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Did Paul McCartney save LALD?

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Comments

  • echoecho 007 in New York
    edited January 2012 Posts: 6,304
    I think Kotto as Kananga gets unfairly dismissed simply for the way he dies, but he has some good scenes with a bit of Flemingesque sadism to him.
  • identigraphidentigraph
    Posts: 1,052
    The music in a film is never the biggest thing for me, it's a great film, with good a cast of characters and it has a unique feel to it. All the plots in the Bond films could probably be picked to pieces and Bond would have died quite early on in a lot of the films if realism was a major concern.

    LALD is a classic theme song though!
  • RogueAgentRogueAgent
    Posts: 12,526
    I don't know whether it saved the film or not. It was my first ever Bond movie so obviously i had not heard any of John Barry's scores let alone the previous movies.

    I just got swept away with the adventure and enjoyed every bit of it, and the music was an equal part of that! :D
  • barryt007barryt007
    edited January 2012 Posts: 19,339
    No....Sir Roger did and the cast,apart from the daft ending.However,saying that,it is a very good song that is played probably more than others on X-Factor and other programmes recently.
  • actonsteveactonsteve
    Posts: 1,492
    Its a good film even without the music. In fact it work just as well with a weaker score.

    It has that Fleming sweep which picks you up and takes you from Harlem to the bayous of Louisana to the Caribbean. The voodoo motif gives the film a cohesity that other films lack and a strong identity and that little touch of exoticness.

    Its villains are an interesting bunch and have genuine menace. The part where Kananga slices Bonds arm is one of the most sadistic thing in a Bond film.

    And you have to remember in an era before cgi the stunts were simply jawdropping - the jumping the bayou, the doubledecker bus and the car smashes look tame in 2012 but along with the humour really stoked the audience in 1973.

    LALD is a richly deserved classic.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    Posts: 11,189
    actonsteve wrote:
    Its a good film even without the music. In fact it work just as well with a weaker score.

    It has that Fleming sweep which picks you up and takes you from Harlem to the bayous of Louisana to the Caribbean. The voodoo motif gives the film a cohesity that other films lack and a strong identity and that little touch of exoticness.

    Its villains are an interesting bunch and have genuine menace. The part where Kananga slices Bonds arm is one of the most sadistic thing in a Bond film.

    And you have to remember in an era before cgi the stunts were simply jawdropping - the jumping the bayou, the doubledecker bus and the car smashes look tame in 2012 but along with the humour really stoked the audience in 1973.

    LALD is a richly deserved classic.

    I love how Roger Moore doesn't even flinch when his arm is sliced. Also I think we can agree that Sheriff JW Pepper isn't particularly Fleming-esque ;)
  • actonsteveactonsteve
    edited January 2012 Posts: 1,492
    BAIN123 wrote:
    [
    I love how Roger Moore doesn't even flinch when his arm is sliced. Also I think we can agree that Sheriff JW Pepper isn't particularly Fleming-esque ;)

    From what I remember he does flinch....

    And Fleming filled his books with lots of little local characters - they wernt used for humour but they were there.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited January 2012 Posts: 11,189
    I could be wrong but I don't think he does - at least not much.

    Maybe they cut it out on the version I have.

    Could we agree that Raoul from DAD has a more "Fleming-esque" vibe than Sheriff Pepper? :))
  • actonsteveactonsteve
    Posts: 1,492
    BAIN123 wrote:
    I could be wrong but I don't think he does - at least not much.

    Maybe they cut it out on the version I have.

    Could we agree that Raoul from DAD has a more "Fleming-esque" vibe than Sheriff Pepper? :))

    Well, not much - its Roger Moore. But I am sure he winces when the knife slices.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    Posts: 11,189
    actonsteve wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    I could be wrong but I don't think he does - at least not much.

    Maybe they cut it out on the version I have.

    Could we agree that Raoul from DAD has a more "Fleming-esque" vibe than Sheriff Pepper? :))

    Well, not much - its Roger Moore. But I am sure he winces when the knife slices.

    I've just been a nerd and checked it - he doesn't really. All he says is "perhaps we could try something in an even simpler vein"
  • actonsteveactonsteve
    Posts: 1,492
    BAIN123 wrote:
    actonsteve wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    I could be wrong but I don't think he does - at least not much.

    Maybe they cut it out on the version I have.

    Could we agree that Raoul from DAD has a more "Fleming-esque" vibe than Sheriff Pepper? :))

    Well, not much - its Roger Moore. But I am sure he winces when the knife slices.

    I've just been a nerd and checked it - he doesn't really. All he says is "perhaps we could try something in an even simpler vein"

    Christ, that is being a nerd. Maybe Rog just looks worried. He wasnt an emotive actor.

    As for Raoul...Raoul is the one shining light in DAD amongst a sea of crud but I still prefer JW Pepper.

  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited January 2012 Posts: 11,189
    [/quote]

    Christ, that is being a nerd.

    [/quote]

    I have a problem :( :(
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    Dr_Metz wrote:
    In one scene, Dr. Kananga asks Solitare if the registration number he said is the one on the back of Bond's watch. She gets the wrong answer, which in turn means Bond's finger should have been broken. But Dr. Kananga just calls off Tee-Hee, and tells Whisper to "take him to the farm" for no reason other than advancing the plot. It's not only a bad plot hole, it's an extremely lazy one. It doesn't even try to explain itself.

    I personally didn't see this as a plot hole. Kananga is ascertaining whether Solitaire is bullshitting. Threatening Bond is just to up the ante and force her hand. It's slightly clumsy in it's execution but not really a plot hole. Taking Bond to the farm as the catalyst for a Boat chase is also lazy plotting but again not a plot hole.

  • EllisEllis
    Posts: 224
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    Ellis wrote:
    I saw a list from Yahoo once about the best franchise movies with a new leading man in the starring role. Live And Let Die made it on the list. That tells me it is underrated by some people.

    Just because you saw it on Yahoo?! That means not a thing.

    Obviously not to you. But for others, including myself, LALD was a good movie, supported and documented by that Yahoo list.

  • barryt007barryt007
    edited January 2012 Posts: 19,339
    He tightens his fists as Kananga is cutting him,also his voice is more strained ,signifying he is in pain.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    Posts: 11,189
    barryt007 wrote:
    He tightens his fists as Kananga is cutting him,also his voice is more strained ,signifying he is in pain.

    Good point. I must have not been paying enough attention :(
  • fire_and_icefire_and_ice
    Posts: 6,432
    Love live and let die, not my favourite bond movie by a long shot. though for what it is, i always love watching it. the soundtrack compliments the film. it tapped into blacksploitation movie's and did it very well. every bond movie has its place, good or bad.
  • JBFan626JBFan626
    Posts: 1,497
    I feel like if they hadn't got McCartney for the tune, they would have gotten some else equally as good. And besides, credit really goes to Sir George Martin for orchestrating and arranging that song with such grandeur, as others mention above.

    Had Barry done the score, the film would have been just as good, probably better.
  • fire_and_icefire_and_ice
    Posts: 6,432
    JBFan626 wrote:
    I feel like if they hadn't got McCartney for the tune, they would have gotten some else equally as good. And besides, credit really goes to Sir George Martin for orchestrating and arranging that song with such grandeur, as others mention above.

    Had Barry done the score, the film would have been just as good, probably better.

    As much as i love barry, not sure his style of music would have fit the style and content of the movie.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,304
    Martin really seemed inspired by the tarot storyline. I love the theme with the tarot cards over the plane (Pan Am, no less!).
  • TracyTracy
    Posts: 1,708
    Kotto was great in the role......but yeah , his death was bit too much even for Bond.
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