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Thanks :) It started with me trying to be funny, when some of the films actually ended up being about where I'd rank them now.
Interesting thing about the Bond films and rankings: they seems to frequently change.
One day Eyes Only is my favorite Moore, the next day it might be The Spy Who Loved Me.
I find that too with Rog. My favourite Sean, Tim, Pierce, Daniel and George (obviously!) always stay the same but I fluctuate with Roger - mainly between FYEO, TSWLM and LALD - but LALD is the top for me for the last few years.
LALD is great. I've always loved it. For years AVTAK was my go to as worst Bond film, but when the end credits rolled on DAD I felt kicked in the gut. Like it was utterly impossible for me to see a new Bond and immediately rank it lower than View. Yet, finally it happened. Actually, I was starting to feel that way a bit with TND. Now I appreciate View more than ever and embrace the elements many dislike: Roger age, Stacy screaming, etc.
I hope I can keep it together like Rog when I'm 57. Maybe not as solid as FYEO or LALD, but it's a fun entry.
It'll probably hit the spot if you're in the mood for it. For some reason TWINE is one that I really have to be in the mood for. I have to be on a Brosnan kick or nostalgic about 1999 or whatever to really enjoy that one. At the time I loved it. It was my fave Pierce.
Thanks @DaltonCraig007 - a little bit of penultimate Barry can always get one in the mood for a film, and this is certainly a great score. I actually don't really mind the film all that much if I'm being honest - it's just that I much prefer all of the other Moore ones.
I used to feel poorly about DAF too, but ironically now it's YOLT which I find a bit difficult to get through from the Connery ones, due to the lethargic 3rd half.
thanx, yes "he's dangerous", especially that part when the guitar kicks in is just great...
"Wine with Stacy" is also a fantastic romatic piece. It is funny that the main takes from the title track in the film ("Wine with Stacy" and "Bond meets Stacy") are romatic ballads, even though the song "AVTAK" is not really a ballad itself.
One of Barry's finest overall soundtracks. Only topped by OHMSS for me.
"Which lunatic asylum did they get you from."
I really agree on everything you said. I like ATAK but I see its many downfalls. They could have made a great film out of it with some simple but effective changes.
1. No California Girls (I still wait for someone to properly rerecord the 2nd half of the PTS).
2. Either recast the main actor or give some retirment hints. Adress Bond's age better.
3. Cast another actor to play Stacy (actually the character of Stacy Sutton is not bad) but Tanja Robert is too young for the role and not credible as a state geologist.
4. Make the action scenes less silly (exclude some of the bad humor)
5. Try to find some better one liners, some of the dialouge is just awfull (early riser myself)
6. don't let Bond be in the shower with Stacy in the end, keep the father / daughter relationship
7 Make the stunt doubles less obvious.
8 combine the main plot and the subplot better. They seem a bit too unrelated
9. give some explanation how Bond is able to hang on to the mooring rope of the zeppelin for an hour or so.
I think someone did redub the 007 theme over the pts on here.
Not all the action scenes are silly. I think the steeplechase sequence is well done, and Moore actually gets bashed about a bit by the other riders!
Moores age is an issue. I wonder what changes would have been made if they brought in Dalton at this stage?
I also like the steeplechase, especially since it is the only real horse chase in the franchise, as far as I remeber right now. Mayday parachuting of the Eiffel tower is also great, as is all the action in the city hall, the mine or on top the GG-bridge, I even like the skiing part in the PTS. Think it is a very amazing job done by Bogner's team.
I also wondered wheather Dalton could have played Bond in AVTAK. I think it should have worked. Dalton showed (especially in TLD) that he can play Bond also in less serious scenes. And I think you just needed to get rid of the siliest moments in this film to make it apropriate for Dalton. One could have left the weird elements (especially the villains) that make the film very memorable in it.
01. Casino Royale
02. Skyfall ↑1
03. From Russia with Love ↑1
04. Goldfinger ↓2
05. On Her Majesty's Secret Service ↑7
06. The Living Daylights ↑1
07. For Your Eyes Only
08. GoldenEye ↓2
09. Tomorrow Never Dies ↓1
10. Dr. No ↓5
11. Thunderball ↑5
12. Quantum of Solace ↓1
13. The World Is Not Enough ↑4
14. The Spy Who Loved Me ↓5
15. You Only Live Twice ↓2
16. Spectre ↓1
17. Licence to Kill ↑1
18. Octopussy ↓4
19. The Man with the Golden Gun ↑1
20. Die Another Day ↑2
---. Never Say Never Again
21. Live and Let Die
22. A View to a Kill ↑2
23. Diamonds Are Forever ↓4
24. Moonraker ↓1
Observations:
This is the part where I break from the no details specification of the topic. My top four are still solidified and basically just swap placement -- those drops and increases are almost meaningless because I find it incredibly challenging to rank them against each other. It could very easily be Goldfinger in 1st and Casino Royale in 4th.
The 5th slot has previously been GoldenEye and Dr. No on a consistent basis. That ends here. My most recent viewing of On Her Majesty's Secret Service were wonderful. I still have great reservations of Lazenby as Bond, but this time it did not interfere with my enjoyment of arguably the best story in the franchise. Telly Savalas has become my favorite Blofeld. In appearance, he is close to the quintessential Donald Pleasence portrayal, but far more fleshed out in this entry. As for GoldenEye and Dr. No, it seems they have taken a tumble. I still view them quite favorably (both in my Top 10); however, they just didn't resonate with me as much in recent viewings.
Thunderball's ascension has been a long time coming. In recent rankings, I have lamented that I desired to place it higher, but the third act was holding me back. This time around, I can say I am extremely fond of the first two acts and its the final sequences that prevent it from being a fixture in my Top 10. That spectacle may have been great for 1965, but to hang its hat on that makes it no better than how most people qualify a Brosnan film, Connery, script, et al. notwithstanding. Speaking of Brosnan, I found all of his films to be much more enjoyable overall this time around. Die Another Day is out of the dungeon and The World Is Not Enough is at the top of the bottom half.
Moore's films had both a boost and a slide here. I originally had For Your Eyes Only in the 5th spot for a brief moment until I really factored in the total impact I experienced from the film. The Spy Who Loved Me felt very by the numbers to me that I couldn't bring myself to place it above the others in good conscience. This is disappointing considering it broke into my Top 10 in May. I had more enjoyment watching The Man with the Golden Gun actually, but the film is a bit of a mess besides some standout performances by Moore and Lee. It doesn't help that it's my least favorite Barry score, but it was still good enough to move up for the first time in a while.
I unfairly had A View to a Kill ranked last in May. The Barry score alone makes it worth more probably. While it is marred with several issues, I found some solid elements spread throughout. Diamonds Are Forever took another large nosedive. This used to be my guilty pleasure that I originally had close to my Top 10 when I first posted on this forum. I just didn't have any fun with it this time -- perhaps because of my newfound enjoyment from On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
I also gave Never Say Never Again another look and I liked what I saw overall. Its placement may also have something to do with Connery's weak performance in Diamonds. This just felt more compelling in its totality.
I try to keep an open mind for my preferences in Bond films. Licence to Kill was my original last place when I posted in March 2015 and now it's 17. AVTAK was a childhood favorite of mine (Top 5), but now that I look at it in finer detail quite a few things stand out at me that I'm not fond of. It could change a bit, but I don't see it cracking the upper half again because it lacks energy and intrigue that I feel for other films in the bottom half (i.e. TMWTGG). Octopussy is a good example of this variation. While 18 may seem bad, I really like that film even now and have recently had it in my top 12 or 13.
In regards to SF since it's my favorite to talk about, I think everyone who doesn't have fondness for it could keep giving it a look. The means it uses to drive he narrative is not standard for Bond and kind of refreshing to experience among the bunch. While not a fun outing, it possesses a level of mastery of what it aims to do with some elements that are honestly imperfect (and as I've said in other topics, occasionally poorly thought out) and that is something given not every film has source material of the quality of FRWL or OHMSS.
1) Casino Royale
2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3) From Russia With Love
4) The Living Daylight
5) Licence to Kill
6) Skyfall
7) Thunderball
8) Tomorrow Never Dies
9) GoldenEye
10) Goldfinger
11) The Spy Who Loved Me
12) Dr. No
13) The World is Not Enough
14) The Man With the Golden Gun
15) SPECTRE
16) Quantum of Solace
17) You Only Live Twice
18) For Your Eyes Only
19) Octopussy
20) Die Another Day
21) Moonraker
22) Live and let Die
23) A View to a Kill
24) Never Say Never Again
25) Diamonds are Forever
26) Casino Royale (1967)
I guess I have to explain myself a little about the Brosnan area. I know people usually don't love TND and TWINE, but I find them myself pretty cool. It's not the best Bond around, but they are surelly are great action movie (in my opinion). I love how fast is TND, it lasts less than 2 hours, the action around is great and I still like how Brosnan plays Bond. TWINE is not that good, but I really like Elektra King and the relationship with M.
Always nice to get an updated @Birdleson list. Surprised to see you list TLD in the waiting room of the dungeon, though you have been very open on that title so I get it. What are the qualities that make TSWLM and LALD for you? I try to get into them, but have trouble. TSWLM gives me one half of great theater at least.
I think so too. But I am not a big fan of the 70s Bond films.