HELP fellow James Bond fans

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by RaymondJames, Jun 14, 2009.

  1. Maestro

    Maestro Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I haven't done it yet, mainly because I'm waiting for them all to be available on Blu-Ray. However, it promises to be fascinating.

    As for the books, or perhaps Bond himself...

    There are several distinct "Bonds."

    The Original (Nobody Does it Better) -- Bond of the Fleming novels (including Amis's Colonel Sun and Faulks's Devil May Care). He's written pretty consistently throughout as the same guy.

    The First Movie Bond -- Connery and Lazeby's portrayal. Closer to the novels, but still distinct. Lazenby is probably the closest of all the Bonds to the novels.

    The 70's Bond -- Roger Moore

    The 80's pseudo-reboot books -- John Gardner's official continuation took the classic 50's-60's character and transported him to the 1980s. While Gardner's intent was to use the character as he appears in the Fleming novels, he's too heavily influenced by the camp and action extravaganza of the 70's Bond, so we get a whole 'nuther character.

    The Return to the Roots -- Timothy Dalton's portrayal. Although Robert Brown's M is not the definative Admiral Sir Miles that we got from Bernard Lee (and there's some thought that he's still playing Admiral Hargreaves from The Spy Who Loved Me (movie) ), this is the classic Bond from the novels in the end of the Cold War. Dalton nails it in both outings.

    Special Effects, Ignoring Physics, and Mustache Twirling Villains: The Brosnan Years -- It's kind of like taking Fleming's original, making him a "pretty boy," and then reliving the 70's Bond with better clothes and better Sci-Fi.

    The Raymond Benson Novels -- His books take the Brosnan Bond, Judi Dench's M and tries to write Fleming's character in the 21st Century. "Thank you! Next, please!"

    As much as Bernard Lee didn't care for how cranky Fleming wrote M, and didn't want to play him to that extreme, Lee's M is exceptionally close to what Fleming wrote, and is certainly the definitive M.

    No one quite knows if Robert Brown played the same man or a new M in his tenure, but he doesn't strike me as Fleming's Admiral Sir Miles Messervy.

    Judi Dench, the third M, is clearly a new character.

    Any movie Bond fan should read the original novels. You can find more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bond_(novels)
     
  2. KB24

    KB24 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I've thought about searching for the books, but I'm only half way through Sharpe right now. You mention you're waiting for all the blu ray, me too! I've written several times about how TPTB really screw Bond collectors with all the releases. Of course, I've got about four different sets of Star Wars and LOTR-can't wait for those on blu ray! But you figure 24 films on blu ray is going to be very expensive-especially to an audience that already paid out for the original vhs, the first dvds, the special dvds, the collector sets and the ultimate collections. And from what I've seen thus far, bluray makes these films look mighty good!

    http://ithinkthereforeireview.blogspot.com/search/label/James Bond
     
  3. Maestro

    Maestro Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The original novels were just rereleased in a nice trade paperback format about two years ago as part of the Ian Fleming 100th Birthday Celebration. You can still get them from Amazon.
     
  4. Broccoli

    Broccoli Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Those two are probably the best of Moore's films, although I have to admit that my personal favorite of Moore's is Octopussy. :techman:
     
  5. KB24

    KB24 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I don't hate Octopussy, but it's definately got a lot going against it. If Moore ended with For Your Eyes Only, his tenure wouldn't have been as dreaded. Or maybe if the best of Octopussy and Never Say Never Again were somehow combined for one superfilm under Moore. A View to a Kill would have been awesome if Dalton came on one picture sooner.

    I suppose You take 4 from Connery, 2 from Moore, Dalton's 2, then 1 each of Brosnan and Craig and you've got some great stuff.

    Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, The Living Daylights, License to Kill, Goldeneye, and Casino Royale.
     
  6. OdoWanKenobi

    OdoWanKenobi Admiral Admiral

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    Octopussy for me suffers from terminal mediocrity. There's nothing amazing in it to distinguish itself from the pack, but nowhere does it fail so spectacularly as Moonraker or A View To A Kill.
     
  7. Captaindemotion

    Captaindemotion Admiral Admiral

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    Moore dressed as a clown, being jeered at by a bunch of students in a car, who pretend to stop to give him a lift, then drive off on him, is a Bond nadir, IMHO. You just cannot imagine Connery's Bond taking shit like that. Then there's his Barbara Woodhouse 'SIT!' impression to the tiger. For me, Octopussy is one of the worst entries in the 007 canon as a result. Shame, because as has been said, had he quit after FYEO, Moore would have had a good run of Bond movies, with only TMWTGG and Moonraker as duds.
     
  8. Maestro

    Maestro Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Never Say Never Again is not part of the Bond canon of movies. It's a stand alone, albeit craptastic, remake of Thunderball, which not only fails to be more faithful to the novel, but pales in light of the real Thunderball. True Bond fans should not speak of it unless chiding someone for speaking of it.
     
  9. KB24

    KB24 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I don't really like Thunderball or Never Say Never Again. I think they each have some good and bad, but like Odowan says of Octopussy, nothing standout, either. Really I only really prefer half of the Bond pictures. That's why I'd love to see Craig do an update of Thunderball. I still have hope than he might be able to turn out two more great pictures.

    I've been taking an objective look at the Bond Franchise for my reviews blog. Since I'm not done yet, I haven't posted my final list, but as of this moment, here's my top 12

    12. A View To A Kill
    11. Live and Let Die
    10. Casino Royale
    9. For Your Eyes Only
    8. License to Kill
    7. The Living Daylights
    6. From Russia With Love
    5. The Spy Who Loved Me
    4. You Only Live Twice
    3. Dr. No
    2. Goldfinger
    1. Goldeneye

    I was so bored the other night, I even made a graph. Tomorrow I may change my list all over again. ;0)

    http://ithinkthereforeireview.blogspot.com/search/label/James Bond
     
  10. Broccoli

    Broccoli Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Oh, I know that Octopussy is incredibly goofy...that's partly why I like it so much.

    Also, I kinda like the situation of Bond dressed as a clown trying to convince that Army guy that there is a bomb at the circus. I thought Moore acted that moment pretty well.