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What happened to Peter Hunt's career post OHMSS?
Surprisingly there is nothing about this on Wikipedia or the 'making of ohmss' book. Only a quote from Richard Maimbun saying he was a 'monster' as a director. I was a bit disappointed in that book actually considering the reviews and it's hefty price, but maybe that's for another thread.
Why was he not offered to direct or work on a Bond again? And why did he not get jobs outside of Bond? It's not like he was a bad editor/director. On the contrary there was much praise for his editorial work on the Bond films and OHMSS is well directed.
Why was he not offered to direct or work on a Bond again? And why did he not get jobs outside of Bond? It's not like he was a bad editor/director. On the contrary there was much praise for his editorial work on the Bond films and OHMSS is well directed.
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He didnt do another Bond as the clssic OHMSS is only getting the recognition it deserved now!
His career bombed after OHMSS. No way of dressing it up.
The Ipcress File (editor) have my intrest. It is produced by Harry Saltzman, John Barry did the music and Ken Adam production designer. Made before OHMSS.
GOLD is a very good film. I highly recommend it. I wasn't that impressed with Shout At The Devil, but then these period pieces aren't really my style.
Take this for what it's worth, but according to the Wikipedia article for TSWLM, Guy Hamilton was originally attached to direct it until he dropped out to direct Superman instead (where he ended up being replaced by Richard Donner anyway). I assume after that he was out of the group, so to speak.
I think Glen was expecting it, especially with the long gap after LTK!
That does seem to fit the M.O. in place at that point and which continued (I think) till GE and Glenn, i.e. inviting back the director who did the current film for the next so long as they wanted it (Gilbert being the one exception during YOLT, as Hunt made Cubby/Harry promise the next one)—and if not, asking a former director or, in Hunt and Glenn's cases, former editor/second unit guy to do it. Glenn not being asked back for GE was probably the first time.
I think Barbara and MGW, too, asked each of Campbell, Spottiswoode, and Apted back after their films as well. Doubt Tamahori was asked back for CR after DAD (not solely because of how the film turned out but also because they were going in a different direction). Nothing’s ever been said of Forster being approached for SF, correct?
I wonder — if Hunt hadn’t made Cubby/Harry promise OHMSS, how would a Gilbert OHMMS have looked?
Or better yet — if they had gone and done TMWTGG in '69 with Roger Moore as had been considered, and Gilbert being asked back to direct that!
Thanks very much for that very useful interview. It's always good to hear from Hunt.
No way of supporting that with facts, you mean. Hunt actually had a good post-Bond career. Gold and Shout at the Devil were big-budget adventure films with an internationally-known star (Roger Moore). The same can be said for Death Hunt, with Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson. Even Hunt's TV work--The Persuaders, The Last Days of Pompeii, Philip Marlowe, Private Eye--was highly regarded. True, his last few credits were forgettable, but Hunt did well post-OO7, better than many other Bond directors. Gold and Shout at the Devil in particular are highly recommended, and (of course) very well directed.
Oh, and here's that Pauline Kael quote Hunt mentioned, from her review of DAF:
Forster was asked back for the next one after QoS (in 2008, before they had the idea for SF and Mendes) but declined as I recall.
Gilbert would have been great for FYEO imho. That film was good as it was, but I think Sir Rog and he would have nailed it and given it a bit more flair.
Yes, that is factually correct.
Yes, I'd definitely have liked to see what Gilbert could have done with a smaller plot and operating under a more restrictive budget, specifically without a massive Ken Adam set. Gilbert was the perfect kind of director for Bond. Given the opportunity to do FYEO, I think he would've shined. Look at the beginning of MR, when Bond is doing genuine spy work before the plot escalates. Tremendous stuff.
Thanks for that. I for one however don't buy that he was asked back. What was he doing that was so important that he couldn't direct Diamonds? Come on, no rookie director is going to turn down that kind of money, let alone the prestige & career advancement.
Strangely, that's how more films are going today, with Jason Bourne, Mad Max and Dunkirk leading the way.
Still a tremendous score, one of the very best...
Valid speculation! I'd think the same. The man had spent a decade doing Bond, however, so that combined with a probably tiring OHMSS shoot and the then-uncertain future of the franchise, he may simply have wanted out. As you imply, though, we'd have to take him at his word.
MR is truly under-appreciated. By no means should it be the template for Bond films going forward, but it is far from being the worst film in the series. Added to the great moments of sleuthing, Moore's in peak form, the cinematography is outstanding (the scene with the dogs chasing Corinne through the forest stands out as especially gorgeous), the editing is the best Glen ever did (he somehow manages to make even the gondola bit artful), Lonsdale nails it as Drax, Barry turns in one of his best scores (and his single best track ever might be Bond Lured to Pyramid) and of course Ken Adam is the best he's ever been. The ending in particular is the best of all Gilbert's films (following the battle, when Bond has to shoot the globes before they enter the atmosphere). I wish there was this kind of ambition in the franchise now. It must have been a ton of fun to make.
As for YOLT, it's under-appreciate as well. It takes flack for its story, and rightfully so. But I feel like watching YOLT for the story is doing it wrong, to some degree. Much like GF, the story seems purposefully secondary to everything else that's going on, the sheer iconography being developed in front of you.