The James Bond Film Discussion Thread (With Bonus Lazenby!)

[Tallguy]

There was something really menacing about Stromberg. Drax was very cool. And unobtainably urbane and dry. But Stromberg was scary in that he wasn't going to take any delight in killing you. You were just in his way.

I don't know if killing his secretary to make the guys who were embezzling him think they were going to live made any sense, but it was scary.

You Only Moonraker Who Loved Me is one of my favorite Bond films.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Emergency!, "I'll Fix It" (Sept. 21, 1974)

 

[The Old Mixer]

I'll toss in a close-up:

 

[Tallguy]

On the 20th anniversary of Lost I find images of Kevin Tighe triggering. Jaws was cuddly. (OK, not in TSWLM. He was the Terminator before the Terminator there.)

 

[The Wormhole]

On the 20th anniversary of Lost

Thanks for making me feel old.

 

[cardinal biggles]

It's also the 42nd anniversary of the series premiere of Knight Rider.

 

[The Old Mixer]

It's noteworthy that Kiel's character owned a deli--Blofeld connection?

 

[cooleddie74]

Only in this case the deli wasn't made of stainless steel....his teeth were.

 

[Nerys Myk]

It's one of the few where all the villains are equally memorable. Trevelyan, Xenia, Orumov and Boris.

I think From Russia With Love has a pretty good rogues gallery.

 

[Tallguy]

I think From Russia With Love has a pretty good rogues gallery.

FRWL is the best Bond film. Even when I don't want it to be.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

Only in this case the deli wasn't made of stainless steel....his teeth were.

While re-watching SILVER STREAK the other day, I noticed Kiel had the same general dental work as he did in SPY. SILVER STREAK was released the previous year, so evidently he had a six-month retainer at the very least. It's almost depressing to contemplate.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Popping up in another walk-on role two episodes later:

The Odd Couple, "The Hollywood Story" (Oct. 3, 1974)

 

[cardinal biggles]

Maybe it's just the way he's dressed, but I'm getting a whole "When you order Abe Vigoda on Wish" vibe here.

 

[Firebird]

FRWL is the best Bond film. Even when I don't want it to be.

Seconded. It's really got the whole package of what I want James Bond to be - part espionage, part travelogue, deliciously evil villains, gorgeous Bond girls, minimal gadgets to provide a convenient save, a damn good soundtrack, and a world I wish I could live in.

 

[The Old Mixer]

^ And it's the second-closest film to the book it's adapting.

Maybe it's just the way he's dressed, but I'm getting a whole "When you order Abe Vigoda on Wish" vibe here.

FWIW, the bits of business Barr was doing in these episodes wouldn't have been playing to Vigoda's strengths.

 

[cooleddie74]

One could well say he was behaving....shady.

 

[Tallguy]

^ And it's the second-closest film to the book it's adapting.

Is in that "first four movies" where it depends on what you look at. The basic form and most the events are in those first four. They didn't really make a really major departure until You Only Live Twice.

Dr. No even references From Russia With Love, since it was the previous book. (Bond is ordered to switch to a Walther because Klebb almost killed him at the end of FRWL.)

No and FRWL have that Fleming "this is what he had for breakfast" verbosity.

You Only Live Twice has nearly nothing to do with the book.

Then OHMSS largely follows the book to the point of meeting Blofeld for the first time.

That was pretty much it, except for putting the short stories into some of the John Glen movies.

 

[Starkers]

FRWL is very good, the only thing I would say about it is that it feels more old fashioned than any other Bond film, maybe it's the North by Northwest vibe, maybe Matt Munro's old school crooning, maybe the fairly grounded plot but at times it feels like something from the 50s, and you couldn't say that about Dr No or GF.

 

[cardinal biggles]

It's probably because there's nothing terribly high-tech about FRWL; it could just as easily have been set in the late '40s or the 1950s as 1963. There's no grandiose plot involving cutting-edge tech (toppling rockets, irradiating the US gold reserve), they're stealing a coding device. It's a heist movie, and it's very small potatoes kind of stuff compared to the other films in the series.

 

[Starkers]

The head of Amazon MGM studios says audiences will have to be patient

“The global audience will be patient. We don’t want too much time between films, but we are not concerned at this point.”

It's weird, I think when Amazon bought into Bond we were all relieved that the power was remaining with Eon but now I kinda wish Amazon had a little more clout to chivvy them along.

I absolutely don't want them to rush things but it's been three years since NTTD came out and right now I'm wondering if there's any hope of getting a film before 2027!

I don't begrudge Broccoli and Wilson wanting to other things but at the moment they feel like people who've fallen out of love with their partner but won't divorce them because they don't want anyone else to have them!