My Journey Through Bond

[Michael Bergeron]

Live and Let Die (1973) - Roger Moore


The "Blaxploitation" film of the franchise. It really seems odd that the British Secret Service would send a posh English White guy to investigate the inner workings of an African American crime syndicate. I find this film odd on a few different levels. First, Moore doesn't yet feel comfortable in the roll and his comedic strengths aren't played on. Second, Bond is such an incredible fish out of water in this environment that it isn't believable at all. Finally, with the exception of Tee Hee there are no major characters who make any real impression on the audience. You may say that Sgt. Pepper and Baron Samedi are memorable but they aren't pivotal characters in the story.


The Good: Great theme song and a pretty cool speedboat chase.


The Bad: Overall very forgettable. The Sgt. Pepper character is a bad omen for the series...

 

[jcoffman99]

The Man with the Golden Gun.
Pacing wise this has been my favorite so far. All the other films I felt were 20-30 minutes too long. It's one felt just right. You see hints of the Connery Bond. Moore hasn't become too cheeky yet. Christopher Lee is pretty creepy. Good flick.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

The Man with the Golden Gun.
Pacing wise this has been my favorite so far. All the other films I felt were 20-30 minutes too long. It's one felt just right. You see hints of the Connery Bond. Moore hasn't become too cheeky yet. Christopher Lee is pretty creepy. Good flick.

I dunno man... It's pretty campy. The concept is fantastic but a comical midget butler? A flying car? A SLIDE WHISTLE TO THE GREATEST CAR STUNT OF ALL TIME???

Mary Goodnight is pretty awful as well.

Enjoyable yes, but doesn't hold a candle to earlier entries.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

My original blog post:

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) - Roger Moore

Over the years I've warmed up to this film a bit. That said this film (for me at least) finally put the last nail in the coffin of Classic Bond. By this time Moore is more comfortable and the character is his along with all of the comedic properties that brings with it. The plot is, in essence, fantastic. The idea of the best spy in the world facing off against the best assassin in the world is great but unfortunately the film lets us down on almost every level. Christopher Lee was well cast in the roll of Scaramanga but do we really require a midget sidekick? Or a flying car? Or more Sgt. Pepper? It's Bond crossed with Vaudeville and that's not a good thing. Compared to other Bond films of the era this one was a box office dud and preceded the longest gap between Bond films to date leaving many to question the future of the franchise.

The Good: Contains arguably one of the best car stunts of all time.

The Bad: Puts a slide whistle to one of the best car stunts of all time.

 

[jcoffman99]

The Spy Who Loved Me

I think the cheesier these films get the more I love them.

First off, Barbara Bach. Woof. Ringo is a lucky man.

It looks like they started to throw serious cash at the these movies. The sets are bigger, more extras, and the stunts are bigger.

And you get a pornish sounding version of the Bond theme. What more could you want?

 

[Michael Bergeron]

The Spy Who Loved Me

I think the cheesier these films get the more I love them.

We'll see what you say after the next one (Moonraker) :sick

First off, Barbara Bach. Woof. Ringo is a lucky man.

Hell ya.

It looks like they started to throw serious cash at the these movies. The sets are bigger, more extras, and the stunts are bigger.

Compared to the last couple outings definitely. They also brought Ken Adam back to design which is why things look as good as they do in this film. Stromberg's base is classic Adam design. :thumbsup

And you get a pornish sounding version of the Bond theme. What more could you want?

... Sean Connery. lol

 

[PHArchivist]

The Spy Who Loved Me

I think the cheesier these films get the more I love them.

First off, Barbara Bach. Woof. Ringo is a lucky man.

It looks like they started to throw serious cash at the these movies. The sets are bigger, more extras, and the stunts are bigger.

And you get a pornish sounding version of the Bond theme. What more could you want?

Director Lewis Gilbert has said he added more humor and proper "British" aire to Bond, noting that previous outings with Moore suffered from writers trying to superimpose Connery onto the Moore iteration.
And yes - Barbara was hot!

 

[Michael Bergeron]

The Spy who Loved Me (1977) - Roger Moore

A lot of people consider this to be Moore's best film. While I'd agree on some levels I think it really fails on others. It's an interesting story with a cool underwater base and some memorable scenes. On the other hand they introduce one of the most ridiculous henchmen in the history of the franchise, Jaws. Up until now Bond Villains have been smart, diabolical, and even really strong. With Jaws you have an almost invincible man with metal teeth and apparently titanium bone structure as well as he's able to bite through chains.

The Good: Although incredibly silly, Jaws *is* memorable and has a few good scenes. The underwater base is cool and the ski chase at the beginning of the film is great.

The Bad: Probably Moore's second best film (IMO), but it's still Moore as Bond. Jaws, although memorable is a little too ridiculous for me.

 

[PHArchivist]

Spy Who Loved Me is funny...

Often hailed as Moore's best, as well as one of the best over all. But man the 70's schtick is over the top. Agent "Triple X"!? Even if Vin Diesel never existed, its silly. The Russian KGB boss in an austere concrete office. More...

But there is so much that "Spy" brought that were cutting edge and just worked to make us love it:
--The opening ski jump; priceless...
--Bach
--Jaws
--The Lotus
--The Lotus sub (yes, the car and the sub stand alone as equally and separately cool)
--Atlantis
--Liparus (the sub-swallowing supertanker)
--More, I'm sure...

 

[Wes R]

I love all the bond films except the new ones though Skyfall might be okay. I just take them for what they are and the era they were in. Though Moore's bond was a bit more like Dean Martin's take on Matt Helm or the Flint movies. Dalton was okay but not the best. I wish Lazenby had gotten one more try after Secret Service.

 

[jcoffman99]

You also get a little Lawrence of Arabia music too.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

I wish Lazenby had gotten one more try after Secret Service.

Agreed. I think with him Diamonds could have been a GREAT film.

Loose the sideburns & picture it:

 

[Solo4114]

I've started a run-through of these films as well, on Blu-Ray, and I'm up to YOLT. So far, the films are all GORGEOUSLY restored, and it makes it clear to me that Lowry is actually a top-notch restoration house. Which calls into question some of their other attempts...but that's for another thread.

Anyway, in general terms on some of the others discussed:

Live and Let Die: I actually rather enjoy this one. The blaxploitation and comedic elements are weak, but for the Moore era, they're not quite as bad as other times. I also love that we get a glimpse into Bond's private life.

The Man With the Golden Gun: Cool concept. Crap execution. No pun intended... Seriously, though, this film would be the nadir of the Bond franchise...if not for Moonraker. It's just got too much slapstick, too-wide lapels, and the kung fu sequence is another "Hey, let's try to jam something currently popular into a franchise that doesn't need it" move.

Spoiler

The Spy Who Loved Me: ....is You Only Live Twice Underwater. One of Moore's better outings...because it's really a Connery story. Seriously. Think about it. Aside from the "Teaming with the Russians" aspect, this film is in broad strokes the same thing as YOLT. If not for a dispute with the McClory Estate (which we'll see a bit of nose-thumbing at after Moonraker), it might as well be SPECTRE again. Interestingly, Moonraker becomes almost the same thing, just in space. But we'll get to that.

 

[Jeyl]

It's funny watching all the Bond films again how you can easily tell who directed which film. The top four directors who come to mind are Terrance Young, Guy Hamilton, Lewis Gilbert and John Glen.

Terrance Young I think brings out the best of Bond with the serious foes, tight pacing, action sequences being very hands on and Bond girls who play a more integral part in the story. Of all the Bond directors, he was the one who nailed how Bond was in the books.

Guy Hamilton on the other hand represents the more fun side of Bond with his gadgets and sense of humor, but at the cost of Bond sometimes acting out of character. His Bond movies tend to be the most female unfriendly films in regards to it's characters. Goldfinger with two women being murdered and Kitty* Galore being liberated by the male member. Diamonds are Forever with two women being drowned and Tiffany Case being an actual hazard to Bond's plan. Live and Let Die with Rosie's death and Solitaire's liberation thanks to Bond's deceitfulness. The Man with the Golden Gun with it's..... well. Let's face it. When the two ninja girls out perform not only the Bond girls in that movie, but ALL of the Bond girls from the Guy Hamilton films, something is wrong.

Lewis Gilbert represented the EPIC Bond. Larger than life sets, quick pace and numerous locations. The sheer factor of things that happen in his Bond movies can sometimes take it into goofy territory with the occasional moronic villains and random change of scenery. But if everything comes together, the films can be quite excellent like The Spy who Love Me. I even love Moonraker!

John Glen? He was the one who took chances with Bond, but with mostly mixed results. He gave us a Roger Moore Bond that had a much more serious tone than his previous entries, he gave us James Bond in a clown outfit, gave us Christopher Walken as a Bond villain, and gave me my #1 favorite Bond movie of all time, The Living Daylights. While he certainly had his mind in the right place when working on the Bond movies, Licence to Kill was a pretty big misfire in giving Bond the "cop story" clichés and making the film way too dark and brutal.

 

[Solo4114]

Spoiler

Terrance Young I think brings out the best of Bond with the serious foes, tight pacing, action sequences being very hands on and Bond girls who play a more integral part in the story. Of all the Bond directors, he was the one who nailed how Bond was in the books.

Yeah, I tend to think his stuff was some of the best. He really does get the literary Bond version, although he clearly had a hand in softening the character for the big screen.

Guy Hamilton on the other hand represents the more fun side of Bond with his gadgets and sense of humor, but at the cost of Bond sometimes acting out of character. His Bond movies tend to be the most female unfriendly films in regards to it's characters. Goldfinger with two women being murdered and Kitty* Galore being liberated by the male member. Diamonds are Forever with two women being drowned and Tiffany Case being an actual hazard to Bond's plan. Live and Let Die with Rosie's death and Solitaire's liberation thanks to Bond's deceitfulness. The Man with the Golden Gun with it's..... well. Let's face it. When the two ninja girls out perform not only the Bond girls in that movie, but ALL of the Bond girls from the Guy Hamilton films, something is wrong.

With the exception of Goldfinger, pretty much each of these is in the bottom of my Bond bin. Goldfinger still has a decent balance between humor and toughness and gadgetry, but several of the others just go over the top too much.

One point -- the bit about "Kitty" in Goldfinger is present and even more pronounced in the book (as you may be aware). As are her "preferences" prior to meeting Bond. I do appreciate how Honor Blackman played the part, though.

And I particularly like how they address what happened with her in the next Bond film.

Lewis Gilbert represented the EPIC Bond. Larger than life sets, quick pace and numerous locations. The sheer factor of things that happen in his Bond movies can sometimes take it into goofy territory with the occasional moronic villains and random change of scenery. But if everything comes together, the films can be quite excellent like The Spy who Love Me. I even love Moonraker!

Well...he basically made the same movie three times. YOLT and TSWLM are nearly identical, right down to the "bigger vehicle gobbles up the smaller vehicles" bit and setting the west and Russia at each others' throats. Moonraker simply takes the concept of "Let's force the world to start over" introduced in TSWLM and does it IN SPAAAAAAAACE. Moonraker WAS my least favorite Bond film...right up until Die Another Day. Although it does have some bits that I like.

John Glen? He was the one who took chances with Bond, but with mostly mixed results. He gave us a Roger Moore Bond that had a much more serious tone than his previous entries, he gave us James Bond in a clown outfit, gave us Christopher Walken as a Bond villain, and gave me my #1 favorite Bond movie of all time, The Living Daylights. While he certainly had his mind in the right place when working on the Bond movies, Licence to Kill was a pretty big misfire in giving Bond the "cop story" clichés and making the film way too dark and brutal.

He did two of my top Bond films: The Living Daylights and For Your Eyes Only. Licence to Kill was...eh. A dark time for the franchise, but had some aspects I liked. Octopussy and A View to a Kill, though, are kinda painful to watch. There's good stories in there, but they REALLY needed to recast EVERYONE at that point. Particularly in A View to A Kill.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

His Bond movies tend to be the most female unfriendly films in regards to it's characters. Goldfinger with two women being murdered and Kitty* Galore being liberated by the male member. Diamonds are Forever with two women being drowned and Tiffany Case being an actual hazard to Bond's plan. Live and Let Die with Rosie's death and Solitaire's liberation thanks to Bond's deceitfulness. The Man with the Golden Gun with it's..... well. Let's face it. When the two ninja girls out perform not only the Bond girls in that movie, but ALL of the Bond girls from the Guy Hamilton films, something is wrong.

If you're watching a Bond film for how women are treated you're in the wrong franchise. James Bond, even right from the novels, is all about using women and his conversion of Kitty is right from the book.

I even love Moonraker!

And with this you lose all credibility! :lol

 

[Michael Bergeron]

He did two of my top Bond films: The Living Daylights and For Your Eyes Only. Licence to Kill was...eh. A dark time for the franchise, but had some aspects I liked. Octopussy and A View to a Kill, though, are kinda painful to watch. There's good stories in there, but they REALLY needed to recast EVERYONE at that point. Particularly in A View to A Kill.

I don't know why LTK gets panned as bad as it does. I saw it on the big screen again last week and it holds up REALLY well. It's the revenge story we needed in DAF and it really a great infiltration film. It also pulls a lot from various books and really captures the feel of the novels. The "He disagreed with something that ate him" and the whole sequence breaking into Krest's warehouse is right from Live and Let Die even down to the shark finish.

In all honesty? VERY true to Bond. It is very dark though.

 

[Jeyl]

If you're watching a Bond film for how women are treated you're in the wrong franchise.

No I'm not. Some films give them something to do.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

No I'm not. Some films give them something to do.

Sure they have something to do. However the overall purpose of a Bond girl is to be used, either for sex or for other gain. To sit and complain that women aren't treated well by Bond is like complaining that gay people are attracted to the same sex.

 

[Solo4114]

Spoiler

I don't know why LTK gets panned as bad as it does. I saw it on the big screen again last week and it holds up REALLY well. It's the revenge story we needed in DAF and it really a great infiltration film. It also pulls a lot from various books and really captures the feel of the novels. The "He disagreed with something that ate him" and the whole sequence breaking into Krest's warehouse is right from Live and Let Die even down to the shark finish.

In all honesty? VERY true to Bond. It is very dark though.

I like it, but it also has some aspects to it that I find painful, probably more because they remind me of a fairly unpleasant summer I spent when the film came out. Plus, the late-80s aspect of it is somewhat distasteful for me, even though the same thing in Living Daylights is fine. Go figure.

I do think that Timothy Dalton's Bond is one of the closest to the literary version that we've seen.