Greystoke wrote:ForeverElvis wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 2:06 pm
Greystoke wrote:keninlincs wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 12:41 pm
Last night i watched Roger Moore in 2 of his outings as James Bond,first up was "The spy who loved me" this was followed up with "Moonraker " both still very enjoyable,althouh quite dated now.I was always a fan of the Bond films so nice to see them again,the blurays have a wealth of special features too.
I'm almost due another run through all of the Bond films. The Spy Who Loved Me is a favourite of mine, too. I'm not so fond of Moonraker, but it has its moments. The Blu-rays are great.
I’ve been a Bond nut since seeing “You Only Live Twice” on TV in 1975, I was 11. “Spy” was my first 007 I saw in the theatre.
“Spy” is the best 007 film of the 1970’s, so much better than Moore’s first two outings; 1973’s “Live and Let Die” and 1974’s “The Man With the Golden Gun” - and Connery’s last, 1971’s “Diamonds Are Forever”.
When I was a kid you were either a Connery Bond fan or a Moore Bond fan, Connery was my preference even though I hadn’t seen “Dr No” or “From Russia With Love” at that juncture. When I was 14 I loved the spectacle of Moonraker on the big screen.
Around 20yrs old I had established my favorites 007 films; Connery in the first 4 films, Lazenby in “Secret Service, Moore in “Spy” and “For Your Eyes Only”. These haven’t changed much over the years, just with the addition of favorites from Dalton, Brosnan and Craig.
The other thing that hasn’t changed is my choice for the worst 007 film, “A View to a Kill” and the film that has plummeted the most down my ranking, “Moonraker”. What I enjoyed as a kid is far less enjoyable as an adult.
“Moonraker” is a really well made film that is everything Bond isn’t supposed to be. The best part is the first 20 minutes or so, up until Drax’s assistant is killed by the dogs in the forest. It gets sillier from there with the gondola drive in Venice, the double-take pigeon, Jaws’s girlfriend, the Close Encounters and Magnificent Seven score rip-offs. The final insult - Jaws becomes good.
John Barry’s score is very good.
The two most underrated films of the series, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” and “Licence to Kill”.
The problem with On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the fact that George Lazenby wasn't an actor. He was badly miscast in what was actually one of the better written Bond films, other than a misjudged wink to the audience at the start of the film. Although, with Bond having become so successful and iconic with Connery, there was surely a lot of uncertainty about moving on. Including doubts about how or whether audiences would accept somebody new in the role.
It benefited from stellar production values and despite what Lazenby was lacking, he was well directed and so was the film. The action sequences are stellar. It's witty. And the ending is certainly bold. It's unfortunate that Connery decided to leave the role, with that what ultimately became Diamonds are Forever being compromised as a true sequel when Lazenby done the same.
OHMSS
Whoever took over the role from Connery at that time was in the terrible position of being compared to Connery at every turn. Even before the film came out Lazenby received a fair amount of bad press.
The marketing department didn’t appear to have a lot of faith in him, his name not appearing above the title on the film poster, just the characters’ name.
But Broccoli/Saltzman must have had faith, offering an extended deal to appear as 007. The only person who screwed that up was George himself, acting in part, on bad advice from his agent.
Watching now, Lazenby is wooden at times, but not in every scene. His eyes are expressionless, exposing his inexperience. He is fantastic in the physical scenes, doing a lot of his own fights, the fist-fight in the hotel is very memorable and rivals anything in the series.
I don’t see Lazenby as a problem, that’s a historical bandwagon. He is good at times, wooden in others. The filmmakers wisely populated the film with strong co-stars in Rigg and Savalas that could carry the film so Lazenby wouldn’t have to.
The problem I’ve always had is the horrible dubbing of Lazenby with George Bakers voice when 007 is impersonating Sir Hillary Bray in a significant part of the film. Story-wise, totally unnecessary as Bray hadn’t met Blofeld or anyone from his clinic, only communicating by letter.
I saw OHMSS on a large theatre screen about 3 years ago. I saw details I’d never picked up on before, it was like watching it for the first time, a wonderful experience. Lazenby came across better than he does when seeing the film at home.
Financially, “Secret Service” was not a bomb. It finished ranked #11 with $9.1 million in rentals in North America in 1969-1970. But It was a setback for EON, taking in half of “You Only Live Twice”, which finished 7th with $18 million in rentals in North America in 1967. The series rebounded in 1971 when “Diamonds are Forever” finished 3rd with $19.7 million. Undoubtedly due to Connery’s return as 007 because, it wasn’t the better film.
It was a tumultuous time for Eon with three different Bond actors over three successive films, finally hitting their stride again with “Spy” in 1977.
If Lazenby had done “Diamonds Are Forever” the pre-title sequence and gimmick of plastic surgery for Blofeld might have resonated better. But these were gimmicks, the bond series before Craig were never story continuations. Each film was a separate mission in 007’s career that might have occurred before or after the last mission.