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Liparus
easy
Henchmen with evil laughter/grin: Baron Samedi wins 7:2 against Dario
Derek Meddings’ model work: Liparus wins 7:2 against Severnaya crash
Round 31:
Which (generelly much appreciated) CR scene do you prefer: train talk: (I’m the money. Every penny of it.) vs: torture scene (Now the whole world's gonna know that you died scratching my balls!)
Which “in-the-water-MI6-Headquarter” do you prefer: submarine (YOLT) vs. wreck of RMS Queen Elizabeth (TMWTGG)
The second is hard. None stand out, but YOLT just because it is less silly.
And I'll take the sub HQ from YOLT easily. It's fun, and Connery seems playful.
It puts Flemings work on screen down to the death of Le Chiffre. The train talk scene is not bad but seems like it's trying a little too hard to top the similar Cary Grant/Eva Marie Saint scene in Hitchcock's NBNW.
and
Submarine (YOLT)
Both in the water MI6 HQ scenes are good but I like seeing Connery, M and Miss Moneypenny in their royal naval uniforms.
Naked, strapped to a chair. Having your genitals whacked with a length of knotted rope!
It's the most simplistic and effective torture if you ask me. And it makes me wince every time. it's so beautifully shot. I think the humour is required, or it would become too sadistic. It also brings out Bond's defiance in being able to withstand what would be agonising pain. Easily one of the stand out moments of CR, if not the series.
The second option I'm going to give to the wreck of the RMS Queen Elizabeth.
Simply because it's a quirky and albeit silly idea. If we can have hollowed out volcanoes and the like, then why cant MI6 utilise the wreck of a boat for their headquarters in Hong Kong. As the naval chap says, with real estate in Hong Kong being so expensive, it's a pretty good option.
Another good round @goldenswissroyale, look forward to next weeks entries. And hopefully a few more people will participate in this thread.
RMS Queen Elizabeth. Reminds me of German Expressionism and The Third Man, ergo clear winner.
And definitely Queen Elizabeth, if I had the money to restyle my house so that everything sloped 45 degrees in homage to the QE then believe me I would!!
Torture scene one of the best acting scenes in any Bond film. Craig and Mikkelsen are perfect.
Neither leaves a massive impression, but while TMWTGG is probably a more interesting set, I prefer the submarine as it has a more classical nature to it, where it's just M's office but in a submarine.
RMS Queen Elizabeth. I find shipwrecks fascinating. Love how they salvage the Chinese fighter.
The torture scene is on the same Level but it is also able to give me goose bumps. It is violent, dark and at the same time we get some of the funniest lines of the movie. I believe that I had already tears in my eyes in this scene : It is difficult to describe why but it was probably because of the relief that Bond isn't broken yet and is still able to provoke his enemy in such a way that we really have to laugh with Bond but at the same time his pain feels real. The dark/fun mixture could be a trainwreck but it works perfectly in CR. The director and the actors did a fantastic job here.
I'm with @2Wint2Kidd once again: For me, this is one of the best acted scenes in Bond history.
The submarine was cool. It was unexpected (the first time that we see M and Moneypenny outside the official headquarter in London) and I love the moment when they open the "mummified" body and out comes Bond in his uniform. This scene fits probably better into the movie than the sScene from TMWTGG...
...however, I have to vote for Queen Elizabeth: Despite being OTT, it is a very cool set and I didn't see that coming after Bond was jumping on the wreck.
It takes Bond where he'd never been before in this way, breaking new territory. I can't imagine any of the other actors doing this scene. It also works in that it almost makes me sympathetic toward Le Chiffre's plight. I think then to the subsequent torture scene in SP that seems even worse in comparison, making CR's that much better. I doubt we'll get a torture scene as good in a Bond film again. Not that I'm not hoping, mind you.
The train conversation is another good part of the film, but I'm honestly surprised many fans hold it such high esteem. Sure it beats Moore or Brosnan double-entendre fests, but I don't like it quite as much as some of the conversations with Camille in QoS. One of the things I remember is when this was new, some fans tried to make the lines "I'm the money" and "Every penny" to be an Easter egg for it being a Moneypenny reference.
For Mi6 HQ, give me the Queen Elizabeth every time. How cool it was the first time seeing TMWTGG as Bond leaps onto the wreck (not sure just how he thought it would help him escape) and hear that voice welcoming him. It's imaginative with the angles and somebody mentioned the cool touch of the salvaged fighter plane and the amusing line about being economic with real estate prices being what they are and M's presence.
I'm again surprised by all the enthusiasm for the submarine. It's a submarine, albeit the first time one appeared in a Bond film, so why is it so surprising to see M in one given he's an admiral? The build-up atmosphere is nice as Bond's body floats to the bottom to Barry's haunting music, is picked up by frogmen in black scuba gear (could it be SPECTRE?) and hauled into the sub.
It is cool to see Bond in naval uniform and the dialogue amusing and to-the-point. Added points for the way Bond lights the paper with Henderson's address and watching it burn down. Nice character touch, one of the few Dahl added for Bond.
"Bond leaps onto the wreck (not sure just how he thought it would help him escape)"
Now, you mention it, I must admit that it isn't the smartest escape plan
;)
The torture scene in CR wins against the talk in the train 9:4
MI6 Headquarter in the water: Queen Elizabeth (TMWTGG) wins against submarine (YOLT) 9:4
Round 32:
Which of Bond's deadly TB quotes do you prefer: "I think he got the point." vs. "Do you mind if my friend sits this one out? She's just dead."
Which action scene/fight with Necros do you prefer: Necros against Green Four (kitchen fight) vs. Necros against Bond (cargo net fight)
For the second, I'll take the cargo plane (I do like the Green Four Kitchen Fight, but it's just a little too noticeably "stylized" for my tastes (although I admire what its intent was (to show a more ruthless and violent villain in the mold of Red Grant), but; the cargo plane sees Bond ambushed, on his back foot and, it developed nicely so that the rest of the fight took place on the outside of the plane! When I first saw TLD as a 14 year old boy, this fight made my heart beat like a jack-rabbit).
I'll have to go with the cargo-plane fight. The kitchen with Necros is brutal, but you can't match the sheer stuntwork and sense of danger in the second option.
The first option I'll go with, "She's just dead." Not only is it the conclusion of a tense foot chase as Bond tries to evade Fiona and her men. But it's the deadpan delivery from Sean Connery. One of my favourite Bond lines.
The second option is a no brainer for me. I enjoy the brutal fight between Necros and Green-four, but nothing can compete with the jaw dropping spectacle of Bond and Necros fighting for their lives on a cargo net of an airborne plane!
I've often said, I feel this to be the best stunt of all time. And it still stands. Though some of Tom Cruise efforts in the most recent MI films may surpass this.
And there’s so many scenes in TLD I love, and both of these are in there. However I really like everything about the whole Blayden Safe House section, from Necros’ milkman to the Harrods hamper to the assault and the kitchen fight. The fact that Krone is back hasn’t swayed my vote at all, but I’m going for the kitchen scene 🦜👍
"I think he got the point" still works, although I could see some people groaning about it these days. The scene just screams cool. You have Connery in the shades in prime physical condition and the most beautiful of the Bond women at his side. The drama beforehand is also great as Bond has to come clean with Domino after seducing her. Slight complaint: Bond made it look too easy, one great shot. It made Bond look too much like the superhero figure.
One question: Bond tells her to go back to the Disco Volante and he'll take care of Vargas's body. Later on Largo confronts Domino telling her Vargas is dead. Did Bond not do a thorough enough job of disposing of Vargas or was it just sloppy writing? They could've just had Largo say that Vargas was still missing and what did she know.
I'm with Max the Parrot on the "She's just dead" line. As a kid, my mom liked it and I didn't get the irony and it still never comes across well for me. It just isn't delivered as well.
Another question on that scene: After the other henchmen see what happened, why do they run off and not still come after Bond? Wasn't that their orders? Because Fiona is dead does that mean they don't know what to do? Imagine explaining that one to Largo. Not only did they not capture or kill Bond, they killed their own boss and let Bond get away to make another attempt to foil their plans. Largo's sharks were probably happy at least.
When I first saw TLD, I couldn't believe how well the kitchen fight was staged and why the best hand-to-hand fight in years didn't contain Bond. It was much more brutal and people got hurt, unlike the overly-choreographed tussles of the Moore era.
Now take a situation that's been leading up to the whole movie, Bond against the henchman who has killed and done so much damage to his organization, then add the situation of having to fight it out OUTSIDE the plane while hanging on for dear life to a cargo net that's slowly coming unhinged. That is the Bond series at its best. My vote the cargo net fight.
What adds to the beauty of this whole sequence is not only do you have Bond fighting for his life against the deadly Necros, you have a ticking bomb somewhere in the cargo hold and an unreliable woman at the controls. This continues even after Necros is given the boot as he had to find the bomb, use it to stop the Russian advance on the Mujahidin and then escape the plane before it crashes. Makes the whole thing afterward with Whitaker seem so anti-climactic.
I am amazed when I read some fans find this section of the film uninvolving. Maybe the build-up is a little slow, but from when Bond's identity is discovered to the escape from the plane is just non-stop Bond.
Apologies for going on like this, but when it comes to Bond films I love it's hard not to show it.
"She's just dead", although again both excellent moments.
Indeed!
@BT3366 I didn't know that these two films are part of your favourites. TLD is also in my first quarter, while TB isn't even close to my top 10.
I never thought about your first question. It really looks like Bond didn't “remove“ Vargas properly. Or Largo was pretty sure he was killed because Vargas didn't return...but the delivery of the line sounds indeed like Largo knows of his dead.
The other question is something bothering me, too. It doesn't make sense at all that the others leave after Fiona's dead. Maybe, the writer and director hoped that the viewers would only focus on the fact that they can't watch the stunning Fiona any longer and forget everything else.
From TLD I’ll go with the kitchen fight. Even after all of these years I find myself squirming when Necros rams Blayden’s head down on the grill. Another plus for this scene is the casting. Blayden was played by Bill Weston. Weston often did uncredited stunt work on the Bond films, and he did stunt work on my favorite movie of all time….”2OO1.”
While I enjoy both death puns from TB, the “he got the point” quip gets my vote. Per @BT3366, Connery’s shades….. 😊.
Cargo net fight. Really exciting, and I think it holds up really well.
TB: While definitely prefer Volpe's character to Vargas' character I think the latter's exit gets a slightly more effective quote from Bond so I pick "I think he got the point."
TLD: Easier. Necros against Bond (cargo net fight) is one of the very best Bond vs. henchman final battles in the series IMHO.