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Is LALD the most thrifty and least spectacular Bond film?
Enter Moore:
One of the great virtues of 'Live and Let Die' is the film's inclusion and acceptance of Roger Moore. The role of James Bond was notoriously associated with Sean Connery and when the attempt was made to recast the part a few years prior it had been less than successful. The problem with George Lazenby was quite simple to audiences and critics alike; he just wasn't Sean Connery and the parallels drawn in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' exasperated this issue by continually highlighting the fact. No attempt was ever really made by the filmmakers behind 'On Her Majesty's' to play to their new actor's strengths and as a result Lazenby inevitably paled in comparison.
It's encouraging then to see the filmmakers learn from their past mistakes and allow Moore to come into the role and leave his own distinctive stamp. Roger Moore was something of a safe choice after the more bold and risky move of hiring a Australian model with limited acting experience. Following his performances in numerous successful UK Television shows, Roger Moore was a star in his own right and had built up a reputation for playing heroic and suave characters that more often than not resembled Ian Fleming's creation.
Considering the position the series was in Moore was clearly the seemingly most palatable and agreeable choice for the role. The Bond franchise was on rocky territory as an actor was needed who could sufficiently establish himself in the part and untether the series from the ghost of Sean Connery. Despite providing a rather polarising performance as 007 the interpretation offered by Moore in many ways cemented Bond's position today. By bringing something unique and different to the role Moore was able to establish that the Bond series was in fact a malleable brand that could evolve and change.
At least cosmetically changes are made very early on to distinguish Moore from his well-loved predecessor. Opposed to Connery's tuxedo-clad introduction we meet 007 in 'Live and Let Die' in his dressing-gown (complete with embossed 'JB' initials) and instead of vodka martinis, Bond fusses around an elaborate cappuccino machine. Immediately it's clear that Roger's Bond operates in a different register. His Bond feels more English, effete, elegant and suitably modern and a tad metrosexual. Moore clearly implants a lot of his own persona into the role and brings spades of charm and plenty of rye self-aware humour which often feels relaxed and improvised. Subsequently 'Live and Let Die' is a noticeably funnier and looser film with the energy Roger brings to the lead character being the chief reason for this change in tone. It's helped along by writer Tom Mankiewicz's zingy dialogue which fits Roger like a glove.
Roger Moore reminds me of the square-jawed and perfectly coiffed hero's of Hollywood's golden era of cinema. In fact at times Roger almost looks a little too pretty which coupled together with his heroic appearance occasionally puts him at risk of appearing rather bland and forgettable. Of course there is a mischievous nature to the Bond character and Roger has too much charisma to blend into the background but there is a sense at times he is a bit of an Identikit and standard leading man.
With Connery audiences were always aware that a thug lurked beneath the surface of his portrayal, this isn't quite the case for Moore who is rather woeful in the fight sequences. Roger is clearly more effeminate than Sean, maybe this has something to do with his Englishness, but I don't think you'd ever see Sean with quite so many buttons undone on his shirt. However, this is the point, Moore emphasises different qualities in Bond and as a result plays up different angles of the character presenting Bond as the suave, sophisticated, "gentleman spy" who'd rather have a drink and cigar than engage in any fisticuffs. Roger's Bond is an international jet-setting playboy and while his portrayal has become a little dated in the age of the anti-hero the charm he brings to 'Live and Let Die' really makes the film a fun and breezy affair.
Voodoo Land:
There is plenty to enjoy in 'Live and Let Die' with the film evoking the old Saturday morning serials and is something of a Boys' Own adventure. Aside from the traditional espionage thrills the film interweaves themes of the occult and voodoo culture. This aspect of the film gives 'Live and Let Die' an unusual and engrossing new angle and heightens the sense of adventure and discovery in the story. The voodoo scenes are frightening and provide the film with a palpable exoticism which the best Bond stories do. This sense of adventure and escape is carried throughout the film from the brilliant gadgets (the magnetic watch is a highlight in the series for me), to the deadly creatures that haunt the picture.
In fact, lethal and vicious reptiles are something of a reoccurring motif in 'Live and Let Die' as Bond encounters snakes, crocodiles and even sharks over the course of the movie. Hamilton brings his typical brio and playfulness to these sequences. The highlight being Bond's encounter with the crocodiles at the farm and his interactions with Tee-Hee played brilliantly by Julius Glover. In addition, I enjoyed the depiction of the three murders during the opening and how they bleed into Paul McCartney's excellent title song and Maurice Binder's equally brilliant main titles. In addition, Beatles' producer George Martin's score is particularly impressive and makes good use of McCartney's riffs. Ted Moore's scrumptious 35mm lensing is also brilliant especially during the bayou and New York sequences.
The locations in the film also add a great splash of colour and vibrancy. In the early 1970's the blaxploitation genre had began to emerge and proved hugely popular, this inevitably meant the Bond series had to jump on the bandwagon. While the more flamboyant outfits in 'Live and Let Die's Harlem segments and the racially insensitive language may be a little quaint and often comical these sequences are still entertaining and fun. Commentators both at the time and in retrospect have taken offence to 'Live and Let Die' and branded the film as backward and racist. There is certainly an argument to be made here as practically all the black characters in the film are villains and more often than not they are portrayed as primitive and subservient and noticeably less intelligent than the white characters depicted.
Despite holding some merit I disagree with these notions in the most part. For instance the film's chief antagonist is a very intelligent and powerful diplomat, furthermore, the first black Bond girl appears in the film in the form of Rosie Carver. This caused quite a stir in 1973 with some countries cutting the scene where Bond and Rosie share a post-coital kiss. However, Rosie's race is not a distinctly important part of her character and is merely incidental to her role in the story. To me this is an important step as the producers chose not to make a point over the issue and seemingly cast the character completely colourblind. Any person insisting there is a worrying underlying message in 'Live and Let Die' is obviously missing the point, the film's main goal is to entertain which is something it aptly achieves even if it's 40 years have not been overly kind to it.
The Love Triangle:
One of the more fascinating things about 'Live and Let Die' is the relationship between the villain and the primary Bond girl. Kananga controls his organisation through fear and mysticism and due to his belief in the occult he harnesses Solitaire's supposed powers by locking her away for himself. He loves her and knows that when her powers begin to fade he will break her connection to whatever higher mystical realm she is attached to by having sex with her, likely against her will. He is in total control of her and highly possessive over her movements. This is something Bond becomes savvy of very early on and once he has 'contaminated' her Kananga is driven positively wild becoming both angry and ashamed of her and himself. When he confronts her later in the film Kananga almost seems afraid to test Solitaire's powers in case she really has lost them and would rather not have his worst fears confirmed. When addressing her later he even acknowledges how he gave her every opportunity to avert his concerns and yet she didn't take them before he lashes out. Yaphet Kotto brings a great intimidating demeanour and an occasionally child-like manner to Kanaga. His hushed and slightly lisped voice is also rather creepy and unsettling and suits his character perfectly.
Through this process Bond is able to emasculate Kananga but by doing so he essentially uses Solitaire as a pawn. Knowing the weight she places on the cards he manipulates her into sleeping with him and thusly into loosing her 'powers'. This is a rather scoundrelly thing for 007 to do but in the course of doing so he liberates Solitaire and wins himself an important ally. But Bond's chief reason is to get to Kananga and blind his third eye and corrupt the most integral part of his organisation whilst using her as bait.
What elevates this interesting dynamic is the performances given by the three leads and Hamilton's decision to let these issues come to a head in a great 10 minute dialogue scene. This is a rather unusual move for a Bond movie which typically have a great deal of difficulty sitting still. Here the tension simmers more than it does in any of the film's grand set-pieces and Jane Seymour's performance is excellent. Typically Bond does not give it's actors much chance to shine but Seymour brings such a tragic naivety and innocence to Solitaire and immediately wins the audience's affection and hearts. Solitaire is a scared and frightened girl caught in this grand web, even after having sex with Bond she seems fragile and violated and in desperate need of help. When Solitaire falls back into Kananga's clutches after Bond promised to keep him away it's hard not to sympathise with the character and wish the ordeal would end for her.
Thrifty Production Values:
Despite many admiral qualities 'Live and Let Die' does suffer from some notable pitfalls. The most apparent issue is the less spectacular and grandiose nature of the film. In contrast to the latter few Bond pictures 'Live and Let Die' has a noticeably scaled-back production and is most reminiscent of Bond's more modest introduction in 'Dr No'. This was down to budget cuts that were occurring behind-the-scenes and in the most part the more thrifty nature of the production does show in the final piece. The low-key nature of the film makes it hard for any one element to really stand out and as a result 'Live and Let Die' feels like a minor film within the Bond canon.
The modest production values and the episodic nature of the narrative feel at times more reminiscent of a television episode of 'The Persuaders' or 'The Saint', the two shows Roger Moore established his name in. While 'Live and Let Die' is an entertaining picture it feels far from essential viewing; hardly one of the worst Bond outings but certainty one of the least significant.
The film is sorely lacking the eye of production-design extraordinaire, Mr. Ken Adam; this time around the sets are mostly uneventful and relatively cheap and tacky looking. Furthermore, the action and chase sequences are dry and often less than impressive. For instance the airport chase is a little embarrassing especially considering the grand car chase that appeared in 'Diamonds Are Forever' or the epic ski chase from 'On Her Majesty's'. The cutbacks are most felt in the third act of the film; here there is no attempt to let the film end on a high and go out with a bang, instead the picture whimpers out after rolling out some typical Bond cliches. During the finale 'Live and Let Die' relies entirely on formula as Bond attempts to rescue the girl before discovering the villain's underground citadel and being greeted by a line along the lines of "I've been expecting you Mr. Bond...", etc. There is also a change in Kananga's character here with Kotto descending into typical Bond villain mode and thusly loosing much of what made him more interesting and perverse earlier in the film. The revelation of Kananga’s lair should really have been one of the memorable highlights of the film, but instead comes across as something of an afterthought. We're thrown into the deep-end pretty quickly, suddenly we have machetes, knifes, gadgets and air-compressing bullets we’re never even had introduced to us and as a result the sequence feels very hasty and rushed.
In addition, despite some very impressive individual stunts the actual grand 'action' set-pieces are rather drab and uninvolving. The film's centrepiece boat chase is the chief offender, the sequence is 15 minutes long and in there is a great and impressive sequence aching to be forged out. However, the chase is often more boring than thrilling due to the poor editing leading to am evident lack of suspense. The chase is only intermittently scored which also doesn't help and once you've seen the boats travel over land once it gets a little tiresome the third time the trick is pulled off. In every way the sequence feels like an unedited rough-cut in need of finessing. Furthermore, the inclusion of Sheriff J.W Pepper and his Louisiana cops is a joke which wares very thin extremely quickly and should have found it's way onto the cutting-room floor.
Another thing the film lacks is a great introduction for Moore. Opposed to the reveals in the past, Roger's first appearance is a little too low-key and forgettable. Why couldn't the film of opened with Bond's mission in Rome that is hinted at during the opening? Furthermore, Q's disappearance is also felt especially considering the abundance of gadgets on display. Apparently the decision to not include the character was due to Desmond Llewelyn's association to the Connery era but considering the amount of hardware on show it seems baffling not to include Q. Why didn't the film take the chance to maybe introduce a new actor into the role if this was the case?
Summary:
'Live and Let Die' is a step in the right direction for Bond as the series finally found a way to move past and navigate new waters without Sean Connery. The film is good old-fashioned escapist entertainment that is genuinely funny and exciting. In addition, the characters have interesting new shades to them that are slightly more complex than typically offered in past films. However, the low-key feel to the film means that 'Live and Let Die' never quite touches greatness and feels like a relatively minor offering within the Bond oeuvre.
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Comments
However, I get your point about LALD seeming a little underbudgeted. Kananga's lair was a little underwhelming (Ken Adam was sorely missed, yes), and his infamous blow-up doll death was pretty bad (although LTK did something similar with Krest that was almost as bad.....come to think of it, they had the same Leiter and sharks in that one too....hmm).
I really liked the boat chase actually. Sure it's long, but it's quite fun and shot nicely with long range panoramic views...I particularly liked the ending near the tankers. The chase was a bit drawn out, but I would not call it cheap.
I found the double decker bus chase very boring though and the snake pit at the voodoo hangout at the end was obviously fake.
Moore did have the worst introduction as Bond too. His trademark humour was introduced here however, so that makes up for it to some extent, but some action would have been nice.
I didn't mind Q not being in this one. We got to see more of M and MP at Bond's house, so that was fun.
I think the pretitle sequence is probably one of the worst in the series, but it's redeemed by that spectacular PM & the Wings title track.
It's not my favourite Bond movie, and it can be dull, but I don't think it's the least spectacular. That goes to perhaps AVTAK for me (it seemed very run of the mill for 1985, apart from the Eifel Tower sequence).
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Yes, very well written @Pierce2Daniel.
Also, LALD has my favourite Bond girl: Solitaire. ;-)
@Pierce2Daniel, well written indeed sir! A pleasure to read.
:))
The other contended in my book would be GE, which looked pretty low budget at times, especially compared to other blockbuster movies of the day. I remember watching it at the cinema on opening night and there were a few sniggers when Bros jumped after the plane in the PTS as it was so obviously fake. However, GE did a much better job of using the budget it had than, say, TWINE which cost far more to make and was, apart form the boat chase, very dreary to look at.
You're on to me, @chrisisall. :x
Rosie, the Kananga/Mr. Big silliness, and the exploding Mr. Big at the end.
It was a fresh start to a series that quickly became stale.
Interesting review ...published in 73 I assume. By whom?
@Pierce2Daniel
As for Q not being in LALD, I read somewhere it was due to him being unavaliable as he was shooting the tv series Follyfoot.
Maybe @JamesPage or @MI6 may consider in the future putting some of my stuff on the main page?
Listen up, I demand it!
Change in aspect ratio with LALD & T MWTGG makes them look more like TV
Movies rather than big budget films.
The ones I think look the cheapest:
DN
DAF
LALD
AVTAK
LTK
DAD
MWTGG doesn't really grab me either. Saw some of it on TV earlier and, despite the great locations, it just felt crummy.
I think AVTAK and LTK look cheap because they look so darn like 80s action movies, if that makes sense. But I love the cheap look of DN, LALD and to a lesser extend TMWTGG (one of the few things I love about Gun).
Plus honorable mention to RWTAB, in the Bond derivative film category.
(Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins)
Re opening picture above. They must be real close to shooting next shot, lead actress remains tied up, and dead actor is still playing dead.Probably waiting for Rog to stop joking around with his gun.
Was just curious of the source... but very well written ..thanks for sharing.
I enjoyed the review quiet well, but low-key is not one of the words I would use to summarize LALD.
I regard AVTAK as one of the most beautiful entries. Granted, I'm an ardent supporter of this film, but despite it's shortcomings I can't say it looks cheap, quite the opposite. It's a very classy production.
That's fair as it they used natural surroundings of New York and Louisiana Bayou for the exoticism and not too much on extravagant sets, though this could partially be a product of having no Ken Adam on this one. I definitely agree with you that it works in the films favor as they got the very most out of their locations as they could.