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Eric Pohlman would have been a great Blofeld. He also had a great physical presence.
By the way, was it Pohlman who did the voice-over in Thunderball?? Some people claim it's Joseph Wiseman's voice. I think I agree. Compare the voice of Blofeld in FRWL and Thunderball, the voice is very different. And then compare Thunderball Blofeld to Dr. No.
I too had heard that about Wiseman and thought it was true. Several years ago I asked the question on another Bond fan forum and no less than Graham Rye of the James Bond Fan Club replied and confirmed it was Pohlman, so that was good enough for me. It's still hard sometimes not to hear Wiseman in that voice.
"You may be able to fool the "old man" but I know different I...
"So do I Miss Moneypenny. And kindly not refer to me...as the old man."
Bond "I think I had a hat when I came in."
Love the dynamic!
I agree with you @BT3366 Dench and Craig seemed to have more of an antagonistic relationship. Somewhat to what Hamilton liked to have between Bond and M. If you notice GF, DAF, LALD and TMWTGG Bond and M are always either having disagreements or M seems pissed at Bond. Similar vibe in Craig and Dench.
There was legit character development between Dench and Bond throughout the course of the films. Just compare the dialogue in GE with the lengths Bond goes through in SF (continuity issues ignored, of course).
But to put this back to TB. I too like M throughout this movie. He sticks up for Bond with the Home Secretary. Who is perfectly cast as a snooty suit!
My only complaint with TB is the ending has pacing issues. Lots of underwater action that looks rather tame and boring. But it is beautifully shot and the final battle with the navy versus S.P.E.C.T.R.E is quite something.
Your opinion, shared by many others it seems. But I have to take issue with tame claim. I can understand the complaint many have about the battle's length, but beneath the surface (see what I did there) there is some real and graphic violence in that scene what with divers being speared, smashed through the diver masks and that memorable shot of Largo with the bloody knife. Alan Barnes and Marcus Hearn mentioned it in their review of the book Kiss Kiss Bang Band something to the effect of "this is not comic strip James Bond, this is nasty stuff." Not that that's a good thing, but it stands out in the series.
If that wasn't enough, they also have to contend with sharks and other undersea life and there are even a few moments of humor mixed in.
The TB final battle also stands out in it differs from other such battles in the series that usually involve the two armies with machine guns and pistols blazing and grenades exploding. I find GF's pretty staid in that way, for example.
And by the way, using the word 'boring' to describe part or all of a Bond movie is already getting tiresome (see the Is FYEO Boring thread for example). Good or bad, Bond movies are rarely if ever boring. Like, I completely hate Die Another Day's guts, but it's never BORING. Fleming's novels (at least so far for me) are never boring either, but I can imagine some who find the underwater battle in TB boring would say the same about Fleming's stuff.
It is a bit long, but the action is interesting. The biggest underwater issue for me is burying the bomb. it is WAY too long and kills the momentum of the film. I disagree that there is never anything boring in Bond films. Most of th Connery films have stretches where not much of interest happens - esp. in the films with longer expositions.
I will say everything from Bond arriving in Nassau until the final battle is my favorite stretch of any Bod film.
Some of the boring underwater stuff:
These are my beefs with the underwater stuff.
Maybe we could apply a politically correct term such as less creatively inspiring or comparatively uninvolving.
I always thought Bond taking the photographs was rushed. He was literally there for 2 seconds before thugs arrived (like you said). Could have really built tension by sneaking around the DV for a bit.
You're missing the pivotal moment when Bond escapes his own people in the hotel, walks towards her and says she wants Fields to be reccommended in the report. 'she showed true bravery'.
Then M realises Bond's been on the mission all along. She even references to that when Bond walks away from Yussef and she asks if he's still alive. That's not a jab at him, but a confirmation he wasn't out on revenge.
I agree to an extend that the burying of the bombs could've been cut shorter, but the fight underwater I still find amazing. I don't know of any other film that has such action. The fights with all the danger of under water (u/w life, pressure, etc.) I think makes for a long, thrilling ride.
Of course, with sharks being a threat at other points in the film, it may have been a bit of overload on that type of thing.
I think we now have the solution to how EON can get back to producing Bond movies every two years – employ LEGO actors and sets!
Very, very cool!!!!
And it's a real gadget with a practical purpose. Lost in Space had a character use a jetpack in an early episode and a guy wearing one was part of the pregame during the first Super Bowl in 1967. Yeah the dodgy back projection due to the helmet distracts some, but there are worse instances of that in the series.
If we want to criticize something in the precredits, the water spray thing is pretty goofy. I always wondered why the henchmen didn't just run around to get to Bond.
How do you feel about the underwater battle and other underwater scenes now? Do they bother you or take you out of TB as many others have expressed?
Who put it there? How did nobody notice is being lugged up to that spot? Did Bond always intend to escape that way? :)
That works, I suppose!
Need to give it a rewatch. I don't remember a huge amount from TB tbh. Apart from Fiona Volpe.
It's more Thunderbirds than James Bond
That's after all all you need to remember 😜