Blofeld in the fourth film?

    there are conflicting reports that suggest both... IMO, it sounds just like Joseph Wiseman - and until i can be confirmed as otherwise, i refuse to change it :-D.. if you listen to the way Wiseman speaks in DN, and compare it with Blofeld in TB, it's very very similar - not only in vocal tone, but phonic pronunciation.... Pohlman's voice, when you listen to it in FRWL - compared to TB, is a little slower and deeper.

    I don't think it's Wiseman, but I wished he'd played Blofeld once. Not against Connery that would have been too distracting but say in OHMSS or against Moore circa TSWLM had they kept the rights to the character.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    The truth is out there, somewhere.
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    edited December 2015 Posts: 4,399
    .
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    HASEROT wrote: »
    ClarkDevlin wrote: »
    A small question, by the way. I know it has nothing to do with the thread but... I noticed Joseph Wiseman's name replacing Eric Pohlman's in the original post on the Thunderball segment. It's the first time I'm hearing of it, however, is there really a source in which it's told that Wiseman voiced Blofeld in the fourth film?

    there are conflicting reports that suggest both... IMO, it sounds just like Joseph Wiseman - and until i can be confirmed as otherwise, i refuse to change it :-D.. if you listen to the way Wiseman speaks in DN, and compare it with Blofeld in TB, it's very very similar - not only in vocal tone, but phonic pronunciation.... Pohlman's voice, when you listen to it in FRWL - compared to TB, is a little slower and deeper.
    I agree. Pohlman's voice was somewhat deeper and his way of delivering the words was somewhat slower and err... More circular if you catch my drift. Particularly with the 'L's and 'R's. I have to say, in Thunderball, after reading this, I am not hearing Pohlman's voice but Wiseman's. He sounds exactly like Dr. No during that meeting between the SPECTRE members. So, it's heavily suggestive the man who did the voice could have been Wiseman.
  • MajorBoothroyd32MajorBoothroyd32
    Posts: 10
    1. Waltz
    2. Savalas
    3. Pleasance
    4. Dawson/Pohlmann/Wiseman
    5. Von Sydow
    6. Hollis/Rietty
    7. Gray
  • JNOJNO Finland
    Posts: 137
    Top three:

    1. Savalas
    2. Waltz
    3. Pleasence

    And the trio Dawson/Pohlmann/Wiseman had huge menace! The unseen ones always sounded so dangerous criminal masterminds!

    Von Sydow was just a wasted opportunity. He could´ve been a true force.
  • mepal1mepal1
    Posts: 1,098
    1. Telly Savalas
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited November 2015 Posts: 7,108
    1. Anthony Dawson/Eric Pohlmann
    Faceless Blofeld remains my favourite because of the menacing mystery surrounding the character.

    2. Telly Savalas
    Great screen presence, fantastic voice, physically Bond's equal. Clearly my favourite face of Bond's arch nemesis.

    3. Donald Pleasence
    A bit cartoonish but an iconic performance nevertheless. Loved the line: "Kill Bond, now".

    4. Charles Gray
    Pity about the drag scene. I actually liked his weird pseudo-thespian wit. Fits perfectly for the nonsense that was DAF.

    5. John Hollis/Robert Rietty
    It's my favourite part of FYEO and I love the delicatessen line, this guy is more memorable than any of the other foes in this movie.

    6. Christoph Waltz
    Fantastic actor but not in the same league as the classic ones.
    The daddy issues didn't help much either.

    7. Max von Sydow
    Same goes for our Swedish friend. Brilliant actor, but badly written part ruins it for him. He's more Father Christmas than Blofeld.
  • JohnHammond73JohnHammond73 Lancashire, UK
    Posts: 4,151
    Top for me are definitely the ones we don't actually get to see. Much more menacing in my opinion and give a genuine threat.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited November 2015 Posts: 18,264
    It's news to me that Joseph Wiseman did the voice of the unseen Blofeld in Thunderball. The reason for this? It's not true! It was Eric Pohlmann in both films. It seems the source for this erroneous information is The Bond Files by Andy Lane and Paul Simpson.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited November 2015 Posts: 7,108
    I always thought so too. When I saw this poll, I looked at some video clips from the movies and I must admit that the voice of Blofeld does sound different in both films.
  • RogueAgentRogueAgent
    Posts: 12,526
    Still love Donald Pleasance!
  • josiahjosiah
    Posts: 1,386
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    I always thought so too. When I saw this poll, I looked at some video clips from the movies and I must admit that the voice of Blofeld does sound different in both films.

    @GoldenGun The voice does sound different to me in Thunderball than in FRWL, but I believe this is because Blofeld is using some sort of intercom systems in Thunderball so the voice was tweaked slightly to give this impression.


  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,264
    josiah wrote: »
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    I always thought so too. When I saw this poll, I looked at some video clips from the movies and I must admit that the voice of Blofeld does sound different in both films.

    @GoldenGun The voice does sound different to me in Thunderball than in FRWL, but I believe this is because Blofeld is using some sort of intercom systems in Thunderball so the voice was tweaked slightly to give this impression.


    I suppose that it's kind of like what they did with Dr. No's voice when we first hear him speak to Professor Dent. It's the "voice of doom" if you will.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    You know? When I think about Eric Pohlmann's voice and that very masculine and haunting appearance Blofeld was supposed to have, I couldn't really think of anyone else other than Christopher Lee who could've filled the shoes for that mysterious role. Instead of Scaramanga, we could've had him playing a very sinister and menacing Blofeld.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    Posts: 1,984
    The voice in Thunderball is filtered, so it's a bit different from FRWL. Nonetheless, it's that version that's the best Blofeld, and the only one that actually sounds menacing.
  • josiahjosiah
    edited March 2016 Posts: 1,386
    As for me it would be

    1. "#1" in FRWL (Eric Pohlmann/Anthony Dawson). This "appearance" remains my favorite. I love the parallel between the plot and the Japanese fighting fish and Blofeld is expertly handled in this entry IMO. He is a constant malevolent force throughout the film and the decision not to show his face in the film adds to the mystique of the character.

    2. "#1" in Thunderball
    My second favorite "appearance" of the character. The calm and calculated way in which he publicly executes an embezzling member of SPECTRE is a great way of showing once again the degree of power that Blofeld has. Pohlmann's version of Blofeld really feels like M's evil counterpart more to me than any other version of the character. The way one of the SPECTRE members sweats it out in that scene (similar to a scene with Rosa Klebb in FRWL) also gives the impression that Blofeld is a force to be reckoned with. The reason this is second is that Blofeld is really only in the first half of this movie and by the time it ends I have usually forgotten about him. Regardless, both the Eric Pohlmann/Anthony Dawson Blofeld's top my list.

    3. Donald Pleasance/Telly Savalas/Charles Gray/John Hollis & Robert Rietty/Christoph Waltz

    I sat here trying to rank these and realized that I have nitpicks with all of them but also love things about all of them and I couldn't pick one over the others.

    4. Max Von Sydow in NSNA

    Jan Werich was originally Blofeld in YOLT. Some reports say he returned home because he was ill but Lewis Gilbert claims he wasn't working out and looked too much to him like Father Christmas--this is my beef with Max Von Sydow. I just find Max Von Sydow too amiable as Blofeld and while there are moments where I definitely felt that way about Christoph Waltz's Blofeld, he at least had moments where I found him at least a tad unsettling. I like Max Von Sydow in other films, but I think he would have worked better as a character like Kristatos in FYEO.
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